Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Beautiful Falls Park in
downtown Greensville, SC

Passing Time

Your skin like dawn
Mine like musk.

One paints the beginning
of a certain end.

The other, the end of a
sure beginning.

—Maya Angelou, RIP


May came and went in a flash. Here's a quick recap:

I spent the first few days of May finishing up USA Crits Speed Week, a series of 5 races in Georgia and South Carolina. Overall, I finished 20th out of 68 riders and while it's not a result to brag about, I made the long drive home feeling confident that I had gained some very valuable race experience. Between races I made Greenville, SC my base. Greenville is one of the most cyclist-friendly cities I've visited and a refreshing change from the A1A, with the Swamp Rabbit Trail system, several scenic climbs and miles of rolling country roads.

Surviving Athens Twilight

SPEED WEEK RACE #1

USA Crits Series kicks off with a race like no other, Athens Twilight. The first Athens Twilight race took place in 1980, no wonder everyone in town knows about this event! The most exciting aspect of racing in Athens is without a doubt the crowds. Unlike other USA Crits races, the course in Athens is lined entirely with metal barricades on both sides of the road. And for good reason, to keep the riders safe from the 30,000 college kids from the University of GA, happy Terrapin drinking rednecks and other bicycle racing enthusiasts that surround every inch of the course.

Photo Credit: Dave Gill/USA CRITS

Steve Said It Best...

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." - Great words taken from a commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, to the 2005 graduating class at Stanford University. 

These words certainly resonate with me. At racing age 33, it's almost an unimaginable opportunity I have to race with and learn from the top women cyclists in the NCC that make up Team Colavita/Fine Cooking. I haven't posted any race reports from Delray, Tampa or Sunny King intentionally. I have much more to learn and look forward to contributing more to the team's efforts during future races. 

LIVE RACE STREAMING

The Sunny King Criterium is this year's NCC kickoff event!
The Colavita/Fine Cooking Women's Pro Cycling Team will head to Anniston, Alabama to kick off the 2014 Nation Criterium Calendar (NCC) with the Sunny King Criterium on April 5th. This weekend’s crit squad will be comprised of Erica Allar (2013 NCC Champion), Lindsay Bayer, Amy Good, Jessi Prinner, Jen Purcell, and Mary Zider.

Tune in this Saturday night to watch the race LIVE!

Fast Food, Slow Legs

I can admit to having one expensive habit. No, it's not expensive shoes or bags, I spend on health food. I find myself wandering the aisles of Whole Pay Check 3-4 times a week. Let's face it, health food isn't the worst bad spending habit to have. It's only day two of being on the road and already I get a sense that eating well is going to be my biggest challenge. For the last four years food has become a major focus of my day to day living. I'm not sure why, but I'm borderline obsessive. Being meat free, gluten free and dairy free in addition to limiting soy products and artificial sweeteners I'm constantly reading labels and ordering "special" meals when eating out, which I rarely when I'm not traveling. While I can easily get the macros and nutrients I need with this diet at home, I realized it will not work while on the road training and racing for weeks at a time. A few necessary changes were in order. Since I do not actually have an intolerance or allergy to gluten I slowly began introducing gluten back into my diet over the last two months. It's easy to find a big bowl of pasta in most towns, not to mention fairly inexpensive. At home I am able to get a majority of my protein requirements from eating fish daily, sticking mostly with salmon, tuna and mahi mahi. Good quality fish isn't always an option when you're traveling from bike race to bike race and eating on the go and even if it were I'm on a tight food budget. So the biggest and mentally challenging change for me has been eating poultry. Yesterday's agenda included a 10+ hour drive with many gas station stops. Luckily I packed enough hard boiled eggs and homemade granola to hold me over. Today breakfast was at the local Jittery Joe's coffee shop. I ordered a large almond milk latte and starred at the counter top case of sugary, high fat muffins and pastries. Knowing that wouldn't sustain me through the interval workout on my plan today I took my coffee and walked a few blocks to an Earth Fare grocery store. Similar to Whole Foods with a small prepared foods bar, I found scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes and raw spinach that I topped with mandarin oranges and a little olive oil. All of this for just $4.89, not bad for having to walk a few blocks and look a little harder for a healthy option.

