Race Report: DCCX (Day 1 W 3/4)

Quick race report before I forget everything!

DCCX is a big deal around here. It's a UCI C2 race, so it draws bigger names, like Katie Compton! For that reason, I expected the racing to be extra tough. And I was not wrong.

I arrived at 8 to watch teammates race, even though I wasn't racing until noon. After the beginner races finished, I got on the course to check it out. And I had no brakes. I could slow down a little bit, but I definitely couldn't stop. I'm still new to disc brakes. I wasn't sure what was wrong or how to fix it. I managed to do most of one easy loop of the course without dying, then headed back to our team tent to see if anyone on my team would have a fix. On the ride back, it occurred to me that I washed all my bikes on Thursday, so I probably got lube or soap or degreaser or something on the rotors. I was veeeeeery nervous about racing with essentially no brakes. Ninety percent of the course was just fine; I could scrub enough speed to take all the corners well and not wash out or crash. But there were a few steep drops where I couldn't get enough braking power to slow myself for a turn. I was borderline on starting the race.

Fortunately, my teammate Sean (top 10 in his race) knew to take off the brake pads (I didn't know how to do that) and hold them over an open flame to burn off any contaminants. We did that for the front and back brake pads (he even put off making his coffee to do this for me over his camp stove). And that solved the problem! I could stop again!

I had a feeling the 3/4 field would be tough, so my goal was to push as hard as I could, focus on clean turns and good line choice, and not sweat my placement. I started in the fourth or fifth row, but rode up the inside to get a halfway-decent spot going into the first turn. The first part of the course was leg-smashing, but my cornering was on-point. I felt pretty good about the number of women I passed early on.

The course was bumpy, with lots of holes and exposed roots. It was also very windy today, which dried the course out from the rain we got last night. By the time I raced, the course was dusty, only damp in one or two places. It's also a pretty long course. But it's interesting; there are so many different features that it was very engaging.

I mostly did great! My cornering was much better this week, helped along by lower tire pressure. I pushed hard (probably too hard at places) and played to my strengths, I think. Unfortunately, the mistakes that I did make were kind of catastrophic. Not broken collarbone catastrophic, but I probably lost 5-6 places total in the last 2 laps because of mistakes I made. At one point, I was coming down a hill at a good clip, hit a root, went airborne, and did not come down on my wheels. I came down on a side. It took me out at a place where momentum is really beneficial, too--right before the stairs. I was so shaken up after the crash that I couldn't get my leg back over the bike, and it took me several seconds to get going again. On that same lap, I took the wrong line on a steep-but-ride-able hill and had to unclip, then couldn't get clipped back in. That was right before the barriers, and so my rhythm was all wonky going into the barriers.

The most costly error, though, was on the my last lap. I had just re-passed three women, and got over the barriers clean. But when I went to get back on my bike, I turned my wheel and ended up in the tape. I was so stressed and tired and amped-up that I could not get my foot clipped in. Lost the three places I'd just gained, and never got them back. I was red-lined after that, and it took me most of the rest of the lap to get to where I could put power down again. By that point, it was too late to re-catch anyone. Meh.

I ended up 24th with three big bruises (wrist, knee, and ankle) and a series of puncture wounds on the back of my leg from where I whacked my calf on my chain ring. I think that happened when I hit the root and crashed. I wish I had a picture of that crash. It was probably ridiculous.

I'm going to go back and do the cat 4 and 3/4 race tomorrow. I'll try hard in the 4 race, but I plan to cruise the 3/4.

Until then!

Race Report: Schooley Mill CX

Photos by Kelley Dentry/Broken Spoke Photography

For this stop in the Super 8 Series, I decided to do both the women's 4 and the 3/4 races. I'd originally planned to stick with the 3/4 series, since there are no cumulative points for the 4 races, but at Hyattsville I realized that there are pros and cons to each. There are downsides to racing 2 races separated by only 3 hours, too. But I liked racing both, so I think I'll stick with that method.

I carpooled with a couple of ladies from the local cyclocross scene, one of whom was doing her first 'cross race ever (on a single-speed, no less)! One of my favorite parts about 'cross is the community that grows up around it. I was excited to get to connect with a few more women in the scene. Hurray for new racing buddies!

Women's Cat 4
The women's 4 and men's 5 beginner fields share the course for the first races of the day. That affords plenty of time for warming up on the course and working on the technical bits. It also means the grass hasn't been tacked down, the best lines haven't been ground in, and the course is wet with dew. It makes for extra challenges; like I said before, there are pros and cons.

Anyway, the course had lots of turns and some off-camber stretches and a couple of really gnarly off-camber turns. There were two sustained climbs, neither of which was too brutal, and a horse jump on the opposite side of the course from the normal barriers (Schooley Mill Park is an equestrian center, FYI). It wasn't like a steeplechase hurdle, which is what I envisioned when I heard about it; it was like half a dozen railroad ties hammered together into a rectangular block about two feet high and two feet wide. It took a big step to get over; I had to hop down and land on both feet, because my legs were too short to step down off of it.

I got a front-row call-up in the start grid because I signed up early (I think), and dug hard in the start to get the hole shot. I kept the lead through the first several turns before losing a spot to the eventual winner of the race. She pedaled past me like I wasn't even trying. So strong. Then I washed out in a corner and lost another spot or two before I could get going again. There were a few stretches where I got caught behind some traffic. I washed out several more times, including one where I also took out my teammate, Kim, who was trying to encourage me.

I was sitting in 7th position, including to a teammate who was observing the race, with two laps to go, and I had 5th and 6th in my sights. I washed out in another corner, though, and bled a few spots. I clawed a few back shortly thereafter, and had no idea where I was placed going into the last lap. I had two women in front of me that I was pretty sure I could catch, but mistakes on corners cost me time. I managed to pass one of them on the fast descent coming into the final few corners and climbs. I drilled it to the finish line so that she wouldn't pass me back. And that was good enough for 6th place.

