Tuesday Track Points Racing 8/12

Teammates: Mateo in Bs. Liam and Cathy in Cs. 

Not the best way to start the night: I forgot my bike shoes in my car when we switched to carpooling down in Cathy's. I borrowed some old-style caged pedals and rode with my street shoes. The position was off and I couldn't apply power all the way around, but at least I was riding rather than watching. 

Good sized crowd. More than 20 Bs for the first race. I quickly figured out that I wasn't comfortable revving it way up for the sprints or even for the surges. I was basically a non-factor until I went with Tim Bisson in a break after sprint 3. We were off the front for 5 laps working well together and had a 30-50m gap before the bell, but that's not that much when the pack sprints in the final 200m. We got caught in the final 50m. Tim had surged and held on for 2nd or 3rd, while I narrowly lost out for 5th. 

Second race was twice as long. There weren't many As, so Larry told us before our first race that we might want to save something because he was going to put us in an 84 lap combined race (14 sprints) . The As raced twice in a row, which may have dulled the edge slightly. The race was fast for the full 40 minutes (but slower than our first Bs race on average: 26.5mph vs. 27.5mph). 

Since I figured I could hang with the tempo but not the sprints, my plan was to mark the As and hang on to strong wheels, staying with the leaders but not surging more than I had to unless I thought I had a chance at better than 5th in a sprint. I picked up a third early on by going with a move at the bell and was on the lookout throughout the race for other early moves where gaps and other factors conspired to give me a chance. Had a couple near misses. Learned a fair bit watching how the As grabbed wheels and made their attacks. 

The race splintered pretty quickly (from 26 starters). Plenty of guys pulled out, but other who'd got dropped stayed in, making it hard to tell who was lapped. It seemed to me that maybe only 10 or so were even on laps, and another handful was down a lap. After sitting in a lot early on, I started working here and there during attacks in the 3-to-go and 2-to-go laps for the last 5-6 sprints, trying to help get gaps to stick. I made a solo move with 500m on one prime, since time seemed to be running out. I got a good gap but was caught in the last 50m. Was happy to grab back on with the leaders after that effort and sit in for the rest. 

Great training and a good learning experience. 


Data: http://www.trainingpeaks.com/tny.aspx?a=sw&key=HHistskDS7enQ0tvMu46Q5T2hkAdjqKo

Carrera de San Rafael and Esparto TT

Carrera de San Rafael (downtown criterium 8/9, 4:20pm)


Course: 0.55mi 4-corner loop that was slightly different than last year (shifted one block west). The start/finish stretch was a long incline of varying gradient (probably 1-3%), with the incline continuing past turn 1 onto the short  and cresting shortly after turn 2. So nearly 2/3s of the course was uphill. In 40 minutes, we did 30 laps. 25 mph average. 80 starters

Full data: http://www.trainingpeaks.com/tny.aspx?a=sw&key=HHistskDS7d3woNEakogS30St5ARUiYu

Teammates: Jake and Jeff. 


Fast race on a fun, safe course. The women raced ahead of us said it was hard and tough to find time to recover. That sounded like a good thing, since I've been doing better in the crits that get strung out. Got an OK start from the second row to get into the first third of the 80-strong field. The pace was blistering from the second lap through the first 15 minutes or so. As strung out as we were, I couldn't really see the front, but it sounds like there were a couple breaks off the front, keeping the pack motivated. 

For that first 15 minutes, I really couldn't believe how hard we were going and was wondering if I was having a bad day, since I wasn't moving up at all. Even though I was feeling fresh, I certainly wasn't having a good day, in large part since I'd eaten a bit too much (big bowl of granola) after my easy noon ride. I chalk it up to not being used to racing in the afternoon. As hard as it was, I could feel the pack splintering behind me and was attentive to get around riders getting gapped. I figured the pace couldn't stay that high for long. 

But it did stay fast. In the middle of the race, whenever the pack started slowing down a bit at the top of the main incline, guys would move up around the outside, lifting the pace. Halfway through, I got in a good rhythm of moving up here and found better lines so I stopped touching my brakes into turns 3 and 4. With no brakes, those turns were fun. And heading out of turn 4 with max speed, the start of the climb was a lot easier. For a few laps, I got in the top 10, but mostly I was around 20 back. I felt like I was trading a little position for recovery on the backstretch, where it was also possible to move up, but a bit more work given the high speeds. When I did move up here, it was mostly to go around the outside of guys who were hitting the brakes. The outside line wasn't faster, but it felt safer. (But best was the line when I was in 10th wheel and we were single file.)

