The weight of expectation

Some days I am my own worst enemy. I am sure that there are very few athletes that wouldn’t be able to relate to that. Sometimes you will set the expectation on your performance so high that the journey to the result is well below capability. These are the most frustrating days and this weekend I had one. It is one thing to be physically underdone, but to work against yourself is the toughest reality to face. The final result may not have ended up being any different, but you know that you didn’t give yourself the best opportunity to ensure that it was the best you could have done.

It is necessary to have goals and to have determination and the confidence to back yourself. It is the ability to balance these factors without creating unrealistic expectations that make a successful athlete. It is when the balance is out that weight of expectation becomes too much.

NSW Points Race Champs may not have gone my way, but I know where things went wrong and am determined to overcome that and come back to the boards flying! In the meantime, I will accept the bronze and be grateful, given how I feel I performed, that I achieved any sort of result.

ENOUGH WITH THE RAIN ALREADY!!!

But a good opportunity for a product review!

Jet Black Fluid Turbo Trainer 2010 model

Last year I told you about the JetBlack Trainer that I had. Due to a design issue and a piece being lost, which rendered it unusable, I got the 2010 HydroGel Fluid Trainer. Since it has been raining continuously on the Eastern Seaboard of Australia for the last week, I have had ample opportunity to really critique this machine (we have been in drought for the rest of the year so I haven’t really needed it!!)

In a nutshell I can tell you that this trainer is awesome! The information from the website is pretty accurate (although I can’t vouch for the numbers provided). I hope that you find my comments on the points in the product information helpful. If you have any other questions, please flick me an email and I will see if I can answer it.

(NB: This is in no way a paid assessment of the trainer, nor do I have any commercial interest in JetBlack or other sponsorship arrangement- although JetBlack if your reading this...!!)

• Fluid Trainer with HydroGel Roller

• New Roller with Special HYDROGEL Composition creating a new type of contact between your bike and the trainer

• HYDROGEL Roller for increased tire grip, giving ultimate 'on road' feel while training indoors, with no slippage at the roller

This contact is great. The feel is a little bit tacky initially and the first 5 minutes may take a little bit of grinding to get through as the viscosity of the gel improves, but once you are off and going, it runs really well.

The ‘on road’ feel is not quite there- maybe I am just used to riding on rougher roads! But the ride is pretty smooth. The claim of no slippage at the roller is true enough, providing you have the “extra cap-bit” screwed down on to the base to ensure that the screw for the roller can’t come undone as I have had happen a couple of times- not the end of the world, just means you will at first slip and then have no resistance!

• Reduces Noise By 55% and Tire Wear by 25-30% - great for indoor training at home

• Super quiet and smooth

The noise is definitely reduced compared to the 2009 model and other trainers I have used. I haven’t done any active noise measurements so can’t really say if it is 55%, but it is pretty quite. The only caveat to this is that the first 5 or so minutes can be a bit noisier as the gel warms up. Once you are into a good rhythm it is relatively silent. There is still a little bit of a hum but if you have things set properly nothing that your ipod won’t drown out!

As for tyre wear, that is pretty well reduced, again no actual measurements to verify this claim. Like all trainers there is a bit of squaring that happens over time, but if you are only on there for a short time and infrequently you may not notice it. I have a spare wheel that I use with an older tyre that I don’t use on the road. I can tell you that the wear is less than on the 2009 model that I had.

• New CNC'ed head for more efficient cooling

I am not entirely sure what this means, but the unit has stayed pretty cool and has never been notably hot to the touch when I have finished the session.

• Smooth progressive resistance - Trainer automatically adjusts resistance when you change gears or increase speed. Adjustment levers are a thing of the past!

This is really very true and is awesome. The resistance is so efficient that I rarely need to use the big chain ring and can get through a wide vairety of different sessions using just the rear cassette.

• Fluid Trainers increase pedalling performance by helping you develop a circular pedal action

The smoothness of the roller and hydrofluid is what makes this happen. As already noted the first 5 or so minutes can be a bit tough, but once things are running the rear wheel always runs smoothly. Still doesn’t mean you can be lazy with your pedalling, but makes it easier to not be in squares if the equipment is not working against you!

• Progressive resistance 5 watts to 900 watts

I no longer have an SRM but I would be really interested to see how this claim and the callibration on the box actually measure up.

• Dual retention system for solid, precise wheel alignment & stability

The unit is super stable and can handle intense short sprint efforts (although if you are a track sprinter you might be looking at something else anyway). I have never had any problems with wheel alignment, and don’t expect to with the adjustment mechanism and width of the roller.

One additional comment, make sure you pick up a riser block from your LBS when you take one of these home; I think they now come with one, but double check as you will need it.

All up I think I would say 4.25/5 for this unit. It is excellent value for money. It is stable, it is reasonably quite, once the fluid is warmed up it is smooth and the resistance is great. The only problems I have found are the initial warm-up phase (but that passes) and the roller unscrewing (but that is rectified by tightening the extra cap, which is what it is for!).

