John Bryan CX Race

We got to the race with plenty of time for me to ride the course. I was so glad. I had watched some videos of last years race so I knew it was flat and fast. I did a warm up lap. When I went through the sandpit, a bunch of sand got in my chain catcher, and that made for a noisy bike.

The course was dry, hardly any mud. A few slight slick spots where I saw one girl go down, but that's about it. Mostly flat with some tight turns, a little bit of singletrack, pavement, gravel, two sand pits, one set of barriers, and long stretches on grass.

The cat 3/4 open women and 3/4 master 35+ lined up, maybe 25 total. Some of the girls are starting to (GASP!) actually speak to me now. We started on a long stretch of pavement going uphill.

The whistle blew and we were off.

The same two girls who always win were GONE. Poof! I stayed middle of the pack and kept telling myself I'd catch them when they got tired on the 3rd lap. Haha! Whatta joke!




I made it through the sand pit and then came around to go through the second one. The sandpit had a tight turn which made it hard to ride. I went down right after this picture was taken. I landed on my right side but got right back up. The only problem - I don't jump on the bike from the right so I looked like a total retard getting back on.



I was chasing that chick in blue the entire race. I caught her on the second lap but on the third lap she passed me back.



I went down a second time but didn't let anyone pass me. I ran with my bike and jumped on and just kept pedaling.




Both chicks in blue passed me about 500 yard from the finish line. I didn't have anything left in me. I didn't even realize when I passed the finish line and I stupidly thought I had to keep going. I went through the sand pit and then this guy says "You're done".

And I said "Oh, did I finish?"

He was like "Yea, you were 6th".





It was a fun course. It was nothing like any of the 3 previous CX courses I raced because it was dry, flat, and there was hardly any running involved. The girl who won cat 3/4 35+ won the race overall and is the state champion.

I gotta a lot to learn about cyclocross.

One last thing. Somehow, I got an invite to be on Team Kenda. It's a huge opportunity. I have been thinking about it a lot. They aren't even taking anymore athletes in for 2010 but the coach offered me a spot. It's a successful team too. What to do, what to do.

Saturday night

I have the night off.

I never have Saturday nights off.

Dominic is bartending tonight. I hate being around drunk people, but I guess I'll go have dinner there.

*************

It's 20 minutes later and I think I am staying in. I am a fucking hermit these days unless it involves an outdoor activity or race. The thought of going to a loud bar or restaurant makes my stomach hurt.

It's funny. A friend of mine, from back in the day (do people even say that anymore?) is in town. She's been partying it up. She's on my Facebook page and she's been posting all these pictures of bars we hung out in years ago.

I have a chance to see her if I go to a bar. A friend of ours, from back in the day, owns said bar.

And I don't want to go.

Call me lame. I don't care.

I was going to sit here and try to explain myself, but I figured what the fuck, I don't have to explain myself.

Anyways, I am fucking racing tomorrow! I have to be up at 6am! It's a good excuse to NOT go hang out in some bar.

Thanksgiving Day 10K

*** UPDATED

This race reports sounds like I have a terrible attitude. I really don't!
My Facebook status:

I am seriously blessed. I have a healthy body that allows me to train. I have the DRIVE and DETERMINATION to race. My boyfriend is my best friend and life partner. My Mom is healthy. My dogs are healthy. I have a JOB!! Life is good.

************************************************************************

Photo by Amanda - THANKS!



Past results:

2004 1:04 10:25 pace
2005 1:02 10:06 pace
2006 1:05 10:36 pace (ran Ari with me that year)
2007 59:18 9:33 pace (fucked up ITB)
2008 55:38 8:58 pace

2009 56:39 9:08 pace

Top ten reasons I did not PR my 10k this year.

1. 17,000 people - mass start makes it impossible to run fast.
2. OMG, the fucking walkers. And the strollers.
3. An 87 mile bike ride 4 days prior.
4. I ate too many cookies yesterday and had to shit 3xs before starting the race, and NEEDED to shit during the race but didn't stop.
5. Have done speedwork 2xs in the last 6 months.
6. I am lazy and slow.
7. I am a sucky runner.
8. I slowed down enough to take a safety pin off my race bib, use the pin to reset my MP3 player, and pin my race bib back on. I needed music those last 3 miles dammit.
9. The hills.
10. I hate running.

I sucked today. I place the blame on all of these things, but the main thing is - I suck at running. I hate hate hate running fast. It hurts so bad. A CX race hurts worse but I *LOVE* hurting on my bike. Fuck running. UGH.

