Clean Start

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Since I spent 5.5 hours riding around mooch at Lucky's Revenge, i figured 6 hours at cathedral pines should be a piece of pie!

So i signed up - cause i've never done it before, and looks like it is going away. Hopefully they bring it back every 5 years or so..
People talk so fondly of the crazy mooch races - always wondered if bringing it back every so often would draw enough attention
to make it worth doing....anyway, that's for another discussion.

I've been saying this. I think some races need to not be every year. Some people come back to a race for the routine, some don't go back because they've done it already. If a race happens once every few years, it's more of a special event. People who have done it don't want to miss out on it, and a good time period in-between gets people who didn't do the previous event.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
What a difference a year makes!

At this time last year i was 12 weeks into marathon training.
had 14 miles on the day's plan. easy, marathon pace (9:00), cool down.
I went out for a couple easy, then ramped it up. ended up with 4 - 5k segments faster than today with a lower average hr.

I was committed to breaking a 4 hours marathon, and did.
it's good to know the body responds to training. That gives me some confidence for a decent showing at cathedral pines.

food intake back to reasonable, although the chicken vindaloo in the fridge was calling, esp with the rice! I'm not sure it is
actually worse than crushing a sandwich. Just portion control!

Got a couple good days in this week, lots of bursty power at the sourlands, carrying an extra 30lb pack at cush. Will see how tomorrow goes.
Planning on some serious zone 2 work this week. Some inside, some out.

Had a good time today running while Sue was biking along. i was working hard, so above a conversational pace, but could communicate enough.
She hadn't been on her bike in a awhile, and is planning to start bike training 30 minutes a day to get back into the fitness game. she is getting bunion
surgery around thanksgiving, so there is that....

Not much else happening - i'm really liking our escape challenge thread, with the family events - even dog walks.
I probably should have made participating in an organized event also 2.5. I always liked that bonus.
we participate for different reasons - the cause, the shop, the friends, the challenge, or to win.

I don't like not finishing. I don't like not making a goal that i've worked for. so, i want 7 laps at CP.
That gives me a shot at a podium in sport 50+ - wish me luck, and tell me to keep going if you see me!
that will be 50+ miles on a trail - never did anything close. I'm confident!

NFL season starts tomorrow. Always seems like an indicator of fall/winter. Probably for good reason.

I'm also going snowboarding this year - please snow in NJ so i can get some local, night stuff in.
Think i went once last year, and very limited the last 6 or so. that blows.

Need to bleed the fatbike rear brake. I don't have a bleed kit. Who wants to hook me up?
(kidding, will take it to the shop.)

This is the 30th summer living in my house. I can see the south branch of the raritan river from my front porch
(this is probably why the road i live on is called south branch road ?) finally decided to explore it by tube.
too much time on the water that way (5 miles, 4 hours) - but it was beautiful. hidden fishing spots - some small spaces
that kids have established for 'whatever' - wildlife. I'll be back there again soon.

Feeling like your are in the middle of nowhere.....priceless.

1567907919648.png
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
didn't make my volume goal this week. wow, it is hard to dedicate a couple hours a day.
I'm going to need some 3-4 hour blocks by the end of the month. should be doable.

Dropped a few lbs, cause first week of weight loss. will post 2 week results.

I've been using the trainer, even with it so nice out. just so convenient with so much going on.
There is no plan yet - and I should get on one.

Jumped on a zwift D group ride. a bit too easy, so i'll step that up.
I'm looking at the categories for tonight's race, and i'm at the top of the D range - which puts me at the bottom of the Cs.
So i sign up for the D race, knowing i may be DQ'd - that is ok. first one.

i won the race, cause a couple other guys got DQd - one def raced below class, the other rode away from me with 1.5km to go
and i couldn't respond. 1.5km is a long way to start a sprint. anyway, it was fun, and produced a better ftp20 than i've seen recently.

1 of 14 - 2 dq'd in front of me, 3 dnf, 10 dns. it was fun -

1568599777694.png


1568600534877.png


guess i need to upgrade and get my ass kicked just like in RL.
 

shrpshtr325

Infinite Source of Sarcasm
Team MTBNJ Halter's
not gonna share ftp20 with us?(gotta keep you on an upward track, and honest about it somehow)
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
funny side story -
can't race w/o an HRM. of course i get set-up, and the HRM won't pair
i've got about 8 minutes of warm-up time and this is going to eat into it.
get the battery, put it in, and there ya go, i'm back. 4 minutes to warm up for the race,
and i know they rocket out of the start. I left my water bottle upstairs - i'm in my road shoes,
so hard to walk around the house.

my first zwift race, 2:30 to start. I read that they launch out of the start, and of course they do.
but it is all the classes at once. decent workout - cause letting the avatars ride away from me is annoying!
 

Glenn Rides After 4 PM CST

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
We'll have to sync up on a Wednesday. Let's get in a C race on Zwift.