Kim got 6th at Hyattsville and won pie, but there was no pie at this race. Sad face. Kim ended up 9th on the day, so we had two VWS ladies in the top 10!

Women's 3/4

After working so hard in my first race, my goal for the 3/4 race was to try to keep a hard but sustainable pace, work on smoothing out my lines and cornering technique, and have fun. Most notably, I was intent on getting one of the beer tickets that were placed around the barriers. Nobody was giving out beer tickets at 8:15.

I did not get a front-row starting position in the 3/4 race. Starting positions there are given out based on points accumulated in the series, and I have not accumulated many points. I think I was in the 4th row. I passed a lot of people in the start, though. At least, I think I did. I haven't watched the video from that race yet, so I'm not sure. I was intent on riding my own race anyway, so I settled in at what I thought was a sustainable (but hard) pace and focused on improving my line choice. I got a beer ticket at the barriers and a Kit Kat hand-up to the enjoyment of the spectators hanging out in the infield. I retained enough presence of mind to keep an eye out for the women's leader and an ear open for the sound of the lap bell. So I was ready when the leader came around me, and I knew then that I was on my last lap. I ended up 18th out of something like 26 riders, and I felt okay about that. I got what I wanted out of the race, and it's good experience to race with the 1/2/3s.

Notable results from my teammates: Beth got 3rd in the women's 3/4; Sean frickin' won his Masters 35+ 3/4/5 race and has 3rd overall in the series; and Erik (a.k.a. Mr. Podium) took a decisive win the Masters 45+ race and is leading the series!

If you'd like to watch my fabulous start and epic wipe-outs, here's the video from the cat 4 race. I'll work on getting the 3/4 race up soon, too.

Race Report: Hyattsville CX

I need a haircut. And a diet.
Image courtesy of Ben at Dominion Cycling Photography.

I was starting my race report for today's race at Schooley Mill CX when I realized that I never reported on Hyattsville CX! I'm sure you've all been checking your feeds hourly in hopes that I would post something--anything--describing my experience. So let me rectify my oversight, so you can all sleep well tonight.

I only signed up for the 3/4 women's combined race for two reasons: 1) There are no series points recorded in the women's 4 field for the Super 8 series, and for some reason I thought that I would get some series points; after racing in the 3/4 combined field, I have realized that I probably won't. 2) I'd originally thought that I would be in Ohio or Pennsylvania until the morning of, and I was much more confident about getting back to the DC metro in time for a noon race than an 8:15 race. Turns out that I didn't go to my cousin's wedding in Ohio after all; instead, I had to go back for an uncle's funeral the weekend before. I could have signed up for the women's 4 race the day-of, but chose to sleep in instead.

Hyattsville CX came a day after the DC metro had been smashed with rain. The course was very muddy, the highlight being a chicane that had turned into a mud pit. The mud was 3-4" deep, much faster to run than to ride. Other highlights of the course were a curb hop and a log that was half-buried at the top of a steep (but ride-able) hill.

I was seeded third or fourth row back. The woman in front of me had trouble clipping in and I got a poor start. Then I got caught up behind some ladies who were taking the steep (but ride-able) hills through the woods slowly, leading to someone in front of me falling over after coming to a sudden stop. So we got bottle-necked in the woods and had to run up the steep (but ride-able) hill. After that was a section of loose, thick gravel on a steep decline. It was okay to ride, but kind of sketchy. Riding it on that first lap involved dodging runners, which precluded taking the best line and slowed it down. There were some good power sections on the lap, where I tried to make up time. But the gap that built early on was too much for me to catch anything, and I probably wasn't strong enough to pull the leaders back, anyway. My legs lacked snap.

Other highlights include:

• Realizing that, while it may be faster to run through the mud than ride, it winded me so much that I chose to ride it instead. It wasn't faster during, but after I had more energy, and it became a place to attack.
• Falling FOR NO REASON AT ALL immediately after the mud pit on my last lap. I think my wheel might have gotten stuck in a rut while I was trying to accelerate, but it was a really stupid place to fall.
• Ignoring the hand-ups, in spite of the fact that I was sitting around 15th, because I wanted to take the race seriously. I totally regret that, now.
• Being unable to clip-in on the last lap because I run SPD pedals and they got clogged with mud.
• Falling into a guy who was standing just past the barriers when I tried to remount my bike and missed. Apparently, I was tired.
• Failing to pay attention to the lap counter board or the lap bell which I totally heard from the other side of the course and thinking I had one lap to go when I was, in fact, finished. Additionally, the lead woman in the 1/2/3 field had passed me. There were three sources of information telling me that I was on my last lap and I missed all of them. So I came screaming through the finish line, ready to lay it all on the line on the last lap, and people were yelling at me to stop. I was so mad. I kept asking my teammates, "Why didn't they tell us? Why didn't they tell us?" After I had food in me and was no longer on the edge of puking, I realized that I had those three indicators that my race was over and didn't pay attention to any of them.
• My teammate, Kim, got 6th in the women's 4 race and won a piece of pie! And my other teammate, Beth, got 6th in the women's 3/4 and also won a piece of pie! And my teammate, Eric (a.k.a. Mr. Podium) won his race and is the current series leader in the men's 45+.

So lessons learned. Starts in CX are super-important, duh. I should probably switch to something that sheds mud better, like Crank Brothers pedals or Speedplay Frog pedals. But I'll probably put it off, because I don't want to spend the money right now. And pay attention to what's going on in the races around you! You may be on your last lap!

Also, I'll do the beginner 4 fields as much as possible. I can be more competitive in those. I'll use the 3/4 races to practice my lines and technique. And to take hand-ups. Nobody gives hand-ups at 8:15 a.m.

I ended up 15 out of 24, and I didn't feel like I'd done my best. I was eager to redeem myself. And I think I did, this weekend. More on that tomorrow.

