Mountain, Cross and Shuffleboard Nats
- Thread starter pixychick
- Start date
Friday 7/19 10:45 is my race.
No pictures today. My massage therapist was able to release the muscles in my back that were locked up. It was not a pleasurable experience, but it is done. She has me foam rolling my rib cage and not stretching too much to keep them form going back. It has been 5 days and I think it is sticking. I had been feeling flat on the bike after the massage so I ended up taking 2 days off the bike. Normally I would not do that the week before a big race, but I felt it was necessary. I also had a run of poor sleep nights which tend to exasperate any low energy levels.
Yesterday I went to Pa to pre ride the course and felt good. Because it has been so hot, I have not been doing any extra laps, just enough to inspect the course. This year there are no tricky spots, so no sense wringing my self out in the heat. I plan to go back to Bear Creek tomorrow to support my friend, Tom who is racing and maybe do an abbreviated lap. I have been refraining from alcohol, but last night I had a glass of wine with dinner and had a great nights sleep. Probably the best night sleep in the last two weeks. .... I guess a little alcohol is ok in some cases. 😉
Thursday is Tom's race and I race Friday. Looking forward to being part of the race vibe for a few days.
Yesterday I went to Pa to pre ride the course and felt good. Because it has been so hot, I have not been doing any extra laps, just enough to inspect the course. This year there are no tricky spots, so no sense wringing my self out in the heat. I plan to go back to Bear Creek tomorrow to support my friend, Tom who is racing and maybe do an abbreviated lap. I have been refraining from alcohol, but last night I had a glass of wine with dinner and had a great nights sleep. Probably the best night sleep in the last two weeks. .... I guess a little alcohol is ok in some cases. 😉
Thursday is Tom's race and I race Friday. Looking forward to being part of the race vibe for a few days.
When I pre-rode on Monday, Art had convinced me to NOT ride the A line because it was wet and looked sketchy to him. This had been bothering me because I should have done it to ease my mind. I was scheduled to return to Bear Creek on Wednesday morning to do a morning pre-ride with my friend Tom. He ended up getting covid and canceled his race plans, so I ended up going down late Wednesday to attempt an evening pre-ride. I am thankful that I rode because I got a chance to go down the A line and it was no problem. I rode every lap in the race and felt good about it.
I felt like I did a lot of waiting around this year, but it gave me a chance to see others racing and see how the course evolved during the first few days of racing. While I was prepared for my race in terms of the course, I still felt like I did not quite reach my fitness goals this year. No use thinking about that now as I was at the race. Temps were dropping and the track was drying out from Wednesdays night 1.5 inches of rain. I had the day before my race to get my head in a good place and I was looking forward to the gun going off.
Race recap:
My number plate came with stars and stripes being that I was the 2023 defending national champion. That was really cool! I knew all the ladies in my class and our whole over 60 heat, so it was a friendly start with lots of high fives smiles. They sent us straight up the mountain to spread us out off the start. I felt good and was leading in my class, and 3rd wheel overall when we finally turned downhill, which was perfect. By the time I spotted the entrance to the berms, Amy, the 2nd wheel woman was on the ground getting up. I passed and felt like I had a blocker in between. Amy who was in the 60-64, beat me in June at the practice race, so I knew she would be back chasing me soon. This was actually good motivation.
Right before I turned into the climbing single-track, I caught a glimpse of the other 65+ woman, Zalene down on the road below. Amy was pretty close behind me so I pressed on using any other racers as carrots on a stick. Amy came very close behind me several times. I almost offered her a pass as she was not in my class, but I wanted to get through the A line drop before I did that. Once I turned it down hill towards the A line, I never saw or heard another racer. As I started lap 2, Art told me I had a two minute lead. Lap 2 was good, pressing on, but not totally pegged as the pressure was off. I was all smiles once I turned it downhill towards the finish line. Overall, I felt pretty good. I was more ready for this race than I thought I was. Now I have 6 jerseys which is more than my goal of 5.
