Winter Training.2012

Intense Training And Mental Game.


So, I feel that this is so important that is worth posting this quote and keeping it close by me all the time during these winter months.


Adversity causes some men to break; other to break records.”

William Arthur Ward

There is a fine line between hitting the next level and crumbling under the pressure. It is easy to get caught up in the emotions of giving your all and you find yourself physically and psychologically exhausted from intense training. I find that I can lose sight of my goals when training gets especially tough. It becomes much harder to see the light at the end of the tunnel and realize that what you are experiencing is not self-inflicted punishment, but a journey with yourself to find what you are capable of.

Sitting in front of a computer screen and writing about my goals, training ideas, workouts to test myself with, everything seems manageable. When I am lost in the pain or frustration of a workout or when I fail at something, I can lose track of why I am training in the first place. It can feel too overwhelming. At that moment I have a choice to keep going, or let the emotions win and quit right then and there.

There is a feeling I get when I decide to ignore the part of me that is hurting or feeling sorry for myself. There is something that shifts inside and I no longer care about the discomfort. Those moments when I can find the mental strength to continue are when I discover things I never knew I could do. Those moments are why I love being an athlete.

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2011 Gateway Cup

Gateway Cup, St. Louis, MO is a great race series. Raced it last year as a cat3. I was a bit on the fence about it after I had decided to make an upgrade to a cat2 after Superweek. I had originally planned to race this series as a cat3 and use it as a "Peak A" race. I had to make a decision after Superweek to either upgrade or loose the points I had worked hard for. It was a tough decision to make because being a cat3 and racing NRC races is much better. Racing NRC races as a cat2 is just a lot tougher all around.

Pro Women Cat 1/2 Race Series

Tour De Layfette Criterium: 27th Place

Race started at 8:15 p.m. Race is 45 mins plus 5 laps. Festive atmosphere. The crowd and town really get into it. I was pretty nervous. In fact, I was trying not to be intimidated, but it was pretty hard when you line up and see 8 Colavita women all at the front line. Laura Van Gilder, Carrie Cash, Lauren Hall. Pretty simple course. Four corners, open and wide. It was pretty much fast the entire time. I loved the pace. Being so nervous, I had a hard time staying focus on cornering and closing gaps. " After about 30mins, I started to loosen up and close in. I saw Kristen and decided to try and stay near her as much as possible. She is so awesome to learn from. I was riding pretty strong and felt like I wanted to keep racing longer. Last lap, my goal was to just sprint with the field. I wasn't in a very good position at the end but I was able to keep in the field and sprint. All in all, I was pleased with my efforts and learned that "positioning is EVERYTHING"




Tour Des Hills Criterium: 23 rd Place

This course was pretty much the same as Friday night, except it had a slight incline from the start finish line. Open, wide course. Race started around 4:30 p.m. As I started to warm up the clouds rolled in. Rain came. It down poured for a while. The course was messy. Lots of branches and leaves which made it a bit slick. Race started a bit slower. I felt that everyone was taking the corners pretty low key. This race was a bit strange. I couldn't stay on anyone wheel for to long. It seemed like the field was all over for a bit. Again, I saw Kristen and just geared myself as near to her as I could. I did finally make a few moves to the front of the field. I even made it up to the front and took a pull. I really couldn't believe how strong and good I was feeling and riding. Last Lap, this time I looked around and saw Kristen. I stayed near her then she got out of her saddle and took off toward the outside of corner #2 and the bike slid from underneath her. Luckily I was far enough away from her so not to crash into her. I hesitated and then took off and sprinted as best I could with the field. I really think I would've placed top 10 in this one. I was in good position and felt great going in the last lap. Anyways, I was pretty concerned for Kristen. I made my way back to the corner where she crashed and made sure she was ok. Later on I saw her in the golf cart eating some ice and gave her the big hug and kiss on fore head...... thank God she was ok!......she is a trooper!








Giro De Montagna Criterium-- 20th Place.

Now this is one of my favorite races. Its in a great neighbor that really goes all out for the race. Its so much fun and the hill is my favorite part! Still feeling good and ready to race, I was just a bit nervous about corner #4. Its pretty much a downhill finish and corner 4 just looked a bit ticky this yr. I tryed to pick out a point to focus on for the corner. I knew I had to try and get my butt to the front of field and stay there in this race. I think I mentally just wasn't confident in myself for being up there with the pro women. I had only stayed in the front for short bits at a time. Lots of attacks went out but nothing stuck. I got to front of the field a few times and felt great but realized that staying mid field might be a better position because it was a short climb and getting a good wheel going downhill was key. Last lap, I was near Kristen again, I should've got into position towards the 2nd lap. Alot sooner than most!! Lesson learned. Last lap, I had stayed a bit more outside passed lots of riders on the climb. I got out of saddle half way up and to my surprized passed even more riders. Soon as I got to the top I clicked into my bigger gear and just kept peddeling as hard as I could downhill. I had a pretty good position. Sprinted and I took a good solid 20th place. I was more than happy...... being my 1st Pro 1/2 races .... this was a bonus!!!



