I had no way of knowing, the day I first gave bike racing a try, in 1997, at the old Zoo Parking Lot course, that I would spend the next twelve years training and racing, compete at eight Masters Nationals, earn medals at the Pennsylvania elite Time Trial and Road Races, and come to know and respect the deep tradition of bicycle racing. All I knew that day was that I felt I needed to give it a try and even as I got dropped on the third lap, I knew I was thoroughly hooked.

Fast forward to September 19, 2010, the last race of the season and my career – the traditional ‘end of season race,’ the Presque Isle Time Trial. It was a challenge holding on to my fitness for six weeks after Masters Nationals but I stuck it out and finished second on the day, a mere four seconds adrift of first place with third place another four seconds behind me. Doesn’t get much better than that.

I have been thinking of retiring for the last year or so. For me, racing outside the oval and the local races has always been central to my racing plans and training, but lately I’ve grown weary of the travel. It’s no longer an adventure to leave town on Friday, race in Maryland or Lancaster or DC on Saturday and Sunday, then arrive back home late Sunday, with just enough time to regroup before starting the work week. Though it was fun for awhile and I got to know a lot of racers out east who always made for high quality racing. I have also become aware that I need more recovery as I move onwards and upwards in the Masters categories. In short: I can no longer keep up with those young whippersnappers ! Or at least, it has become harder to be in contention at races. I don’t need to win – I do need to be part of the race, whether by instigating a break, attacking, or being aggressive. Sitting on wheels has never suited me, even though there were a few times when that would have been the smart thing to do.

In 2009, a spill while training set me back several weeks and I lacked the solid endurance base I typically spend the months of January and February building. A lackluster performance at Masters Nationals that year left me thinking I needed to continue in 2010 and give it “one more year.” 2010 as it turned out, was one of my best years: not so much in terms of results as in performance. And for me, performance is how I measure myself. Did I race hard? Did I attack at the right time? Did I give it 100%? Those are the questions I’ve learned to ask myself.

I had a lot of fun racing with the Steel City women – consistently leading out my team mates for premes and at the finale, contesting the Most Aggressive (“MAR”), and doing what I could to animate the race. I captured a 3rd place for the elite Time Trial, had a solid performance at the Tour of the Valley and thanks to the guidance of my coach, Rob Acciavatti, and consistent training, had the best Masters Nationals ever.

So now I get to simply enjoy riding my bike – experiment with commuting, give ‘cross racing a try, put in some time at the gym this winter and probably hop on the trainer for a hard workout just to keep things interesting. I can say with certainty that it’s been a great ride !

Masters Nationals Criterium

Louisville, KY

Saturday, August 7, 2010

The last race of my last Masters Nationals – the crit.  I’ve had a range of results in past Nationals – a 4^th place in Park City on a crit course that was a race of attrition more so than crit skills, a couple of 6^th and 7^th places, a disappointing 12^th or so at Jennerstown, the first year Masters was at Seven Springs.  I have come to approach the crit with the attitude of ‘race smart’ but be relaxed about it: a podium spot would be nice, but that’s not as strong a goal as it is for the Time Trial and Road Race which are my strong suit.  The crit was Saturday afternoon after a long hot week away from home – it is hard to maintain focus for a whole week and I was starting to really itch to be home.  Friday I had a relaxed late breakfast at Lynn’s Paradise Café (spinach omelet, biscuits and cheese grits) did some laundry, perused the Kentucky Arts and Craft Museum gift shop, checked out the crit course – a straight forward 1km rectangle with a couple of slight downhill corners next to the Ohio River -  then a pre-race tune-up ride and dinner at Palermo.

Saturday was hot again and I had to manage my nerves and patience until the 2:30 race time.  I figured Anne Marie Miller and Diane Ostenso as the main contenders, with Jane a likely candidate for the podium as well.  I knew Betty would be looking for places to attack and I expected Glenda would be capable of making a run for the podium as well.  In other words: mark Anne Marie and Diane and be patient.

