geneman

Race report: 4.26.05

Another suffer fest!
The course is a 4 mile loop with 3 decent hills … one of which is hard enough to separate a pack. We did 7 laps.

We battled a heavy Southerly wind all day, but benefited on the backside of the course where speeds reached 35mpg on relatively flat road. The major climb was hotly contested as every other lap held prime points at the top.

The group stayed together for the most part. Every other lap saw 3-4 guys get off the front at the tops of the climbs and inevitably they would be swallow up despite some hard effort to get away. I admit that I played the cat and mouse game on two of the laps. On lap 4 I chased down a decent break and sat in to allow the group to bridge. Then on lap 5 I broke off the front with another guy and we made a half-hearted go of it before being swallowed.

My philosophy remained the same as always. Stay with the leaders. Stay at the front of the group. Use the hills to your advantage. Don’t let breaks of more than 5 guys get away if possible and be attentive toward breaks involving one or more of the main players in the B group. I have to say that I played my cards right. On the last lap one guy snuck off the front and was given the opportunity to try to make it alone. Bottom line, he did and took first place. The rest of the group, myself included bunched up for the sprint.

I’ll set the stage.

The largest hill on the course is roughly a mile from the finish. The hill is long enough that you can’t simply sprint up it and steep enough to cause enormous amounts of pain. At the top of the hill is a 200 yard flat section dead into the wind followed by a severe downhill and a runout to the line. The last 50 yards is slightly uphill again. Speeds on the downhill reached >40mph.

The group approached the last climb with reservation. It was obvious people were tired and the pace was slower than the previous 6 laps. It was actually a little reassuring to hear everyone around me sucking enormous quantities of air. While I was definitely hurting, it didn’t seem like I was nearly as bad. We stayed together on the flat section at the top. As we approached the downhill, people started jockeying for position and I made sure I remained close to the front. We hit the downhill and reach maximum speed. On the runout the group starts to ramp it up. I stay as close to the front as possible, but not in the leadout. Two guys GO with 100 yards … IT”S TOO SOON!! I stay in their draft and resist the urge to downshift again as I know were going to hit a little incline. With 50 yards to go, I GO FULL GAS and pick my way through the leadout and follow the wheel in front of my which has also made a big move. Just as I get on the gas, I hear the awful sound of bike hitting pavement behind me. I’m too focused to care. I’m sprinting to my limit and I start to gain on my new leadout … my calves are screaming and I’m on the verge of cramping. It’s just he and I. numbers 2 and 3 on the road. He cuts to his right to hug the shoulder and boxes me out literally inches before the line. He crosses the line in second and I cross in third. As we’re coasting over the line, he apologizes for cutting me off and shakes my hand. No harm, no foul. My calves kept me from passing him anyway.

Hey look at that!! I tool 3rd place!! I’m psyched!!

To be honest, I was a little amazed at how the rest of the group seemed to fall apart on the sprint. Maybe it was the crash. Maybe it was that the original two leadouts just gave up the ghost. I think my timing just happened to be perfect this week.

BTW, the guy who fell walked away with a bloody elbow and knee. He seemed OK and his bike was none the worse for wear.

I’ve throw in a pic from two weeks ago for fun. I’m the guy with the blue vest/yellow short sleeves.

Thanks for reading!

Mark

UmneyDurak

Congrats. Makes me wish I still had time to ride.

jfmckenna

Jeees you don't even have leaves on the trees up there yet

geneman

Up here, well above the artic circle the leaves are just starting to pop.
The day that pic was taken was about 40deg F and windy as all get out. Oh, but it was sunny.

Mark

ZackJones

Mark, Congrats! So if that guy didnt' box you out do you think you could have taken 2nd?

Hipcycler

Great stuff.
Congrats on the place.

So THAT's what it's like to really be in a race!
Sounds like a lot more fun than mine....'This is the peleton....this is you falling off the back of the peleton....This is you riding all alone in the wind and cold for 20 miles..."

Someday....

Mojo GoGo

With the always interesting reports from Mark (report said heavy headwind... my face and eyes were wind burned from sitting still watching my son's little league practice last night - the winds were brutal!) and you (sloppy, wet, and cold first race) I've lost my fear of commitment and have decided to do my first race next week. Your summary above is comforting as I'm sure it will be representative of my ride

Hipcycler

Keep us posted and best of luck.
The two things I kept in my head that were told to me ahead of time by my coach and mentor:

--Don't do anything stupid.
--Remember, this is supposed to be fun!

MacMan

Nicely done Doctor, nicely done indeed! Fantastic stuff.

geneman

Thanks to all of the support.

I'd love to say I would have taken second, but the truth is that my calves were howling at me to stop. I've got to do something about this whole cramping thing. It hurts just to walk today and it seems like every week I spend the three days after race day just trying to get my calves back up to speed.

He cut me off for sure, but I wasn't especially pissed.

