AzTallRider

Watts, watts... my kingdom for watts.

AzTallRider

I wasn't quite as smart in today's crit. It was more difficult to stay protected because of the wind angle on the course. The main straight was dead into the wind, with the start-finish towards the end. Everyone would be cranking on the straight, stretching out, and it was hard to stay tight. Always seemed like there was a little guy in front of me! There was a lot of switching around up front. A couple guys would go off, then settle back in. Someone would push it, then suddenly back off (probably saving himself for the next race), so it was hard to stay steady and sit in. I ended up unprotected quite a bit, including leading the pack to reel in a breakaway that had me worried since it was towards the end. But then the guys backed off, so I ended up burning a match for no reason. This race took more out of me, but I was there at the finish again, sprinting hard. I think I was fifth - a guy just barely caught me at the line - photo finish! LOL

What's good is that I'm now at the point where I'm thinking about these factors during the race. I might not make the right decision all the time, but at least it's a concious decision.

Hermes

AZ, you are becoming the shti that will kill them.

Allegheny Jet

Good job AzTallRider. We all make mistakes, it is hard to know which break is the right one.

Two weekends ago at the beginning of the 2nd of a 4 lap 47 mile race I pushed a hill and got in a break that only had 4 or 5 riders. We got reeled in after a mile and as soon as I was in the pack another break with 12 riders went off the front. By the time I got out and chased I was 50 meters behind and had to really go deep to bridge up to the escaping group. I did catch them after a huge effort but cold only ride with the break for 2 miles then had to let it go. I wasted a huge effort only to do another before I could reload and lost my chance of a high placement. In hind sight I should have looked at the number of riders in the first break attempt and the fact that only 2 of us were working and realized that with 35 miles to go the break was dead and not to waste any more effort. I had the horsepower to be a factor at the end in the 60 rider race but didn't get to use it.

Hermes

AZ and Wanders... get the watts from my wife. She has them to spare. https://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=6050 She is at the top of the list.

Allegheny Jet

My weekend race report. I raced the cat3/4 Mid Ohio Grand Prix on the 2.6 mile Mid Ohio Sports Car Course last Saturday. The circuit race is on an amazing venue. It was clear, windy and a cold 29 degrees during the race. I believe we had 32 riders in the race. I should have had a great race as I was on recovery week but I caught a head cold and hoped that it would go away once I was warmed up and the race started. From the get-go I had to push myself just to ride in the field. At the same time we raced the Masters 40+ race and women's races were held. Ours started first followed in 3 minutes by the 40+ race then the women's.

I struggled to ride near the front of the field but did well riding up the long hill then struggled riding down the hill into the wind, I just couldn't recover. On the 4 lap we dropped 1/2 the field going up the hill and I hoped the pace would fall off a little but it did not. I held on with the lead group until the beginning of the 7th lap and had to let them go. As the pack got smaller there was no where to hide from the wind. As luck would have it over the next two laps the front group stayed about 200 meters in front and I could see the guys sitting up and taking drinks. Hell I even could see them coasting down the hill that we all killed ourselves on a few laps earlier. I was determined to get a good workout for the remaining laps and to stay ahead of the chase group and the 40+ race. On the last lap I passed the women's race going up the hill and started to lap some riders from my race and catch some spent riders from the 40+ race. I ended up 14th in my race and didn't get caught by the chase group, if there was one, or by the 40+ race. I finished about 5 minutes behind the winner and about 3 minutes behind finishers #3-13. I know that staying with the lead group should not have been a problem but the head cold had me drained of energy. If I could only have done the race today now that I'm feeling strong and fresh again. I had one of those workouts tonight that was just WOW!!!

Hermes

I love the mid-Ohio race course and venue. Great race even when sick but I will skip the 29 degrees.

wanders

I remember reading about both you and your wife racing. That's great.

My first race of the season was last week. 3/4 Tuesday nighter. I was sitting comfortably at the back of the field when I noticed the guy in front of me had let a gap open up(read:me not paying attention) I had to burn a match to go around him and close it. At the time I didn't realize I had dragged the guy back up with me so 2 or 3 laps later, I saw the same guy, same gap and me watching the field surge away. I tried to bridge back to them but didn't have it that time. I soloed for about 6 laps before I was caught by the break. I rejoined the field and cursed myself for not paying attention. At one point I caught myself not pedaling. I was just watching what was going on at the front of the field. Another gap had to be closed. I can't train away stupid. I'm going to have it flogged out of me.

