Race #1 is in the books. I did terrible, but I still had fun. Out of 7 expert 35+ racers, I finished 6th.
As for the "OUCH!" title, the race was not a comfortable experience. Two hours and 30 minutes is a long time for me to be riding near 100% effort, with my current training. I also had some back and foot cramping issues during the race along with a stomach cramp from drinking a bit too much.
I was EXTREMELY happy to see the finish line. I have a lot of improving to do, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.
5 comments:
To finish your first expert race is a great job. I talked to Todd, he had about the same experience in his first. I doubt I will ever step up to expert, unless they have a nap time.
Yeah... I was happy to finish. I probably would have been better off in SS with only 3 laps, but I would not have done much better there either. That course is also not friendly to aluminum hardtails. My back and back-side are still complaining about the abuse. But to be fair, the course was significantly smoother than last year.
It should be a good challenge to see what I can do by the end of the year. For now I'll just try to get SOME dirt time in along with possibly one LONG ride a week.
Maybe I'll get B&B to ride in the trailer a bit more as weather improves. Get them out of the house for a bit, every so often, so their mom can get some time to catch up on things around the house.
Thanks for the comment Bob. I finished 10th of 12 in the Beg. Open. 12th guy was DNF.
My first race, so my expectations where not much! That course was in its own way difficult.
Yeah... that course is not technically diffictult, but it's very demanding. There was a LOT of climbing each lap, and the soft dirt soaked up a lot of momentum in some areas.
RACE REPORT**************
The short version:
Race #1 is in the books, and I'm really hoping that this is one of the races I'll want to drop at the end of the season. I managed 6th out of 7 in the Expert Masters category. I had to be nearly 10 minutes behind 5th, but I don't know because I didn't see anyone after lap 3. My legs are a tad sore, but my back and shoulders are much worse.
The Long version:
Friday before the race, I didn't eat great. My stomach was hurting quite a bit, so I didn't take in enough food. On race day my stomach was still doing flips. I'm guessing it was more nerves than anything.
I arrived at Maskenthine at 10:30 with plenty of time to warm up and get ready. I did a 1/4 lap to warm up, then stretched, and ate one more cliff bar (probably a mistake). I also tried to heat my legs up a bit right before the start by doing an out and back, with the brakes on, to force my legs to start pumping some blood and oxygen.
When the gun went off, I stayed in the middle of the pack. I probably still started too fast, but I wasn't off by much. I went into the single track in 5th for the masters group. I passed for 4th shortly after that. I then pushed up to 2nd and stayed there for about another 1/4 lap or so with 3rd, 4th right on me. About that time my back tightened up a bit and I backed off intentionally because I was worried about my ability to maintain that kind of pace for 3 laps, let alone the 5 that I was going to need to complete. I was also fighting off a rather strong stomach cramp at this point. Luckily, it went away by the end of lap 2, but I had other issues by that point.
Shortly after I backed off, Jon H caught up, and I tried to stay with him for a while. He started to pull away and I dropped my effort back even more. My back was starting to get worse rather quickly, and was pretty much in survival mode when Jeff B caught me during lap 2. He went by me FAST and I saw Jon H go with him when Jeff passed. Shortly after that, they were both out of sight, and I didn't see them again after the big field near the end of lap 3.
By lap 4, I was all alone, and pretty much just riding like I was out for a stroll. I wasn't pushing my legs or my lungs very hard but my back was screaming, and I couldn't up my effort without causing that pain to become unmanageable. So I was pretty much stuck just gutting it out, and riding conservative. Ryan F passed me up at the end of lap 4 and he went by FAST. I wasn't expecting to see him again till the end of the race.
ON lap 5 I actually stopped to chat a bit with Josh while I gingerly lifted my bike over the downed tree in the technical section. That tree actually dropped right across the path in the middle of the race and was about 2 feet off the ground. He told me to try to catch Ryan. I didn't think there was a chance so I didn't take it too seriously, for about 30 seconds. At that point I only had 3/4 of a lap to go, I was confident that I could survive that long no matter what my body tried to surprise me with. So I stepped it up a few notches.
I spent the rest of that lap riding as close to my pain threshold as I could. Half way through I spotted Ryan stopped up ahead. I think he was swapping out bottles or something. I managed to squeak by him before he could get back on the trail. That lasted all of 10 seconds before he screamed by me again. Unfortunately, Ryan cramped up badly going up the very next hill.
I finished out the lap trying to push past the pain and was very relieved when I crossed the finish line. If there hadn't been anyone around, I probably would have just stopped and fallen over right there on the trail with my feet still in the clips.
So what did I learn?
- I need more training. Primarily long rides, hill climbing, and more trail riding. This race was my first ride on dirt in nearly 5 months.
- No food directly before a race. Maybe a GU, but nothing solid.
- 5 Laps is a long way, starting fast is just not smart (right Todd? ;-))
- Aluminum Hardtail + Maskenthine = bleeding Kidneys (well almost)
- I have a better idea of the pace I should ride for 5 laps, which I had no clue of prior to this race
- The new SRAM X-9 1x9 drive train worked flawlessly
I'm really looking forward to the next race. I know the course better, I'll be in better shape, I have a better idea of what pace I can maintain, I know who I can (and can't) try to follow, and I know I can do better. This should be a fun but very challenging year.
Post a Comment