Shake

My time as an NTID athlete has come to an end. I won't go into all the details, let's just say it is time for me to evolve separately. Unlike other products of NTID, like Bridie O'Donnell, I wouldn't say that I graduated with high distinction, but I would like to think that I have come through with at least a credit average.

The opportunity that was presented to me through the NTID program was fantastic and I will be forever grateful for the experience. Sincere thanks to: Tammie Ebert, senior co-ordinator of NTID, Josh Sear, Tammie's assistant, and the Australian Sports Commission for their generous support and encouragement throughout the last couple of years. Concurrent with this support, I would also like to acknowledge the support of the ACT Academy Support, specifically Glenn Doney and the Strength and Conditioning coaches, Dean and Dave, you guys have been invaluable.

And last, but by no means not least, Pothole, who has been my coach for the last couple of years, it has been an awesome journey, with some amazing triumphs and development. We both agree, it is time for fresh eyes and a new approach. Thanks mate!

Now, it is time to look to the future. There are a few too many what ifs for me to just walk away from this, and probably a little bit too much passion as well! I am looking forward to what lies ahead and seeing what I can achieve next.

PS: Thanks to those close to me who have listened, advised and supported me during this time- you all know who you are :)

Have you got a spare $10?

I reckon you probably do. If you bought your lunch today instead of packing something and bringing it in from home, you have a spare $10*.

A friend of mine, and fellow cyclist, is raising money for leukaemia. Those of you in Australia have probably heard of the World's Greatest Shave. See here for more details. Sarah, who currently has a rather nice head of hair, will be shaving it all off in memory of her friend Lisa who lost her battle with leukaemia.

Sarah (right) with lots of hair.
(Photographed here with India Faehndrich at India's wedding)

Here is Sarah's blurb about this important cause:

Please sponsor me! I am taking part in the Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave 2010 because I hope that my involvement will help people who are suffering leukaemia at this moment and give them and their families the support they may need to help pull them through their long and tough treatment. A friend and I had a goal to raise $10,000 for the foundation this March, however she recently lost her battle with the disease. She had many goals. This one, I believe I can achieve in her memory. The funds we raise will help the Leukaemia Foundation to provide practical care and support to patients and families living with leukaemias, lymphomas, myeloma and related blood disorders. I think it is really important that we understand how significantly the families can be impacted by tragedy and that ultimately cancer heavily effects all involved. Therefore, we must do all we can to help find a cure and in the mean time, support those fighting.

Still not convinced... swing by the Facebook group: In memory of Lisa

Now, just get out your credit card and go donate here**

Thanks for your cash and thanks for reading, it means a lot to Sarah and anyone who has been affected by leukaemia and associated crap-house blood diseases.

*My peasant uni friends, you may reduce this amount to $3.70 (the amount for a pie and sauce from the ANU bakery).
**Australian residents, $2 and over is tax deductible.

Buninyong- home of the AORCC and...

a polite way to say b#%@$*d.

National TT Championships
6 January 2010

The course used to determine the Australian TT Champ is brutal. The start climbs for ~2.5km, not too steep, but just dragging, dragging, dragging, then it undulates predominantly downhill, then it undulates predominantly uphill, with some extra leg zap before the final very very fast 5km downhill run to the finish. It is 28km, it is exposed and the wind likes to blow, and the roads are rough and dead in many places. But, when the adrenaline is pumping and you have gone over those things in your head for the weeks before hand, race day brings out something special.

With the climb at the start I had been told that this course really wouldn't suit me and not to be too ambitious with my goals for the race. I hadn't raced the course before, but had ridden over it on a previous NTID training camp and I had spent a bit more time on it after the Victorian track titles, so I knew what I was in for. I even lost ~8kg before the race to be more attractive to the course! And, I convinced myself that me and the Buninyong course were compatible.

I would love to be able to tell you that this was my best race of the year, but it wasn't quite. Whilst I am satisfied that I did the best I could do on the day, there are things that can be improved (there always are!). It wasn't a day that I got on the bike and everything was perfect- for the most part I felt good, but I have felt better. It is hard to explain, but I think, dear reader, that if you are in any way competitive you will know what I am trying to say!

(photo from WomensCycling.net)

In the end I finished 10th in the elite women, a result that I am not unhappy with. Looking at the times just above me, if I hadn't had a nufty moment on the left-hander at the railway station it is possible that I might have placed a little further up. Maybe.

I was never expecting to be right at the pointy end, that spot is reserved for Amber Halliday (gold), Bridie O'Donnell (silver), Carly Light (bronze).

