Chicago Crit, 7/27/08
Race #14
12th/70ish (125 spots were sold, I don’t know how many people showed up to race)
Pre race BG: 167 (30 min after eating a granola bar, 18g)
Post race: 133
My blood sugar was way more stable and I felt pretty good. Nothing unusual or different, but I was able to ride to the course and that bit of activity helped calm me and stabilize my BG. Too bad not every race can be this close to home. I was fortunate to meet Bob Schrank of Team Type 1 and we got to have a really nice chat before his race. I was surprised to learn that there are FIVE Type 1 diabetic racers in the Chicago area. I know two, the other two I'd like to meet.
Gaining position. Check. Holding position. Fail.
I liked the course. It was long enough and somewhat technical enough to make it interesting. The turns and the bend at Congress forced me to plan my advances up the field.
One goal was to stay up front. I didn’t. Another was to work on positioning in the pack. On this I was able to do something. After two or three laps I was able to read the pack and determine how to move up and when; I did this rather easily on the outside. Once I got near the front I quickly lost ground and was midpack again. I must be a bit more aggressive in holding position.
I’m walking away from this knowing that I can finish 12th. If I learn to position myself better I can win another race before the season ends. I’m getting that same feeling I got after the second Great Dane, that I’m underperforming. I’m happy about that because I am regaining some race confidence and this will lead to progress.
SuperWeek madness.
There has been so much racing in July I don’t know how to manage my training during this thing. Well, I know what I need to do to prepare for next season, and I’m kinda excited about it. I mean, if I can do this well this unstructured, with a little more focus I can make some serious gains. A coach, however, would be really nice…so would a SRM or Powertap.
Results.
Dean, Can and Jonathan raced the 5s and had a great time. Vanessa (8th) raced the women’s 4s; Brian did the masters 1-3; Nate won (again) the Masters 4/5 and also won a prime in the 4s race; Alex (7th), Ernie (8th) and myself (12th) did well in the 4s.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
That hill wasn't that bad...really, it wasn't.
ICC: Whitnall Park Road Race 7/23/08
Race #13
23rd of 70ish
Pre race BG: 256
Post race: 237
I didn’t adjust my basal rate for the 2 hour drive up and so I had to take a pre race bolus. That made me pretty nervous because I hadn’t done this before. I had gel so I’d be ok, but sensing a low blood sugar reaction while racing is not easy and nothing I want to experiment with.
On an up note, I met Alex Bowden of Team Type 1 at the race and spoke with him about glucose management on race days. He likes to over bolus at breakfast because he prefers his BG to be lower as the adrenaline of the race elevates his blood glucose. He also has a continuous BG monitor so he knows what is happening every 5 min. The sensor beeps when he is too high and vibrates when his BG drops below a certain threshold. I want that…
Bottom line: I’ve got to better manage my diabetes on race days because I think I will feel better and more confidence. I mean, at Monsters of the Midway I did and I won that race. A sure sign, I think.
…and the race.
Beautiful course. There was one section of rough pavement on one narrow part of the course, but everyone was extra cautious about holding their lines and not flying all over the place.
I really didn’t actively race this one. It felt like no one really did. I sat in. I played it safe. There were no attacks, few surges. Everyone pedaled along with an understanding. I went above LT once. My average hr was 155; my average for Blue Island was 168. Finished 23rd. Meh.
Alex did some work up front, but he didn’t take the hill strong enough on the last lap and couldn’t out sprint the 10-15 riders he normally would have dusted. He finished a sullen 20th.
My dad came up to this race. It was really nice to have the company. I think he likes it. I mean, he likes competition and seems to enjoy learning about cycling. This will be a good way to get some of my mom’s sandwiches for lunch, too. A win-win situation I think. Now, if I can only get him to take better pictures….
Race #13
23rd of 70ish
Pre race BG: 256
Post race: 237
I didn’t adjust my basal rate for the 2 hour drive up and so I had to take a pre race bolus. That made me pretty nervous because I hadn’t done this before. I had gel so I’d be ok, but sensing a low blood sugar reaction while racing is not easy and nothing I want to experiment with.