Anne Marie goes hard from the start, we are single file for the entire race, she leads for the whole race, and still gets the win.  That’s the short cut version. The full story:  I get a slow start and slot behind Betty – maybe 7^th wheel.  Further back than I want. Up front, it is Anne Marie, Diane, Jane, then Glenda and a woman who is only doing the crit. I spend several laps looking for ways and places to move up – finally getting myself to 5^th or 6^th.  Somewhere in there Betty attacks but before she can get any kind of gap, Ann Marie shuts it down. Normally, I would have counter attacked, but it is clear that no one is getting clear and I lack team mates to block.  Two thirds of the way through, Anne Marie makes a big dig and the woman in front of me lets a gap open – I dig hard myself to get around her and up to Anne Marie, Diane, and Jane – sweet !  It’s the four of us, but we can’t hold the gap but at least I am fourth wheel.  I stay right there for the rest of the race.  It has been full on racing and full on mental concentration since the whistle.  On the bell lap I do all I can to hold Diane Ostenso’s wheel but I lose contact in one of the corners.  I’m  fourth wheel out of the last corner – I hesitate for a nano second to shift up and accelerate out of the turn – Anne Marie and Diane have a 3/10 second gap on Jane, who was 3^rd wheel, but I am closing hard on Jane – at the line, she holds on for third by the barest on margins.  Our timing chips give both of us the exact same time, which means it was really, really, close – but even a solid bike throw on my part wasn’t enough to get 3^rd.  Still – I am pleased as can be to have managed a podium placing, in a crit, where the race came down to crit smarts.  Should I have gone with the gearing I had and not paused to shift?  Could I have punched it before the turn instead of out of the corner?  Who knows.  A 3^rd medal and podium placing  finish, in a crit at Masters is prize enough for me.

Photo courtesy of Craig W. Dooley at Kentucky Backroads Photography.

Masters Nationals Road Race

Louisville, KY

Thursday, August 5, 2010

It’s been hard to write about Thursday’s road race.  Some of it is still a blur.  Some of it is clear as a January full moon night.  It seems to me that an athlete has only a few truly memorable races – the one where it all comes together, where you ride outside yourself, where you attack or respond on instinct, without thought. You have equally memorable races where it all falls apart,  and it is epically miserable and demoralizing.  And in between, lots of races where you reach either extreme.  I think you can only have a few truly epic, “all comes together,” “ride outside yourself,” races because they are so difficult and draining and full of soul and heart it just isn’t possible to race like that weekend after weekend.

Three years ago at Seven Springs, I had an epic race that still resonates.  That year we raced down the mountain from the resort, did some number of loops around a circuit, then climbed back up to the resort.  The circuit had what could only be called a ‘wall.’ In my race, I was dropped on that wall each time we did it, and each time, clawed my way back to the group. By the time we finished the circuit, three riders had gotten away and I was with the second group.  When we got to the final long climb up to Seven Springs, I rode as hard as I dared – clicking off all the bench marks I’d noted in previous rides, keeping it steady, staring at the glob of orange GU stuck on my stem, drawing on all the practice climbs I”d done in preparation for this race.  I ended up riding everyone from the group off my wheel and finished fourth.  I’d gone from being dropped three times and out of contention to 4^th.

This year’s Masters Road Race had many of the same elements.  I wasn’t dropped or ever really out of contention, but I rode with the same kind of heart and instinct and determination. It rained the morning of our road race, leaving several wet spots on the course.   Before the race, the moto official warned us of a particularly slick spot on a downhill right turn early in the circuit. Sure enough, right off on the first lap, Diane Ostenso, a solid cyclo cross racer from the midwest, slid out on the that very corner.  She saved it, somehow, but I fishtail myself, in avoiding her. The moto turned around and looked hard at us – ‘like we said, the course is slippery.’  Duly noted.

At lap two, we are still all together, and Diane again slides out in the very same spot, this time going down and I came close to going down myself until I nurse my way over to the far left where it is dry.  I stay up, but in doing so,  lose contact with the field.  I chase hard, thinking my race was over, then catch back on with time to breath and regroup.