Spinning Workout: Race Warm-up

Hey guys! I have a new free cycling workout for you! You can download it here.

This workout is a little over 30 minutes long, created it for use on a trainer to warm up before a race. I find that I feel better prepared when I warm up on a stationary trainer, rather than riding around the race venue (I'll also ride the course at a crit or cross race, if I have a chance, but I try not to use that as my main warm-up). And some race locations don't allow on-road warm-ups, due to lack of space or because they're in high-traffic areas. I based the programming off of USA Cycling's warm up protocol. This workout will help motivate you and give you something to concentrate on while you're on the trainer!

I'm trying something a little different with the music, this time. All of the songs on this workout are copyright-free, created by independent artists. Here's a track list with links to find out more about each artist:

Trihardist Race Warm-up

RADIO RADIO - 10YRWAR (94 BPM)

Start That Fire - EWN and Whogaux (98 BPM)

Get Lost - Jeris (105 BPM)

I Dunno - grapes (91 BPM)

Energy - Elektronomia (128 BPM)

Road - Chuki Hip Hop (92 BPM)

I do this - Abstract (82 BPM)

Surface [Monstercat Release] - Aero Chord (85 BPM)

Strings - Chuki Hip Hop (101 BPM)

If you would like your own personalized warm-up with music that you choose, I'll customize this workout for you for the low, low cost of $5. Just send me an email to request it!

Don't forget to spin & smile!

This is one of my many free cycling workouts. If you'd like to see the other workouts, or purchase one of my dozens of paid workouts, you can find them here!

The winner of a free month of TrainerRoad is . . .

Leslie Preston!

Determined by blind drawing from a cycling cap, made possible by the small-ish number of entries (DC Rainmaker would never be able to draw names from a cap on his giveaways); that's the personal touch the dedicated Trihardist reader can expect!

Leslie, I'll get in touch to get you your free month! Everyone else, I'm currently working on a new audio workout--a 30-minute workout to use as a warm-up at races. I'll try to have that up by next Friday!

Until then, spin & smile!

Re-imagining Trihardist

View from a recent ride in Page County, Virginia.

I started this blog mostly because I wanted some cool cycling workouts that I could download and use in workouts that didn't have crappy music and coked-out instructors and didn't cost an arm and a leg. I couldn't find any, so I started making my own. They've been pretty popular over the years, but the whole idea has started to feel dated to me. There are lots of other (and better) options when it comes to structured, guided training for indoor cycling: there's Sufferfest, TrainerRoad, Zwift, Peloton (which seems to have the coked-out instructor vibe going), and plenty of workouts available for free on YouTube. In this crowded marketplace, I feel like my workouts lack utility. There are more and better options now.

This post isn't meant to be a pity party, though. Rather, it's to get feedback from you, my readers and listeners and clients, on what will be edifying for you. I've thought of going in a few different directions:

• I plan to make some free video workouts for distribution on YouTube, in the vein of what I've done before with my audio workouts. I'll also give the option of commissioning custom workouts with your choice of video, music, and programming. For example if you have race course footage that you'd really like to use to prepare, or need something to help motivate you through your toughest coach-assigned workouts, I could make a custom video for you.
• I'd like to do some product reviews, especially of women's kit. There are a few websites, mostly online cycling magazines, in that space, but they mostly seem to cover boutique companies that sell kit in Australia, Europe, and the UK. I haven't found as much that covers cool women's kit in the US. The tough part about getting this going is the high start-up cost. Nice kit is expensive!
• I will eventually use my yoga expertise to make some video classes for cyclists and runners. I think yoga is a great tool to improve performance for endurance athletes.
• I've considered doing a Cycling Maven style vlog (love that guy), but I have a hard time believing anyone thinks I'm interesting enough to want to watch me live life. And I don't like talking about myself. And I have trouble making eye contact with the camera. I suppose these are all things I could overcome, if I get an overwhelming response that says, "Yes, Jamie! We really want to hear about all the mundanities of your life!" Otherwise, I would rather do something more . . . useful (and that's not a dig at the Maven; that guy is awesome, and he has some super useful videos with tips for criterium racing). Besides, every Tom, Dick, and Harry (for some reason, it's mostly men who think that the internet will be interested in what they have to say) is starting a YouTube cycling vlog right now.

Those are the ideas that I have so far. I'll still have my audio workouts available, both the free and paid ones, and will still do custom workouts for anyone who wants them. I'll still do my race reports and general life updates. And I'll still call myself the Trihardist, even though I'm not doing triathlons right now. It's my identity, at this point. Besides, I like the way it sounds.

Anyway, let me know what you think! How can I make myself useful to you?

You can contact me with ideas by leaving a comment on this post; by tweeting @trihardist;by leaving a comment on my Facebook page; by e-mailing me; or by sending a smoke signal, if you live in the DC Metro.

Finally got my Ironman tattoo!

This past Sunday was the fourth edition of Ironman Mallorca, which makes it a full year since I did an Ironman. I always said that I would get a tattoo after doing an Ironman; it's the only thing I can think of that I would want on my body for the rest of my life. After hemming and hawing for a full year, I finally got some ink. Observe:

It hurt. Way more than I'd expected or planned. I shouldn't be surprised, considering a tattoo involves getting stabbed over and over again in the same basic area. But it was definitely more painful than doing an Ironman.

And the finished product:

What do you think? Am I badass, now?

TrainerRoad Review and Giveaway

In times gone by, I would routinely tell clients, "This is the perfect exercise to do while you're at home watching TV!" It always sounds like a great idea. I could be strengthening my core and building flexibility in my hips while I follow 10 home bakers as they compete around Britain (RIP Mel and Sue)!

