A group of 10 headed to Barca on Friday night - a bar/restaurant in Danbury that had me pleasantly surprised! Nice atmosphere, menu and the best mixed Kir-Royal I've ever had. Lots of laughs and it was so nice to reconnect with these girls. We talked men, work, and everything in between. I'm already longing for another night with the girls.
Sometime after midnight, we opted to go home and when we arrived at the Tarrywile lodge, we could hear the raucous noise from within. Bottles of tequila emptied on a table scattered with limes proved the the perfect ego-enhancer as the boys played a wicked game of rock-band. It's amazing how many MBA' s and advanced degrees we had collected in the room, yet no one is pompous or full of themselves. Everyone can let loose and just have fun. It's absolutely liberating!
Saturday was race day for some of my teammates (they rocked by the way - taking 4,5,6) but I opted for a long-ride and brick run with the boy. We took off in the mild weather on a fun ride that I call the "roubaix" ride. Add in a nice 6k, 14% grade average climb and it was the perfect balance of work and fun. 3.5 hours later and I made my way out for a run with the dog. I returned home to find my Sam-boy passed out on the couch.
Late night + early work + long ride = tired boy.
As we made our way to Washington to meet my parents for dinner, I got a phone call - "can you do evening chores?" Of course! It is amazing to have Sam around the horses - he is very natural with them and asked me "what's your advice?" My advice: You need to be the dominant figure around horses - to not show fear. Show confidence. They want to be directed and like small children, they like boundaries and expectations. Do this and they are your best friend! It got me thinking that this is a great way to think about racing and training. To be confident, yet without ego. My training motto this year has been to, "race with ego but train with none".
With that in mind, Sunday morning arrived - and with it, the 2nd round of the Bethel Spring Series races. The women's field was large again - filled with pro and Category 1 (top category) bike racers. These girls are incredible and it makes for a really dynamic, fast and fun race. Friend and pro-roadie, Silke Wunderwald was on the front the whole race. She is beautiful to watch with a steady, smooth pedal stroke and an acceleration that will take your breath away (literally). I still laugh at something Silke said to me last year - Before Tour of Hilltowns, we were planning to drive up together. I started to plan out the day - when we'd leave, arrive, warm up, etc. When I threw out an arrival time, Silke said to me, "Girl, this ain't no triathlon, you just get on your bike and go." It still cracks me up and makes me remember to settle down and relax before my races.
Yesterday's race was interesting, fast and fun and my legs felt good. I had 2 close calls - early-on a few girls rubbed wheels, one falling in front of me, I thought I was going down and managed to death-wobble and stay up. I saw the field accelerating up the hill away from me. I put on the gas and caught back on, and received cheers of congratulations from the field and just when I thought my heart rate might be able to get back to normal, there was another attack off the front. Remembering Eric's orders, I chased it down. Ooof, still tired thinking about it.
The last lap of the race, there were a few attack attempts, but none stayed away. All of a sudden, I noticed that the front 7-8 spots were all Radical Media athletes. These girls are good and know how to work and control a field. I have a lot of respect for them. Coming up for the final sprint, I found myself a bit stuck behind a wavering sprinter - still, took 8th and am happy with how the day went. It was a hard effort and a lot of fun. Afterwards, I got in a nice transition run to spin the legs out.
The REAL highlight of the day was watching Sam race. He did the 3/4 race, taking 7th (and a bit of cash) and then the Pro 1/2/3 race where he worked the field and remained really active. - all of this coming off injury. I was so proud and happy - nothing better than staying in the sunshine with dog and lots of friends! Murray, Jeremy, Hannah, Ron, Joey, Erin, Erik and others were all out. To celebrate a successful day all around, we made our way to the Putnam House. Back to the Future 2 and brownies later ensued, to round off a busy and fantastic weekend.
Today is a day off from training, but don't worry, I'll find a way to fill the time!
And now, some pictures:
Me in my new Teany uniform - 100% natural. 100% nice. Next to me in the black and white is Maggie - eventual winner.
Sprinting for a prime.
In a break with Silke, Miller and Evie. Across the street is the C-dale cheer section.
1 comment:
saweeet post! see, TOTAL direction! i love it! i had so much fun hanging out this weekend, hopefully we'll jam more in before the departure date! xoxo
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