So I have never had a professional massage, not even a good pretend one... Well.. that is until last Friday. I had worked really hard last week. Mach chicken to be exact. Hill repeats, V02 max tests, LSD, you know.. the regular overload week. When it got to the weekend, my back was in so much pain that I could hardly walk erectly. When my mom and I got to my grandparents, and they saw how much pain I was in, they showed me the most magic chair EVER. It’s called a Niagra Chair. It vibrates and has this rolly thing that goes up and down your back creating a massage. It also has built in heating pads to heat your sore spots. I probably laid in that chair for a grand total of about 3 hours that day.
On Saturday, Chelsea and I departed from Langely moments after completing our third Spring Series race. Staggering towards the car drenched, I couldn’t keep from smiling. We had both worked really hard in the race and despite the horrible weather and competitive male field, we had both finished in good positions.
The wind shield wipers were on full as we drove down the highway towards the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Pulling into the ferry terminal 10 minutes after it’s departure was kind of a bummer, but it gave us a good opportunity to test one another's patience. I did homework for 4-ish hours and she watched The Matrix on her IPod.
Saturday night was my first experience in a Thrifty Foods. Personally, I think its kind of over rated. I mean, it’s a good grocery store, don’t get my wrong. But there are definitely others just as good! I was fortunate enough to be given a bed at my friend Kjersten’s house for the camp. Before going to sleep Saturday night, we watched Borat...pretty big gong show!
Sunday morning I woke up late...7:30am. Out of sorts, I made some oatmeal and yogurt, did some socials homework, and then set out on my Sunday recovery ride. Not knowing Victoria, I found a pretty round about route to UVic. I later took the bus up to meet a friend and it took all of 10 minutes including stops.. I rode for like an hour and a half before I could find it. That evening my brothers girlfriend brought me to a yoga class downtown. It was WEIRDDDD. We only did 6 poses in the entire hour and a half class, and the whole time the instructor was going off about some war going on inside me. I fell asleep in the mediation part, and then ate a muffin she brought in her picnic basket...can you say hippy!!
I was so excited Monday morning to finally start the camp. Kjersten and I left her house WAY to early and arrived at the hostel with an hour to spare. We ended up sitting inside and getting cold instead of chilling at her house warm and NOT in spandex. Our ride was AMAZINGLY FUN. It was only a recovery ride, but everyone got to meet everyone and it’s quite amusing riding in a pack with mountain bikers.
Tuesday was the first day of serious intensity. Our first test was a hill climb. The conditions were ridiculous, but then again, what's not in cycling?! The hill was 10 minutes long, with a 10% grade. Personally, I didn’t have the greatest trial. We sat around too long before our start, so when I actually got on the hill my feet were so cold that they felt like they were breaking off when I stood up or moved them at all. Chelsea was amazing though, she freekin' hammered up that hill like no body’s business. I was trying so hard to catch her, but that “grr” just wasn’t enough. The next test was a team time trial. Chelsea and I both shined in that test (if I do say so myself). Chelsea, Steve and I dropped the rest of our group and had a sufficient pace line going. We put the hammer down for the entire 6 km loop and caught the group in front of us. I was so proud of the Giant Girls!
Wednesday was a mix of intensity and recovery. We rode out in a pack focusing our energy on a good tempo. When we got out to.....?..... We started our individual time trial. Our starting positions were based on Tuesday’s results, and therefore I was to start second to last of the girls. I was feeling good that day. I flew down the road, my heart rate never dropping below 199. Personally, I find it really hard to time trial. Coming from a discipline of the sport where if you want a break, you hammer for a little while, and then you are safe to take one to not being able to ever break is hard and weird. Basically, I scare myself into riding harder. I tell myself I’m loosing and then I tend to ride faster and faster. It’s hard for me to keep motivated though, sometimes breaks just seem sooo good! We rode back pretty slowly and I dinged out 10 minutes before the hostel so I could go for another ride with my friends Sophie and Brooke. We had SO much fun, but when I got back I was CRAZYYY tired. I had put about 7 hours in the bike seat including a little race...lets just say I slept well that night.
