3 posts tagged “sequim”

Getting close to winning is almost worth more than winning when it comes to being motivated. For a brief moment racing Cat 3 at Sequim last week, I had a real gap on the field -- breaking free with about 2 miles to go, crossing the 200 meter mark in first place, only to see about 10 guys pass me by in the final 100 meters of the 60 mile race. It was as close as I've come to winning and I probably altered the outcome of the race.

One of my teammates -- Alex -- earned 5th place and later said something like that was "the only way to beat that guy" -- Venable from the Carter team, seen by many as the strongest man in the race. It was Venable, who 600 meters out, started his sprint to catch me and also pulled much of the pack with him. It was a do or die effort for him and by the time he caught me he was too tired to fend off the handful of guys around him including my teammate.

After the race my teammates all come up to congratulate me. It was probably the first time I made a recognizable impact on a race. Getting close to winning is relative of course. Many riders lament over losing a race by half a bike length. I wasn't nearly that close but it felt like it to me.

So even getting close has led me to ask what else I can do to narrow the gap on guys like Venable. There's always the option of throwing more money at the challenge. Yesterday, I turned to none other than Lance Armstrong's coach Chris Carmichael. Chris was incredibly personable and motivating -- for a $20 DVD:) Still, the video workouts are right on the money and I need that kind of structure to do the interval workouts. There's some pain and hopefully a sliver of gain.

Then there's the issue of diet. Not exactly my strong suit being an ice cream lover and all that. But this was what I needed to get more serious. At least for now, no ice cream, very limited alcohol, no bread, no egg mcmuffins, etc. I do have a diet that's worked before -- one full of grains like Quinoa, steamed vegetables, tofu products, lentil soup -- all that good stuff.

But I have limits on the amount of money I can throw at this. I started talking to a nutritionist who told me if I really want to lose weight fast in a month, I should sign on to a full meal delivery plan customized to my requirements. But at a cost of $40 a day, I need to reserve this as a last resort:)

One of the mental challenges here is being able to amp up the effort and keep expectations in check. I have to be able to throw everything at this but still be content if it amounts to little or nothing at all. At least I'm having a go. And if I can help get my teammates over the line to win or place then that would be victory. 

This year I found a novel way to adjust to daylight savings time: try to catch the first ferry from Edmond to Kingston. I didn't quite make the 6.25 and had to settle for the 7,10. The reason for the madness was to get out to Sequim on the Olympic Peniinsual where our Garage Racing team hosted a road race.

Now I'm too tired to write much of a blog entry tonight. So just the facts: for the second week in a row I felt strong in a 60 mile race in the Cat 3 division of 50 plus riders. And in the last lap I took a few pulls on the front. I'm still a little hesitant for the argybargy of mosh pit finishes so I ended up in the main pack of riders. But what means the most are teammates congratulating me after the race and saying I looked "much stronger than last year." At this level, I'm basically riding for my teammates -- trying to help them if it comes down to a sprint finish. If I can get in a break with some of them in future races, I'll be helping even more.

The afternoon took on a slightly different pace as I took my official duties as driver of the follow car for the Womens Cat 1,2,3 race. Kinda funny to ride 5 laps of a course and then drive 4 laps. The best part of this job was being able to say on the race radio "10-4" and "Copy that." It was like an episode of 24 out there without the action sequences and ridiculous timelines. Still, I stopped short of saying "affirmative" when answering a direct yes/no question.

This is turning out to be a busy time of year as work heats up, the race season begins, and I'm hoping to do more in the community. I promise to blog on topics other than cycling;). Racing is enormously challenging and there's nothing quite like it to get the mind off work and other pursuits. I'm ready to race every weekend!

3/11/07

Cycling's biggest fan, Lucy, made it to the Tour de Dung where she was roadside with the crowd as riders started their races and whizzed by. Here she is, clapping, jumping up and down, and running to get the best view. Finally on the way home, Lucy was wiped out as I traversed the windswept terrain that is the Olympic Penninsula. What I liked best about the trip were the topics Lucy brought up as we set sail Saturday night, like what color is the hotel going to be, and what color will the beds be. I guessed the hotel would be blue; Lucy guessed orange and it was much closer to orange than blue.

We were there as part of the Garage Racing team's sponsorship of the Tour de Dung, a three race series that resumes next Sunday and the week after. Although we were there to work, there were plenty of teammates swarming the registration desk so after helping set up Lucy and I went to the grocery store to pick up  the 40 box lunches already made and ready to go. Then we handed them out to our teammates and the USA Cycling race officials. Earlier, I helped coordinate a hospital run for one of the women who fell in a nasty crash. Looks like she broke her collar bone but will otherwise be okay. There were 2 crashes in the Cat 4 race, surprise, surprise;).

Overall, though, the race was a big success with good turnout and decent weather -- all while most of Western Washington was in a downpour. When we tire of the weather we don't need to move to California; just go to Sequim!