Tulsa Tough Day 3

Keep Pushing On!!
I awake after a long slumber full of careful tossing a turning. Up and at'em!!! I slowly change my clothes with a little help from my peeps, and off to Mickey D's I go to fetch some chow for the troops. Going into today, I had put no expectations upon myself to race, however, I needed to make sure my mental game was still in tact.
After everyone's breakfast was delivered, I decided to mount up to see what was in store for me today...trainer ride or the road(via Riverside crit).
I walk my bike to the elevator, down and out the revolving doors and mount up. "Not to bad", I thought. Just have to remember to keep my left elbow closer to my ribcage to lessen the pain twinge.

I roll over to the course. I know the course pretty well in terms of what it takes to stay hooked with the main group. It was going to be a tough feat, but I gave the course a couple of ride bys. The course had a short sharp pitch up turn one with a continued false flat and rollers to the steep downhill into the last turn.
The body felt great, the collarbone was "holding"(in hind sight, only muscle), and I kicked it the second time up the hill to see what it felt like.
This was a go...just remember to not jack your arm out too far to the side while torquing on the climb.


We would all line up and away we would go. I would match the pace for the first few times around the course, then...
As crash on the uphill would create a gap and I would need a big effort to reattach to the group I belonged to. I couldn't give it at the time. I would find a small group that I would motor with and finish my effort around 32 minutes into the crit.

I do not promote anyone riding on a broken collarbone, much less racing on one.
So, do as I say, not as I do.

On to surgery, a plate and 5 screws...and 6 weeks of recovery.
Patience is a virtue.

Healing well, however, and will return hungrier than before.

Tulsa Tough

The Toughest Day I've Ever Had

Day 2 of Tulsa Tough had historically been a great day for me, with results always in top 10. I felt great about the day and was ready to rumble. I had no idea what that would eventually mean.
Chris and I would roll out to warm up, on what would be a very steamy and hot, humid day.http://www.teamrevcycling.org/
We would revisit the same stretch of road that we pounded in preparation to yesterdays race.
Fast Forward to 5 minutes before game time. We all wait patiently crammed up against the barricades to enter the course at the finish line. After all is said and done, I find myself on the left (inside) and in the rear of the start. yay!!!
Off we go...2-3 laps would go by pretty uneventful. It seemed as if we had all agreed to slowly acclimate to the heat and sort out our positions in the near future laps.
This is what is sooo mind boggling. I patiently move my way up and some 10 minutes find myself comfortably among the players that I wanted to keep my eye on. As we round the course one more time at around the 11-12 minute mark we hit turn 6 heading to the finish line. Just as we run under the start/finish banner at approx. 25 or 26, fanned out across the road, I had decided some 4-5 seconds earlier to take a clean path up the right along the barricade and found a nice spot with clean road ahead of me, so I could filter in around the top 12 or so, that oh so familiar sound of a nearby oops came across the air waves to my left ear.

Another black and red bike comes dominoing in front of me. I knew that there was no way out of this one today. I would be running over her rear wheel. I lift a slight bit and start, WHAM, a snag, I am launched forward, hit the pavement on my left shoulder and slide some 6 feet, my wheel ends up in the barrier and my Zipp blows, it sounds like a gun shot. Not sure if the combo of running over her wheel and a possible rear end aided in my propulsion, but this was one time that I had no time to think.

"What the World?", I thought. OUCH. A big bump and like someone was holding a large heavy object on my left shoulder/collarbone. I tried lifting my arm, ohhh, that didn't feel pleasant. As the race was neutralized, with over 25 people affected, I roll my bike to Jose in the SRAM tent and proceed to be a bit out of it. I had hurt my pinkie finger on my right hand, and had some road rash, but I was trying to focus on my thoughts and ability of covering attacks, and sprinting.

"How do I feel? Your okay, just a bit dazed and your heartrate just needs to come down", "No, what if it's not okay?" "Go to the med tent", "No, your tough, walk it off", "Okay, I think I have to go just get an opinion, what will it hurt...I have 5-10 minutes before we restart."

As you can see, I desperately wanted to be okay, but I knew I wasn't, but I wouldn't totally admit it. At the med tent I would find a fellow racer, Monique Hanley(Team Type 1), with a collar on, and being cared for with caution. I was worried for her. I asked them to look at my shoulder to see what they thought. Jamie and Teresa were awesome, as they ran to the van to get me a blanket so I could lay down. I felt nauseous, then it hurt like I cannot explain, then I would go through the same dialog over and over again.