All in all, I had a blast in Victoria! Thanks for being such a great friend and team mate Chels, it means a lot to me to have someone I can always count on!
Hill climb result Victoria training camp March 2007
1 Chelsea Bilsbarrow 11:54
2 Katherine Short 12:33
3 Kjersten Lone 14:27
4 Rachel Canning 14:30
5 Lauren Hughes 15:20
6 Micayla Gatto 15:53
7 Camille Nonis 16:05
8 Kyla Geisbrecht 16:45
1 Owen Harrison 9:16
2 Matt Potma 9:36
3 Jeff Clarkson 9:45
4 Graeme Bant 9:52
5 Evan Flater 10:05
6 Jason Manning 10:17
7 Cody Campbell 10:18
8 Sean Stanhope 10:24
9 Mike Rothengatter 10:27
10 Hans Froese 10:32
11 Tyler Allison 10:33
12 Ellis Jordon 10:38
13 Kevin Thorpe 10:40
14 Evan Guthrie 10:47
15 Erik Mulder 10:50
16 Jesse Horn 10:52
17 Sebastion Sleep 10:58
18 Kurtis Vallee 11:08
19 Nicholas Bird 11:24
20 Corey Hess 11:30
21 Philip Cairns 11:43
Time Trial result Victoria training camp March 2007
1 Katherine Short 14:11
2 Chelsea Bilsbarrow 14:16
3 Kjersten Lone 14:17
4 Rachel Canning 15:13
5 Micayla Gatto 15:16
6 Kyla Geisbrecht 15:27
7 Lauren Hughes 15:42
8 Camille Nonis 15:48
1 Matt Potma 12:32
2 Cody Campbell 12:42
3 Owen Harrison 12:51
4 Kevin Thorpe 13:07
4 Graeme Bant 13:07
6 Jason Manning 13:15
7 Mike Rothengatter 13:18
8 Erik Mulder 13:45
9 Evan Guthrie 13:49
10 Jesse Horn 13:50
11 Hans Froese 13:52
12 Ellis Jordon 13:58
13 Sean Stanhope 14:00
14 Kurtis Vallee 14:10
14 Corey Hess 14:10
16 Nicholas Bird 14:14
17 Philip Cairns 14:18
18 Tyler Allison 14:20
19 Sebastion Sleep 14:32
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Sun Sun Sun
The sun finally came out for Sunday's bike racing action! The Zero Avenue course around Aldergrove Park gave the Giant team a challenging day, but we came out in the end with more smiles and success. The B race included Claire (recently back from knee surgery), Lisa, Jenny, Jenelle, and myself (Alena). Most of the team is feeling the last three weeks of racing in their legs, with the exception of myself who was delighted to get some quality riding and relaxing in Mexico for the last week. The Giant girls started out strong on the 120km course, which included 17 laps of relatively flat terrain with one short steep climb, and a section of strong head winds. The demanding course continually swallowed riders as the day went on. Jenny, Lisa, and Alena were consistently marking the front and active through out the race. With about 7 laps to
go 6 riders broke away. Unfortunately, the Giant team missed out on putting a rider in the break, but remained active at the front of the chase group. The last few laps saw Jenny and Alena riding solid with the main group as the 120km came to a close. The final 200m included the strenuous short steep climb and Jenny positioned herself well at the front and came through in the pack sprint well with in the top 10 for a top 15 finish overall. Alena finished with the rest of the shattered main pack up the final climb. Overall, it was a good day for the team!
go 6 riders broke away. Unfortunately, the Giant team missed out on putting a rider in the break, but remained active at the front of the chase group. The last few laps saw Jenny and Alena riding solid with the main group as the 120km came to a close. The final 200m included the strenuous short steep climb and Jenny positioned herself well at the front and came through in the pack sprint well with in the top 10 for a top 15 finish overall. Alena finished with the rest of the shattered main pack up the final climb. Overall, it was a good day for the team!
Saturday March 24: A River Of Water
There was a small turn out for Saturdays Atomic road course, this may have been due to the all too familiar weather we have been having and the fact that a few of our team members were trying to escape this relentless rain by travelling to foreign coutries to do some training in the SUN!
