Would NEVER have lasted the full 100 without the support of @jamieltracy & his worms 🤣 (& Ice Socks 🧦 , Nuun 💦, & Pickle Juice Sport 🥒 )
Congrats to Venny Alub on her 2nd Place finish, and Katelynne Marsan (not pictured) on 3rd!
Thank you @grittyteethracing for a fabulous, well run & supported event and fantastic, well marked course! And the handmade trophies & mugs are awesome!! #TeamTracyATX will be back next year!
I never had the privilege of meeting Amy Dombroski, but I’d like to think that I share her passion for living life to the fullest, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity that the foundation established in her name has provided me.
I discovered the Amy D Foundation in late November, when a fellow Zwift Academy Competitor, Nicole Presspich mentioned that she’d raced with the Amy D Foundation Composite team at Pro Road Nats in 2017. I had just completed the Zwift Semi-Finals, and was trying to shake off the disappointment of having not been selected as a Finalist, my lofty dreams of a WWT Pro Team Contract for 2018 dashed suddenly, so I was throwing myself into making my own plans for the 2018 season: identifying and working on weaknesses, continuing to develop strengths, seeking out sponsors, and sending my resume to many US-based Professional Women’s Cycling Teams, in hopes of making the jump to the Pro Peloton “the normal way”. The general consensus from the teams that responded was that I needed more experience at the PRT/UCI level before being considered for a roster spot, so I switched my focus to identifying as many of the 2018 PRT & UCI races that I could manage to figure out a way get to & race on my own, while juggling my full time job . . .without destroying my finances!
While I was sending my resume off to Pro Teams, I also researched the Amy D Foundation, was touched by their mission, and everything that they have done to support, encourage, and enable women to chase their dreams in the sport of cycling. When the application window opened in December for a spot on one of their 2018 composite teams, I submitted my packet, crossed my fingers. . . and probably drove Des crazy with more than 1 or 2 follow-up emails over the next month or so!
Fast forward to March. . . I had discovered that finding Guest/Composite Spots at UCI races was more than a little bit difficult. How is an independent rider every supposed to gain the experience needed to “go Pro” if you must BE on a team in order to do so?!? I lacked connections at the “next level”, and I was still searching for roster spots at Joe Martin Stage Race, Tour of the Gila, Redlands Classic, Winston Salem RR, and the Colorado Classic, all of which require a Guest or Composite spot on a team of 4-8 riders to race. It was Mid-March, and JMSR was less than a month out, so I’d pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to make it to AR this year (and was SUPER bummed about it!).
Then, it happened! I opened my email Tuesday afternoon, March 20th, and there was an email from Katheryn letting me know that I’d been chosen to be a part of the Amy D Foundation team for JMSR!! EEEEEKKKK!!!! I think they heard me squeal in delight all the way in CA/CO! The team would consist of 7 riders (Beth Ann Orton – Mentor, Sammie Bosco, Tabitha Sherwood, Emma Swartz, Esther Meisels, Alex Christofalos, and myeself). You can check out the recap blogs of the other team members here!
Fast Forward (again) to April . . . all team member, directors, and mechanic converged on the host house April 10th-11th. First off, can I tell you how AWESOME it was to have the ENTIRE team housed under a single roof! It made team meetings, planning, and coordinating effortless, and I can’t thank Rosemary & Jason enough for their generosity and hospitality while we were there! After all team members arrived, and initial introductions were complete, Katie immediately got to work cleaning and tuning our bikes as the team members & directors had our first team meeting, and were given our matching Lazer Helmets & Glasses, Pearl Izumi Race Suits & Kits, Handlebar Moustache Socks, and t-shirts. I was told that I didn’t need to worry about bringing a trainer because the team had Feedback Sports Omnium Trainers for all of us to use (SUCH a relief to have one less thing to worry about lugging around!). A couple of things here:
It was an incredible and eye-opening experience to have a team mechanic who took care of EVERYTHING bike-related – from transport to cleaning to tire pressure to maintenance. I never had to give a second thought to my bike, how it would get where it needed to be, or if it was functioning properly on race day.
Having a Team Director & Soigneur was again – beyond eye-opening, and an amazing experience. Our daily schedules were laid out for us every evening. We knew exactly where we needed to be and when to be there, and ALL we had to worry about was racing our bikes. No stressing logistics. No stressing feeding/nutrition/hydration prep. Just show up and race to the best of our ability. Wow. I never realized how much mental stress that other stuff added until I suddenly didn’t have to worry about it anymore. Kathryn and Des did a phenomenal job of “herding the cats” all weekend, and I honestly can’t thank them enough for such a wonderful “Pro” experience.
Shortly after our team meeting, we went for our first team ride. Although we all came from different backgrounds, ranged in age from early 20s to late 30s, had various strengths and weaknesses on the bike and a myriad of personalities between us, we all gelled extraordinarily well as a team right from the start. This was one of the things that I was a little anxious about heading into the week. I didn’t know if we’d have 7 riders all coming together as individuals, each with our own agenda, and racing independently, but in the same jersey, or if we’d truly be a team. A team, we were.
SQUAD!
The Joe Martin Stage Race (JMSR) consisted of 4 stages: ~60-65 mile Road Races on days 1 & 2, an uphill Time Trial on day 3, and a downtown Crit on day 4.
I think that we were all a little anxious riding in the team cars (yes. . TEAM CARS!) to the first race, but Tabitha kept things upbeat and kept our minds off of our nerves with her wit! 😊 I had all kinds of thoughts swirling around in my head. I’ve raced JMSR once before, 2 years prior, and had a lot of trouble on the hills. I was dropped in both road races about ¼ to ½ way through the race that year, so my own personal goal for day 1 was to race smart, position well, conserve as much energy as possible, finish with the peloton, and help my teammates out in any way that I was able to. I remember being uncomfortable/scared during the short neutral roll-out 2 years ago, so I was anxious about Day 1’s race -because we had a 6.5-mile neutral roll-out, which I knew would be full of nervous energy.