AzTallRider

I had my pre-race strategy call with Coach yesterday, and when I told her about the "Bicycle Bungee", and that the watt-rich Allegheny Jet had been offered up (not by himself, but by someone else) as a source of assistance, we developed this race plan:


Section..Description...............Length...Strategy
...A.....0.1% downhill...............16.....A-Jet provides "friendly wheel"
............................................Communicate to keep AZ HR out of
........................................... the danger zone. Bank avg speed.
............................................Preserve matches

...B.....0.3% avg increasing grade...16.....Protect AZ as the pack thins

...C.....+1.7% grade..................6.....Attach Jet-Assist Bungee!
............................................Maintain 24mph+ Pull!

...D.....-1% grade....................6.....Detach bungee.
............................................Lead AZ down the hill at 40+.
............................................Pass everyone.

...E.....+1% grade....................9.....Re-attach Jet-Assist bungee.
............................................Drag my butt up the incline!

...F.....-2.7% twisting downhill......6.....Detach bungee.
............................................Fly down the hill as I rest
............................................in the draft and eat!

...G.....+1.6% grade..................6.....Re-Attach bungee for final climb
............................................Dig deep to preserve position
............................................and keep me fresh!

...H.....-1% grade....................9.....Blast to the finish.
............................................Pass anyone who kept up
............................................A-Jet of course pulls aside after
............................................leading me out in the sprint,
............................................enabling me to finish in the classic
............................................two arms in the air pose!

Hermes

I would not beat yourself up too much. Gap management is not easy and a lot has to do with position in the peloton and whose wheel you are on. And it is tough to know who the good wheels are.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at a structured training session at the LA Velodrome. I was in a long pace line with a supervisor calling out levels of effort. So the line would accelerate on higher efforts. My wife was a couple of wheels ahead. She was all over the place. The guy behind her got frustrated and pulled out. I thought, I am married to her so I will get on her wheel. Now my wife is a good wheel if she is off the front or following a good wheels. If she is following an okay or bad wheel, she amplifies whatever is bad about the person in front and makes it more difficult. The other problem was we were going fast 27 mph with accelerations into the 30s which is faster than she is used to doing.

So on the accelerations, she would gap and then close with a burst. Well, she is 5' 4" and rides with a flat back and perfectly aero and is a terrible draft. So once she gaps, I lose whatever benefit I get from the other riders and then she accelerates hard.

Besides a telling a story... what is the point? Racers want the perfect wheel. The guy who was frustrated with her pulled back. I took the spot and used the difficulty to increase the effectiveness of the workout and practice gap management.

My suggestion is to look for ways to practice killing the first few pedal strokes. The first 3 to 4 pedal strokes of an acceleration are critical. If you can kill those with a lot of power, you use the ATP - CP system and do not go anaerobic. If you accelerate slowly, it takes too much time to close the gap and you burn a match.

Allegheny Jet

Quite possibly a good idea, however, I really struggled in Saturday's race riding down hill and might be off the back by the next time you looked to re-attach. I may even speak to my coach as to why I am sucking riding down hill @ 188 lbs.

AzTallRider

That's okay, Jet. I have total confidence in your ability to drag me back to the lead, with the bungee, if we fall off the downhill pace.

AzTallRider

Sarah Hammer's track bike

Does she have the right name or what?

Hermes

Here is her Omnium win at Manchester. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oelmtosa5oY Watch her go to the front and count the laps she holds the lead and no one can come around. She is a monster. She is riding the Felt with a disc / penti spoke front wheel. She just won the Elite World Championship in the 3K Pursuit for the 2nd year in a row.

AzTallRider

Nice clip. Everyone that left the draft to challenge couldn't hold her pace without protection. Monster indeed.

sarals 

Indeed! What is like to be a gifted athlete, much less an average athlete? I'll never know, but it's fun to watch none the less.

jppe

My word!! I need to see if she will come do one of our TT's at the Speedway.

Hermes

My wife and I went for a one hour training ride. She was on the TT bike and I was on the road bike. She is racing an ITT Saturday, so she wanted an z2 effort on flat to rolling terrain in the aerobars. I was on the road bike and rode on the hoods. She was holding about 120 watts and I had to hold about 180 - 200 watts to stay on her wheel (six inches away) even on the slight down hill. Power jumps around but I would estimate the spread about 80 watts. If I am on my TT bike in the aero position the spread is about 40 watts on the flats but jumps to 100 watts on the climbs.