Two things I learned....

" Positioning is Everything" and "Always believe in Yourself, don't be intimidated." The mind is a powerful motivator. "


Thanks to Craig Cooper, for letting me stay at your house. It was a super fun weekend and awesome watching you race. Also, Thanks to everyone for those awesome cheers. Great job to Leah and Cady for making the podium in the 3/4 races.


Ok so...... like its END OF ROAD SEASON>>>> ... What a great way to end my season.. Looking forward to PWP ... PWP ..... this winter...

2011 Superweek.

Superweek 2011

So my 1st thought was "what is my goal for Superweek"? Overall or wins? Since I had won overall last year W3/4, I thought it would be better to focus on the win or podium on the W3/4 races. I wanted to do that by giving myself a break from driving and traveling everyday. Since my goal fro the seaon is to avoid burnout before gateway cup, it worked out that I went into Superweek pretty well rested. After Tour of Galena, I was training pretty hard and needed to change my workouts. Racing smaller races and fast rides with my team mates helped me to train for criteriums. I knew I had the endurance and an awesome base in but needed to fine tune my skills.

For me personally, this year, I'm learning that I don't have to race every weekend. It takes a lot to go out there and race a race. It's not just about "racing your bike in the race" a coach told me, "Its the mental preparation, getting your bike ready, driving there and back, its weeks of mental preparation and training, etc.. etc.. all this is part of the whole total process of racing, not just the race." With this in mind, it was important for me to back off on doubling up racing W3/4 and W123 and only race 1 race a day and really keep my focus on performing well.

Lastly, I want to share this. My "Aunt Mary Gialdini" who lives in Indiana She is a beautiful women with a lovely and warm smiles that can brighten anyone's day She was diaginoised with cancer this year and my prayers and thoughts are with her everyday. So I decided that I would race in her honor for Superweek. More to come on this later.

Recap of the Races:

Geneva Grand Prix Criterium: Women's 3/4 ---- 3Place

Started with a nice warmup in the trainer with Cooper. I had pre-rode the course with one my of team mates Patrick. As we rode the course everything he told me made sense and clicked in.
Race started and I went out fairly quickly and found myself with a break of 7 of us or so. I took some pulls and just kept my line. Last lap, I got into pposition soon after the bell rang, I stayed with the top sprinters and tried to sprint for the finish. It was the same old story but I pulled off a 3rd place finish and learned some tricks!

Homewood Criterium: 3rd Place

Race started off fairly quickly and before I knew it I was in a break with about 6 or so of us. Liz, Megan and I worked to get that down to only 3 of us. Somewhere around 6 laps to go, Megan and I dropped Liz. This race was pretty strange though. I felt super strong and wanted to TT it all the way. I worked with Megan and I thought she was slowing a bit. I wasn't really sure why but I decided to keep her pace when really I just wanted to go faster so the others would not get us. Eventually, I was right, Liz caught us and I learned another lesson. So, it came down to a field sprint between us 3 with the field that we had lapped, I think. That was another confusing issue. All I have to say is that I was glad this race was over. Below is a short video of the Homewood Finish and the podium.

Richton Park Criterium: 1st Place

Out of all the pics this is only race I don't have any pics or videos of. One of reason is because of the very bad storm we had just before this race. Tornado like winds and hail and high winds came ripping through Illinois knocking down trees and power lines. Luckily we where able to start our race right after the storm. Small field of only 11 of us. Right from the gun, race started fast. I felt pretty good and hit it hard from the start. I wanted to keep the pace high. It was the same routine, Liz, Megan and I in a break. Last lap, I knew what I had to do and it worked out pretty good. My sprint came along and I clicked in a gear harder just before the line.

