2007 Preview

So, it's the beginning of February and every conversation with a cycling friend sparks the question...." So how's training going?"

Training is going very well- much better than last year. I'm feeling wintery strong. I've seen improvements in the gym and I've felt good on my rides. It helps that I've been healthy so far and my knees are cooperating. I'm looking forward to a recovery week next week, leading up to the first race of the season, The Cherry Pie Road Race. There's a new course this year. A bunch of us that train with Brian drove down there yesterday to preview the course. I think it'll be a pretty good one for me. You'll be surprised when I say that it's not perfectly flat. Although I prefer flatter courses, pancakes are a bit boring. This course has some rollers and a couple of short climbs. Unfortunately, one of the climbs is where the finish line is. But my biggest worry is getting through the full distance, hope that I have the endurance, since the race will be my longest ride of the winter.

My serious goals are on the track this year. I'd like to see a 12.8 second 200meter on Alpenrose. This will be .4 seconds of an improvement. This time should equate to about 12 seconds in Colorado Springs in July and iat the ADT for Nationals in October. I truely think a faster time will make me a more confident sprinter. I also want to get 39.8 in the 500m. TT at Alpenrose. This will be about a half second improvement. It's really hard to tell how the winter training off the track equated when things start up in May.

Big Events for me this year include:
Independence Day Grand Prix in July- Colorado Springs
Alpenrose AVC the following weekend- Portland
FSA Grand Prix (Nationals Qualifier)- Seattle/ Redmond
Master's National Championships in late August- Trexlertown, PA
Elite National Championships in early October- Caron, CA
Master's World Championships in late October- Sydney, Australia

So here I come 2007. be good to me. I'll try to update this blog on a weekly basis :)
Grrr- the proof is in the biceps. Well, it's probably more in the legs, but couldn't get a good shot. Stay tuned!

Nationals comes to an end.....

Today was the keiren and the team sprint. The day began with the keiren heats. This was a mess to begin with, as many riders scratched for a variety of reasons. The heats were reseeded 2 times (?) and then changed again right before we started. When the reseeding shook out, the heats were very uneven. I was in the last of three heats. I did not get the motor and after trying to squeeze into 2nd and 3rd spot, I finally settled in the 4th position and stayed there until the sprint engaged. I think I was 3rd across the line and the top 2 went through to the next round automatically.

Next Donna and I rode our team sprint. She got out of the blocks hecka fast and almost dropped me!!! Once I got on, I screamed at her to Go ! Go! Go! I did my part and I we got 39.5, which was almost the exact difference in our 500m. times. It wasn't fast enough for the finals. Donna just keeps getting faster and faster.

My reparcharge (second chance) keiren ride was next. (Did I spell that right?) First of all, I have to talk about my pedal situation. I have never come out of my speedplay pedals, but I decided to have Brian rig mine up with single straps, so it wouldn't happen. I was second to the motor on this ride and spent the first laps sweeping my spot, keeping the other riders back. I knew that Kara Vidaca was behind me on the outside, but didn't know anything about the rest of the group. When the motor pulled off, I kept the pace as fast as I wanted to go. Coming around to see 2 to go, someone ran into my pedal. I didn't realize it at the time, but it sheared my shoe buckle right off. Finally, I attacked and came around the first girl, taking Kara with me for the last lap. I won that round. I then realized I was missing part of my shoe, rolled around to collect it from the official that had picked it up. I had the mechanic electrical tape my shoe on for the rest of the day.

The semi final ride had 7 riders. This time I was first behind the motor. As we rode I noticed Anna Lang behind me on the outside and Liz Carlson on the inside. Again, I just tried to keep my spot clear. I don't remember exactly how things went when the motor pulled off. I kept the pace steady and then noticed Anna beginning to come over the top. I hooked up, but unfortunately timed it a little late, since she was already there, and it caused her to react up track. Somewhere in there, my right pedal got caught up again, this time breaking the strap. I just kept going as hard as I could, but heard a ticking sound, thinking it was a broken spoke, but finally figure out that the strap was flying around. Eventually, the strap wrapped around my pedal spindle, making it hard to pedal. The top 3 went through to the final round, but I only managed 4th.

Then the announcement came that I was somewhat expecting to hear. "Number 21, Heather VanValkenburg had been relagated to the end place for making a sudden movement that caused another rider to move up track." I thought this was kind of funny, since I wasn't going to go through to the finals anyway, but I guess the officials wanted to make a point. I'm sure a coach/ holder balked as well.

