I have some exciting news to share with everyone, especially Team Strada members. On Dec.11, 2011, I rented out the ADT velodrome and hired officials and timers and the proper timing system in an official attempt to break the American Record in the 500mTT Women's age 40-44. It was an overwhelming undertaking to be honest. Just getting to the starting line was a feat in itself for me.

The record was 38.249 and it was done in Colorado Springs at altitude by Michelle Bono in 2006.

In my Strada gear, I started my warm up. Blue crash pads were out all around the track which was very stressful. When I started riding around the velodrome, I had alot of trepidation because it was uncomfortable and totally different. I had no practice with those pads - just riding around the velodrome is one thing, let alone trying to crush a 500m! I was trying to focus and get comfortable but I was struggling. It surely was not the way I wanted to feel - comfortable and relaxed, like I had done this one hundred times before and it was second nature. That was the opposite of how I felt. And then I just started to reflect back and zone in on all of the little things Mike and Lisa Kolin of Team Strada had taught me the past year.....like relax, lean through the turn over the left shoulder and look way ahead where you want to go, etc etc. It truly helped. Every lap got easier and easier and I did better and better and I got comfortable and confident. Those blue pads became part of the track and by the time I finished my warm up, they were there only peripherally; I was aware of them but I certainly was not concerned or worried about them anymore.

Next, I had never gone out of the starting gate before with the official beeps and timing. THE DAY of the race was my first time. It was completely different than being held at the start. And the official timing system is nothing like the typical verbal countdown we are used to using. There can be significant start delay....which there was. I knew I could not stress over it and I had to just do my best and try and blast out of there. All of my years and experience as an athlete came into play at that moment. You can easily get hung up in this type of situation - not being able to do a warm up, having to overcome new variables, equipment breaking, etc etc. You have to carry on as if it were normal, fine, and insignificant. I know that! Oh by the way, my helmet did break, just as I was putting it on to ride out to do my first attempt the little piece that holds the straps together broke. Guess what I did??......I duct taped it!!! HA!!

OK, back to the start....I honestly did NOT do a good job of what I had been practicing on the street with my cycling coach, Lionel Space; he had been working with me on the start on the street from a held position. I was doing a pretty decent job of it actually! But there were indeed so many new variables to overcome that day on the velodrome track and I am sure I reverted back to some old bad habit patterns, which was quite disappointing since I practiced much better, even without the starting gate. You could also argue that this just means I have alot of reserve when it comes to the start.....haha! So although I had no experience with the starting gate and timing, I still did not do my best. I was disappointed. I still need alot of improvement....yet in a way, it is all very exciting!! It can only get better.

(One way to put this scenario into perspective is perhaps with a 100m sprinter. Let's say he can only practice on the grass from a three point stance - with no blocks. Then on race day at Nationals, he has to use the blocks for the first time and come out of them technically sound and explosive. He will obviously be at a huge disadvantage and not be able to perform at his best since he has no practice time in the actual blocks. There are many technical aspects and timing aspects that just are crucial in the starting gate on the velodrome as there are with starting blocks for a sprint on a running track.)

Anyway, on my first attempt I posted a 37.520 (with a .4 start delay). I broke the American Record!! I rested about 40-45 minutes and prepared to do a second attempt. Before I was ready to go back out on the track, one of the officials came over to me and said that I had done a great job but there was no way I was going to go faster on my second attempt - that no one ever does - so I should just do the best I can and really use this attempt as an opportunity to work on my start from the starting gate since I had no experience or practice doing it. I listened and certainly agreed with the start practice part, but I knew I could go faster. My trainer/therapist, Brian DaCunha, was there and he looked at me and said,”It is up to you if you want to go faster or not. You CAN do it"! Then I called Lionel. He said the exact same thing. He said, "listen to Brian....And do this....if you feel any sort of bobble or time slowing or tire skidding or going off the black line or just losing your mind - stay focused and use any of those things as a CUE to push harder, pedal stronger, go faster, get more aggressive." Then Lionel said, "You can definitely go faster. There is no doubt in my mind. Now just out there and believe that you can and DO IT!"

So I went out there and blasted it. I did exactly as he said. And...ugh, I had big bobble right at the beginning and a tire skid - my bike was all over the place actually! But instead of panicking about losing precious time, in that split second I thought about what Lionel said and I instantly turned it into a cue to push harder and pedal faster. It made all the difference. I hammered through that 500M even faster! I finished with a 37.439 on my second attempt! - I re broke my own record with a significantly faster time!! All of the officials were stunned. My mom and my best friend were there at the finish line and all of the officials said that they could not believe it; they were in shock! They told my mom, Sally, and my best friend, Darrien, that they just do not see people going faster on their second attempt. They were all very impressed and amazed. Come to find out, I was only two tenths (.2) off of the WORLD record 37.239!! My start delay was .3 on the second one, which was better. But with slightly less lag time, I could have certainly broken the World record too. Oh well, next time!! The World record in my upcoming age group was broken this year at Worlds and is now 37.429 - only one hundredth (.01) faster than what I just did!

I want to thank you for all of your help and support. I could never attempt any of this without you! I could not survive in this sport without Lionel Space and all of his help and support. He is my mentor, cycling coach/trainer, bike technician, part-time mechanic, and mental coach!! I could not stay in one piece without Brian DaCunha, my gym trainer and bodywork specialist extraordinaire. There is a very fine line between training and therapy when you get to be my age! I also could not do this without the man behind the scenes -kind of like the Wizard of OZ - Ian Danney, who is the mastermind, creating and writing all of the training protocols and strength work. Lastly, I want to thank my mother, Sally Redd, who has supported me and believed in me for 44 years. She has always said three things to me ever since I was a little girl and she still says them to me to this day.....You can do anything if you put your mind to it. Always believe in yourself and believe in your dreams. And...Never give up! I have come to live by those words, even still at my age - 44 years old. I am competing against young 20 something year olds, which makes it all the sweeter when an old chick like me can beat the young girls! HaHa. And....I am just getting started!!

Now, although I have been training on my own, this record attempt was a collaborative effort, over a year in the making. Since I'm still a proud member of Strada, I wanted to break the record in Strada gear. Strada gave me the basic cycling knowledge and experience - all of which I had NONE when I joined. I will always be grateful to Strada for showing me the way! Once again, thank you all so much for everything you did to support me and help me. It was a team effort indeed!!