Proctor: State Criterium Championships (Cat 4), 6/28/09
Race #25
8/40
It’s funny how little I know about racing. I know how to be a fan; I know how to ride a bike in circles, really fast, and sometimes really really fast. But I don’t know how to race with a team. That is why I was thrilled to head to Peoria with Eric, Julian and Tim (Burnham Racing). So, I shut my mouth and soaked in as much as I could. Thanks for the ride Eric!
T1Report: I prefer racing in the morning. It’s so much easier to control my bloodsugars that way—sitting around all damn day waiting to race just sucks. My BGs were alright, I was a little high before the race and afterward I was very elevated (perhaps the sprint?). Nothing so out of the ordinary that it affected my performance.
Welcome back to summer racing!
Tough race. I worked hard—sometimes very hard and hardly any of it on and none of it off the front. Working on someone else’s terms takes more energy for some reason and so this was the hardest crit of the year so far. Well, for me anyway. Our average pace was a normal 25-26 but there were nutty gusts of wind, and it was hot, and I felt the heat way more today than I did last week at Cobb Park.
There was lots of action from the start and I was feeling all of it in the first 5-8 laps. As usual, I started in the back. Some riders tried to separate right away, stringing out the field and causing a gap—with me at the back! A few bridged up to it, exploding the field in the process. And at one point, I wasn’t sure what group I was in. The second? Third? I saw the race start to slip away from me. I knew didn’t have the legs to make any moves let alone bridge--I just held on wondered how much more of this I could take. Luckily the break was soon caught and the pace settled down.
This is where individuals and teams started to come into play. There were a few teams with a few riders but as usual: xXx (10) and Wild Card (5) were the most well represented. Individually xXx started to go off the front and Wild Card chased a few times, but then their workers were soon worked over and it was left to individuals—who were all, like me, looking for a bunch sprint. In other words, no one willing to do much work. A perfect time to separate from the field.
I missed Liam going off the front. I couldn’t have done anything about it anyway. Man, he earned the title with that effort! There was no chase behind him.
I wanted to do well in this race, and, overall, I did. Though, I didn’t do as well as I would have liked and that burns. Well, what can you do? Some days you have the legs, some days you just don’t. In the last lap I was actually surprised to be near the front. I took the outside lane through turn 7 and 8, got on a wheel and waited to start my sprint. I finished 8th.
Brighter days are sure to be ahead...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
It's hot again...finally.
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.
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 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.
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