Race Reports: HoS & PeachTree TT

It's taken me a while to get around to writing these reports, but I've been trying to focus on my school work and not failing grad school. I'm sure my parents would be proud. Anyway, school has been filled with endless projects, presentations, tests, and additional classes over the normal. They think they can just control our lives. I guess they can, but it is really getting annoying and my disgust for that building and program is growing quite rapidly recently.

Anyway, back to the races. I had been looking forward to the first road race for quite some time. Unfortunately, by the time it got here, school had me run down to the point that I was not looking forward to racing. I knew I still had to go, so early Saturday morning I set out alone for Berlin, TN and the first TBRA race of the year. Without a warm-up, I toed the starting line and we were off. I personally knew none of the other racers: all my friends from last year have upgraded to the cat 3's. I knew one person that I was going to be watching thanks to a friend's advice. The race progressed pretty uneventfully. I could hear someone blow a tire every once in while, but not a whole lot of action in the top 5-10 wheels where I was trying to stay. I hit the gravel in 2nd wheel. We didn't throw any attacks per se, but the accelerations up those punchy hills in the gravel were not nice on the legs. A bit later I charged up and over a hill creating a decent gap; no one responded. I knew I wasn't going to make it by myself so I sat up and waited for the group.

The next 15-20 miles were a big cluster mess. First the masters were closing in on us. We were told to go single file and slow down as they came up to pass. Then a few guys on the front accelerated and surged. Officials came back and regulated us at the front and we had to slow to less than 10mph for quite some time as the masters closed in and passed us. We continued to wait as they built up a gap so we didn't immediately pass them back. Once we were allowed to race again, someone shot off the front and up the road. Within the next 3 miles we were catching and passing the big masters field. About this time is when I was behind a guy that hadn't been up front in the race. Before I knew it, he led me right into a rather large pothole that gave me quite a jar. My fresh bottle I had just switched to the downtube cage shot out. I really could have used that powerful EnduraFuel energy later in the race, but I would have to do without. Here is where I must also give a big thanks to HUB Endurance for letting me borrow some super plush 28mm Vittoria tires for the race without which that pothole might have very well ended my race right there.

So, right before we entered the gravel for the second time, the official made us literally stop on the side of the road and wait. Several guys chose to pee as others sat around twiddling their thumbs. Now that everyone was well rested, any stragglers had a chance to get back on, and cold blood had time to settle in our legs, they let us off again.

Small surges from the front carried us the rest of the way back to the 2.5 mile finish stretch. By this time I had moved up to 2nd/3rd wheel as I was preparing for the finish. Unfortunately I was not patient enough to properly execute the finish. I was putting too much effort and riding in too much wind that entire trip back to the start finish. At the 1k to go mark the first attack went. I quickly matched and got on his wheel, another mistake. More attacks started coming from both sides. I was begging for the line, my body pleading with me to just stop, give up, and call it a day. I don't remember exactly how that last K went down, but I know at the end there were two big surges, one from each side of me. The one on the right was impressive and made a small gap, he took first. The one from the left was shaky and drifted slightly right and in front of me once he came around, he got second. That was enough to keep me seated and just holding on for the finish.

Take home: (1) be more patient and (2) sprinting at the end of a hard run into the finish is very hard and I didn't have it that day.

PeachTree TT:
The second race of the weekend was a time trial southwest of Atlanta. So once again, Sunday morning I got up and headed out the door for the drive down...by myself...in the rain...raining the entire way. I got there in time to setup for a nice little warm-up. My HUB skinsuit from Pactimo fit perfectly which I was very happy about as it was the first time I had tried it on.

I was on time for my start which is always rule number one for a TT. However, as soon as I went off, I came up behind a pickup truck sitting at a stop sign where I was supposed to turn right. I didn't know what to do at first as a slight panic set in. I ended up going around him on the left, but as I was beside him he started moving too. I continued on and passed across the yellow line. Not the best start, but I settled into my aero position and tried not to break rule number two in a TT: don't start out too hard. My legs were not putting out their best, so I just tried making up for it in aerodynamics implementing skills from the book of Tony Martin. I guess it worked because even with a subpar performance, I came away with the win.