The course also did not feel as terrible as I thought it would be. It seemed to have a good rhythm. Perhaps my fitness made it feel that way. It was fun racing and I am glad to have improved my fitness in the preparation, but I am not sure that I want to do many more races. I need a few days to let it sink in.
I felt like I did a lot of waiting around this year, but it gave me a chance to see others racing and see how the course evolved during the first few days of racing. While I was prepared for my race in terms of the course, I still felt like I did not quite reach my fitness goals this year. No use thinking about that now as I was at the race. Temps were dropping and the track was drying out from Wednesdays night 1.5 inches of rain. I had the day before my race to get my head in a good place and I was looking forward to the gun going off.
Race recap:
My number plate came with stars and stripes being that I was the 2023 defending national champion. That was really cool! I knew all the ladies in my class and our whole over 60 heat, so it was a friendly start with lots of high fives smiles. They sent us straight up the mountain to spread us out off the start. I felt good and was leading in my class, and 3rd wheel overall when we finally turned downhill, which was perfect. By the time I spotted the entrance to the berms, Amy, the 2nd wheel woman was on the ground getting up. I passed and felt like I had a blocker in between. Amy who was in the 60-64, beat me in June at the practice race, so I knew she would be back chasing me soon. This was actually good motivation.
Right before I turned into the climbing single-track, I caught a glimpse of the other 65+ woman, Zalene down on the road below. Amy was pretty close behind me so I pressed on using any other racers as carrots on a stick. Amy came very close behind me several times. I almost offered her a pass as she was not in my class, but I wanted to get through the A line drop before I did that. Once I turned it down hill towards the A line, I never saw or heard another racer. As I started lap 2, Art told me I had a two minute lead. Lap 2 was good, pressing on, but not totally pegged as the pressure was off. I was all smiles once I turned it downhill towards the finish line. Overall, I felt pretty good. I was more ready for this race than I thought I was. Now I have 6 jerseys which is more than my goal of 5.
The course also did not feel as terrible as I thought it would be. It seemed to have a good rhythm. Perhaps my fitness made it feel that way. It was fun racing and I am glad to have improved my fitness in the preparation, but I am not sure that I want to do many more races. I need a few days to let it sink in.
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Right after Nationals, Art and I flew down to North Carolina to attend a memorial service for Art's mom ( in last picture ). My mother in law was a special person that touched so many people. The service was wonderful and we got to meet so many people that loved her. It was also great to reunite with relatives.
The last few weeks have been so hectic. Right now, I am enjoying some down time. I know I need to get back out to do some trail work. That will be next.
The last few weeks have been so hectic. Right now, I am enjoying some down time. I know I need to get back out to do some trail work. That will be next.
This pretty red flower is blooming in many streams right now. They are down by the causeway in Ringwood and also in Sterling in the stream adjacent to Redback trail. They bloom most years, but there seem to be more this year. Today I saw a small bear in the woods. I do not see them that often, so always an exciting sighting.
I have been getting out to ride and enjoying NOT doing my training drills. I guess that pretty much explains my lack of desire to continue racing. While I am thankful to make a once in awhile effort to get in race shape, it is not my main focus. So, yesterday I helped Art with removing some blow downs from the trails and tomorrow I plan to do some trail work, all things that I find quite fulfilling.
I have been getting out to ride and enjoying NOT doing my training drills. I guess that pretty much explains my lack of desire to continue racing. While I am thankful to make a once in awhile effort to get in race shape, it is not my main focus. So, yesterday I helped Art with removing some blow downs from the trails and tomorrow I plan to do some trail work, all things that I find quite fulfilling.
JDurk
Well-Known Member
Looks like a cardinal flower. Have 2 in our garden. The hummingbirds have been spending more time with this flower than the feeders.
I have done trail work in Ringwood twice this week, and while I am not sore, I am pretty wiped out. I plan to work at Sterling on Sunday, so I may take tomorrow completely off the bike. I generally ride in to work on trails, but it is only a few miles each way. I have no idea why I am so tired, but probably best to listen to my body. I have the opportunity to go up to Kingdom trails for a few days next week, so I want to be rested up. I have not been to KT in close to 15 years, so looking forward to it. They had a ton of rain last week, but the majority of trails have re-opened. I am keeping an eye on that too. Hopefully it will not rain too much more in the next week or I may bail.
