VARacer

This was the second race of my Cat 5 season. Technical crit with 6 turns in a 1/2 mile.

1. Race before the race. One thing I had read before starting racing is never to mess with your equipment the day of the race. Clearly, my brain did not get that memo. I decided that I wanted to replace my rear tire. Yikes. Three tubes later (long story) I was concerned I would not be able to race. Lucky for me, the LBS was open and helped me out. Crisis averted and lesson learned.

2. Pre-race warmup. Felt fine. Ramped up the intensity over 30 minutes with two 3' FT efforts with 30" VO2max segments. As I would find out, this warmup was insufficient. For those who read Chapter 1 a few weeks ago - I have pre-race warmup issed the effects of which are painfully felt early in the race

3. Please lord make it stop. Typical (from what I am told) start to the Cat 5 crit - violent as all get out and - yes - you guessed it - VARacer did not get to the front of the group at the start line. I need to get a better strategery for getting to the front at the start line! Being at the back of the pack for a 6 turn crit gave me a great opportunity to be a virtuoso of the accordion. Right about now I was looking for an exit with the intent of selling the bike, gear, etc. My warmup felt fine and the engine appeared primed, but when the race starts my legs fail to cooperate. I have yet to figure this out.

4. Numbness becomes me. As in Chapter 1 (my first race) there comes a time after playing the accordion for half the race when my legs are effectively numb to the effort and I begin to feel stronger. Can't explain it and I guess I do not care. Oddly, it is at this time of the race when those who had their backs turned during my accordion solo begin to get dropped. I begin to move up. However, and the one lesson I have learned from Chapter 1, I do no work. I hung out in the top 15 or so creeping up and back, but never to the front. Feeling pretty confident.

5. Can I have some mayo with my asphalt sandwich? As a Cat 5 one thing that I have learned is imperative is that you have to know the proper cornering technique. This is one thing I do fairly well (relatively speaking). Coming out of a corner before the start/finish line I feel some bumping (not a rub, but a bump) into my left side. Turns out this rider must have taken the corner at the wrong angle and swung out wide. I say this because I was already through the corner and wide as it was. Needless to say, he almost knocked me off the bike. I de-clipped (if that is a word) my left foot and subconsciously tried to regain my balance.....my bike wobbled like it was on ice for about 10 meters. I ended up righting myself, clipped back in and got back in the group, but not before the announcer vocalized my situation to the crowd! Oddly, the event did not stress me out. This is not so much a lesson for a Cat 5, but a realization. Some people are cool with riding at 25-27 mph and having people - "accidentally" - nudge them, rub them, etc. Others freak out and become sketchy. I have learned that I am completely cool with it. Does not bother me. As long as it is not on purpose, I can deal with it. If you are a beginning racer and such things do bother you, you really need to go out in a grassy field and practice close contact riding to get used to it.

6. Winner, winner, chicken dinner? Nope. Despite all the "knowledge" I have learned from BFers, group rides, coaching, racing, I still have no concept on how to sprint. Came around the last corner and turned it on. I even remembered to stand on the pedals this time (big step for me). However, I did not have my hands in the drops (mistake) and when I applied the torque to the pedals my front wheel lifted off the ground (I am guessing this is not what is meant by a "jump" ). Only slightly, but I could definitely feel it and it was enough for me to take it down a notch. On the trainer I can put out about 1300 watts (77 kgs), but on the road I cannot replicate. A lot like putting a big block engine in a Kia - all the power in the world don't mean jack if you cannot get it to the wheels. I am by no means saying I have big block power....oh well, you get the point. If any experience BFers have any sprint workouts tips they want to share I am all ears.

7. I ended up 10th I think. Winning break of 3 were in before the lead chase group (with me) came to the line. Very happy with the result, but troubled by my "slow" legs at the beginning of the race. It is almost as if I need to have a "race" (15" on/15" off?) on the trainer as a warmup. However, I am afraid of burning matches. Maybe this is not a concern with the shorter length of Cat 5 races?

8. Did I yell at the chef who almost fed me the asphalt sandwich? No. Did I call him out during the race? Sure did. Last lesson. Do not tell your wife, girlfriend, significant other, dog, etc. about your near death experiences on the bike. I learned that lesson when I got home.

Looking forward to the next chapter. I hope my race follies help any Cat 5s out there.

rOOster14

good to hear you are still on the horse.
my first cat5 RR is on the weekend of the 6th...im getting all antsy in the pantsy.

ZeCanon

love the writeup

Nice job with a decent pack finish. Finding the right balance while sprinting can take a little while... but dont' freak out if one of your wheels skips around a bit. It's not the best thing in the world in terms of efficiency, but it shouldn't crash you.

waterrockets 

Nice work. Good job keeping it up with the bump.

On the sprint, it's likely that you're either jerking on the bars, pushing through the bottom of the stroke, or moving your weight back when you start. Jerking on the bars has an obvious effect, so be smooth. Pushing through the bottom of the stroke sends your hips (and your center of mass) up, which can cause a hop. Moving your weight back at the start is what you do when you want to do a wheelie.

To correct it, think about the above, and do sprints on the road. Check out CDR's blog (browse the green headers) for some training and technique tips. I could recite some here, but he's covered it, and well.

With the warmup, you've got to find what works for you. Since you've got a power meter, you should practice different warmups for something like 1' or 5' intervals. See how the power moves around with different warmups.

It's really strange, I don't need much warmup at all, and a good warmup doesn't seem to matter. I have done great after a great 20' warmup, in which I set a 5" power record. I've also had great results with an 8' spin around the course at 10mph, talking to an earlier finisher cooling down (essentially no warmup that time).

So, I can't find what works for me, because everything does. One thing to note, is that every day I start my commute with an interval out of the driveway.

