I got there at 5:20-ish am. Yeah. I woke up when it was nighttime. Who does that!? I didn't race until 8:05am, which meant I didn't get on the trainer until 7:30 or so, but I got there early to help Gene from Time Your Race, who did all of the registration and made it easy for racers and volunteers. No, really, this man works magic or something!
We set up, got a rush of racers registering, and kept things moving along and smoothly. We didn't get many cranky early-morning racers, which was good! I left the registration tent around 7am or so to change and warm-up. I went by the medic's tent, which is where my coach was since he was one of the medics at the race, and warmed up. My warm-up was plain crap. I felt tired, my legs felt like lead, and I wasn't really able to get my heart rate all that high even when I tried. Wah wah wah add some more whining. Awesome, only not. Looking at the women who were going to race with me, I figured I would get dropped about mid-race.
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| Copyright 2012 Alex Chiu Photography. . http://acaurora.smugmug.com |
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| Copyright 2012 Alex Chiu Photography. http://acaurora.smugmug.com |
I was in the top 5 for a few laps. We kept going a bit, then I decided I wanted to play a little and attacked on the little hill we had. I got away for a bit but this wasn't a course where I would be able to solo breakaway for a long time without help, so I slowed down on the backside and tried to get on a wheel. We heard the prime bell and we ramped up the pace. $50? Okay! A Rio Strada girl and I sprinted for it, but I had sprinted too late and she got it. Kept on going, stayed in the top 3 or so and sometimes in the front. Another prime bell. Sprinted for it. Got it. $20. First time I've ever gotten $20 for a prime! After that prime I decided that I wanted to save some of my sprint for the end, so I didn't try for the last 2 primes. My coach was on the side hollering at me some strategies because, let's face it, I have no clue. For most of the time I tried to get on someone's wheel. I was able to do so in the corners by strategizing where I take my turn. Most of the girls kept taking the same lines, so I was pretty confident that they would keep the same lines throughout the race. I took some turns wide while some girls took them somewhat sharp, they would lose the wheel they were following, and oh hey! Look at that, the wheel they lost is now mine.
I somehow ended up in the front (I need to learn some patience) and one of my LeadOut Racing teammates, Kevin, told me to settle down a bit. Did the whole wide turn thing, heard my other teammate Matt hollering some strategy as well, then heard my coach. Got a wheel and kept about 4th or 5th wheel in the group. Coach said to stay in that spot (at least that's what I heard while my heart was trying to come out of my ears).
A Red Peloton girl and I broke away for a little and I told her, "Hey. Five second pulls. Let's go!"
"This is racing. There are no rules baby!" She responded. Wait what? Then she comes next to me and says, "I just realized what you said." We were cracking up... or at least as much as you can while you're at race pace.
We heard the last lap bell ring and we ramped up the pace. I was able to keep up with the surges, which surprised me and made me happy. Since my legs had that weird pain/knot/ihateyouwtf feeling, I haven't been able to keep up, but I did. I kept patient around the last lap. A Rio Strada girl took a wheel I was following, which put me fourth in the group. Came into the last turn, sharp, pedaled, sprinted. I was able to sprint the best I have since my injuries. I know that one of the Rio Strada girls and I threw the bike at the sprint since we were close, another Rio Strada girl won (the one who was first around the corner) and Tibco was in there as well. At the end of the race I figured I was 4th or 5th. Ugh. Another one of those spots. Whatever.
We went to the debriefing by our mentor, who was very happy with our race. She said we kept it safe and fast and that we took our lines well. Some of the girls came up to me and said I was strong and thanked me for a good race. Cool!
I went to talk to my coach, who seemed happy with how I rode. He gave me lots of feedback. I was happy that I was pain free and that I was able to sprint, but not happy that I got another 4th or 5th place. Oh well. I went to get my $20. One of my friends, Natalie, came to watch me race so I talked to her for a bit too. I've never had a friend go to a race just to see me race, take pictures, and cheer, so I was super stoked that she went to the race! Thanks again, Natalie!
Back to the registration tent I went, where I was stoked about my $20 and went to cool down because my legs were shaky and I felt like I was going to puke. Oh good! At least I know I tried, right? Pfft. I cooled down a bit and people were asking me what my results were. I told them I didn't know and that I was waiting for Gene to finish with results, to which he then walked up to us and said, "Third." I didn't believe him because he had his Gene smirk but nope, there it was, 3rd!
So I told my coach, who also thought I got 4th or 5th due to the angle he was in. He looked as happy as I was! Woohoo! I didn't shame my coach out there (haha!). I then went back to the registration tent and as I was walking, the Red Peloton girl said, "Hey Kasea! 5 second pulls."
"There are no rules in racing, baby!" I replied to her. Good times for us.
