Race Review - Finally a race I can get a feeling on how I am riding. In all the previous races this year there was something preventing me from doing my best. I was sick for the Spring Fling race. Then later for the Twin Bing race I had a flat tire. This weekend none of that happened. There were no excuses.
Tractor Test Track Crit(a half mile "oval") - After a raining morning the skies cleared for a near perfect afternoon of racing. When I got to the track there were already 6 wreck from the earlier races. A lot of them caused by the rain. While I watched the Cat 4 & 5 race there were at least 3 more wrecks. This didn't concern me much. To tell the truth I was more concerned about not being able to hang with the group.
Before I knew it the race started. The first two corners of the race were no problem... the group was still ramping up to speed. The second lap we were going fast. Nobody really knew what line to take. I got caught taking an inside line with too much speed. Coming out of the turn I could not hold a good line went wide. Yep, I heard about it. My bad!!
After that I played follow the leader through each turn. Kevin B kept yelling "go wider" so we could cut through the apex of the turn. That was a good call. Still we brought our wheels within inches of the grass on the inside of the track.
I was staying up with the group. I wasn't hanging off the back or put in too much difficulty for about the first 15 laps. Then it started to happen. Each time the group came out of the back stretch into the wind. I would start tailing off. A little a first and then more. I would catch back up and be ready for the next lap but I would get less and less rest. Until, with 27 laps to go I could not catch up.
So I pretty much rode solo after that. Of course it is no fun being lapped by the group but I wasn't too discouraged. I figure all the accelerations in and out of the corners got to me. I like more of a steady pace.
TTT - I love team time trials... I wish there were more. Devin was our locomotive and rabbit. All the rest of us had to do was keep up. Easy? We ended up 3rd of 6 teams.
Sunday's Crit - This crit was much more my style. There was not so much slowing and then accelerating. About 15min into the race I was off the back of the pack with Paul W. We worked together for awhile then Kevin B & Brian R joined us from behind. Others from the lead pack dropped back until we had about 7 riders. This was not an organized group. People were taking their turns on the front but it wasn't a smooth rotating pace line.
Then Jared B lapped us and our group raced up to get on his wheel. So, till the end, it was Jared(a lap up) on the front. The rest of us were tucked in behind Jared. I was at the end of the pace line. Not a good place to be so I tried to move up. There were no gaps. Every was tucked in tight.
Bell lap. Everyone was moving into position. I ended up right behind Brian R. A little slip of Brian's rear wheel sent him off course and crashing into the outside curb. I took the inside track to miss him and all looked good. Until his bike went high into the air. I was quite sure the bike was going to hit me so I ducked. I thought I was going to catch a pedal or something in my back but I made it through.
The Red Cross medics quickly ran down to the scene. More details are on his blog
I was happy with my performance. I still need to do more work. I was doubtful about my decision to cat up to Cat 3 but I am glad I did. It is where I need to be. Although, I need to get a lot faster to be competitive. I am up for the challenge.
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3 comments:
I remember having a season like that. My first few crits were ridiculous. All I had been doing was steady state intervals. So when the sprinty stuff came, I was not ready for it.
It all depends on what you're peaking for, I guess. If you haven't started that part of your training, of course you're not going to be ready for it.
Stick to the plan and integrate new info when needed. Keep on, keepin on.
So what did you do to deal with the sprinty stuff. Is there "Sprinty Stuff training"? Thursday I am going to find a nice flat road and do some 3 to 6min intervals at or above LT.
I eventually came around. I think I also didn't want to do the kind of intervals it takes for crit racing.
Usually the intervals are way over LT, but luckily, not very long. I remember doing one type called ladders. You do 1 minute on ("on" being nearly all out), 1 minute off; 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off, etc up to 4 minutes. Then you go back down, 4 - 3 - 2 - 1. You have to be super fresh to get through these intervals and the last 2 and 1 minuters are pretty worthless since you're spent by then.
Another great interval to help with hill climbing and explosive attacks: hill sprint reps. You find a hill that takes 90 seconds to climb at a quick pace (Hummel, a couple hills down in Bellevue - about 4-ish blocks long). You ride the first minute (2/3rds up) at seated race pace, then you stand to sprint over the top to finish the last 30 seconds. THESE HURT, but the rewards are quite great.
The basic idea is, the more you hurt in training, the less it will hurt (or rather, the more you will be used to it) in racing.
I think it was the middle of my first cat 3 year that I started these intervals. I didn't see a real benefit till I kept up with training into my 2nd cat 3 year. So lay a great foundation this year with a solid training base, then keep it up over the winter. By next year, you'll be tearing legs off.
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