This past weekend marked the end of the 2015 track season. This weekend also brought on a lot of mixed emotions...it was sad to say goodbye to the track for the summer, but knowing that road season has started makes me so excited!
Almost exactly one year ago today, I rode the track at the Forest City Velodrome for the very first time. Before that, I barely even knew what a velodrome was, nor did I ever imagine I would fall in love with one.
After returning to the FCV in October, I rode the track for a few weeks and then found out I qualified for track nationals in Burnaby, BC. This meant training at the velodrome every weekend, and every Wednesday night. (yes, I still thank my parents every day for driving 3.5 hours to London and back).
We came home from Burnaby with a gold medal in the U17 women's team pursuit: The event that we had practiced every single time we trained together at the FCV. Yes, London is far away, and the drive isn't necessarily the greatest, but knowing that me and my two teammates won gold at a Canadian National Championship is worth any drive.
Once January rolled around, it was time for the grand opening of the beautiful Mattamy Centre (aka Milton velodrome). on January 11th, which also happened to be my 16th birthday, the Mattamy Centre hosted the first race on the new track, the Milton International Challenge! Athletes from all over the world came to Milton to race, and it was the closest thing I had ever seen to the Olympics. It was an absolute privilege to be in the same place as some of the best cyclists in the world.
I entered in my first keirin, which is an 8 lap race paced by a motorcycle. Surprisingly, I ended up with a silver medal! The MIC was an amazing experience.
The extremely close finish of the Keirin....SO EXCITING!!!
In February and March I competed in 2 Ontario Cups, and discovered my love for bunch races (races that are a little bit more comparable to road races where there are numerous racers on the track at the same time). The 60 lap (15km) points race has got to be my favourite race. Every 10 laps, points are awarded to the rider that crosses the finish line first, second and third. The longer distance in this race was something I really enjoyed, and helped me explore my strengths in distance as opposed to sprinting. I came out of these O-Cups with increased confidence on the track and a few medals.
It may not seem like a lot, but from November to April I was able to improve my personal best on the 2km individual pursuit by a whole 3 seconds. I know for most people, 3 seconds is the blink of an eye. But for me, that is a VERY significant amount of time, and that 3 seconds told me that my hard work and training over the winter had paid off.
In conclusion, before I talk your ear off some more, the whole 6 months I've been on the track has been one of the best training experiences I've ever had. I've never felt more fit in my life, and am absolutely extatic for this summer of road racing. One of my goals for this summer is to work towards buying my very own track bike (I raced and trained the whole year on a rental bike, thanks to my coach Rob Good).
So, if you happen to stop by Webers Hamburgers on Highway 11 and see me working, know that I am probably thinking about the new track bike I am planning on purchasing ;)
Ali
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