Besides the three hills we had to contend with every lap the course had a few unexpected obstacles. There was a section of pavement that was missing which required avoiding some pot holes and flying gravel and there was also a river of water crossing our path on the long down hill section. All of this made the driving rain seem a little less obvious as we were too busy thinking about what was coming up next.
Jenny had a great day. She was involed in an early break which caused a huge break up in the group and left many a riders behind. Sadly, it included Jenelle and myself (claire) and we were forced to finish the race in TT mode chasing other dropped riders and digging deep to find something to keep us going. Jenny, taking Jeremys advice, was patient on the final sprint up the climb and waited until the perfect moment to launch her sprint. Again, another top finish for the Jet.
Besides the three hills we had to contend with every lap the course had a few unexpected obstacles. There was a section of pavement that was missing which required avoiding some pot holes and flying gravel and there was also a river of water crossing our path on the long down hill section. All of this made the driving rain seem a little less obvious as we were too busy thinking about what was coming up next.
Jenny had a great day. She was involed in an early break which caused a huge break up in the group and left many a riders behind. Sadly, it included Jenelle and myself (claire) and we were forced to finish the race in TT mode chasing other dropped riders and digging deep to find something to keep us going. Jenny, taking Jeremys advice, was patient on the final sprint up the climb and waited until the perfect moment to launch her sprint. Again, another top finish for the Jet.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Wet, wet, wet.
No, I'm not talking about the popular band (recall the song "Love is all around"), I'm talking about Saturday's race, and inauguration of the new 40th avenue course.
Team Giants colours, sadly, were a little hard to see under the water-soaked plastic rain capes, but ask anyone in the B men's peleton, and you'll hear that we were a force to be reckoned with.
The race started out a little lack-lustre, but despite the weather, the pace quickened and the few rollers on the otherwise fast course took their toll on everyone's legs. Myself (Lisa), Jenelle, Claire (back in the B ranks after a post-knee-surgery-sabbatical with the C group), and our ever-quick team star Jenny T, all took our turns covering the mini-splits and attacks that threatened to get away, but the "We all win if we finish in a big group" mentality won once again, and our sprint star Jenny managed another top-5 taking 5th in the bunch sprint.
After all was said and done, the wetness wasn't so bad, and the weather even cleared up for Sunday's race. My smallest three toes on my right foot finally did thaw out - after an hour of heating myself in front of the fire.
Sunday; Bradner Course
Wow, Jenny is officially my hero!! Third place on a decently hilly course against the boys...can't say that she's not a climber anymore!
It was just Jenny and I to show for the team today, and a good showing it was.
The weather was much better than yesterday, it didn't rain until after the race at least. The B race started off with a bang...we passed the A's on the second lap of the race, and the pace was fairly relentless up the hills and false flats...lap after lap. Even with the fast pace, the pack impressively stayed intact pretty much to the end - well, sans moi! I fell off the back on lap 5 (twice!!) and got back on for lap 4 and about 75% of lap 3 (counting down from 10 laps), then waited (while I put out the smoke and fire in my legs..) at the finish line to watch Jenny sprint in to take 3rd. Yay! It was very exciting.
Learned so much today, starting to move around the pack much better than before. I can't WAIT until I'm strong enough to help with the finishes!!
See you at the races next weekend, and 'Good luck and have fun' to Chelsea (Pickle) and Kath (Shorty) at the ID Camp for the Canada Summer Games in Victoria this weekend. I know you ladies will be awesome!
Jenelle
It was just Jenny and I to show for the team today, and a good showing it was.
The weather was much better than yesterday, it didn't rain until after the race at least. The B race started off with a bang...we passed the A's on the second lap of the race, and the pace was fairly relentless up the hills and false flats...lap after lap. Even with the fast pace, the pack impressively stayed intact pretty much to the end - well, sans moi! I fell off the back on lap 5 (twice!!) and got back on for lap 4 and about 75% of lap 3 (counting down from 10 laps), then waited (while I put out the smoke and fire in my legs..) at the finish line to watch Jenny sprint in to take 3rd. Yay! It was very exciting.