The team staged together, and being surrounded by teammates definitely helped with the nerves during the neutral roll-out. We had a head-wind over the bulk of the 1st half of the course, so positioning wisely was particularly important. I started out toward the front, but quickly fell into old habits and found myself shuffled to the back. Kathryn had given us some advice pre-race: try to ride in the general vicinity of each other, and if we noticed that we were behind all the other Amy D Foundation riders, it meant it was time to move forward. This advice proved to be very helpful for me during the first hour of the race. I’d slowly work my way forward, and then get shuffled back. . .over and over again. Every time I saw 6 Pearl Izumi Amy D Foundation Jerseys & bright orange Lazer Helmets ahead of me, I knew it was time to start the process again! Over time, I found myself having trouble moving up through the middle, and there was a small pileup in the middle of the group a few miles into the race, which made me all THAT much more comfortable moving up along the outside edges of the peloton. . . which of course meant that I was NOT positioning well, was eating wind unnecessarily, and was burning matches that I should have been saving! Beth Ann noticed what I was doing, made her way over to me, and informed me that my job, for the rest of the race, was to focus on moving up THROUGH THE MIDDLE, and holding my position better once I got to the front. . oh brother! Somehow though, hearing that from a teammate rather than dialogue in my own head was exactly what I needed. I moved up through the middle, and then doubled down on my efforts to hold my position and not give up wheels. Every time that I’d start to get shuffled back, one of my teammates would be there to give me a gentle reminder to hold my ground. And what do ya know – it worked! I realized after about 45 minutes of this that I wasn’t working NEARLY as hard as I had been over the first hour of the race. I found myself racing more confidently, and even covering moves on the front as we climbed out of Devil’s Den. From this point on, the race was honestly a bit of a blur because I was just focusing SO HARD on holding my position and trying to go with anything that looked dangerous. Beth Ann and I stayed fairly close to each other, and she helped tremendously by giving real-time feedback: when I was working too hard, when I wasn’t positioned as well as I could be, when I was racing really well! I went with several moves that didn’t materialize into much, but once we hit the tailwind over the second half, it was clear that the race was ON, and SOMETHING was going to go. Thanks in LARGE part to the help of the team – forcing me to focus on conserving energy early on, and calling me out on it when I wasn’t positioning well – I managed to make it into the break that stuck. The 12 of us worked together well for the first few miles, until we reeled in Emily Newsom with Tibco, who’d been off the front solo, but once we caught her, cooperation started to break down. I just let Beth Ann’s advice about patience and saving matches play over and over again in my head, as I battled the impatient voices in my head, and continued to do my share, but no more. A little while after the break was established, Katheryn and Katie pulled along-side in the team car (seriously – still so cool . . a TEAM CAR!), rolled down the window, and asked how I was doing. I gave them a thumbs up, and grinned from ear to ear. Was this really happening? Did a TEAM CAR just roll up to the break out of the caravan to check on ME? Yes. . yes, they did. Yet another experience that I will never, ever forget, and that I have the Amy D Foundation to thank for!
The rest of Stage 1 was fairly uneventful for me. The cooperation continued to diminish within the break, and attacks started going when we hit the final set of climbs. Our group splintered, and I found myself in 9th place heading into the final climb. I poured every last ounce that I had to give into my legs, glanced down at the Amy D Sticker on my top tube, and charged up the hill with everything I had left. Girls in front of me were fading, and I passed several over the final climb, moving into 4th about 200m from the finish, but my legs had given everything that they had to give, and as I clawed my way over the final meters to the finish line, I was passed by 2, and crossed the line 6th. The first thing that I saw after my eyes uncrossed was Des, standing there grinning and cheering and she gave me a big bear hug as I practically fell off my bike . What. A. Race!
The Peloton had pretty much caught the strung out break by the finish line, so the rest of the team crossed shortly behind me, and we re-grouped at the team car to debrief. We shared lessons learned, personal and team successes, areas for improvement, and I got the chance to thank everyone for their help getting me into the break. Race 1 was over, and we shifted our focus to recovery and preparing for the remaining stages.
This blog post is turning into a Novella, so I’m just going to briefly touch on Stages 2 – 4!
Stage 2 was the second Road Race, and was a point to point race with a tailwind most of the day, finishing in a downtown circuit loop, up the Crit Course Hill. It also happened to fall on my 39th Birthday! The team raced well again together today, and everyone worked hard to try to protect me/keep me positioned well in order to protect or improve our GC position. After ~60 miles of racing, we were approaching the sharp left/right that would lead into the final circuit, and Beth Ann had warned us that positioning was key at this point in the race, and that we needed to make sure that we were as close to the front as possible before that sharp left/right. I found myself drifting back, and fighting hard to move up, but was having difficulty being assertive, and “making holes”. . . The next thing I knew, Sammie was pulling alongside of me, motioning for me to jump on her wheel. She pulled me all the way to the front with a massive effort, and I tried to hold my position, but got “spooked” when a car found its way onto the course and there was a sudden shift of the peloton to the left. I was shuffled back to mid-pack, but Sammie saved the day yet again, and dragged me back up to the front, depositing me among the top ~15 wheels just before that sharp left/right. I held my position through the turns, and as we started up the next hill, Esther positioned herself in front of me and told me to “hold on!”. She helped to ensure that I held my position toward the front, guided me through the final two turns, and pulled me up the final kicker of a finish hill – the best birthday lead-out a girl could ask for!! Esther finished 15th, & I finished 17th, scored with the same time as the race winner, and the rest of the team finished just after us. I lost a few seconds to intermediate sprints during Stage 2, and slipped from 6th to 7th Place GC.
