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| Check out the beard on this guy! |
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| Me getting pretty on race morning because it helps me race EVIL |
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| (Photo: My podium photo from Hightstown) |
When we arrived I took a look at the water and saw that it must not have been a tough decision to cancel the swim. It looked like mud from the recent hurricane. We set up transition and did a bit of a ride then run on the course. The event was very well organized, the RD had a great sense of humor and was nice and bossy and straightforward during the mandatory meeting. Just the way I like 'em.
I was in the 4th wave with Sarah Leshner and was happy to have another girl I knew to hang with before the start. John, Steve, and Rooney all started in the waves ahead of us. Our wave went off and Sarah and I took off in the front to start the 2 mile run. Soon, 2 women passed us. I considered staying with them, but checked in with my steady breathing, thought of Savageman and the miles of riding and running still ahead of me, and I decided to let them go. Otherwise I would burn myself out too early, especially with such heavy legs. By the end of the run, I had caught a lot of the guys who started 2 waves ahead of me and I ran into T1 with Rooney, in our matching kits, like a collective BOSS.
I RACED the bike. I really pushed. The course was flat but I was feeling pretty confident because I had recently learned how to do a bit of bike maintenance and that had somehow also made me feel like a BOSS. I was flying. People kept yelling to me "I think you're the first female!" I thought they were wrong. They were, but that's cool. One guy was hanging onto my wheel and was drafting. We came to a corner and I, thanks to my killer bike handling skills, gracefully and swiftly made the corner. The silly man tried to pass me and wiped out. I thought "Oh no. My powers!" I asked of he was okay and then continued along. Soon after that, a group of guys who were riding in a pace line surrounded me. I was all "where'd you guys come from?" Then Rooney, the superhero, came swooping in out of nowhere and gave them heck and shot lasers through them for being dirty cheaters. Rooney said something like "go get 'em, finish strong". And I tore outta there into t2, feeling thankful for my homies.
I started the 5k run having no clue if I was really in first or second. I wanted to run hard but was a bit conservative because I expected to drop dead from "The Savage" at any moment. I kept my breathing pretty steady and started to pick people off, one by one. After about a mile I was on my own, for the most part. I hadn't seen another woman since the very beginning of the bike. It was then that I thought to myself "I'm kicking ass whether I run hard or not today". I knew that by telling myself the other women were too far back, I was risking learning a lesson the hard way... But I put it on cruise anyway. I was knackered. I had just done one of the HARDEST races of my life less than a week prior, so I relaxed the pace a bit to the finish. It turns out I was second woman overall! My first run split was really fast and my bike split was on FIYAH. That bought me some time for my slight laziness on the second run. I finished several minutes behind the first woman. There was no way I was catching her.
It felt good to be 2nd overall woman. I'm super happy with the result! And I'd definitely race at Hightstown again!
Sent via hovercraft
(Pic: One of the reasons I need to do a Fall cleanse)
(Photo: John tackling The Wall on his ERC bike)Race morning was chilly but manageable. I knew the water would be warmer than the air and I felt confident that I brought the right gear for the bike. I put on my wetsuit a bit early and didn't dare get in the water to "warm up" ahead of time. I was grateful to have our lovely friend Noelle at the start to cheer us on. She had done the oly a couple of times and had some helpful pointers. She also kicked butt in her race the day prior. The gun went off and the water temp wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. I had a pretty decent swim for the amount of swim training I had been doing. We swam to a giant, inflated turtle, around it, then to a giant swan boat, around it, and back to shore. A lovely swim.
I spent a few extra minutes in t1, getting bundled up with gardening gloves, arm warmers, and the sexiest skull leg warmers you ever saw. The bike mount is at a hill and I had watched people struggle and fall over right at the start of the bike in the oly the day before. It was a funny mess and no one was very upset. This crazy hard race tends to attract people who see that type of struggle as a fun, added challenge. They're also saying to themselves "I'm the idiot who signed up for this". So I had calculated my bike mount and practiced the day before. It worked well and I looked like a superstar. Once over that first "hump" the smaller climbs and signs to go with them started right away. The first climb was called the "toothpick" and there were signs set out to heckle you about how small it would feel in retrospect. It was short but very steep. After that climb there is a technical descent that goes on for 17 or so miles, complete with switchbacks and winding turns, and no aero bars allowed to be used. I have to say, I passed a LOT of people on the descent because I have wicked bike handling skillz from SLB. I wasn't being wreckless. I was just GOOD. As you approach the end of that portion, you can hear the cries. The voices of the spectators who came to watch you attempt, and most likely fail, the climb up The Wall. Most of them aren't encouraging. They don't think you'll make it anyway. They're pointing and laughing. Its the MOST AWESOMEST THING EVER.
