We're back! If you don't want to read this blog, you can skip to the pics.
What a great 3-day trip! I thought I would have time to update my blog when we were gone but if we weren't in the car driving, I was training or watching Karel race.
Friday:
I started the morning with 6.5 miles of intervals on a the treadmill, followed by a super hard 3900 swim. At 11am Karel, Campy and I headed off to Spartanburg, S.C. I haven't been to SC in a long time so I was excited for our 6 hour trip. Karel's race was at 8pm and thankfully they started on time. After Karel got warmed up, it was time for the race start. There were over 150 riders and the field was strong. The crowd was great and the town was super cute and those two factors always make for a great race.
Karel loved the course with 4 corners and a slight uphill after corner 3. What crit wouldn't be complete without crashes so of course, this race had a number of crashes. Once again, Karel was safe but he got stuck behind the crashes. Luckily, he was able to work hard to get back to the group. Karel finished around 50th place and was so happy with the finish. Campy didn't mind the 1 hour and 15 min. race because we walked around the course many many times.
After the race we headed to NC to stay with my good friend Christi. We were a bit tired when we arrived at 11pm but I couldn't wait to introduce Campy to Milo. Christi has a mutt which is part husky and about 10 times bigger and heavier than campy. We were a bit nervous having them meet but Campy and Milo were instantly BFF's. We laughed for about 10 minutes as Campy made Milo chase him around the couch inside the house. When I was ready for bed, Campy was not. Karel and I were both super tired but campy wanted to play. What a night.
Sat:
I woke up early at 6am to get ready for the swim/bike workout w/ Christi and her training buddies. We drove to the YMCA for a lake swim and I was amazed by the number of people who showed up. There had to be over 70 people there! Unfortunately, the water was too cold for me without a wetsuit (73 degrees..brrr) so I decided to run while Christi swam. I went for a 36 min. run and I was super excited to get on my bike for a 50 mile hill ride. Well, when I started riding up the hill from the Y my chain kept slipping on the chain. Bummer. I called my on-call bike tech (Karel) and he told me he thinks it could be the cassette that he just put on my bike. Karel fixed up my bike on thurs. to make it ready for the hills but because he was SO busy on thurs. at the Trek store, he didn't get a chance to ride my bike to test it out. It was only a quick fix to make the chain stay on the gear but I had to skip the bike. I wasn't upset and I decided to go for plan B. Christi and I had our running shoes so we headed out for a long run on the hills of NC. After 30 min. of running, Christi took me to the Davidson college 8K cross country course. This was no normal running course. There were hills which took the breath out of me and my quads were screaming. But I loved it! After an hour of running, we headed back to the car for a drink and gel and then out for another hour. We did a ton of hills (which I called mountains) and finished with 2:07 of running. With my 36 min. of running before my second run, I was dead tired from 2 hours and 42 min. of running. After a well-needed breakfast, I crashed on the couch for about an hour. What a morning.
Karel left for his race in Dilworth, NC at 2:30 and Christi, Pamela, Campy and I left around 3:30. The race was at 4:30 and luckily, there was no rain in the forecast.
Karel called me right before the race and told me he just witnessed a crash. I thought nothing of it because I am use to bike crashes but he said it was a car crash and he saw a person hit a tree at a four way stop. Luckily, Karel let the other car to his right go ahead of him or else Karel would have been hit. Karel was a little shook up from the crash but I knew he could pull it together to race.
The race started at 430 and I was ready to take some good pics. Karel had a fun club there because Christi called all her friends to come and watch the race. It was only a matter of time before the rain started coming down and then it was pouring. We tried to stay dry under the big tall trees at the park but we got a little wet. Unfortunantly, the rain caused a number of crashes on one of the scariest corners I have seen in a cycling race. The crit course is not very technical but in the rain, a downhill into a 90 degree turn is scary without rain! Once again, Karel got stuck behind a big crash and was not able to get back to the group. Because so many dropped out of the race in the first few laps, Karel and 4 other guys in his group kept on riding hard until they got lapped and had to stop racing. I was so proud of Karel for continuing to ride because you never know what will happen in a race where people are dropping out and crashes are happening all over the place. Karel and many other riders had no brakes because in the rain you want to let out tire pressure and when the ride started in beautiful sunny skis, the riders were not prepared for the rain. Usually Karel doesn't mind racing in the rain but he just wasn't prepared this time. Only 40 people finished out of 120 starters and Karel knew he had one more day to prove to himself that he can finish Speedweek with a good race.
