Dream Chaser On Wheels

If It Ain’t Broke

You’ve probably heard the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. But what would you do if it’s only a little broke? Do you stay with the status quo or take the risk in your attempt to improve? I was faced with this dilemma the week leading up to Nationals. The first few minutes of stepping into my skates, I always felt like my left frame was pointing to the wrong direction. Visual inspection suggested otherwise but it just didn’t feel right. I was skating well on road and alright on 400m track. However, the stress of racing on the 200m banked track got to me and I decided to adjust my left frame to my marked position because I needed every advantage I could get for the weekend of racing.

Any experienced racer can tell you fussing with your equipment set up is the last thing you ought to do before a big race. I was well-aware of the risk but the frame position was clearly marked so I had confidence it was a minimal change to the tried-and-true. My sprint races at Nationals were nothing to write home about. In fact, my times were well off my personal bests set over two years ago. I dismissed it lightly thinking I simply have not been training for track racing and my cornering skills have taken a turn for the worse.

Within Reach

If you ask me for my evaluation of last weekend’s Apostle Island Inline Marathon, you may receive two completely different answers. The short version is I skated well and I’m thankful for all the heartfelt congratulations on my first win as a pro. It has taken years of training to reach this point and it means a lot to me to be surrounded by supportive friends. That also means I have a very short blog entry to write and we’ll chat again next time. So let’s get to the self-indulgent long version, shall we?

Coach SZ and I had been carefully monitoring my recovery from Denmark training camp leading up to this race. Thrown in a bit of jetlag and some early symptoms of a cold, I was not sure if my body was ready to race came Saturday morning. Fortunately, I had an amazing training session last Wednesday skating with GN at the trails. Shins did not lock up and I had the top-end speed I last saw in Denmark. It really boost my confidence and I remained relax on the long drive from Thunder Bay to Wisconsin.

The weather forecast did not look favourable and I was bracing for another rain race. No matter, I had my trusty Storm Surge and Streetfight rain setup. On race day morning, it was cold and drizzly. I was too occupied thinking about my lack of warm layers than stressing out about racing. I suppose that was not a bad trade off. I did my usual warm up of jogging, static and dynamic stretches, working up to race pace on skates, and a few accelerations. I did not feel particularly strong but it was nothing to complain about. My rain setup felt good on the wet but smooth pavement.

Milestones

I have much to tell about last weekend’s Apostle Inline Marathon. But right now, I’m in the mood to look back upon some milestones that I hit along the way since I started skating competitively in 2006. 2011 season holds much significance because I have a big goal to achieve in September. All those hours of hard work in the last five years culminating in one race. It’s easy to let the stress get the better of me. With my first win in the pro category last weekend, I want to savour some important moments of my skating career.

The 2007 Mississauga Criterium women’s 10k race was a small local race but it was the first time that I earned my spot on the podium. I stood on podiums before but with the typically small number of racers in women’s races, it was all by default. On that hot summer day, I dropped enough competitors to finish my race in third place.

Fun In Pennsylvania

Last weekend was a weekend of firsts for me. Let's count them:

• my first solo road trip to the US
• my first experience with the Trexlertown venue racing second stage of Eastern Seaboard Series
• my first Philly Free Skate
• my first Philly Cheesesteak

Needless to say, I had a great time in every way possible. For that, I'm still in a very good mood.

The weekend didn't start off on quite a positive note though. Last Tuesday practice, I felt a slight pain in my right adductor during one of our acceleration drills at TISC practice. I didn't pay much attention to it and continued with my regular Wednesday and Thursday training. The discomfort became noticeable on Thursday morning and subsequently enough to alarm me Thursday evening. I quit practice early and on the advice of coach SZ, iced and ran out to buy compression bandages. I had my fingers crossed that my long drive from Toronto to Pennsylvania on Friday would give the adductor the rest it needed so I could race on Saturday morning.

