| All - this is my race report from my first Ironman in Wisconsin on Sunday. I finished in 14 hours and 15 minutes!!!! If you are interested (or just want to view the pics), read on..... So, it is official….I am an Ironman! It has been a long and fun journey. I loved the training even when it was tough. My amazing triathlon coach, Jenny Garrison, kicked my butt literally this summer and I thought at times she was trying to kill me before I got to race day. Instead she showed me how strong I am and how much I am capable of. So, the race was a big celebration and I’m so thankful to all of the people who came out to support me (and those supporting me from a distance)! It was so awesome to know that so many people were cheering me on. I hope you enjoy this race report of my journey and the pictures. http://picasaweb.google.com/ausimity I forewarn you that this race report is loooong (like an Ironman!). I started the day at 4:00 AM after a solid sleep. I ate a plate of pancakes, gathered my things, and Keith and I drove into Madison. We parked a few blocks from race central, Monona Terrace. I dropped off my special needs bags by the capital knowing I would have access to them at the half way point of the bike and then the run. Next Keith and I went to the bike transition where I had placed my bike the day before. I pumped the tires, added my water bottles and placed food into my bento box, and helped others pump tires. Finally I went into Monona Terrace and added food to my bike transition bag before sitting in the hallway to relax and pass time. I drank Gatorade, waved at people I knew wishing them luck, and just relaxed. Then I headed down to the swim start at about 6:15 AM for a last minute port-a-potty stop then into the wetsuit. About 10 minutes before the start I got into the water. I stayed close to shore for a while and stood. A couple of minutes before the start I swam out to the back of the group. Then the horn and go! The swim was a fight the whole time for space. I fared pretty well but went quite slow trying to keep myself from getting panicked as guys swam over me, clobbered me in the head, or grabbed my feet. I made it around once and felt ok. The second trip was much better since I had more space. I think more open water pack swimming will help me improve. Out of the water I was curious to see what the trip to transition would be like. I started to get my wetsuit off and then reached a row of shouting volunteers. I stepped up to two women who pulled the arms off, pulled it down, and then told me to sit. They each grabbed a leg and pulled. The wetsuit whipped off. I got up, took my wetsuit from them, and was off running up the parking ramp. Cheering fans lined the way and I was grinning the whole time. My masters swim coach, the person who gave me confidence to swim in triathlons, was there and was screaming her head off as I passed by. Into transition I changed out of my swimsuit and put on my bike clothes and helmet. I ran out of transition feeling great. I got almost to my bike and realized I forgot my race number. I had to run all the way to retrieve it. That took quite a while, at least several minutes. I ran back into the bike area and a volunteer screamed out my number while another volunteer grabbed my bike sitting lonely on the rack. Most of the triathletes were out on the bike already. I ran with my bike to the mount line and rode down to street level. As soon as I got to street level I realized my Aero bottle was not latched in place. I stopped and secured the bottle the headed back out. I must have bumped my bike computer in the process because it quit working. I didn’t realize it at the time and figured I could ride without it no problem and didn’t want to stop again. I thought if these are the only problems I have on the bike then I’m golden! That was the case. I rode really strong and happy the first loop eating and drinking as much as I could. I LOVED the spectators. The steep hills were packed with screaming people. The second loop started out fine but I could feel myself fading. Muscles were starting to feel tired and it was getting harder to stomach fluids and foods. But I held strong thinking of all the people on the course. I knew my friends and family were out there waiting for me. The last 30 miles were hard. I was so ready to get off the bike and started to feel mental doubt creep in. I made it up the last big hill on the loop and headed back to Madison. The last 12 miles to Madison were a mental battle knowing that the bike finish line was so close. Finally I was on John Nolen Drive and could see Monona Terrace and was riding along the lake. Amazingly the swim course was gone! All of the buoys had been removed and the lake was back to normal. I rode back up the parking garage drive where a volunteer immediately took my bike. I was able to walk into Monona Terrace and leave my bike in his hands. I took my time changing into completely dry, clean clothes and using sanitary wipes to get the bugs off my legs and wipe the salt off my face. It was refreshing. I headed out to the run course feeling drained. It was 4:00 PM at this point and with 26.2 miles to go I knew it would be a challenge. I ate a Gu and started to run when I hit the timing mat onto the course. The cheering spectators were encouraging. I kept my run to a shuffle and was ticking miles off at about 10:00 pace. I walked at each aid station every mile and tried to take in fluids and food offered. It was not settling well and soon my jog turned to walk. I struggled to run 15 seconds, feeling so nauseous and dizzy. What was frustrating was that my legs and muscles felt so good and strong. This was a place I’d never been before. I walked most of the way back to the 13.1 mile turn around. Right before the turn around my masters swim coach was there. She completed IM Wisconsin last year and immediately recognized the look on my face. I was panicked. I didn’t think that I could go on another 13 miles feeling the way I did. I thought I might pass out in the road and didn’t know what to do. My head felt fuzzy, my stomach felt like it wanted to jump out of my throat, and I felt like there was a veil obstructing my vision. My coach jumped onto the course and wrapped her arms around me and immediately began asking questions about how I was feeling. She told me the most likely cause of my symptoms was lack of sodium. I though I’d done well with all of the sports drinks I’d had and didn’t think my sodium would be so low. She said I needed get the chicken broth they offered on course at the next aid station and start sucking it down. It wasn’t far to the next station and I did as she said. