4/12/08: Haystack TTT

I learned something this weekend at the Haystack TTT.

In my previous life as a pro triathlete in the 90s, TT'ing was easy. Cranking out 52-54 minutes for a 40k and then running 31-32 minutes for a 10k right after was par for the course. Bringing the HR near LT and holding it there for a sustained near-hour effort was no big deal. I never understood why bike racers and commentators talked about "The Race of Truth" as something inherently and awfully painful. Triathlon is all about maximizing your stead state speed from right below to right above your LT. If you train to do that well, then you'll do well in the sport.

However, energy expenditure in bike racing is completely different. Bike racing is about conserving energy, and races being punctuated by explosive efforts with higher power output. This is clearly not conducive to optimal TT'ing and, thus, makes TT'ing much more uncomfortable for the bike racer than for the triathlete. This is what I learned this past weekend.

The weather cooperated for the most part. It was chilly and windy, but it was hard to complain. The course itself was forgettable, taking place over stretches of road we all know by heart and with no topographical challenges of which to speak. The wind would be the X factor. I blew more than 2 years worth of dust off the ol' TT machine, made sure the shifting was crisp enough and headed out to the staging area to meet my teammates. We were fielding a strong crew and expectations were for a top tier finish. What we lacked in polish and precision, we would hopefully make up for with TT'ing prowess.

As we rolled off the start line, J-Rod and JC took off. Shot right out of a cannon. Either my legs were a little flat (they had felt fine) or there was some sort of friction inherent to the bike after sitting idle for over 2 years which forced me to fight like hell to not get dropped right out of the gate. The goal was to start steadily and conservatively, neither of which happened. Which is fine. Nerves were on edge and we all wanted to ride aggressively. However, the spike in effort - and the resultant spike of lactate (which everyone seems to forget about) - would come back and rear its ugly head in the closing minutes of the race. Before we hit Nelson Rd., we calmed down and started to get into a groove.

The ride out Nelson to 75th was quite fast for us. We made up a ton of time on our 1-minute team, Rocky Mounts. Our goal had been to pass them at some point and we looked well on our way to do just that. The crosswind was not much of an issue, even with my rear disk. We did fan out a bit much on the roaring downhills, but we came back together fairly well.

It was my turn at the front as we turned South on 75th, regrouped and started hammering again. Momentum tends to take us up and over the first few rollers. But this stretch of road is more challenging than it first appears. This is where we lost our first man, Josh. Having raced the ITT earlier in the day and nursing a sore knee, he was cooked a little over halfway through. Job well done. Andy kept taking some monster pulls and was a great motor for us, as was J-Rod. Which leads to another mistake I think we all made - taking too long of pulls. We were all anxious by the time we hit the front - fairly well-rested and wanting to "do our part". The longer pulls overall slowed the pace down as each of us up front began to tire and we ended up too fatigued over time so that the rest periods between pulls were not long enough. Our pace also lifted and ebbed more like a paceline than a TTT. We could also have done a better job of keeping the speed even and smooth. This also would have been more efficient and allowed us to have more energy for the end.

But I digress. J-Rod and JC were at the front as we hit the final hill on 75th, a short grunt that can sting the legs. Those two jammed up the hill. Andy and I stayed in line, but JC was done. As he faded back past me, he said, "It's just you three now." With 5-6 minutes left and fatigue already mounting, it would be crucial for Andy, J-Rod and me to keep together and not panic. For whatever reason, I was less than optimal in my output. I was in a spot of trouble, as was J-Rod after his brutal pull up that final hill on 75th. He was fading off my wheel just a bit and I was beginning to fade off Andy's. This is where Andy shined. Consequently, I had to tell him to slow down a couple of times. No sense in not finishing together.

We passed Rocky Mounts just after crossing 63rd on Niwot Rd. Only a few minutes from the finish line, so I'm thinking our pace fell off the final 10 minutes - remember that blistering start out of the blocks? J-Rod described the final climb to the finish line as "moving in slow motion." He crossed the line first for us, with Andy and I crossing side-by-side less than a bike length behind. During those final uphill 200m, I was cooked. Andy keep yelling, "C'mon, Nate! C'mon!" And I'm thinking, "Dude, I'm right next to you. What do you mean, 'C'mon'?" Of course, I was seeing cross-eyed and had no hope of actually verbalizing anything.