I rode closer and saw The Wall in front of me, in all its painful glory. Kristoph told me that Desiree Ficker went around it the year before (there is an option for that) so I thought "I'll never make it". And John told me I can do it, so I knew I had to try. There are 2 sections to The Wall. The first is a wildly steep, paved road. Then it "flattens" out for a few feet before you have to dig in for the wildly steep (31%) cracked cement portion. There's a sign right smack in the middle that adds a bit of an obstacle. The trick is not to end up with your tire in a deep crack. This is hard because you can barely control where your bike is going with much accuracy because you're desperately trying to keep all your weight over your front tire so you don't flip backwards. I made it up the first section, focused on steady breathing, and I felt MEGA STRONG. I knew I could make it all the way to the top. I got over the "flatter" section, ready to muscle up that thing. I almost rode into the sign trying to avoid a crack, but I straightened it out. My legs were pushing through and I was filled with a sense of gloriousness. I was 1/4 of the way up, then halfway up. I was focused on the prize and hardly distracted by the screams from the crowd in their crazy, scary costumes. Then...
The woman in front of me started to slow. I was all "don't slow down! We'll fall over!" I couldn't get around her because the road was a mess on either side. Then she went sideways. I went sideways to avoid hitting her and rode into the curb and was caught by one of the "catchers". They pulled me and my bike quickly out of the way. I walked the last 4 feet or so on the grass to the top. I wasn't upset. I wanted to know if I could climb something that steep and I convinced myself that I could. I felt incredible.
The rest of the bike was mostly UP. There were lots of painful climbs that weren't even noted because they weren't crazy enough. If the same climbs were near home, it would be THE CLIMB to train on. Here, it doesn't even get on the list. A "climb to the climb" ride was very SLB, which was also why I was killing it and loving every second. That camp gave me thicker skin. The weather was beautiful and the signs had me laughing through the entire bike. You couldn't wipe the grin off my face. Some of my favorites were:
"I was told this wouldn't be a hilly course!"
"Is this a false flat???"
"Course Architect (name of RD). Please call (phone number) with comments"
Then there was a series up a tough climb that said:
"Aero helmet $400"
"Lightweight racing wheels $1500"
"Triple chain ring, priceless"
Super fun. I never rode so hard in my life.
Then I had to run. Usually I'm excited to get out on the run. I was exhausted and my legs were screaming. I said "shutup legs" and took it out slow and easy to get into my rhythm. I was passing people right away. The run goes through a camp ground with a climb to get to the turn around. A slow and steady effort and I made it without walking. Then its downhill for a bit until you get to this off-road, steep section. Its the kind of steep where you walk or you run but you have to dig in with your fingernails. I ran it and people cheered like crazy because everyone was walking. Coming back down after the turn around had to be done with care to avoid rocks and roots in the trail. This is my kind of running. It was very Am Zof. Then we did another loop of the same.
I finished! I wasn't sure I could. The bike took me about 4 hours. And the run was just under 2 hours (I'm pretty proud of that). I was 19th woman, and with so much strong talent, I can even brag about that. Just to give you an idea, my 70.3 PR is 5:34. This 70.0 took me 6:50 and I felt stronger for this race than the PR. SO INTENSE.
You need to do this race next year. You all do. http://www.savagemantri.org/
A week later I raced a sprint and got 2nd OA woman. Don't ask me how that happened. I'll get to that race report soon enough.
So John sent out an email yesterday that got me all nostalgic and excited about Spain! I can't wait to be riding my butt off in the mountains instead of freezing my butt off in NYC!
"Hi,
It's Fall! I love Fall! But it means its getting cold. But there are 2 good things about the cold. 'CROSS and Strong Like Bull!
First off we have a bunch of test pilot cyclo cross bikes already in stock. Frames are all carbon and built come in about 15 lbs. Yeah, its that light and fast! Frames are 950 dollars. Fully built bikes are 1950-2450. Pics and such are on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Evil-Racing-Cult/200333783354961
Second, 10.1.11 is the last day for early reg for the Spain Winter Camp Strong Like Bull! We only have 2 spots left for the second session, so don't dally.
TO SIGN UP:
We are going through bikereg.com and the direct URL is:
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=12945
This is for the non-refundable deposit only.
Again we are including 2 free days to anyone tough enough to do both camps!
Cortijo Del Nava is a fantastic cortijo with central heating, larger
rooms, a paved driveway and located only minutes from the center of
Trabuco which offers a proper plaza, cafes, shops and allows athletes
a chance to unwind in an authentic Spanish town with wonderful people.