At lap 3,  Ann Marie Miller puts in a hard dig at the top of Cochran Hill – the very place she has attacked in previous races, and Arietta Clouse (the winner of the Time Trial)  responds along with Betty Tyrell and myself.  Betty and I chase hard all the way up the finish climb but cannot catch Ann Marie and Arietta.  I don’t think I’ve ever ridden that hard – I sensed, rather than saw, Ann Marie’s attack and my body reacted before my brain did.

Lap four finds me, Betty, myself, and  Glenda together with a gap on the rest of the field.    We don’t  work together well and I scold them – we must continue to work and keep racing, no one can  afford to sit on, this isn’t the time to look to someone else to put their nose into the wind.  Sure enough, I heard the Shimano support car behind us beep – as Jane, a rider from Erie – latches on.  Now there were two up the road and four of us.  Which meant one of us is not on the podium.

Lap five,  I lead up Cochran Hill and sense Betty on my right fixing to attack.  I respond,  and we fly through the sharp left at the bottom, the downhill on Lexington, another left, and make it half way up the finish climb before Glenda catches us.   So now there are three, Jane has been dropped, and it is a question of who will finish where on the podium in spots three through five.

Lap six – the bell lap arrives -  Betty attacks on a short hill half way through the lap.   I sit on Glenda for awhile, then attack – I want to be aggressive and leave nothing untried.  I know I at least had 5^th, but I want to try for third – do more than just sit on.   Glenda responds to my attack, so I sit on  – a good spot to be going into Cochran Hill.  At the top of Cochran Hill,  I attack again with all I have – and get a gap.  Through the downhill corner,  scrub off just enough speed to make it through the next left into the last climb, then I ‘just go.’  The finish climb is perfect  for me – a long steady grade which can be done in the big ring.  I catch and pass Betty at the 500 meter mark – she does not respond.  The 200 meter mark is at the top of the climb, then a soft left, and then the finish.  I don’t sense anyone on my wheel but sprint anyway, getting third by a handful of seconds.

It was…. amazing.  All the work I had done, all the instincts I’ve gained, knowing the riders I was racing with, knowing the course, trusting my training: it all came together.  Best of all, the race was the perfect combination of a great performance and a great result at a race that meant the most to me.

Photos courtesy of Craig W. Dooley at Kentucky Backroads Photography.

Masters Nationals Time Trial

Louisville, KY

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

It’s been a solid year for time trials this year.  Consistent, solid, good results, good practices.  So I was looking forward to the opening race.  Although I hoped for a podium, there is no guarantee that a solid performance will translate into a solid result.  It’s bike racing.  In 2009 on the same course I turned what I thought would be a top 5^th placing only to finish closer to 10^th.  I still remember looking at the results with Maryanne Holt, one of us tracing our finger down, down, further down the results until we found our names.  She won the time trial at Seven Springs, I had gotten 4^th in 2008.  Yet here we both were – nowhere near the podium.  “Well, that’s discouraging,” she said.  So it was, with her voice echoing a bit in my head, that I prepared for Tuesday.

I know most of the women in my group – Anne Marie Miller, Betty Tyrell, Margaret Thompson – and know that they consistently turn in faster times than I do,  which means that I would have to have a spectacularly good day and they would have to have a spectacularly bad day for me to be faster.  And frankly, if I did win the time trial because one of them punctured or lost a shoe or had cross winds or rain while I had sunshine and still weather – my result would always have an asterisk in my own mind.  They are simply faster than me.  So I figured a 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th place spot was reasonable.

We had an early start time – not my favorite, being so not a morning person, but better than an afternoon start with a forecast of hot and humid.  The course was out and back – two lanes of highway set aside for us, fully exposed to sun and wind, with a big climb right out of the gate.  I had ridden the course on Monday and decided that the opening climb was long and steep enough to merit the small ring.  It also meant the final mile was one long fast downhill, so I could also tell myself that the race was really 11 miles, not 12.4.

The time trial is all about ritual and I have the ritual down.  Get to the venue, ride to the start to check the ‘official’ time, find the start house, confirm the finish, and gauge how far I am from the start.  Then get the bike ready, get me ready, get the bike checked, get the helmet checked, clomp into the start house, start my watch at my one minute woman, get settled and clipped, breath in/breath out, and when the final 5 seconds have beeped down, GO !!!

