I had a busy weekend and not much time to relax. We drove to Mesquite, Texas on Friday evening and arrived around 10:00 to our magnificent Super 8 motel. We shared a room with my teammate Beth and my other teammate Daniele and Conex Train's Ally were right next door. This hotel was much closer to the race course but smelled really bad. We were up at the crack of dawn for our 8:30 start time and it was already toasty warm. We had around 12 women start the race and for the first 30 minutes it was pretty calm. I got a prime during that time but everything stayed together. Another prime came up and Hannos went for it with Ally in tow. They had a good gap on the rest of us and Daniele jumped across to them. I immediately went to the front to slow it down in the corners a bit so the break would get away. There was an attack in the field on the uphill part and I pretty much blew apart. It totally caught me off guard. But that was the whole purpose of the attack, I suppose. There were only a few more laps to go so I just puttered around until the finish. We ended up with 3rd, 4th and 6th for the day. We went back to the hotel to shower and pack up and then grabbed lunch on our way back to the race course. Charles raced later in the afternoon so we found a big shade tree to relax under for the rest of the afternoon. I think it was almost 100 degrees with a 30 mph wind so for sure, a hot day.

We moved on to the Hampton Inn in Ft. Worth later and ate dinner at this crazy italian restaurant with singing waiters. The food was good but out waitress was quite possibly the worst waitress in the world! The next race was the GS Tenzing crit but was more of a circuit. It was really windy and the course was wide open with no turns. Shannon K went from the gun but the pack stayed together for at least the first half of the race. Again a prime came along and a group of 5 got up the road. I was back in the pack so I just sat on and let those without teammates in the break chase. We ended up with a win! Shontell outsprinted ex-pro Andrea Hannos! So we got 1st, 5th, 7th and 8th on the day. For dinner we met up with Big John from OKC and ate at Uncle Julio's mexican restaurant. The food was awesome and we stopped by Starbucks and hung out there for a bit afterward.

Monday was the TX state championship crit in Ft. Worth. It was the exact same course as it was 2 years ago when I won the cat 3 race and took 3rd overall. I remembered liking the course so I was excited to race. That was until I got gapped early on by a near crash and had to close that gap. Then, on the very same lap, I crashed on this really bad corner! I really don't remember what happened. All I remember is hitting the pavement. My hip bones took the brunt of the fall and I got some road rash on my elbow and the side of my hip. My bike is a little scrathed but not too bad. The worst part was the I fell on my stomach and it felt like someone kicked me in my belly. It took the wind right out of me. I got back up and took off for the wheel pit but I was hurting pretty bad. I tried to hop back in but the pack was going pretty fast and I was struggling to breathe. I felt terrible and I wanted to quit so bad. I made myself keep pedaling and finish the race. Ally ended up soloing off the front for the win and Beth solo'd in for 2nd place. Shontell almost beat sprinter extrodanaire, Jen McRae, in the pack sprint for 3rd. So we ended up with 2nd, 4th, 8th and 10th.

I have more races this weekend in Tulsa. The first one is Friday evening. I am a little intimidated by the fast corners now so I've got to built my confidence back up. Hopefully this weekend is a little better for me than last. I am happy with how my team did but a little disappointed in my own performance.

We are off to Ft. Worth this evening for a fun-filled weekend of crit racing. I race tomorrow morning at 8:30. I am not thrilled to have to get out of bed at 5:00 AM in order to eat, drive to the race and warm-up but at least it will only be 90 degrees rather than 100 at that point. And I will have the rest of the day to relax and hang out at our hotel pool hopefully. I really need to work on my bad tan lines! Sunday and Monday my races are in the afternoon so it is going to a big "sweat fest" for sure. I'm going to the store before we leave to load up on gatorade and water to hopefully prevent any dehydration.