Road trip on Friday was uneventful on a scenic route. Luckily, I had no run-ins with bears. What I ran into was a spetacular old-fashioned chocolate store in Buffalo, NY, also known as confectionary capital of the US.  Alethea's is not far from the I-90. I was so tempted to have an ice-cream sundae but I stopped short after getting a box of Charlie Chaplin, dark chocolate covered ginger, and dark chocolate covered molasses sponge candy. All road trip stops should be as sweet as this.

Rest and ice and compression worked their magic. I woke up Saturday morning and felt relief that adductor was not hurting. However, the ultimate test had to be done on skates. I wasted no time throwing on my skates when I arrived at Trexlertown and took advantage of every warm up opportunity. Body felt sluggish after a full day of rest but nothing was hurting. I just kept skating to make sure I didn't cool down too much and to find my line on this unfamiliar course. There are plenty of turns in both directions with some mild climbs thrown in for good measure. It's a fun course. During two of my warm up laps, I had a chance to skate behind Team USA skater CC. That was tremendously helpful because she knows the course well and gave me a good idea of how to approach the turns.

The race organizer decided to group all the pro women (freshmen to masters) into one race and we had the course to ourselves. Great idea. I was only a few hundred meters away from the start line when I heard the call to start. I turned around immediately and good thing that I did. Almost all the girls were there and they were ready to start the race. I parked myself at the front and tried to look like I belong. My start has not been great since last year and I needed all the help I could get to get into the lead pack. In a pretty casual voice, BA called the start and off we went. There were plenty of jostling and grabbing and I skated more aggressively than I would like. A couple of girls yelled at me but I shrugged it off...after all, I received just as much as I gave. Teammate NCJ was right up there fighting for positions but after a close call between the grass and the pack, she got dropped. The jostling went on for about two laps (stressful!) before the pack settled down and the lead pack was formed. At one point, the pack split and I was in the wrong half. I was very very lucky that the girl in front of me worked hard and bridged up.

The next four laps were business as usual. The pace wasn't particularly fast but the pack kept moving. Of course there were accelerations and people trying to move up in the pack. For the most part though, nobody was going anywhere and only a couple of skaters got dropped. I was a little surprised that the race lacked the typical stand-up-and-sprint routine in women races. Not that I'm complaining! We skated counter clockwise on the course and it did not favour breakaways. We saw it in the pro men and pro masters/vet men races. There were breakaway attempts but they all got reeled in within the same lap. At that point, I did a quick assessment of my situation. Moving up in the pack seemed rather useless since all the girls were very protective of their position and I was not at risk of getting dropped. I could continue to sit in the pack until the field sprint but that would likely mean I end up last anyway. Seemed like a good opportunity to practice attacks since I had nothing to lose! As soon as we came out of the woods at the end of the fifth lap, I attacked. I did not open much of a gap before the pack caught me and then I just ended up pulling the pack. Oops. Well, it was fun anyway. At the downhill, the pack started passing me and I did not recover to get back into the draft. I definitely need to work on that active recovery. I've seen myself in this same situation in training many times. I thought I would finish my race solo but a girl from team JKL caught up. Did I mention how much I suck at sprinting? Even though it was only one placement and we weren't even racing in the same category, I still wanted to beat her. I had to play to my strength and that meant pain. The last lap in the the woods, I attacked from the back and prayed that I could hold her off in that long stretch to the finish. It was way too early to count as a sprint but it was exactly what I intended. As long as she was not in my draft, it meant she had to work just as long and as hard as I was. I gambled with my fitness and my prayer was answered.

Last season, I did not do well racing in all girls races. One of my goals this year is to prove that I belong in the lead pack. The Trexlertown race is enouraging in that regard. Compared to my performance at Texas Road Rash, I see more evidence that training is progressing well. My legs actually responded to accelerations and climbing. All those intervals training that I've been working on in the last two months are showing their results.