Adequate Recovery for Optimum Fitness

The more you train, the more fitness you’ll gain, right? Wrong! Fitness gains actually occur during periods of rest when the body has a chance to adapt and recover from the stress of training, not during the training session. So the reality is the more intensely you train, the more rest and recovery time you’ll require in order to see results. Many athletes are guilty of not including enough rest and recovery in their training regime. This is especially prevalent here in South Florida, where the weather permits training outdoors year-round. Ignoring the early symptoms associated with over-training can create performance setbacks that take weeks, even months to recover from.

Here are a few signs you might be over-trained and tips on how to recover between workouts.

• Insomnia
• Loss of appetite
• Increased resting heart rate
• Indecisive mood or easily irritable
• Frequent colds, coughs, illness or injury
• Heavy legs even after a day of rest

Try these suggestions on how to better recover between workouts:

·       Active rest – light exercise such as swimming or very easy spinning for 60 minutes or less can sometimes be more beneficial than a day of complete rest. The key is the workout out needs to be easy enough to simply increase blood flow to the working muscles without producing too much muscular force.

·       Massage – just like active rest, massage increases blood flow to muscles and circulates fresh nutrients to speed the recovery process.

·       Stay hydrated – muscles are composed of about 80% water, so being as little as 2-3% dehydrated will instantly decrease performance and increase recovery time. During rides consume at least 8oz of a sports drink every 15 minutes that contains 50-75mg of sodium per 8oz.

·       Cyclists need carbohydrates – a diet high in carbs (60-70%) is best. During long rides take in 50-100g per hour to prevent muscle breakdown.

·       Refuel – have a snack within 30 minutes after training that includes carbs and protein in a 4:1 ratio. Examples are chocolate almond milk, almond butter on whole-wheat toast or Greek yogurt with fresh berries. Follow up with a balanced meal.

·       Sleep – this is when your body releases most of the hormones responsible for repairing and rebuilding the muscle tissue damaged by training. If you train more than once a day, a short power nap will do wonders for the recovery process. If you have troubles falling asleep try avoiding caffeine after mid-day and not eating within 2 hours of bedtime.  

I never leave home
without my ice bags!

·       Ice and compression – you will find a plethora of published studies arguing whether or not either of these theories actually aid in recovery. Wearing compression garments is said to increase blood circulation. I always wear full compression pants during long car rides or when traveling by plan. Ice reduces inflammation, so I take ice baths after hard workouts or use the old-fashioned ice bags on my legs when I do not have access to a tub. Personally, I think if something helps you recover “mentally” it’s still helping you recover. So why not try it!

Click here for more training tips by Team Colavita riders.

Find Your Dark Place

Time trials, you either love them or hate them. When you're racing against the clock it requires a lot of mental toughness to push yourself to the edge AND HOLD it there for 10k, 20k or the oh so painful 40k. I've heard of several different strategies; ride as hard as you can to the turn around - then ride harder, counting pedal strokes to stay focused, but I like to find my (what I call) dark place. The time trial requires mental toughness so I focus on events in my life that forced me to be tough. I won't claim to be a great time trialist and I won't even claim to love them. However, I still get really excited when I know I have a time trial coming up. It's an opportunity not just to see how fit I am, but what I can do mentally. How much I can take before I crack. Just how dark is my dark place? 

If you've never competed in a road race, and stories of technical courses and dangerous crashes discourage you, time trials are road races that are very safe. One rider goes off at a time, typically 30 seconds apart and drafting is not allowed. You are racing the clock, not other riders. Most areas offer a TT race series held monthly on the same course, so it's a perfect way to test yourself regularly and see if your training plan is working for you. Of course, the conditions (wind, rain, heat, etc.) will be different on each race day but that's half the fun! While you are not required to race a time trial specific bike, having one will definitely give you an aerodynamic advantage over racing on your road bike, as will an aero helmet. The more aero you can get, the faster you'll go. Hey it's just another reason to buy another bike! And there's no such thing as owning too many bikes. 

Last weekend at Swamp Classic in Gainesville I was able to put myself to the test on a hilly 7 mile TT riding my new Stradalli Phantom II Carbon Fiber Time Trial bike. I suffered enough to give me the 3rd fastest time for the women's P/1/2. I am loving this bike. With an integrated fork, stem, and handlebar this bike definitely feels FAST! 

Check out the video below of my first test ride on the new bike. If you're in the market for a fast TT bike and don't want to break the bank, the Stradalli Phantom II Carbon Fiber Time Trial bike is one of the most aero frames available with hidden, integrated, brakes and comes complete with Dura Ace Di2 9070, full carbon clinchers, integrated handlebar, and TRP hidden integrated brakes for under $6000!!