Cobb Park Criterium, 6/20/2009
Race # 23 & 24
Drew emailed me Friday morning writing that he had found a ride for us to Cobb Park. I was so damned excited because I was resigned not to race, this was an awesome turn of events.
South Chicago Wheelmen did a great job hosting it and the weather was great, the environment was great, SCW and the ICA had the organizational element covered like old pros and that led to a really relaxed race day. Too bad it conflicts with Grafton.
T1 report: my bloodsugar was very tight before the race today. I followed the protocol I set up earlier in the year and was able to follow perfectly. After the last lap of the first race my BGs became elevated and they never really settled back down before the start of the masters race. I didn't take any additional insulin as I feared I would go low (essentially "bonking" but for diabetics it is far more dire). I still took a gel and finished the race more within normal range despite the sprint.
The course: This was a surprisingly technical flat ~1k course around a really nice riverside park in Kankakee Illinois. Turn 1 was nice ’n wide leading to turn 2 which led from a wide city street onto the eastbound lane of a narrow residential parkway that was not more than 10-12 feet wide. The first lap or two had the nerves running high, there was some bumping and lots of slowing but after a while we managed it well. Between turn 2 & 3 was an interesting little chicane that could narrow the field even more than turn 2. This chicanery led to turn 3 where it was surprisingly difficult to determine the fastest lane—at least for me. Even when I was near the front I was loosing speed here on every lap, for some reason I didn’t find it till the last lap of my second race.
Cat 4, Race #23
14/40
I hadn’t done much of anything but a few sprints on Wednesday so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel. That and it was the first HOT day of the year. I normally wilt in the heat, but I must be tougher than last year or perhaps I’m just warming up smarter. Anyway, race goes off, we ride around, prime after prime keeps the pace pretty high. Wild Card and xXx were the best represented and so they did all the work: going off the front, each chasing down the other, etc. I sat in, and for ¾ of the race I didn’t feel great and then, finally, the race legs came back. But, my mind was still in vacation mode—no aggression at all, it was all fluf up there: sit in, don’t work hard. Its hot. Who cares about upgrading, I could be a 4 forever, and ever, and ever… On the last lap, poor positioning choices got me pinched in the gutter after turn 1 (grab breaks); pinched in the gutter after turn 2 (grab breaks hard) and once again I lost speed in turn 3. I finished 14th. I knew I could race better than that. Luckily, I was able to stay and race the masters 4/5. Drew did awesome and finished 4th! Drew, work on your 1 min max efforts to control that vomit reflex!
Masters 4/5, Race #24
2/40
Much better. Slower pace because there was only 1 prime. This race was a first: I flatted! While warming up on one of the sidestreets Drew and I were forced to ride over some glass—I though I missed it, but I guess it was everywhere, no escape. Luckily I race on Conti Gatorskins and it didn’t cause a problem in the first race. In the masters race, however, I rolled over something, a stick or stone or something not unusual or serious but then within 10 seconds I started going flat. I didn't pop, but it was a leak—so it must have been some debris already in my tire that finally pushed through. I thought my race was done, this situation was unfamiliar to me but luckily other racers told me to get to SRAM’s neutral support. I cut through the park, got to the Sram tent and quick as a whistle I was on my bike with a nice Zipp 404 rear wheel. I forgot the SRAM guy’s name, but he was really great. I stood there like a dummy watching him work and he began calmly coaching me: “Take a drink. Relax. Get on the bike. Clip in both pedals. Both pedals. Stay to your left ‘till you catch back on!” That was awesome. I was back in the pack after In the final 20 meters DJ (Get a Grip) and I bumped shoulders and I badly threw the bike somewhere near the line, it was an exciting finish. I felt much better going home with a result I could be proud of. But I had to return the wheel. Damn.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Highs/Lows.
Sherman Park Criterium, 6/13/09
Race #22
2nd/~50
Thanks to xXx for, yet again, putting on a great race. It is not easy, and their hard work is much appreciated.
Racing in the rain is fairly new to me. I once said that I have absolutely no interest in starting a race in the rain. But thanks to those hard working people of the internets we have something called “pre registration.” Which means, mostly simply, “dude, you already paid for it.” Dan and I were even talking about that at 7 this morning, as we began to head south, in the rain.
Short version: Well, I got points. The race overall--a mixed bag.
T1 Report: My diabetes was spot on today. Riding to the race is really helpful in my BG management—I just wish there was more racing in Chicago.
Two teammates got caught up in that amazing crash with 2 to go. Which by the way, was the longest sounding crash I have ever heard. It’s like a sound effect you can grab free online—the kind that are uncomfortably longer than you’d like. This crash, it just wouldn’t stop. I mean, I know that guys were sliding all over the place stopping other riders, but I actually thought the crash was going to catch up to me…Luckily, Jordan escaped the carnage but was gaped off behind it; unfortunately, Drew and Dan were both nailed by sliding riders and suffered some ugly road rash—I hope both heal up quick!