The EMT would look at my collarbone, feel my back..."Your not broken". I could move my arm up over my head, to my side etc. etc. but, I could not move it across my body without being in excruciating pain. As the tent was visited by two other fellow riders, I would surrender my promising day, and hope that I would be better tomorrow.

With some Ibuprofen, and a good adult beverage, I would mask the pain...at least until tomorrow.

Thanks also to The Sound Pony for great Libations!!!

We shall see what is in store for me tomorrow.

Tougher Times after Tulsa

Maybe I have been saving it up to write, however, as I have waited, my attitude has been here, there, and everywhere. As a racer, I yo-yo, fight, defeat, and reason with the voices in my head. Positive self-talk replaces Negative self-thought.
Tulsa Tough was our destination on May 29th. We set out in our handy dandy Suzybaru, and picked up our fellow bike racer friend Ben along the way. In dire need of coffee, or else someones head was going to be torn off...we grabbed the nearest Starbucks...whew, that was close.
Boogie, we did. 75-80 all the way with a slight crosswind, some drafting and a little friendly vehicle speed banter, we roll into Joplin for a little "detour" and some MO's Southwest Grill. Yeah Buddy...good pre-race love.

As we pull into our hotel in Tulsa, we say hello to LVG and Rebecca Larson, who are enjoying a wonderful "cup of tea" (nice English accent here) on the parkbench outside the hotel. Unload, chill and then head to the course. Oh the Blue Dome Crit feeling. The crowd, the dusk, the speed. This would be my third year, one year with rain, one year with dim lighting, and this year, which would bring warmer temps, and a full NRC boat.
Teresa and Jamie would be joining us later in the evening, after their later departure.
Ben would race before us, as we warmed up on the nice road North of the course.

Game Time? You betcha...We all stand at 50 meters from the line, like a retaining wall on each side of the flat stretch. Michelle Jensen would graciously offer me a good chunk of ice that I put in my sports bra to keep me cool(this chunk would be a small pebble at the end of the race).

We roll up to the start, I find myself in the thirdish row and on the high side of the first turn. No worries. I jet off the line and drilled it to the first 15. There would be early attempts for breaks, but nothing was making it. No one team tried to dominate, or should I say, actually accomplished, staying away. The pace was some 1-1.5 mph avg slower than I had been used to in the USA Crit Series we had done just a few short weeks prior. Add this to a 30% increase in field size and welll.....you get some carnage. One, Two, then yes three crashes that I knew of. the first was behind me. The second was in the last turn, where Virginia (Vanderkitten) acquired a broken collarbone and 2 broken ribs. The last and I am not sure what happened, or who was hurt, was just before the 5th turn at the figure 8, I hear metal on metal to my left, and easily start oozing to the right, then BAM, I see red and black back coming up at me and fast. It was like I was the Kung Fu Panda, I say the spokes, the wheels, all in slow motion, but moving very fast. The left(front wheel) just as I would have tagged i, turned. I poked my bars forward in the smallest whole to daylight and off I went. I couldn't believe this. With 3 to go, we head toward turn 7 and the pace slows incredibly all of the sudden. LVG and I are stacked on each other on the inside of the turn, and I say ever so softly, "come on girls, let's go", while LVG says "This is so uncool". We make it through, but the pace yo-yo is so disturbiing. With 2 to go, I motor and away we go. I find my spot..7th hole, in the last 1/3rd of that lap. Not sure what happened at turn 4 to 5, of the last lap, but I knew I was in trouble. I had been pushed out and had to dig. I found Tiffany Pezzulo (Dft P/b Treads), wheel and held tight. The last turn was smooth, but not as fast as I would have liked it. Shannon Koch, came high and then faded left across me....no worries, I say...I hit the accelerator to make up as much time as possible. Whew...Okay, I would take 13th. I should have put the pedal to the metal 2 turns earlier, but hindsight is just "ass"anine!!!

Day 2---Brady District to come...this is a good one!!!

Renovation

Hey all...I will be updating everyone on my last couple of weeks happenings during my time of:
"Renovation" and "Restoration".

Got to remember to practice my bunny hopping technique. I was a little rusty.
:)