Tour of Elk Grove, Prologue TT

I have had a great summer of racing. So much racing that I have let the yard go, the dog has been ignored, and I am losing my gourmet cooking skills. But it's only summer for about two weeks in Michigan so I need to race and ride while I can! I recently made the plunge and requested an upgrade so I am now a Category 2 racer. This enabled me to race Tour of Elk Grove, which my friend Sarah encouraged me to try as well as my coach Chris Fisher. Nothing like just jumping right in! It is a very prestigious race where the top women's teams and pro's come to duke it out and it has a huge payout for the winners. I was just hoping at best to hang with a very large group of the best girls in the country that are racing now.

I was terrified as well as completely excited to go and try this out. A new, huge challenge. There are three races in this stage race, the Prologue TT, and two circuit races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. I also signed up for the women's amateur open crit on Saturday morning. Why the heck not, right? Get as many races in a weekend that I can.

I left in the early hours and headed down for the TT at 4:30 Chicago time. Which I forgot is 5:30 our time. I got there pretty early, somehow missed that this being a big deal and a big race that there is a meeting that everyone is supposed to attend and pick up their numbers. I panicked as I was not on the start list, but was able to get it worked out in time, and started at 4:29. I would be the first to go off. I realized I have a lot to learn but Sarah was there to help.

The time trial is only 4.5 miles, since it is a prologue, which is about 10 minutes of riding as hard as you are physically able. I brought my bike in to check it in and make sure it met USA cycling rules, and the seat was too far forward and tilted up too high. Made some adjustments and I was good to go. I sat in the staging area, hoping my legs would feel ok. I had been battling a nasty cold that still was lingering and I had not been on my bike as much as I would have liked going into this. I was the most hopeful about this race of any though, as I have been doing well this year at time trials.

It was something to see the women from Pro-Optum and Tibco walking around, with their team cars and support team. Must be awesome to have that support! Myself, I parked on a side street, got dressed in my van, and warmed up with Sarah by my side on our trainers. It was nice to have company at least!

Anyway, I got on the ramp, they counted down and I was off. It was a nice, flat course and I just gave it all I had. Maybe a little too much at the beginning, because my legs were screaming when I was about 3 minutes in and when I could have been going over 30 mph on a slight downhill with a tailwind I could barely muster high 20s. I took a right turn, and my legs were adapting and I was able to tell myself to push my legs harder and they responded. 180 degree turn, into a headwind, and I buckled down and started feeling better. I had two more turns, and came into the finish, mouth completely dried out, swung off the course, and lost my lunch. A father and son walked by and looked a little disturbed, but hey, these things are normal if you are racing. It ain't always pretty.

Sarah finished up, and we headed off to get some rest. Later I saw the results and I was 50th out of 64 women, with a time of 10:50, 1:31 behind Alison Powers who won, average speed 24.5 mph. I was pleased with that, but as always....thinking I could have done just a bit better. Here are the results. And here is my Strava of the ride.

I don't have many pictures as I was here with Sarah, who was also racing and my phone battery died on Friday. But here is a great picture of me with Meredith Miller, who was racing her retirement race, it was a great honor to be with her this weekend! I will have more posts about the later, more exciting races that happened this weekend. It was an awesome experience that I will remember forever.

My First "First" at Fisk Knob

I made the jump a few weeks ago and bought a real TT bike (Cervelo P2), and so, I need to race lots of time trials and justify my purchase. The first TT of the year is Fisk Knob, north of Grand Rapids in Cedar Springs. It's a race known historically for bad weather due to being held so early in spring. Weather has been pretty brutal, no doubt, but we Hagerati do not let that bother us. Susan Donnelly, Jake Ellis, and I left early in the morning, driving through snow covered roads and fog to race. The forecast had snow and rain in it, but as we got closer we actually saw the sun rise and some blue sky. An owl even flew by as we were driving, that is always cool to see! It was still cold though, about 39 degrees, but warmer than my last race at Barry that was 29 degrees.

Pretty awesome helmet, thanks Kim Thomas!

We got there pretty early, even before registration opened. It gave us time to preview the course though, so it was good. I really do not like rushing around before a race so being early is always ok with me. Driving over the course I realized that it was a lot hillier than I imagined it would be. I had only taken out my new bike once on the road, and it wasn't over any hills, so I was a bit intimidated. When you are in the aero bars, you don't have quick access to the brakes. I was also a bit worried about my bike set up. I had been tweaking it and tweaking it but it wasn't still feeling quite right. I was ready though to just give it my best and see what happened.

I warmed up quickly, not feeling the cold at all, and was getting excited to race. We lined up and we had 5 category 3 women racing. I have raced all these fine women before, and they are all great people and great racers. We were sent off 30 seconds apart, one at a time, and the best part of a time trial is that it is just you against the clock. No strategy, no technical skills, just go as fast as you can. It's often called the "race of truth."

At the start line

Well, the start is on a big downhill, so it was time to just go for it and I sunk down into the aero bars and started pedaling and going faster and faster. It was such a blast! No fear at all here, just the rush of wind and speed-better than any roller coaster. I was going 38 mph at the bottom, and that is from a stand still at the top of the hill. Pretty awesome. A long, slow rise to the first turn, and I just kept hammering it, but feeling controlled at the same time. The rest of the course was a few more rollers before a flat section at the turn around. The rollers were fun and I did my best to go as fast as I could going down them, and was finding myself spinning out of my highest gear. Kind of cool to think I could have gone even faster if I had a bigger gear!

Top of the hill and finished!

I was amazed to find that I was passing people. I started realizing that this may be a good day for me! Everything was clicking just right. A unique feeling, indeed, but very awesome when it happens. The last climb back up that starting hill was brutal. I gave it everything I had to just keep pedaling as hard as I could and not pay attention to my quads that were screaming. Gasping at the top of the hill, I was done, and pleased with my ride.  Not too much later, it started snowing pretty hard. Sooo happy that it wasn't snowing during my race!

1st place Cat 3 women

After results came in it was clear that we had a mini-van full of winners. I placed first for the first time in a race. Sue got 2nd in her category of Master's women, and would have came in second in cat 4 women as well. Jake got second in Cat 3 men. Craig Webb and Steve Andries also from Hagerty won their categories. We were all pretty happy and deemed the day a success as well as a lot of fun. I haven't spent a lot of time with Jake before, and I have to say, he really knows his stuff. If you need any advice regarding anything race or training related, I would go visit him at Brick Wheels.

Sue Donnelly 2nd place Master's

Jake Ellis 2nd Place cat 3 men

Thanks to all the volunteers who shivered in the cold to help and the people at 42-85 who took this race that was in danger of not being held and making it a success. Thanks to Keith Conway and Brigit for taking pictures! And thanks also to Chris Fisher, my coach who has helped me get through this never ending winter. Full results are here.

Meet Cervelo P2

I finally brought home my new TT bike from the bike shop. I took it out on Tuesday. She is very fast but still needs some tweaking...now if only the damn snow would melt and it would warm up.