Kush's semi-training thread
- Thread starter kush
- Start date
kush
Active Member
It did not rain. In fact the weather was pretty good. No roadies fell down (in my group).
Stage 3 - That's a lot of hills.
Short version - I went backwards on the second big climb. I would be ecstatic for a Top 20 at this stage. My legs refused to work, and I gave up a lot of time to the GC leaders.
Today was 5x harder than yesterday. Stage 2 was all about the Devil's Kitchen climb. You basically ride 50 miles and then climb 2.2miles straight up.
Today were 2 climbs that were about 80% of DK, plus 5-6 more that just wear you down. There was no flat. It was kind of similar to Battenkill - so imagine doing that after 2 days of racing. It was brutal. The TOC is definitely a climbers' race. Any advantage you may get on a TT, is eaten quickly by the mountains.
I started out good, legs felt fine, worked up front, few first climbs no problem. Then the first big one about 1100 feet, and I lost contact with the leaders, which were the top 10 guys. I rode with the chase. Then we get to the other big climb 800 ft, and half of us were zig-zagging because it was brutal tough to go straight up. There my legs gave out and I went in reverse.
I picked up the next chase group, and we had a lot of fun on the downhill, and then on the next couple 500 foot climb, I lost them too. I limped to the finish with the 3rd group.
Of course the cumulative effect of the prior 2 days took it’s toll. However, the entire stage race is very lackluster with regards to my power output. And everyone else raced the two days prior too.
Take Fred’s birthday ride. We did 5h20m in the saddle, 8000 feet of elevation and I had 250w average (not NP) for the entire ride, and I climbed everything. I could only muster 206w on this 3 hr ride for 6000 feet and struggled.
The next time I do a stage race, I’ll treat it with more respect. No hard races during taper, and stage race specific training. Coggan’s training plan that I’m doing often calls for a hard 5 hour on Sat and another hard 3-5 hour on Sunday. I don’t think I ever did those big rides back to back once. There’s always a race that I wouldn’t stack next to a 5 hr training ride.
But it’s more than that. This was a race against 200 other Cat 4s which came from all over the US, and Canada. We live and race against a relatively small number of others like us in the tristate area and it tends to give us a false sense of comfort about our fitness level, and races like TOC or Battenkill show how false that is. Any notion of my being ready to upgrade to Cat 3 are totally out the window. I am going to stay a Cat 4 for another year at least, so that I can be in contention in Battenkill and in GMST next year which I’ve decided to do. I do not want to be pack fodder race after race, it’s not satisfying.
Sure I got excuses, I’m 43 years old, 175 lbs, and been riding a bike for 3 years. But that doesn’t matter out there. The only thing that counts is the clock.
Was it fun – absolutely. The experience was fantastic. The vibe was great, and the organization was top notch. I will be doing more stage races, for sure.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/104793757
Stage 3 - That's a lot of hills.
Short version - I went backwards on the second big climb. I would be ecstatic for a Top 20 at this stage. My legs refused to work, and I gave up a lot of time to the GC leaders.
Today was 5x harder than yesterday. Stage 2 was all about the Devil's Kitchen climb. You basically ride 50 miles and then climb 2.2miles straight up.
Today were 2 climbs that were about 80% of DK, plus 5-6 more that just wear you down. There was no flat. It was kind of similar to Battenkill - so imagine doing that after 2 days of racing. It was brutal. The TOC is definitely a climbers' race. Any advantage you may get on a TT, is eaten quickly by the mountains.
I started out good, legs felt fine, worked up front, few first climbs no problem. Then the first big one about 1100 feet, and I lost contact with the leaders, which were the top 10 guys. I rode with the chase. Then we get to the other big climb 800 ft, and half of us were zig-zagging because it was brutal tough to go straight up. There my legs gave out and I went in reverse.
I picked up the next chase group, and we had a lot of fun on the downhill, and then on the next couple 500 foot climb, I lost them too. I limped to the finish with the 3rd group.
Of course the cumulative effect of the prior 2 days took it’s toll. However, the entire stage race is very lackluster with regards to my power output. And everyone else raced the two days prior too.
Take Fred’s birthday ride. We did 5h20m in the saddle, 8000 feet of elevation and I had 250w average (not NP) for the entire ride, and I climbed everything. I could only muster 206w on this 3 hr ride for 6000 feet and struggled.
The next time I do a stage race, I’ll treat it with more respect. No hard races during taper, and stage race specific training. Coggan’s training plan that I’m doing often calls for a hard 5 hour on Sat and another hard 3-5 hour on Sunday. I don’t think I ever did those big rides back to back once. There’s always a race that I wouldn’t stack next to a 5 hr training ride.
But it’s more than that. This was a race against 200 other Cat 4s which came from all over the US, and Canada. We live and race against a relatively small number of others like us in the tristate area and it tends to give us a false sense of comfort about our fitness level, and races like TOC or Battenkill show how false that is. Any notion of my being ready to upgrade to Cat 3 are totally out the window. I am going to stay a Cat 4 for another year at least, so that I can be in contention in Battenkill and in GMST next year which I’ve decided to do. I do not want to be pack fodder race after race, it’s not satisfying.
Sure I got excuses, I’m 43 years old, 175 lbs, and been riding a bike for 3 years. But that doesn’t matter out there. The only thing that counts is the clock.
Was it fun – absolutely. The experience was fantastic. The vibe was great, and the organization was top notch. I will be doing more stage races, for sure.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/104793757
This is true, it can be humbling when we put things into perspective.
Also doing stage races is not for mortals like us. You can put up big power numbers on Fred's birthday ride but to do this for consecutive days is cycling at a whole other level. To be able to recover and be ready to go again the next day takes some full time training IMO.
I guess for next year you'd have to choose between the TOC and the DH40. That's a tough one.
Nice job, just finishing this race is an accomplishment...this sounds like a sufferfest.
One thing to consider is you are taking some of the top racers in each cat. from around the country. Even if you just took the top racer from each hot spot area in the us, you are looking at at least 10 of the top guys. Unless your goal is to do the majority of your races that attract a national crowd, I would base your upgrades on the area you race in the most.
This is what kicked me in the groin at Battenkill. This stuff is national.
I agree with Ilya in not upgrading though. Battenkill and ToC or GMSR are not realistic as a cat 3. I mean High Bridge wouldn't even be realistic as a cat 3. You can get your doors blown off on the local scene by racing 35+. So no need to upgrade just to do it. We're old men, we need to be smart about all this. Forest won the 4/5 Saturday. The kids will always own us as they rocket through the ranks. That's why they have the old people classes.
My only hope is that I continue to make forward progress.
Some pics from the race
Time Trial
We need to get you a lower CdA and forward on the TT. I have a Thomson and a Profile forward post if you are interested. You may also want to consider getting a shorter stem and dropping it under the spacers for a TT to reduce your frontal area.
That drop photo is fantastic. Rare to get emotion without a facial shot.
That there is worth a years worth of coaching fees.
ArmyOfNone
Well-Known Member
kush
Active Member
True true. I had the seat forward to the max. I dropped bars, but not enough though it felt very comfortable like that. I may hit you up next time.