Naturally, rewards come after hard racing. B and I drove to Philadelphia for some fun with Philly Free Skate. This year I passed on Great EsSkate in Miami and since then I feel like something is missing from my season. Despite my less-than-stellar agility, I love touring around a city on these fun skate events. The Saturday evening Beer Skate took us to many famous landmarks in Philly with a refreshment break at a brewery. For me, the highlight of the event was skating through the zoo on Sunday morning. The zoo graciously allowed our group to make a quick in-and-out through their grounds and I got to see giraffes, polar bears, monkeys, rhinos, and many others. I can't remember the last time I was in a zoo and it really was a treat.

About that cheesesteak...can you believe that I actually never had a Philly Cheesesteak before last weekend? Call me silly but I've been saving that experience for the real thing. I must admit it did not disappoint. B and I went to Geno's and Pat's on Saturday evening for a side by side comparison. I had mine wit whiz at both places and my vote goes to Pat's. What a fantastic juicy steak sandwich. Besides cheesesteaks, Philly is a city of great eats. I love every bite including Bassetts Ice-Cream (Pennsylvanians sure know their ice-cream), CapoGiro Gelato, Fourth Street Cookies, soft pretzels, farm-fresh raw goat milk, sour cherries, cheeses, oh my! I hope that the Eastern Seaboard Series and Philly Free Skate will coordinate their schedule again next year so I have the perfect reason for a return visit.

In The Face Of Adversity

The one word summary of my race yesterday in Montreal was disastrous. If you care to read on, here is my post-race analysis of my performance with plenty of excuses thrown in for good measure. Writing this is not dissmilar to cleaning one's own open wound. It's gross, it's unpleasant, but it's good for the healing to begin. If you haven't guessed already, my mind frame remains in the woe-be-me phase.

Let's set the stage. Early May morning in Montreal F1 race track and the temperature hovered at a chilling 3C. Windy as usual with steady wet flurries and rain. I felt healthy despite an unexpected bout of sickness three days ago which resulted in reduced food intake. I had a long warm up involving 20 minutes of jogging, dynamic stretches, and 20 minutes on-skate. Body was sufficiently warmed but the delayed start time combined with a cold temperature meant I was colder than I would like at the start.

The start was tame and I settled into the second pack consisting of teammate SL, MG from Ottawa Inline, JB and BH from Toronto Inline, PG and NM from Roller Montreal, among a few others I did not recognize. As for girls, JR from Montreal was in our pack and we soon picked up Cado Motus' AS who was dropped from the lead pack. The pack was jittery for lack of a better word. Skaters at the back were often impatient with the pace and launched attacks. I distinctly remember hearing someone commented "C'mon stop being so lazy" before attacking from the back. We were only on the second lap of a ten lap race and the general feeling was that the pack would not be coorperative. I was curious of this dynamic given the inhospitable weather condition.

As for myself, I was not reacting well to the cold. My core was warm but the stablizing muscles in my left ankle gradually stopped responding due to the plunge in temperature. I started losing balance when I glided on my left skate so I had to compensate with other muscle groups and loss of efficiency. On the bright side, my rain set up of front & back Storm Surge with Streetfights in the middle was great. But then again, what's the use of a set up that allows me to push full strides when my own body refused to?

In lap 3, our pack picked up two guys from Cado Motus who fell off the lead pack and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. The bits and pieces of conversation I picked up confirmed my suspicion. AS was at risk of getting dropped and her teammates made sure she stayed in. The pack skated together grudgingly with the Cado Motus guys controlling the pace every so often. At the start of the fourth lap, the Cado Motus team attacked from the back as we approached the climb. I thought the attack wouldn't have gone anywhere if it was just the three skaters on their team. Unfortunatly, I read it wrong. Other skaters in our pack reacted to the attack and went with it so it essentially split the pack in two. At this point, MG, PG, SL, JB, and JR were still in my pack. MG worked hard to bridge and JR went with him. I tried to stay with them but I just didn't have it. By now, my pack was completely blew apart and I was with teammate SL. PG and JB were somewhere behind. I skated briefly with SL and made a stupid mistake. I was not recovering and basically got dropped before SL knew that I was no longer behind him. Mental note: he's my teammate. Don't stop communicating! Stupid stupid stupid me.