I got auto upgraded to C's.
Won 2 D races then my w/kg was always over the max for a D race.
Now I'm just C class bottom of the pack.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
We'll have to sync up on a Wednesday. Let's get in a C race on Zwift.

I got auto upgraded to C's.
Won 2 D races then my w/kg was always over the max for a D race.
Now I'm just C class bottom of the pack.

When i can't make Wildcat Wednesday (which is 48 weeks out of the year) !
i need to loose a few kgs - that would help.. along with upping the strength and stamina.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
trying to up my volume for the next bunch of weeks. some will be at endurance pace, some will be actual riding like i mean it.

tonight, i hit Fun Monday a bit early and did a modified gilbride loop - "modified?" you ask. why yes - the water was so low, i just rode across
the stream (East branch of middle brook) - looped back around to p/u @Glenn Rides After 4 PM CST and @jklett - discussed doing some things
we usually don't do - and we did. it is interesting how a trail we used to ride frequently becomes a challenge. Good workout.

To finish my time i hit the zwifter. Did some hills, and a sprint. but the real goal was to level up.
I've unlocked Alpe du Zwift (sp?) and a bunch of other stuff. I know, you are happy for me. :D

1568684096803.png
 

Glenn Rides After 4 PM CST

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
trying to up my volume for the next bunch of weeks. some will be at endurance pace, some will be actual riding like i mean it.

tonight, i hit Fun Monday a bit early and did a modified gilbride loop - "modified?" you ask. why yes - the water was so low, i just rode across
the stream (East branch of middle brook) - looped back around to p/u @Glenn Rides After 4 PM CST and @jklett - discussed doing some things
we usually don't do - and we did. it is interesting how a trail we used to ride frequently becomes a challenge. Good workout.

To finish my time i hit the zwifter. Did some hills, and a sprint. but the real goal was to level up.
I've unlocked Alpe du Zwift (sp?) and a bunch of other stuff. I know, you are happy for me. :D

View attachment 105792
I guess you're climbing the Alps tomorrow.
Expect 1:15-1:30 of climbing.
My quickest was 1:10
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Six Hours of Cathedral Pines

Decent couple months of riding/hiking/lifting heavy things leading up to the race. Slacked off the last couple of weeks, but not a big deal. I felt well rested, although a bit heavy. I've been so hungry since upping the training volume, that the scale did not respond. Guess I could have cut out the beer.

Drove out to Long Island on Friday afternoon. Cashed in some of those hotel points (thank you Sue!) for a freebie at the Springfield Suite about 5 miles south of Catheral Pines Park. Unloaded the car into the room. Since I was still stressing on the clothes, and the food, the logical decision was to bring it all.

And while at it, may as well stress about the bike choice too.

1574688301833.png


It is a 6-7 hour race, but just in case I got lost for a few days....:D

Night before
Run out to the local brewpub, cause can't do anything new before a race. Shortrib and cheddar panini with an IPA.
It was excellent.

1574689718675.png

Came back, seeked some advice from the more experienced, and was sleeping before 10:00

Came up with:

Food/Drink
Packed 3 water bottles with skratch, and had 4 bottles of water. Stuck a gu and a bonk breaker in each side jersey pocket.
in the end, went through the 3 bottles of skratch, a bar, and two gu packs. Plenty. Also took a few endurolyte type pills before,
and a couple during. Cramps were minimal, and was able to spin them out.

Bike
I didn't get a good shakedown ride on the hardtail with the new shifting. Had a some mis-shift problems throughout the race.
Was able to adjust a couple of them out, then I stopped trying and just avoided those cogs. So yeah, I took the 29r, and it was fun
hitting the flowy stuff. I kept thinking about swapping out bikes - and if i made the 7th lap, i'd do it on the fat bike.

Clothes
Arrived at the park around 6:45 at 28F, with temps predicted to go into the 40s. Staging/Start of race was low/mid-30s.
Regular shoes, wool socks, base layer under bib shorts.
Base layer with zipper, under short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, lobster gloves, neck thing, beanie
Stage my regular gloves on the edge of the my truck - end of first lap, lose the neck thing and arm warmers, swap out for lighter gloves.
My knees got a bit cold around lap 3, and i moved my beanie off/on my ears a couple times. worked the zippers.

I'm checking out the other pre-race equipment - @ChrisG looking matchy as always, and i think Dave wants me to call him later ?
1574693829114.png


Race results
Goal was go get 7 laps - at least i'd finish on my group's lead lap, and be somewhat in the running.
Here is where I just didn't pay enough attention - even the announcer said if you want to be "in", ya gotta push the prolog to get into the single track.
I staged in back, and about 200m after the horn, the people are not really "racing" nor do they look like they will be racing. So i start pushing the pace around everyone chatting and riding 5 wide. There is a rather large group waiting to get into the singletrack, and i'm not going to be the ass that cuts everyone off - so i wait.
Then i wait while people dismount, and brake for corners. all good, i'm patient - not going to kill me.