I had hoped to have a rabbit, but the woman who started ahead of me, the eventual winner, was never in my sights.  But rabbit or no rabbit, the race is executed the same: pedal smoothly in the hardest gear you can; count to one hundred, over and over; don’t look back; don’t panic if someone passes you; don’t think.  And so it went: I got to the 11 mile mark, crested the rise, and went as fast as I could in my biggest gear making myself as flat and small as I could.  I crossed the line at :32:46, good for 5^th.  I was a bit surprised by that time – I had thought I might be closer to :31:46, but I can’t think of where I could make up a whole minute.  It was still a satisfying ride – and I was happy to be on the podium.  A great start to the week!

Photos courtesy of Craig W. Dooley at Kentucky Backroads Photography.

Pennsylvania Elite State Time Trial Championships

June 12, 2010

Harrisburg, PA

I must say I love time trials. It is just you and the bike and the road:  no one glued to your wheel to worry about, no chess games, nothing but go fast but not too fast. I am on a good roll this year, having turned some good times at the Erie TT in late April and a lightening storm shortened Friday night TT, so I was looking forward to the PA State TT. I’ve done the State TT just about every year it’s been held – I went back through my training logs and counted them and I think it’s at least six. I’ve been pretty consistent in placing top 3 most of those years. At least four of the races have been held at the Clark’s Valley venue, about 20 minutes north of Harrisburg. An out and back 40Km course that starts out with some false flat and rollers and then becomes a series of short but significant hills. The 20Km outbound is also a net uphill which adds a certain element because you can get to the turnaround and think you’re having the worst possible day based on your time only to find yourself flying back – and making up at least 4 minutes. The last time I did the race I won, by precisely one second, so I was both confident and determined to try to place well again. Race day was hot and humid with no wind – not perfect conditions, but it was better than the chilly rain at Erie or the thunderstorm back in early June. I got off to a good start, kept it steady on the climbs, popped it in the biggest gear I had on the downhill, and passed one rider at about the 5 km mark. Just before the turnaround, the woman who started 2 minutes behind me flew past – dang ! – made the turn and kept going. Then just after the turn a man and the woman who started one minute behind me passed – dang again! But on the little climb they both faded, I passed them, they passed me, I passed her, and then finally stayed ahead for good. With all this see/sawing back and forth, though, I’m losing seconds here and there as I try to keep my focus, stay out of their draft and maintain my steady pace. The race moto was behind us, too, no doubt watching for drafting and hopefully not seeing any. Once I got clear of the one minute woman and the other rider stayed ahead it was back to just me and the bike and the road. Knowing she was lurking back there was a little extra incentive, I must admit.

I passed the 35km mark and started to feel the heat and effort – and when I rolled over the metal bridge which is about 2 miles from the start/finish, all I could think about was the finish and how it must surely just be around the next bend! I gave it all I had left in my legs driving it to the line in as big a gear as I could turn without mashing, then rolled around for several minutes to settle my breathing. I ended up 3rd overall and a mere 2/10 seconds ahead of 4th place. That is the closest time difference I’ve had and is about as close as I want to be. I’ve had a few races where I was on the opposite side of a close time, finishing 3rd at Masters Nats, just 1/2 second out of the silver medal, so I was relieved to be on the 3rd place side this time.

Of course the best thing about the Clarks Valley venue is the home made ice cream store, 3-B Ice Cream, conveniently located just yards from the start/finish line which made for a most refreshing post race ‘recovery snack.’  I highly recommend the coffee and chocolate, although the mint chocolate chip is good choice, too!