Willow Springs Road Race: 3rd Place

Feeling pretty pumped from yesterdays win, I was ready to go. I warmed up and then when I got to the start line, I heard medical vehicles and then racers getting off the course. A bad crash had happened and they had postpone our race til later. It was about an hr behind. So the officials decided to shorten our RR to 15 mins. 3 laps instead of 5 laps. I was super bummed out about that because I prefer the longer RR in order to wear out those sprinters. Race started, small field of only 11 of us. Because of all the waiting around, my legs felt pretty sluggest and my mental game was not on like it was. Megan, hit it hard after we got up the climb and race was on. I looked at Megan getting away and thought, no I'll see if the others chase her down. I knew they wanted me to chase and I didn't. I was also surprise that Liz didn't either. What where we thinking? Uggg!! We let her go. Bad move. Tamara tried to put me in my place but I just wanted to sit in a little bit until I finally gave in and did some work. I forced my legs to work and soon they did loosen up a bit for the lap. I was up front on the last lap. Liz attacked on the climb and I got out of saddle too and attacked harder trying to chase her down. I wasn't too far behind her and again the sprint to the line Liz and I.

Cudhay, WI Criterium - 2nd Place

This was a course I had not done and I was looking forward to it. I was still feeling good after taking Wed off. Again, I don't have any pics and videos. About 12 of us I think in the field. There where some new riders I hadn't seen and it was good to see new riders come out. Race started kind of slow. Since Liz wasn't there and it was only Megan that I knew I could work with I thought of just seeing what happens the 1st few laps. Of course pace was slow. I was out front first part of the race. Megan had some good attacks I tried to get in a break with her but I just had a hard time doing that. I think I was in a poor position to do that when she did go. Anyways it came down to a another sprint finish. I was about 3 or 4th rider and I hit it just after the 2nd to last corner. One rider had my wheel and I clicked into another gear and hit it again. Then towards the line she came around and got me by not even half a wheel..

Brookfield, WI Criterium - 3rd Place

This course is a strange one but they did change it a bit and made it more open. You almost feel like your going through a parking lot. It's a bit more technical but has a slight incline after the start finish. I forgot all about that and should've planned to attack on the incline to get in a break. Race was very small only 9 riders. Race started and everyone pretty much stayed together. I did some pulling up front and noticed that this 12 yr old was on my wheel the entire time. She would not let go of my wheel to save her life. I also noticed that Megan wasn't up front in the field. She was just hanging out back there. I was wondering what she was up to. Most likely should've joined her because before I knew it she through out an attack. I ended up chasing her and 2 other riders went with me. I was just 6 sec away from her and the other 2 riders where blown and couldn't help me chase her. I decided to let them try because I needed some help but they just weren't strong enough. So I got out in front and tried again to bridge up to Megan. I was only 8 - 9 sec away and Patrick my team mate was yelling out at me to go. It helped a bit but I just blew up and couldn't hold the effort. I then immediate got into TT mode hoping to maybe get Megan again. I made a third attempt to pick up the tempo. Again, we where to far from Megan but she held her pace strong and soon enough it was just us 3. Last lap, I should've planned out better what I needed to do. It ended up me in the front around the last corner. I hit it hard on the inside part of the lane and the 12 yr old again had my wheel. I tried to shake her off then I hit it hard into a sprint to the line It was very very close.

Evanston Grand Prix Criterium - 2nd Place

So this is a race that I think is for those that really know how to corner well. It is a technical course and has one corner that is a bit tricky. It is also a long sprint to the finish. Again, I just wanted to start fast and get into a good break and keep it that way for the entire race. I didn't want to deal with any other riders but maybe 3 or 2 in a break. Sure enough that is what happen. I went to the back of the field with Megan and Liz to see what was going on. Then Liz took off on the straight away and I went after her then Megan went behind me. After a bit we had dropped 1 or 2 riders that tired to stay with us but couldn't. Last lap, Megan had just gotten off the front and sure enough Liz went early. It took me by a bit of surprise but it was a good move. She went just before the 2nd to last corner. I took off after her and remembered that it was long way to the finish so I took the last corner and saw Liz going on the outside. I stayed in the middle. I hit a bit of a bump which through my sprinting off a bit. I got out of saddle and did the best I could to sprint. Lessoned learned. Overall, I was not at all disappointed with my performance. I was pretty happy we all got together in a break. It made it fun and very exciting.


So, Superweek had ended for me after Evanston. I promised myself this year to do things differently and really stick to my goals and balancing my family life and racing. I really believe for me that if everything is balanced and things are good at home that I will race better and it has proven to do so this year. It is so much fun racing and seeing others race too. Also, I thank my family, friends and teammates for supporting me. Without your help this would not be possible.

Thank you Steve for the great pics and photos and being my bike boy.


