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Monday, June 13, 2011

A sure fire plan of how to empty ones tank

Had I not opted for a 2 day break from training, that in reality ended up being 3 I think I would have just had to park it and be done.
Ive yet to have to do that, but I'm sure that day is coming.

Recapping- Tuesday nights race was by all means the fastest pace Tuesday night criterium I had raced. I feel fortunate to had placed 9th and now looking back I feel I'm selling myself short. Yes it was tough but I'm strong and fast enough to have at the very least contended for the finish sprint. I'm still growing confidence.
I opted to take Wednesday and Thursday off all together and ride Friday. Friday = fail. I was still tired from the previous weeks schedule and I just got lazy (period).
 Saturday was set up as a semi neutral tempo ride of 2.5 to 3 hours with    http://www.theroadmultisport.com/. He is doing some crit racing but definitely focused on upcoming tri's including a 70.3, so I get it.
With that said I should also mention, the guy is stand up, and always shows up when at all possible. I struggle with peoples commitments and lack there of. It's easy to say you'll do something. But following up and actually doing it is where life is born.
Read his blog on our Saturday ride. It turned out to be way more fun than I have had on a training ride in at least a month. I was fresh legged on all climbs, and had the pistons moving near effortless for the whole ride.
I literally felt dehydration take over my body at mile 38 and yet my mind would not let the pain win the battle until mile 42. It was the first time I had ever accepted a water bottle from another rider on a ride. I would usually take my lumps and gimp it home. But even with only 2 miles left to my doorstep at mile 44 I set my pride aside and took Patricks bottle before my right quad seized all together. Half his bottle later and by the time I reached my garage, all was good.
I went on to immediately throw down a protein shake and drank 30 oz of G2. Yes straight up Gatorade, so much sodium, but oh so necessary.
Crazy, I was so dehydrated that the veins in my calves where protruding. This is usually reserved for the mid to low body fat percentage people. But I had completely depleted myself of fluids and now quite obvious to me didn't hydrate well the day before.
No worries, my quick reaction to replenishment went fine and I spent the afternoon just hanging out doing small projects.
Sunday was up at 4:45 for breakfast and the trip to Dominguez Hills for the CBR Baileys Bikes race. This is race # 8 of 11. And all though I missed out on some early series races, I have committed to show up and try and be a force, earn some points and make some noise.
This weekend I opted to race two different categories,to not only get some extra exposure, but to hopefully gain some points. I'm quite a ways off to finish the series in high standings, but if I can put some numbers on the board at least I will have been a presence.
So my first race went off at 7:00 a.m. which means be there at about 6, check in and get some warm up laps in. There was a lighter field of 34 racers. We are about mid season now and I would have expected more line 45 +. With that said, it was what it was. It was fast as hell and fairly uneventful. I was racing with the straight Cat 4's most but not all under the age of 30. They still have huge ego's and no mortgage.
So will just say reckless abandonment shows up loud and clear.
No worries, stick the game plan, stay in the front 1/2 do a little work and don't get caught in the wind even for a minute or you will get dropped in a heart beat.
In a nut shell, 7 a.m. for me is early as hell to be racing at 27-31 mph. I sat in the group and helped keep the pace fast, never worrying about mid race prime sprints and finished strong in the top 20 at 13th spot.
Post race I drank the remainder of my sport drink, ate a PBJ, sucked down a honey stinger and waited for 35 minutes. Next race was at 8:45 with the 40 + 4/5 masters.
It turned out being a bigger race with 44 racers and several teams with 3-4 riders. I still dream of this type of team turn out.
None the less, I would stick to my plan. Race hard, be alert and think about the finish. Be up front and use your strength to sprint.
Now an even faster pace race than the first. With more engines working together the speed is flat out amazing and yet you have no idea that you are cranking along at 33-35 mph. FIRST hint of drama was early on lap 3, got flats literally in the middle of the pack. No hand raised in the air, so there is a bunch of loud chatters for the person to show themselves. I get it, you want to know who has the potential to take you out in a second. He loudly rebuttals the mob and pulls out. (side note) He had a spare set of wheels on course with him, and by the next lap he was jumping back in. Good for him. This is another thing I would love to someday have the ability to do. Spair wheels for race day and the quick swap !
With 5 laps to go, the race was in a mad frenzy with every lap picking up another mile per minute. We the field are now starting to lap dropped off riders about every 300 yards. There was no shame in getting cracked off this race, it was fast and no nonsense from the gun start.
Coming along the back straight section I glance to my right and about 20 feet ahead and hear brake squeal, cracking and then quite literally 2 bikes end over end, then 3,4, and 5.  It was nasty, as I watched one guy shoulder ram the asphalt. All in all it was a total of 6 guys involved, Thankfully I was in the right place at the right time and made it past the carnage unscathed. This is why you want to be up front.
Coming into the last lap I felt tired but had fresh legs. I stayed in the front 12 sweeping into the 2nd to last corner. A huge group of riders followed a lead out up the left side and it boxed me in the middle for a moment. I down shifted to a lower gear and clawed my way up and out the left side. I found what looked like was going to be a solid lead out wheel going to the line, but I had to be 20 + deep in the pack now.
With about 75 meters left and feeling a bit desperate I moved slightly inside and decided to power up the middle. I don't usually do this, I'm more of a jump out and sprint up the inside or outside line, but I had no choice as I got boxed in a bit. This would be my first shot at really digging in and muscling my way up the middle. I had a bit more motivation too, as I knew I had played this race perfectly and I had let myself get sucked in to the middle.
With about 40 meters left I down shifted to my last gear and got out of the saddle just throwing my bike side to side to gain speed. I ended up passing several people very quickly and crossed the line near even with 4 wide.
To my surprise and shock I got 13th again. Yes it was a bigger, and what ended up being a faster field. But I felt stronger, and more confident that I had road that race to a "T" of how I wanted to.
I know I couldn't and wouldn't plan two 13th's but may 13 is my lucky number ? At the very least it was this Sunday.
I was totally spent of energy, and I know I left it all out there today. With the exception of a couple of minor mistakes I think I did everything I had trained to do.
No cramping, no depletion, no worries. Just emptied the tank and recovered for a repeat.
My bike was phenomenal, my body reacted great and I was well pleased with my recovery.
Thanks for reading, thanks for your comments and support.


Train hard,train smart, be active. 

3 comments:

  1. "huge egos and no mortgage". Isn't that the truth? :) I wonder sometimes what it would've been like to come to running and cycling before I had three kids and a husband and all the resulting responsibilities. Probably wouldn't appreciate it as much.

    Great finishes, especially finishing so strong in the second race after riding hard earlier and being in a stronger field this time. Awesome!

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  2. Soon enough it waill probably all switch to no ego and huge mortgage.

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  3. Love the race recaps. Nice job on the strong 2nd race!

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