I rolled to join JB and PG. At this time, I knew that my body was shutting down. I was not recovering at all. At the end of the fourth lap as we entered the paddock area, I was between PG and JB. I noticed that PG's waterbottle was about to fall out from his pocket so I tucked it in. Next thing I knew, my left foot went under me and I landed heavily on my left side. The bony part of my left hip took the most impact along with left elbow and both of my wrists. PG and JB stood up to wait for me so I climbed back without knowing exactly how bad the damages were. We skated for another lap but my left ankle started buckling and I wasn't sure it was safe for me to skate in a pack anymore. I left the two of them at the end of lap 5 and I thought for sure that I would call it a day. I saw in the distance that PG veered off to the side as he crossed the line so I guess he had the same idea. I was a miserable mess. When it was my turn to cross the paddock area, I saw familiar faces and heard familar voices encouraging me to keep skating. I yelled out to them that I crashed and was hurting yet I did exactly what they told me to do. I kept skating.

There really wasn't much to tell after this point. I kept getting colder yet my feet kept moving. I did not want a DNF. I already paid for the trip, my bearings were already wet, my clothes were rain- and mud-soaked, and I already crashed. It couldn't get any worse so might as well finish the race and collect whatever NROC points I could. Finished it I did and I made a beeline to my car like a zombie. I was shivering violently and I couldn't take my gloves off without help. When B peeled my gloves off, a large part of my hands were blue. I wondered how the bruises could surface so quickly from my crash but only now did I realize they were blue because I had a minor case of hypothermia.

I woke up this morning with swollen left hip and elbow from the fall. The muscles on my left ankle were unusually sore. There are other minor aches and pains but nothing major. It's never a good feeling to have a disastrous race but I'm trying to glean what I can to learn from it. With an upcoming trip to Hong Kong, I will not have any race opportunity until mid June. During the long drive home from Montreal, self-doubt inevitably set in and I can't help but wonder what I need to do to for my next race to prevent another disaster. If only I have a race next weekend. I'm in desperate need of some positive proof that I am still on the right path.

Warm But Not For Long

Talk about traveling in style! I'm chilling at a very posh hotel room (ahem, Le Meridien) the night before a race. For my pre-race dinner, I had a delicious warm salad of grilled eggplants, zucchinis, portobello mushrooms, red onions, goat cheese fondant, and salmon filet at a cozy little neighbourhood bistro. I even found time to visit an artisanal candymaker out in Laval and tried on some dresses while shopping on Rue Sainte-Catherine (girls, the dresses at Boutique Razberry are adorable and affordable!). Am I really here in Montreal for a race?

I am not feeling terribly stressed out the race tomorrow. The weather forecast is calling for temperature of 4C with windchill of -1C. It will be windy with wind coming NW at 30km/h. High chance of mixed precipitation...that's weatherman's talk for rain with snow thrown in for good measure. I stopped fretting about the weather a few days ago because it really couldn't get any worse! I am feeling an odd sense of calm because I have no choice but to trust my training. All spring I've been training in cold and windy condition. When I step up to the start line tomorrow, it will not be comfortable. However, I only need to hate it a bit less than my competitors do and that will already give me a small advantage. This race will be as much about mental toughness as fitness. Coach SZ specifically trains me to have oodles of both.

I expect to doubt myself during the race when it will be at its coldest and windiest. I know that I will be driven by the promise of a hot shower and a visit to Marche Jean Talon. I get my motivation from all the fun I will enjoy in Montreal when the skating is done! An unusual priority perhaps but I suspect tomorrow will be an unusual race.