Last night was a good ride. I felt 100% better than I have all week. We did tempo for 30 minutes and then some intervals. It is so nice to actually feel good after a ride rather than sluggish and tired. And then I got to mow the front yard when I got home. More fun!!! But, the yard is looking excellent and our landscaping job from last summer looks good. I think it's the best on the block but I am just a little biased.

So, it is Friday and I am dressed up. I am not too happy about that but I have an arraingment this afternoon at 1:30. It is crazy that I have to dress up all day for a 10 second court appearance! But, it is just the perks of this job, I suppose!

I got bored with the look of my blog so I decided to change the color. I wish I was a little more techinologically advanced so I could do my own design but I am far from that.

I did the Tuesday night ride last night and there was a crash somewhere before I met up with them. This is the second week in a row where there has been a crash. Luckily, I have not been a part of any of them so I have not gone down and I cannot be blamed for any of them which is even better. The ride was really not that hard but I rode nearly 20 miles against the 30 mph head wind prior to meeting up with the group. So, I was a little tired by that point. I felt pretty good but I kept getting stuck out in the wind. I kept thinking, "oh well, I will get stronger." After a few miles of the cross wind I popped off the back a bit. I recovered and pushed to catch back onto the group a few miles later. At least the ride home was easy with the nice tail wind. I am feeling a little tired today and for some reason my legs are sore. I'm thinking maybe I pushed harder in the time trial on Saturday than what I thought I did. Hopefully I start feeling better for this weekend. I am going to Dallas/Ft. Worth for three crits. The one on Monday is the Texas State Championship crit. I know powerhouse and sprinter extrodanaire, Jen McRae, is going to be there so it should be a ton of fun trying to keep her in check (if that is possible)! :-) Three of my teammates are coming up from Austin to race and Jen is bringing two of her teammates from Austin as well. We are all staying at the same hotel so that should be alot of fun and I am looking forward to getting out of town and racing some FLAT crits for a change!

Weenie Dog Races

Weenie Dog Races
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.

Zakk, Mom and Charles

Zakk, Mom and Charles
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.

Sunday my mom and my nephew, Zakk, came down and we went to the Weenie Dog races at Remington Park. It was a late Mother's Day for my mom since I was gone last weekend.

Pepper

Pepper
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.

So, do we look alike?

Joe Martin from cyclingnews.com

Miranda
Originally uploaded by cyclesq.

Joe Martin Stage Race

I just got home from my very first pro stage race. It was possibley the most difficult thing I have ever experienced, physically speaking anyway! I was so nervous on Friday especially when I got to the venue and saw all the pro women and pro teams there. These are the women I read about in magazines and on cyclingnews.com and here I am attempting to race against them. I was at little intimidated, to say the least. It started out pretty fact and the descents were reaching 50 mph. The climbs were't too bad and for the first 30 miles or so I was feeling pretty decent. And then the mountain came. I got popped pretty quick once we started up Mt. Gaylor and managed to pass a few people and then once I got to the top I was cooked. And to my dismay, I still had another 30 miles to go! I had a couple other girls with me to keep me company but it was pretty darn miserable and I could not wait to finish that stage. Saturday morning came much too soon and my legs were not feeling well at all. The first small hill on the way out about cracked me. Then we rolled along for 15 miles fairly easy. And then again, I got popped on the long uphill. I managed to chase and catch back on the the pack for a little while, just in time for it to kick up again and I got dropped for good that time and did the second lap with a group of 4 other girls. Again, it was pretty painful and I was so happy to see the 10k to go banner. The evening uphill time trial was not near as bad as what I thought it would be. I kept my watts much higher than I anticipated and I felt 100% better afterward. Sunday's crit was at 11:30 so I was able to sleep in a little. My legs felt pretty good in my warm-up and I was excited to race my first crit of the season. It started out fast and I could not get clipped in at first. I struggled with that and finally took off. Gaps opened up immediately and I was chasing for two laps just trying to stay attached. The pack got away with small break off the front and many smaller group still chasing and four of us worked together for the next 40 minutes before we got pulled. The big hill killed my legs every lap but I felt good in the corners and I was able to take them pretty fast. There were a few crashes in the crit so I was happy that I avoided all of those. I ended up 64th out of about 82 women. So, at least I didn't get last and I managed to finish the race. I am happy that it is over with and I know it has made me stronger, both mentally and physically. But, I have a VERY VERY long way to go before I can be competitive with those girls. I am looking forward to some flat races in the future though! And I got my picture on cyclingnew.com for the first time. Granted I was off the back so I was an easy target but it looks good anyway! here's the link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos.php?id=photos/2006/may06/joemartin06/joemartin061/wprev1