Stage 3 was the Time Trial, or as Beth Ann dubbed it, the “Climb Trial”! Time Trials are usually my favorite Stage of a Stage Race, and typically I can count on the TT Stage to move up in GC. . but this one was an entirely different animal, as it was 3 miles straight UP! The temperature had also plummeted overnight, and it was only in the upper 30s/low 40s in Devil’s Den Park as we rolled up. The team warmed up together on our Feedback Sports Omnium Trainers, and then set off one at a time to go tackle the mountain. I left it all out there, with an official time of 12:32, which placed me 32nd on the day and dropped me to ~16th (?) in GC. After the TT, the team regrouped and debriefed. We all shared the sentiment that we left it all out there, and were content with our efforts, especially considering the frigid temps. I was a bit disappointed in the fact that I’d dropped so many place in GC in the TT stage, which is usually my “clutch” stage, but everyone’s spirits were high on the ride home, and the positive energy shared by my teammates helped me not to dwell on it, and instead to shift my focus to celebrating successes and prepping for the next day’s Criterium.
Stage 4 was the Criterium – an hour of racing around a 1.2 mile downtown circuit with one heck of a finishing kicker hill each lap. Everyone on the team did a good job of staging well, as we knew that positioning from the whistle was the key to success in this race. Unfortunately, although I was staged ideally, when the whistle blew, I made the newbiest of newbie mistakes: I **thought** I had clipped in, but realized as my foot slipped off the pedal with the first pedal stroke that I, in fact, had not… While I managed to hold my line and not panic, I went from ~top 15 wheels to nearly dead last wheel as the field surged around me while I was trying to get my foot back onto the pedal and clipped in. . . I spent the first several laps burning match after match as I worked my way through the strung-out single file back-end of the field, and riders that were getting popped up to the “main peloton” of ~50-60 riders that was more bunched up. Unfortunately, I connected with the back of that group at the very bottom of the finish hill on a time bonus lap JUST as there was an attack for the bonus points! The field surged forward just as I connected, and I just couldn’t will my legs to close the gap 🙁. Fortunately, though, after another lap or so, I found myself in a small chase group of 4 with Amy D Foundation Teammate Esther Meisels. Our small group worked well together in an attempt to minimize the time put on us by the maim field but ended up being pulled with 3 laps to go. The great news though, is that we made the time cut, so our finishing times were pro-rated for GC Scoring. We also had the chance to watch the end of the race play out, and cheer on teammates Emma and Beth Ann, who raced extremely well, and finished out the full crit!
Looking back on my time with the Amy D Foundation team, I just feel so very fortunate to have been given this amazing opportunity. The program that they have really is amazing, thanks in part to their wonderful sponsors, and the amazing leadership/organizational skills of Kathryn and Des. They did an unbelievably good job of ensuring that everything ran smoothly from the time riders arrived to the time we headed home. The structure of the composite teams: providing a mentor who is able to give real-time feedback, advice, and encouragement to team members as they race, the knowledge shared during Pre-Race meetings and Post-Race Debriefs, the friendships made and stories shared – these things are absolutely invaluable. I can’t thank Beth Ann enough for ALL of the mentoring that she provided to all of us during our short time together. The knowledge and real-world race experience that I gained; the friends and camaraderie that was built with teammates, and the confidence that I’m moving forward with as a result are the things that I will forever be grateful to the Amy D Foundation for, and I’m going to leave the Amy D Foundation’s Heart Logo on my top tube as a constant reminder to #RideLikeAmyD.
2018 @tourofcorsicana is a wrap, & with a LOT of help from @atc_racing_tx teammate Chelsea Smith ( @lucishine )& a heck of an assist from @shamacycles Angela Man (@superangieman ), I managed to sprint to a 3rd place finish from the break in today’s Road Race, and secure the GC Win!
Would you just look at that Orange in a Sea of Green?!?
The Stage Race started Saturday Morning with a short & sweet Time Trial, where despite (more likely because of) high winds, I was able to build a little bit of a cushion to take into the Crit and RR.
The twilight Crit on Saturday Evening was fast and furious, and saw the Wolfpack relentlessly attacking over & over, trying to wear Chelsea and I out, or get a move off the front without any Orange in it. We covered every last move though, and managed to keep it all together for a sprint finish, in which I sprinted to 4th, scored with the same time across the line as the leaders.
Sunday’s Road Race was pretty brutal and frustrating. The Wolfpack made a few early attacks, covered by Chelsea and Angie – I was doing my best to save myself for either the break that stuck or the sprint finish. . .”The Move” ended up going earlier than anticipated though, and I had to burn a few matches bridging up to the three WolfPack Girls up the road. . . , Once I joined them though, they simply refused to work, as they had the GC leader in the move. They would have preferred that our break get reeled back in, and that another one go later in the race, preferably without me in it. I was having none of that though – I’d burned the matches to make it into the break, and I was going to see it through, so after a few miles of trying to solicit some assistance, I resigned myself to setting tempo on the front. Even though the three girls with me weren’t doing anything at all to assist in keeping the break away, I was hedging my bets that their teammates and my teammate back in the field were doing their best to slow the pace and discourage chase efforts. After about 10 miles of towing them around, I got a bit impatient and fed up, and simply stopped pedaling altogether through the feed zone, trying to force one of them to come through. Well, one of them DID come through, attacking out of the feed zone, and catching me off guard. I resumed my comfortable tempo pace, being careful to keep the girl up the road in sight, and close enough that I knew I’d be able to reel her back in over the final miles. As we approached the final miles, the girl up the road started to fade, and I backed my pace off so that we didn’t catch her too soon – I knew that as soon as we were about to reconnect with her, the other two, who’d been sitting in this entire time, would attack me and put as much distance between themselves and me as they could before the finish line. I had to finish within 15 seconds of them in order to hold on to the GC lead. As predicted, their attacks off my wheel started flying with about a mile to go. I buried myself to stay attached, and despite getting gapped off momentarily, was able to reconnect just before the finish line – finishing 3rd, but scored with the same time as 1st and 2nd, and holding onto that coveted GC Win as a result!
It was a great weekend for @atc_racing_tx , as Jason Lewis won GC in his field as well!