With 6 to go, the field had really thinned out. I had pretty good position and was starting to think of the finale. Jake came up with around 4 to go and we exchanged words. Then the next time around, I got caught in a big rut near the gutter on the outside entering turn 3, trying to pass a guy. Wobbled a bit and lost a few places and a lot of speed. Shortly after that, on the next climb, a guy three bikes up let a gap open and it got pretty big by the time I noticed. Jake and I went around and he worked to try to bridge us up, but it was the last 2 laps and the pace surged up. He did a great job just keeping us even. I didn't have enough to come around. Still we had some fun sprinting out the end. It was tougher than I expected to make up places on the hill and I didn't quite come around the guy between Jake and I, losing that personal battle by less than a half a wheel. 

After the line, I was wasted and had that maxed-out-and-ready-to-puke feeling. I haven't felt that wasted after a race since Cat's Hill. The power data showed this as about as hard as Napa (where I was at and off the front, not just trying to hold on), but not as hard as Cat's Hill (where I was off the back). But the heart rate monitor was off the chart, showing me spending 38 minutes in zone 5, 23m in VO2max range (5bpm above LT). I don't quite believe that (and wasn't breathing that hard except in a few places), so my LT rate may have moved up a couple beats, as I haven't had a reliable field test for a little while. 

Talking to the leaders after the race (Joakim from Kovarus who got 2nd, Sam Wilson, Maurice), most agreed it was real hard. Glad it wasn't just me. Scott Penzarella won again (he bagged Timpani last Sunday). 


Result: 27th. Jake got 25th. (of 80)




Esparto Individual Time Trial (8/10; 30min north of Davis, 8:51 start time)


Course: 18.4 mile dog leg. The start was into the wind (and no start ramp) for a couple miles, then a 90-degree right turn with a cross wind, over an overpass, gently curving right to get a slight cross-tailwind, then sharp rollers into the 180-turnaround and back into the cross-headwind. We hit the finish before turning back towards the start, so never got a full tailwind.

Results: http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/2751403434/sizes/l/in/set-72157606653839110/

Full data: http://www.trainingpeaks.com/tny.aspx?a=sw&key=HHistskDS7eJmeaKCN%2FJK5pnnDSx70a5


I've been looking forward to this individual time trial quite a bit. Not only is a ITT a nice change of pace, but it's a good fitness test, comparable from year-to-year and across categories. A flat time trial is certainly different from a hillclimb like I did at Mt. Diablo, using different muscles and really rewarding a good aero position and equipment. Since the regional stage races all seem to have flat to rolling ITTs as a deciding factor, I figure now's a good time to start learning the aero position and the pacing strategies I'd need to do well. If I learned one thing today, it's that time trialing really is it's own discipline and there's a lot to learn. 

No Mice were up for going out to Esparto (not that I could blame them, since I had to skip out of the San Rafael party early to get some sleep), I drove out with Tim Fehon (Aussie Cat 4, unattached). The general event start was scheduled for 8am, but Cat 4s started after 8:40, so we got there a bit early, which was OK. Plenty of time for a warm up to work out the kinks from the previous day. The legs were feeling a bit stiff, but not tired, a tribute to getting an afterrace massage from Paul at San Rafael and having taken the week easy, except for Tuesday track racing. 

I got a nasty start, crunching and skipping my gear (either a 53x21 or 53x19, can't remember) and hitting my right knee on the bar before getting going. Then I sprinted up to speed pretty quick and eased back off into what I thought my sustainable power range would be. I'd planned to do negative splits, doing 270-280W early on and finishing 290-300W. I was expecting to turn in lower power numbers than Mt. Diablo, as it's somehow easier to put out big power on the hills.

