Mt. Tam Calling

Oh, Amy?  Here...........  It's for you...............  Oh, it's no big deal.  It's just Mt. Tam.

Climbing Mt. Tam was a lofty/unrealistic goal Billy and I set for ourselves back in 2012 when we first started riding bikes more seriously together.  That year we ventured to do a few slightly less leisurely rides like climbing up to Skyline and riding the American River Trail from Sacramento to Fair Oaks to visit my parents.

We have hyped Mt. Tam FOR-EH-VOR.  We watched youtube videos.  Discussed getting our brakes changed.  Went back and forth about tentative dates.  And thoroughly psyched ourselves out completely about this 12 mile climb until finally Billy got it out of his system the day after Thanksgiving 2013.  I remember him skype-recapping this experience with mixed emotions (smiling and swearing and smiling again...).

Since returning from France I've invested even more time in the saddle alongside Billy and dreamed of making the Mt. Tam trek...  to the point where it seemed like every time I crossed over the Park Street bridge I heard Mt. Tam whispering my name in the wind... "Amy!  Amy!  Come ride me!"  Ha!  Maybe I built it up a little too much???  Well you can imagine my surprise when an impromtu Saturday morning ride with a friend who races for Dolce Vita turned into a group ride up to the *tippy* top of Mt. f#$^*ing Tam!  OMG

So.......  I get off BART at 16th & Mission Street to meet my new *fast* female friend who I had been emailing with all week about doing a long-ish endurance ride (3 hours/50 miles-ish, but I was thinking easy, maybe Tiburon loop or something like that).  Uhhhh.... First thing she says to me is "Did you get my email?!"  I was like "I'm sorry I didn't" thinking to myself "Well, *that's* because you were in bed like a granny at 8pm last night," so.....  She was like, "Well, Mei - [Ding!  Bright orange synapses fired full-speed strava signals to my pleasure center like I'm about to meet a celebrity...  ALL HAIL!  Mei, queen of San Francisco segments!] - invited us to join her on the Bespoke ride, but they are taking off from Pac Heights in fifteen minutes."  Well, ignoring every alert my body was sending to go ahead and abort this mission I jumped on her wheel and we jammed up the wiggle to meet the group.

When I squeaked up on my ten-year-old death-metal-bumper-stickered Specialized tank to 20 geared-out astronauts in their fancy pants kits straddling some of the nicest bikes I've ever seen I looked like such a newb and - I tell ya - the oops-I-pooped-my-pants smell coming from my worn out spandex didn't help much.  About ten seconds after we arrived, Justin, the apparent leader of the pack started to explain the route.  He never actually said "Mt. Tam".  Oh no.  While he dropped names like "Pantoll" and "East Hills" and "wait - did he just say Alpe d'Huez - what?!?"  I focused most of my attention on keeping my breakfast down...

We took off and, oh you know, just that feeling when you are all the sudden on a group ride and you have to quietly ask your friend if he was talking about GOING UP TO THE TOP OF MT. TAM!?!?!

LOL





Once we started climbing we didn't stop.  The road just kept going up.  For an hour.  Between expletives I managed to cough questions at cyclists passing me by about how much further it was to Pantoll.  They just laughed or told me to not worry about it or pedaled faster to clear the stench.  I couldn't even believe it when I arrived at the top, though - I gotto say - can't beat the view!

While the rest of the group rode down to Stinson Beach and back, I climbed at a conversation pace the rest of the way from Pantoll with a few other ladies who agreed that tacking another .5 miles of vertical climbing was insane (but not Mei - no way!).  Haha!  The three of us split up about half way down the hill and my new friend (who turns out is the sweetest woman in the world - and she speaks French!) picked up lunch and a coffee together in SF.  I didn't get home until after 4pm!  What a beautiful ride though.  Oh man.  Though I was overwhelmed and beat, I actually don't think I've ever felt better.

Crazy Critter!

I fished a daddy long legs out of the tub yesterday morning and it didn't dawn on my until just now how my little power animal was paying me a visit before my big race.

With all the foot problems I've been having this year it made sense for me to focus my energy on cycling for a while so I did my first Criterium race a few weeks ago.  I got a flat on the second to last lap and my front wheel was a mess, oh man, but boy was it exhilarating to be out on a closed course with a bunch of other fast females!  So inspired!