Learned so much today, starting to move around the pack much better than before. I can't WAIT until I'm strong enough to help with the finishes!!
See you at the races next weekend, and 'Good luck and have fun' to Chelsea (Pickle) and Kath (Shorty) at the ID Camp for the Canada Summer Games in Victoria this weekend. I know you ladies will be awesome!
Jenelle
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Rivers of Water
I just wanted to say that even though the rain didn't let up today at all and i am still finding grains of sand in my ears hours after the race, i had an awesome day racing. What a great effort everyone put in today and i felt really comfortable out there for my first B race of the year. Hey Pickle and Shorty how did your race go?
Monday, March 12, 2007
Rain, Rain, Go Away
The second weekend of Spring Series saw the double up for the women of Giant - with the "classic" (and only one that I've done) Zero Ave course, followed by the daunting Armstrong course on Sunday (the down, across, up, across course).
Saturday started out with some questionable weather, but the actual rain held off until moments before we jumped into our cars post-race. The roster for the Bs had Alena, Lisa, Jenelle and myself, while Kath and Claire were representing in the Cs. The B race was less agressive than last week's River Road course, quite possibly due to the pain that was to be inflicted by the hill repeats of the following day. We marked everything really well as a team, but in the end, nothing was able to make it more than a few hundred meters off the front anyway. Jenelle made a move early on and brought a tag along with her out front, but unfortunately her compatriot decided that he was too out of shape and was not able to pull and the break was pulled in rather quickly.
As the race went on, the wind picked up and it became rather evident that it was going to be a day for the bunch sprinters. With a lap to go, Lisa came and found me and we began to think about the finish. Jeremy had given us some good advice - namely that the lead in to the finish is REALLY long, so we were good and prepared. With a few kilometers to go, Lisa started her assault on the front with me in tow. At first I hesitated a little, as I really have never been lead out before, but I put my faith in Dr. Howard (hee hee) and had her wind me through the bunch to take the final corner at 200m in about 6-7th spot. I lost her wheel coming out of the corner (something we can work on, as Lisa believes she needs to take the corner faster, which means I really need to pick it up!) and as I came out of the corner I put my head down and chased the back wheel of the dudes in front with everything I had (which was somewhat reminiscent of the training sets I was doing on the track earlier in the week!). With a good punch out of the corner I managed to nip across the line in 4th (scared to death that I would get a yellow line violation!) for a good showing for Giant. One that was only solidified by the girls in the C field who were showing the boys how to race and managed to get an all Giant breakaway off the front - only to be caught in the final 400m...too bad, but a great experience to Kath and an exceptional return to racing for Claire only weeks after knee surgery.
Alas, a sprint finish was not to be had on Sunday - which was a day of which epic tales are told. We dwindled in numbers somewhat with only Alena, Jenelle and myself taking to the line, but we had plenty of rain to keep us company. I must say, I was impressed with the gusto of the bicycle racers in the lower mainland as I have not seen a day that gross for a good long time! After being entertained by Jenelle and Cody Campbell trash talking a la Talledega Nights on the start line, we descended the back of Armstrong in which can only be described as the most frightening descent of my life. For some unknown reason I had decided that my capette would be enough to shelter my eyes from the rain - but man was I wrong! I spent the descent blinking as fast as I possibly could and I actually had to close my eyes a couple of times (at which point I prayed I would not crash!). I did make it to the bottom in one piece (had you told me earlier that it was the descent that would scare me I would have laughed!) and moved forward to get ready for the climb. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Armstrong - the hill is broken up into 3 bits. There is the first REALLY quite steep part (where I wanted my 27 cog), then a little repriese before another jut up, then a sweep to the left and up another 200m in more of a false flat. Believe it or not, it's the last one that usually tuckers the legs. Jenelle had a mishap on the first climb - and was relieved to know that for once that "I think I have a flat feeling" was correct and not just a sign of failing legs. She was able to find herself a pump and a tube and jump back in on the second lap (after freezing half to death - apparently we don't climb that hill as fast as I think we do!) From there it was the patented BC race of attrition. My selection came down much differently than I had expected....after the 5th lap I had been gapped over the top of the crest by about 15m from the front group (I was the last girl in the front group which gave me a good sense of glee) and I was chasing hard with a few of my closest buddies to get back on. Unfortunately as I was pulling through, the guy pulling off decided to pull off into me and we tangled handlebars and went down. It was one of those pleasant falls - the kind like a good mud slide tackle in soccer - and I was up quick enough to see the group about 300m ahead of me and know that with the wind picking up, I was never going to get back on. The dude I crashed with was also kind enough to teach me just how much profanity could be yelled in a 30 second block - quite a talent if I do say so myself.
