Been a while, I know.
While suffering through another Thursday night offering, I finally experienced something I never had before. Something that I had heard of but never had the, uh how should I say, good fortune to not experience. Cramps. I have had the stomach cramp, I may have invented them. This was a muscular cramp that started in my left calve. I had to come off the front of our group (and dammit I was feeling good) and figure out what the hell was going on. As soon as the left leg felt ok the right calve acted up. I was able to hang in there until the top of the second to last hill when BOOM my left calve felt like it exploded. 10 times worse than before. It was enough for me to quit the ride and hobble home. It seems maybe I went to hard on one of the previous climbs and that may have led to the cramping. I hope I don't get visited by these nasty suckers again. I now understand the severity of them.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Mothballs wrap-up
Well, Mothballs has come and gone and this year I was finally able to race it. The first year I went out for the race my field had reached its limit. The second year I was sick. This year I pre-registered, then I got sick. I was able to get well enough to get a weeks worth of riding in and race in the CAT 5.
This being my first race on pavement, I was out there just trying to finish and not crash. Two goals I figured I could achieve. I have to say the field did not want me to achieve those goals. As expected, CAT 5 is a mix of good riders that don’t race very often and beginners that are strong but obviously don’t ride in a group on a regular basis. I counted at least 4 crashes and a slurry of other incidents.
The pace was high from the start and never did the field relax for a lap or two. My average speed was 26.1 mph, not slow. I started out on the outside so as to avoid any chaos of the first turn and I drifted towards the back of the pack and got my bearings. After 3 or 4 laps I decided to test myself and move up a bit. I ended up on the front for a lap but as we crossed the start/finish, my lack of endurance and training time caught up with me and I drifted back to the rear. I moved to the middle and stayed a while. About 20 minutes in I moved towards the front again as an attack was trying to take shape. I got back on the front for a lap and half and repeat my retreat to the rear. At this point I tried to rest a bit and draft to save some energy for the sprint.
When the 5 laps to go warning came I started trying to gain a portion of the field every lap to get into good position. By the final lap I was almost where I wanted to be, then a large crash on the back stretch split the field into 2. I narrowly avoid a bouncing bike and got on the gas to bridge to the lead group. Once there I rested as best I could for a moment and we came to the final turn. I had notice (and not liked) that people were coming into the turns tight, slamming on the brakes and then standing up to regain their momentum. I was sitting nicely on the outside and chose to swing very wide, carry more speed and gain more positions. This calculation worked and I moved from the back of the lead group to the middle. I made and initial sprint gaining more spots, rested a second and then made a final effort for the last 30 meters or so. The effort paid off with a 7th place finish and a 36 mph sprint.
Overall, I am very pleased with my result. I figured I was going out there to get my ass handed to me and in many ways I did. I know what I need to work on and I think I know how I am going to do it. I just have to get rid of this cough. Good show.
This being my first race on pavement, I was out there just trying to finish and not crash. Two goals I figured I could achieve. I have to say the field did not want me to achieve those goals. As expected, CAT 5 is a mix of good riders that don’t race very often and beginners that are strong but obviously don’t ride in a group on a regular basis. I counted at least 4 crashes and a slurry of other incidents.
The pace was high from the start and never did the field relax for a lap or two. My average speed was 26.1 mph, not slow. I started out on the outside so as to avoid any chaos of the first turn and I drifted towards the back of the pack and got my bearings. After 3 or 4 laps I decided to test myself and move up a bit. I ended up on the front for a lap but as we crossed the start/finish, my lack of endurance and training time caught up with me and I drifted back to the rear. I moved to the middle and stayed a while. About 20 minutes in I moved towards the front again as an attack was trying to take shape. I got back on the front for a lap and half and repeat my retreat to the rear. At this point I tried to rest a bit and draft to save some energy for the sprint.
When the 5 laps to go warning came I started trying to gain a portion of the field every lap to get into good position. By the final lap I was almost where I wanted to be, then a large crash on the back stretch split the field into 2. I narrowly avoid a bouncing bike and got on the gas to bridge to the lead group. Once there I rested as best I could for a moment and we came to the final turn. I had notice (and not liked) that people were coming into the turns tight, slamming on the brakes and then standing up to regain their momentum. I was sitting nicely on the outside and chose to swing very wide, carry more speed and gain more positions. This calculation worked and I moved from the back of the lead group to the middle. I made and initial sprint gaining more spots, rested a second and then made a final effort for the last 30 meters or so. The effort paid off with a 7th place finish and a 36 mph sprint.
Overall, I am very pleased with my result. I figured I was going out there to get my ass handed to me and in many ways I did. I know what I need to work on and I think I know how I am going to do it. I just have to get rid of this cough. Good show.
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