I did the BLN ride last night and for the first time this season, I actually blew up! I rode by myself to the bike shop at about 5:00. I had a north wind pushing so it wasn't bad at all. It's only about 8 miles so no problem. I picked up Steve and Charles at 6:00 at the shop and the we went south toward Norman. Steve decided we should go down Santa Fe to meet with the ride instead of our normal Western over to Penn route. He thought that we would be able to catch them sooner because we had a tailwind and the group would have a head wind. We went pretty hard down there and I was looking forward to catching the group to slow down! Well, we got to Indian Hill road and Santa Fe and saw a group of cyclist just as they made the turn. Sweet, we are right on time, I thought. As we got cloer to the group, I quickly realized that it was not the "A" group that we were trying to catch. So, we passed that group which turned out to be the "C" group. Yep, you see where this going, right? So, we hammered for another 5 miles or so and caught another group which again I thought was the "A" group, but to my dismay, it was the "B" group. I was so completely trashed by this point of chasing for 10 miles that I was content to sit in the "B" group and then ride home. But Charles said "no way, I'm not giving up now!" So, we continued on our chase. I could see the group up ahead and we slowly got closer. And a few miles later we were in the pack of the "A" group. I felt like I was going to vomit and was completely exhausted by this point. And the group was only getting started. It usually lights up about 2 miles after where we joined them so I knew it was getting ready to get fast. And sure enough, attacks started and lots of surging was going on. I was actually doing ok sitting in and following wheels but the second I got stuck in the wind, I could really feel myself fading quickly. The group rolled along together, for the most part, and then Smathers jumped and Charles was on his wheel and I tried to jump and go with them. And it was on the "wind side" of the group. I could not close the gap to them and I gasped for air as I watched the group roll past me. I kept telling myself, "breath, recover, spin, breath, breath" but it wasn't working. I rode easy for about 30 seconds and I thought I was recovered enough so I took off again to re-attach and I could not do anthing. My legs were like rubber and could not respond. So, I had to spin easy and try to get some life back into them. The group turned south on May to head back to Norman and Charles waited on me at the gas station. We rode back to the shop somewhat easy but we had a north/east wind to go up against. My legs hurt so bad last night and even today they are sore. So, I need to recover before this weekend so I can blow them up again at Joe Martin!

I did the Tribbey Time Trial on Saturday morning...in the rain and drizzle. I did it on my regular bike because it was a hilly course and I am more comfortable on my regular bike than my tt bike. And it was 26 miles. A little too long to be really uncomfortable. I ended up with 2nd but I managed to beat some of the guys. I really started running out of gas toward the end. It is hard to push yourself for over an hour. Twenty or thirty minutes is not too bad but an hour or in my case and hour and fifteen minutes, is hard for me! I was going along pretty decent and my watts were up high and then Smathers passed me like I was standing still! And then 10 minutes later Steve S passed me like I was standing still and then I got really frustrated. I couldn't go any harder at that point because I was tired but my brain was telling me to go harder. My body just did not want to cooperate. But that is usually the story when it comes to racing and time trialing in particular. My mind says go and my legs are screaming stop!

