20 years ago, in June 1995, I entered my first race ever. It was a skating race on Presque Isle State Park back in Erie. I skated there quite a bit but this was going to be on the roads, not the trail, so I was excited. It was a 5.6 mile time trial. I thought I was pretty fast at the time and wanted to see how I could do. I had no idea the larger world I was entering.
It was there that I met several skaters from Cleveland, who taught me that (1) I was not fast at all and (2) there were races all over the place if I was willing to drive a bit.
It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since I started racing. That was my only race that year but in 1996, I did 9 different races. I still wasn't very fast but I was improving. I also broke my hand in a crash that year and did 3 races with a cast on my arm.
A few other highlights:
1999, I did 12 races, including two that I flew to: the amazing Northshore Inline Marathon in Minnesota and the legendary Athens-to-Atlanta in Georgia.
2001, I started training with coach Josh Seldman. I won my first race and was on the podium in two others.
2004, a stupid ankle injury stopped me from racing on skates ever again. I was still able to ride my bike, which I had used as cross-training until then.
2005: I got my bike racing license and managed to finish a bike race, a big accomplishment considering that most bike races are laps around 1- to 2-mile courses and you get pulled out if you fall far enough behind to get lapped. At racing speeds, that's only 2 to 4 minutes behind the winner.
2006: After a few top-10 finishes, I upgraded out of the beginner bike racing category (from Category 5 to Category 4). I promptly got my butt kicked in every race I entered.
2010: I was in my first successful breakaway in bike race. I led out my teammate who won and I got 4th place.
2012: a broken nose, a major sinus infection, and lower back problems side-lined me for 6 months. When I got back on the bike, I was mega-motivated which led me to...
2013: My best racing season yet: 3 wins, 3 second places, 2 third places.
2014: I slipped a little in fitness from last year, but still managed 2 wins, 3 second places, and 2 third places.
2015: between Shelli's surgery, buying/renovating/moving into the house, and a few other issues, I lost several months of training. I'm back on the bike solidly now and looking for goals in 2016... I've always wanted to be state champion...