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was less than a minute as I was drinking the broth that I immediately felt the change. Suddenly my head was clear, the nausea gone. With my head and stomach on board my legs were ready to go! I began to run and it felt amazing. Suddenly what had been hazy was sharp and clear. I was aware of everything around me and I could feel a smile creeping on my face. My family, prepared to see me dragging myself by them again saw a smiling, running person instead. I could see the shock on Keith’s face as he registered the change in my body and attitude. I felt so excited to run! Dark was coming on as it was about 7:00 PM at that point. I continued to walk aid stations mostly drinking broth. I started adding some cola, bananas, and water. I plugged away not knowing what my pace was except that I felt incredible. This was the best I’d felt all day. I ran most of the second half of the marathon. I’m sure it was slow but I felt like I was cruising and loved running in the cool darkness of the night. I saw fellow Masters swimmer Frank and we chatted and jogged but I floated by him. I’d seen two other friends (including amazing Ironman Allison Moe) but they were ahead of me at that point. I started to feel fatigue creep into my legs in the last few miles but pushed it out of my mind imagining the finish line and my family there waiting. As I ran into the final stretch, I felt my legs turning over faster and faster as I soaked in the lights, the crowd, the music, and couldn’t wait to fly across the finish line. I crossed over into the arms of two friendly volunteers who guided me through the finish shoot asking me questions and assessing my physical and mental state. I got a picture and then was shown where the food and medical tent were. The first person I saw was Keith grinning over the crowd. I was so thrilled to see him and showed him the coveted finishers shirt and hat. I saw the rest of my cheering crew next and felt amazing but knew I needed to get through to the food tent. I went straight in and picked up chips, pizza, and a cookie. I sat down and tried to eat but that’s when the dizziness set back in. I got up and went out. Keith helped me sit on the curb but the world began to spin. I have passed out before in my life and felt like that might happen again. I headed to the med tent and talked with the doctors. They weighed me and I was only 2 lbs down but I was probably retaining a lot of fluid that wasn’t able to soak in. They let me lay down with my feet up and gave me more broth. It wasn’t long and I was feeling 10 times better. It wasn’t too long before I was back out giving me people hugs and thanking them for all of their support. Kerri, Wayne, and Kayla had a long drive home and had to work in the morning. It had been a long day for everybody. I changed, ate, and watched some more people finish before Keith and I headed back to the hotel. Keith had already retrieved my bike and transition bags so we could just leave. Back at the hotel it was past midnight when I showered and Keith headed out to get me some chicken tacos. I ate, stretched my back, and then collapsed into bed feeling completely relaxed. The next day and even today I am sore and fatigued but I’m less sore than after many marathons or even training sessions. It is still unreal that I did it because it seemed so impossible! But with the amazing support of all of my family, co-workers, friends, and especially Keith I did it! I loved it and it felt amazing to overcome the hard points and battle to the finish. So this is more like a short story than anything, but I left a lot of stuff out as well. I hope that you enjoyed it and take a look at the pics. I tried to photo document as best as I could so I could share as much of the experience as possible. I just love triathlon and am sad the tri season is over. So now it is time to find the next goal after a nice recovery period. Perhaps a marathon this winter. If nothing else, I’ll look forward to the Turkey Trot, Reindeer Run, and other fun events that I enjoy each year. Also I can’t wait for the 2009 Chicago Marathon where I’ll cheer on many fellow athletes. Let me know if you are running, and I’ll look for you on the course! And to answer the question I know you’re asking, yes, I will do another Ironman one day. Want to join me? Amy Halsall |
9/17/2009
Amy Halsall's Ironman Wisconsin Report
9/08/2009
Prinner Report Posted from Gateway Cup
Jessi Prinner has a great report from her 8th place finish at the first day of the Gateway Cup in her first NRC race!
8/27/2009
8/19/2009
Dunne Report: Downers Grove
Downers Grove report, Sat Masters 4-5, Sunday Cat 5 #2
Where do I get my “I survived Downers Grove” T-shirt?
Saturday was a beautiful day, a bit windy and I was hoping for a top 20 placement in the Full field Masters 4-5 in Downtown Downers Grove.
By the time fellow ABD riders Gary Rulo and the Sarge and I entered the course; we were already lined up at the back of the starting field. Gary’s comment “were going to have to do a little work” rang true. ABD rider Paul Zelewsky. was lined up just down the way from us. Together ABD had a good presence. The usual suspects were also in attendance. Tower, XXX and Bike Heaven all had a strong showing in the field.