Huge thanks to the other half of #TeamTracyATX (@jamieltracy …the world’s best hubby/SAG support/Crew Chief) for ALL of his support & chauffeuring this weekend!
Felt #SoPro warming up by the @VanDoIt plastered w/ Sponsor Magnets in my Awesome New Body Paint 3.0 Speed Suit (Thank you Castelli!)Final GC Results. . .Man, the Wolfpack made us work our butts off for it, but we held on to that top step!
My 1st Gravel Race was an absolute blast, and the 2nd/19 Place Finish was icing on the cake 🎂!
The demo Specialized Diverge w tubeless Tracer Pro tires (run at 40psi) on loan from @brianleib rode like a dream, & I was fortunate to finish without any mechanicals or flats (on a day where EVERYONE seemed to be flatting!)
Hung in there w the lead group of guys & @natsmithster for the first ~18 Miles.. took a bad line through a turn, got gapped off, & just couldn’t quite chase back on. Solo’d in no mans land for a bit, then rode w @joelrierson (who’d flatted earlier) for a bit, then solo again in TT mode… got caught by a chase group of 5, including @jennypark17 & @pamelaanne633 , about 30 Miles in & raced the remainder of the race with them. Attacked w 1.5 Miles to go, & got away w Jenny. Won the “sprint” for 2nd place after kinda forcing Jenny to lead me out 😳. .
It was a hot/steamy one out there today w highs in the 90s, & I finished coated in a lovely mix of salt, sand, & mud 😁. VERY thankful for the @nuunhydration Electrolytes & Nuun Performance in my bottles, which helped me to avoid the heavy attrition & still have something left to kick with at the end, cramp free!
Thank you to @capitalcityracingtexas for putting on such a fun & well run event. Verdict? I’ll definitely be back for more gravel grinding!!
I’d like to start by sending a HUGE shout-out to Holland Racing and Special Events – boy, do they know how to put on a race! From Registration, pre-race communications and instructions, race bible, and parking vouchers, to packet pickup, course markings, venue, announcing by Big Mouth Announcing, On-Site massages by Austin Massage Company, post-race food and beverages, and awards – the day could not have possibly run any more smoothly! Thank y’all for taking so much of the pre-race stress out of the process of prepping for and racing an Ultra Distance Race!
Secondly, I want to personally congratulate and give kudos to Nicole Volek, who completed (and WON!) her very first Ultra Distance Bike Race, completing 24 laps/149.04 miles in 11:40:29! Nicole won the Traughber Nutrition Sponsorship, and worked with Shane Traughber in the months leading up to the race to dial in her nutrition and training, and boy did it pay off! I’m so happy for her, and proud of the hard work and dedication that she put into preparing for this event!
Christopher Bean Coffee saved the day!
To Jacket or not to Jacket? Brrr. ..
In the week prior to the race, I had gone back and forth 100 times about whether to race my Road Bike (Cervelo S5) or TT bike (Cervelo P3). I’m perfectly comfortable with the mileage on either one, but this course is just sooo hilly, and even though the hills roll into each other fairly well, I was concerned that the additional weight of the P3 would end up fatiguing me earlier than my S5, and slowing me down toward the end. . . I left it to a last minute decision on race morning. . .as we were packing to leave the house, it was still raining outside. I’d just had my P3 overhauled for the 2018 season by the awesome Mechanics at Austin Tri-Cyclist, and I’m racing my first big Stage Race of the year in 2 weeks (Valley of the Sun), so I opted to leave “Wicked” at home because I didn’t want to grime up her bottom bracket with a bunch of road spray on the back of my car. . .this ultimately was not the best decision. . more on this later!
The day started off on the chilly side, misting heavily during our drive out to Pace Bend Park, but beginning to clear by the time that we got there. The 6 Hour race went off at Noon, so #TeamTracyATX rolled in about 9:15am to set up our tent in the VIP area, pick up packets, do a final check of the bike, and of course share the warm, delicious goodness of Christopher Bean Coffee with fellow racers! Pro Tip: Fastest way to make friends at a chilly bike race: Bring Good Coffee!
I knew that there was a pre-race meeting at 11:45, but didn’t realize that we’d be rolling straight from the meeting into the start of the race. . so I had to do a bit of last minute scrambling to stuff my pockets w/ gels, throw on my helmet, and grab my phone/headset. . at 11:44 . . oops! In the rush, I somehow managed to forget chamois cream. . .but THANK GOODNESS the Chamois in my Castelli SanRemo 3.2 Speed Suit was kind to me, and I didn’t even realize that I’d forgotten the Chamois Cream until after the race, and was fortunate to escape without any chaffing or “issues” – phew!
As I stood at the start line, there was a noticeable chill in the air, and I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to start with my jacket or not. I knew I’d be a little chilly for the first lap if I shed it prior to the start, but was worried that I would have to stop and put a foot down to ditch it, and didn’t want to stop at all during my race, so I decided to start without it – good call! I was plenty warm by 1 mile into the race 🙂
Another thought running through my head at the start line: “OMG – nearly every single person is on a TT bike. . . yikes. . did i make the wrong call? Oh Well. . .too late now!!”
This race was non-drafting, but we were allowed to draft through the end of the first lap in order to allow the mass start to naturally break up, as everyone found their own pace and settled into it. The race started fast and furious, and I went off with a group of 3-4 guys that surged off the front from the start line. Our little group naturally broke up about half-way through the first lap, and when I glanced briefly over my shoulder, I didn’t see anyone else in sight, which meant that I had the lead in the 6 hour female division.
My plan going into the race was to hold a steady ~190W (3.15 W/Kg) from start to finish. I knew this would be a tall ask, as I got a super late start to my base training as a result of the Zwift Academy Semi-Finals, and haven’t done any rides longer than ~3 hours since the WTTC in Borrego Springs in early November . . but I wanted to push my limits to see what I was capable of, so that was the plan! I also hoped to complete 1 lap more than last year, for a total of 19 laps, before the 6 hour time cutoff. Of course, I hoped that holding these #s would result in the win, because those sweet Beast Mode Trophies are the best things ever!
