Rio Strada Ripper – Rips the Davis Satruday Group Ride

/in /by

image-1024x764I think I had my best Davis ride today. We changed the cranks to the 170s with standard chain rings.  Love the new gears. Much more comfortable and my legs did not hurt like they normally do. I can’t wait to get home and compare my rides on Strava to check the speed of this ride over last week. I am especially excited to check our the overall time of the climb –  I felt powerful, strong and efficient, and made it over Cantalo and down the other side in time to start the ride back with the group.

Yeah!!!

Angie

Kathy Barnhart’s Healdsburg Half

/in /by
Healdsburg-Start
There’s 2500 race participants in Geyserville waiting for the start of the Healdsburg Half Marathon the last weekend of October.  The announcer is talking about the course, “there’s water at miles 2, 4,…and Accelerade at miles…and white wine at mile 10.  This is a beautiful course, so everyone needs to take advantage of the rolling hills, vineyards and lovely scenery.  Make sure you enjoy the race and have fun.”  There are several of us dressed up in Halloween costumes creating a festive mood.  Batman, Wonder Woman, 3 little pigs and a wolf, and several others are waiting for the start.  The announcer continues, “even the elite competitors in the front  should have fun and and take time to enjoy the course.”  Does that mean I should enjoy the wine at mile 10?I’ve been taking Julie’s running clinic, met some awesome running buddies, and want to see if I can improve my half marathon time.  I did the Seattle Rock and Roll Half in June with similar elevation gain and temperatures, so I should show some improvement.  At least I hope to have improved.  Maybe I should skip the wine.  But then again, how often do we get to drink wine during a race?  Well, let’s see how I feel at mile 10.

Everyone is ready to go.  Jimi Hendrix plays the national anthem.  Ready, set, and we’re off.  Around mile one, we’re running up a hill that’s about 1/2 a mile long.  We’ve been training on hills, so this should be a cinch.  O.K., keep the pace steady and comfortable.  I have 12 miles to go.  The ladybug who’s been next to me since the beginning seems to pick up her pace.  That’s OK, I can catch her in the downhill when gravity is my friend.  Down hills have not been a favorite of mine, because the impact seemed to slam my body.  Julie has taught me to embrace the downhill and has improved my form.  There’s a little bit of a bend in the road, and I can’t tell if I’ve reached the top and should pick up my pace for the downhill.  YEA, we’re at the top of our only big hill, and down I go.  And yes, I caught the lady bug!  I’m enjoying the downhill when a dog blows by everyone along the right shoulder of the road.  This isn’t someone in costume.  It’s a real dog who’s name is Willie.  I saw him wondering around the start, and apparently he has decided to join the race.  Is he looking for his owner?  Hope they find each other.  (More on Willie later).

On I go, mile after mile.  At mile 6 I look at my Garmin.  I haven’t done a 10K for awhile, but I think I’m ahead of my personal best.  I probably look at my watch every 1/100th of a mile before I finally reach 6.2 miles.  Cool, I’m about 1 1/2 minutes ahead of my best 10K.  Thanks Julie!!  O.K., don’t get too excited, I’ve got 7 miles to go.  Luckily Julie is in my head saying “Think about form.”  Pelvis, check.  Arms, check.  Glutes, check.

At mile 8, my calves are cramping a bit…focus on keeping my glutes activated.  I think I am, but it’s not helping.  What else can I do?  Julie always talks about pedaling an imaginary bike spindle.  I try this and am amazed the cramping seems to subside.  This is the time in my 1/2 when I typically have to deal with leg cramps and slow down a bit.  I’m able to keep up with a butterfly that’s just passed me.  Mile 9 comes up, and my calves are cramping again, and I”m no longer able to keep up with the butterfly.  Julie pops back into my head, “focus on form.”  It’s helping.  Margaret Skillicorn, who also took Julie’s clinic has a motto.  “I can do anything for 4 miles, I can do anything for 3 1/2 miles.”  Now I have both Julie and Margaret in my head.  The company helps!  Margaret is saying, “I can do anything for 3 miles.”  But my calves are cramping again.  Do I have some of the wine coming up and coast to the finish?  No, I want to see how much I can improve my time.  Julie pops in and says, “Focus on form, think about the bike spindle.”  It’s working again!  Shoot, there’s another hill.  It’s short.  Julie always says , “break the race course into segments and make that your race.”  I can push a little bit to make it to the top of the hill.  Focus on form.  Pelvis, check.  Glutes…arms…bike spindle, check.  I’m so focused on form, the pain is more tolerable.   I see the butterfly up the road again.  I can’t catch her, but at least I’m making progress.  I can do anything for 2 1/2 miles.  Shoot, there’s another hill.  Focus on form, get to the top.  I turn a corner and it’s less than a mile to the finish.  I start to pick up the pace.  I can do anything for a mile.  Well, maybe not.  I’ll break the last mile into race segments.  I pick up the pace for a block.  That wasn’t so bad, I pick up the pace for another block, and another block.  I can keep up the pace, and the finish is down a short hill and around the corner.  I can do anything for a couple blocks.  YEA, I am done!!