This was the 100th year of the Thanksgiving day 10K. So naturally more people signed up. Last year 11,000 people signed up. This year, 17,000 signed up. The start is ridiculous. It takes a good 5 minutes to get to the starting line. Then you start to run, and you want to run all balls out, but you can't because you are still packed in like sardines! I hate this!

I got to mile 1 in 8:49 and that was slower than last year. That didn't give me much hope to PR. I just tried to run faster and keep a steady pace. There are some people who go all balls out for 3 miles and walk the rest. I can't stand that shit either. By mile 2 I was still on an 8:50 pace and then at mile 3 my MP3 player just stopped.

I knew it needed to be reset. It takes a safety pin to reset it. I had 4 of them on my race bib. So, since I am a wuss and can't run a race without music, I slowed down enough to unpin the safety pin from my race bib, reset my MP3 player, and pin the bib back on. That was a stupid ass move, but I couldn't stand the thought of trying to keep that pace w/o music blaring in my ears.

Onto miles 4, 5, and then I see Amanda snapping a picture of me and I started wondering how long she had been finished (crazy fast, finished 42:19). I crossed the finish line and was really disappointed with my time. An entire minute slower than last year. And then I started thinking about all the reasons I sucked so bad. So I listed them here.

I am still happy to race, thankful for my strong legs that allow me to train. Some people don't have that blessing. I need to take a moment to appreciate all I have in life. I hope you do too.

I hope you all have a great holiday!

T-Day plans and stuff

I swam today. It felt great to be in the pool. I love to swim. Love it. I am not super fast or anything, but my form is good, I feel good, and it feels natural. I can easily swim a length underwater. Today I swam some with fins. Sandi swam with me. It was fun. We got to chit chatting a lot. After swimming we sat in the sauna and then the steamroom. Ahhh. A nice day.

I remember during IM training, a swim was "just a swim", so it was an easy day, a recovery day. Now a swim is my workout. And a chance to give my legs a break.

Tomorrow I am going practice 'cross at Kings. I am racing this Sunday. I can't wait. Sadly I think it may be my last race. I was going to go down to Louisville on the 6th but now Dominic has to work. I may make the trip alone, we'll see.

What are you all doing for Thanksgiving? My plans are to run a 10K and PR. I have to beat 55:38 which is an 8:58 pace. It's doubtful. That night, I am working 3p-10p from home and Dominic is going to cook a small turkey. Nothing fancy.

I can't stand the holidays. I am a gigantic scrooge. I hate the consumerism and the SPEND! SPEND! SPEND! It all just makes me sick. I do not get into the spirit. I spent my childhood being told I didn't celebrate Christmas so it's never been an important day to me. I am glad I work the holidays now.

Dominic usually loves Christmas. He hasn't been as excited about the holidays this year. He is really missing Bruno, who was a Christmas puppy. Fausto continues to put a smile on his face but he misses the shit out of Bruno. It sucks.

I am off to take a hot bath now. I hope you have a great holiday and get to eat some good food.

Finally a long ride

I had asked Amanda to do one more long ride with me after she got back from Worlds. Of course she was down with it. It worked out so that we could do it today, so we met down on Eastern and headed to Augusta KY. It's almost 45 miles to the ferry and then we cross over into KY and ride back down route 8 for a total of 90 miles.

I have had many 40 mile rides since IMKY and a couple 50 mile rides but that's it. I knew this was going to hurt, but didn't know how much.

The headwind kicked in about 25 miles into the ride and all of the sudden it seemed like we were going continuously uphill. Though we were on flats, the headwind was kicking my ass. I couldn't pedal over 14mph at some parts and my ass was killing me.

I like wearing a cycling cap under my helmet a lot. Super comfy.



Amanda hasn't slowed down much since Worlds ITU so she's in way better shape than me. I could hang on her wheel for a few and then the gap would come and she'd be way ahead. She'd look back and then slow down to wait for me.




It took us 2:37 to get to the ferry in Augusta which was a 16.1 average speed. Told ya I was slow ya'll.

I felt better once we got to the gas station in Augusta and had some food. Crackers with peanut butter and string cheese for me and Amanda had tuna.



The ride back to Newport was fun and I felt a lot better. My legs/ass/shoulders had adjusted to the bike and I wasn't hurting too bad. About 25 miles away from the car Amanda see's a rabbit (a cyclist she wants to pass) and in my head I was like oh no, she's going to want to chase him. And I was right. I did my best but we didn't catch him.

I had to stop for Starbursts (craving sugar!) at a gas station 10 miles from the car. Me and Amanda had on matching socks.



So once we got back to Newport, we rode to the bridge where I took off across it, and Amanda went home. We got in 87.5 miles. Averaged 16.2 or something. It was a great ride and I am glad we did it.