As the race started, Gary and I moved up and found Paul and started to make good progress up the field. That is until maybe lap # 4. An accident on the uphill in turn 4 collected both Gary and I. Paul managed to just miss THIS wreck. The Sarge passed us asking is we were OK. Both Gary and got up, assessed our damage and moved to the wheel pit for our free lap. We rejoined the pack and continued to hook up with Paul moving into good position. The race itself was not as fast as I expected. Maybe the wind help keep the group together. During each lap between corner 2 & 3 I could hear the ABD faithful cheering us on. With 3 laps to go, the pace picked up between turn 2 and 3. A few attacks were brought back by the group and I could tell that it was going to be a bunch sprint. Paul, Gary and I had made up positions between the downhill turn 5 & 6. We hung tight just around the top 10 and had very good position coming out of turn 8 heading up the start / finish hill. Then about 20 meters before the start /finish, a rider (do not want to name team) pushed through along the barricade. He forced past me and Gary, by as he passed Gary, he hooked a XXX rider (Rob) and they both flipped into the barricade. You know what happened next, 3, yes 3, ABD riders down at once. Luckily everyone seemed OK. (I did hear the next day that a South Shore Wheelman was hurt, but will recover ). The XXX rider’s bike was broken ½. Seeing this, I feel lucky. I managed to remount and finish the 2 laps, but the damage was done. Bottom line is we had a good race going, we all felt strong for the final 2 laps, but as luck would have it was not our day. I had fun; the skid marks on my body will go away and not much damage done to my bike. Although I did not reach my goal of top 20, I can still make a good story about crashing twice in one race.
Sunday Cat 5 #2
More of the same
Lined up 2nd row behind a South Shore Wheelman with fellow ABD rider Jim Lund. Whistle blows and with in 3 seconds I am on the ground again. The guy in front of me falters clipping in and boom, 4 guys ride up my …..back. I replace my chain, remount and chase the field. I manage to catch them around turn 7. I regroup, try and recover and then work on making my way to the front. With 3 laps to go I’m in good position and holding. One lap to go and the front of the field are moving single file through turn 5 & 6. I make a move up to around 5th place between turn 6 & 7. Entering turn 7 faster than any other point of the race, made for some interesting lines through the corner for some riders. The rider to the inside of me bobbled and forced me wider than I wanted making me have to force my way back into the street before that fast approaching outside curb came up and grabbed me. I was pushed back a few spots, but managed to pass a few riders up the finish hill for 8th. .
All in all a fun weekend of racing, Considering my training the last few weeks has included Guinness and only a few days of riding a week, when I was not on the ground, I felt pretty good. I am looking forward to more racing with the Sarge, Gary and Paul.
John Dunne
Where do I get my “I survived Downers Grove” T-shirt?
Saturday was a beautiful day, a bit windy and I was hoping for a top 20 placement in the Full field Masters 4-5 in Downtown Downers Grove.
By the time fellow ABD riders Gary Rulo and the Sarge and I entered the course; we were already lined up at the back of the starting field. Gary’s comment “were going to have to do a little work” rang true. ABD rider Paul Zelewsky. was lined up just down the way from us. Together ABD had a good presence. The usual suspects were also in attendance. Tower, XXX and Bike Heaven all had a strong showing in the field.
As the race started, Gary and I moved up and found Paul and started to make good progress up the field. That is until maybe lap # 4. An accident on the uphill in turn 4 collected both Gary and I. Paul managed to just miss THIS wreck. The Sarge passed us asking is we were OK. Both Gary and got up, assessed our damage and moved to the wheel pit for our free lap. We rejoined the pack and continued to hook up with Paul moving into good position. The race itself was not as fast as I expected. Maybe the wind help keep the group together. During each lap between corner 2 & 3 I could hear the ABD faithful cheering us on. With 3 laps to go, the pace picked up between turn 2 and 3. A few attacks were brought back by the group and I could tell that it was going to be a bunch sprint. Paul, Gary and I had made up positions between the downhill turn 5 & 6. We hung tight just around the top 10 and had very good position coming out of turn 8 heading up the start / finish hill. Then about 20 meters before the start /finish, a rider (do not want to name team) pushed through along the barricade. He forced past me and Gary, by as he passed Gary, he hooked a XXX rider (Rob) and they both flipped into the barricade. You know what happened next, 3, yes 3, ABD riders down at once. Luckily everyone seemed OK. (I did hear the next day that a South Shore Wheelman was hurt, but will recover ). The XXX rider’s bike was broken ½. Seeing this, I feel lucky. I managed to remount and finish the 2 laps, but the damage was done. Bottom line is we had a good race going, we all felt strong for the final 2 laps, but as luck would have it was not our day. I had fun; the skid marks on my body will go away and not much damage done to my bike. Although I did not reach my goal of top 20, I can still make a good story about crashing twice in one race.
Sunday Cat 5 #2
More of the same
Lined up 2nd row behind a South Shore Wheelman with fellow ABD rider Jim Lund. Whistle blows and with in 3 seconds I am on the ground again. The guy in front of me falters clipping in and boom, 4 guys ride up my …..back. I replace my chain, remount and chase the field. I manage to catch them around turn 7. I regroup, try and recover and then work on making my way to the front. With 3 laps to go I’m in good position and holding. One lap to go and the front of the field are moving single file through turn 5 & 6. I make a move up to around 5th place between turn 6 & 7. Entering turn 7 faster than any other point of the race, made for some interesting lines through the corner for some riders. The rider to the inside of me bobbled and forced me wider than I wanted making me have to force my way back into the street before that fast approaching outside curb came up and grabbed me. I was pushed back a few spots, but managed to pass a few riders up the finish hill for 8th. .