All of Julie’s coaching and training with my new run buddies was such a help.  I’ve been trying to improve my half marathon time for about 5 years and have only dropped 4 minutes.  Today I’ve been able to take almost 10 minutes off of my time since June.  Thank you Julie!  Thank you run buddies!

Willie the dog apparently won the race.  He was digging around some shrubs when I finished.  His owners were in Geyserville having no idea what mischief he had gotten into that morning.  He was later arrested by local law enforcement but bailed out by his owners.

Julie always talks about the recovery being so important.  Well, we’re off to a local restaurant for lunch and mimosas!

Four Years with Julie Young

/in /by

09-12-09.Folsom.Crit_.Breakaway1Recently I had to make a personal decision, and honestly it was very tough. For years I’ve contemplated the hobby I love (cycling) vs. furthering my education in gaining my MBA. Finally, after much personal deliberation, I have chosen the MBA.

That being said, however, I still hold the last four (4) years with Julie as one of the best decisions I’ve made in my athletic career, which includes being a Division I NCAA athletic scholarship athlete in swimming. Julie was able to help me pull out the best possible cyclist in me with the limited training time we had available.

Things were not always smooth and easy, but neither is life. Julie helped me to bring focus and motivation to my narrow window of training opportunities. And with a full time job and family, including two kids, we were able turn a part time athlete into a multiple podium winner in the Masters 35+ 1/2/3 category.

If you train for a hobby or wish to excel in a sport while working on a slim window of time, Julie Young is your answer. She is an athlete herself, and completely understands the commitment(s) it takes to succeed. She is a leader and a motivator. She is not only a coach, but a partner. She is my friend and a valuable resource to my family and life.

Julie, thank you for four (4) great years…I only hope that in two years after my MBA, we can continue where we left off and get some more wins.

Your friend and advocate,
Matt Ream
Cyclist – Category 2 Racer

Notable Results w/ Julie:
2nd 2009 Vacaville Grand Prix
1st 2009 Folsom Challenge Crit
1st 2009 Two Bridges Circuit Race
1st 2010 Modesto Crit
2nd 2010 Nevada City Classic
1st 2010 Auburn Classic Criterium
2nd 2011 IC3 Dash for Cash
2nd 2011 Folsom Cyclebration
3rd 2012 Tour de Nez
1st 2012 Sierra De Monseratt
SierraDeMonseratt.Win_

Heidi’s 2011Race Season Reflections

/in /by

Heidi_MaderaCritMy season started out with promise in February.  It quickly went awry starting with Snelling, where I DNF’d due to back pain that would always start around mile 30 of a road race.  From there, it went downhill pretty rapidly and continued doing so until a thoroughly awful weekend at the Chico Stage race, where my back problems really hampered me.  After Chico, I decided that training harder wouldn’t fix the issue.  I needed to get some help.<
I had a connection to Julie through my current club/team (Silver Sage is a sponsor).  She changed my bike fit and

within a couple weeks, I was able to actually ride my bike without pain. I also gained some wattage output that translated to an increase in speed that I couldn’t have otherwise attained.  I got some quantification of the improvements at a couple of our local Tuesday Night Twilight races and the Little City Stage Race in July.  The road race, while not the greatest placing, was the best I’ve ever felt in that discipline.  The total lack of pain meant I could actually train for road racing.  What a concept!
Through two 8-week training camps, Julie taught me some huge improvements in my pedal strokes, as well.  That change, along with a wider variety of interval workouts, caused an overall improvement in my riding/racing that resulted in several podium finishes in the last half of the season.  The changes also made it possible for me to be more aggressive in my race tactics because I’ve been more confident in my physical ability.She’s been an incredible sounding board for all my ups and downs this season, even though she probably didn’t have to do that. Her support and knowledge was the major reason I was able to turn my season around and start having FUN again.