Next upcoming races: Winfield, then Gateway Cup. ----- end of season.

2011 Tour Of Galena

Galena is like this little gem, hidden and tucked away. Once I discovered it, it was on top of my lists as one of my favorite places to train and visit. I had used Galena as my training ground for New Mexico, Gila stage race in April. After hearing that a stage race was going forward and pretty much a done deal, I was super excited. However, I knew that I mostly likely wouldn't have fresh legs going into this stage race but I wanted to use it as training for my upcoming stage racing in July.

Women's 1,2,3 Omnium.

Saturday: 4.4 mile Time Trial (rolling hills and 1 big climb) (10th Place)

I went off at 10:30 a.m. I knew that the shorter the TT the more warm up one should have. Instead of using my trainer, I got on the road and warmed up for 45mins, which was a mistake I think. Got to the start. A bit nervous. I didn't feel 100% mentally ready. Not having pre-rode the course and not knowing the downhill portion concerned me on how to take those sections. Since it was short TT, it was all out. When it came to the big descent, it was very narrow. If it wasn't for the orange cones I think I would've been ok and not have slowed as much but I was told that everyone pretty much was on the breaks into the descent. The climb was 14% and a real leg cruncher. I placed 10th. Not my best performance.

Saturday: 67 mile Road Race (8th Place)

I was pretty pumped for the road race. I knew the course and the climbs pretty well. The only thing that really got to me is that we had to do "laps". I guess its better than having to race a shorter road race. Race was 67 miles, which was awesome! We went off at 4:00 p.m. It was a neutral start up over the first big climb then race started. Pace was slow to moderate the 1st lap. I took no pulls.. Hung in the back There where only 14 women in the field. It was by far a lot different from the road racing in New Mexico where I had 35 women in the field. The ABD team was there and consisted of Jessica Prinner, Jeannie and Kristen Meshberg. On the 2nd lap, we dropped about 4-5 riders. Jessica Prinner went off the front sometime after the 2nd lap. No one went with her. She was amazing. Her other team mate Jeannie eventually went off a bit later in the 2nd lap, which left about 7 or 8 of us. By the end of 2nd lap, I was feeling a slight cramp in my right leg and once again I had NOT eaten anything. Just before the feed zone, my 3rd lap go, I lost the field on a steep climb. My leg cramped up too much and I slowed down a bit on the climb. Steve was there to give me a fresh water bottle and I raced onward as best I could.

I paced on/off moderately. Luckily the wind wasn't a big factor at all. About 5 miles to go I was by far pretty tired and slowing more. Towards the finish it was rewarding to finish the race. I was not at all disappointed. My goal is to get better on eating and hydrating during a road race. You'd think it would be so easy but for me I really need to practice this! I placed 8th.


Sunday: Criterium. (7th Place)


Race started at 4:45 p.m. small field, about 11 of us. Course was flat and some narrow sections. Race started. Kristen went out fast, which was good. I like that. That's of attacks where thrown out and nothing stuck. It was attack after attack. I waited and held back. I didn't want to burn to many matches. I knew I could bridge and chase pretty good. I through out one attack that wasn't very good. Didn't have the punch. I pretty much stayed conservative until about 2 laps to go. I had to make a deicison. For some reason, My team mate Dan Verner his words came into my thoughts. I had nothing to lose. I could take a flyer or maybe do 2 attacks (one after the other). Sure enough, the field was slowing. I thought "Oh no no no... I'm not going to let this come down to a slow and a field sprint. I wanted to try. So, I went for it after the bell rang. I hit it, I didnt look back, I kept going until after the 2nd corner. back side of course then someone yelled, "Just GO". So I thought why try and let out another attack and before I knew it someone else had picked it up and it was too late. Last corner and ABD was of course already sprinting and so I got out of saddle with what I had left to sprint. Finished 7th place.







To conclude, I finished 6th Place in the Omnium.


Thank you Triple X for a fantastic race. I was praying for a stage race like this in our area. I can't thank you enough for all your hard work and efforts on running and managing a great race. This race will develop even more into even bigger and better things to come I can feel it. Thank you also to the town of Galena. Galena is amazing. Warm and welcoming people. Lastly, I want to thank you the G.O.A.T.S bicycle club. They are are really fun and friendly group. Thank you Andreas for letting us stay at your place that is located on this "big bad climb". I will always remember the climb up to your place. It just cracked my legs a little more after the race..... I must admit, on Sunday, after my race,. I had nothing left so I had to walk my bike up that climb....!!!.


Please everyone... don't miss this race next year!!!