But I don't do planks while I'm at home watching TV. I watch TV while I'm at home watching TV. Sometimes I eat potato chips or cookies (or both) while I'm at home watching TV. So I stopped extolling the benefits of planks and bird dogs and other multi-tasking exercises. Because if I can't make myself exercise while I watch TV, who else can?

Which brings me to TrainerRoad. I'm a personal trainer, and I have read and learned enough that I could probably write myself a decent training plan. But you know what? I don't want to. I want someone else to tell me what to do. And since I'd rather buy more bikes than hire a coach, I've gone with the semi-DIY option: TrainerRoad.

I became aware of TrainerRoad through their terrific podcast, Ask a Cycling Coach. The podcast gives me a little bit of a "drank the Kool-Aid" feeling, but I think it's because all of the coaches really believe in their product. And it's always full of useful information presented in an articulate package (which can be a little hit-and-miss with scientifically-based cycling podcasts). After listening in for a few months, I took the plunge and signed up.

So far, I enjoy it. I've noticed an increase in my power and performance on outdoor rides, and my FTP (main power metric used by TrainerRoad) has increased by 20 watts or so. I was using Zwift before, and I miss the gamification elements, but TrainerRoad's workout library is so much better, and it adds more structure to indoor training than you can get with Zwift. As the weather starts to head south (the good weather, that is, to the southern hemisphere), I may sign up for and use both. But right now I use a mix of indoor workouts on TrainerRoad and outdoor rides.

I'm going to need a new trainer soon, though; I'm starting to wear the metal off the drum on the one I've had for the past 8 years. Buy one of my cycling workouts if you want to help me get a new trainer!

Getting back to TrainerRoad, I like it. It's not the end-all-be-all to training, but it's a valuable tool, and it's helped me.

More importantly, once you've been a member for a certain duration, you get a referral month to give to a friend. And you guys are all my friends. So who wants a free month of TrainerRoad? Leave a comment beloooooooowwwww! Be sure you leave me a way to contact you, though, preferably by leaving a Twitter handle. Or you could leave a comment on my Facebook page. Just make sure I can reach you to let you know that you've won and get your e-mail address so TrainerRoad can send you the invitation. I'll choose a winner randomly on September 30, which is in two weeks.

Ready, go!

Race Report: Luray Caverns CX

Hooray for the first real cyclocross race of the season! My last cyclocross race was in 2009. 2009! That was 7 years ago! I have much more fitness now than I had then (it helps that I'm not running and swimming anymore), but the 'cross scene here is way more competitive than it was in Kansas. In Kansas, many race directors would completely waive the entry fee for cat 4 women to try to get more of us racing. I think the biggest field I ever raced in was 13.

Our cat 4 women's field had 17 racers. I think around half of them were doing their first cross race! The women's masters field went off 30 seconds before us, and there were another 9 in that field. There were another 15 entrants in the 1/2/3 and 3/4 fields that raced a couple of hours later. I'd considered doubling up for the 3/4 race, but it was hot as balls and I was pretty sure I would explode if I stayed out in that heat for another 45 minutes of racing.

I got a spot in the second row to start, but took a bad line in the gravel and fell to about 8th wheel. I managed to pass a woman or two in the first quarter of the course. I was sitting about 6th wheel coming into the barriers. Did fine on the dismount and cleared both barriers without eating turf, but I set my bike down with something less than what you might call grace and dropped my chain. Tears. The pit was right after the barriers, so I can in there to get my chain back on. It took all of 10 seconds, but I lost probably 5 or 6 places there. I got back on and started trying to claw my way back.

I went deep on the first 2 laps. Apparently, there was a crash right in front of me on a steep off-camber--I'd decided while pre-riding the course that I would take it as a run-up, after trying to ride it twice and sliding out both time--where a couple of women tried to ride it and failed. I guess I got off and ran around them, but I don't remember doing it. The only reason I remember the crash at all was because my teammates told me about it after the fact. That's how deep I went on the first 2 laps.

Which is why I decided to run this part. Picture courtesy of velogirl22 (follow her on Instagram!)

I picked up a few positions in that crash, picked off a couple more in the third lap, and passed one more (someone whom I've raced in road--Anna--who has ridden me into the ground plenty of times) at the end of that lap. I wasn't sure where I was in the field, at that point, but I figured top 10.

Somewhere in the third lap my psoas started spasming. I've had this happen before in cross races (although I can barely remember that far back) and even while teaching spin classes. It also used to happen sometimes when I was running. I'm not sure what causes it, but the pain is almost incapacitating. I've had to leave spin classes in the middle of of teaching before, it's been so bad. I didn't quit the race in the middle, but I did have to slow down a lot. Anna passed me back, and I could see two more women I'd passed earlier gaining some ground back on me. Standing breaks bought me about 20 seconds of relief, so I stood and coasted on the downhills as much as possible in the last 2 laps. I managed to hang on for the last lap without letting anyone else re-pass me. And that was the race!

I ended up finishing 5 out of 17 women. I was also the last rider who did a full 5 laps. I think I might have been able to finish in third if I hadn't dropped my chain. But who knows? It doesn't matter! First cross race of the season is in the bag, and I enjoyed it. I rode myself into the ground and had two beers afterwards. So I've already got a great start on my season goals.

Regarding the psoas, I think it's a combination of factors: the course was really bumpy, which puts extra stress on my psoas as it works to help my core stabilize against the movement of the bike on the ground; 'cross bikes have laid-back geometry to help with handling, which puts me into more anterior pelvic tilt and compresses my hip flexors; and I'm hammering super hard on the pedals. I need to resolve the issue so it doesn't hold me back in future races. One of my coworkers who specializes in athletic training (I specialize in functional training and stability for older adults, so my needs are a little outside of my wheelhouse) is helping me come up with a core stabilization routine. I'll also work on my pedaling technique to take some stress off of my hip flexors, and I'll make a point of standing and coasting more in races to vary the stress on my body. I suppose in some courses there will be more natural variation, too, which will reduce my time grinding out in a single position. And if it continues to bother me, I may adjust my bike for a more upright position.

