Monday, July 23, 2007

Albany Criterium-my recollection

A 15-minute warm-up proves insufficient for any crit, moreso with this course. I opted to chit chat with Laura, instead of spinning.....more fun than sitting on the trainer, but it doesn't do much for my cardio or quads.



We had 6 Bellas at the start line, in a full field of fifty. I was told that there was even a waitlist for this race and several girls didn't get to race. Fortunatley, all of the Bellas were in.





The simple 4 corner street was well paved and clean. It started on a wide decline and then funneled into a tight 1 lane turn. Unfortunatley, a couple of gals went down in this corner and needed medical attention.




Another turn and we head up an incline. This part didn't seem so imposing on the warm-up lap, so it didn't worry me so much. The clincher is having to do it 25 times or so. We broke off into a chase group, where Laura and I made a strong attempt to close the gap.



Turning into the last corner, we're approaching the decline/start/finish. Whenever you see a hay bale, you know there is pending doom for someone that day......



Post-race, we regroup and talk about the 45-minute slobber and drool fest. Erica won a case of Gu drink mix, which she promptly shared with each of us.....Crisp Apple. Delish!




Tracy's hubby, Tim
Angela's hunny, Doug
Angela
Me
Laura
Erica


I really liked this course and will do it again; with a better warm-up. Though my goal was not achieved, I REALLY, REALLY had a great time racing with my teammates.



My friend, Mary, made the 3.5 hour trek with me and she took all of these race pics. On the way home, we stopped at Fuzio's in Livermore and had one of these. It looked better yesterday.....trust me. Chicken, tofu and sprouts.

This is another reason why I race--to eat.






6 comments:

Anonymous said...

yummy!

Lilly Bella said...

I'm glad you had fun D. It was a long drive otherwise. I agree with you about the warm up. I actually warmed up for 1 hour, but wasn't prepped for such a strong fast start. You made them sound so much fun, I'll have to do some more. From now on I'll be prepared to get going from the gun. Thanks for making me feel more comfy and making me smile!

marscat said...

does your ma live in Fresno?

that's cool she came to watch you.

Ippoc Amic said...

good to race with you denise...

Denise said...

Flandria, knew this entree' would be right up your ally.

Lilly Bella, the start was waaay fast for me,too. I got comfortable about lap 10.

Marscat, mom did not go to the race. She does not know how to access our public forum, so posting it to my blog saves me from typing the same thing twice.

Ippoc, fun racing with you, too. I was bummed when I got that gap in between our wheels....

X Bunny said...

thanks for the report--sorry i missed it--especially the food part