After the race we had a great dinner at Christi's house. I made salad, rice and tofu and Pamela made fish. It was soooo yummy and Karel LOVED the fish.
It was an early night on sat night and I looked forward to sun.
Sun:
Christi and I made up for our lost ride on sat. by riding some rolling hills at 7am on sunday morning. This was great prep for IMKY because I really needed to practice with my gears and climbing. I enjoyed my 50K ride and I pushed a little harder than normal to battle the step climbs. I don't have a lot of practice with climbing with my tri bike but I really loved it. I'm even more excited for IMKY!
After our ride we got the dogs and Pamela, Christi and I took the dogs for a run. I had to head back after 10 min. because I need to pack and get cleaned up for our next trip so Campy and Milo ran together for a bit longer.
After breakfast we said our good-byes and Karel, Campy and I headed to Sandy Spring, GA. Last year we LOVED this town and Karel remembered the brutal climb to the start/finish. This year, he feared it once again. As Karel warmed up he noticed a lot of strong riders at this race and he was a bit nervous that the race would be too hard for him. I let Karel get in his zone so campy and I walked around the course and watched the 1 mile run before the Pro race. At 415 it was time for Karel's 50K race, where they circled the course 50 times. Even with the climb, these crazy cyclists can do a 50K in 1:15!! Crazy fast.
The race was great and Karel looked super strong. Although Karel was near the back he was still in the race as riders kept dropping off. I got a little nervous towards the end of the race cause I knew Karel was getting tired. I saw him stretching his back after the climb and I knew this race was taking it out of him. I got some great pictures and Campy and I watched the race from every spot around the course. It was at the last 6 laps when there was an ugly crash at the top of the climb, right at the start/finish. There was Karel, stuck behind the crash and he had to grab his bike, get himself together and try to catch back on without getting lapped. He pushed hard and he finished the race in 43rd place out of around 120-130 starters. Karel looked at his power after the race and all night long he felt the 50 x 1000 watt sprints up the climb. Ouch!
Well, that sums up the weekend. We made it up right at midnight on Sun night and it was nice to be home. However, we had a great time and I can't wait until next year to do it all again!
Enjoy the pics.
Spartanburg:
Dilworth:
Sandy Springs:
What a great 3-day trip! I thought I would have time to update my blog when we were gone but if we weren't in the car driving, I was training or watching Karel race.
Friday:
I started the morning with 6.5 miles of intervals on a the treadmill, followed by a super hard 3900 swim. At 11am Karel, Campy and I headed off to Spartanburg, S.C. I haven't been to SC in a long time so I was excited for our 6 hour trip. Karel's race was at 8pm and thankfully they started on time. After Karel got warmed up, it was time for the race start. There were over 150 riders and the field was strong. The crowd was great and the town was super cute and those two factors always make for a great race.
Karel loved the course with 4 corners and a slight uphill after corner 3. What crit wouldn't be complete without crashes so of course, this race had a number of crashes. Once again, Karel was safe but he got stuck behind the crashes. Luckily, he was able to work hard to get back to the group. Karel finished around 50th place and was so happy with the finish. Campy didn't mind the 1 hour and 15 min. race because we walked around the course many many times.
After the race we headed to NC to stay with my good friend Christi. We were a bit tired when we arrived at 11pm but I couldn't wait to introduce Campy to Milo. Christi has a mutt which is part husky and about 10 times bigger and heavier than campy. We were a bit nervous having them meet but Campy and Milo were instantly BFF's. We laughed for about 10 minutes as Campy made Milo chase him around the couch inside the house. When I was ready for bed, Campy was not. Karel and I were both super tired but campy wanted to play. What a night.
Sat:
I woke up early at 6am to get ready for the swim/bike workout w/ Christi and her training buddies. We drove to the YMCA for a lake swim and I was amazed by the number of people who showed up. There had to be over 70 people there! Unfortunately, the water was too cold for me without a wetsuit (73 degrees..brrr) so I decided to run while Christi swam. I went for a 36 min. run and I was super excited to get on my bike for a 50 mile hill ride. Well, when I started riding up the hill from the Y my chain kept slipping on the chain. Bummer. I called my on-call bike tech (Karel) and he told me he thinks it could be the cassette that he just put on my bike. Karel fixed up my bike on thurs. to make it ready for the hills but because he was SO busy on thurs. at the Trek store, he didn't get a chance to ride my bike to test it out. It was only a quick fix to make the chain stay on the gear but I had to skip the bike. I wasn't upset and I decided to go for plan B. Christi and I had our running shoes so we headed out for a long run on the hills of NC. After 30 min. of running, Christi took me to the Davidson college 8K cross country course. This was no normal running course. There were hills which took the breath out of me and my quads were screaming. But I loved it! After an hour of running, we headed back to the car for a drink and gel and then out for another hour. We did a ton of hills (which I called mountains) and finished with 2:07 of running. With my 36 min. of running before my second run, I was dead tired from 2 hours and 42 min. of running. After a well-needed breakfast, I crashed on the couch for about an hour. What a morning.