It was over and I was fine with it. I rode in the 9-12 minor final. This time the pedal drama played out as an unclipping at the start line. so I wound up (after clipping back in) at the end of the train. I spent some time in the wind in the last lap before the motor pulled off. On the attack, I pretty much ran out of gas, and didn't feel confident that my pedal would stay connected to my shoe. I rolled in last.

SOAP BOX- So, every time I ride aggressively, I learn a lot about other riders and the company they keep. Many shrug their shoulder and tell me something like, "Nice hook." Since I know other riders read this sometime let me say my damn peace. Keiren riding can be about making jerky movements to keep others away. I agree that my last move was dangerous, since the rider was already halfway around me. Danger happens. However she was half- wheeling me for most of the lap anyway. Don't ride there. Riding bikes and racing is dangerous. I overheard someone's coach/ holder say that is was nasty and his rider growled that it was the dirtiest move she ever saw. REALLY? Are you kidding me? Have you ever seen MEN racing? They're all over the place. They bump, they hook, they come down on other riders, they get away with a lot and the other riders GET OVER IT. And to the man who kept trying to harrass me the rest of the afternoon, I heard you and I ignored you, thinking that it was funny you put so much energy into your mission- whatever it was. My 6th grade students are more mature.

On the flipside, a few other complimented my aggresiveness. One rider told me that her husband cheered when he saw my blatent, "Back the #!*@ off." I don't plan to comprimise my aggresive style because it's not nice. Yes, I will finesse it, clean it up a bit, but I'll take a relegation anyday over sitting in a race and watching it happen.

No hardware this year. I wasn't fast enough. And the sprints are already a distant memory. There are some fast girls out and I'm looking forward to seeing that caliber of competition next year.

Elite Nationals October 6, 2006


Tonight I had my 500m. TT. Again, I didn't have the best gear, feeling a little easy this time. The gear made sense. It was an inch smaller than at Colorado Springs in August and after my overgear in ithe 200m, it seemed right. I guess it was right for my start, but when I sat down after only about 120 meters I knew I'd feel spun out. My time of 39.12 was almost a half second faster than my last 2 times on this track. And if you consider the elevation factor (1 second slower that at the springs), it was an alright time, but not stellar. It landed me 9th out of 28 riders.


A little later, I was chatting with Kara Vidaca about our ride. We were joking about something, when a recognizable guy on crutches hopped up the stairs behind her. I was in mid sentence....

"Hey, turn around and check out the guy in crutches." She was a little surprised to see Floyd hobble righ tpast her. Her was there for a short interview and to present awards for the men's team pursuit and the women's points race. Later, when he left, Donna stopped him and we took photos. it was a fun surprise.


So, Donna broke her own world record again. The new 50+ world record is 39.857. The old lady got 18th overall. She had to fill out some official forms to seal the dealio!

Well, we all have bad days. Unfortunately, my most recent bad day was on a very important one. To begin with, my 200m. time was pretty slow for me. In retrospect, I had too big of a gear. Noted: 96" is too big. I guess that's good information for next time. My first ride was against Anna Lang. I rode a decent race overall, but didn't quite make it around in time. I lost by a nudge. My second ride was the last chance to stay in the game. It was a 3 up against Cari Higgins (lost to her at master's nationals) and Shelby Allen (whose gotten faster since beating me last year at nationals. Fast or not, the problem wasn't my legs, but between my ears. I left my balls in Oregon I suppose, finishing last of us three. So, I think I got about 9th overall. Shelby went on to the semi finals tonight. I'll find Cari later and see if she wants to go get a beer (Haley, delete that last sentence for the students.)

Tonight, Deano (Moses) and Stevo get to pop off their kilo. Let's go boys! Tomorrow night is my 500m. Stomp and go.

Photos from Master's Nationals

Well, it's funny because there are no pictures of my actual racing, but here are some of my favorites.
Between the 200m. TT and 500m. TT we had a long break. It's not that there was a break in racing- just lots of racers. Here we have Darell, Donna, and I taking a rest under the tent.

Master's Nationals 2006
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Well, silver isn't quite as nice as gold, but such is racing sometimes. It took me a while to settle on that. For the first hour after racing, I kept hearing Ricky Bobby, "If you're not first, your'e last!" Considering I knew little about what to expect when I came to this race, one gold and one silver aren't so bad.

Cari Higgins got a buy first round, since she qualified 1st and there were only 7sprinters. Even the first round was determined best 2 of 3, so I would have at least 6 rides this afternoon.