But I was pleased to be the first person to cross the line for the day (yes, I caught all the people in front of me), and I was also pretty stoked to stay leader for considerable length of time :)

I have some unfinished business in Buninyong and I reckon that this course and I might be compatible after all :)

Special thanks to the ACTAS support crew- Glenn Doney (head coach), Joel Stewart (mechanic), Susie Boer (mechanic), Sarah (masseuse) & Joel Ryan (chauffeur to the course), and my coach, Pothole.

Congratulations to Alex Carle for taking bronze in the U23 category (and beating me by 28 seconds).

Thanks also to my support vehicle- Al Matthews and Ben Hill- I'm glad I didn't need you guys but I appreciate that you were behind me, and thanks for all your vocal support from the car!

Dear Pursuit Gods...

Victorian Pursuit Championships
Sunday 20 December, 2009

I know I haven't really been training for this, but can I please just have a good ride! Thanks!

It kind of worked! It wasn't the fastest ride of the day, and it was pretty much the same as what I rode in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, in fact, so similar that the times were about the same as last time. And, yet again I rode a faster final than I did qualifier, so I can't really complain! Unfortunately, it wasn't faster than before.

On the upside, there was a visit to the podium, and that is always good :) Another IP bronze. (I don't have a good photo of that :( ) And it was nice to do that in front of my mum, my brother, his fiancee and my 2 nieces! Congratulations to Helen Kelly who rode a stellar race, and to Miranda Laidlaw who surprised herself with how fast she could go for the silver.

More importantly, I have identified some things to focus on to make me a better pursuit rider. Small technical things that I think can be improved rapidly to make my pursuit better. I experimented with a couple of things for this race and they seemed to work quite favourably, although they will need a bit of refinement, although I am pretty happy with the initial response. This is the type of challenge I like (damn that inner scientist!!), but it will have to wait until after January 6 to become a priority!

I hope you all had a good weekend. I have 2 more days in Victoria, a trip to see my mum and dad today (Monday) and some training over the Nationals TT course on Tuesday before heading home, and back to the office on Wednesday.

You are what you train for

Victorian Points Race Championship
Saturday 19 December 2009

And the points race has certainly not been the focus this summer.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good points race, but at the moment a sprint for me involves winding it up from 2.5 laps out, which multiplied by the number of sprints in the race is just not a formula for success.

Today's race was tough. There was no chance of taking a lap as Rosy McCall, Nicole Whitburn and myself knew that if one went the others would too. The two young girls, Miranda Laidlaw and Laine Hammond, were content to battle over the sprint laps. Consequently the sprint laps were pretty tightly contested.

It seemed that most of us preferred a long wind up, which suited me, and most of the sprints were very tight across the line. Unfortunately for me, I let myself fall into the getting boxed position after winning one of the sprints which saw me squeezed out of points a couple of times.

In the end, I was fifth. Nicole took a well deserved win, Rosy was second and on a countback Laine was third (her and Miranda were equal on points).

I am a little frustrated by this outcome, there are a few too many, "if I had just done this..." thoughts after this race, but the reality is that I can't be disappointed, this was about time on boards and a bit of variety coming into Nationals Season!

Just remember, you are what you train for!

Summer Reading!

Thanks for coming back! I am finally up to date! I have dumped a whole lot of words, but I am lacking photos. I will try and find some to brighten up these posts soon!

In the meantime, enjoy! There should be more to come in the not too distant future!

Thanks for reading :)

Flat out and then some more.

Victorian Scratch Race and Austral Carnival

After a cancelled flight and a shuffle from Virgin Blue to QANTAS, I eventually got to Melbourne!

The Victorian Scratch Race was the first race on the program. I decided to go with a 94 as it was super hot and the track was fast. As far as scratch races go, it was pretty uneventful. Liz Geogouras attacked a few times, which I went with, but the bunch didn’t want to let us go. Towards the end of the race I attacked with Liz on my wheel, maybe a bit too late for it to stick and a bit too early for the sprint, but again the bunch didn’t want to let that go either. So it came down to a bunch sprint, and that meant the sprinters got up- Fatehah Mustapa (Malaysia), Rosy McCall (NZ), Miranda Laidlaw 3^rd, Liz 4^th, myself/Nicole Whitburn 5^th.

After that was a bit of carnival racing. A 15 lap handicap points race, I ended up 2^nd to Nicole. A 6 lap wheelrace- 6^th I think. Keirin heats- 2^nd to Fatehah and then the Keirin finals which I didn’t read properly and sat up with about half a lap to go. All of this was crammed into 3 and a-bit hours (including the scratch race). It was a whole lot of fun, but it was a pretty tiring day in the end. There was also a bit of a rush to get events finished which meant the keirin went from 6 to 4 laps, we had to get out of the track for Revolution to get set up!