All in all a fun weekend of racing, Considering my training the last few weeks has included Guinness and only a few days of riding a week, when I was not on the ground, I felt pretty good. I am looking forward to more racing with the Sarge, Gary and Paul.
John Dunne
7/14/2009
Prinner Report: San Jose Training Camp
Jessi Prinner has an update at her blog about heading to the US National Team Training Camp in San Jose:
San Jose, CA
San Jose, CA
6/19/2009
Prinner Report: Junior World Championship Trial
Hey guys!
This is the rider report you’ve all been waiting for…drum roll…Junior World Championship Trials!!! This was perhaps one of the most important races of my career as a junior racer, and I had my sights trained on it all winter. I think this event is what kept me half-sane during all those lonely, gut-wrenching computrainer workouts at the bike shop. As long as I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and a purpose for all those workouts, I didn’t feel like all that effort was for nothing. My #1 incentive happened to be located in Nashville, Tennessee this year. Believe it or not, my goal had nothing to do with square dancing or cowboy boots, but instead a time trial and a road race within the country/western capital of the U.S.
After an 8 hour drive from Chicago to Tennessee, I was feeling surprisingly unfatigued (haha, that’s not a word). I think it may just be my love for travelling, and the excitement of being in a new place I have never been before. Whatever the case may be, I was psyched for a shot at qualifying for Junior Cycling World Championships, which will be held in Moscow, Russia, from August 7-9. The winner of the road race and the TT automatically qualify for the event they won, and the rest of the Junior National Team is decided by nominations.
Saturday I arrived at the first event of the Soto Classic; a grueling 6.2 mile TT along a well-known road called the Natchez-Trace. Now I must mention the quality of Nashville’s roads, seeing as though I am a cyclist and pavement is my workplace. Most of you can imagine the roads around Chicago; some are so bad, you begin to wonder whether or not the government hired a squad of chimpanzees to lay the road, and a blind elephant to patch up the pot-holes. Sometimes I feel as though a 20 mile ride ends up being one or two miles longer with all the swerving I do. Nashville, on the contrary, has some of the smoothest roads I have ever experienced, like roads that have never been touched by a cars wheels. I could ride for miles along the Natchez-Trace and not spot one flaw on the perfect asphalt. In fact, it’s almost a little bit creepy, like I accidentally rode myself into the Twilight Zone without realizing it.
But I digress—I could go on for days talking about pavement, but I don’t like to bore my audience with details, especially those non-riders out there who right now are going, “IT’S JUST PAVEMENT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!” They wouldn’t understand.
So anyway, I spent a good hour preparing and warming up for my time trial, riding over the course again (checking one last time to be sure there weren’t any pot-holes) and talking to my ABD buddy Jenny Busch. As it so happened, Jenny had spent numerous summers doing research in Nashville, Tennessee, and knew the place so well she could scout out the nearest Mom-N-Pop Country-Fried Biscuits-N-Gravy Pancake House with a blindfold on. I think all Southerners just have a built-in radar for these restaurants. Northerners, on the other hand, are more likely to flee when they see such places. In any case, given the closeness of the racecourse to Jenny’s home, she decided to drop by and support me in my endeavors. I find that supportiveness and friendliness tend to be natural traits of ABD team members, almost like it’s inborn. And if it’s not, then we are quick to convert those sinners.
I felt that it was to my advantage that the course was 10K (6.2 miles) because that also happens to be the distance of a certain indoor event we all know quite well. Since I’d been doing the indoor TTs for four or five years (see, I’ve even lost count), I already had a good idea of what type of effort I could do for that particular distance. From the time the clock started running I visualized myself once again on one of those awful computrainers, and tried to block out all the nerves that could possibly cramp my style. I knew focus was the key—every ounce of my attention was trained on the effort at hand, losing sight and letting up for one moment could cost seconds. I was flying; I made sure to spin out in my junior gears in the downhill and max out my watts on the uphills, judging to be around 270-300 watts as I would have done on a computrainer. After the midway point I felt even faster as I estimated that my gap was closing to my minute-man, and I passed one girl several minutes ahead of me just before crossing the finish line. It wasn’t until much later that I finally saw my time. At first I was appalled to see I had made 2nd place with a time of 16:20 right behind 1st place Coryn Rivera, but then even more shocked when I saw I had lost first place by one second. It’s always the most painful when the gap to a victory is just marginal, but seeing as though it was the closest I have ever gotten to Coryn’s time, I felt some degree of satisfaction.
After making several trips to the hot tub the night before, I arrived at the road race the next day feeling fresher than I had expected. The race was to take place over a grueling hilly 55-mile course accompanied by a scorching sun. Within the last two miles was a monster of a hill that had to be over 10%, and the terrain seemed to just keep going up and up and up. If Hideaway Hill is Dr. Jekyll, then this hill must have been Mr. Hyde.