After a disappointing DNF I finally built up the confidence to sign up for another Crit on Saturday, June 20th.  My goals, in order, for that race were as follows:

1.  stay upright
2.  stay with the peloton (ie don't get dropped from the group)
3.  suck wheel
4.  maintain a competitive position into the last lap
5.  sprint last 200m at 30-34mph

My lovely sister Sarah let us borrow her car this whole weekend.  So Billy was up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to drive me to the race in Pleasanton with time to register for the race and attend a clinic (where seasoned Berkeley cyclist Meredith Nielsen was instrumental in helping me find the right gear and avoid crashing)!  This race was Cat 3/4 combined, so I didn't experience the same problem with overlapping wheels (the field was so much faster!).  It was an eventful race with a crash and a flat.  I accomplished all my goals, but didn't finish even close to the podium...  15th out of 28 riders.  :(

But, hey look, I'm on the board!

Criterium racing has humbled me on the bike for sure.  Crits are risky business and winning requires strategy, skill, and speed.  Road racing season is right around the corner and I kinda can't wait to sink my cleats into those!  I've got about a month to work on my front wheelie.  ;)

Snake

Today, I set out to break my time up Snake (a steep 1.5 mile climb up to Skyline Boulevard in Oakland).  My first attempt was just last week and I really went for it from the start, but then lost steam at the top (shooting for under 10 minutes I barely made it in under 12:30 - Oyoyoy!).

Today I was determined to try a new strategy.  I held back the reigns for the first half of the climb (up to Colton) and then really let loose on the last quarter mile (after Thornhill).  This strategy paid off as I shaved 45 seconds off my original time (11:34).  This made me particularly happy because I'm now barely hanging on to the tenth spot out of all the women who have climbed that segment on strava (woohoo!).




I'm already pumped about improving my time next week.  Here are my ideas!
1.  Climb with cleaner lines (cut corners smarter and make straight shots up the squiggles)
2.  Use a nasal decongestant strip (an experienced cyclist recommended this to me for getting more oxygen into my bloodstream - still need to try it!)
3.  Start attacking the hill from Shepard Canyon downhill (this is a little cheap as a tactic, but it will bring my average speed way up if I can get a running start into that first steep climb)
4.  Sprint - slow to fast - sooner (Instead of gunning it and having to back off later, steadily build speed from Thornhill up to 15mph and then stand up to sprint all the way through Colton)

Ohhhh can't wait to do this again!

Lakeside Bump

The day after my 32nd birthday, I went on a ride with Billy to get the QOM (queen of the mountain) on the segment Lakeshore to Lakeside Bump in Oakland and it's finally displaying on strava.  Yay!

Because I've been nursing this turf toe I've been riding and swimming a lot more.  I'm getting faster!

DEE-EL

The theme of this week has been "reassess" and what better way to finish it off than with a brand new injury, right?!?!  Hahah... Oh man!  March was shaping up to be so awesome!  I was super satisfied with my new goals sheet when I posted it on Tuesday afternoon and *then* I felt SO GREAT about my performance at track practice Tuesday night.  But - oyoyoy - one day and one little baby recovery ride later and I found myself suffering from a mild case of 'turf toe' on my right foot.  I've been RICE-ing and going easy on it ever since Thursday and there's still no sign of the pain going away any time soon.  Meh.

Okay okay - so, I admit that I may have needed a little reality check...  Maguy discouraged me from double days last year and I've been aware I'm pushing it with these back-to-back bricks on Tuesdays.  So, here I lie, on this couch, in this oh-so-familiar position (with one leg up and tingling in my toes from a tightly wound ace bandage).  Ugh!

For the next few weeks, I'll be fine-tuning my weekly workout routine to avoid a double day.  The problem will be deciding which Tuesday workout to retain!  I've been loving my morning jogs with Vala and the Tuesday evening track workouts with Oakland Triathlon Club (OTC) have been so enjoyable and so intense.  Look!  After doing a mini brick in the morning *and* riding 12 miles to Berkeley I still ran my fastest recorded 400 meter (1:12) and my fastest 1/2 mile (3:16):



So you can see what I mean...  I'd like to keep both workouts in the mix somehow (maybe with one 3 miler day and a 5 miler day?).  Once my foot heels, my plan of attack will be to get some new shoes, and maybe custom orthotics, and ask the OTC track coach about how my form can be improved to avoid reinjury. Alright - that's enough wah wah wah for now - more later!

Strav-obsession

My strava profile is my current obsession.  If you have an account, you can follow me running and cycling around the beautiful Bay Area.