Full Steam Ahead!

Wow, we've been back for a touch over 3 weeks already! Training has been full on and I have to say I am mighty pleased with how well things have come back up!

I do enjoy this time of the year, usually! The nights are long enough to get loads of bike time after work, it is not so hot that you need fresh bidons every 30 minutes and the pollen has buggered off! Tuesday night track racing is in full swing and the boys are providing some excellent competition! Wednesday night crit racing is on and as always is a good mid-week hit out! And if it will kindly stop raining the weekends are perfect for time in the hills!

There are some important races for me coming up and it is all building well for nationals- both road (January) and track (February). And I will have some exciting news later in the week!

All I can say is bring it on!

(I know that someone has been photographing Tuesday nights, I am not sure who... stay tuned and I might find some photos!)

It's so much easier if you use your head!

Wagga Wagga Golden Wheel
13-14 November

Knowing that I was somewhat underdone and still on antibiotics, a double header racing weekend was going to a big ask. I was prepared for that mentally and as agreed with Brian, if it got too much then I would call it a day.

The story of the weekend was consistently finishing in the place just off the podium! Whilst this is frustrating, it is in no way disappointing given the state I was in. In fact, despite the lack of results, it was technically some of the best and smartest racing I have ever done! Which is more of a confidence boost than most results would have been (although the $ would have been good!)

The weather gods were kind to me on Saturday and just when I was really starting to feel my lack of endurance (I had made it through 4 events, including some pretty harsh marks- thanks Baz!) the heavens opened! That was the end of day 1.

Day 2 was equally as ominous but the weather gods weren't playing nice for anyone. Even with a re-jigged program, I only got one race in before we were all drenched! There was no Golden Wheel result nor a Rules Club Wheel Race this year. But we will all be back in February to finish what was started and this time I will have my head and my legs working together...

Back to Reality

3 weeks after setting off overseas we found ourselves heading home. This timeframe also meant that I had about 6 days of bike cramming to be ready to race at my favourite race of all time- the Wagga Golden Wheel Track Carnival! Surely 3 weeks off, which included 7 days trekking at altitude just meant I was going to be super fresh to race, right?!

The first ride back was like slipping on an old pair of slippers and I was so glad to be back on my bike. It was looking good for a good impromptu prep for racing on the weekend, until things went pair shaped.

A ride from work to BundaDome, all of 3 km, with a HR pushing high E3 suggested something wasn’t quite right and I was dutifully sent home from the track with no racing. Wednesday and things were no better. In fact they were worse with the gastro infection that I had had when we were in Phuket, and that had started to simmer away before we got home came back with a vengeance. Couple that with a mild chest infection and it was off to the doctor for me.

Being a microbiologist, I had a fair idea what was going on. The most important part of the conversation with the Dr, after he had prescribed some god-awful broad spectrum antibiotics, was “Can I race my bike on the weekend?” “If your lungs and gut are up to it.” That was enough for me. I was going to race in Wagga (besides the accommodation was booked).

The drugs did their thing. My legs did their thing on Thursday at the track and I wasn’t as shabby as I thought I would be. An easy roll around with MiffyG on Friday morning and I was itching for the weekend!!

Going off in the offy

The impetus for this trip was Tom and Sab’s wedding. With one being Danish and the other Indian, they wanted somewhere in between for family and friends to travel and the solution was Phuket. More specifically Katathani Beach Resort. This place was fantastic. Whilst I am not normally a sucker for 5 star resorts, for a couple of days of sitting around and doing nothing except relax and drink mojitos, Katathani was fantastic! From there it was on to Nepal for some trekking and immersion in Kathmandu. Rather than bore you with words, here are some pictures; enjoy!

The bride, looking stunning, escorted by her brother; Happy couple during the vows; yes there was an elephant involved, and ice swans!!!

Photos from Nepal

Big waterfalls, steep stone stairs, big mountains, temples with Buddha eyes and monkeys. Oh, Nepal you are country full of juxtaposition and amazement

(More photos are available here)

M.I.A.

I know it has been a long time between posts. But there was a period of time that I was merely going through the motions of riding my bike, trying to keep my head above what was going on at work. Consequently there wasn't much to say.

To get out of this rut, I went and got a new job. One that is far more rewarding and enjoyable and far less stressful. I will post a story on the effects of stress on training soon as it was an "interesting" experience.

Shortly after starting said new job, I went on holidays. Annual break time- woohoo! Good friends of ours were getting married in Phuket so we made the most of being half way to anywhere from Australia and went to Nepal for 2 weeks. All up, away for 3 weeks and despite getting sick, twice, it was an awesome experience. More on that in a later post.