See you at the start line.

Training Hard & Hard Training

Training has been rather uneventful in the last couple of weeks. We got the occasional warm spells but there were still plenty of windy cold sessions to grin and bear. It has almost been a month since Toronto Inline Skating Club started the outdoor season. I've been skating strong on the 400m track for some inexplicable reasons. My discomfort with the corners remains but there are also times when I can manage to crossover the entire corner continuously. That is something I was not able to do last season.

Speaking of strong, we did a team time trial last week at practice in teams of three. I was teamed with ShH and JaB. It was a 5K time trial for a total of 12.5 laps on the track. Our team clocked in at 10:32 and I could have gone faster. Doing team time trial brought back good memories of Tampa training camp with my Asphalt Beach teammates. Because of this recent experience, I was very comfortable with the drill and our team communicated well throughout the entire duration.

I thought I was well on my way to carry this positive momentum to Marathon Roller de Montréal this Sunday. Unfortunately, life has a way of throwing me curve balls and now I'm not feeling quite so positive. I woke up this morning with an unexpectedly high waking heartrate and a general sense of malaise all over. I have completely lost my appetite and the thought of eating makes me queasy. Right now, I'm feeling very weak from hunger yet I just cannot bring myself to eat anything. I'm still working through a mug of tea and a mug of coffee from earlier today. Perhaps a piece of ginger candy would help. This is bad news to say the least.

It's not all doom and gloom as I do have something rather exciting to share. Last Friday was the deadline for registration at 24h Roller Montreal before a price jump of another $100. Some of you may know that I decided to put Team WOW on hiatus in 2010 because of schedule conflict with the Minnesota Half Marathon. Since then, I've been undecided about that weekend. Flying to St Paul is an expensive option yet skating in Montreal was shaping up to be just a fun skate weekend. I want to race and last week I finally came up with a way to be able to race competitively at the 24h relay. This year, I am captaining a fitness team for Toronto Inline Skating Club. Our club has plenty of skaters who train hard and are just getting into the racing scene. This will be a wonderful opportunity for us to race as a team. I do have a goal or two and a few fights to pick (haha). Suffice to say, I am now very excited about the event. Don't expect to see us in the traditional TISC blue/orange/black. We are getting a new uniform and I will make sure that colour combination is banished from our team.

Here's a clip of my recent skating at the TISC practice venue 400m track. JaS followed me for a lap and the video is a bit shaky. Not much to say here except that I'm still working through a laundry list of technical weaknesses.

 

On Track And Within Expectation

Upon reviewing my performance at Texas Road Rash, it is fair to say that I skated exactly the way my training predicted I would. The condition for both elimination race on Saturday and marathon on Sunday was perfect, warm sunny weather with a good dose of wind thrown in (welcome to outdoor racing). This means I had no weak excuse such as blaming the weather, heh.

Unlike last year, we had a decent size field for the elimination race in pro women with a total of seven skaters at the line. Looking at my competitors, I knew pretty quickly that I was not in this race to remain in the final round. I set a goal to not be eliminated in the first round. We had two free laps before elimination began at the end of every lap. That meant I had a four lap race ahead of me to accomplish my goal. My start was not sharp and I was at the very end of the pack behind Texas Flyer's BH. She showed signs of getting gapped too. After we completed the first free lap, I made my move. I accelerated on the outside and tried to get in front of BH. When I found that I had more speed to move up further, I continued my acceleration until I was at the front of the pack. It was not intentional but turned out to be a great move. I realized that chances of all six girls passing me before the first round of elimination was much lower. I pulled hard in the straights and glided the corners causing the pack to jam up. My "strategy" worked and BH was the first skater eliminated. Unfortunately, I did not have much left in the tank in lap 4. Even though I put up a good fight to sprint at the line for the second round of elimination, it was not to be. I left the track with a huge smile on my face because I achieved exactly what I wanted to do in the manner that coach SZ would approve. I proved that I had what it takes physcially and mentally to get away from the protection of the pack for an attack. This is a huge step in my development as a skater. 6th out of 7 is not stellar by any means but it was a race that I am proud of.