Dan Spencer Memorial Road Race Masters State Championship

Bloomsburg, PA

Saturday, May 22, 2010

I had not planned on adding the PA Masters State Road Race to my race calendar since it seemed a bit far, and in the past there has not been a separate women’s race, but a peek at the race flyer revealed that there was a women’s race this year, although we were blended in with the men’s 55+ and it was a wolmen’s 35+ race – meaning no separate breakout for different age groups. When I saw the list of confirmed riders, though, I was encouraged as there were as many women as men and my racing friends Lorraine Lipfert and Betty Tyrell were signed up. And so, a road trip was launched. When I race out east, I inevitably face the question of “how on earth do you do it – drive so far to race?”  The answer being “I just do” and “there are so few races near Pittsburgh with big fields.”  But  honestly, it is a question I ask of myself.  The Masters Road Race meant a 7:30 am departure, a 4 1/2 hour drive, 2 hours of racing, and a 4 1/2 hour drive home.  You can do the drive:race ratio math!  The way to do it is to break things into smaller and smaller chunks – the drive from here to Altoona is one; the drive from Altoona to I-80 is another, I-80 to Bloomsburg is another; then the Bloomsburg exit to the race venue.  Then you focus on the race, then the drive home.

The race course was a nice loop with low traffic, some rollers, some flat, and a sharp climb at the end of the loop that lead to a false flat for several meters to the start/finish. Starting with the men changed the dynamic considerably: it became a question of staying with the guys as long as possible. The first lap was fast, I stayed tucked in, kept count of where the other women were, tried to move up at the end of the loop as we approached the climb. The climb, of course, was the decisive factor – I dropped off the back along with my friend Lorraine, another guy, and a woman from the Philly area. I hoped there were only three women up with the men, one of whom was Betty, who as a New Jersey resident, was not a contender for the Pa Championship. As it turned out, there were four women who stayed with the men, including Betty, which meant I just missed the medals. Lorraine, the woman from Philly and I rode together but for whatever reason could not get a good rotation going. I dropped them on the climb for lap #2 and just kept going.

Although I would have liked to ride the last lap with at least one or two other riders, I was concerned that the Philly woman would sit on, manage to hang with me on the climb, then outsprint me. I have raced with her enough times to know that she is notorious for not working, even in small groups. So it was that I rode by myself for the last lap, finishing 5th overall for women, 4th for PA. The race was a good test of my fitness. I was happy to visit with old friends, and I got to see a  lot of highway.

Race at the Lake Series

Race #4

May 8, 2010

Munroe Falls, Ohio

I Swear, There Were Whitecaps On The Lake

RATL is a staple of the Western PA/Eastern OH spring racing series. The Summit Freewheelers do a fantastic job with this event:  a closed course around a small lake near Canton OH,  a women’s open race, a team competition, friendly volunteers, and not too long a drive for us Pittsburgh folks. The team was represented by one or more of us at all four RATL races. The last one brought classic conditions – spitting rain, 50 degree temps, and  wicked winds:  Belgian weather but without the waffles and raging fans with cowbells.  The “lake” that is Race At The Lake is really a small impoundment but with the winds whipping through the trees from the west, I *swear* there were Lake Erie worthy waves and white caps.  For me, the race was a rarity where I did not once put my nose into the wind. It was the end of a block of hard training so I was feeling a bit weary and I was happy to just follow wheels for the day.  Rachel, Patty and I were in the main bunch along with Erin and Sam from Carbon Racing, a new rider,  Sally Price and Jane Evely, and Lee-Anne Beatty.  Any attack was soon covered and in the bunch sprint, Patty, Rachel and I garnered 4, 5, and 6th while in the second  bunch, Stacie lead Kate out for the field sprint.  The team’s results across all four races in the series gained us a 3rd place in the Team Competition.  Sweet!

Race at the Lake Series

Race #3

Munroe Falls, Ohio

The whole team missed the first Race at the Lake (aka RATL) as we were at Lost River Barn for team camp, and I skipped RATL #2 in favor of the Presque Isle Time Trial, so I was happy to represent with Kate Bennett at RATL #3.   The Summit Freewheelers‘ RATL series is a staple of Eastern OH/Western PA spring races, and draws a good crowd of local racers looking to shake the cobwebs out, test their April/May fitness, and catch up on the latest bike racer gossip. The course is a fun circuit with a short riser to the finish line, a sweeping dowhill, a bit of false flat through the parking lot/start line, and a sinuous run up to the finish. The women’s race started with a neutral run from the parking lot to the finish line and right off the bat, just as the field crossed the line signalling the official start of the race,  Sally Price jumped hard, taking Jane Evely, Sam Brody and Erin Quinlan with her. I saw Sally jump and reacted immediatly, but was too far back to grab her wheel and by the time I got past the other racers, the four had a gap that would not be closed. It was the kind of attack that required an immediate and well coordinated chase – a chase that was not to be.  They were soon out of sight and the remains of the field rolled around for a few laps.