Sunday we decked the roof of the garage at the rent house. I have never done that before but luckily Charles used to be a pro so he orchestrated things well. But my arms are pretty sore today from lifting the sheets of wood up on the roof. Now we have to put shingles on the stupid thing. I guess we're only half way there. Hopefully we can get it done this week sometime. I am getting tired of all this manual labor. It is hard work!

Finally have the sewer line fixed. Finally can wash clothes. And finally have the new dryer working again. Now, the shingles on the roof are getting blown off. And my dog, Chica, keeps jumping the fence and going to the neighbors. So, my secretary, Krystal, is taking Chica because she has a big backyard with a wood fence that hopefully she can't figure out how to get over. And the rent house was reported to the city for the garage being dilapadated. This weekend we either will tear the garage down or re-roof it. Then we need carpet in the living room and it will be ready to sell. At least with the rent house sold and Chica living at Krystal's house, I will only have to put a new roof on my house. But then again, my air conditioner is pretty old. It just NEVER ends.....One of these days I will get ahead, maybe.

I just got registered for Joe Martin. This will be my first pro women's stage race EVER. So, I am a little nervous already. Not really about the other women but about the course itself. The description for Friday says a "very demanding course" and it is 64 miles. And then Saturday says a "challenging course with demanding climbs". I'm not sure those are basically the same thing for both days but it sounds pretty intense to me. I am hoping I come back with all my teeth because I have a feeling they will get kicked in for sure. I have done this race two times before but once as a cat 4 and once as a cat3 and it has always been a really difficult race for me. The hills are hard and the time trial really takes alot out me. But it will be fun and I know it will make me stronger!

Last night we did intervals, 5 x 3 to be exact. It hurt like heck and was really not much fun. We did these intervals around Lake Hefner and it was pretty much like racing around an obstacle course. There are two different paths that go around Lake Hefner, one for the walkers/runners and one for the bikes/skates. For some reason, every slow and scary rollerblader was on the bike/skate trail along with every jogger and dog walker. There were also various kids running around and moms pushing strollers on the bike/skate path as well. Not to mention the normal sturdy red concrete poles that seperate the lanes before intersections and the cars and fishermen on the dam. All of these things with a 20 mph north east wind just really made my 3 minte hard efforts even harder. But, on the bright side, if I am ever in an obstacle race on my bike, I should do pretty decent!

It has been awhile. I have been so busy with work and working on houses that I hardly have time to do anything else. I do make time to ride, I guess. I haven't been racing much. I would like to but the money situation is a little tight right now so I can't afford to get to the races. Hopefully that will change shortly. I have been doing local stuff right now. Last week I did a local crit. I raced the B race and did decent. I think I was 6th out of 40 so not too bad. I let up alot with two turns to go. Everyone was getting a little antsy and I didn't want to crash my new bike in my first crit of the season so I let off the gas to avoid going down. It isn't worth it to me to crash while trying to win a local practice crit. So, it was a long sprint after my slow down and I managed to pass a few at the end. I think I ended up 5th overall in the month long series. Maybe next time I''l fair better. I did a local tt Saturday morning, in the rain. I felt terrible and had virtually no power. I have no idea what I finished with. I haven't seen the results but the cold, wind, rain and early start time really did not agree with me. But considering how little I practice time trialing and how little I ride my tt bike, I think it was a decent finish.

My next race is Joe Martin which starts on May 12. It will be my first pro stage race so I'm sure it will be fast and furious. My team is all planning ot be there so it should be a really fun race.

Our sewer line is finally fixed. It has only taken a month and a half so I am so happy to be done with sewer problems. And hopefully our dryer will be fixed tomorrow so we can do laundry at our house for the first time in a month. It is amazing how expensive it is to do laundry at the laundrymat....

And the rent house is near completion. All it needs is carpet in one room and the base boards on and we'll be in business to get it on the market. I sorta enjoy re-doing houses but it is diffiuclt to find the time in between riding and working. It seems I work all week and then work some more on the weekends. I guess it never ends....