shovelhd

Is that a PR result for you LAJ? No matter what, great work.

BTW the 2016 peppers are ground and some will be coming your way.

LAJ

Thank you, @shovelhd. Best ever result.

Awesome on the peppers! Looking forward to them, and thank you in advance.

YogaKat

Your cheerleader and fangirl here.

Great work to all on the recent races! I really enjoy reading the post race reports.

Cleave

@valygrl and @LAJ, I guess yesterday was TT day. Nice work both of you.

I am terrible making U-turns on my TT bike. I don't put a foot down but I slow down a lot. I can turn it OK on most other turns.

Purposeful tacks in the road is not OK.

IBOHUNT

Doubled up today.
M5 and W4 - I was mentoring a new team mate on this crit garbage; her first race. Managed to keep her safe and she finished 2nd of 4 ladies. TSS 66
M1-5 - Spat off the back after lap 2. Rode around for dead last. I'm not made for .8 mile laps that have 80' gain. Who in their right mind makes crits that gain 100'/mile. TSS 83

shovelhd

CDR does.

sarals 

I got home from the Madera SR about two hours ago. Just catching up. I had some NCNCA posts to make, and I have a report to write for the Committee. Then, I'll write what will be short race report. The nutshell? I finished, the whole thing. I wasn't last. I did get dropped. In the crit and in the road race. My TT was slow. I'm a horrible human being.

shovelhd

Horrible.

sarals 

I'll say!!! Terrific job, Heathie!! Hey, B4T9 could have used you in the stage race ITT this past weekend!

sarals 

Heathpack 

Do you know who was out there today for B4T9?

IBOHUNT

Just flat wrong..

See what I done there?

valygrl

There's a picture of a dude who fell in the u-turn in one of the photo galleries from the race. bummer.

sarals 

I do - I'll email you.

sarals 

LAJ - +1!!! GREAT racing!!!

sarals 

Madera Stage Race, MW 35+, March 5 and 6, 2016; 14th of 19 on GC (Unofficial)

This was my third "attempt" at this tough early season stage race. The race was targeted as the season opener for the new NCNCA Master's Women 55+ Series, and I HAD to attend. It was a two day race, held Saturday and Sunday. The crit and TT were Saturday, the road race was Sunday. I had one teammate in the race, Yvonne, and my plan was to help her when I could. Seeing as how she is an elite rider, very strong, and a TT specialist, my best bet was to keep her entertained! My plan for the stage race overall was to finish. I've never finished the road race portion. This year I was determined to. Right now, I am down on power, too light, and I have come off of a week and half of a nasty bug. However, I felt good, but not strong. I was confident I could stay in in the crit, put in a decent TT, and gut it out in the road race.

Day One, Stage One - Chowchilla Criterium

The race was held on a flat .9 mile triangular loop featuring good pavement on wide streets. There were two right/left/right "chicanes", and following a 100 degree right turn, a long downwind finish straight. The course was damp, there was no rain during the race. The wind was 15 MPH out of the south, blowing in our faces in the chicane section. The field was combined Cat 3/4 - 35+, and was 28 strong. In the pack were some former National Champs, a Race Across America specialist, and lots of other major horsepower. I was concerned about the combined field, although the 35+ had the overwhelming numbers. I had a good idea I wouldn't be able to catch or stay in any break attempt, about the only thing I could do on the front would be to control the pace. I decided to avoid the front because of the wind and stay sheltered, and then see what developed for the sprint finish. Given the size of the field, I felt that would be a good plan.

I lined up on the front row, and rolled off at the whistle. And missed the clip in! I had to chase only a little, but I ended up at the rear of the pack, which was where I did not want to be. I rode the first lap getting a feel for the course and for the pack, trying to avoid the inside of the turns. The pack skills were SOLID, among the best I have ever experienced. The first lap was fast, around 24 MPH, because two of the 35+ women had attacked (a dangerous attack, they were very capable of staying away), and field had chased them down. I spent the next three laps trying to improve my position, but for some reason, I have been wary and hesitant as of late, and I missed opportunities to move up because of caution. Those three laps were as fast as the first lap, the pace was absolutely blistering. I was not having issues with the speeds, but I needed to move up to ensure I'd stay in.

Lap five was a prime lap. We hit the right hand turn onto the finish straight at 24 MPH. I was on the left side of the group, somewhat sheltered. Those of us tailgunning came OTS and were sprinting to stay on, the riders on the front had really gone for it on that prime sprint. I started to get gapped, and by the time we got to the right hand turn at the end of the straight, I was off the back - and going 30 MPH! Folks, at my current level of fitness, that's a speed I cannot sustain on my own. I was chasing at that speed trying to catch the pack, and they pulled away, going probably 31 - 32 MPH. Fast!!

I soloed for a while, and did get back in for a lap and half when the pack lapped me. I couldn't stay in, though, because I was tired, the headwind had worn me down. I needed to finish to move on to the next stage, and so I stayed at it. And finished.

Stage Two - Madera Individual Time Trial

The next stage was the individual time trial. My start time was 1:28 PM, towards the back of the group (alphabetical). I had time after the crit to cool down, recover, change into my speed suit, and make sure the TT bike was prepped.

The course is a ten mile "square" in nut orchards, flat, and on VERY bad pavement. The weather conditions had deteriorated, with light spitting rain, and the winds were high, south at 20 - 25 MPH. There would be a right quartering cross wind on the first leg, then a left cross wind on the second leg. The third and fourth legs would have an effective tailwind. Most people opted to run without disks and use shallow profile front wheels. I did the same.