  Start of pro/pro masters women elimination.

After the race on Saturday, I skated part of the marathon course for my pre-race warm up. There are plenty of road snakes made of material which turned slippery instead of grabby in the unrelenting Texas heat. I felt good, perhaps a bit too good. It reminded me of how I felt pre-race last year only leading up to a huge struggle on race day. I consciously dialed down the intensity despite how much the legs wanted to push hard.

When I stood at the start line on Sunday morning, the only sure thing in my mind was a determination to end the race with a smile on my face. I want to skate a race to be proud of, whatever that means. I did not start well. My top end speed simply wasn't enough to stay with the lead pack long enough for packs to form. I rolled to recover and was picked up by the seven skaters pack of Texas Flyers. I knew that the Flyers would be there to do their coorperative team skate and they have some strong skaters in the pack to ensure a solid finishing time.The drawback is that I risk a field sprint with BH. Memories of Houston beckoned. I shared the workload and did some strong pulls to earn my place in the pack. The same could not be said for other skaters of the pack who did not skate as coorperatively. At one point, when the lead pack of the half marathon passed us, the pack broke apart momentarily. Non-Flyers, including myself, hopped to the other pack hoping for a faster ride. I skated with them for a bit but the vibe just wasn't right. I rolled and returned to the pack with the Flyers. Just as I suspected, it did not take long before we all met again. However, some had wasted precious energy in that little episode and not all of them were able to hang on to us for long. As far as the women's race went, by lap 5, I knew that there were four girls ahead of me, at least three behind me, and one in my pack. Not a bad place for me to be but I had to play my cards right to beat BH.

During the last lap of the race, an opportunity landed on my lap like a gift wrapped with a bow. Our pack just passed DS from Adam's Inline heading into a right hand turn. I was in four place of the pack with two of the stronger skaters from the Flyers (RM and TR) pulling the pack and another skater ahead of me. As soon as we rounded the corner, acceleration kicked in and the pace picked up significantly. I went with the flow sensing that the five Flyers behind me (including BH and another two strong skaters) were getting dropped. I faintly heard yelling and screaming but I just went with it. I got gapped from the three guys ahead of me and DS eventually cruised ahead of me as well. I was on my own and it would not be easy to hold off the pack on my heels. The long downhill stretch was up next and I thought for sure I would be outnumbered and get caught. I kept pushing like there was no tomorrow. There was still a gap between us. The long flats into the headwind was brutal and my eyes only saw DS ahead of me like a rabbit. I wanted to bridge up to him so badly but it just wasn't happening. All those solo repeats that I've been working on in the last month finally kicked in. It felt exactly like my typical Sunday morning training, me and the headwind. I did not let up even for a single stride. When I spoke with CM from Texas Flyers after the race, he said that they were undecided about chasing me thinking perhaps I would eventually slow down and be caught. I had zero intention to give up my slim lead knowing the amount of energy I already exerted would put me at a huge disadvantage in any field sprints. Once DS and I made the last right turn toward the finish line, I picked up my pace once again. I really really really wanted to take him at the line and it did not seem like an impossible task. Alas, I gave it my all but was just 5 meters short.

My finishing time for the race was 1:33:34.335, just over 3 minutes back from the three pro women ahead of me. I came 4th in the pro women category and 5th overall including the pro masters (official results available by distance or division). I felt strong during the race but did not feel challenge by the speed of my pack. It is still very early in the season and my interval program had barely started. It's no wonder I did not have the top end speed I need to get in a pack that pushes me to work hard and where my competitors currently belong. Compare with last year's race which I worked really hard to stay in my pack, I cut my finishing time short by about a minute. Although weather condition certainly play a part, I think I have increased my cruising speed in the last 12 months. These are positive signs that I am on track for my training program. Although I felt a little bummed out that I was not in the pack with the other pro women, I believe I raced a good race based on my condition at this point of the season. If there is one thing I take away from this weekend, my motivation for training is coming back. I now have a firmer grasp of why I train the way I do and how my upcoming training will build up.