Despite my careful planning and calculations, I found myself settling in comfortably at ~200-205W after the madness of the 1st lap. My HR was behaving, and my legs felt great, so I thought to myself “What the hell… I’m just going to hold it here for a little while”. My husband, Jamie was texting my gaps to me each lap, and they would display on my head unit, so I knew that I was holding about a fairly steady 1:30-2:00 gap on Christina Bonnington in 2nd. 4 hours in, I scrolled through my screens on my Edge to find that my Normalized Power race-to-date was just over 200W, with an Avg Pwr Output of 195. . .my legs were really starting to feel the effort, so I decided to back it down just a hair.
About the same time (3-4 hours in), the wind started picking up significantly. We had a head wind down the back side of the loop, which was more down then up, and significantly favored those on TT bikes. . .I was fighting so hard just to push into that wind, even when going down hill, and despite being on a super Aero Road bike, I just didn’t feel like I could get tucked enough while still pedaling. I could almost feel Christina gaining on me every lap down the back side, but there wasn’t anything that I could do about it, so I just kept tucking as much as I possibly could, while trying to keep my power up, which was becoming increasingly difficult as my legs continued to fatigue, and the headwind became more and more vicious. I was mentally kicking myself big time for leaving Wicked at home at this point!
About 5 hours in, both of my calves started to severely cramp to the point that I could barely put any pressure into the pedals without excruciating pain. Shortly thereafter, my inner thighs (knee to groin) joined the party, and then my abs, of all things. . crap!! I shouted at Jamie my next time through the pit area to have some mustard packets taped to a bottle for me the next lap to help kill the cramps, and just did my best to keep pedaling through the next lap, but my power fell off significantly. I took the mustard handup at the start of lap 17, but the damage was already done. My leg muscles were convulsing like crazy. When the cramping finally settled down, I was able to put a little more power into the pedals, but found that my muscles were literally bruised from the severe cramping, and I just couldn’t pick it back up to 190W despite my best efforts. Christina had made up 1:30 on me during lap 16, and I knew it was only a matter of time until she passed me.
Sure enough, about 1/2 way through lap 17, she went flying by, looking as strong as ever, and despite my best efforts to keep her in sight, my legs just wouldn’t give it to me. I poured everything that I had into that last 1 1/2 laps, hoping that I’d still manage to cross the start/finish line with 18 minutes to spare so that I would have a chance of hammering out a 19th lap, but the best I could manage was 18 laps in 5:43:37. My fastest lap of the day had been ~17 minutes, and that was the “drafting” lap when I was 100% fresh, so I knew that there was just no way that I’d be able to complete another lap in the 16:23 remaining on the clock, and called it a day with 18 laps / 112 miles under my wheels. I finished in 2nd place, 1:14 down on Christina, who raced a super smart race, held a steady pace throughout, and 100% earned that epic Beast Mode Trophy!
Post Race Smiles w/ Teammate, Missy & The Vegan Athlete, Kyle!
After rolling through the finish line, I briefly congratulated Christina on her win, and then got a little assistance from Jamie dismounting my bike! Smiles and Hugs were shared by all, and it seemed like pretty much everyone that I chatted with post-race was pleased with their performance and the way that their race had played out :-).
As the race adrenaline started to fade, the chill settled back in, so I stealth changed into some warm, dry clothes, helped Jamie break down the tent and pack up the gear, and then headed over to grab a plate of post-race BBQ. The awards ceremony started shortly thereafter (it was held promptly after the race. . it was so nice not to have to sit around shivering for > an hour waiting on awards!)
I have to take a moment here and shout from the rooftops my appreciation, gratitude, and love for my amazing husband, Jamie Tracy – the backbone of #TeamTracyATX. Saturday was our 17th wedding anniversary, and he never even thought twice about sacrificing his entire day for the least romantic thing possible: crewing a bike race for me! LOL. In the weeks prior to the race, he ensured that all three of my bikes were overhauled by Austin-Tri Cyclist for the 2018 season – he scheduled all the service appointments, dropped the bikes off, picked them up, coordinated the upgrades with the ATC Mechanics, and cleaned and treated my Connex Chains with our special Speed Wax Paraffin blend. He did a thorough inventory of my nutrition and support gear, and picked up supplies and such as needed. On Race Day, he packed up the car, chauffeured me to the race, set up the canopy and all of the gear, tracked my nutrition and hydration carefully, communicating clearly with me when I needed what throughout the day. He gave perfect Nuun Hydration handups all day long, keeping me rolling through the full 6 hours with no stops needed. He texted me gaps each lap, as well as info on how my competition was looking, and late in the game as I started to fade, he shouted and texted words of encouragement, doing everything in his power to help will me to hold on to the lead through those final laps. When the race was over, he patiently helped me off my bike as my legs were TOAST, and then did all the work of packing up the gear, canopy, and car as I stuffed my face full of food and took selfies with friends. This man loves and supports me more than I feel I deserve, and I really don’t know how I got so lucky.
World’s BEST Crew Chief AND Hubby!
Women’s 6 Hour Podium:
1st: Christina Bonnington
2nd: Christie Tracy
3rd: Allison Atkinson
I also have to send a quick shout-out to Coach Extraordinaire Matt Seagrave, who apparently ran not just one, but TWO trail races on Saturday, yet somehow still managed to make the time to stalk my progress online and text me words of encouragement throughout my race. Talk about going above and beyond!
Looking back on my race, I am VERY happy to have averaged 190 Normalized Power for the duration of the race, and thrilled with the metrics improvements across the board from Pace Bend Ultra 2017 (my first Ultra Race). That said, I could and should have done a better job off holding a STEADY 190W from start to finish rather than starting out at 200+, and fading to the point that I could barely hold 160W by the finish.
