Last Two Days at the OTC

I am home and I have had some time to regroup. We had a fun last two days at camp. Saturday and Sunday we did testing out on the road. The tests were hard in the blistering hot weather, but we ended up adding to the ride each day. Who can give up a group ride, sure bets riding by yourself.

Here is a picture of me getting tested int the lab. It wasn't fun, but not a lot of people can say they've been tested at the Olympic Training Center. So the feeling of excitement took over the feeling of "I have a big tube in my mouth and can't breath out of my nose."All in all the camp was a wonderful experience and was so happy to be invited. It was awesome not to have to cook for yourself and just worry about resting, recovering, and riding. Now I am back in the real world of having to go to work (teaching), training, racing, cleaning the house, walking the dog, etc... But I really can't complain that much, I do have it pretty good compared a lot of people. Crit nationals are next!

Women's Endurance Talent ID Camp

I was very fortunate to be invited to the Women's Endurance Talent ID Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Other "new" talents that were invited: (left to Right) Ashley Anderson, Me(Carmen McNellis), Carol Hutton, Susannah Pratt, Megan Guarnier, Marissa Asplund, and Shelly Olds.

Day one: This was, for most of us, our first or second time on the track. Bikes with no brake, no gears, and worst of all fix gear (no coasting, you can't stop pedaling). Well, I guess you could stop pedalling but the outcome would not be so pretty. Luckily we all survived a really long morning on the track. We had lunch and then went on a great ride through the Garden of The Gods. Later that afternoon (evening) we had a presentation by USADA, nutrition discussion, and meet with a sport Psych. They sure kept us busy for the first day.

Day two: We started of the morning by completing a timed flying 2k on the Track. For you who have no idea what that first sentence was saying...We had to go as hard as we could around the track for 6 laps. The flying part means we didn't start for a standing position, we had speed going into it. We had a little more down time today, which was nice because my legs didn't feel that great from being on the track for 2.5 hours the previous day. Dirk Friel spoke to us about Training Peaks and then we were off to the track again for evening races. Every Tuesday and Thursday they have evening races at the Velodrome in Colorado Springs. Jim gave us the opportunity to race and I was glad we did because it was a blast. I came out with one win and 2 seconds. Not to bad for my first night of track racing.

Day 3: This morning we did some testing in the lab. Not much fun. I was pretty tired from the night before doing so many efforts. I was able to get in a quick needed nap. This afternoon we had beautiful weather and road a nice 3hr ride through the Air Force Academy. Now it is time for bed, more testing tomorrow!

We have two more days left so tune in for another update!

Carmen McNellis

Kat Carroll Podiums again in Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem podium

L to R: Kori Seehafer, Kat Carroll, Tina Pic, Laura Van Guilder, Gina Grain

This past weekend the "A-Team" flew back to the east coast to duke it out with some the of the best sprinters in North America at the Charlotte Presbyterian Health Care Criterium and the Hanes Park Criterium in Winston-Salem. Report to follow by Kat.

Saturday night the "A-team" lined up on the downtown streets of Charlotte to try their hand at winning one of the biggest prize purses in women's cycling. I was joined by Shannon, Rebecca, Catherine Powers, Sarah and Kristin. After a couple warm-up laps around the course it was time for staging and call-ups. When they called my name, I thanked my lucky stars for the chance at good positioning and waved to my mom, granny and brother who had made the trip from TN to see me race. The race started and things were quickly strung out. Coming through the start/finish for the first time we heard the bell for a $250 prime the next time through. I jumped for it with Kori Seehafer from Lipton, and we raced all the way through the line for the cash. When we crossed I looked back and saw we had a group of six that had separated from the field. Not everyone was committed to working and after a little time off the front, we were back in the field. That was a bit of a preview for the entire night. A prime would draw a group out, but without organization or motivation, it was all back together going into the final lap. Cheerwine and Colavita were working to set up their sprinters, while I tried to insert myself as far up as I could. Coming out of the last turn a small gap opened up that I had to come around to reattach to the top four riders. Once I made contact, they had started their sprint and there was no chance to move up any further. I rolled across in 5th, with Rebecca 11th and Kristin and Catherine keeping themselves in the money on the day. We definitely were looking forward to another opportunity to race like we knew we could.
A highlight of Saturday evening was having a large Aaron's Corporate Furnishings cheering section. They were super active in their cow bell ringing during the race. We got the chance to meet several different staff members in the Charlotte/NC Area who came out to support us. I really feel like it would be hard to match or beat the type of support that we get from our sponsor, from the President of the company all the way down to individual store employees. They keep up with our results and cheer us on at races whenever we are close to their town, even when it is close to 100 degrees outside! Thanks Aaron's!!

Sunday was another day...another race and another chance to improve upon our results from the night before. We drove to Winston-Salem for our 12:30 start time. The start list was virtually the same from the night before. The race started out pretty fast, but the A-team was ready to make its presence known my attacking and covering every move. While some breaks looked promising, nothing really seemed like it would stick and the field readied itself for a bunch sprint. Coming out of the last turn, I used my momentum on the outside to move up past the women who were getting pinched on the inside. I jumped immediately coming out of the corner, but was not able to get around super speedy and consistent Tina Pic and Laura Van Gilder. Nevertheless, finishing on the podium with company like that was a nice reward. Shannon sprinted in for 8th and Rebecca and Kristin once again finished in the money to make it a pretty successful day of racing for the "A-team".

Next up...Sarah and I head to Elk Grove as a warm-up for the following weekend's Crit Nationals in Downers Grove, IL.

Catherine meets the the local wildlife at the farmer's market in Asheville, NC