AzTallRider

The two of you are both so efficient, it's amazing. I'm not sure I can even move the bike at her 120 watts! Shows us what's possible. Of the three of us that post here most, I categorize us like this:

Hermes - Mr. Aero E. Technique (The E. is for efficient, not Enrique, not matter how much the wife wants it to be). The guy that isn't even breathing hard as he rides away.
A'Jet - The Pure Power athlete. You want his wheel, even if you know you won't hold it.
AZ - The guy who doesn't even -look- like a cyclist.

AzTallRider

Since I haven't seen A'Jet in the list of registered riders, I'm going to have to go with Plan B tomorrow:

Section..Description...............Length...Strategy

...A.....0.1% downhill...............16.....Bank fast miles. Stay protected.
............................................Work towards front if easy to do.
........................................... Should be able to hang with group.
............................................Relax - Breathe deep and easy.

...B.....0.3% avg increasing grade...16.....Do NOT burn matches!
............................................Find group that keeps HR<z5

...C.....+1.7% grade..................6.....Okay to drift back. Save matches
............................................for final climb to to Fntn Hills

...D.....-1% grade....................6.....Close if possible, but don't
............................................burn matches. Find wheels for
............................................Beeline section

...E.....+1% grade....................9.....Drift back. Save matches.
............................................Find a good working pace group.

...F.....-2.7% twisting downhill......6.....Close if possible. Nourish.
............................................Find wheels for next climb.

...G.....+1.6% grade..................6.....Dig deep even if off Plat. pace
............................................HTFU and Push hard!

...H.....-1% grade....................9.....Find wheels that have something left.
............................................Finish strong! It's not over until you
............................................cross the line!

Hermes

But you can slam dunk!

Hermes

AZT, For me, in competitive situations, mental focus and hormones trump what one was able to do in training. Last year, I did a stage race that featured a TT and circuit race on Saturday and a 70 road race with wind and some climbs and very rough road on Sunday. On lap one of the road race, I was with the lead pack and everything was possible. I was hitting power numbers that normally would have been a problem. On lap two, we did a short steep climb that was one of those 600 watt affairs and I was toward the back because we had led up to the climb on a straight section of road with the wind at our back so the field strung out.

Once to the top there was a downhill section that we were told specifically to take it easy due to gravel and rough road. I lost a little focus and as I finished the downhill the front of the field accelerated, strung out, went to the gutter in a strong cross wind. I got gapped and it was impossible to close. I made the mistake of using all I had to catch them resulting in pulling a couple of guys behind me who could then pass me and go on. I was all alone and then NOTHING was possible. 150 watts seemed like an effort.

Free you mind from the limits of training. Trust your fitness. You will have a lot more in the tank than you think. You are as good as these guys! Monitor your breathing and if you get gaspy, then it is time to think about backing off.

If you get gapped, do not do what I did. Know you are gapped and take stock of your resources. Who is behind you? Do not try to give chase unless you are absolutely know you can catch them.

Having said all that, it is also a good idea to negatively split a long timed event and try to find a group to ride with that will task you without blowing you up on the first 1/3 or the race.

Good luck and have a great race.

Ahab

I am not a frequent poster, but let me add
Ahab: FOGBEE-commuter guy, in over his head, but going to race anyway (dagnabit!)

The weather for tomorrow's race should be almost perfect, sunny, high 40's to low 50's at race time warming to low 60's later in the day. The cat 5 race is almost full with 45 registered riders (field limit is 50).

Goals for race tomorrow:
1. rubber side down, skin side up
2. rubber side down, skin side up
...
99. rubber side down, skin side up
100. have fun
101. finish
102. finish with main group
103. finish with teammates (there are three of us from the same team in the cat 5 race) and have something left to contribute to team at finish.

AzTallRider

I got to the line before 4:30 for the 6:15 start, and was in row 2 of Gold. There were ~1,250 riders. I ate my sandwich about 5:15. I had ultimately decided to put my Sustained Energy in my Camelbak, and that worked great. I was able to fuel and drink consistently. Neither hydration, nor fuel, nor electrolytes, were ever a concern. I ended the race with almost a full bottle of water, and some of the SE solution.

I sifted through people after the start to where I found some decent wheels. It's surprising how many people can go fairly fast, without having good group skills. I think I just described what I was like not long ago! The skills training and crit series helped me quite a bit. Without them, I would have gone down twice.