While I didn’t meet my goal of 19 laps, I DID average 0.25 W/Kg more over the entirety of the race at only 3bpm higher avg HR, knocked ~6 minutes, 30 seconds off my time, averaging 0.3 mph faster in windier conditions, improved my average cadence from 85 to 91, and “lasted” a bit longer before my power started to fall off this year. I honestly feel that if I could have managed to avoid those horrid cramps, I could have finished the race much stronger, and held ~190W through to the finish. (coulda, shoulda, woulda, right?)
2017 Ride File
2018 Ride File
Okay, so now for Lessons Learned:
If I’m on the fence about which bike to race, TAKE THEM BOTH! I kicked myself SO HARD for leaving Wicked (TT Bike) at home once those winds kicked up 3-4 hours in!
Practice What I Preach! DON’T GO OUT TOO HARD! I already knew that holding 190W over ~6 hours would be pushing my limits, so I don’t know WHAT I was thinking when I decided to just settle in at 200W. . . I really think my cramping was much more due to over-exertion/pushing too hard than it was to any kind of nutritional, electrolyte, or hydration issues. IF I had dialed it back just a little more from the 2nd lap on, there is a good chance that I wouldn’t have cramped up to the extent that I did, and would have had more left in the tank to finish strong with, possibly resulting in holding on to that lead through the finish. . . .learned this one the hard way!
The Ultra Racing Community is AMAZING, and I love the fact that I had the opportunity to help cheer on many of my fellow racers throughout the day, and their encouraging words out there on the road helped pull me through some tough times too!
I can’t “win them all”, and I truly CAN be happy with meeting my performance goals, even if it doesn’t result in a top step on the podium! I’m genuinely thrilled with my ride (outside of the cramping).
Well, that’s THAT! Glad to have the 1st race of the year under my wheels, and very much looking forward to what 2018 has in store for #TeamTracyATX!
You see that look on my face right there? That is the look of accomplishment, success, confidence, and RELIEF!!
I think I was about 1 minute or so into my cool down after completing the last hard effort of my final Zwift Academy workout, and had so many thoughts & emotions swirling through my head…
“Holy Crap, I DID IT. I FRIGGIN NAILED THAT WORKOUT. HECK YEAH!!!”
“Wow, that’s it! The SemiFinals are over, and I successfully completed every single workout … yay!!”
“That hurt, but dang it, I did it! Why was I sooo scared of this one?!?”
“OMG OFFSEASON!!! YAAASSSS!!! “😁(Or at least a little break before training camp? 😂🤣)
“Oh man, the 21st is a week away… that’s a loooonnngg time… better find something to keep my mind occupied this week so I don’t lose my mind! 🙃”
Up with the roosters at 5:15am to knock out the final Zwift Academy SemiFinal Workout: Over/Unders (OOMPH!)
I had quite the cheering squad this morning, as my hubby AND my dogs got up early as well to help push me through this final tough session .
I want to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone involved with putting together & running this year’s Zwift Academy: Zwift, CANYON//SRAM RacingTrainSharp CyclingWahoo FitnessToday’s PlanRapha, and the AMAZING Group of supportive & inspiring women in the Zwift Academy FB Group…. It was such a great experience, and no matter the outcome as far as Finals go, I’m coming out of it a stronger, more well-rounded Rider with more confidence & an amazing support group!
Zwift Academy SemiFinal Road Ride 3 is in the books!
Started the day out with some Premium Fuel for my engine (Curried Coconut Butternut Squash Soup made with Bone Broth + Kale + Poached eggs), planned my route, & then drove over to the starting point. It’s a little weird for me to be doing my weekend rides so late in the day, but because Friday’s SF Road Ride had to be done after work, I’ve done my Sat & Sunday workouts in the afternoons to allow as much recovery as possible in between 😁.
The forecast called for a 20% chance of rain all day, & it started drizzling just as I parked my car… it didn’t rain hard… just enough to coat the streets in a slick sheen & bring all of the oil to the surface… lol… oh well. I have never minded riding in the rain, and today’s workout didn’t call for anything high torque like sprints that may cause wheel slippage, so I just made a mental note to be a bit cautious on the descents.
The 40 minute warmup was great, & then I started into my 5x 5 min seated hill climbs at 50-60 rpm. I’ve never really trained low cadence seated climbing before, so I wasn’t sure what my body would think of it, but turns out it REALLY liked it! The hill I chose (Big View) is super steep, but like most Austin climbs, it climbs for a short period, then levels out for a bit, then kicks up again. I knew this going in & feel like I managed it really well! After the first Kick, I just shifted into my big ring & maintained a steady cadence & power output until the next kick, where I shifted back into my small ring. The climbing felt comfortable, and, dare I say it?… Easy! Who knew ? Low cadence FTW!
My 5th climb was supposed to be max effort, but maintening the same 50-60rpm cadence. I was a little over ambitious at the start & WAY over geared, sending my cadence plummeting to 40 😳… Kickr spiral of death IRL! I gradually shifted down until my cadence was in the appropriate range, which took about a minute, and then continued to hammer my way up the hill. Despite my little goof-up, I still managed to snag the QOM from my good friend & the best climber in Austin, hands down, so SUPER STOKED on that! (It’s the little things… lol).
After my max effort climb, I recovered 5 min, and then held a comfortable 185-190W through the first 50 min of my hour long warm down, dropping it to an easy spin for the final 10 min to clear the lactic acid from my legs.
I finished with a huge grin on my face & feeling good about my effort!
Went straight from there to a CryoTherapy & Normatech Compression Therapy Session from my amazing sponsor CryoWellness… gotta get these Gams ready for my last workout on Tue (Over/Unders)! 😜
Fail to Plan or Plan to Fail! Good think I’m a Type A Planner!
Yesterday’s SF workout consisted of a warmup followed by 2 x 1 minute all out efforts with a strict 7 minutes recovery after each, Then 2.5 hours of Z2, pushing into Z3 on hills, followed immediately by 5 min max effort. Then a 20 min warm down, & finishing w 3 x all-out 15 sec sprints on the minute.