I went back, drank some water, and chatted did some registration stuff. Then they had podiums and holy crap, I was on it! I was pretty happy with that... Hell, I still am!
The rest of the day went well. Not many crashes, registration went smoothly (for the most part), I was super tired, and we were all hungry. As Gene put it, "I'm running on muffins and coke!" I was able to watch some friends race, some wins and more podiums for them, which is awesome! I went on a break to watch the last half of the P/1/2 race and hung out with some old Team Revolutions teammates and my coach, where he talked to me a bit more about my training, which I'm excited about! Watched the end of the race, said my good-byes and thanked my coach, and went to tear down registration. After everything was done, Gene treated Jessica (another awesome registration girl) and me for some Thai food.
From what Strava says, I was able to get my sprint up to 30.7mph, almost got my heart to explode (199 bpm), and had a pretty good race average. It's a bit lower because I forgot to stop my Garmin after the race so it includes the "cool down" lap. Whatever, man.
It was a good race! I got on the podium, I was pain free, I won some cool stuff and $20, and I got some upgrade points! Now to repeat this so I can become a CAT 3 soon...
Thank you Folsom Bike for putting this on, and thanks LeadOut Racing for providing muscle, man/woman power, and registration people to make it all happen!
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| Copyright 2012 Alex Chiu Photography. http://acaurora.smugmug.com |
A Red Peloton girl and I broke away for a little and I told her, "Hey. Five second pulls. Let's go!"
"This is racing. There are no rules baby!" She responded. Wait what? Then she comes next to me and says, "I just realized what you said." We were cracking up... or at least as much as you can while you're at race pace.
We heard the last lap bell ring and we ramped up the pace. I was able to keep up with the surges, which surprised me and made me happy. Since my legs had that weird pain/knot/ihateyouwtf feeling, I haven't been able to keep up, but I did. I kept patient around the last lap. A Rio Strada girl took a wheel I was following, which put me fourth in the group. Came into the last turn, sharp, pedaled, sprinted. I was able to sprint the best I have since my injuries. I know that one of the Rio Strada girls and I threw the bike at the sprint since we were close, another Rio Strada girl won (the one who was first around the corner) and Tibco was in there as well. At the end of the race I figured I was 4th or 5th. Ugh. Another one of those spots. Whatever.
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| Picture that my friend, Natalie, took! |
I went to talk to my coach, who seemed happy with how I rode. He gave me lots of feedback. I was happy that I was pain free and that I was able to sprint, but not happy that I got another 4th or 5th place. Oh well. I went to get my $20. One of my friends, Natalie, came to watch me race so I talked to her for a bit too. I've never had a friend go to a race just to see me race, take pictures, and cheer, so I was super stoked that she went to the race! Thanks again, Natalie!
Back to the registration tent I went, where I was stoked about my $20 and went to cool down because my legs were shaky and I felt like I was going to puke. Oh good! At least I know I tried, right? Pfft. I cooled down a bit and people were asking me what my results were. I told them I didn't know and that I was waiting for Gene to finish with results, to which he then walked up to us and said, "Third." I didn't believe him because he had his Gene smirk but nope, there it was, 3rd!
So I told my coach, who also thought I got 4th or 5th due to the angle he was in. He looked as happy as I was! Woohoo! I didn't shame my coach out there (haha!). I then went back to the registration tent and as I was walking, the Red Peloton girl said, "Hey Kasea! 5 second pulls."
"There are no rules in racing, baby!" I replied to her. Good times for us.
I went back, drank some water, and chatted did some registration stuff. Then they had podiums and holy crap, I was on it! I was pretty happy with that... Hell, I still am!
The rest of the day went well. Not many crashes, registration went smoothly (for the most part), I was super tired, and we were all hungry. As Gene put it, "I'm running on muffins and coke!" I was able to watch some friends race, some wins and more podiums for them, which is awesome! I went on a break to watch the last half of the P/1/2 race and hung out with some old Team Revolutions teammates and my coach, where he talked to me a bit more about my training, which I'm excited about! Watched the end of the race, said my good-byes and thanked my coach, and went to tear down registration. After everything was done, Gene treated Jessica (another awesome registration girl) and me for some Thai food.
From what Strava says, I was able to get my sprint up to 30.7mph, almost got my heart to explode (199 bpm), and had a pretty good race average. It's a bit lower because I forgot to stop my Garmin after the race so it includes the "cool down" lap. Whatever, man.
It was a good race! I got on the podium, I was pain free, I won some cool stuff and $20, and I got some upgrade points! Now to repeat this so I can become a CAT 3 soon...
Thank you Folsom Bike for putting this on, and thanks LeadOut Racing for providing muscle, man/woman power, and registration people to make it all happen!
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