Cortijo del Nava also has owners on site to look after our needs, aw
well as hot showers, a cold pool (for ice bath), and working free
wifi. To get a tour of Strong Like Bull’s new digs check the slide
show here:
http://skydrive.live.com/playe.aspx?path=/photomail/{fe96293b-6027-4af2-ae7d-06292dca8a7f}&image=F0D05497CE5ABEC6!302&imagehi=F0D05497CE5ABEC6!300&CID=-1094281698472182074
We have also hired health counselor and triathlete Christine Lynch
again of www.liveandeatbetter.com to oversee the cooking and dietary
needs of the athletes. She will be providing 3 meals a day (included)
to fuel and power you for your training, she is also a certified yoga
instructor and will, again, be teaching yoga classes.
All rides have guilds/coaches and a sag van for support to bring your
gear, food, fluids and lunch.
We provide all transportation within Spain including airport pick up
and drop off. All rides will also be guided as well as supported with
a sag vehicle. We will also continue use the swim center we have been
using and provide transportation to and from there as well for the
triathletes.
We have started a Face Book page for SLB here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Strong-Like-Bull-Training-Camps/10150100230460103
Also we updated www.stronglikebulltraining.com and you should check
there for updates throughout the year as well
PRICE AND DATES:
Session 1 is 2/10/12 – 2/18/12
Session 2 is 2/19/12 – 2/27/12
The price is $1185 after 4/1/11 but remember price breaks for ealy reg
of $200, so its ONLY 985 if you sign up now.
We can not wait to make 2012 amazing and really hope you are there!!!
Sean and John"
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| Photo: Sesame Kale prepared by Sam |
(John and Augie training in VT for B2B) 
PEEPS!
After what was a HUGELY successful first round of bikes we now have the machine built to bring Evil Racing Cult bikes into this world and in 2012 we plan to launch a full assault on Earth.
But before we do that we are allowing people one final chance to join us as Test Pilots. This sharply reduced pricing is for early adopters of our bikes. Get in before everyone else and get sweet hook ups before we go big.
Here is what we are offering:
The TT BIKE (shown below):
Razor thin, insanely aero and light as hell. This bike was just ridden by Test Pilot Grant Aidner to a PR and by me to a top 10 finish among the pro men at Ironman Lake Placid. Stiff, responsive and sick on the downhills, as well as a climbers dream TT bike, this combo is legit.
* Complete with ERC Carbon Wheels (choice of 50mm or 80mm front and rear or a combo of 50 mm front and 80mm rear at the same price. Also same price for tubular or carbon rim clincher)
*ERC all carbon handlebar wing and areo bars.
* Integrated carbon mast.
* SRAM Force. grouppo $3250
*Frame/Fork $975
(foto: the ERC TT bike going up famed Papa Bear en route to a top 10 finish at Ironman)
(foto: cleaned and ready for the day, sporting its bib number. Please note, this is the proto type and all future ERC Bikes will come with sick graphics.)
THE ROAD FRAME: EL MAL NEGRO
Named in Spanish because it was tested at Stronglikebulltraining.com in the highest mountains of Spain, the Mal Negro (black evil) is an amazing ride and is evil light.
* 1350 gram frame frame. Lighter than your mom.
* Wheel choice of the 20mm, 50mm, or 80mm rims. Carbon rim clincher or tubular. 1250 grams. If you get dropped on the climb its not this bikes fault!
* Compact gearing available.
* SRAM Force, grouppo.
* All carbon handlebars.
* Frame/Fork set $975
* Complete Bike 2850.
(foto: the first round of ERC bikes en route to to their owners. Please note they are all black but had white protective padding on.)
(foto: the Evil Racing Cult Bike is fueled by angry music, angry legs, and as shown here, coffee)
WHAT ELSE DO WE GOT:
* wheel sets of 20mm, 50mm, 80mm Carbon Rim or all carbon tubulars are $985.
* ERC Handle TT Cockpit of Wing and TT bars $350
* ERC Cross Frame (not shown) $950.
* ERC Cross Wheels (same as our road/TT wheels but extra strong) $975
READY TO PULL THE TRIGGER? EMAIL US: INFO [AT] EVILRACINGCULT [DOT] COM
**please note: NY Residents must fork over tax to the man (a bit over 8%). Also please note while we don’t jerk you for “handling”, you might have to pay shipping).
(Mirror Lake - so pretty)
(As I come out of the water, a woman points and says "OMG! Check out those guns!")
(This is a pro style flying cyclocross mount)
(I had the loudest cheering section, YAY!)
(Recovery dinner - A CREW group effort)
(CREW porch breakfast picnic)
(then I found this)
(and these - Grant and Anna)
(Coffee taper is OVER)
(Yesterday's pro swim start)
(Anna and Grant getting suited up)
(Cheering at Papa Bear!)
(My very own MPRO)
(Grant on his new ERC bike, just out of t1)