Next race is Hyattsville CX on Oct. 2, which gives me 3 weeks to increase my fitness (and adjust my chain catcher)!

Finding my strengths

My quads look exactly like this.

I had three main goals for training this year: find a team, get back into racing, and figure out my strengths and weaknesses. I've achieved the first two, but the third has evaded me. I still don't feel like I have a good handle on what I'm good at in cycling.

In triathlon, I always told people that I was best at transitions, because I didn't think that I was very good at any of the three sports. Of the three, cycling was my strongest and the one that I enjoyed the most.

Because of my background with triathlon, I'm pretty good at time trials. But that time trial skill doesn't carry over into races; I can't hold high power for long duration in races, like in a breakaway. Or the power that I can sustain isn't high enough to keep me away from a pursuing group, anyway. So I'm decent at time trialing, but it doesn't carry over to actual races.

I've considered that I might be a good sprinter, because I'm kind of built like a sprinter--small frontal profile with massive thighs. I've also assumed that I'm not a very good climber, because I'm so heavy relative to my size. But when I think back to this season, I've done well in hilly races. I think I might be a good climber. Sprint-wise, I have an okay kick, but I'm never positioned well enough for it to really matter. So I'm good at climbing, but I lack the right build to be excellent at it; and I'm good at sprinting, but only during workouts (I haven't won any races out of sprints . . . or at all).

Then the other day I did a TrainerRoad workout that got me thinking. It was intervals of 30 seconds overgeared (slow and heavy) followed by a ramp from just below threshold power to just above. And I was really good at them. I could lay down 500+ watts for 30 seconds. In my highest gear and with the resistance cranked on my trainer, I couldn't slow my legs down below 80 RPM. I don't suppose it should be very surprising, considering the size of my quads, but I'm really strong. I think that's my strength, cycling-wise. Strength. I'm strong at . . . being strong. Yay!

Now if I can just figure out how to use that in racing . . .

Race Report: Dirty BikenetiCrit

That's me! Face full of dirt, with my teammate Tina on my wheel.

This was a new kind of race! It was a criterium, but on dirt. Road rules, cross vibe, and free beer after!

I signed up for this race about a month ago. I also signed up for an online chemistry class, and the first lab meeting was on Saturday. It was supposed to run from 8 to noon, and my race was at 11. I'd given up on the hope of getting to go do the race, and was prepared to eat the $30 entry fee.

But then, wonder of wonders, we got out of lab at 9:30! A glimmer of hope emerged. I raced home, threw everything in the car, and drove to Haymarket as quickly as possible. Checked in and got my number at 10:45, ready to roll with 9 minutes to spare!

So I got no warm-up, and I didn't pre-ride the course. I rolled off the line with no earthly idea what was coming next.

The women's fields raced combined. A few of the ladies took the pace out hot, and I managed to catch onto the back. I had a teammate ahead and a teammate behind. I hung in well enough, at the beginning, but wasn't taking the right lines through the gravel corners. In road racing, you get used to following the wheels in front of you, if you know them, but not all of the wheels were reliable on the loose stuff. There were a few times where I missed a corner and had to push hard to catch back on to the lead group. With about 5 laps to go (out of 9 or 10, I don't remember), I went wide in a corner and fell off the lead pack. Drilled it to bridge back on (with two other riders on my wheel), realized I could pull the pin and finish the race or keep going and blow up in the heat, and pulled off. The girl behind me didn't appreciate losing her free ride. She said something as she came around me, and it didn't sound nice. But I was more interested in finishing the race without throwing up.

So I let the lead pack go and treated the rest of the race as an interval workout. Ended up lapping a few stragglers and passing a few for higher placing (including the wheel-sucker with the witty remarks). Ended up 5th in a field of 19, and that was stone cold at the start without a pre-ride!

Great race. Well run. A terrific warm up for the cross season. I hope they do it again next year! I'd definitely do it again!

#CXisHere!

Product Review: Skinny & Co. Coconut Oil

This is a review of a product that was sent to me by the manufacturer, Skinny & Co. I'm not being paid for this product review, but I also didn't pay for the product. It's a freebie. You can view my unboxing of the product here. Now let's get started.

Skinny & Co. make fancy coconut oil products. Raw, pure, vegan, extra-virgin, wild-harvested, single-source . . . any other catch-words I can include? It's coconut oil, so it's also gluten-free. They also emphasize their charitable work in Vietnam, whence they source their coconuts, and the fact that they recycle a lot.

The packaging is pretty cool. They sent me five of these little jars that are quite pretty. My only complaint is that it's hard to tell which one is which. All the jars look the same, and the product name does not stand out very well. So far I haven't put facial oil in my oatmeal or anything, but I could see it being a problem with this packaging. In this box, I have the coconut oil, body butter, sugar scrub, oil pulling, and facial oil.

If you've read this blog for a long time, you know that I went through a raw foods phase. I'm over that now, and I'll tell you why: it's really hard to do, it didn't make me feel any better, and it's based on scientific quackery. That's part of why I'm skeptical when it comes to the health benefits of things like single-sourced and cold-pressed. But I also really like coconut oil, so I've tried all of the products (even the oil pulling) with an open mind.

All of the products except the sugar scrub look just like this

Skinny & Co. Coconut Oil
Surprisingly, I already had organic, extra virgin, cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil in my pantry (because that's the coconut oil that Trader Joe's sells). This coconut oil smells like the Trader Joe's kind, maybe slightly less coconutty. Tastes a little better on its own than the Trader Joe's brand, I think. I've put it in smoothies, and oatmeal. It adds a nice flavor. Seems like a good product.

And this is the sugar scrub.