Well anyway, the race began with about 12 girls and nothing really happened for the first several miles of the race. We rolled along as if we were on a nice Sunday group ride, looking around at each other to see who would make the first move. Coryn Rivera attacked first on a sharp downhill, and as soon as the group rolled up on her, Kendall Ryan counterattacked. Since it was only the first few miles of the race, everyone sat up, not bothering to put in an effort to chase. Her gap continued to increase steadily as the miles wore on, but no one wanted to cooperate in catching her. We finally hit the first major hill of the race, and the group immediately split, leaving five of us off the front with Kendall still ahead. I wasn’t surprised at who made the cut; Kaitie Antonneau, Jackie Kurth, Anna Young, Coryn Rivera, and me. All four I had expected to end up with at some point in the race. For a moment or two, we attempted a chase, but it was short lived seeing as though nobody really wanted to take the chance of pulling their competitors and then being attacked. Both Coryn and Kaitie attacked several times, and eventually Coryn and I managed to gap the other riders with roughly 20 miles to go. We worked together to try to catch Kendall, but by that time she was so far ahead that our efforts really got us nowhere.
With just two miles to go, we hit the final hill, and Coryn and I tried numerous slow-motion attacks (seeing as though we were only hitting about 10 mph at most). It ended up coming down to a sprint, where Coryn outsprinted me for second, and I took third. I’m glad nobody took any pictures of that finish because I’m sure I looked like a mess with salt stains all over and gel caked to my bike. My coach, Mike Farrell, had told me to eat 4-6 gels during the race. The result was not pretty, especially during the latter part of the race when a considerable amount of gel ended up on my hood/brake lever/fork/cables, etc.
After the race Jenny Busch took my family and I on a tour of downtown Nashville. Believe it or not, girls actually dress like Taylor Swift, complete with cowboy boots. I ate chicken fried chicken, and to my surprise, it was delicious. Unlike Chicago, downtown Nashville had hardly any traffic, and didn’t purposefully try to run any pedestrian/cyclists over, unlike Chicago where we suddenly become moving targets.
Despite all the fun I had over the weekend, it wouldn’t have been made possible without Jenny Busch’s and my parent’s assistance, Rob Jungle’s wheels, and the support of ABD. Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope to make the National Team.
Is there anyone on the team who knows Russian?
Thanks for reading,
-Jessi
This is the rider report you’ve all been waiting for…drum roll…Junior World Championship Trials!!! This was perhaps one of the most important races of my career as a junior racer, and I had my sights trained on it all winter. I think this event is what kept me half-sane during all those lonely, gut-wrenching computrainer workouts at the bike shop. As long as I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and a purpose for all those workouts, I didn’t feel like all that effort was for nothing. My #1 incentive happened to be located in Nashville, Tennessee this year. Believe it or not, my goal had nothing to do with square dancing or cowboy boots, but instead a time trial and a road race within the country/western capital of the U.S.
After an 8 hour drive from Chicago to Tennessee, I was feeling surprisingly unfatigued (haha, that’s not a word). I think it may just be my love for travelling, and the excitement of being in a new place I have never been before. Whatever the case may be, I was psyched for a shot at qualifying for Junior Cycling World Championships, which will be held in Moscow, Russia, from August 7-9. The winner of the road race and the TT automatically qualify for the event they won, and the rest of the Junior National Team is decided by nominations.
Saturday I arrived at the first event of the Soto Classic; a grueling 6.2 mile TT along a well-known road called the Natchez-Trace. Now I must mention the quality of Nashville’s roads, seeing as though I am a cyclist and pavement is my workplace. Most of you can imagine the roads around Chicago; some are so bad, you begin to wonder whether or not the government hired a squad of chimpanzees to lay the road, and a blind elephant to patch up the pot-holes. Sometimes I feel as though a 20 mile ride ends up being one or two miles longer with all the swerving I do. Nashville, on the contrary, has some of the smoothest roads I have ever experienced, like roads that have never been touched by a cars wheels. I could ride for miles along the Natchez-Trace and not spot one flaw on the perfect asphalt. In fact, it’s almost a little bit creepy, like I accidentally rode myself into the Twilight Zone without realizing it.
But I digress—I could go on for days talking about pavement, but I don’t like to bore my audience with details, especially those non-riders out there who right now are going, “IT’S JUST PAVEMENT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!” They wouldn’t understand.
So anyway, I spent a good hour preparing and warming up for my time trial, riding over the course again (checking one last time to be sure there weren’t any pot-holes) and talking to my ABD buddy Jenny Busch. As it so happened, Jenny had spent numerous summers doing research in Nashville, Tennessee, and knew the place so well she could scout out the nearest Mom-N-Pop Country-Fried Biscuits-N-Gravy Pancake House with a blindfold on. I think all Southerners just have a built-in radar for these restaurants. Northerners, on the other hand, are more likely to flee when they see such places. In any case, given the closeness of the racecourse to Jenny’s home, she decided to drop by and support me in my endeavors. I find that supportiveness and friendliness tend to be natural traits of ABD team members, almost like it’s inborn. And if it’s not, then we are quick to convert those sinners.