VCC Time Trial Series Race #2

The month passed very quickly, and it was time to face this course again. The start time was an hour earlier than last time to beat the heat. A bit tough for a Sunday, but then again cyclists love early starts, right?!

Another perfect day for TT (despite the earliness), it was still and sunny. Somehow I did end up running late however and had an abbreviated warm up. I am starting to think that a shorter warm up might work better for me actually.

Today was one of those days when I just felt great on the bike. I found my rhythm on the hills quickly and held good power and speed all the way. My only complaint, just one, was the car that was going through the finish line as I was rapidly approaching. There was another competitor in front of him so it wasn’t as if he could have gone anywhere, so I can’t really complain, just meant that I had to slow down before the finish line.

This time around I was 1 min 10 sec faster than last time! And you know what, I reckon I can go still go faster (fingers crossed!!)

Another bike race, another lesson.

NSW Points Race and Omnium Titles

Again, it was back down the highway, and again it was familiar faces on the start line- Ash, Liz and Megan. To boost numbers in the points race, we had the under 19s in with us as well, and whilst it is good to have the numbers, it is difficult to know where you actually in the sprint at times.

The points race itself was pretty fast and pretty tough. It was hot in Sydney and at the end of the race had kind of wished I had put a 93 on. My race plan was simple, contest everything and watch the moves of Liz, Megan and Ash. It became clear early that I was going to have my work cut out getting over the line in front of these three. About 30 laps in, Megan, Ash and Liz made a move off the front. And whilst I saw it unfolding I had a bit of a chase to get to them as I was caught a back a little after the sprint. Chase I did and then the 4 of us (together with an U19, I think) worked well together to take a lap. In doing that the main field shrunk considerably. From then on I didn’t let those three get too far away from me at all. The rest of the race was fairly routine with the 4 of us sharing the points for the rest of the sprints- well me in 3^rd or 4^th each time, but given how much time trial work I have been doing and how little change of pace I have at the moment, that was OK.

The final wash up: Gold- Megan; Silver- Ash; Bronze- Liz; 4^th- me.

Sunday was the omnium. Again, not something that I have done a lot of work for and as I realize now, possibly something that I am not really that well suited to. Flying 200 was up first, and whilst it was my fastest ever flying 200 (I have only done 3!), it was not that competitive and I was in 5^th. The scratch race was possibly one of my poorest ever. Note to self- the way to win a race is to ride it how you want it raced rather than letting the bunch, in particular the sprinters, get their way!

The 2000m IP was a bit of a revenge race for me. I caught the sprinter that I was chasing and I posted a PB for this distance so I was happy. The points race eventually got under way after a lunch break (!) and qualifying rounds of the team sprint!! Much like the scratch race I wasn’t on the ball and rode a disappointing race. The 500m TT came around after another major break which included at U17 madison and more team sprints! This is possibly my worst track event and I wasn’t going to make up any ground now.

All in all a disappointing day, but I only have myself to blame. On the upside, my IP was good and I know what went wrong today and can go away and fix it!

Thanks for reading!

The love/hate relationship continues…

NSW Pursuit Titles

I think I said last year that I wasn’t going to pursue this event further, but, I changed my mind! Although the focus has changed and we have taken some of the pressure off by not having this as my main event.

After a last minute moto-session on BundaDome the car was packed and we headed up the highway on Saturday afternoon. The start list was a little ominous with Kate Bates, Ashlee Akudinoff, Lis Georgouras and Megan Dunn all listed. My goal for the weekend was firstly to ride a PB and hopefully qualify for the final.

For the heat I was up against Ash, that was daunting at all, no, I had just watched her in the TP at the World Cup, can’t be that fast surely!! So along with a PB, I wanted to avoid getting caught!! Alas I wasn’t good enough for the second aim, but I did hold out until the final km! But I did PB and qualified for the final.

I was up against Megan in the final. Hmm, tough day with world medalists everywhere! Again, my aim was simple, to go faster than my qualifier. In the end Megan was over the line about 4 seconds faster than me, and I did go faster than my qualifier. And whilst I couldn’t quite get to my schedule time, it was a PB, so no complaints.

Results:
Gold: Ash Ankudinoff
Silver: Kate Bates
Bronze: Megan Dunn

It has taken a long time for me to make any major improvements in this event, and this season has started well, so I am happy. (Yeah, I know it is not a super-fantastic time, but you get out there and do one and tell me how you go :p)