Skinny & Co. Sugar Scrub
This is my favorite product of the five I've tried. It has a strong flavor of brown sugar, which makes me really want to eat it. The sugar is pleasantly abrasive and washes away easily in the shower. It's a nice alternative to exfoliating products with stupid microbeads, which I don't like to use because of the environmental concerns associated with them. Once the sugar is gone, the coconut oil in which it is suspended remains to leave my skin feeling very soft without feeling greasy. Love this stuff.

Skinny & Co. Body Butter
This is coconut oil with some essential oils so that it smells nicer (and maybe blah blah blah something about the health benefits of essential oils). Except that Emily and I both hate the smell. It smells strongly of black licorice, so I assume there's anise oil in there. It's a nice product, and I like it as a moisturizing product, but I do not like the smell. If you like black licorice or anise, though, you will probably like this.

Skinny & Co. Facial Oil
I was excited to try this product, too, because the skin of my face is frequently dry. It also has lavender and chamomile in it, so I thought it might be good as a natural sleep aid. Unfortunately, it has the same essential oil blend as the body butter, and that anise smell overwhelms everything else for me. I like the way it makes my face feel, though. I can't speak to how well it removes make-up, because I don't wear make-up.

Skinny & Co. Oil Pulling
Have you heard of oil pulling? I hadn't. I've done some research on it, though, and found that it's a traditional practice in Ayurveda (much of the empirical research that's been done on oil pulling is from India). I probably read about it in the Hatha Yoga Pradapika and didn't even realize it. In Ayurveda, it's traditionally performed with sesame oil, but Skinny & Co. sells coconut oil, so they advocate using coconut oil (preliminary research shows that coconut oil is also effective, though). I followed an online guide for how to oil-pull for the first time this morning. Coincidentally, I had a root canal on Wednesday, so my mouth hasn't been feeling awesome. I hoped that the oil pulling would help soothe my gums and make my breath better. It hasn't made any difference so far, but the studies I've read suggest it might not make a difference until after 5-8 days. It's kind of gross, though, and time-consuming. You're supposed to swish a tablespoon of oil in your mouth for 5-20 minutes. Not seconds; minutes. That's a lot of time when you have appointments starting at 5 a.m. I wonder if it's equally effective if you do it before bed.

That's about all I have to say about Skinny & Co. I like the product well enough, although I probably wouldn't have gone out and purchased it on my own. Health and beauty products in fancy little tins aren't really my thing. I do like the sugar scrub, though. I may even keep using that.

For more info on Skinny & Co., you can visit their website here. If you have other questions you'd like to ask or are a raw foodist who wants to attack me as a heretic, please do so in the comments below!

First ride on my Crux!

The dam at Lake Accotink Park

After a course of heavy-duty antibiotics and Vicodin, I'm completely over my root canal from a week and a half ago. I go back to the dentist tomorrow to close my crown up. Since the pain wore off, though, I was finally able to get out on my new bicycle!

One of the best parts of living in Northern Virginia is the terrain. Even in the developed, suburban area where I live, there are still parks full of greenery and quiet trails. I headed to one on Wednesday to remind myself how to ride off-road.

I took a few little spills, got mud and sand (and a little blood) all over my legs, and completely ruined a white jersey. It was a successful outing! You can see the highlights, which is mostly footage of me falling or nearly falling, below. I still haven't figured out how to record good footage with my action cam, so I didn't include the whole ride. If you'd like the full 45 minutes of footage (and I don't know why you would), please send me an e-mail; I'll gladly share it.
On Friday, I tried a trail that's closer to my home--the Pimmit Run Trail. I did many miles of run training there last year and the year before. The trail is too technical for me to ride, though; I only went a few miles before aborting the mission and coming home on surface streets. After that, I set up cones in my backyard and practiced flying mounts and dismounts. I'll post that video this weekend.

Until next time, spin & smile!

#CXisComing

I promised last week that I had an announcement related to the upcoming cyclocross season. Well . . .

I got a new bike!

That's a 2017 Specialized Crux E5. The groupset is Shimano Tiagra, with stock wheels, cranks, bars, stems . . . it's not a high-end bike. But it has disc brakes! And mud clearance! And good gearing for cross! So it's enough that I can go out and have fun. I may have mentioned that my goal for the cyclocross season is to hurt a lot during races and drink a lot immediately after. I can do that just fine on aluminum and Tiagra.

I had an emergency root canal on Thursday (only two hours after I picked up my Crux at the shop), and I've been resting with the help of Vicodin ever since. So I haven't even gotten to ride it yet, other than hopping on to adjust the seat height and angle a little bit. The pain is subsiding a little, so I hope to be on it either this evening or tomorrow sometime.

Many, many thanks to Jack at Spokes, Etc. (VWS's sponsor shop), for getting me set up with a brand new bike! If you live in the greater DC area, I highly recommend stopping in at the Spokes on Quaker Lane (near Shirlington). The crew there is friendly and knowledgeable, and they can help you with whatever you need.

New bike! Yay!

Skinny & Co. Unboxing

Got a box in the mail from Skinny & Co. last week. When I opened it up, here's what I found:

I'll be using the products this week. Look for my review next Friday!

End of Road Season, 2016

"And with that, the road season ends with a whimper."

That's a comment from my teammate, Sean, regarding the cancellation of our last road race of the season. Not enough registrants, apparently. There wasn't a cat 4 race for the women, so I wouldn't have been racing anyway. Based on what I've heard from other athletes, though, this road season has been a departure from seasons past, in terms of schedule; there have been multiple races canceled or not scheduled, relative to previous years. It will be interesting to see what happens to the MABRA racing scene, going forward.

If I had known that Tysons Corner was going to be my last road race for 2016, I would have taken it a little more seriously. As it was, my season also ended with a whimper.

I had three well-defined goals for this season: find and join a team that I like, start training specifically and exclusively for bike racing, and figure out what my strengths and weaknesses are on the bike.

I have a white helmet on order.