The Missing Squirrel & The Missing Trail

For anyone who's been following NROC racing news, you probably know by now that the Squiggy racing weekend got some unexpected last minute changes. Mother Nature played a pretty cruel joke on us by first dousing Tampa with torrential rain which flooded part of the race course before a weekend of perfect sunny skating weather. It was all we could do to stare at the "river" that used to be a bridge. As a result, the Sunday marathon got cancelled. A 10k race was added on Saturday before the individual and team time trials. As for Sunday, a group skate at Suncoast Trail was planned to ensure plenty of skating for the weekend. Big props to race directors JW and BH for reacting swiftly and making the weekend a success despite the unforeseen circumstances.

I wasn't particularly concerned or disappointed by the change of plans. After all, I barely had any outdoor miles under my legs and I had zero expectation for this race anyway. For me, it was merely an excuse to come to Tampa and support a great event before my team training camp began the following Monday. If you want proof of how unprepared I was for racing, here it is. I'm typically very particular about my pre-race meal. Without a balanced (and filling) meal the night before, there's no hope that I have enough energy for racing. My travel schedule certainly didn't help and I arrived at the hotel at 11pm starving. Dining options around the area had slim pickings. BO finally took me to a Walmart (one of the older ones with little groceries) and I picked up a tub of cottage cheese, some multigrain sandwich thins, and a bag of beef jerky. Sad little pre-race meal indeed that only reminded me how well I've been eating at home for the last couple of months.

All boohooing aside, I was in a great mood as soon as I arrived at the race course on Saturday. How often do we get to sleep in on race day with a start time of 11am? Moreover, I was just happy to see all the familiar faces of skating friends after a whole winter. I don't think I even did my usual warm up. I was THAT relaxed. As per instructed, everyone skated to the start line and I had an opportunity to skate with EP from Midwest. I last saw him at NYC100k and he's improved much! He was just a tad faster than me with long powerful strides that I could comfortably draft. I commented to teammate NCJ that he would be a good pace bunny for us.

I struggled at the start. Photo by Marc Plaisted.

My start sucked. The lead pack traveled at a good but manageable pace. I was near the end of the pack with a skater between me and teammate SL. I kept saying to myself that I needed to move up but didn't have the confidence nor strength to. Just as I predicted, a few slinky later, the skater in front of me gradually got gapped and I got tired too. I rolled to recover and could do nothing as NCJ skated past me with MC (Team Rainbo) in tow. When my legs finally recovered, BS (Hill Country) caught up to me and I hopped on. I was pissed off at myself for the disastrous state of my race and certainly was not in a pleasant mood. I took things easy because I knew that we would get swallow up by a big pack soon and if I couldn't get in that pack, then THAT would really be disastrous. Luckily, I joined the pack without incident and was relieved to see teammate BH in the pack. The pack was friendly and there were plenty of skaters from the open division. I was not the strongest in the pack but the speed was comfortable enough that I easily stayed in the front six. I did my share of work and stayed out of trouble. It did not take long before we picked up EP, NCJ, and MC.

I must have been really rusty with racing because I didn't even check my Garmin for elapsed distance (trust me, I was not familiar with the course to actually know where I was). All I knew was BH went up to the front just as it was about my turn to pull and told me to save my legs. Only then did I begin to pay attention. LS (Central Florida Speed) went up to the front and I started to get alert. NCJ was right behind me, followed by MC. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw EP accelerating next to the pack. I jumped into his draft without hesitation and NCJ came with me. Of course the pack wouldn't let us get away but I was in a great position. A turn later, the finish line was in sight and EP started to sprint. I sprinted in his draft like my life depended on it and pulled out as soon as I sensed him starting to fade. The trail is narrow and I picked my line carefully. I left just enough room on my left between me and EP and just enough room on my right between me and the grass to make passing difficult. I sprinted past EP and held on to my lead to win my pack's field sprint. I was in disbelief as I crossed the finish line. First time ever! Check out Rob Jackson's video here. I came 5th overall in pro women with a time of 00:18:55.842. Full result available here.

