October 18, 2003
The last weekend of soccer for the kids... again I thought I would have to pass on the racing action. However, it all worked out with some planning and major kid shuffling.
The Course
We were again at Cahoon park . This time the creek level was low enough for the creek crossing. After the sledding hill, we came off a small drop, and turned toward the creek. A set of barriers forced the dismount before hoofing it across the creek, and up the long run up along the embankment to the start finish level. There the course picked up what was raced the first week.
The other change was the addition of a loop around the baseball outfield. The course was 1.3 miles long, and moist. The baseball field was a little damp, and the mud pit at the bottom of the sledding hill was still there... only slightly dryer.
The Pre-Race
I was on my own this weekend. So I had to do some different planning. In the first race of the series, I carried a water bottle in a jersey pocket. It was not the most convenient setup, but it worked out. This week, I decided to try more pre-hydrating. I drank lots of water on Friday night, and Saturday morning. I also finished off a bottle of Accelerade and another bottle of water before the race start. Then did the race without water.
As I started the first pre-ride lap, I felt like garbage. I'd ridden hard on Thursday, and easy (I thought) on Friday... I was afraid I was coming down with a cold or something. I didn't feel I had any power at all. I took about three practice laps at about medium intensity... I pushed it a couple of times, but didn't go out at race pace.
After the practice laps, I put on a jacket to stay warm, and finished my drinks. I was not very confident that I was going to do well... so pretty much decided I was not going to bury myself for the whole 45 minutes.
A good portion of the pre-ride was spent figuring out what to wear... you take every bit of clothing you own to the race, and then sort it out in 10 minutes before the start. I ended up dropping the jacket, and going with knee and arm warmers only. If I got really warm, I could shed.
The Race
No parade this week, we just lined up and were off. I went out at a reasonable pace. I was attempting to hang with the front group through the first lap and then see what happened.
Either because of the the previous race, or just my experience (HA!) I felt much more comfortable carrying the bike up the sledding hill, instead of pushing... whatever.
On the first creek crossing, I was about 6th or 7th. On the run up, one guy got his bars caught in the wheel of the bike in front of him. It seemed to take them forever to get untangled. Of course the leading three or four guys were gone then.
After the first lap, I settled into a comfortable sustainable pace. I still wasn't feeling good. But I knew I was in a pretty good spot around 10 or 11. Not bad considering I finished 11th on the first race. If I could hold this it would be OK.
I've still got to work on my bike lift. My intent was to shoulder the bike at the barriers before the creek crossing. Since it was barriers, creek, run up. It would save a bit of lifting. I probably got it 4 or 5 of the seven laps we did... but the other times, it was frustrating to lift the bike, and put it down after the barriers to get a better lift to the shoulder.
Throughout the race, there was one guy that I was going around with. I had better dismount and technical skills, but he would fight his way back to me on the flats. Fine with me... every time he chased back up to me, he was burning more energy. I was trying to conserve and not blow up. I figured I could bury myself on the last two laps, and hopefully loose this guy for good.
With about 4 laps to go, I stared picking riders off. I passed one guy in the mud bog at the bottom of the hill. Another guy on the wet baseball field before the barriers.... pretty nice.
The course was really setup for my bike. There was no grinding up hills that I almost but didn't quite have the right gearing (or legs) for. I could bypass most of the one gravel section, and the creek crossing and hill rumpus suited me fine. No barriers on the hill was nice also.
As we closed in on the end, I was feeling better. And I had conserved enough to really push the last couple of laps. I went through at 38 minutes, and pushed myself. "OK, get through before 45minutes, so you end on the same lap as the leaders". Great, you made it... dope, you just bought yourself 2 more laps, when you could have been done in one!"
Finish
As we closed in on the end, I was feeling better. And I had conserved enough to really push the last couple of laps. I went through at 38 minutes, and pushed myself. "OK, get through before 45minutes, so you end on the same lap as the leaders". Great, you made it... dope, you just bought yourself 2 more laps, when you could have been done in one!"
I had pretty much gaped the guy that kept catching me, and hadn't seen him in a while. My goal was to not get passed in the last two laps, like I had in the first... and if I caught anyone else...all the better. So I picked up pace for the second last lap... not to hard, I still wanted to last through the end. I was gaining on the pair in front of me... they were the target.
On the last lap, I caught the pair on the run up. I passed one guy going up the hill. Then was right behind the other guy at the top. He got back on a little quicker than I did, so he got a little space. I had enough to catch back on before the next barrier set. After the barriers, I knew we would be finishing together... in a sprint for place (whatever that was). So I sat on the guys wheel and waited. We went around a hairpin, and over a short paved section. Right as the pavement ended, I jumped around him and gave it everything I had. There were 2 left turns and a finishing straight left... and I made it across 2 second in front of the guy.
Post
I won my first sprint! Even if it wasn't for first place. It was for 7th place.... Turns out I was only 3.5 minutes off the leader this time... and was with 20 seconds away from 5th place.
After the race, I rehydrated and watched a bit of the A race. I did the whole 56 minutes without water, it seemed to work out OK. The A racers have bottles passed up at the start finish, so I may change my strategy again.
With the points from both races together, I'm sitting at 5th overall. Mostly from consistency. The 4 guys in front of me were at both races also... and took top 3 or 4 places in both of them.
After the race, I was riding around, cooling off and totally juiced by the finish. I passed by a guy with a Steelman Eurocross with V-brakes. I was chatting with him, when I noticed he wasn't using travel-agents to adjust the cable pull on the brakes. I asked about it, and he told me to take it for a spin... what a mistake that was! I got on the bike and it took off! I felt like I could have gotten a top 5 on that thing! (I did finish in front of the guy). Now I just have to scrape together $1400 for a frame and fork and I'll be golden!
Note to self: DON'T RIDE OTHER PEOPLE'S BIKES! It might get expensive.
No comments:
Post a Comment