My splits show that it didn't go to plan:

1/3 split; 6mi: 
15m 22
290W norm power
161bpm
23.4 mph avg

2/3 split; 6mi:
15m 28
273W norm power
163bpm
23.3 mph avg

3/3 split; 6.4mi:
17m 03 (16:00 for 6mi)
261W norm power
164bpm
22.7 mph avg

I got passed by the starters one behind me, plus another guy who probably started further back. The first (Jared Prince, who won Cat 4s) around 5mi in, the second just before the turnaround (at 10.5mi). I passed two guys, but took little consolation, since they were really slow and one of them didn't even have clip-on bars. I used both guys passing me as carrots for a while, but Jared Prince was really hauling, requiring me to do 310-320W or so to keep up. I didn't do that long for fear of blowing up. The second guy didn't come by that much faster. It seemed like I was gaining ground on him up the rollers, then losing it on the downhills. 

In general, I think I lost a lot of speed on the downhill sections by not getting up to speed quickly enough and not continuing to push as much power. I found it harder to keep applying power on the downhill, even when I was consciously trying. A lot of the problem was that the legs weren't there in the second half. Since I was on my road bike and clip-on bars (with the stem dropped a bit), the position wasn't the extreme aero tuck that I saw on the fast guys, but it was still different enough to use the muscles a bit differently than usual. I felt I was being pretty conservative even early on, and it never felt that hard, but I was definitely getting tired by mile 12. My right hip got pretty tight, not quite threatening to cramp. Need more training. 

After the ride, I was surprised to see the slow 3rd split since at the time I thought I was going pretty hard. At least I did pick the pace up for the last mile, averaging 25mph and 280W. 

Tim put a solid ride in, beating me by 43 seconds for 5th. He had a real aero tuck on his TT-specific bike. He's done a few ITTs in his time, including one a couple weeks ago at the Cascade stage race. 

The group consensus after was that the wind was a factor, keeping times down a bit from last year. A good TT bike (for better position) and wheels (for real aero savings) could save minutes in that wind.


Results: 8th (good for a few BAR points). Learned something about ITT efforts. Convinced myself to do a few more ITTs before shopping for a cool-looking (and pricey) TT bike of my own. 

Tuesday Night Points Racing 8/5

Lots of Mice at the track last night: Mateo, Jake, Jeff, Frederico, Ashley, and Cathy. It was a good-sized turnout in general, with a large Bs field (21 starters for first race and 19 for the second), somewhat smaller Cs field, and a fairly small As field. 

Bs format: 36 laps, sprints every six (for both races).


This was my third Tuesday out and I wanted to take the racing more seriously and put together some of the lessons from previous weeks. Namely, I didn't want to do max efforts for the first two sprints (that gassed me last time out) and I wanted to do a better job of marking the real threats. For the latter, I looked at the sign-in sheet to see if there were any names I recognized from recently winning on Tuesdays. Mostly not. 

We had 5 Mice in the Bs, so actually circled up and did a bit of planning. Tim Felon and Scott Davis were out as well and we included Tim in the general plan, which was to attack into or after the second sprint, with the goal of getting a break going with Jake and/or me. Tim and Mateo were going to make the pace hard to set that up. 

The pace was really slow to start, but Tim got to the front and ramped it up with about two laps to go, to make it safe. We had a train of Mice at the front and just pulled through. With 150m, I was sitting fourth without jumping and consciously decided not to make the effort and a few came by. In the end, I probably could have used that point. A Metromint guy (don't recall name but cat 3 on road) attacked a ways out for the second sprint and held it. I went at 200m and got second. 

After #2, the hammer was down and moves were happening, but out of the 21 starters, there were enough strong guys that everything got caught back within a half lap. I was out of position for sprint 3 (think I got 6th). Somewhere in here, one of the Webcor guys (who ended up going 1-2) pulled for a lap or two pulling back a guy off the front--I was impressed and digging a bit just trying to hold his wheel. Sprint 4 was my biggest effort of the night. I was sitting third wheel at the bell, on a Webcor wheel. Tim was pulling us around. I jumped just before the 200m, but didn't come around Webcor guy fast enough to shut the door and he started going as well, pushing me high. We were side by side to the finish and he took it by half a bike. 

A lap or so of recovery and regrouping, then a big attack. I saw Mateo there and told him now's the time to shut it down. I got on his wheel and Mateo drilled it. Really drilled it. A bit too hard for me and he started pulling away after 50m. Here's where I should have shouted "steady" (Larry said after that teamwork is about constant feedback), but instead I kept my pace, he kept hammering without me for a half lap, and we wore ourselves out for no good reason. It would have been a great setup for a counter otherwise. I wasn't feeling so hot at this point, and just tried to reintegrate. Didn't have it and missed the bunch. Sat up and rolled off the track rather than using energy for a chase. 

