(CONTEST CLOSED) BLOGMAS GIVEAWAY : SPECIALIZED + RIP VAN WAFELS

Winner is @llafayettte

BLOGMAS GIVEAWAY! Day 2!

The giveaway for today is given to you by Specialized and Rip van Wafels! One lucky winner will receive a cycling package including:

- Two (2) Specialized Armadillo All Condition Tires
- Stix Sport Headlight
- Stix Sport Taillight
- Coconut Rip van Wafels
- Honey & Oats Rip van Wafels
- Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Rip van Wafels

HOW TO ENTER:
1. Follow @MaeElizabethG, @iamspecialized_road and @ripvanwafels on Instagram
2. Tag two friends on the giveaway image on my Instagram (@MaeElizabethG)
Bonus Entry: Comment on this blog post (on www.MaeElizabeth.com) and tell me which product you're looking forward to most. Make sure you leave your IG name so I can contact you if you win!

• Winner will be announced on Thursday, December 24th - Good luck!
  
  P.S. if you didn't enter yesterdays giveaway, you still have time! Click here! 

GEORGIA CX SEASON FINALE

This year of Georgia Cyclocross has been amazing. I've had the opportunity to meet some new people and spend another series with old friends. I can honestly say that I'm totally wiped and I'm dozing off writing this, but not without giving a little recap first. Today was the GACX season finale and we all raced our hearts out. Many series points were close and it came down to todays race. After it was all over, the series podiums happened, champagne was sprayed, and awards were given out. Rhys May Jewelry handmade the awards for another year and they turned out so rad. Not too much mud or blood today, but Maria. who won the Women's Elite race, managed to rock it out with her booty out for the finish. All of the Elite ladies are fantastic athletes and I hope to race with them next season! Thanks to everyone in GACX who made the series happen and to all of my sponsors for everything this season! I managed to snag 2nd in the Women's Cat 4 series and finish out the year with sore legs. Now it's time to take a weeks off the bike before I start training for road. Goodnight! 

Look how cute the Elite Women's podium is! Love it. 

24 Hours Before A CX Race.

Hi guys! My last race of the CX season is this Sunday, but I have to pack everything tomorrow (dual home living situation problems). Anyways, I thought I would go through what I do during the 24 hours leading up to my race. This is for CX and differs a bit from road, but you get the general idea. Also, this is just my personal routine, so take it as you will. Feel free to leave any additional tips in the comments below! 

xx
Mae

Day Before:
 

- I mean this should be your goal everyday, but make sure you stay hydrated! On top of water throughout the day, I usually drink some Pedialyte the day/night before a race, too. 

- My ride for the day opens up my legs. Usually nothing too terribly long with some sprints thrown in. Aka whatever my coach tells me to do. More about him, here. 

- I clean my bike, shoes, kits, socks, etc. They are almost always dirty and you shouldn't show up with dirty gear, tisk tisk! Oh, and lube your chain. 

- Give you bike/gear a run down. This is a double check, NOT the first time you should be checking your bike for problems. An actual thorough run down of your gear should be done earlier in the week. Do NOT wait until the night before. Trust me, I date "King Bike Maintenance Procrastinator" who has run into mannnny problems because he waited until the night before. Don't do it, it's so stressful and you aren't always guaranteed to have it sorted out before the race.

- Pack everything food, drink and bike related! Bring two kits + socks incase you get your first one disgusting during warm up. PLENTY of water, any pre or post race fuel/hydration/recovery. Don't forget your number (if you're in a series) and license (I mean you should really just use the app)! I tend to overpack since I'll be at the venue all day watching everyone race after me. I'm prepared for rain or shine to ensure optimum spectator comfort as well as race comfort! Some of what is in my bag can be found, here. 

- Carb up at dinner time. I tend to go for pasta and broccoli, and I totally stay clear of cheese. It's usually some sort of variation of this. Everyone obviously goes for different things and this is the one for me. Oh and my breakfast and lunch are pretty standard, nothing fancy or out of the norm for me. 

- Shower and shave your legs! I hate showing up with hairy legs, I feel like I've ruined my race day if I do. It's my weird thing, I know. 

- Go ahead and plug the race venue address into your GPS to see how long it will take to get there. Set your alarm accordingly. I give myself drive time PLUS two hours before my race. 

- Get some good sleep! Night, night!

Race Day:

- Eat breakfast. For me it's oatmeal and espresso. More about what I eat, here. 

- Pack the car, get your GPS going, and you're off!

- Don't forget to turn on some good pump up music. Insert rap music here. 

- Like I said, I give myself 2 hours at the venue before my race to get ready. This is my personal preference because I want to handle my business before the race and not be frantic. Plus this gives me a buffer time incase anything sudden goes wrong with traffic, long check in line, warm up, getting dressed, etc, etc.

Alright, at this point you're at the race venue

- Go register asap! You never know what the line will be like. 

- Go to the bathroom. I'm serious because if you don't, the line will be so long and you'll be that person at the start line thinking "damn, I need to pee" and that is just the worst. 

- Get your tire pressure situated. 

- Check out the course and pre ride! Pay attention to turns, course features, best lines, etc

- Put spare wheels and bike in the pit. I don't do this, but if you have extra stuff, go for it. 

- Pin on race number, kit up, adjust tire pressure if needed, etc

- WATCH THE CLOCK and get to the start line early. Unless you have call-ups, you need to make sure you get a good starting position. 

Ok, now you're at the start line

- Is your Garmin started and are you in the right gear? Check. 

- Lastly, PMA. Tell yourself you are going to win. YOU ARE GOING TO WIN, YOU HEAR ME??