On an up note, I met Alex Bowden of Team Type 1 at the race and spoke with him about glucose management on race days. He likes to over bolus at breakfast because he prefers his BG to be lower as the adrenaline of the race elevates his blood glucose. He also has a continuous BG monitor so he knows what is happening every 5 min. The sensor beeps when he is too high and vibrates when his BG drops below a certain threshold. I want that…
Bottom line: I’ve got to better manage my diabetes on race days because I think I will feel better and more confidence. I mean, at Monsters of the Midway I did and I won that race. A sure sign, I think.
…and the race.
Beautiful course. There was one section of rough pavement on one narrow part of the course, but everyone was extra cautious about holding their lines and not flying all over the place.
I really didn’t actively race this one. It felt like no one really did. I sat in. I played it safe. There were no attacks, few surges. Everyone pedaled along with an understanding. I went above LT once. My average hr was 155; my average for Blue Island was 168. Finished 23rd. Meh.
Alex did some work up front, but he didn’t take the hill strong enough on the last lap and couldn’t out sprint the 10-15 riders he normally would have dusted. He finished a sullen 20th.
My dad came up to this race. It was really nice to have the company. I think he likes it. I mean, he likes competition and seems to enjoy learning about cycling. This will be a good way to get some of my mom’s sandwiches for lunch, too. A win-win situation I think. Now, if I can only get him to take better pictures….
Monday, July 21, 2008
Evanston Grand Prix, or, how the "BK Stacker" earned its name
ICC: Evanston Grand Prix, 7/20/08, Cat 4/5
Race #12
30th/75
Firs off, Nate I don’t like your kind of counting. A racer like you probably already forgot how to count lower than “second” or, god forbid, “third.” A guy from the crowd said 8-10 seconds and I’m sticking with his take because I like it better than yours.
…to business.
Race started shitty. Moshe and I started at least 50 riders behind the line. As we were warming up we were admiring how hard the volunteers had to work to string up the barriers and how much work they still had left. Then we look up to see everyone lined up. Whoopsie.
We wait long enough for my mom to take dozens of pictures of me standing there trying not to look frustrated about having to work so hard just to move up the field so early in the race.
The field took the corners pretty well but turns 4 and 5 caused the field to spread out and unless you were in the first 10 or 20 riders to make it through you were only going to loose ground as the race progressed. I knew that before the race started. So in the first few laps I looked for ways up front by following this guy and that, and slowly I begin to get there. But…it was too late. Exactly what I though would happen had happened. The Cat 4 all-star team separates from the field. I was sitting perhaps 20 back when a xXx rider (I didn’t and still don’t know his name, but knew he is strong) made a move up the outside and I jumped on his wheel and followed him off the front. Dave (xXx) joined us and we become the chase group of three.
Here we all are feeling tough at the start of the short lived chase. I'm about to pull through on this stretch of road at about 28mph. Whew. The second lap of this kind of effort hurt pretty bad and it was not nearly as fast. Thanks for the photos Ken!
It is funny what you don’t think about when racing – especially chasing. I didn’t think about the riders in the break being strong enough and smart enough to not allow themselves to be caught. I didn’t think how great it was that the other two riders in the chase were xXx and that they had several more riders in the field hat will probably block for them. I didn’t think about what I would do when I eventually blow up for trying to push too hard on my pulls. I didn’t think about my parents and brother seeing all this. I didn’t think about what an exciting race we were creating. All I thought about was pulling and recovering.
I heard the announcer say the break was ~20 seconds off the front. Next lap I heard someone else in the crowd say we were 8 to 10 seconds back. After the race Nate said it was more like 15 seconds.
Here I am in the middle/end of a pull. Just after this point we started riding race tempo (25mph) and catching the break was still the goal, just not a very realistic one.
After only two or so laps off the front we pass through the infamous BK stacker with people waving at us to slow and I saw Nick Gierman and another rider are on the side of the road. I immediately think ‘ok, now the break is down two riders.’ We keep going. Then the officials at the next turn wave us down. The race is neutralized because the rider who crashed at the BK stacker ON THE PREVIOUS LAP remained on the course and this caused Nick to crash into him on the subsequent lap. I don’t understand why a guy can lay on the tarmac for 2 full min in the middle of a bike race and no one immediately helps get him out of harms way.