Results: I got 6 points for 5th. 4th got 7 points, so a fourth place in the first sprint might have been worth the effort. Jake pulled a strong 3rd, behind the two Webcor guys. Good night for him... His attacks were really explosive.


The Webcors did the As race, so that definitely changed things a bit for our second race. The pre-race chat was that breaks weren't going to stick with the big strong field, so we'd be smarter about going for individual sprints and marking threats, like the Metromint guy. This race was generally a bit more steady, but there was a attack into sprint 1 that got the pace pretty high and it was sustained for a while. There were moments when I felt like I was spinning out just holding a wheel, but I wasn't doing much work, just following wheels. I took some wind to maintain position when the paceline got really long and I didn't want to go back more than 6 wheels or so after coming off the front. That ended up being worth it, if I recall, as it positioned me to catch a move coming up high. I picked up a 4th in sprint 2, then 2nd in sprint 3. 

Then a great opportunity landed in my lap. I was sitting 4th or 5th wheel heading into 2 to go before sprint 4 and when the guy on the front drifted up track, the other guys followed, then started to fan out. Tim was making a move high on the track and shouted at them. In the confusion, I dove down the track and drilled it to get a big gap. Held it for a lap and a half to win 5 points. Grabbed onto the nearest chase group, since the pack splintered a bit, and recovered, sitting out the next sprint. A guy was attacked with 2 to go for the final sprint and had a big gap. Scott Davis (often races 4s on the road w/ Tim and us) went shortly after. I was marking Metromint and let him chase a bit, then waited for the bell to attack and was making up a lot of ground on Scott. Was sure I was going to catch him, but Scott kicked at the end to hold it by a few lengths. So 3rd in the final. 

Results: 11 points for 1st. 


The second As race was super small, just 6. After a few laps Larry called out to those in the warming circle to jump in. Metromint and I got back on the track. I sat in for a bit and mixed in two sprints, for 3rd and 4th (no biggie, since in this race seemed like only two guys would really work for any given sprint, going for the big points). But my calf cramped up in the middle of the second effort, so rolled off the track. 

Then cupcakes and celebration for Cathy's birthday and we were off. 



In case it's interesting, here's a link to my speed/HR data shared on TrainingPeaks: 
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/tny.aspx?a=sw&key=HHistskDS7dKjxz76gEyjeixYjz2xZPG

I haven't bothered to install the Garmin cadence or speed sensor on my track bike, so the speed numbers are pretty jaggy. Need to get some zip ties. 

Fort Ord Road Race (District Championships)

Course: Six laps around a 10-mile loop (in 2h 58m, 20.7mph avg) in Fort Ord, just north of Monterey. One notable climb (250ft gain in 0.56mi, average time to climb ~3m 15s). Plenty of rollers, some of them with short steep sections. Two turnaround points meant it was possible to see riders off the front and back and gauge time gaps. Finish is somewhat uphill for the last 100m, but with a flat lead-in.

Teammates: Ryan, Isaias, and Jake.

Results: http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/2726035111/in/set-72157606506018838/



I took it very easy this week to recover from a 5 hour ride up to Pt. Reyes Station last Sunday and to start the August road race season fresh. Very easy: two one-hour moderate (zone 1 & 2) rides and three days of easy commuting (30min each way). Crazy week at work left me pretty tired anyhow. I had no idea how the legs would feel Saturday morning, but felt pretty good spinning around in warmup.

It was a small field: 28 starters. No one could believe how small it was afterwards, since Cat 4 races almost always field a large group. But I didn't realize how small it was until I was drifting back at the end of the first lap and saw there was no one behind me. At first I thought we'd already dropped a bunch of guys, but not that many that soon. Small pack means there's not much room to drift back, but also made for easier descents, which would have been scary with 60+ riders.