First lap 1:04, and i feel like i used up a ton of energy because there was no consistency. After half a lap, i'm passing people, which takes even more energy, because they don't move over, so i'm passing off-trail!
I make my pit stop during the second lap to shed the arm warmers/gloves. that takes a bit of time. Hit the road loop at good clip, and pass a bunch more riders. Ride this loop 7.5 minutes faster than the first with the stop, and still dealing with traffic!
Come through the pit at the beginning of lap 3, and there is @Juggernaut sitting in his chair (pro move) - smiling and waving!
Eat my nutrition bar on the road, I'm feeling good, and hook up with a couple people moving at a nice pace. Knock off another minute from the lap time.
I felt a rim strike along the way, so knew i was going to need to pit, and put some air in - which i did. I had 4 laps in, at 3:55.
I wasn't going to stop the next time by the pit, because i knew i'd fade from here on out. at 4.5 hours it started to become a slog, and the front of the race went by me.
Cramps came and went, I tried to keep focus on a couple riders just up ahead. Got sloppy on a few roots, but kept getting nice surges because of the fun factor of the berms.

Lap 5 I come through at 4:57:xx - so I'm right on the edge.
Heading out for 6, I wave to @jmanic, and whomever else was there already enjoying their beverages. Never even thought about not attempting to make 7.
The uphill sections, although short (think the white trail from the stream at CR) were now painful (at least i could ride them instead of running them like the first 3 laps.)
More racers looking to get to their 8th lap went by. Gave some encouragement to @Dave Taylor - also gave a whoop-whoop to Mancusco.

at 5:42 my wahoo crashed. I figured the battery died, but no, it actually crashed. This i found at home upon restart. Kinda felt like flying blind.

1574693902249.png https://www.strava.com/activities/2886609707/overview
Anyway, i pushed through the last section as hard as my legs would let me, but in the end, I missed the cutoff by 1:50 - refer back to first lap mis-step.

Finished 8/20 in Sport 50+ - making the 7th lap would have moved me to 6th, perhaps a miserable extra hour, or perhaps not. I was done, but still disappointed at not making the goal. On the other hand, less than 1 minute later I was enjoying a beer and sharing stories with @jmanic, @Mitch, @pooriggy, and whoever else was standing around there. Got a little bustin' in on @BrianGT3 (he passed me in a tight spot, and his call-out was "Sorry" :D)

Good time - and first 50+ mile mtb ride.

Thanks @jimvreeland and @JimN for the food and clothing advice the night before. I'd like to report that i did not pee in the water bottles on the way home. Nor did i stop during the race - which is an achievement in itself for a mid-50s guy! I did down about 1,500 calories of protein and nutrition bars tho.

And after thinking about it a bit - Was that @1speed that magically pulled a beer from his pocket when I went to get food, and made the rookie mistake of not having one of my own ready to go? #beerAngel

Nice job out there @Cadre/@downbeat007. While my first one may have been your last, I'm looking forward to seeing what else you got cooking.
 
Last edited:

jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Great job out there my man,
just some finishing touches to go next level.
Like next time have @Mitch block for you on the first lap.

Great to ride and hang with you yo.

Was that @1speed that magically pulled a beer from his pocket when I went to get food, and made the rookie mistake of not having one of my own ready to go? #beerAngel
Yes.
 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
What the hell did you get a rim strike on at CP? A large grain of sand? :p. Congrats on finishing this. That's way more saddle time than i ever think i can endure.

I'm originally from LI (not near CP) but have ridden there a bunch. My only XC race podium was there in 2003. I was in decent shape then but I really attribute my good finish to racing in the rain and a complete lack of "real" mtn bikers on LI. This has definitely changed over the years and the sport seems to have exploded there since then. CLIMB is doing a lot of great stuff with the minimal terrain (quantity and quality) they have. I wouldn't recommend braving the apocalyptic traffic to go ride LI, but if you happen to be heading there, bring your bike and check out CLIMB's website. Trails are all over the island and very well marked and easy to follow.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
What the hell did you get a rim strike on at CP? A large grain of sand? :p. Congrats on finishing this. That's way more saddle time than i ever think i can endure.

I'm originally from LI (not near CP) but have ridden there a bunch. My only XC race podium was there in 2003. I was in decent shape then but I really attribute my good finish to racing in the rain and a complete lack of "real" mtn bikers on LI. This has definitely changed over the years and the sport seems to have exploded there since then. CLIMB is doing a lot of great stuff with the minimal terrain (quantity and quality) they have. I wouldn't recommend braving the apocalyptic traffic to go ride LI, but if you happen to be heading there, bring your bike and check out CLIMB's website. Trails are all over the island and very well marked and easy to follow.

Per @Juggernaut, "This is way more washed-out than last time i was here."

Plenty of exposed roots, and small drops. it was probably more of a panic move after cracking the rim on the fatty this year.

it was a very fun track, leaving at 5:30am, can make an 8:00 start. No such luck returning tho! at one point i was looking at taking the ferry,
and coming down the merritt.
 
Top Bottom