I felt that it was to my advantage that the course was 10K (6.2 miles) because that also happens to be the distance of a certain indoor event we all know quite well. Since I’d been doing the indoor TTs for four or five years (see, I’ve even lost count), I already had a good idea of what type of effort I could do for that particular distance. From the time the clock started running I visualized myself once again on one of those awful computrainers, and tried to block out all the nerves that could possibly cramp my style. I knew focus was the key—every ounce of my attention was trained on the effort at hand, losing sight and letting up for one moment could cost seconds. I was flying; I made sure to spin out in my junior gears in the downhill and max out my watts on the uphills, judging to be around 270-300 watts as I would have done on a computrainer. After the midway point I felt even faster as I estimated that my gap was closing to my minute-man, and I passed one girl several minutes ahead of me just before crossing the finish line. It wasn’t until much later that I finally saw my time. At first I was appalled to see I had made 2nd place with a time of 16:20 right behind 1st place Coryn Rivera, but then even more shocked when I saw I had lost first place by one second. It’s always the most painful when the gap to a victory is just marginal, but seeing as though it was the closest I have ever gotten to Coryn’s time, I felt some degree of satisfaction.
After making several trips to the hot tub the night before, I arrived at the road race the next day feeling fresher than I had expected. The race was to take place over a grueling hilly 55-mile course accompanied by a scorching sun. Within the last two miles was a monster of a hill that had to be over 10%, and the terrain seemed to just keep going up and up and up. If Hideaway Hill is Dr. Jekyll, then this hill must have been Mr. Hyde.
Well anyway, the race began with about 12 girls and nothing really happened for the first several miles of the race. We rolled along as if we were on a nice Sunday group ride, looking around at each other to see who would make the first move. Coryn Rivera attacked first on a sharp downhill, and as soon as the group rolled up on her, Kendall Ryan counterattacked. Since it was only the first few miles of the race, everyone sat up, not bothering to put in an effort to chase. Her gap continued to increase steadily as the miles wore on, but no one wanted to cooperate in catching her. We finally hit the first major hill of the race, and the group immediately split, leaving five of us off the front with Kendall still ahead. I wasn’t surprised at who made the cut; Kaitie Antonneau, Jackie Kurth, Anna Young, Coryn Rivera, and me. All four I had expected to end up with at some point in the race. For a moment or two, we attempted a chase, but it was short lived seeing as though nobody really wanted to take the chance of pulling their competitors and then being attacked. Both Coryn and Kaitie attacked several times, and eventually Coryn and I managed to gap the other riders with roughly 20 miles to go. We worked together to try to catch Kendall, but by that time she was so far ahead that our efforts really got us nowhere.
With just two miles to go, we hit the final hill, and Coryn and I tried numerous slow-motion attacks (seeing as though we were only hitting about 10 mph at most). It ended up coming down to a sprint, where Coryn outsprinted me for second, and I took third. I’m glad nobody took any pictures of that finish because I’m sure I looked like a mess with salt stains all over and gel caked to my bike. My coach, Mike Farrell, had told me to eat 4-6 gels during the race. The result was not pretty, especially during the latter part of the race when a considerable amount of gel ended up on my hood/brake lever/fork/cables, etc.
After the race Jenny Busch took my family and I on a tour of downtown Nashville. Believe it or not, girls actually dress like Taylor Swift, complete with cowboy boots. I ate chicken fried chicken, and to my surprise, it was delicious. Unlike Chicago, downtown Nashville had hardly any traffic, and didn’t purposefully try to run any pedestrian/cyclists over, unlike Chicago where we suddenly become moving targets.
Despite all the fun I had over the weekend, it wouldn’t have been made possible without Jenny Busch’s and my parent’s assistance, Rob Jungle’s wheels, and the support of ABD. Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope to make the National Team.
Is there anyone on the team who knows Russian?
Thanks for reading,
-Jessi
6/14/2009
Prinner Report: Quad Cities (and Not So Radio-Ready)
Hello ABD,
Even though school has gotten pretty crazy in the past two weeks, I still managed to find time to travel to the Quad cities, and then Nashville Tennessee for some major hard-core racing. I’d like nothing more right now than to just sit and vegg out since I only have two days of school left, but I figure these reports are too important to hold out on any longer.
Two weeks ago I hopped a ride with Sue to drive down to race the infamous Melon City and Quad City criteriums. I was really looking forward to upping my results for this weekend since the best I’ve ever done was top twenty, and even then that was only when I wasn’t busy crashing myself out on every available corner. The field was just as tough as ever with several pro-elite teams scattered throughout. Meredith Miller from team TIBCO was there, as well as Amanda Mill from team Lipsmackers. I also noticed how many of the teams had radios strapped to their ears, and thought about how cool it would be if Sue and I had earphones like that.
Jessi Prinner speaks into radio, “Pssst, Sue, are you there?”
Sue: “Yeah, I’m here”
Jessi: “Sue, I’m riding about five riders back on the left. Now I just move up one spot. Now I just blew my nose. The lady next to me has some really cute gloves.”
Sue: “Jessi…”
Jessi: “Oh no! This lady just cut me off. Okay, now I’m turning…”
Sue: “Jessi…”
Jessi: “Alright, I’m still on the left, about four riders back now. Someone drew a smiley face on the road…oh wait, maybe it’s a frowney face…”
Sue: “Jessi!”
Jessi: “What?”
Sue “I’m right next to you”
Jessi: “Oh, right. Oh! You’re the one with the cute gloves!”