Each time up the main climb we seemed to lose a couple guys. Like I've seen in most road races this year, there was a pretty big surge at the bottom of the hill. Isaias put the hammer down and set the tempo the first couple laps. Seeing a steady 400-500W on the power meter, I didn't figure we'd maintain that pace and just held on. Sure enough, the group mellowed out in a more gradual section in the middle, about a minute up the hill. The last third of the climb tended to be somewhat above threshold pace until the top, where everyone wanted to surge over a short steep section. The climb was fast for the first lap, and was faster for the second. Then we mellowed out a bit on lap 3 and 4.

I consciously tried to conserve energy wherever I could. My goal for the day was to stay with the pack over the hills and do what I could to support Ryan and Isaias at the end of the race (of course I was also hoping it'd stay together for a sprint). By lap 3, I'd dialed in some drifting techniques for the steep rollers, trying to start at the front and carry momentum in, then sliding back a bit when the pack surged (for example, doing 400W instead of 500W during 10s surges). It may have helped over time to have skipped two or three big surges per lap, then grabbing position back later where it was easier. (Also, this isn't too different than how I've ridden crits, trying to smooth the surges out through corners or not going with non-threatening moves.) As it was, there was no doubt I was starting to feel the fatigue come in lap 4, 90 minutes in. Jake and I were chatting near the feedzone that time around, both admitting that the race was taking a toll. I remarked that everyone was probably feeling the same way. It was useful to remind myself that later in the race.

The fifth lap was decisive, but it started out oddly. After being warned by the moto referee on lap 4 that some chasers were coming up from the pro/1/2 field that started 15 minutes ahead of us, we were neutralized the 5th time through the rollers into the 180-turnaround. The moto ref paced us single-file up the right side of some steep pitches. The artificially slow pacing created a yo-yo and Tim Fehon went off the road at one point to miss hitting a wheel, cyclocrossing through some weeds and brambles before getting back in. All this made it by far our slowest average pace (20.5mph avg vs. 22 for the others, 23 for lap 6). At one point here, I did finally hit the front and did tempo for a bit, probably the first time I was in the wind.

There was an extra bit of jostling for position on the downhill before the climb. When we turned left into the climb, it went ballistic almost immediately. I was mid-pack at the corner and knew I had some ground to make up. I closed a gap to get a wheel or two back from Isaias, then saw Ryan attack. Six guys followed him. Ryan's group went up the climb significantly faster than the second group of about 8, probably getting 10 or 15 seconds by the top (not hard to believe, since my time for the hill was 6 seconds slower than lap 2). And we shed a few here, including Jake (who then rolled it back to the car, since he'd wanted to save his legs for the Timpani crit). I was getting close to the redline near the top, but stuck with the group.

The chase was on. But why chase with Ryan up in the breakaway group? I shouted at Isaias to get off the front, since Ryan was away, then we chatted and agreed to do some subtle blocking. As the group pacelined in the mild rollers into the finish, I let some gaps open up a couple times, forcing guys behind to work a bit to close. Tim and another guy rightly called me on it.

But shortly before passing through the finish line, we saw Ryan up ahead detached from the break (he said later that he cramped up). No good. Just like that Isaias and I switched from not working in the paceline to driving the pace. The chase was working well enough for a while, but here and there guys would attack solo rather than work with the group (specifically: Pacific Bank guy). Pretty ridiculous, given the gap and the rolling terrain. But then again, I had a hard time figuring out the gap and the group wasn't talking enough to share information and stay organized and motivated. After chasing hard for the better part of 10 minutes, we hit the open out and back section to the 180-degree turnaround. We could see a few groups coming the other way. Two were from the pro/1/2 and one was our guys. But it happened fast enough that I wasn't real clear where they were or what the gap was. We kept hammering, but basically the chase was over. But in the meantime, the pace seemed to thin out our group a bit.

Things got majorly confusing when hit the climb. The moto pulled up and told us to stay right, then the front of main pro/1/2 field started to pass us on the left. It wasn't clear to me whether we were being neutralized like before, but I should have realized we weren't because the moto didn't stay in front to set the pace. At this point one guy ("the peddler" jersey) started to pull away on the climb. I was right behind him and in my head I used the "stay right" excuse to stick with a slower pace, so long as no 4s passed me. My tired legs were happy to comply. I was surprised for a while that no 4s were passing, and started watching the pro/1/2 field closely to see if any of our guys were sneaking in there. But I did have company: Isaias, a Davis jersey, attack-the-chase Pacific Bank guy, and an older guy in Cal Giant kit.