Karel left for his race in Dilworth, NC at 2:30 and Christi, Pamela, Campy and I left around 3:30. The race was at 4:30 and luckily, there was no rain in the forecast.
Karel called me right before the race and told me he just witnessed a crash. I thought nothing of it because I am use to bike crashes but he said it was a car crash and he saw a person hit a tree at a four way stop. Luckily, Karel let the other car to his right go ahead of him or else Karel would have been hit. Karel was a little shook up from the crash but I knew he could pull it together to race.
The race started at 430 and I was ready to take some good pics. Karel had a fun club there because Christi called all her friends to come and watch the race. It was only a matter of time before the rain started coming down and then it was pouring. We tried to stay dry under the big tall trees at the park but we got a little wet. Unfortunantly, the rain caused a number of crashes on one of the scariest corners I have seen in a cycling race. The crit course is not very technical but in the rain, a downhill into a 90 degree turn is scary without rain! Once again, Karel got stuck behind a big crash and was not able to get back to the group. Because so many dropped out of the race in the first few laps, Karel and 4 other guys in his group kept on riding hard until they got lapped and had to stop racing. I was so proud of Karel for continuing to ride because you never know what will happen in a race where people are dropping out and crashes are happening all over the place. Karel and many other riders had no brakes because in the rain you want to let out tire pressure and when the ride started in beautiful sunny skis, the riders were not prepared for the rain. Usually Karel doesn't mind racing in the rain but he just wasn't prepared this time. Only 40 people finished out of 120 starters and Karel knew he had one more day to prove to himself that he can finish Speedweek with a good race.
After the race we had a great dinner at Christi's house. I made salad, rice and tofu and Pamela made fish. It was soooo yummy and Karel LOVED the fish.
It was an early night on sat night and I looked forward to sun.
Sun:
Christi and I made up for our lost ride on sat. by riding some rolling hills at 7am on sunday morning. This was great prep for IMKY because I really needed to practice with my gears and climbing. I enjoyed my 50K ride and I pushed a little harder than normal to battle the step climbs. I don't have a lot of practice with climbing with my tri bike but I really loved it. I'm even more excited for IMKY!
After our ride we got the dogs and Pamela, Christi and I took the dogs for a run. I had to head back after 10 min. because I need to pack and get cleaned up for our next trip so Campy and Milo ran together for a bit longer.
After breakfast we said our good-byes and Karel, Campy and I headed to Sandy Spring, GA. Last year we LOVED this town and Karel remembered the brutal climb to the start/finish. This year, he feared it once again. As Karel warmed up he noticed a lot of strong riders at this race and he was a bit nervous that the race would be too hard for him. I let Karel get in his zone so campy and I walked around the course and watched the 1 mile run before the Pro race. At 415 it was time for Karel's 50K race, where they circled the course 50 times. Even with the climb, these crazy cyclists can do a 50K in 1:15!! Crazy fast.
The race was great and Karel looked super strong. Although Karel was near the back he was still in the race as riders kept dropping off. I got a little nervous towards the end of the race cause I knew Karel was getting tired. I saw him stretching his back after the climb and I knew this race was taking it out of him. I got some great pictures and Campy and I watched the race from every spot around the course. It was at the last 6 laps when there was an ugly crash at the top of the climb, right at the start/finish. There was Karel, stuck behind the crash and he had to grab his bike, get himself together and try to catch back on without getting lapped. He pushed hard and he finished the race in 43rd place out of around 120-130 starters. Karel looked at his power after the race and all night long he felt the 50 x 1000 watt sprints up the climb. Ouch!
Well, that sums up the weekend. We made it up right at midnight on Sun night and it was nice to be home. However, we had a great time and I can't wait until next year to do it all again!
Enjoy the pics.
Spartanburg:
Dilworth:
Sandy Springs:
