So this past spring for me has pretty much been a wash as far as cycling is concerned. After cyclocross nationals I planned to take a couple of weeks off, and found myself running with my sister while she trained for the One City Marathon. I myself was training for the One City Marathon Relay with three of my closest friends on a marathon relay team. I got hooked running and enjoyed the change, and took more than a couple weeks off!
I did my first off-road duathlon as a part of the Virginia Off-Road Series in Fredricksburg, which was extremely difficult but actually quite a bit of fun. I probably would've enjoyed it more had I been riding a little bit more consistently!
My sister and I then both signed up for our first half marathons (yes the same sister that just did her first full marathon). We ran the Race 13.1 Richmond in May during a torrential downpour, and both beat our goal time, and both won our age groups! I was worried that I would be miserable the whole time, but once I settled into a rhythm with the pacers I was with, I began to realize that I was more prepared than I gave myself credit for! I definitely plan to do another one...and am looking to sign up for the full One City Marathon next March. But I can't think about that now...cross is coming!
 |
| The Glittering Wives...we don't sweat, we glitter! |
 |
| 3rd Place Overall Women for the Fredricksburg Off-Road Duathlon |
 |
| Race 13.1 30-34 and 40-44 age group winners! |
The Virginia cycling scene has been very small this spring, with several races I was looking forward to getting canceled or postponed. That didn't help get me back onto the bike any quicker with any consistency. The spotty road season for me started the day before the One City Marathon relay with the Shamrock Crit that happens every year because of the hard work of my fellow mermaids. A couple weeks later the Conquer the Canal TT came around, a month after that the Richmond International Raceway crit was put on the calendar again after an earlier postponement, and yet another month later, in June, the Chesapeake Crit happened.
The time trial I didn't expect much out of myself since I haven't been putting miles in, and I'm not a big fan of TTs anyway. That was one I did mostly because I was off of work (which is how I treat most TTs)! All of the crits I surprised myself because I felt so good during the race, and I have to wonder how much better I would've felt had I been running less and riding more. Although I did enjoy running with my sister this spring!
 |
| Amanda and I at Shamrock |
 |
| Crossing the line (and stopping the Garmin!) at Conquer the Canal |
 |
| Gisela and I at Chesapeake |
I really started focusing at the beginning of June. I found a coach to work with, and I feel more motivated and focused than I have in a long while. I've come to realize that standing on the podium next to the stars and stripes is not where I want to be! And making up that two minute gap to the 1st place gal won't happen with me pretending that I know what I'm doing with my training. I feel more comfortable on my bike and more fit after this first month than I have in a few seasons. This is it...cross is coming and this season is going to be fantastic.
I have to attribute part of my motivation to the mermaids of Tradewinds Racing. Even though we are a road specific team, I want to ride and race better because it helps the team. Everything all of us do individually affects the team, and I want my actions to have as positive an impact as possible. We have a much deeper roster this year than we have had in the past few years. When I heard that we were getting more gals this season, I was nervous, not knowing any of them really well, and not knowing how everybody would get along. I'm not a big fan of drama and I didn't want to have to think about leaving because the good thing we had going got muddled.
But here we are now, over halfway into the season, and I am proud to be a part of it. I think the girls are great. They are talented, motivated, and truly wanting to learn. I wish the calendar was thicker with races and more conducive to my schedule that I could make it to more. I really want these ladies to see how much fun racing is when you have the support of a team behind you. I was on Tradewinds the first year it started and I've enjoyed it all. There was so much for me to learn that I wouldn't have been able to start and continue racing at the national level without being a part of it. I learned so much about racing in the past few years because I've been on this team, and I want the new mermaids to feel that benefit as well. I want them to be able to give back to the sport in a few years and pass on what they've learned to the next generation of mermaids.
 |
| Conquer the Canal TT 2016 |
 |
| Dinner at Mermaid Winery |
 |
| Chesapeake Criterium 2016 |