I am not a patient racer – not at all.  It is my weakness.  I love attacking. I want to race hard. To me, sitting on a wheel for lap after lap until the sprint is like drawing fingernails across a chalkboard. So, after a couple of laps I decided to attack – I figured I would either draw someone out or be off by myself for a lap. If someone came with me – then we could work together. If not, I would sit up, recover, and try again. So I went hard on the finish climb and by the time I got to the parking lot, a 53×11 rider had bridged up. Yippee !!  She and I worked together well, taking turns, keeping it steady, building a secure gap. But then I was bored. We had 6 laps to go – even though I was stronger on the finish climb, I knew she would be able to catch back on the downhill and that I would not be able to hold a gap. So I settled in and practiced patience.  Then we saw that Erin had dropped off the front group – which gave us incentive to reel her in, which we did after a couple of laps.

At maybe 3 laps to go, and with Erin as a third rider, I knew I had no chance of getting away with a one lap to go attack.  So it was that we came into the last lap – I took a pull on the downhill then let 53×11 take a turn coming through the parking lot.  You know how your heart just starts doing flip flops with excitement in the last 1 km as you anticipate the finish, think through how and where you want to open your sprint and force yourself to wait until the right moment? Well, mine was for sure, as I knew that ‘all’ I had to do was just to stay on Erin’s wheel until the 300 meter mark when it kicks up just a bit – I jumped first, then Erin, who got ahead of me, which meant I was able to slot onto her wheel and get a ride to the 150 meter mark and then it was just a drag race between the two of us – and she just got me at the line.  I got 5th and the last payout spot – $5 !  And Kate got 7th overall and first amongst the W4s. Good job Kate!

Robeson Township PA State Road Race

Sunday, September 6, 2009

After the Millersburg Stage Race I was itching to get back east for another race, so when the PA State Road Race was announced for September 6, and when I saw that my bike racing friend, Lorraine Lipfert, was signed up, it was an easy decision.  Lorraine offered up perfect host housing, with access to a bike trail just a few pedal strokes from her driveway and a local bistro with Seafood Ciopino on the menu.  The only downside was the 7 am start.  YAWN! Four o’clock came and two sleepy bike racers shuffled into the kitchen for espresso, yogurt and granola and english muffins with honey.  It was dark when we left, just beginning to get light by the time we rolled up to the race.  YAWN!

The women’s 1/2/3 race was 5 laps of a 13 mile loop – a course full of twists and turns, a long steady grade, one short steep pitch, a handfull of short kickers. Lap 1 started off at a modest tempo, while I sat on Lorraine’s wheel, in the perfect position to get warmed up, check out the course, stay out of the wind, and get a feel for the rest of the field. I knew a few of the riders and had a feel for how they were likely to race and Lorraine had given me the low down on the riders that were new to me. About two thirds through the first lap, the lead car and moto for the W-4s, who had started their race about 5 minutes behind us, rolled up and we were neutralized until the W-4s passed us. That seemed to spark an interest in the W1/2/3 field to attack – and within moments of being un-neutralized, one woman attacked after a right turn leading into a short climb and we all scrambled to respond. We hit the short steep climb and soon caught and passed the W-4s on a swoopy downhill.  At that point the lead group sat up and we rolled through the S/F for the start of lap 2.  That surge had shed a handful of riders, but we were gruppo compacto by halfway through lap 2.  A few small surges came and went, with nothing getting away. Finally, half-way through lap 3, a group of 6 got off the front and I found myself with Betty Tyrell, another master rider, and 4 others.  Our little group had some of its own elastic and two riders attacked Betty and I on a long downhill, we got back on, then either Betty or I were able to get a small gap on the long grade, but it seemed we would stay together until the end, in which case I was starting to think about whether I had the legs to try an attack at the top of a short climb leading into the final 1 km.  On the last lap I lost contact on one of the short pitches and the wheel van/broom wagon did what it had to do, which was pass me, a perfectly reasonable but still demoralizing action. But – it was not over, as I was now on the long steady grade and I soon realized the gap between me and the group of 4 up ahead was shrinking, and soon, the wheel truck pulled over to the left to let me get by, gave me a thumbs up and “way to go” and there I was, back in the race.  Alaina, one of the riders in my group attacked and stayed away to get 7th, the last paying spot, and the rest of the group pretty much splintered in the last couple of miles.  That made my race finish plan rather moot, and I rolled in for 10th – out of the money, but happy all the same.

