I am not even sure where to start exactly. Coach says I need to go out for a 1-hour
recovery ride today, but I am procrastinating that a bit. I hate to use the term recovery being
that I continuously make fun of Adrienne for her ample amount of “Active
Recovery” STRAVA uploads. I am of
course going to do what coach says, regardless of my being lazy. She did just lead me to my first Elite
State Championship Title. Oops I
guess I gave away the ending. Spoiler Alert. Little late now.
It’s time to give all the details. I have a feeling this may be a long one because my legs are
pretty sore and my saddle sores hurt, so I am not exactly in a hurry to stop
typing and get outdoors today. I
spent enough time in the hot sun the past 2 days. Thankfully Keith purchased some skin repair gel that will hopefully ease the saddle
discomfort. It smells a little
funny, but lets hope it does the trick.
I forgot you probably clicked on this link to read about Track Championships
and not my saddle sore ass. Moving
on. California State Track Championship details.........
FRIDAY
POINTS
Friday night the only event I registered for was the 54 lap
Points Race. I didn’t want to
bother contesting races that I had no shot at. I knew it was going to be a long 2 days and I needed to
focus on certain events.
Unfortunately after waking up at 5am and being on my feet seeing
patients for 10 hours Friday, my legs and mind were just not in the race. I was exhausted. My teammates and I didn’t even talk
tactics or goals. We were all
tired and Heather actually managed to get lost coming to the track (a place
where she has been hundreds of times).
There really was no point in a pre race chat because we generally
compete against each other at the track and throw tactics out the window. The race was fast and was packed with
some major talent. In the points
race the top 4 riders can earn 5/3/2/1 points every 6 laps. This was a little difficult for me to
keep track of because we often sprint every 5 laps, so before the race I had to
practice my multiples of 6. In my
head I was counting (6/12/18/24/30/36/42/48) and then backwards
(48/42/36/30/24/18/12/6). I
repeated that a few times to make sure I knew when to go. I was aggressive and attempted to
attack, but wasn’t going anywhere.
This tired me out and pushed me to the back of the race. I ended up pulling it together and
realized this race was not going to be mine for the night. My teammate Heather Ross was slowly
gaining points and sitting around 2nd or 3rd. I told her to just get on my wheel,
relax and come around me in hopes of getting her more points. I was at this point out of contention
and the least I could do was help out my teammate that just lent me a hella
nice bike. The plan was working
and I actually collected a few points myself during the leadouts. Shannon went out on an early attack and
collected a couple of the 5 point first place sprints. With about 12 to go I heard the
official say that Shannon was in 1st and Heather in 2nd. Heather and I couldn’t just sit back in
the pack, we had to continue to earn points. Often times a rider that is in a break for that long will
eventually get picked up by the group and be exhausted and out of point
contention for the remainder of the race.
We couldn’t risk losing the race to Metromint or Stevens bikes at that point
with 2 TIBCOII riders sitting in the top spots. The pack did eventually pick up Shannon, and Heather and I
continued to do what we do best.
At the end of the race it was official, Heather Ross State Points
Champion and Shannon 2nd.
I was not on the podium, but that didn’t matter to me at all. I was so fricking excited. I felt like I was a huge part of the
race and I felt great about my performance. We were all 3 smiling from ear to ear. I had never seen Shannon race so
aggressively and Heather was at her best.
I am so happy for them both.
Saturday
Saturday I was registered for 3 races; Individual Pursuit,
Team Pursuit and Scratch. Each
race was in a different time block, so I was going to be at the track for the
day. The thought of being there
all day made me tired, especially since I hadn’t left the track until around
10pm Friday night. Keith had put
up a damn good fight in the men’s points race. He and Rob Evans were tied for first with one sprint to
go. Robs teammate led him out to
the finish and Evans took the win with Keith 2nd. It’s crazy because 2nd is
such an awesome result, but when you miss that Bear Jersey by just an arms
length, its tough. Congratulations
gentlemen, it was an awesome race to watch! A definite nail biter.
To learn more about the men’s racing you will have to refer to Keith’s
Marc Pro Strava Blog (if he ever gets around to writing a post). http://marcpro-strava.com/
Individual Pursuit
I had completed my first IP at HVC in July and came in
second to National Track Omnium Champion aka Rockstar Beth Newell. Beth was not going to be racing states,
so I knew I had a good shot at the IP.
I had re-read the pointers that Michael Hernandez sent out just before
HVC. I read the breakdowns of the
start and the laps and looked at a few links and you-tube videos in
preparation. The time came and I
was up and at the start on the backstretch. I heard the 10 second beep and began to concentrate on my
breathing. I was so focused on my
breathing and in my own little world that I somehow managed to lose track of
the 5/4/3/2 beeps. I heard 1 and
rolled out for my team pursuit like I was doing a mass start race or something. I was ½ a lap in before I settled into
my saddle. I could hear Bess yell
out my splits. I remember that the
first 2 were 27.0 and some at the latter end got into the 28’s, but all in all
I was much more consistent then before.