No, now that I think of it, that wouldn’t work out. Sue and I would probably just end up talking about the weather and telling each other “Knock knock” jokes when we really should be focused on racing.
Anyway, the race was a total of fourteen laps, which may not seem like much on paper, and wouldn’t be if the course was flat, but fourteen laps sure seemed like plenty by the end of the race. Everyone, of course, attacked on the hill, and I even managed to get a small break going with three other riders for one hopeful moment. Nothing got far, though, and the move was shut down within half a lap, as it was too easy for the field to gain ground on the downhill. The course itself is unique in the fact that it has a weird shape that squiggles through a park, with a steep, fast downhill, (at the bottom of which lies a speedbump) followed by a steep, slow uphill. From past years I learned that the first rider to the top of that hill on the last lap is almost guaranteed victory, because by that time everyone is so gassed that an actual sprint is almost nonexistent. So my plan was to be first up that hill. It’s too bad about 30 other riders had the same plan in mind, because by the time the last lap came around, everyone was gunning for the front, and one rider (Meredith Miller from TIBCO) already had a significant gap up the road. So the rider mentioned ended up winning the race, while I got neatly boxed in on the left with my last time up the hill. Pooling together everything I had, I used my sprint to loop and dodge around a minefield of scattered riders, all jockeying for position towards the top, and finished with a respectable 8th place.
The next day I crossed over the Mississippi River into Rock Island to race the infamous Quad cities criterium, also known as “Rage in the Cage”. The skies looked threatening, and for a while the forecast predicted thunderstorms for my race, but by the time my start time arrived, the clouds were looking less bleak, almost as if they decided to stop crying for a while to watch the Pro women 1,2,3s race. From the moment the whistle was blown, the race took off in a frenzy of attacks and counterattacks. Team Lipsmackers coordinated their moves well, one right after the other. I made sure to stay positioned near the front to be ready in case any major breaks developed, and tried several failed attacks before one break finally stuck. The group consisted of six heavy-hitters, including Meredith Miller, Amanda Miller, Catherine Walberg, Kristen Meshberg, and Toni Bradshaw. This power group consisted of the right recipe for success, and each of us pulled through consistently and worked together like a well-oiled machine. At first, I thought the break wouldn’t survive seeing as though it was only halfway through the race, and our gap lingered at about 20 seconds for a few laps. Then, Meredith Miller took a crazy strong pull for about half a lap and our gap instantly increased, and it was all uphill from there. By the end, we were roughly half a lap ahead of the field, and as we rolled by the center barriers I could peer over the spectators and see the actual pack rolling by as we rolled by. I could probably have thrown a waterbottle to one of them they were so close.
With under ten laps to go Meredith Miller began her brutal attacks that tore apart our breakaway, but none of them actually succeeded. With just two laps to go, we were all together, and as well rolled though start-finish, a gambler’s prime was called for $60 on the next lap. It’s no coincidence they call these primes “gambler primes”, because in order to win one you have to sprint on the bell lap, which is risky considering you could get gassed with just one lap to go. I took this risk into consideration during the whole 2nd to last lap, and debated the worthiness of the risk. But hey, $60 is a lot of money to a junior like me. I thought of all the things I could buy with that money; a pair of shoes, a helmet that was on a super good sale(not that I would need one or anything), a hamster, a pair of head phones, 60 songs on iTunes, 60 snickers candybars, an iPod stereo that I could turn up really loud…the possibilities are endless. So, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I went for the gambler’s prime. I really don’t think anyone else even tried for it, because when I looked back, I had a huge gap between the break and me. And then I thought:
Gap + 1 lap to go = VICTORY!
So I floored the gas pedal and figured, “Hey, I already took one risk today, might as well take them all!” For almost an entire lap, the gap stayed, and just as I rounded the second to last corner, the group came roaring by me with Meredith Miller winding up her sprint and Kristen Meshberg hot on her wheel. Meredith took the sprint, and I, feeling like dog chow, took fifth place. Not bad, though, considering I stepped up from 18th, to 5th in one year, a huge jump considering the size and strength of these races. Not only that, but I made podium as I was awarded the “Most Aggressive Rider Award” for burying myself at the end, and got an interview with some radio announcer (he was taping my voice, so I’m worried parts it might show up on the radio). Overall, I’d say Memorial Day weekend was a success, and definitely one I’m adding to my race resume.
That’s all for now…
-Jessi Prinner
Even though school has gotten pretty crazy in the past two weeks, I still managed to find time to travel to the Quad cities, and then Nashville Tennessee for some major hard-core racing. I’d like nothing more right now than to just sit and vegg out since I only have two days of school left, but I figure these reports are too important to hold out on any longer.
Two weeks ago I hopped a ride with Sue to drive down to race the infamous Melon City and Quad City criteriums. I was really looking forward to upping my results for this weekend since the best I’ve ever done was top twenty, and even then that was only when I wasn’t busy crashing myself out on every available corner. The field was just as tough as ever with several pro-elite teams scattered throughout. Meredith Miller from team TIBCO was there, as well as Amanda Mill from team Lipsmackers. I also noticed how many of the teams had radios strapped to their ears, and thought about how cool it would be if Sue and I had earphones like that.