Racing the crits has redefined "gap" for me, and I was pretty aggressive moving up if the rider in front of me left more than about half a length. You don't get the real benefit of the big group draft if there are gaps in between the riders. And of course the further up I moved, the closer folks kept it. I stayed in the drops for pretty much the whole flat section, and was able to conserve energy well. Too well, in fact. We were trucking along in the mid-twenties. My HR was sometimes in zone 2! Avg speed up to Hayden (very slightly downhill) was 28.62. Avg up Hayden was only 24.77. In other words, when it got even a tiny bit tough, the pack took it easy. While that was fine for people who knew they'd be with the pack the whole way, it was NOT good for me. I needed to bank fast miles for when I knew I'd slow, and it wasn't happening. I worked up a bit more approaching Shea.

That's when the first near miss occured, on the sharp right onto Mountain View, where there is an island after the turn. They had warned us about that, but not everyone remembered, or maybe some didn't attend the orientation. In any event, it put a major squeeze on everyone. I had moved towards the inside, thankfully, but there was a squeeze from that side too, and someone bumped me from the right just as a rider went down against the island on the left. I found a spot ( I had allowed a little space in front of me), and squeezed past.. slowed but not stopped. Lost some time, but got it back.

On Shea, where people normally start putting the hurt on, it didn't happen, and I started to worry. The average up Shea, before that hard rise at the end, was only 20.83! Plus, for the whole race up to that point, there had been these stupid surges at the stop lights. Either the lead motorcycle, or the leaders themselves, would slow approaching the intersections. "Slowing" would ripple through the pack, causing havoc. I got so, as soon as I heard that word, I'd start pumping harder instead of slowing. Seemed to work better. due to the delayed responses. At one point, I asked those around me:

"What's with the pace? It'll make platinum tough."
"Platinum is a cinch," was the reply, "we'll finish in 2:44."
Yeah, a cinch if you can stick with the pack on the climbs! That's what I was thinking. What I said was:
"Yeah, but at 200 pounds, I'm no mountain goat."
"Maybe you should go up and push the pace then?"
"Ahhhh... no. My coach would kill me."

I knew trying to push the pace wouldn't work, and I also knew the pace would cause me problems.

That's when the second near miss occured, and I'm sure it was due to one of those silly surges. Someone went down in the middle of the pack, causing the usual chain reaction. I was in the second line from the left (we had two full car lanes). As riders squeezed to the left to avoid the crashes, a guy hit the island just to my front left. I grabbed the brakes hard, coming to a complete, unclipped stop before once again squeezing past. I had to work back to the group, and it wasn't a good time for that, as we were only a few minutes from the steep section, and I wasn't near the front, where I needed to be. My one mental error is that I should have been further up approaching the short steep section. I didn't execute my plan fully.

I climbed the steep Shea section at a 13.34 avg, cresting close to the now splintering lead pack, but not close enough. They were gone down the hill. On the downhill, what became "Group 2" formed up, and we headed up Beeline. Group 2's are always well off the pace of Group 1's... sigh. A couple of us tried to get a rotation started to get the pace up, but not enough of us "got it." I did the Beeline uphill at 18.73, but crested a little behind the group. I just didn't push hard enough for the crest right at the end. I expected to be able to close, but once again, they were gone. I tried to bridge up, but couldn't do it. Turned out not to matter, from a platinum standpoint (pretty sure anyway, based on how many finished ahead of me but not within the 3:05), it just bruised my ego to see them up ahead on the downhill, getting further away.

I was shocked when I heard, at the bottom of the hill, someone cheering me! I didn't see who it was, but it turned out to be another "Gorilla" coached athlete that sometimes races the weeknight crits.

Climbing out of Saguaro up to the Usury turn, some people formed up, and again I handled the shallower grade pretty well. But when we turned onto Usury, I dropped back seriously. I averaged only 10.51 going up Usury - I was panting like crazy, and tried hard to dig deep. It's likely I had already lost platinum by then. After the climb, it was one other guy and me, and he was cramping and couldn't share the pull. Fortunately, a tandem came by and we followed them back to the finish at a decent pace. But too little, too late from a platinum perspective.

Hermes, you are right about the mental part of it. I did far more than I've done in training by a couple of mph's, and my one mental lapse was probably the single biggest factor working against me.

Assessment: My one significant mental error was not pushing harder to get to the front before the steep part of Shea. Other than that, I think I made good decisions and reacted well. The rest of it was physical limitations. I need more weeks of good training. I need to climb better, particularly on what are (for the Phoenix area, anyway) the steeper sections.

There were 8 riders, my age or older, who finished ahead of me. 6 of those were platinum. I finished 9 minutes after the platinum cutoff; at .821 mph less than I needed to average.

I get to try again in two weeks in Tucson. Same distance, but much flatter.

Hermes

AZT, Great race and result. You managed a couple of difficult situations. In addition to having a great race, your effort will result in a bump in fitness.