I accomplished the first one. I've been riding and racing with Veloworks-Spokes, Etc. since February. I accomplished the second goal. I started off training using my own plan, as I have in years past. I discovered after a couple of months that I don't know as much about bike training as I do about triathlon training, and I was too lazy to do enough research to figure it out. I ended up switching over to TrainerRoad about two months ago, and have been satisfied with the results so far. My FTP has increased by 21 watts, about a 10% increase. Mostly, I appreciate having an assignment each day. When I write my own programs, I don't trust them; I end up changing them on the fly, which defeats the point of writing them in the first place.

As for the third goal, I still don't feel that I have a good sense of my strengths and weaknesses. I know that I need to continue working on my handling in the pack, especially when I'm tired. I need to improve my awareness and critical thinking when I'm fatigued (I had the same problem when I was playing rugby, which is why I eventually moved from scrumhalf to flanker). My sprinting power is pretty good, although I'm not yet confident enough to control that maximal power at the end of a hard race. I think I'm good at sitting on the front of a group and pushing the pace, either to catch a breakaway or to force a selection. I lack the ability to combine those two things, though; I have trouble putting in a big dig, like in an attack, and then maintaining a high power to stay away or bridge across. That also ties into my mental toughness, which needs a lot of work. I hope I can use some of that knowledge to define goals for next year, although I'm not mentally ready to dig into yet.

I have about a month before I start CX racing. Goals for that are to experience extreme pain and then drink extreme beer. I should have a big announcement related to CX soon. Stay tuned.

Jamie's Diet Food: Broccoli Soup

Emily's doing this thing called the Dukan Diet, which (I think) is sort of like a low-fat version of Atkins. It focuses on lean proteins and low-sugar vegetables, with some allowances made for whole grains and fruits in the maintenance phase. Since I do most of the cooking, I'm showing my support by coming up with interesting things to eat within the bounds of the diet, so she doesn't get bored with the bodybuilder version of "riding paniagua": chicken and water, water and chicken. This is one of the things I came up with.

Tastes better than it looks.

Ingredients
1 bunch of broccoli crowns (about 1 lb)
4 cups of chicken or veggie broth (I used boiling water and chicken bouillon)
1 whole onion, sliced
1 teaspoon of cooking fat (I used bacon grease, but you could use any cooking oil)
Salt & pepper to taste
Spike all-natural gourmet seasoning (or other generic spice mix) to taste

Procedure
Slice onions. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions to the oil. They should bubble and hiss softly; they shouldn't spatter or spray. Let the onions sweat in the oil, stirring regularly, until they're soft and translucent and a little brown. This can take up to 20 minutes, but the longer you let them sweat, the tastier the soup will be in the end.

While the onions brown, chop the broccoli into small pieces. I used a food processor to pulverize mine. They don't have to be really fine bits, because they're going to end up pureed anyway. But smaller pieces cook faster.

When the onions are where you want them, add 4 cups of broth (or water and chicken soup base) and the chopped broccoli. Cover the saucepan and let it come to a rolling boil. Add salt, pepper, and Spike seasoning (or whatever you're using). Turn the heat down to a simmer.

Use an immersion blender to blend the soup. If you don't like soup with texture, strain the soup through a fine mesh collander. Otherwise, your soup is ready.

Obviously, this soup would be even better with cream and cheese, but then it wouldn't count as Jamie's (and Emily's) Diet Food. Even without cream and cheese, the soup is pretty good. Not particularly filling, so I recommend it as a side dish, or with a nice salad.

Trihardist Vlog Preview: A Short Ride on the W&OD

I bought myself an (inexpensive) action camera! I have some ideas of ways to incorporate it into the blog: I'd like to make some free video cycling workouts; I feel like my audio workouts are a little behind-the-times, now that there are so many cool tools like Zwift and Trainer Road and even GCN's training videos! It's time for me to innovate. I also have ambitions of doing a vlog like Cycling Maven and Vegan Cyclist do. And of course I want to take footage of my races like all the cool kids!

This is my first experiment with the new camera. Let me know what you think, and if there are specific things that you would like to see now that I can do more video!

Race Report: Tour de Tysons (Cat 4 women)

In which I blow up spectacularly on the last hill, maybe a minute from the finish.

This race is so close to home for me, I could have ridden to it in less time than it took to drive. I didn't ride, though, because I had to return a teammate's sandbags (I'm always sandbagging) for the team tent. I was more careless than usual in my race prep as a result, and ended up forgetting my jersey. N00b.

A teammate lent me a jersey (size X-small), so I didn't have to ride the 1.1 miles home and back to get mine. I warmed up about 15 minutes on the trainer. It was uncomfortably hot, but the occasional breeze kept the temperature bearable. I got about 10 minutes on the course, which gave me a chance to take a look at some sketchy pavement in the second-to-last turn. I had been apprehensive about the pavement, which a teammate had reconnoitered earlier in the week, but the race directors took good care of that within the constraints they had. It ended up not being a problem.

I knew the race was going to be hard because of the heat index. It was only 30 minutes, though. I figured I could survive for 30 minutes. I got a great start and led the first lap, fast on the downhill, nice and easy on the uphill. Other women came around me on the second lap, and I let them. I stayed in the front half of the field the whole time, keeping an eye out for significant attacks. I wasn't in danger of getting dropped on the climb, but it was really uncomfortable for me every time. I was able to re-position on the downhills without having to work very much.

I was wrong about surviving for 30 minutes. I made it about 28 before blowing up. I was sitting third or fourth wheel coming around the second-to-last corner into the final hill. My teammate asked if I could lead her out, and I said yeah, I think so. The pace didn't even increase very much, just a slight acceleration; I didn't have to stand and stomp the pedals to keep up. But the road was so hot and so unprotected. It was out of the wind and we were moving too slowly to generate a breeze. Something in my body said, "Nope." And my brain went along with it and said, "Nope." I think I might have even said "Nope" out loud. My body told me to stop and I listened and gave up. Barely pedaled up the rest of the hill. Came around the last corner ashamed and tired. Another woman tried to come around me and I accelerated just enough to hold her off for 15th or 20th or whatever. Pulled past the finish line and into the shade to dry-heave a little, with my legs shaking. Poured water over my head and got back on the bike for a cool-down lap.