On the up side, all the monkeys were looking very, very strong. Given that and I know that racing is racing, and this is really obvious—but I’ll say it anyway, after one more parenthetical clause, a dependent clause separated from the stem by commas—that crash really changed the dynamic of the final lap. The other guys I was keeping an eye on were caught out by that crash, so I was nervous because I didn’t see them. So, when Dan began his leadout and I sprinted on his left I fully expected a few riders to come around the far right side. But that never happened.
Dan gets major props for being the strong man once again. After his leadout he held on for third. It was awesome to have two on the podium.
Sprinting:
I was comfortable following Dan’s leadout. I kept spinning and jumped around him in the same gear and accelerated easily, I shifted once more for the long haul, then once more, I stood and tried to over take the leader. On this I need to work on my form—I’m loosing some transfer when I stand to sprint. Anyway, I couldn’t make it up to him in that gear; I hit a plateau and finished just off his rear wheel. I think I jumped too late and then shifted too early and definitely once too often. Had I spun up to my max I may have gained some more ground in the final 100m. Lessons learned.
As far as racing in the rain. It sucks.
Race #22
2nd/~50
Thanks to xXx for, yet again, putting on a great race. It is not easy, and their hard work is much appreciated.
Racing in the rain is fairly new to me. I once said that I have absolutely no interest in starting a race in the rain. But thanks to those hard working people of the internets we have something called “pre registration.” Which means, mostly simply, “dude, you already paid for it.” Dan and I were even talking about that at 7 this morning, as we began to head south, in the rain.
Short version: Well, I got points. The race overall--a mixed bag.
T1 Report: My diabetes was spot on today. Riding to the race is really helpful in my BG management—I just wish there was more racing in Chicago.
Two teammates got caught up in that amazing crash with 2 to go. Which by the way, was the longest sounding crash I have ever heard. It’s like a sound effect you can grab free online—the kind that are uncomfortably longer than you’d like. This crash, it just wouldn’t stop. I mean, I know that guys were sliding all over the place stopping other riders, but I actually thought the crash was going to catch up to me…Luckily, Jordan escaped the carnage but was gaped off behind it; unfortunately, Drew and Dan were both nailed by sliding riders and suffered some ugly road rash—I hope both heal up quick!
On the up side, all the monkeys were looking very, very strong. Given that and I know that racing is racing, and this is really obvious—but I’ll say it anyway, after one more parenthetical clause, a dependent clause separated from the stem by commas—that crash really changed the dynamic of the final lap. The other guys I was keeping an eye on were caught out by that crash, so I was nervous because I didn’t see them. So, when Dan began his leadout and I sprinted on his left I fully expected a few riders to come around the far right side. But that never happened.
Dan gets major props for being the strong man once again. After his leadout he held on for third. It was awesome to have two on the podium.
Sprinting:
I was comfortable following Dan’s leadout. I kept spinning and jumped around him in the same gear and accelerated easily, I shifted once more for the long haul, then once more, I stood and tried to over take the leader. On this I need to work on my form—I’m loosing some transfer when I stand to sprint. Anyway, I couldn’t make it up to him in that gear; I hit a plateau and finished just off his rear wheel. I think I jumped too late and then shifted too early and definitely once too often. Had I spun up to my max I may have gained some more ground in the final 100m. Lessons learned.
As far as racing in the rain. It sucks.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Breaking the Road Race Doldrums
Spring Prairie Road Race, 6/7/09
Race #21
20th/36
The way Jake definitively won the Spring Prairie Road Race, digging deep and attacking up the final climb made no mistake that he was clearly the strongest in that field. Congrats on your first win, Jake!
And major props to the team! This was our first race using a legitimate team effort. Two weeks ago when several Monkeys agreed to do this race, Jake had told me this was one of his “A” races. So, in my mind, it was clear—this is Jake’s race and our job to help him do it., so I sent an email stating such. No pressure, right?
Though we intended on racing with 6 we ended up with 5 and after a few laps had only three (John dropped, and despite looking good going up the hill, Josh flatted and one nameless Monkey forgot an essential pair of race equipment). Given this abbreviated team, Dan gets the George Hincapie award! He was never more than a bike or two away from Jake; nearly always on the windward side; paced him up the hill on nearly every lap and hung on for 10th place! Awesome work! I did a little here and there; kept an eye on things at the front; stuck near Jake part of the time; hit the front in the last two miles and drove the pace to prevent late attacks from going and responsibly popped on the final climb—I was flying up that hill at a glorious 7mph and finished 19th.
Honestly, Jake, I really need to think about racing Blue Mounds on the 18th—though I’m leaning more and more toward doing it. Its ironic that suffering up such hills is so glorious in retrospect.
The course was nice, and racing in the evening was a welcome change of pace. The weatherman predicted t-storms by the end of the race, luckily that didn’t happen till much later. It was all around a pleasant day.