I did an easy warmup, mindful of how my legs felt. I had hydrated and refueled according to plan, and I actually felt okay. Tired, for sure, but I believed I could put in a decent TT effort. I rolled off with two riders behind me, my teammate and a JL Velo rider, who was as good a TT'er as my teammie. I expected them to pass me, and they did, the first at 6 minutes and the second at 7 minutes. Okay, then. I had gone off a little bit hard, I hadn't ridden a TT since August and I needed to settle down and THINK. Because of the rain hitting my face (I had removed my visor and wasn't wearing eyewear), I couldn't read my power number on the Garmin, so I went by RPE. I was under on power, going slow, and my cadence was low. Every time I'd build my cadence to where it needed to be, I'd hit a rough patch of road or a pothole and I'd get all out of sorts. There were far more rough patches than smooth, so I had a challenge staying in rhythm. My speed was low because of the relentless headwind, but the good part was that wind was steady, not gusting, so other than the rough pavement, I was able to hold a fairly even effort against the wind.

On the tailwind legs, I was able to up my speed to the low 20's. I knew I was tired, I should have been closer to 30 MPH than 20 in those conditions. Still, I was working hard, and I was staying aero and staying consistent. At the 2K sign, I ramped my effort. At the 1K sign, I really ramped my effort, and stayed in it to the line. I hit the line at 35 minutes, 3 minutes slower than my previous best on that course.

The wind had affected me, as had the rough road, but those conditions had affected other riders, too. I was pleased overall with my effort, even though I was clearly down on power from my peaks of last season. Even so, my mechanics were good, solid even, and I was comfortable as could be on my TT bike.

Day Two, Stage Three - Daulton Road Race

The Daulton Road Race was the closing event for the Madera Stage Race. It was held on a 17 mile loop in rolling country side. The road surface ranges from good to horrible, and there is a set of good sized rollers on the finishing section, with the finish line on top of the fourth one. The feed zone followed that on a steep section. The front section was on a highway with good pavement and a decent shoulder. The weather was predicted to be bad, with thundershowers and rain, but the day dawned clear and the conditions for the race were good, with a dry road surface and light winds.

I was riding my Venge, I did not bring my Look to the race this year. The Look is a "softer" bike than the Venge (by a lot), but it is heavier. I decided to go for lighter weight and chance the stiff ride. I was using my Mavic Cosmic wheelset with my IRC tubeless tires, which are a soft combination. I hoped those wheels would offset the inherent stiffness of the Venge's frame.

I did a short warmup on the road, and then joined the group for the promenade. The cat 4's were separated, and started later, because they were only doing two laps as opposed to our three. We had 51 miles to cover. The one mile promenade was fast, too fast, 18 MPH! At the top of the climb to start, my right leg started to cramp, and then went into full lock and I went out the back in a shot. It couldn't have happened in a worse place! The pack made the left turn to the start and they took off, one of the phenoms on the front dictating the pace. I shook out the cramp (luckily I was able to keep moving), and then set about trying to bridge. I overtook a B4T9 women who had gotten shelled off the back, and we worked together through the front straight, over the "pave" section, and to the rollers. I dropped her at the rollers, which was NOT my plan (I wanted someone, anyone, to work with!). So, I decided to take the race one lap at a time, gauging how I felt, pacing, not getting silly and using too much energy, hydrating, and making sure I had nutrition. I did NOT want to bonk!

My last lap was quite slow, I was very tired after being out there alone for forty miles. The pave section was so difficult this time around, my lower back, shoulders and wrists had had enough of the pounding, but when I got to that section I had only eight miles to go - and that thought kept me distracted and in the game. Just prior to the rollers, the B4T9 rider I had lost earlier caught up to me. I was surprised (and proud of her) that she was still in it (she had told me this was her fourth race ever - you, GO girl!!). But, this was a race, and dammit, I wasn't going to be LAST. I threw down what I had left, powered over those four rollers, and finished ahead of the B4T9 rider. Totally. Destroyed. But happy about it!

I had finished this tough race. I'm encouraged. I'm down on power, fitness, but I did it. This was a great training exercise, and I believe I can get back to last year's level of fitness and strength.

Heathpack 

Nice chops, @sarals.

sarals 

Whew. I feel them today! Fact is, right now I can't play with the elite 55+ women at all. I was close, very close, last season, but this year. No. Not yet, anyway. I don't know how you managed to diet and not loose strength, it didn't work that way for me. I'm just plain puny right now.

And a horrible human being!

Racer Ex 

Nice racing everybody!

shovelhd

Horrible!

sarals 

+1 !!

LAJ

Tough day, @sarals! Way to tough it out.

sarals 

I get the Hard Head Award!!!

Thanks, LAJ!

revchuck 

Sara - I've been busy but wanted to throw some belated kudos your way for that race. I know how it is off the back, and you kept at it. That'll pay off down the road.

globecanvas

Semi-repeating a race report from the 33, but with some masters-relevant training stuff.


One race weekend (and 2 races) into my first season of lower-volume higher-intensity training. Hours are down 40% over last spring, but CTL is only down 20% due to more intensity. CTL is about 60 on about 6 hours a week, both numbers feel desperately low to me.

The first race yesterday, Branchbrook 45+, went fine, finished 8th out of a big field, but realistically the podium was out of reach because I left it to the last 200m and there were a few guys there I'm just not going to come around (including gsteinb) no matter how fit I am, so i can't blame that on the CTL.

The second race was Grant's Tomb 40+ which, if I had done it before, I would not have done as the second race of the day. Technical course with an uphill finish really should have suited me. This race was much harder than the earlier one (almost the highest NP I've ever seen in a race) and despite being well positioned at the last turn, I just ran out of gas in the finish and sat up.

Based on these two data points, I think I am undertrained, but not outrageously so. I don't think I can increase intensity any more without increasing hours, but I'm hopeful that squeezing another training hour into the week can get me where I need to be.