I just got back from an impromptu trip to Kingdom Trails. They got 8 inches of rain about a week ago closing many trails. Most had re-opened by our departure date so we went since our friends were still going. Trails were mostly dry, but a few muddy spots were still evident. Also a bunch of bridges and roads were completely washed out. I had not been up there in 12 or 13 years, so it was great to check out the new trails. There is some really nice trail building going on up there. We got in 3 days of riding.
Wednesday I went up to Minnewaska with some friends to ride the gravel roads. I took my mountain bike since I do not have a gravel bike. Normally I would not be into riding roads, but Minnewaska is a special place. I had not been up there in over a decade, so it was really nice from a scenic point of view. It was also great weather on Wednesday. Being that I do not road ride anymore, my fitness and attention span for road riding is not the best these days. It was a little bit of an effort for me to keep up, but all good for a once in awhile ride. I was pretty wiped out afterwards.
The next morning I managed to ride my bike to the worksite and work on the trails in Ringwood. My legs were screaming at times, but I got in a a solid half day. We actually got a bit done. I did mostly dirt bucketing and crush. I love my 6 lb long handle sledge for crush. We found a super hero dig dirt pile and have been adding extra dirt in spots as we work our way to the causeway. We hope to top the new rocks on the causeway with dirt when we get there.
The next morning I managed to ride my bike to the worksite and work on the trails in Ringwood. My legs were screaming at times, but I got in a a solid half day. We actually got a bit done. I did mostly dirt bucketing and crush. I love my 6 lb long handle sledge for crush. We found a super hero dig dirt pile and have been adding extra dirt in spots as we work our way to the causeway. We hope to top the new rocks on the causeway with dirt when we get there.
We have still been digging dirt from the two hero dirt piles up the trail. The tough part now is getting the dirt to where we need it. The pile is too far to walk with buckets, so Art tried hauling them down two buckets at a time in the trailer. Even that eventually wiped him out. Good news is that we have the use of a mechanized wheel barrel for the next project. In the mean time we got a new drain built and topped some crush. We hope to have more hands for tomorrows dig when we start to top the causeway.
I had extra time today to take pictures in between "canycom"dirt runs. I am feeling like my arms got longer from carrying dirt buckets over the past week. Good news is that the causeway is topped with dirt and the "canycom" is running thanks to Jon! Lots of cool flowers down in the swamp. I saw a hummingbird down there today while I was quietly waiting in the shade on a rock.
So I have been feeling a bit run down. Not sure why. Last Sunday I did work all day, in the rain up at the park. Can't say I feel sick, just tired. I also have a bad case of poison ivy. I am on day 10 of itching right now. It is finally starting to dry up, but new spots keep popping up. I have been using "Ivarest" which is an extra strength product and now "Tecnu spray" which is more homeopathic. Just a heads up, I used an old bottle of Tecnu after getting infected and apparently I spread it instead of removing the oils. This has been an unfortunate way to learn a lesson, but I just cleaned out our poison ivy supplies and our medicine cabinet as well. If you have an old bottle you can check the date on their website with the batch #.
I rode today and saw some great mushrooms. I suppose if I was feeling energetic, I may have ridden right by the mushrooms fast and missed them. Instead, my slow speed allowed the intense orange light reflecting off the mushrooms to meet up with eyes with enough time to say "stop and take a picture". Not only was the sun out, but it was cool this morning, so it felt like the first fall ride. .....Sure was nice out there! Hoping for a less itchy week.
I rode today and saw some great mushrooms. I suppose if I was feeling energetic, I may have ridden right by the mushrooms fast and missed them. Instead, my slow speed allowed the intense orange light reflecting off the mushrooms to meet up with eyes with enough time to say "stop and take a picture". Not only was the sun out, but it was cool this morning, so it felt like the first fall ride. .....Sure was nice out there! Hoping for a less itchy week.
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