The roads were decent the hills were enough to belie the slow pace. And that climb to the finish was real mean. I don’t know the grade—I’m completely illiterate with that stuff—but it was enough to make me suffer—badly—on almost every lap. Not having done more than 2 weeks of short 1 min intervals, I really paid the piper on that hill. Though I was able to find a “comfortable pace” on every lap, and I was “easily” able to catch back on after the climb, it still hurt…bad.
You know how the race ended but two interesting things happened during the race: first, I went off the back for a little while (4th lap, back side) because I thought I flatted (it felt like my bike was moving through mud—more like my legs were jelly) and I dropped back and checked it out—I was fine. Looking up, I was 75m behind the field. I had two choices: drop or chase. I glanced down at my black CSC (now Saxo Bank) wristband, and immediately decided to HARDEN THE FUCK UP and I chased back on. Which, though hard, happened pretty quickly and I didn’t need to go beyond myself. So I feel good about that. Second, I had low bloodsugar reaction in the final lap.
It is difficult to notice the symptoms of low BG (blood glucose levels) in a race because you are generally working so hard and there is no “normal” feeling by which to compare one’s “typical” symptoms. Regardless, I’ve learned the symptoms while riding and told Dan and Jake I was dropping out. But because the pace was not too high I was able to sit on the back and consume the rest of my energy drink and down a gel packet. After a few min, I felt much better, and my legs and bloodsugar had recovered so I returned to the race. This is when I went to the front in the final two miles, I pushed the pace to prevent attacks before dropping back and letting Dan and Jake run it the rest of the way. I was able to recover for a min before the final climb and though I thought I'd just fall right over somewhere near the top, I nevertheless finished my race.
All in all, a good day for Spidermonkey Cycling!
Race #21
20th/36
The way Jake definitively won the Spring Prairie Road Race, digging deep and attacking up the final climb made no mistake that he was clearly the strongest in that field. Congrats on your first win, Jake!
And major props to the team! This was our first race using a legitimate team effort. Two weeks ago when several Monkeys agreed to do this race, Jake had told me this was one of his “A” races. So, in my mind, it was clear—this is Jake’s race and our job to help him do it., so I sent an email stating such. No pressure, right?
Though we intended on racing with 6 we ended up with 5 and after a few laps had only three (John dropped, and despite looking good going up the hill, Josh flatted and one nameless Monkey forgot an essential pair of race equipment). Given this abbreviated team, Dan gets the George Hincapie award! He was never more than a bike or two away from Jake; nearly always on the windward side; paced him up the hill on nearly every lap and hung on for 10th place! Awesome work! I did a little here and there; kept an eye on things at the front; stuck near Jake part of the time; hit the front in the last two miles and drove the pace to prevent late attacks from going and responsibly popped on the final climb—I was flying up that hill at a glorious 7mph and finished 19th.
Honestly, Jake, I really need to think about racing Blue Mounds on the 18th—though I’m leaning more and more toward doing it. Its ironic that suffering up such hills is so glorious in retrospect.
The course was nice, and racing in the evening was a welcome change of pace. The weatherman predicted t-storms by the end of the race, luckily that didn’t happen till much later. It was all around a pleasant day.
The roads were decent the hills were enough to belie the slow pace. And that climb to the finish was real mean. I don’t know the grade—I’m completely illiterate with that stuff—but it was enough to make me suffer—badly—on almost every lap. Not having done more than 2 weeks of short 1 min intervals, I really paid the piper on that hill. Though I was able to find a “comfortable pace” on every lap, and I was “easily” able to catch back on after the climb, it still hurt…bad.
You know how the race ended but two interesting things happened during the race: first, I went off the back for a little while (4th lap, back side) because I thought I flatted (it felt like my bike was moving through mud—more like my legs were jelly) and I dropped back and checked it out—I was fine. Looking up, I was 75m behind the field. I had two choices: drop or chase. I glanced down at my black CSC (now Saxo Bank) wristband, and immediately decided to HARDEN THE FUCK UP and I chased back on. Which, though hard, happened pretty quickly and I didn’t need to go beyond myself. So I feel good about that. Second, I had low bloodsugar reaction in the final lap.
It is difficult to notice the symptoms of low BG (blood glucose levels) in a race because you are generally working so hard and there is no “normal” feeling by which to compare one’s “typical” symptoms. Regardless, I’ve learned the symptoms while riding and told Dan and Jake I was dropping out. But because the pace was not too high I was able to sit on the back and consume the rest of my energy drink and down a gel packet. After a few min, I felt much better, and my legs and bloodsugar had recovered so I returned to the race. This is when I went to the front in the final two miles, I pushed the pace to prevent attacks before dropping back and letting Dan and Jake run it the rest of the way. I was able to recover for a min before the final climb and though I thought I'd just fall right over somewhere near the top, I nevertheless finished my race.
All in all, a good day for Spidermonkey Cycling!
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