I, for one, was totally spent. Definitely not a "no chain" day. Which is fine. Maybe next time I won't lift so hard the day before. But that's not an excuse. I've raced well after harder pre-race workouts. The team did great, finishing in 4th and only 0:12 out of 3rd / 0:20 out of 2nd. First place crushed us all, by about 90 seconds. Great job there.

Next on tap is the first race that carries any weight for me, personally. Lookout Mtn. hill climb. I've got a big friggin' axe to grind with this one. Two years ago I was taken out by a dip shit descender who must have thought it was a race DOWN as well as up. Around a switchback, he was coming down too fast, came straight across the road and slammed right into me. Sheered off my fork, broke my helmet and glasses and I suffered a 4th degree shoulder separation (i.e., all the connective tissue is shredded). Last year, I had to miss due to my wife graduating from her Masters program. Ain't nuthin' keeping me off that mountain this year. It's gonna be fun.

Ride safe,
Nate

4/6/08: Koppenberg Circuit Race

The first race (that counts) of the 2008 season was postponed for a week due to inclimate weather. On race day, the wind was kicking and temperatures were moderate. The following day, rain, sleet and snow fell, so the timing of the race could not have been any better.

Getting to the start line posed the biggest challenge of the weekend. It first appeared that the race would be rescheduled for the 20th. However, it was announced on Thursday the 3rd that the race would run on the 6th. I was slated to be home alone with my son while my wife and daughter headed up to our condo in Keystone for the weekend for some "girl time." I started to take it personally when all of our babysitters ended up being booked solid already - I guess visits to prospective colleges and dates to the Prom are more important than bailing me out. Go figure! Finally, on Saturday morning, I found Noah a playdate with a friend whose parents were more than happy to have him over. Thanks, Lynne and Mike!

My goals for this first race were simple and straightforward: Stay with the front group and then see what shakes out. My overall endurance & fitness is less than it was at this point last year - on purpose. Winning this race was never in the cards and I knew that going in. Which is fine. When it counts later on, I'll be going for victory. For now, a hard race was just what the doctor ordered.

The first lap, as always, was a cluster f**k. Everyone has champion legs and wants to be on the front. After a clean start, I found myself in the middle of the pack as we headed on to the dirt and to the base of the climb for the first of six passes. The Koppenberg is a deceptive race. 6 laps of 5.5 miles, half off-road. The dirt is pretty smooth but the jarring adds up and causes extra fatigue and, in some cases, cramping to occur. The overall topo of the race isn't challenging - the hill is too short to be decisive to the outcome - but the dirt can be the X factor.

The first time up the climb was interesting. A guy right in front of me realized about halfway up that he was in the wrong gear and started to fall over. I had to go into the rut between the 2 "clean" paths up to avoid getting hit by him, which in turn stalled my progress. Just as I was contemplating putting a foot down, someone behind me yells, "Keep pedaling!" Jolting me into "instinct mode", I grinded the pedals over and re-found my balance. "Thanks" to whoever it was that yelled out! As I hit the peak of the climb, I passed a teammate, Jeremy Collins, who had been knocked off and was running his way up the final meters. If he fought hard enough, I thought, he could (and would) catch back on.

In every race, there is at least one jerk off who has no clue as to what's around him. I noticed one such clueless wonder throughout the first lap. Anytime I found myself near him, I did my best to get the heck away from him. As we completed the first lap and hit the dirt for Lap 2, I thought, "If there's a crash today, this guy's causing it." Heading into the climb for the second time, I decided it was time to move to the front. The legs were feeling strong. Not snappy, but as I expected they would. Without incident, the peloton wound up the dirt and re-hit the pavement. I went off the front here, leading into the 90-degree turn back on to Marshall Rd. I had no delusions that I could break away for 4+ laps (about 55 minutes of racing), but I wanted to try to accomplish several things: (1) I wanted to test my legs a little bit, outside the confines of the peloton; (2) I wanted to up the pace of the race; and (3) I wanted the hangers-on to start falling off sooner rather than later. The quicker the lead group gets whittled down, the safer the race becomes.