My idea of a good rest night + Exciting news!

Normally when I get home from work I rush home and immediately get on the bike, but on Mondays I get to take things a little slower. Yesterday I cleaned the house, went to sushi, caught up on some retouching and lazed around until it was time to go to bed. My favorite part is cuddling up in my cozy Happy Socks (PS, I have a discount code for you below!) with a Wafel and Honey Zinger tea. This is where I usually plan out the rest of my week or catch up on my addiction of YouTube videos. As uneventful as rest days can be, it's a much needed day of the week for me personally. I know some people can go nonstop with working out all week, but I love having Mondays off to catch up on other life stuff. Do you guys have rest days? What do you usually do on them?

P.S. My addiction to socks is getting more intense every month and for the first time ever I have a discount code for you! If you want some Happy Socks for you, or to gift as a present this month, I have a 15% off code AND free shipping when you use the code HAPPYMAE at checkout! Valid until 12/31/15.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has been following along on my blog this month! I'm super excited to announce that I've teamed up with a few amazing brands to have giveaways the week leading up to Christmas! I've never ever done a giveaway before and I can't wait to share with you guys the stuff that I love!!
Brands that will be apart of the giveaway:
Specialized (2 winners)
Oakley (3 winners)
Pur Cosmetics (1 winner)
Revision Skincare (10 winners)
RipVan Wafels (several winners, but not sure exactly how many yet)

Details will come soon, but stay tuned on how to win starting on Monday! 

#SweetpeaIsSpecialized

I feel like you all have seen me in my favorite kit a hundred times, so lets hear it for Sweetpea looking real cute in my get up. Surprisingly she loved the jersey and buff, but we had to do a little bribing with treats to get her to sit still with the helmet on. I didn't feel well at all yesterday so I had to make use of my gear somehow. <3 I hope everyone has been having an amazing weekend and that this puts a smile on your face! 

What it's like to have a cycling coach

Yesterday I had a one on one ride with my coach, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to share my personal experience with having a cycling coach! It's one of the most frequently asked questions I get, so I hope this helps cover a lot of the answers. For those of you who don't know, in January of this year I decided to find a structured way of cycling to help myself stick to it more consistently. (You can read more about my back and forth, here). I started off by doing two things; I got a Garmin 510 and I hired my coach and professional cyclist, Mike Stone. In the beginning he starts you out by having you answer a list of questions and talking to you about your short/long term goals. Once he has an idea of what you're working towards, he gets you set up with a Training Peaks account, and has you complete a power or heart rate test to establish your data. He covers a variety of workouts including core strength, cycling and running depending on what you're training for. Every Monday I can expect to get a text/call asking how I'm feeling, and later on that day my workouts for the week will be listed in Training Peaks. Throughout the week I can write in how I was feeling during that workout and Mike checks in with me periodically throughout the week. He knows how busy I am, and on the rare occasion that I add in or take out a race last minute, he's great about changing up my plan if needed.

Having a coach as a beginner was great because it has helped me have continued guidance, taught me a lot about what I'm doing, and has improved my fitness and bike handling skills immensely. (You guys, I'm 2 points away from catting up in cyclocross, ahh)! But seriously, I was finishing last or close to last every race last year and this year I've been on the podium several times - I'm so proud of how far I've come! Although he coaches more elite level athletes, I never feel like I'm just some newbie on the side, hah! Mike is awesome about listening to me complain and cheering me up when I've had a bad week or race. Sheesh, I sound like a high maintenance client, yikes - sorry about that Mike. :) Anyways, now I'm rambling - what I'm trying to say is having a coach is rad and I wouldn't be telling you guys that or paying for one for an entire year if I didn't think so.

If you are interested in chatting with Mike about coaching or want to know more about him, I'll list some of his details below.
(Mike, I'm about to brag on you!)
He races for Professional UCI continental Lupus Racing Team, he's been on the USA national team, competed in Worlds, Alberta, Tour of China, Vuelta Mexico, etc. 
He's based out of Georgia, but he also coaches remotely if needed. His clients range from beginners to elites with all goal levels and skill sets, and he offers a few packages to choose from.
Mike Stone: mikestone608@gmail.com // (770) 380-1082

I hope that helps! If you have any questions for me, you can leave them in the comments and I'll be sure to answer! 

xx
Mae

Don't forget about your core

It's too often that cyclists directly focus on their legs and disregard the rest of their body. "If you have a strong core it will increase your power to your pedals, increase your endurance, allow you to be more comfortable on the bike (specifically reducing lower back pain), take corners more efficiently and have a more efficient pedal stroke." says Lee Agur, from I Love Bicycling. Obviously I'm no professional, but I'm here to remind you to make sure you add in some core work for better results on the bike. I won't even pretend to coach you, because I wouldn't know where to begin, but I do know there are countless articles (like this one) out there with plenty of ideas and plenty of YouTube videos to help you out! I also recommend a stability ball, as those are some of my favorite workouts to do! 

xx
Mae

Workout Wardrobe Organization

Hi everyone! I'm starting to question whether or not my cycling wardrobe is larger than my regular wardrobe. With the majority of my kits in the wash, what better time to show you my attempt at organization while it's tidy! The clothing rack and compartment holder are both from Ikea, and I believe the plastic bin is from Target. This set up has helped A LOT since my closet and dresser are bursting at the doors. How is it that I have so many clothes, yet I seem to wear the same five things time and time again? Anyways, I'm off topic. I hope this helps anyone else who is struggling with workout wardrobe chaos!

xx
Mae