So the crew finished off the race in the traditional 1s and 2s format of struggling up the hill - but we all finish it and were happy to retreat to warm, damp clothes in the car, as that was the best that we could hope for.
Definitely a successful first full weekend on the bike and I'm stoked to get out there and do some more practising to make us the most cohesive team around!
Saturday started out with some questionable weather, but the actual rain held off until moments before we jumped into our cars post-race. The roster for the Bs had Alena, Lisa, Jenelle and myself, while Kath and Claire were representing in the Cs. The B race was less agressive than last week's River Road course, quite possibly due to the pain that was to be inflicted by the hill repeats of the following day. We marked everything really well as a team, but in the end, nothing was able to make it more than a few hundred meters off the front anyway. Jenelle made a move early on and brought a tag along with her out front, but unfortunately her compatriot decided that he was too out of shape and was not able to pull and the break was pulled in rather quickly.
As the race went on, the wind picked up and it became rather evident that it was going to be a day for the bunch sprinters. With a lap to go, Lisa came and found me and we began to think about the finish. Jeremy had given us some good advice - namely that the lead in to the finish is REALLY long, so we were good and prepared. With a few kilometers to go, Lisa started her assault on the front with me in tow. At first I hesitated a little, as I really have never been lead out before, but I put my faith in Dr. Howard (hee hee) and had her wind me through the bunch to take the final corner at 200m in about 6-7th spot. I lost her wheel coming out of the corner (something we can work on, as Lisa believes she needs to take the corner faster, which means I really need to pick it up!) and as I came out of the corner I put my head down and chased the back wheel of the dudes in front with everything I had (which was somewhat reminiscent of the training sets I was doing on the track earlier in the week!). With a good punch out of the corner I managed to nip across the line in 4th (scared to death that I would get a yellow line violation!) for a good showing for Giant. One that was only solidified by the girls in the C field who were showing the boys how to race and managed to get an all Giant breakaway off the front - only to be caught in the final 400m...too bad, but a great experience to Kath and an exceptional return to racing for Claire only weeks after knee surgery.
Alas, a sprint finish was not to be had on Sunday - which was a day of which epic tales are told. We dwindled in numbers somewhat with only Alena, Jenelle and myself taking to the line, but we had plenty of rain to keep us company. I must say, I was impressed with the gusto of the bicycle racers in the lower mainland as I have not seen a day that gross for a good long time! After being entertained by Jenelle and Cody Campbell trash talking a la Talledega Nights on the start line, we descended the back of Armstrong in which can only be described as the most frightening descent of my life. For some unknown reason I had decided that my capette would be enough to shelter my eyes from the rain - but man was I wrong! I spent the descent blinking as fast as I possibly could and I actually had to close my eyes a couple of times (at which point I prayed I would not crash!). I did make it to the bottom in one piece (had you told me earlier that it was the descent that would scare me I would have laughed!) and moved forward to get ready for the climb. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Armstrong - the hill is broken up into 3 bits. There is the first REALLY quite steep part (where I wanted my 27 cog), then a little repriese before another jut up, then a sweep to the left and up another 200m in more of a false flat. Believe it or not, it's the last one that usually tuckers the legs. Jenelle had a mishap on the first climb - and was relieved to know that for once that "I think I have a flat feeling" was correct and not just a sign of failing legs. She was able to find herself a pump and a tube and jump back in on the second lap (after freezing half to death - apparently we don't climb that hill as fast as I think we do!) From there it was the patented BC race of attrition. My selection came down much differently than I had expected....after the 5th lap I had been gapped over the top of the crest by about 15m from the front group (I was the last girl in the front group which gave me a good sense of glee) and I was chasing hard with a few of my closest buddies to get back on. Unfortunately as I was pulling through, the guy pulling off decided to pull off into me and we tangled handlebars and went down. It was one of those pleasant falls - the kind like a good mud slide tackle in soccer - and I was up quick enough to see the group about 300m ahead of me and know that with the wind picking up, I was never going to get back on. The dude I crashed with was also kind enough to teach me just how much profanity could be yelled in a 30 second block - quite a talent if I do say so myself.