WTF? (insert several tons of apt criticisms here) Anyway…
The race stopped. We stood as instructed on the start line. The lactic acid in my legs just sat there doing what lactic acid does best. At least everyone else was in the same boat – well, almost. The race officials gave the break their 20 sec lead and then they restart us back with the field.
WTF??? (insert several more tons of apt criticisms here) Anyway…
Instant frustration. And the chase group? I guess we didn’t exist. Chase eliminated. Ok, fine at least I was right up front for the restart. It wasn’t too bad.
When we restarted, I missed my pedal and slipped. I must have bumped the chain because I also slipped gears. When I got back to speed I was once again at the rear of the pack with 5 laps to go (what happened to 7? or at least 6 laps???). I moved up but mentally was done. Frustrated, I didn’t have any race left in me. I placed 30th.
Other monkeys did great: Cat 4/5s: Moshe finished just behind me in the middle of the pack; Cat 4: Nate 2nd, Alex 4th, and Ernie 11th , Ken pack finish; Masters 40+, 1-3: Brian 12th (I think).
They stopped the pro 1/2 race that evening too. So, the officials were consistent and did their job the best they could. It wasn't perfect, but it really wasn't all that bad either.
Race #12
30th/75
Firs off, Nate I don’t like your kind of counting. A racer like you probably already forgot how to count lower than “second” or, god forbid, “third.” A guy from the crowd said 8-10 seconds and I’m sticking with his take because I like it better than yours.
…to business.
Race started shitty. Moshe and I started at least 50 riders behind the line. As we were warming up we were admiring how hard the volunteers had to work to string up the barriers and how much work they still had left. Then we look up to see everyone lined up. Whoopsie.
We wait long enough for my mom to take dozens of pictures of me standing there trying not to look frustrated about having to work so hard just to move up the field so early in the race.
The field took the corners pretty well but turns 4 and 5 caused the field to spread out and unless you were in the first 10 or 20 riders to make it through you were only going to loose ground as the race progressed. I knew that before the race started. So in the first few laps I looked for ways up front by following this guy and that, and slowly I begin to get there. But…it was too late. Exactly what I though would happen had happened. The Cat 4 all-star team separates from the field. I was sitting perhaps 20 back when a xXx rider (I didn’t and still don’t know his name, but knew he is strong) made a move up the outside and I jumped on his wheel and followed him off the front. Dave (xXx) joined us and we become the chase group of three.
Here we all are feeling tough at the start of the short lived chase. I'm about to pull through on this stretch of road at about 28mph. Whew. The second lap of this kind of effort hurt pretty bad and it was not nearly as fast. Thanks for the photos Ken!It is funny what you don’t think about when racing – especially chasing. I didn’t think about the riders in the break being strong enough and smart enough to not allow themselves to be caught. I didn’t think how great it was that the other two riders in the chase were xXx and that they had several more riders in the field hat will probably block for them. I didn’t think about what I would do when I eventually blow up for trying to push too hard on my pulls. I didn’t think about my parents and brother seeing all this. I didn’t think about what an exciting race we were creating. All I thought about was pulling and recovering.
I heard the announcer say the break was ~20 seconds off the front. Next lap I heard someone else in the crowd say we were 8 to 10 seconds back. After the race Nate said it was more like 15 seconds.
Here I am in the middle/end of a pull. Just after this point we started riding race tempo (25mph) and catching the break was still the goal, just not a very realistic one.After only two or so laps off the front we pass through the infamous BK stacker with people waving at us to slow and I saw Nick Gierman and another rider are on the side of the road. I immediately think ‘ok, now the break is down two riders.’ We keep going. Then the officials at the next turn wave us down. The race is neutralized because the rider who crashed at the BK stacker ON THE PREVIOUS LAP remained on the course and this caused Nick to crash into him on the subsequent lap. I don’t understand why a guy can lay on the tarmac for 2 full min in the middle of a bike race and no one immediately helps get him out of harms way.
