Prcotor Recap + 20 Minute Intervals

Ugh.. this is so late.... So A. Miles pretty much summed up Proctor. Having gotten my Cat 3 upgrade on Wednesday I was pretty afraid of getting spit right out the back on the first lap. Rolling to the line I was nervous but not butterfly-puking-up-my breakfast-legs-feel-like-dead-weight nervous. As we rolled off the start line at the beginning of the race I did a good Noob job of missing my pedal and nailing myself with the top tube. Way to go, Chan.

I attacked early on, not thinking it would stick, and a girl from Proctor went with me. We worked together and our efforts combined with Anona blocking for me in the field allowed us to open up a sizeable gap. I went 2nd and Vanessa, the Proctor girl, took the State Championship Jersey.

Initially I was pretty happy with how the day went, but now that I've had a few days to stew there are a couple things that I learned, mostly having to do with being a Noob Cat 3.

Always bring food. Prior to the race I thought to myself, "How could I possibly use a whole bottle of HEED AND need a clif shot for a 30 minute race?" Um, yeah, needed it. Vanessa was nice enough to hand me a couple shot blocks. Otherwise who knows what might have happened....

Always race with confidence. I've been in a couple breaks in races this year now, and I still have yet to learn that I CAN put in the effort to stay away. I was scared in that break. Scared of getting caught, scared of getting dropped. Scared of the last lap of the race. I shouldn't have been. I did my fair share of pulls and stuck it out, so obviously I can handle it. Ugh, I just keep thinking about how that race could have gone differently had I screwed my head back on and raced with gusto.

Racing with teammates is FUN. Okay, I'm not just saying this because A.Miles did an awesome job of blocking for me. (And I still can't thank her enough!!!) But seriously, I think the biggest different in my training and riding this year is training, racing and living with cycling teammates/roommates/friends. It's like a built in motivation system before, during and after races. I love it.

Bottom line: I got 2nd and there's nothing I can do about it now. Lesson(s) learned. Well B.Chan, it's time to put the big GRRRL pants on and race like a Cat 3.

In other news: I'm getting stronger. I've been doing 20 minute intervals which I hate hate hate but seem to be working. I set new 10, 20 and 30 minute power records this week with about a 15% increase, respectively. What a wattage nerd.

AND Last but not least, a public service announcement...

TO ANY AND ALL CYCLISTS (ESPECIALLY WOMEN) READING THIS BLOG: SIGN UP FOR THE CHAMPAIGN CRITERIUM OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND SLASH YOUR TIRES.

Seriously. Who needs StooperWeek, anyways?

kthxbai!