It was good to get a decent distance TT in before I take on the state TT the first weekend of May (one of the reasons I wanted to do this race).

Overall not a bad start to the year. Three races and three podiums: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Back to the grind and back to racing soon enough. VERY glad to have this weekend off.

Race Report: Pick Your Poison XC

The first race of the season. The first race since the crash with the boat/truck last June and surgery. It's been a long time coming and I was very eager to get back in the saddle and push the pedals full throttle. I had decent expectations that unfortunately didn't plan out. It's tough to be efficient and good at something if you don't do it regularly and I've only mountain biked 4 times since last May: my fault, my choice. Mountain biking is a different beast than road cycling, as the soreness in my lower back and neck can attest.

After several delays in start times and 3 warm up sessions, the race was ready to start. Some guys jumped out of my category and up to the Pro/Open category leaving only me and one other guy racing the Cat 1 19-29 division. From the start, I jumped out in front and hammered. I was hoping to break the other guy and then settle into my own pace and race. He didn't break. I was redlining and still not going that fast. I would put some space between us on the fast, downhill, technical sections, but he would catch back up once the elevation went up again. I knew I couldn't keep this effort up as every time I looked down at my computer my HR was over 180bpm. I gradually slowed and decided that if the he wanted to just sit on my wheel, then we would cruise at a slower pace.

Three-quarters of the way through the first lap, I slid out in a left turn, catching myself, but still slowing dramatically. He moved around me at this point and I rode his wheel for the rest of the lap, losing ground when the terrain went up and rubbing tires when we went down. We came through the start finish together to start the second lap, but as we headed back into the woods I had to drop off. My body had to take a break from the effort I had been pushing that first lap. That was the last time I saw the other rider. After about 2-3 minutes of easy pedaling, I was back to racing, a little disheartened.

The rest of the race was pretty uneventful and I simply finished the last lap, knowing that I wasn't racing anymore and I was guaranteed second place. My body was aching and the miles were tough requiring a lot of effort and wasted energy to cover because of my rusty mountain bike skills. I might have been able to descend, but I was out legged and efficiently handled by the other rider. I finished the almost two hour race with an average HR of 173bpm, maxed out at 190bpm, and spent 23 minutes over 180bpm. HR was only below 151bpm for 1:40. We climbed 2,500 feet in only 19 miles.

I have to remember this was just a training race (very solid metabolic and cardiovascular training) and more racing is to come. A lot more racing. Next weekend I'll be on the track and back to racing the following weekend.

Taking to the Track

This past weekend I decided to do something new. I tried track cycling. The track had briefly caught my eye in years past, but I never gave it a genuine consideration until I begin training with a powermeter this winter. After reading a few books to learn how to interpret and properly train with my powermeter, I began to recognize some my numbers as ones that correspond to good track racing numbers. In track racing, the weight factor of the rider is all but eliminated, so my stocky build should not hold me back on the track as it does on climbs on the road. I then looked into my cadence and noticed some high numbers I am able to hit consistently. Put all these things together, let my power become pure watts and not necessarily watts per Kg, and on paper, I should be a good track racer. 

This past weekend was the first beginner class of the year at the Dick Lane Velodrome in Atlanta, so I headed down to get acquainted and see how I liked it. Temperatures in the low to mid 30s both days with light flurries on Saturday during the class limited our riding time for the two day, 6 hour class, but I got a good enough feel for how the track works. I got to wet my appetite for flying 200 meter sprints, match sprints, getting perpendicular to 36 degree banked corners, and non-stop pedaling. 

So, Monday afternoon after this weekend experience, I was at HUB Endurance asking what my options are for a track bike and how we can make it work. I am now registered and set to go to Rock Hill, SC for a collegiate clinic at the end of my spring break in two weeks. By the time the summer racing rolls around at Dick Lane, I think I will be ready to take on the track. Looking forward, I can't help but notice that with Xterra Nationals probably dropping off my schedule, my last big "A" race now occurs in mid-July. Seems like that gives me a solid 9 week buildup to Collegiate Track Nationals in Colorado. Who knows. Might be switching one national championship for another.