WTF? (insert several tons of apt criticisms here) Anyway…
The race stopped. We stood as instructed on the start line. The lactic acid in my legs just sat there doing what lactic acid does best. At least everyone else was in the same boat – well, almost. The race officials gave the break their 20 sec lead and then they restart us back with the field.
WTF??? (insert several more tons of apt criticisms here) Anyway…
Instant frustration. And the chase group? I guess we didn’t exist. Chase eliminated. Ok, fine at least I was right up front for the restart. It wasn’t too bad.
When we restarted, I missed my pedal and slipped. I must have bumped the chain because I also slipped gears. When I got back to speed I was once again at the rear of the pack with 5 laps to go (what happened to 7? or at least 6 laps???). I moved up but mentally was done. Frustrated, I didn’t have any race left in me. I placed 30th.
Other monkeys did great: Cat 4/5s: Moshe finished just behind me in the middle of the pack; Cat 4: Nate 2nd, Alex 4th, and Ernie 11th , Ken pack finish; Masters 40+, 1-3: Brian 12th (I think).
They stopped the pro 1/2 race that evening too. So, the officials were consistent and did their job the best they could. It wasn't perfect, but it really wasn't all that bad either.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Blue Island Pro/Am, 7/12/08 Cat 4/5
Race #10
5th of 40ish
One hour, 25 miles, lots of fruitless attacks and lots of bridging. There was little coordination until the last two laps where a few teams made very strategic and smart attacks to set up their mates for the podium.
I entered the race planning on attacking within the first few laps to stretch out the field and to carve a spot near the front. After the first few laps, I realized what a bad idea that was. I began to revise the plan when I saw the xXx coven at the start line conspiring and Beverly Vee Pack with a sizable group, Tati had a few along with Wild Card -- and there I am, alone, and feeling not so strong. Hmmm…why attack? Right. So the plan changed to a simple one: keep an eye on the stronger riders from each team and mark their position. I didn’t have extra juice to spare and it was still a hard race.
The last lap was interesting. The pace died on the back, and even around turn 3, this allowed us to bunch up and for me to gain position. This was super important because just going into the final lap there was a crash I was involved with. I was bumped from my left and went into the rider to my right, he touched the wheel in front of him and went down. I nearly gave up the race there because I nearly crashed too (my wheel also rubbed and I suppose my bumping that guy kept me upright.) After the crash I was pretty rattled, downshifted and didn’t think I’d be able to catch back on, but the field had been broke up by the crash and I was able to jump back onto the front group after turn two when the pace died. We all recovered for the sprint then after turn 4 we jumped up to pace.
Bunch sprint, I finished 5th. I nipped only one guy in the final 50 when I sprinted. I think I would have had a better chance if I jumped sooner and spun the 13 instead of mashing the 11.
Race #10
5th of 40ish
One hour, 25 miles, lots of fruitless attacks and lots of bridging. There was little coordination until the last two laps where a few teams made very strategic and smart attacks to set up their mates for the podium.
I entered the race planning on attacking within the first few laps to stretch out the field and to carve a spot near the front. After the first few laps, I realized what a bad idea that was. I began to revise the plan when I saw the xXx coven at the start line conspiring and Beverly Vee Pack with a sizable group, Tati had a few along with Wild Card -- and there I am, alone, and feeling not so strong. Hmmm…why attack? Right. So the plan changed to a simple one: keep an eye on the stronger riders from each team and mark their position. I didn’t have extra juice to spare and it was still a hard race.
The last lap was interesting. The pace died on the back, and even around turn 3, this allowed us to bunch up and for me to gain position. This was super important because just going into the final lap there was a crash I was involved with. I was bumped from my left and went into the rider to my right, he touched the wheel in front of him and went down. I nearly gave up the race there because I nearly crashed too (my wheel also rubbed and I suppose my bumping that guy kept me upright.) After the crash I was pretty rattled, downshifted and didn’t think I’d be able to catch back on, but the field had been broke up by the crash and I was able to jump back onto the front group after turn two when the pace died. We all recovered for the sprint then after turn 4 we jumped up to pace.
Bunch sprint, I finished 5th. I nipped only one guy in the final 50 when I sprinted. I think I would have had a better chance if I jumped sooner and spun the 13 instead of mashing the 11.
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