Post race, I caught up with Lorraine – and when I mentioned that the last two laps, all I could think about was *diner breakfast,* my pre-race breakfast having since been used up,  she told me there was a local diner on my way home. Perfect! It truly was the classic diner, with formica tables, shiny aluminum siding, and awesome breakfast. We made it easy for the waitress by both ordering coffee and spinach/feta omelets with homefries, and since we were both famished and tired, it made it easy for our post-race brains as well.  A good visit with a good friend, a good race, and a post-race diner breakfast.  It doesn’t get much better than that: and that’s my race story!

Or if you can’t cook or don’t always have time, eat real food that someone else cooks !  Even if it’s a restaurant, choose one that has a kitchen where people actually make the food from real ingredients – not just reheat some packaged product that comes off a truck.  Real food has real flavor that doesn’t rely on chemicals and artificial color or flavoring to look and taste good.

Pasta Options

Pasta doesn’t have to be spaghetti with a tomatoe or meat sauce -  you can make a delicious meal in less than 30 minutes with just a few ingredients.

Choose a pasta:  it can be spaghetti, but there are lots of different kinds of past – wide noodles like papparadelle or fettucini or lingui, as well as pasta shaped like bowties (farfalle) or tubes.  Most pasta cooks in about 5-8 minutes.  Pasta that is fresh (not dried) cooks in 2-4 minutes.

Choose a topping:  Start with good olive oil and garlic.  Heat the olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan); saute garlic (1-2 cloves depending on how much you like garlic) over low heat until soft (2- 3 minutes); then add any or all of the following:  shrimp (cook just about 2 minutes until they turn pink.  Shrimp turns to rubber if you cook it too long); shrimp and zucchini; chicken cut into small pieces; mushrooms; mushrooms and chicken; spinach or arugula (toss the greens into the pan and stir until wilted – only about 2 minutes or so); arugula and shrimp; or a chopped fresh tomatoes.  After you drain the pasta, add it to the pan with whatever you’ve prepared as a topping and stir together for a minute or so, to blend the flavors.  Grate fresh romano or parmesan cheese over the top.

Pesto

Pesto recipes abound – I make mine by “feel” as much as measuring.  Start with fresh basil leaves, about 1 cup, firmly packed.  Puree in a blender, about 1/4 cup at a time until the leaves are well shredded.  Add about 1/4 cup pine nuts.  Blend until the pine nuts are partly pulverized.  Add about 1/4 cup grated fresh romano cheese and 1 – 2 cloves mashed garlic. (peel the cloves and mash with the back of a spoon. You can also use a garlic press).  Once all of these ingredients are in the blender, add about 1/4 cup good olive oil and start the blender.  You may need to add additional olive oil, a little bit at a time, to get it to turn into a nice consistent green past.  You can use this as a topping for pasta, by itself or with chicken.

Fruit Smoothies

I like to have a fruit smoothie as a ‘second breakfast’ or as part of a post-ride or post-race recovery, especially if it is hot.  I use frozen fruit that I let thaw for about 2 hours before blending, with my favorite combination being peaches and strawberries with 1/2 a banana.   Basically, I take about 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup frozen peaches.  Let them thaw for a couple of hours.  Add 1/2 banana and about 1/4 cup low fat yogurt.  I like to use either vanilla or maple yogurt, but that is just my preference.  Put all of this in a blender and puree.  When I plan on having the smoothy for ‘second breakfast’ at work, I put it in a container, pop it back in the freezer overnight, then take it with me to work.  After a couple of hours it’s thawed enough to eat with a spoon.

– Fra la cucina di Barb Grabowski