The week after Spring Break was JAM packed it felt like. I was constantly moving from like 7am until like 10, 11pm. But, that's how I know I am doing what I need to do, right??
Awesome Abs class was still rockin' and rollin' and it actually made me sore, probably because I took Spring Break off from doing the Awesome Abs routine. It felt good to be sore again in my core! More school, work, blah blah blah and then the weekend came around and it was time to go to Notre Dame for racing. We took the big charter bus again and it was neat. It was a 6-7 hour drive and you could tell everyone was excited to finally get there 1) because it was a long drive, 2) people were hungry, and 3) our hotel was the bomb and was right on the Criterium course - so we could actually watch the race from our hotel room if we chose to.
Awesome Abs class was still rockin' and rollin' and it actually made me sore, probably because I took Spring Break off from doing the Awesome Abs routine. It felt good to be sore again in my core! More school, work, blah blah blah and then the weekend came around and it was time to go to Notre Dame for racing. We took the big charter bus again and it was neat. It was a 6-7 hour drive and you could tell everyone was excited to finally get there 1) because it was a long drive, 2) people were hungry, and 3) our hotel was the bomb and was right on the Criterium course - so we could actually watch the race from our hotel room if we chose to. Saturday rolled around and it consisted of the Team Time Trial (TTT) and Road Race. I did the Men's B TTT with Matt, Taylor, and Nick. It was about 20-25 degrees outside, but luckily not raining! Matt popped off within the first 1.5 miles of the 10 mile race. I'm guessing he did not do enough of a warm up. We were doing pretty well, then at about mile 8 or so, Taylor dropped off, too. It was left up to Nick and me to finish strong for the Men's B team. We crossed the line knowing that we could have done better, but we did our best. It did not help that we lost a teammate within the first 5 minutes, but that's part of TTT racing. We ended up 3rd - 22 seconds behind the leader (Marian, of course).
The road race was still chilly, although it had warmed up a degree or two. I felt strong and ready, since I was pleased with my TTT performance. Our road race was a three lap race(~13.5 miles each lap). I was trying to just let everyone do the work for the beginning of the race, but somehow I ended up right at the front again. A group of four sketchy dudes decided to try to break away, and their gap began to grow. Only one other dude, besides myself, tried to reel them in, but since he and I were doing the work, it did not happen, but we caught one of them. It came down to the last couple miles near the finish and I could not move up in position to get ready for the sprint because it was about 5-wide in a one lane road, so I was mid-pack in the 20s somewhere. People started to sprint towards the line and I couldn't let out my Cavendish-like sprint (haha) because there were so many people who were near the front but could not sprint, which caused me to end up getting 15th. I was not completely happy with that position, especially since Souers got 6th and Andrew got 11th and I know I could out-sprint them in a heart beat. The day went on and in the other categories, lots of our LWC riders were dropping
out of the race for no reason other than they "didn't feel it" which kind of upset me. But it was still a good day for me at least :)
out of the race for no reason other than they "didn't feel it" which kind of upset me. But it was still a good day for me at least :)Sunday was FREEZING and was the crit - more my style of racing. The gun shot and I should have bet money on what was going to happen. This little asian dude from northwestern sprinted to the front and led us with a good size gap, but we reeled him back in within the first lap and a half, and I did not see him again. He does that every race!!!! hahaha. Anyways, the roads were pot-hole filled, but it was a good course. The first prime-lap bell rang and I wanted points. I ended up sprinting for it, and took first in the points. Then I let people do the work again. Second prime-lap bell rang and I wanted more points. Sprinted the crap out of Trixie (my bike) and took first in points in that sprint, too, by a hair. Sat in the pack again and let my legs get ready for the three lap countdown that was approaching. One lap to go, and the pace slowed down dramatically and I was sitting fourth-wheel. I did not want to go slow last lap and then have the whole pack swarm around us, so I decided to man-up, take the lead and I time-trialed the sh!t out of that last lap. Came into the last corner still in first but I could hear people right behind me. I started sprinting, but hit a pothole and it threw me off and ended up getting 4th by less than a bike length. It was a great day, I acheived both of my goals for the day - 1) get points in both primes, 2) get top 5. Check!
So I've been gearing up mentally and physically for the next couple races. I decided to try to upgrade to Men's B... and received an approval email from Jeff Hansen within 30 seconds of submitting the request. WOO! I also received good news that I was approved for the LWC Cycling Internship this summer to cover my internship program requirement! SWEET! Then.... I had a letter in the mail from the Office of the President of LWC saying that I was nominated for the Begley Scholarship for next year. It's been a great week. AND... last week and this week, I've been able to skype with my mom! You da bomb, mom!
This weekend is at Marian on Saturday - Crit, and Purdue (Pur-don't) on Sunday - TTT and Circuit Race that they are calling a Road Race. It's on like Donkey Kong!
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