Mark

geneman

Now that's the kind of committment that I like to read about! As far as I'm concerned, you can just suck my wheel as long as you like ... that is of course unless you're in contention at the end ... and then I'll have to drop you like a bad habit

The Mendon course has a couple of hills that I can think of, but it shouldn't be as bad as yesterday. I don't think you could pick a better week to come out.

Mark

Mojo GoGo

Wheel sucking is an art form that I am good at! If only that were true of hill climbing

Just wait until August or September when the high energy, toned, wannabe escapes from my current body. When I can stick with the pack - that's when you can drop me!

Mojo GoGo

Or, I could lead you out and then perform some reckless act seconds before you intend to drop me

Did you talk to anyone after to the fact to find out why the guy took a spill?

bikerski

for cramping try more salt. when you feel cramps coming on, during or after a ride, take a good hit of table salt and water. if you are low on salt, the cramps will stop in about a minute. this will let you know if you need more salt in your diet. Doctors have the general public and us athletes scared to death of salt to the point many of us don't get enough. Especially when if you are like me, with much crusty white stuff on the side of your face and helmet straps after every ride. If salt aint' it, try using creatine powder as a recovery drink. Seems to have a cell hydration affect that reduces/eliminates cramps.

lyle

Good report! Just curious, though, why you bridged up to a decent break only to help defeat it, but tried to get away with one other guy on the next lap? Wouldn't your odds have been better to work for the first one? Not trying to be critical, I'm just interested in the tactical decisions you made.

skydive69

Way to go! Reading your account of the race gets me all fired up for my four upcoming events the weekend after next.

geneman

It's funny. Sometimes you just find yourself in a position to try to break off the front. This can happen if you carry a ton of speed onto a hill and pass the lead guys or it can happen on a downhill where you taking advantage of a serious draft. In the case where I chased down a break, I did so because I had a general interest in keeping the group together until either a bunch sprint or a point where I felt strong enough to give it a go on my own (which never happened). In the case where I broke off the front, I basically found myself out there upon overtaking the leaders on a downhill. I was feeling spunky and decided to put in a little effort to see if anyone wanted to chase. They did and we were absorbed. Sometimes spunk is bad.

My plan for the race was NOT to initiate a break. It's still early in the season and I don't feel like I'm 100% yet. Perhaps later in the year when I learn to read my body a bit better, I'll make some calculated long-distance moves. Note that this is different from the short-length, sprint for the line effort I made in race 2.

Mark

geneman

He said he got clipped from behind (not exactly sure what that means). If that were the case, I would have expected the guy who clipped him to go down. Regardless, he wasn't mad at all and chalked it up to the realm of possibilities associated with racing.

Mark

ZackJones

Do you have someone that can massage them for you after the race? If not get one of those massage sticks from your LBS or online and use it on your calves. I wonder if you have some sort a mineral deficiency?? After your next race eat a couple of bananas and see if that helps any.

geneman

Thanks. I opened a whole thread on the topic a few weeks ago and got some good advice. Since then, I have changed my diet to include dried apricots (whew! are those things tough on the ol' digestive tract) and more salt in general. Others outside of this board have suggested that I up my calcium and/or vitamin E intake. I'll try them all at some point.

Mark

MacMan

Not sure if these are really suited to your situation, since you cramped after a short period of time due to intense effort, but I found these to be very effective on my long rides - especially when it's hot and I sweat a lot.

https://www.e-caps.com/za/ECP?PAGE=PR...%20Replacement

geneman

I was half expecting to click on the link and be shown a site where I could buy EPO.

I suppose I could pre-load on the electrolyte solution during the week and see if it has an impact. I'll get some and try. Muchas gracias!

Mark

zotma

those e-caps are really worth giving a try...all the Hammer products are.
I'm definitely predisposed to getting cramps during and after races. I tried just about everything to get rid of them since there's really nothing like riding a whole race well and screwing up the end sprint because everything locks up in cramps (especially my calves).

I tried the e-caps both by adding them directly to my water bottles and they also provide little holders for the caps so you can put them in your jersey pocket and take them as you go aong (like for longer efforts). I swear by the results...amazingly cramp free. I also use the 'Heed' mix in my bottle for short races like crits, RR's, and circuits, 'Perpetuem' for longer road races and rides.

The bottom line is that the problem is more likely more complex than lacking salt. You need to replenish and have stored the minerals and electrolytes needed for your exertion. No one can tell you precisely what you need (varies too much from person to person), instead experiment to get the right doses of it all to feel good and be able throw everything down before the line comes (with no cramp'n).

Nice race report, congrats on your finish.

bikerski

I always include the salt advice because that is exactly, and only, what I needed. Hope to help others find the same.

ZackJones

geneman: Good luck finding a solution. Until you do here's a bit of advice: Ride off the front far enough that you don't have to worry about sprinting. I'm sure you can do it