So the crew finished off the race in the traditional 1s and 2s format of struggling up the hill - but we all finish it and were happy to retreat to warm, damp clothes in the car, as that was the best that we could hope for.
Definitely a successful first full weekend on the bike and I'm stoked to get out there and do some more practising to make us the most cohesive team around!
A Podium, We'll Take It!
The first Spring Series at River Road went down in style for the Giant girls (just FYI, there is NO good way to say that - so get it out of your system now, we are the GIANT women's team). First off, after the supremely successful Learn to Race on Saturday - we got our new stellar kits (thanks to Sean for a killer design and Brian for the delivery). So we got to show up all matchy-matchy and really looking like a team. And we didn't disappoint!
The race was fairly agressive with multiple different breaks off the front throughout the beginning of the race. It became obvious fairly early on that the Bs were going to watch Cody Campbell (dEVo) like a hawk and the only way that we were going to assure sucess was to get someone up the road. Lisa Howard made a good effort in a break early on and made a valient attempt to bridge to a break about halfway through (especially as she's been at med school since September!) I followed a wheel for Lisa's attempted breakaway counter and I was away with one other guy. I did as much as I could, but a few earlier efforts had left my legs a little less chipper. As we were brought back about a lap later, another attack went while the pack was strung out. I had had a bit of time to recover as we waited to be caught, so I went with the counter for fun - and very quickly we had a large gap. The group was working, but it took a bridge by Cody to get things really jazzed up. I would love to say that I was a powerhouse in the group, but in reality - Cody and Jonathan Page coaxed me through and kept me on for the last of the 5 laps that we were away. In the final few laps I was counting down and setting mini-goals - "just 4 more straights left Jenny!" But I made it and followed the wheels in the final sprint. Cody jumped with 400m to go and used up his bullets and Jonathan got a centre line violation - so I ended up 3rd in our group of 5!
That having been said, I couldn't have done it without some stellar work by the girls back in the group who tested out the front - and agitated a few. Our team is awesome!
The race was fairly agressive with multiple different breaks off the front throughout the beginning of the race. It became obvious fairly early on that the Bs were going to watch Cody Campbell (dEVo) like a hawk and the only way that we were going to assure sucess was to get someone up the road. Lisa Howard made a good effort in a break early on and made a valient attempt to bridge to a break about halfway through (especially as she's been at med school since September!) I followed a wheel for Lisa's attempted breakaway counter and I was away with one other guy. I did as much as I could, but a few earlier efforts had left my legs a little less chipper. As we were brought back about a lap later, another attack went while the pack was strung out. I had had a bit of time to recover as we waited to be caught, so I went with the counter for fun - and very quickly we had a large gap. The group was working, but it took a bridge by Cody to get things really jazzed up. I would love to say that I was a powerhouse in the group, but in reality - Cody and Jonathan Page coaxed me through and kept me on for the last of the 5 laps that we were away. In the final few laps I was counting down and setting mini-goals - "just 4 more straights left Jenny!" But I made it and followed the wheels in the final sprint. Cody jumped with 400m to go and used up his bullets and Jonathan got a centre line violation - so I ended up 3rd in our group of 5!
That having been said, I couldn't have done it without some stellar work by the girls back in the group who tested out the front - and agitated a few. Our team is awesome!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
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