Heidi Hits her Cycling Stride

/in /by

Heidi Littenberg’s weekend race report

Heidi_MaderaCritI did the 3/4 race at Vacaville yesterday and wanted to say THANKS for all the intervals and advice. That course has a nasty little hill in the middle. During my warm-up lap, I was reminded how difficult the hill actually is. My memories from last year were that it wasn’t as long or as steep as it really is. So, when the race started, I was trying not to be too stressed about having to go over it 16 times, especially since going uphill has been a weakness of mine for ages.

The first couple laps, I kept finding myself getting nudged into bad pack positions in the turns that precede the hill. On the hill, I easily passed all those people and caught up with the front of the pack. We eventually dropped about 1/2 the pack, which made it easier to be in a good position. Early in the race, someone tried for a lone breakaway (silly in the winds, I say). After a couple laps with the lone rider off the front, I went to the front of the pack with the intent of pulling the group back together. I dropped everyone on the hill, which is something I thought would NEVER happen. I did about a 1/2 lap pull and then we started taking turns and reeled in the rider.

Every lap I felt like a rock star on that hill. I was able to do all this seated while just about everyone else was standing and working really hard. My pedal strokes felt like magic. I never struggled against my bike. I kept thinking about all the laps up Big Springs and how much those have helped.

The race only turned on bad tactics on my part on the last lap. I was thinking about powering over it and down the other side to get a gap with the hope of holding everyone off to the finish, but I didn’t trust myself to be able to go off the front in the wind (there was a very strong headwind in the final straight). I’m bummed about not going for it. I ended up 6th, but with the win I got in July, the 3rd I got in August and that fun breakaway I was in at the Wheelmen Air Center race a couple weeks ago, I’m now feeling like something’s going to happen and soon. It’s all going in the right direction.

SF has a similar hill and it’s a Cat 3 race, so I’m aiming to execute on the tactic (or something similar) I messed up yesterday if I’m feeling good and the race plays out well. I’m done with not trusting my ability and now I really want to go for it. I may be bold and be one of those people who animates a race. Now there’s a thought!

Just wanted to send a big thank you! Your coaching has helped me immensely.

Triathlete Todd Turns it Up

/in /by

I think the question for me is what has made me a faster, stronger triathlete. I got a coach because I knew I lacked knowledge and experience in certain aspects of training physiology, form and experience. Also, I comnitted myself to becoming better. More succinctly, I wanted to get faster.

Some core learnings I have taken away: A significant amount of training needs to take place near or at race pace. For an Olympic Distance triathlete, that is at lactate threshold. I currently had done this, but Julie’s o2fitness program has longer sets (so more time spent at LT) and higher frequency of those type of sets. The results have been obvious: my ability to ramp up to race pace has gotten much easier and that type of effort has become significantly easier to maintain. It is like flipping the switch now, whereas in the beginning it was very difficult to attain and hold that effort.

I have also realized that a comprehensive training plan is just that: comprehensive. Training needs to include technique drills, strength building sets, aerobic days, maximum effort days, etc. I came to Julie very strong aerobically. But, I lacked strength, so I was unable to get my HR high for extended efforts because my legs would not respond. In addition, technique is often one of the main components separating great athletes from good athletes. Watch any great athlete perform and the difference is obvious. They are not always stronger; they just do it better.

We see in print often the statment that to get faster athletes should work on their weaknesses. This is too true. I knew that my cycling, while not weak, had significant room for improvement. I also made the hypothesis that by improving the longest, middle leg of a triathlon, my run would improve as well. Now, I see Julie’s credentials in the cycling world are clear, proving a huge advantage for me! And, I was correct: both cycling and running legs have improved together.

The last thing that has been re-introduced to me is the concept of the highest adherence and greatest intent on each workout. Do the workouts as prescribed. More importantly, if the day prescribes a low heart rate and technique drills, do THAT workout the BEST you can. We often make the assumption that harder and longer are always better. I tell myself that whatever the plan is for that day I am going to attempt to truly excel at that workout. Conversely, if a really hard day is planned where a maximum effort is needed, I want to go to a place I have never been. No time like the present to break down barriers in terms of maximum speed, hear rate and pain. Rest is part of this adherence to the plan as well. I know that I will not be able to perfom personal bests in workouts unless I am resting adequately. There is little value to having little energy in a workout that requires maximum effort. To me, that is a lost opportunity to get better.

