Nittany Day 1
Masters 40+, 12/24
I arrived early, set up camp and hit the course for a pre-ride. Chatted with
@seanrunnette and
@Magic , changed into race gear and started my warm-up.
I had a front row start and got the hole shot, leading for the first 1/3 lap. Honestly, I was surprised to be at the front and didn't handle it well. I panicked, slowed and let a group of 6-8 pass me. As we finished the 1st lap, a few more riders slide by and I was hovering around 10th. On the second lap, I let two more riders slide by pushing me to 12th. I worked hard to close the gap looking for a top 10 finish but it just didn't happen. I finished 12th, 2mins of the leaders.
Coming out of this race I felt good about my start and cornering. I struggled though to put down power and to manage the 5 to 10 minute mark of the race. This is a big gap in my racing right now. I'm working to address this but I need to focus on staying on the gas when things get uncomfortable after you've hemorrhaged a kidney trying to start fast.
(photo cred:
@Magic )
Bubble CX
Cat 3, 3/21
I was sick all week so this race was a bit of a hail mary. I took it easy, skipping a bunch of workouts all week, hoping I'd be able to race. The pre-ride and warm-up lead me to think I was in trouble. This actually took the pressure off and I decided to race hard and see how things panned out. If I had to cut it short and DNF, so be it. And man was it HOT.
Front row call up on what was a really long straight away start. Whistle goes off (borrowing
@Delish 's "watch for the inhalation" trick), quick clip in and fast acceleration had me at the front. I carried that speed up the first incline and drilled it pretty hard into the field above pit/registration. I wanted to see how I would respond and there were a lot of young, fit looking 3's in the field. I figured pushing the pace early might stretch the field. There were about 5-6 riders hanging close as we came off the first field/grass section and into the sand area near pit/registration.
After going through the finish, there were a few steep ups and downs. I elected to run the last section each lap. It was ridable but I wasn't chancing making a mistake and stuttering halfway up the incline. Entering the ball field saw some more turns where you could pick up a second or two with the right line and a clean clearing of the barriers. I was still in the lead with the same 5-6 riders in tow. Moving into the woods and then the sand, I stayed at the front. Mid sand the eventual 2nd place finisher, Nelson O., passed me but I passed him back as we exited the sand pit.
I took us back in to the field above pit/registration and remained in the front, pushing the pace. As we went through the finish line and started the steep climbs/decents, Nelson went for a pass on the first uphill but I closed the lane. I stayed in front until we entered the woods and Nelson passed me on an accent into the wooded section near the lake. I followed him as we exited the sand and moved back into the field above pit/reg. As we hit a straighaway in the field, the eventual 1st place finisher, Mike K, passed me with some encouragement to jump on his wheel, but I couldn't respond. He quickly overtook Nelson O and we were lined up 1, 2 and 3. The 4th place rider was on my wheel and stayed there for the entire race.
Mike gained a 10+ second gap pretty quickly and held it for the remainder of the race. Nelson dangled just out of reach until he dropped a chain (?)in the woods. I moved passed him and into 2nd place but somewhere on the last or 2nd to last lap he passed me to move back into 2nd.
For the last few laps i was in absolute survival mode. I was doing everything possible to be smooth and stay in front of the 4th place rider. I could hear he was working pretty hard so I thought I could stay in front if I was clean and maintain a solid pace. As we neared the finish, we came off the field and into the pit/reg area for the final time. I slowed to take a few corners cleanly with the goal of setting up a good line to sprint into the pit area, carry speed around a turn and into the final bit of sand. I executed this fairly well, cleared the sand and sprinted to the finish line in 3rd.
Race was an absolute blast, the course was great and I feel good about the results.
Thanks to all the folks cheering. Such great encouragement when you're ready to keel over at any moment.
Lucky CX on Saturday.
(photo cred:
@MissJR)