I'm disappointed that I gave up so close to the end. It's not like I was going to die if I dug a little deeper. My body was on the edge, but it was my mind that shut me down.

Lessons learned: it's standard operating procedure on hot days for cyclists to stick socks or pantyhose full of ice down the backs of their jerseys, so the ice rests on the neck and cools the whole body. I probably need to do that. I struggled with heat exhaustion on a really hot ride on Thursday, too, so I need to be smarter about managing that; some of the lingering stress from that dumb move might have impacted my performance today. And I've read that women have higher basal metabolic rates between ovulation and menstruation, so that might be impacting my ability to cope with heat.

But the biggest thing is my mental toughness. I don't have enough of it. When the race gets really uncomfortable, I'm liable to pull the pin and give up; I don't care enough to hurt that badly. And maybe I never will really care enough to push past that kind of pain, and I'll join the Cat 4 For Life! club. But probably I'll get frustrated that other people are beating me, and I'll get stronger. Mental skills training will be added to the training schedule, in upcoming seasons.

My teammate ended up on the podium in fifth place, though! So still a reasonably good showing for the VWS women.

I don't have any pictures of me from the race, so in lieu of a race pic, here is a picture of the sandwich I made for myself afterwards:

And I still feel pretty nauseous from the heat. I'm gonna go lay down for a while.

Jamie's Training Food: Spam Musubi

Training food Hawai'ian style

I am shocked--SHOCKED--that I did not mention that I survived Ironman training almost exclusively on S'mores Pop Tarts. I have scoured my old blog posts, and I can find no mention of the fact that I brought two boxes to Spain (wasn't sure I could find them over there) and ate a box and a half on the Ironman bike course. In case you're unfamiliar with the packaging, that adds up to twelve Pop Tarts over 112 miles. I've come a long way from my all-natural, all-raw diet of a few years ago; I figure life is too short to eat like a rabbit.

Philosophy aside, the Pop Tarts worked great. They pack a lot of sugar for their size. They're compact. You can fit six packages in your jersey pockets, if you need to. That's about 2400 calories! I usually put two in the right pocket and two in the left pocket, then re-stocked at special needs (or a 7-eleven on a training ride). The s'mores were my favorite flavor, followed by frosted blueberry. The s'mores flavor dry out your mouth more, FYI. Just in case you want to try.

I completely burned myself out on Pop Tarts, though. I've experimented with several whole foods this season, using Potent Portables as a starting point and branching out from there. I've found a few things that I've liked, but most of them don't work for racing. I use drink mix (Skratch Labs) and gels (currently GU, but I'm still experimenting) almost exclusively when I'm racing; everything else is too hard to eat in close quarters at speed and intensity. I want to try Medjool dates soon, on the recommendation of a few prominent vegan cyclists.

All of which is to say that I use spam musubi in training, pre-race, and post-race. It would probably work fine for triathlons, though, assuming your tummy can handle spam during a race. Be sure to try training with it before you race with it; anything else would be stupid! Don't be stupid!

This is something my Hawai'ian friends made all the time. It's a staple at convenience stores and picnics. Super delicious, compact, with lots of carbs and salt; it might pack too much fat for some of you, though. Try it out and see what you think! I can almost guarantee that nobody else will have these at your next ride or race.

Spam Musubi

Equipment:

• Rice cooker
• Rice paddle or spatula
• Musubi press (seems silly, but they're not expensive, so get one anyway)

Ingredients:

• White rice (Jasmine, Calrose, sushi rice, something fairly sticky)
• Nori (cut the strips in half, so they're about the same width as your musubi press)
• Spam (cut into slices about 1/2 inch thick)
• Furikake (I bought mine on Amazon, but you'll find it at most Asian groceries)
• Soy sauce 
• Sugar

Procedure:

• Cook rice in the rice cooker. It needs to be done before you start frying Spam.
• Mix some sugar into some soy sauce. It'll take some experimentation to find the ratio that you like. Mine is different every time. The idea is to make a light syrup that will caramelize the sides of the spam. Another option is to season both sides of the Spam with Li Hing powder (a little-known ingredient that is worth having around for sprinkling on sliced apple, pear, jicama, pineapple . . .)
• Spritz some cooking spray into a pan (or use a non-stick pan). Put the burner on medium-high. Lay out your strips of Spam so they aren't touching in the pan. Cook until the bottoms start to brown, then pour in your soy sauce/sugar mixture. Let the Spam cook until the bottom has caramelized, then flip. Let the Spam cook until that side is also caramelized. Take the Spam out of the pan and keep it on a plate so it doesn't burn. By the way, the sugar/soy sauce mixture will burn in the pan around the Spam. Don't freak out about it. Just turn on your range hood fan or open a window.
• Lay a strip of nori down longways and put the musubi press on top of it. Spoon in a generous portion of rice. Use the handle to press the first layer of rice. Press it hard! You don't want your musubi crumbling apart in your hands! Sprinkle furikake over the rice. Lay in a slice of spam. More furikake, more rice. Press the whole thing together as hard as you can, then slide the press up and off the block of food. Wrap the nori around, overlapping the edges on the top. The nori will have steamed from the heat of the rice enough that it will stick to itself and seal naturally. You have now made your first spam musubi!
• I wrap mine in plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge until I'm ready to use them. Then I cut them into quarters if I'm going to eat them on a training ride or halves if they're for pre- or post-race and wrap them in non-stick aluminum foil.