I LOVED this workout!! It both gave me the opportunity to showcase my strengths, AND forced me to work on my weakness… at the very end of the ride… ouchie! Ha!
My WU period was ~18 min bc it took me this long to get out of town & onto the farm roads. My 2x 1 minute efforts felt great! The 1st was up a slight hill, & I put out my 2nd best 1 min effort ever at 460W. (I would have been shocked to PR at this point given the level of fatigue from last w/e’s race that I’m currently training through, so was STOKED w this result!). My 2nd 1 min effort was slightly lower, but on flat terrain, & I was also pleased with it!
I started into the 2.5 hour block conservatively at ~170W, & gradually built to 185W over the first 10 minutes. I settled in & held a steady 185W for the next hour (pushing a bit harder into hills). After an hour, I upped it to ~190W and held this over the final hour+ through the end of the block.
Straight into the 5 min Max Effort, & it felt really great! I held a fairly steady 270-275 W for the duration, and feel that this was a good level, as I finished the 5 min completely & totally spent ☺️.
At the end of my 20 min warm down, I was in a less than ideal spot for the sprints (20+ mph winds out on the open farm roads all day had slowed my pace a bit from my projection), but I made the best of it! I totally messed up the 1st one… I launched strong and felt great, but when my Garmin started beeping the 5 second countdown to mark the end of the interval, my sprint fogged brain interpreted the first beep as the end of the interval & I shut it down at 10 seconds…. CRAP! Oh well, regroup & on to the next! The other two sprints were ok…. my #s weren’t stellar, but they WERE really good, & an improvement for me, so I was happy with them 😁. One step closer to bringing those fast twitch muscles out of hiding!! 🤣.
I finished the ZA portion of my ride at a gas station with an Icee, and then spun easy for another ~25 minutes back to my car.
This was my favorite TrainSharp Cycling workout yet! Hill repeats on deck for today
I finally got to knock out my 1st Outdoor Zwift Academy Semifinal workout tonight! I’ve been looking forward to this since Nov 1st when they were announced 😁. Lots of careful planning went into preparing for this one, and it still didn’t go quite perfectly, but I’m super happy with the results, all things considered 😜.
Of course I couldn’t resist wearing my Rapha Canyon/SRAM Racing Kit, bc I’m convinced that looking & feeling #sopro gives me at least an extra 2 Watts!
I tried to time it so that I’d finish my 15 minute “test” interval before dark, but didn’t get out of work quite early enough, so full dark hit just as I started it. The world’s best hubby/crew chief offered to SAG for me, & I was SO THANKFUL to have him behind me when I hit the unexpected mile of “TX Cobbles” over the final several minutes of my TT effort in the dark! He managed to play paparazzi too, & snapped a few pics during my ride .
I have another 2 Outdoor SemiFinal workouts lined up for Sat & Sun, and if they’re half as fun as this one, I’m in for a treat! 😁
I completed my 3rd ZA SF Kickr workout, VO2 Intermittent, Wednesday evening … OOMPH this one was another doozy!
The workout consisted of a WU, 5 min recovery, and then 5 min at just under FTP, immediately into 10x 15sec seated sprints/25sec rest, followed immediately by another 5 min at just under FTP. This was then repeated 2 more times, with 5 minutes of recovery in between.
I rolled into that first interval feeling great, but by the time I hit the seated sprints, my legs were already feeling quite heavy! I gave the sprints everything I had (OUCH!), and then settled back in for the 5 min post-sprint Threshold Interval… hung on for dear life & completed it successfully, but Dear God it nearly killed me! 🤣
It’s workouts like these that make me so very thankful that my body recovers quickly during rest intervals… I was feeling pretty good again by the time the 2nd & 3rd Interval started, but by the end of each sprint section, I was 1/2 second away from passing out & falling off my bike again!
As I’ve said before, sprinting is a weakness of mine that I’m working hard to improve upon… so a workout like this was about as far from my “wheelhouse “ as it gets, & despite my BEST efforts, I didn’t hit the RXd sprint # a single time, BUT I did a really good job with the pre AND post sprint Threshold Intervals (thank you engine! 🚂), and finished the workout feeling accomplished & like I’m one step closer to waking up those fast-twitch muscle fibers that I know are there SOMEWHERE! 😜
Thursday was a much needed rest day, & I have my first SemiFinal Outdoor workout on deck for tonight after work. I have to admit, I’m really looking forward to this one (15 min Test) 😁
Threshold Pulling SemiFinal (Kickr) workout completed last night after a loooonnnggg work day! (Isn’t it awesome how it typically takes a full week to get caught up after taking 2 days off?!? LOL)
I chose to do the Threshold Pulling workout because, while the intervals were at a higher # than the other remaining Kickr workouts, it also incorporated a lot of rest intervals, and I started this workout 72 hours to the minute after falling off my bike in exhaustion post 12 Hour TT, so I knew that my legs would likely “fill up” and want to stop turning over a bit more quickly than usual due to the fact that they weren’t quite 100% recovered yet. At the same time, I know that my legs recover VERY quickly from hard efforts during rest intervals, so I figured I’d have a better shot at hitting/holding the RXd #s in this workout than one of the others that required holding Threshold for a longer period of time between rest intervals.
This workout consisted of a 15 minute warm-up, a 5 minute recovery period, and then into the intervals: 2 x 4 min @ 112% FTP / 4 min Recovery 3 x 3 min @ 112% FTP / 3 min Recovery 4 x 2 min @ 112% FTP / 2 min Recovery 5 x 1 min @ 112% FTP / 1 min Recovery The intervals were followed by a 10 minute warm-down.