Heading towards the finish, it took us a little while to regroup and I pulled us right up to a three-man pro/1/2 splinter group to be sure they weren't 4s. It dawned on me that our little group was in contention and only a couple miles from the finish. I was happy to keep up a hard tempo pace for fear of any 4s catch back up with us, and we didn't play cat and mouse. Then 1 kilometer sign popped up, and Isaias attacked shortly after (~700m). I was right behind him and followed his wheel (like an idiot, I didn't force someone else to chase). After a good surge, he eased up and pulled off. Here I was on the front, barely doing easy tempo. It was flat but the pavement was rough, with a few huge potholes. I saw the 200m cone up ahead, but couldn't see the judges' tent at the finish yet. I thought I could get a jump on anyone who would wait to see the finish and attacked at 350m. I moved to the left side, to cut the corner and found a smooth bit of pavement (also dodged around yet another pro/1/2 straggler...). I could feel that I had a gap, sat down and tried to spin it out. When I hit the incline, I didn't have much left. I heard the Davis guy coming around in the last 50m and couldn't do much about it. But still stood up and gave what I had left. Pacific Bank guy rolled in a bit behind me, then Isaias.

I started asking how I did, since I wasn't sure how many stayed away. Bergen said top 10. Rolled back to the judges and was told 9th. Made my day.


Result: 9th. Isaias got 11th.

It's my first top 10 in a USCF road race. One of my goals for the year was to top 10 in a hilly road race. I think this qualifies. No upgrade points since the pack was small, but that's fine.







Timpani Crit (9:15am today in Santa Clara)

Course: 4 corner 1-mile course. Flat and fairly wide. Headwind on the backstretch.

Teammates: Jake and Jeff. (no Seth since he upgraded to 3s...)


Wasn't sure what my legs would be like after the Fort Ord road race. Felt better than I expected during warmup, but with less snap than normal.

Missed the start! Was doing last minute errands and it was a ways from the parking lot to the start line. I was about 200m from the start when the whistle blew. Fortunately, they were coming towards me, so I looped around and jumped on after motioning to the official to check if it was OK. Pretty big field (maybe ~70, but not sure), but there were immediately gaps at the back, so I threaded up through the juniors and random unattached riders.

I hung out midpack for most of the race. Moved up a couple times, but the wide course meant it was hard to keep position. The front guys would sit up after working for a lap, then the guys in the back would move around the outside (left), creating sort of a big back to front rotation. The time passed quickly, and I was a bit surprised to see the lap cards show 2 to go. Since all the attacks were on the outside side, it took some effort to see across 6-8 guys to spot the lap cards.

It was super low effort to sit in on this course, so I told myself I had plenty of gas in the tank to use. I saw Jeff in front of me with 1.5 laps left and shouted that we needed to move up. Jake was in front of us, but on the inside. I moved on the outside between turn 2 and the start/finish line, but didn't find a good wheel, so was out in the wind. I was hanging out there a few wheels back with the pack 4 across, with the Third Pillar, Squadra, and Webcor teams driving the pace on the right.

I hit turn 1 around 8th or 10th wheel, happy with the relative position, but still having to work to get a wheel. I got swarmed a bit on the back-stretch, where we were 4-across again. Then bang, the crash happened. Shouting, then handlebars hit my right thigh pretty hard and bounced off. Then sounds of carnage. I rode it out but was momentarily rattled and lost some position.

Out of turn 3, the guy in front of me put in a good jump and I didn't go with it. Mistake. Hit turn 4 in 25th or so. Lots of traffic to sprint around and a 10m gap to the leaders. Half-sprinted, just enough to pass a couple guys.


Result: 22nd and happy to have avoided the crash.

Jeff wasn't as lucky. He was just a little behind me, so the crash happened right in front of him. He got out pretty lightly, with just a bit of road rash and some holes in his team kit. I heard Maurice Monge (SJBC) was in the crash and got cut up. Not sure how badly.

Apparently the crash happened when a guy got a flat and raised his hand, then the guy to his right swerved and hit him hard when he only had one hand hanging on. Immediate pile-up. We didn't see anything on the post-race lap, since they waved us off. So it took a bit of hanging out near reg to get news of what happened and who was involved.