I put up a good fight and finished 4:13.21. This was a bit faster then my 4:14.53 at HVC. It wasn’t good enough for the top spot
though. That went to superstar
Laurel Green. I’ll be taking a few
pointers from both her and Beth Newell at HWTPP practice.
Adrienne- I breathe hard and loud due to my bodies amazing hypercapnic buffering abilities!
McKayla Maroney may not be impressed with my silver, but ill take it.
Team Pursuit
A large group of us women have been training really hard
with the Hellyer Womens Team Pursuit Program (HWTPP) in an attempt to earn a
sponsored spot for elite nationals.
We had a good showing of teams for the event. Heather, Adrienne and I had practiced a bit on Thursday
morning just before the championship race to work out any bugs we may have
had. We hadn’t raced together in
competition, so we didn’t really have a baseline gauge. We based goals on our IP times and went
from there. We were a bit nervous
because some of the other teams had an overall stronger IP presence then we
did. The thing with TP is that
it’s not all about the strongest riders, but how you work together and how you
pace. Teammate Kerry Stivaletti showed
up to cheer us on slash help us out with our team pursuit pacing after
completing a grueling Dunnigan Hills RR in which she placed 7th in over 100
degree heat. We couldn’t have been
more thankful to have her there screaming out our splits. Her efforts and sacrifice did not go
unnoticed. She was apart of our
success in earning the 2012 Team Pursuit State Champion Title! We now have a good baseline time to
work with before nationals.
Mckayla Maroney is impressed with that.
SCRATCH
I was so tired I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it into
the evening for the Scratch race.
I mention to Heather, Adrienne and Korina that I wanted to go home and
they just said no, so I stayed.
Luckily I had my clean bottle with me at the track so I was able to just
bring one bottle and powders for recovery and electrolytes. Super easy to just take apart and rinse
before putting a different powder in.
I hate having to bring 5 bottles to a race full of different crap and I
had 3 races spread out through out the HOT day. The scratch race was 20 laps, nothing like the 54 we did the
night before in the Points race.
My goal was just to be done and get home. The race started and it was fun and fast. We actually dropped the true sprinters
that ALWAYS win in bunch sprint.
Adrienne was riding aggressively and picked up some money primes. She was a rockstar out there
considering she worked an overnight and hadn’t slept since she woke up Friday
morning. With 1 lap to go Korina
put in an attack and I jumped on her wheel. I wasn’t really sure what I was thinking at the moment
except for if I jump on this wheel I’ll be done faster and can go home. Heather jumped on mine and it was the 3
of us with a gap to the finish.
With less then a half lap to go I decided to come around Korina for some
reason. I am a natural
pursuitist/timetrialist so this fast smooth pace was my comfort zone. I pulled up to the pull lane so I had a
longer distance to the finish then she did in the sprinters lane. I was slowly gaining on her with
Heather on my wheel. Korina and I
screamed across the home stretch.
It wasn’t like a Serina William grunt, but a 3 year old girls
scream. Totally awesome! It went well with Korinas HOT PINK nail
polish that she claims she wears to cover up the bike grease under her nails!
Haha.
Thank You Clean Bottle!
We scream with elegance:)
We crossed the finish and I was the Champion this time, Heather 2nd and Korina 3rd!
I came home to this nicely drawn refrigerator art. Don't mind the bunny butt at the bottom, he is just to cute. We haven't been able to erase him since Easter. No we do not have out 2011 Christmas tree up.
And yes.... Mckayla Maroney was impressed!
Congratulations to all of the Elite Track State District
Champions!
Thank You
I also wanted to make sure I say a few thank you’s to the
many people who contributed to this weekend.
1) Metromint- Thank you so much for hosting the event. I thought our TIBCO Friday Night race
was a lot of work and I can only imagine how hard you all worked to put this 2
day multiple discipline event race on.
Everything was well done.
Thank You!
2) Womens Clinic- I would have never gotten on a track bike
if it weren’t for this program
3) HWTPP- Thank you Michael and Beth so much for putting
together this program. I never
would have even known what an IP or TP were with it.
4) Bike Inspectors/Mentors- Thank you Annabell, Bess and
Dave for inspecting and helping me with my gear and wheel changes.
5) Shade- Thanks Dave for the tent!
6) Heather Ross- The bike!
7) Teammates- you rock!
8) Thank you Felicia Gomez @ Pinnacle Training Systems. The combination of your experience and
educational background make you one of the best.
9) Sexy Mechanic Keith- Thank you so much for putting up
with me 24/7. I know I have kept
you busy with bike, wheel, bar and saddle changes in addition to everyday life.
I am sure I missed a few, but thank you!
Thanks for Reading
JenniferMarie (JayZ)
Apparently there were not enough medals at the end of the night. USA cycling will be sending my my 2nd gold.
Team Pursuit- Gold- State Champion
Scratch- Gold- State Champion
Individual Pursuit-Silver- First runner up
If Laurel Green tests positive for performance enhancing drugs I win by default! haha
