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Hello!
Note: Some of you already received a write-up about the time trial I did last week, but some have not, so I have included it in this email. I have again been getting questions about how I did in the road race and criterium, so if you are interested, read on :)
I hope that you are all having a great season. I cannot believe it is July already, but all that training and racing makes time fly :) Last week I raced in my age group at the USA Cycling Master Road Nationals in Louisville, KY. Good weather and moderate temperatures were the norm, and the race sites were excellent. Add to that the fact that my age group (Women 50-54) was the largest of any of the women's groups, and you know that the racing was good and fast.
It was a terrific week, all the way around. My big event is the time trial, and I arrived at last Monday's race feeling a mixture of confidence and nervousness. As I warmed up before the race I never knew which aspect was going to take over! Finally, it was my time to start, and with the temperatures in the low seventies and a huge headwind on the way back I knew that the conditions were ideal for me. All I had to do was dig as hard as possible for the entire 39 km.
And dig I did. OUCH! I watched my Power Tap religiously, keeping myself from overdoing it on the way out, and on the way back forcing myself to meet the numbers I knew that I needed to reach the podium. Riders were started every 30 seconds, and I was the second to last starter in my age group. As I raced I passed at least 6 (it is hard to count when you are hurting) women, so I had some confidence that I was doing well. Still, the trip back from the turnaround was every bit as hard as was predicted, as the wind had increased since our group had started. It felt like I was never going to get to the finish line.
At one KM to go I really poured it on, and it was a good thing that I had a good grip on the aero bars when I saw the finish line area come into view. A huge gust of wind almost knocked me off my bike, which pulled me out of the pain cave long enough to scare the heck out of me. Some more fierce pedaling, and I was across the finish line. As I tried to contain the contents of my stomach I pedaled easily for a cool down, listening to the announcer.
When the woman who started behind me crossed the finish line in fourth place it was announced that I had finished second. YES! I was so excited, beaten only by the great Ann Marie Miller, who just stomped us all. A silver medal! In fact, my time was good enough to make the top five in any of the younger age categories as well. Awards were great, photos were taken, and the next day I worked out the particulars in order to receive my Hammer Bucks :)
My road race was two days later. Lining up with 18 other women, I looked around at the field, knowing that the racing was going to be fast and furious. There were fresh legs (some women had not raced the time trial) ready and waiting to do battle for six laps on the technical 5 mile loop in Louisville's Cherokee Park. And it was fast from the gun, as we all swooped around the twisting downhills and battled it up the climbs. Ann Marie again dominated, especially with a vicious attack on a climb in the last lap which split the field. While I was next to her as she attacked my climbing legs suddenly took a vacation and I ended up in the second group on the road. As I tried to bridge up to the lead group of nine I was also pulling my entire group along with me. We were only feet away from the front group as they started their sprint to the line. Then my group started to come around me, which did NOT make me happy. I got up out of the saddle and sprinted like crazy, passing everyone who had ridden my wheel to that finish climb, to take tenth. I was so thrilled to win that field sprint so that I could take tenth in the race. A top ten had been my goal and I had succeeded.
The criterium was really interesting. The race site was on service roads on the infield at Churchill Downs! What an amazing place to be, with horses on the track practicing and then racing while we were practicing and then racing. The course featured four corners with a small chicane, and it was only a half mile in length. The racing that I watched the day before showed that breakaway attempts were never successful and that it was all about the sprint to the finish line. Maybe it would be different for me?
Our race started out fast and stayed that way. Ann Marie was at the front and made sure that we were all suffering -- a lot. There were attacks, which were always covered, but many of the field tried anyway. I was one of those who tried to get away, putting in two very painful attacks, which got me a momentary gap both times. Of course, on such a short course you were cornering all the time, so it was not very long at all before the field was back on my wheel again, and I would filter toward the back to recover for the final sprint.
I had my line and game plan all set for the finish. However, so did everyone else! With just over a lap to go the pace picked up even more and it was a miracle to even stick on to the group. As I came around the corner I sprinted like crazy, finishing with the group, but out of medal contention or even the top ten. Still, I had ridden the fastest short-lap crit I'd ever been in, and really felt like I had given it everything I could.
So now I am back home and back to work. Things are calm as I sit in this office chair, sipping on some HEED. All in all, it was a wonderful Nationals for me. The venues were great, and I came home with a medal! My season is not over yet, though. I get to switch to the mountain bike now. This weekend I will be racing the East Coast NORBA National at Windham, NY, and the following week it will be Mountain Bike National Championships at Mt. Snow. Stay tuned for the results!
Margaret Thompson
Team Hammer Nutrition
USA Cycling Licensed Level 1 Coach
Margaret Thompson Cycling Coaching Services
www.MargaretThompsonCycling.com
315-796-1054
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