Now we are back. The Wagga Golden Wheel track carnival- my favourite race of all time- has been and been washed out! I will post on that soon! And it is full steam ahead in preparation for the Nationals season!

Promise to be back soon with some interesting tales for you!

I don't feel like dancin'

ACT ITT Championships
22 August 2010

Knowing that there wasn't going to be a lot of competition, coupled with some bad news about my grandmother a few days earlier, I wasn't really that motivated for this. But, sometimes you just have to do these things!

Despite finding myself a little distracted and not fully engaged with the actual race, I still posted a pretty tidy time for the 30km course, and finished on top of the podium. With the race not coming as naturally as it normally does, I used this an opportunity to focus on some technical aspects, which in the long term will be beneficial and in the short term, made me concentrate on the job at hand.

It was nice to be able to tick off one of my goals from the start of the year. Sometimes, even when you don't feel like dancing you should give it a bit of a wiggle just in case... ;)

Third day's a charm

Day 3- Criterium, Geelong Botanic Gardens

Waking to rain, and a forecast of more rain and increasing wind, part of me was keen to race, another part keen to just call it a weekend and start heading home. However, since conditions were no where near as horrific as the weather that resulted in the final day of this even being cancelled last year, we were racing.

A plan was hatched with the other girls from Canberra, although conditions would prove that the plan wouldn't be enough.

The course was perfect for me- tiny bit technical, power climb for each lap, fast front straight and a windy back straight that would mean position position position! 30 laps were to be completed, with sprints every even lap. I made a decision early that I wasn't interested in an intermediate sprint, saving everything for the end.

Sunshining

Weather conditions were amazing: we started in sunshine with standing water (quite deep in places), wind, stronger wind, gusting wind, raining and then pouring and then the sun was out again. Oh how I love Geelong weather!!

Cats and dogs
(I promise this is the same race!!! And that my socks are actually white!)

The race itself was without incident. I rode position well and overall I was happy that I rode a smart, strong race. However, I ran out of gears in the final sprint- it was slightly down hill, with an incredible tailwind and a fast moving bunch of about 25 girls! I was on the perfect wheel, and am disappointed to not have been able to capitalise on that, finishing 16th in the wash up. On the upside, I am satisfied with how the race went technically.

Unfortunately as you may have heard, an over eager photographer stepped in to the path of the oncoming bunch bringing down a number of girls (more info here). There were a number of serious injuries and I wish all the girls involved a very speedy recovery.

Big thanks to: Glenn and Brent for all your support over the weekend; my half way houses in Wodonga and Albury; Geelong bed friend; and Brian for coaching excellence.

And your resilience?

Day Two- 96km Road Race around Anakie and its delightful surrounds

Keen to make amends for yesterday's disappointment, I had convinced the inner climber we were going to have a cracking day over what was going to be a challenging course. There were 4 KOMs each lap, and after driving over the course there had been a scrounge for anything bigger than a 25, we were all convinced we needed something like a 27!
The start of the race was a gradual false flat before heading up hill, the first QOM was 5kms in!!

A bit small, sorry, but you get the idea! Twice around, and throw in some strong gusting head/head-cross wind!!

At the 3km mark I was in perfect position for the start of the climb, tucked near the front of the buncbh out of the wind and ready to climb. Then, disaster! As I moved down the gears I threw my chain off!!

OK, staying calm, I jumped off (after getting out of the way) and put it back on.
Go to ride away... off again!! Arghhh!
A little more irate, jump off, put it back on. At this stage, the bunch was still going past, so I wasn't too panicked.
But, repeat this about 5 times and the bunch was no longer still going past. Luckily that meant neutral spares could get to me.
Spotto, cause of the problem. The joining link on my chain had started to come apart- may not have been fully clamped when it was put on earlier in the week. Easy to fix- take a neutral spares bike.

Onto the small-medium shimano bike I got, and up the hill like a rocket. I was probably in denial about how far away the peloton actual was! At the top of the hill I had to stop again to put the seat down about 3cm!! Then to get tucked in behind the sag wagon to find a bunch.

For the next 20km I was with a small group of girls who had been dropped on the first climb. It was nice to have company and the opportunity to have a break from the wind!! About 10km from the end of the lap, I accidentally rode away from this group. I was kind of keen to see how well I was climbing and to feel like I had challenged myself, so decided not to wait for them. To my frustration I climbed really well over all the parts of the course that I was most worried about, and spent the rest of the lap wondering what might have been.

I decided to call it a day at the end of 1 lap, I was about 12 minutes down on the bunch and was desperate for a good crit on Sunday!

Turns out that the panic over gears was completely unnecessary, the parts that I wanted a 27 for, I actually went over on a 23!!! Thanks for the bike, Shimano! It wasn't bad, it just wasn't mine (which is a straight small)!! :p Big thanks to Brent Miller for getting my bike sorted so I could front up on Sunday! And Glenn for witnessing my tantrum and making me do the lap!