I’ve never done a workout in ERG mode before, but decided to do this one in ERG because I had trouble during the spin-ups in the previous workout, where I had to spin up, and then drop to 76W immediately after. Without ERG on, and with no brakes on the Kickr, it took a good bit of time for the Kickr to spin down to the point that I could pedal at 76W. I wanted to nail the #s in this workout, so I figured I’d give ERG a shot. (Spoiler Alert: Bad Idea!)
A little more info about my Kickr: it’s reading ~14-15W lower than all of my other Power Meters (PT hubs and C1 Crank Meter) – this normally wouldn’t be all that much of a problem, but when using ERG mode, and holding me at 285W, which is 112% of my FTP, it was ACTUALLY holding me at what my body perceived as ~300-305W (~120%), based on the meters that I usually use, and that my FTP was calculated on. . . . couple that with the fact that my legs weren’t fully recovered. . . yeah, I most certainly “got my money’s worth” out of this workout! lol
My legs felt surprisingly good/nimble during the warmup period, and I was feeling very positive about my ability to nail the #s. About 3 seconds before the start of the 1st 4 min interval, I increased my cadence to ~110 to prepare for the resistance to kick in. ERG kicked in, and I continued to spin at 100+ rpm for the duration of the first 4 minute interval, but my legs were screaming at me by the end of it. . and I was 1 interval into 14 – YIKES!
I recovered quickly from the first interval during the 4 min recovery, and then launched into the 2nd 4 minute interval feeling good. Despite my best efforts to keep my cadence 100+ though, it started to drift about half-way through, and 2:20 in, I hit the “breaking point” where ERG mode threw on so much resistance due to my dropping cadence that I began to really struggle to turn the pedals over. I stood up and mashed for the final minute of this interval, and managed to hit my #s, but my cadence had faded over the final minute of the interval from 100+ to ~50RPM. I knew that I’d have to do a better job of keeping it up, because my legs would not be able to continue mashing that big of a gear for all of the remaining intervals.
I faded a bit ~ 2 min into the 1st 3 minute interval when I went to stand and didn’t stand fast enough, so the ERG brought my pedals to a grinding halt and I couldn’t get my cadence back up over 35 RPM for the final 30 seconds. . .can you say OUCH!!? LOL
After that though, I did a good job of hitting all of my #s for the remaining intervals despite a dropping cadence and lots of “mashing” throughout the final 30-60 sec of each of the 3 & 2 minute intervals.
I felt that my legs recovered quickly during each recovery session, even as the recovery period decreased, so that was a relief!
I actually really enjoyed the final 5 x 1 minute intervals! I found that I could easily keep my cadence up over 100RPM for this amount of time, so I never got “bogged down”, and therefore the 1 minute rest periods allowed me plenty of time to recover/prepare for the next one, and I nailed these flawlessly and felt that I could have done more 🙂
Summary: This was a really great workout, and one that I think I would have enjoyed even more, had I taken it on a little more recovered, and out of ERG mode. I earned 7/7 stars, so THAT was a huge relief!
For those of you out there who, like me, don’t have a lot of experience using ERG mode and/or prefer to generate your high power output through spinning at 95+ RPM rather than standing/mashing, I’d recommend turning ERG off during this one 😉
VO2 Intermittent SemiFinal Workout (Kickr) on deck for tonight after work! 🙂
This pic is of me attempting to stand up after practically falling off my bike after winning the 12 Hour World Time Trial Championship Race…. let’s just say I’m glad that it wasn’t on video!!
As promised, here’s a quick update on my Zwift Academy SemiFinal progress 😁.
The timing of the SemiFinals wasn’t ideal for me due to some previously scheduled racing commitments, but I sure as heck wasn’t going to let that stop me from participating!
I was signed up to Race the 12 Hour World Time Trial Championships on 11/04, which fell right in the middle of the 2 week Academy time frame. The race was in California, so my husband and I drove straight through (19 hours) on Sat 10/28, and rented a house for the week leading up to the race so that I could adjust to the time change, lack of humidity, and temps prior to race day. I work remotely (accounting) for an East Coast Company, so I was able to work my normal hours M-Th, and on PDT, that was 5am – 2pm. This meant early bed times but allowed a few beautiful afternoons for Taper rides & pre-riding the course. I took my Kickr with me, & knocked out the 2×12 min test SemiFinal workout on 11/01 so that I would only have to squeeze 6 in to the 2nd week. I recover very quickly from that type of effort, and felt fully recovered by race morning after taking it easy 11/02-03.
My coach flew in to help crew for me and we chatted strategy the day before the race. I really didn’t know the caliber of my competition, as I couldn’t just stalk their results on USAC or USAT because there was also a Rider from the UK & from Italy. We decided that I’d start out on the fast end of my 12 Hr effort level, while temps were cool, & he would monitor gaps. IF I built a decent gap over 2nd Place, he would step down my power gradually until I was holding the gap steady. The goal here was to do everything necessary to win, but nothing more, because we didn’t want to burn matches unnecessarily that I would need during my Zwift Academy Semi-Final workouts a few days later!
World’s. Best. Coach. 🙂
You can read my 12 Hr World Time Trial Championship Race report, posted earlier today, here! (spoiler alert. . . I’m a freaking World Champion!! Still can’t believe it!)
The next morning, Nov 5th, we left CA and drove the 19 hours back home to Austin, TX straight through.
We got home at 5:30am Mon morning, and I slept until noon, & then got up and started prioritizing recovery with a foam roll session, CryoTherapy & Normatech Compression at CryoWellness, and a Sports Massage from Austin Massage Company focusing primarily on Myofacial Release & loosening up My IT bands, glutes, hips, & quads.
Best Sports Massages in Austin at Austin Massage Company!
(#FilteredAF Photo b/c I looked like death warmed over after that 18 hour drive. . )
Got a good night’s sleep last night, and I’m back to the grind this morning! Working till 4, then planning to knock out my 2nd Kickr SemiFinal Workout: Threshold Pulling! Wish me luck! I’m also planning to do this one using the Kickr in ERG mode (I usually control the power myself through gearing & cadence), so it will be interesting to see how this goes!