Round #1 was a good opener, getting used to the track. I won in 2 against Hammer Racing Team's, Jodi Walzer. Round #2 was against Brooke Wilson. I went up against her at nationals last year- she'd gotten faster the past year, but I rode a good race and won in 2 again. So, now I was in the finals

The track was HOT, I was getting tired already. I needed to find some cool shade, which I did in the stands. My first ride against Cari, I wasn't as aggresive as I could be. I couldn't get the position I wanted- something to work on this month. She got the jump on me and we rode together in the last lap. I started to come around, but barely missed catching her at the finish line. I just needed about 2 more feet. It was a photo finish and we didn't know the verdict until we had both rolled off the track.

In the second ride, I rode a little smarter, putting on tighter pressure, but she got under me and this time I was unable to close.

It didn't work out how I had hoped. It's weird that 3rd place is almost easier to take than 2nd. At least with 3rd, you won the last ride. With 2nd place, you lost. You leave the race mad. As you leave the track to the quiet and coolness of the grass outside the fence, you duck away from everyone who either wants to compliment your ride or who you overhear tell the other girl how awesome she did- in the next tent. Hopefully you have a little time to chill and have a laugh before the awards ceremony.

Today, I'm tired. I don't feel motivated to get ready for elite nationals in just 7 weeks. I'll be without my track bike until next Friday when Donna comes down for masters state championships. How funny is that- to do state championships after nationals. That happened last year with elites. I'm tired of race, race, racing every weekend, but I give it about 5 days and I should be ready to go again

Master's Nationals
Colorado Springs, Colorado

So far, I'm seeded 2nd in the 200m. TT. I took a BAD line, which cost me 1-2 tenths. I actually took an excellent line for Alpenrose. However, the 200m. line is about 1/3 down the straightaway and I didn't get full advantage of the corner 4 banking. My time was 12.54 and I was really hoping to be in the neighborhood of 12.2- 12,3, but I'm OK with it. The first place girl, Cari Higgins got a 12.40. Hopefully the two of us will face off for gold and it should be a good ride.

I WON THE 500m. TT FOR MY AGE GROUP (30-34). I'm a Master's National Champion. There were 9 riders. I was in the 4th heat (of 5) riding against Cari. Going in, I hoped my gear wasn't going to be too small. The start was good- almost too good. I was worried that I might spin out. The first half lap, I kept tellling my self "this isn't good enough- go harder." Once I settled in and got as aero as possible, I realized it was a perfect gear. I felt great and was able to keep spinning in the last quarter lap, which according to the folks watching was the difference between 1st and 2nd, My 38.38 time was a huge P.R over my time late fall in L.A. of 39.51. Kari's 38.7 was close! I'm very excited. PIctures to come :)

Donna is he absolute stud. She broke a national and world record today! The old record in her 50-54 age group was 40.2. She shattered it with a 39.8. I jumped up and down, screaming when she finished. Jumping up and down in cycling cleats is not smart- almost fell.

So, Brian got to see 2 of his athletes squeeze into stars and stripes jerseys at the awards ceremony. That was pretty cool for all three of us. It was much more fun to celebrate, with Donna also winning. Then we- Donna, Brian, Allane, Steve, and Darrell went to Old Chicago for Pizza and beer, and to Michelle's for Sundaes. The beer float in my tum-tum, didn't settle well, but I survived (whew).

When we got into bed tonight, Allane fell asleep right away. Donna and I laid there in the dark, silently for about 5 minutes. Out of nowhere, she giggles and says, "I'm a world record holder!" We busted up and I eventually fell asleep.

Sprints are Friday. There are 7 women. Will keep posted.

Field Trip to Nike

A little before lunch time, the Godfrey fraternity teammates picked me up in the van. We headed to the nike campus to meet Norrene. She escorted us to Sample Town to meet Delores. She gave us a little tour of the mini factory, where the samples for every piece of apparel are constructed. One wall was full of everyl fabric currently used for Nike clothing! I was impressed and it was a treat to get "backstage" of the worlds most popular sports apparel and footwear company. Delores also gave us our new booties, so I expect to go fast next week at Master's Nationals. The booties are one of a kind- well, 20 of a kind, actually. We'll call it limited edition. They are not a Nike retail product- just made especially for us.

Next, Emily met up with us to treat us to lunch with Ian, also from the Nike research lab. They've been working with the kids, using them for testing. Hopefully, Kirk's tail quits growing- wouldn't want it to get stuck in the rear wheel. Kidding. We ate at a restaurant right on campus. After lunch, Emily whoed me around the lab- pretty cool.