  My pack's sprint to the finish. Photo by Marc Plaisted.

The team time trial was a no-pressure event. I saw this as a great learning opportunity for our team to mesh because we did not have much chance to skate together before as a team. Our team of four consisted of SL, JW, NCJ, and I. Before going to the start line, we decided on a few key points for strategy.

1. Team stay together even though we had the option to drop one team member.
2. Protect weakest skater by putting him or her in third or second spot in the pack.
3. For the best drafting efficiency, JW would skate behind SL.
4. SL would lead off the race.
5. Short pulls of approximately 30 strides to keep the pace high.

Our start was a little unorganized as can be seen in the following series of photos taken by Marc Plaisted. Click on the picture for a larger image.

[blush] I got ahead of everyone and took a bit of time rearranging ourselves to the correct order. Ooops. Other than that, our race went according to plan. My first couple of dropbacks were a bit iffy before I gained enough confidence to remain close to the side of the pack. Once I got comfortable, I was able to get back into the draft quickly without the need to play catch up. I learned a few things about my teammates' skating style and this race gave me ideas of what to work on in the training camp. Amazingly, we held off Simmons 2 who started 30 seconds after us. We finished the race with a time of 00:19:08.761 (full results available here).

My Tampa training camp had only just begun. Days of skating and fun ahead!

Not Quite What I Was Hoping For

I ended my 2009 race season (this time it's for real) with a bang, literally. Houston Inline Marathon was held at Allen Parkway in downtown Houston last Sunday. The course consisted of six laps, about 40km in total with 180 turnaround at each end. The pro women field was small as seen in the photo below and I know that I was a contender to win if I play my cards right. What I failed to remember though, was the all important "rubber side down".

The start of the race was very tame and I quickly settled in the second chase pack where most of the girls were. The pace was not particularly fast and all I needed to do was sit in the draft. No need to draw any attention. Our pack was soon gobbled up by the Texas Flyers and now the eventual winner of the women's race, BrH, was in the same pack too. I have a pretty good idea of the Texas Flyers' race plan so it was best for me to simply sit back with my teammate BoH. The two girls from Las Vegas Speed Team had the same idea. Honestly, attacking the Flyers would not be wise anyway since I know of at least three guys who can easily chase me down.

It was pretty uneventful with the Flyers doing the work and everyone else in for the ride. The pack climbed at an odd pace though. Every time we came to a climb, the pack jammed up so much at the back it was unbelievable. However, that also means it was my best bet to attack. So I did at the last climb of lap 5. Honestly, I didn't expect to succeed but hey, if by the odd chance that enough guys went with me, I could stand a chance. I broke away from the pack easily and saw that aside from BoH, a young kid came with us. We didn't really work coorperatively enough to hold the gap and soon one of the Las Vegas Speed Team girls bridged up to us. I returned to the pack and sat again. That little test gave me a few ideas to plan for my next attack.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of the last lap, I fell face down abruptly. No sliding, nothing. I just hit the pavement full force. The impact left heavy bruising but barely any road rash on both my thighs, my left forearm, and my right elbow. I started hyperventilating uncontrollably and took a long time before my breathing returned to normal. Concerned spectators gathered around me to make sure that I was okay. I got up to finish the race nonetheless despite odd pain from my right shoulder blade.

Official result available here. It's been such a long season.

Pro women 5-4-3-2-1. I grinned like a Cheshire Cat (thanks KNZ!).