Toward the top of the hill on Marshall Rd., I got swallowed back up. In another minute or so, it would become all too clear just how prescient my prediction would be. On the fastest part of the course, a couple hundred meters before the sharp turn leading behind Costco, a string of riders went down at about 30-35mph. More riders piled into them, a ghastly sight. Luckily, I was out by the yellow line and just far enough behind the crash so I was able to easily avoid it, in no small part because the guys directly in front of me did not panic. Diran, another teammate, also missed the crash but only because he deftly weaved his way through the carnage. A few riders ended up being carted off in the ambulance. And, no big surprise, the squirrelly loser I predicted would cause a crash was right in the middle of it. Nice.

The next 2 laps were relatively mundane. Sure, there were some attacks, but none was taking seriously and all were swallowed up in due time. Things got interesting leading into Lap 5. A VeloNews guy - strong guy, built like a sprinter from Hell - took a dig. I thought about bridging up to him once his lead was a good 100m and the peloton wasn't responding to it. But I realized there was still a good 25+ minutes left to race and my legs weren't feeling all that great. "April fitness" for sure. I figured if he stayed away for that long then he deserved the win and good for him. However, he didn't last and I was happy I had decided to stay put. He still ended up 2nd on the day.

My first of two blunders occurred on the dirt of Lap 5. Into a mostly headwind, I went to the front of the group. I wanted to be at the front up the climb, feeling that some attack would come on the hill or just after it. I hit the hill in prime position, but my legs were completely flat. I had no juice. After cresting the top, I had to fight really hard to catch back on. I had spent too much time on the dirt in front and unprotected, and it nearly cost me the race. "OK that was friggin' stupid, Nate!" At this point, there were between 20-30 of us still together. It was time to play the waiting game and react the best I could to whatever happened in the final 15 minutes.

On the final lap, I stayed tucked in until we crossed the bridge and were approaching the final climb. My legs were still flat but more energized than during the previous lap. I knew I needed to be at the front on the climb if I wanted to avoid getting dropped into the finishing straight. I hit the climb near the front and dug deep to get the heck up it. Someone behind me yelled, "C'mon Feedback!" Not sure if he was trying to get me up the hill faster or Greg Ross, a teammate who was also in the front group at this point. I took it personally and did my best to squeeze a few more watts out of the legs, but without success. I had to fight my ass off to latch back on to the front group as the race headed back to Marshall Rd. It was about this time that I found out someone was off the front. Maybe more than one person was off. At any rate, the race for first was over. Great job to the guys who attacked at the end there!

My goal was to mitigate the damage and be in the thick of things at the finish. A couple guys pressed the pace climbing up Marshall Rd., which split the pack for the last time. Luckily, I had just enough to hang on to the back of that front pack. It didn't hurt that a line of cars was squeezing us into a single file and ruining everyone's ability to attack all over the road. I did what I could to suck in some final O2 and prepare for that deceptively long, uphill finishing sprint.

We hit that final right hand turn in line then quickly spread across the road for the final sprint. Blunder #2: Thinking I would have to fight just to stay on, I got out of the saddle and started pounding the pedals. Surprisingly easily, I shot past a handful of guys. It was then I realized I should have waited a good 150m before doing what I did. Instead, the hyperdrive stalled ala the Millenium Falcon. I was one bike length behind a cluster of 4 guys and there was nothing I could do to catch or pass them. At the very end, one guy shot past me.

Final result: 10th. Not bad. Good enough for a first race. And, Feedback had 3 guys in the top 20 with Greg Ross coming 17th and Jeremy Collins coming 20th - a great result given he was knocked off his bike AND got stuck behind that crash on Lap 2. Our 4s crew fared well, too, with Bryan Myers nabbing 6th and Jerry Kupcake coming home 12th.

The best is yet to come.

Ride safe,
Nate