Jessi Prinner speaks into radio, “Pssst, Sue, are you there?”
Sue: “Yeah, I’m here”
Jessi: “Sue, I’m riding about five riders back on the left. Now I just move up one spot. Now I just blew my nose. The lady next to me has some really cute gloves.”
Sue: “Jessi…”
Jessi: “Oh no! This lady just cut me off. Okay, now I’m turning…”
Sue: “Jessi…”
Jessi: “Alright, I’m still on the left, about four riders back now. Someone drew a smiley face on the road…oh wait, maybe it’s a frowney face…”
Sue: “Jessi!”
Jessi: “What?”
Sue “I’m right next to you”
Jessi: “Oh, right. Oh! You’re the one with the cute gloves!”
No, now that I think of it, that wouldn’t work out. Sue and I would probably just end up talking about the weather and telling each other “Knock knock” jokes when we really should be focused on racing.
Anyway, the race was a total of fourteen laps, which may not seem like much on paper, and wouldn’t be if the course was flat, but fourteen laps sure seemed like plenty by the end of the race. Everyone, of course, attacked on the hill, and I even managed to get a small break going with three other riders for one hopeful moment. Nothing got far, though, and the move was shut down within half a lap, as it was too easy for the field to gain ground on the downhill. The course itself is unique in the fact that it has a weird shape that squiggles through a park, with a steep, fast downhill, (at the bottom of which lies a speedbump) followed by a steep, slow uphill. From past years I learned that the first rider to the top of that hill on the last lap is almost guaranteed victory, because by that time everyone is so gassed that an actual sprint is almost nonexistent. So my plan was to be first up that hill. It’s too bad about 30 other riders had the same plan in mind, because by the time the last lap came around, everyone was gunning for the front, and one rider (Meredith Miller from TIBCO) already had a significant gap up the road. So the rider mentioned ended up winning the race, while I got neatly boxed in on the left with my last time up the hill. Pooling together everything I had, I used my sprint to loop and dodge around a minefield of scattered riders, all jockeying for position towards the top, and finished with a respectable 8th place.
The next day I crossed over the Mississippi River into Rock Island to race the infamous Quad cities criterium, also known as “Rage in the Cage”. The skies looked threatening, and for a while the forecast predicted thunderstorms for my race, but by the time my start time arrived, the clouds were looking less bleak, almost as if they decided to stop crying for a while to watch the Pro women 1,2,3s race. From the moment the whistle was blown, the race took off in a frenzy of attacks and counterattacks. Team Lipsmackers coordinated their moves well, one right after the other. I made sure to stay positioned near the front to be ready in case any major breaks developed, and tried several failed attacks before one break finally stuck. The group consisted of six heavy-hitters, including Meredith Miller, Amanda Miller, Catherine Walberg, Kristen Meshberg, and Toni Bradshaw. This power group consisted of the right recipe for success, and each of us pulled through consistently and worked together like a well-oiled machine. At first, I thought the break wouldn’t survive seeing as though it was only halfway through the race, and our gap lingered at about 20 seconds for a few laps. Then, Meredith Miller took a crazy strong pull for about half a lap and our gap instantly increased, and it was all uphill from there. By the end, we were roughly half a lap ahead of the field, and as we rolled by the center barriers I could peer over the spectators and see the actual pack rolling by as we rolled by. I could probably have thrown a waterbottle to one of them they were so close.
With under ten laps to go Meredith Miller began her brutal attacks that tore apart our breakaway, but none of them actually succeeded. With just two laps to go, we were all together, and as well rolled though start-finish, a gambler’s prime was called for $60 on the next lap. It’s no coincidence they call these primes “gambler primes”, because in order to win one you have to sprint on the bell lap, which is risky considering you could get gassed with just one lap to go. I took this risk into consideration during the whole 2nd to last lap, and debated the worthiness of the risk. But hey, $60 is a lot of money to a junior like me. I thought of all the things I could buy with that money; a pair of shoes, a helmet that was on a super good sale(not that I would need one or anything), a hamster, a pair of head phones, 60 songs on iTunes, 60 snickers candybars, an iPod stereo that I could turn up really loud…the possibilities are endless. So, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I went for the gambler’s prime. I really don’t think anyone else even tried for it, because when I looked back, I had a huge gap between the break and me. And then I thought:
Gap + 1 lap to go = VICTORY!
So I floored the gas pedal and figured, “Hey, I already took one risk today, might as well take them all!” For almost an entire lap, the gap stayed, and just as I rounded the second to last corner, the group came roaring by me with Meredith Miller winding up her sprint and Kristen Meshberg hot on her wheel. Meredith took the sprint, and I, feeling like dog chow, took fifth place. Not bad, though, considering I stepped up from 18th, to 5th in one year, a huge jump considering the size and strength of these races. Not only that, but I made podium as I was awarded the “Most Aggressive Rider Award” for burying myself at the end, and got an interview with some radio announcer (he was taping my voice, so I’m worried parts it might show up on the radio). Overall, I’d say Memorial Day weekend was a success, and definitely one I’m adding to my race resume.
That’s all for now…
-Jessi Prinner
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