KendallF

Good job getting out there! Those cobblestones make for an interesting time; I did that race a couple of years ago and got caught behind a crash, never made it back, and eventually got pulled.

I am pretty sensitive to a warmup also. I experimented a bit and found that I need to do at least one or two efforts above threshold, long enough to get the legs pumped up and burning, before the race start. I do 2-3 minutes, then recover. This sucks and my legs feel heavy, and I feel old. However, this improves my race starts a bunch. You'll find what works for you, I'm sure.

bostongarden

All sounds good to me, well done!

aperez8264

Nicely done, next time keep your hands in the drops in the sprint. Big kudos on keeping your cool after being bumped, I've seen many riders go down after being bumped b/c they were not comfortable riding that close. Keep the enthusiasm and try to improve your sprint for the next race.

ridethecliche

It's weird. When I start out for a ride, I hit it hard to get my body warmed up. The last few times I've done this, all my ride records have been during this time. Whoops.

Good job, op!

I can't wait to post my first race report of the year on sunday!

AlexTaylor

Nice write up!
Smooth moves there with the bump too.
Looking forward to my first race in April...

seanmdo

There was some dude who basically tt'd off the front. He tried the same thing on Sunday but was pulled pack. Good job. Don't worry the 4s and 3s can be just as sketchy... One guy in the 3s on Sunday went down hard after some pushing then some intentional elbows ensued. The 3s ended up neutralized...then stopped for the medics to come onto the course. They donated the purse to the fallen riders expenses. Two riders were DQ'd and everyone warned that they would be banned for the year if they were caught purposefully putting their hands on a rider...

Good job saving the ride... I think the worst is having someone bump you then lock your handlebars up!

How about the headwind on the back straightaway... That sucked and threw a monkey wrench into my pre-race attack plan... Oh well. Keep getting out there... maybe at the Citrus Sports Classic on 3/15 (or whatever Sunday is that week).

Coyote2

Can you make your post a little longer?

grolby

Nice job! Regarding workouts, 30 seconds might be a bit short for the harder efforts. I've been on rides where for most of the ride I just feel heavy and slow, then I do a sprint effort for a townline or something, and suddenly my legs wake up and I can do 22 mph into the wind. Weird. I had trouble with warm ups last season, by the way, there's nothing unusual about it. Usually I end up groveling for a few laps before I feel somewhat human, then the race is on! I don't consider starting at the back of a crit to be a big deal, though I will admit that I am used to collegiate fields of ~40 riders, not much larger USAC fields.

Apus^2

Best way to get up to the front of the crit is line up early. Later on you will be able to develop the skills to get up there during the race.

Second Mouse

Good writeup VARacer--thanks! I can warm up for 45 minutes before a race and my legs still do the same as yours. Once I get past the "I wonder how much I could get for this bike" phase, things smooth out and it gets fun.

cmh

Longer warm up, shorter write up.

Good job in the race!

hocker

Great write-up, I look forward to the next one. You should be blogging this, just an idea. My first race is coming up, I am excited, nervous, etc.
I noticed that in group rides it takes me a while to get warmed up, more so than others, but once I am warmed up I can set the pace when others tire. Maybe we are all just different in terms of warming up. However, I am the least experienced rider in my group and maybe this has something to do with it.

dadof7

Great report! Keep em coming. Makes me want to race... in the snow... One of the reasons you may be starting slow is that a lot of people have leaky heart valves, and as you exercise 10 minutes or so it they start to seal up and the heart pumps more efficiently.. That's what mine does, had a lovely echo cardiogram to prove it. So warmup and get the heart rate up just before the race. I also do some short commuting, and have to rush out of ny garage(as i am always running late) this seems to help get conditioned to the dogged leg feeling. Anyway , glad to hear a report from another rising cat 5. Sounds like you did pretty well. Keep drafting.

Bob Dopolina 

Cat 5 races are short. Get a longer warm-up before you do you "jumps" then spin down, go pee, look at some pretty girls and stage early.

Keep your center of mass over the BB. Keep your head up when sprinting and look where you want to go, not at your front wheel.

Good job not trying to "handle" your bike and letting it stay upright.

queerpunk

Indeed. Bikes are (by and large) made to be self-stabilizing. I find that the worst bike handlers are those who are tense, anxious, and try very hard to (man)handle their bike when under duress (close quarters, bad terrain).

I've found that riding rollers has gone a long way toward making my upper body feel much more relaxed on the bike - I feel smoother and more stable than ever before.

shapelike

Ya, readin's for suckers.

queerpunk

It's not that... it's just that it's important not to waste space on the internet.

Bob Dopolina 

This is a solid piece of advice and a fundamental I see lacking even in experienced riders.

Stay loose, stay supple and stay on the gas. That will get you through bumps, pushes, around crashes and over the rough stuff.

The worst thing you can do is to try to steer your bike. It knows where to go.

A perfect example was my last race. I staged near the back and really wanted to be at the front before the end of the neutral. I knew the pace would jump from the gun and didn't want to get caught behind the split. I basically guttered my bike and hammered away: Pot holes, sewer grates, uneven concrete and a clear path to the front. I let the bike bounce around underneath me, took a few bumps from guys who thought they were already riding on the edge and was at the front chatting with a former tea mate before the neutral was over.

The OP already has a HUGE leg up on his piers because he has accepted the fact that rubbin's racin'.

queerpunk

^I think a lot of people are used to riding primarily on good terrain. I spend a lot of my time riding on the cobblestones of NYC's meatpacking district (not for fun). There are loose cobbles, big dips, sections unevenly filled with asphalt. This experience came in handy during my first cross race in the fall - I saw lot of people gingerly trying to find lines in a section full of ruts and roots, but keeping the weight back and letting the front end take care of itself while you control the bike with your hips and whole body is really the way to go.