It is always good to measure things quantitatively to see if we have really improved. I took a race that I do every year and here are the time improvements with the past 10 weeks of training.

Bike: -2:22 Run: -:25

Course PR: -2:30

National Age Group Ranking: 2011: #85
Current Age Group Ranking: 2012: #28

Melinda’s MoJo

/in /by

Donner-Summit-She-Women1For our ride today we wanted an alternative to going up Lincoln and the frontage roads to Applegate.

We found off the beaten path roads – ended up going through Christian Valley and up and down on the hills in Meadow Vista for a total of 28 miles and 2500 feet of climbing.  We took it slow – so it took a little over 2.5 hours.  In the past on rides like this with my husband Alan, I usually end up feeling frustrated and tired and start whining and it all ends up to be a death march. It was the total opposite of that today!  Alan showed me the route and I agreed to it. I decided to let myself feel strong when climbing, but on some of the steeper ones, just going slow and steady.  I kept thinking about my training group compadre, Barbara and her excitement for being on the bike and allowed that energy to take over. Taking in the views of a new route and the great day outside and the feeling that I CAN do this – what a difference!! Oh my – It was FUN!  I’m so excited that I actually had fun on a long Sunday bike ride!!

I’m looking forward to round #2 of the 10-week Auburn Cycling Training Group!

~Melinda

Grow Through Training

/in /by

I don’t know about you, but my needs and wants are constantly changing in life. I have found the same shifts to take place with athletic goals and desires as well. Once I achieve a goal, such as becoming a faster and stronger cyclist, I reflect upon what’s next. Sometimes it means shifting what my focus is, which is now moving back toward competing in triathlons to see what I can do with my improved cycling skills.

For me, these changes in goals and priorities have helped to keep myself from becoming burnt out and stay excited about sports overall. As a runner, swimmer or a cyclist, it has been easy for me to switch from one sport to integrating all three into what I do.

Being honest with myself and what I want has helped me to learn that sometimes I need a break from criterium and road races to race against myself as a triathlete. This has enabled me to return to my choice sport of the season and has also helped to even out the tan lines as the season has progressed.
38194928-_MG_892911-1024x866

Holy Cow What a Huge Difference

/in /by

Heidi_MaderaCritI had a bike BG Specialized- Dartfish analyzed bike fit at Silver Sage Sports Performance Center with Julie Young…my post-fit experience below…
I rode about 45 miles today at a somewhat hard pace.  I was able to ride with the faster guys in the group, who are solid to faster men in the Reno Wheelemen races, for the whole ride.  I was definitely feeling it in my legs, but I NEVER felt pain in my back and hip.  Before we started, one of the guys I rode with on Wednesday complimented me on how strong I rode that evening and I was able to stay with him for the entire ride today.

I’m SO STOKED!!  I’m feeling like I can actually start making an upward progression now that the pain isn’t limiting me.  I’ve been hesitant to get out and train more duration because I was afraid of being in agony.  It’s so amazing to have that in the past.
I’ll be telling EVERYONE about your awesome bike fit service!
Heidi  Littenberg

Cycling Feeds my Soul by Barbara Crowell

/in /by

Auburn Century Training Group – As the Wheels Turn….

IMG_30831-1024x768I loved the drills even though I felt like I wanted to extend the time so I could really “get there,” the taste was amazing. It will be up to me to go further.

You helped me realize that I feel – and I believe most of us do – that we have so much power within us. I feel in my many roles an inbalance of incredible confidence and overwhelming lack of confidence – so strong and equally so unsure, always wanting to unify all these pieces that seem disparate. But cycling has helped me realize that deep down – these are the peices that make me. I have learned to embarce them with the big internal hugs

For me cycling is not about the adrenaline, it’s not about the endorphins. When I get on my bicycle I feed my soul. It puts me in the moment, I connect with my incredible world and connect with my strong body. It’s not always easy but it is always good.

I am so grateful for your clinic and the ability to work with you. You reinforce my commitment and restore my belief that this is really an integral part of my life and should not be placed … somewhere over there … when time allows…
Your passion and focus and knowledge are so kick-ass and you can work with all of us so well, so individually
we do have a great group of women – I admire all.

Thank you for putting this together – looking forward to our next tuesday training

I wanted to share an image from one of my favorite foothill roads – Drum Forebay – hopefully it will help inspire others to get out there and seize the day.
Barbara