HOT HOT HOT!!!! Even at 7:50am pedaling at 20mph one would break out in sweat. Patrick & I lined up for the Cat1/2/3 with the game plan to sit in til the field sprint. Five miles into the race 2-4 guys attacked while the field just spun at 20-23mph. We were going so slow that the Cat3 field caught & passed us but as soon as they did that they sat up. So the race officials neutralized the Cat3 field & we passed them. Two laps later the Cat3’s passed us again!!!! This time they were on their last lap so we were told not to pass them. That really had no affect on us as they were cruising at a high speed to the line.
Not much went on in the race. On lap 3 & 4 I went to the front on Roadstown Road to see if any other team that wasn’t in the breakaway wanted to give chase but no one was interested. I told Patrick that the last 10 miles was going to be a slug fest & get ready to hold on. On lap four an EMT truck was passing us on Roadstown Road & for some reason blasted its sirens. It spooked a few people & the next thing you know a BIG pile up! Bikes and bodies every where! Matt K. went down & said he was under 4 bikes by the time the crash ended. Jim B. broke his wrist. About 10 people went down in the crash.
On the last last lap we caught the break in Greenwich then on the last big climb the field shattered. My left hamstring was cramping up big time on that climb & I was still passing people. It was amassing how many people gt popped on that climb. I was struggling and on the approch of Roadstown Road I got popped & limped across the line about a minute or two behind the field. Was was drinking two bottles of water and accelerade & it still was not enough!!
Tom did a good job with promoting the race. He could not get enough volunteers so we decided to cut out the Shilo part of the race course. That shorten up the course by 1 mile, if that. But it also freed up enough volunteers that all other intersections were covered. I’m sure the NJBA would not mind if we run the race next year but that’s another story. Oh and only 87 more days til CYCLO-CROSS season!!!!! Is your bike(s) ready???
We got up to our cabin around 5ish, but could not pre ride the TT course because of torrential downpours. It did not bother me because I was very familiar with the course and have ridden it more than 20 times. By my start time, 9:34, a miracle occurred. The rain stopped, the roads dried and it was in the high 60’s. I had a good warm up knowing that it would be a short all out effort. I felt good when I got to the starting gate and sprinted up to 34mph on the flat start and then it kicked up. I powered my way over the small rollers at the beginning of the course and on some of the longer climbs kept a good tempo and speed. Before I knew it I was at the fork in the road where the real climbing is. After the fork it is about a half mile to the summit and averages 7.8% with no flat sections to rest. The whole tim e I had been saving a little for this part so I wouldn’t lose any time. I kept a high rpm for the first half of the climb then shifted down and gave it all I got. I was out of the saddle the whole time knowing that the faster I go the sooner I will be off this climb. Crossing that finish line was the best feeling ever, my whole body felt drained. Now was the easy part, going back down! That is one of the funniest descents I have done, 30+ and some nice turns. Once Jeff got all his stuff he and I then took a cool down ride back to the park so I could flush my legs out and also so we could also see how Spencer did. I’m not sure of how he placed, but he looked as drained as I was. Then came the fun part, preparing for the crit., which was in only four hours.
We got to the crit. and the first thing I did was run over to the results and I was shocked. Not only did I get 8th, but I knocked nearly 2 and a half minutes off of last years time with a time of 16:32. That got me pumped up and I was really feeling strong after relaxing back at the cabin. Yet again I was feeling good while warming up and was feeling good about the race in general. I got my call up to the front of the pack because I was in the top ten which added even more to the adrenaline that was already pumping. The race started and I was immediately at the front staying within 3-4 wheels of the front. Of course like all other junior races it was attack after attack after attack and every one else chased so I was forced to go as well which really pisses me off because they even chase down the riders that can’t stay away for the 20 or so laps that remained. With about 10 laps left going in to turn #2 I was moving towards the inside as another rider was moving towards the outside. I saw him as it was too late. The back of his bike hit my front wheel, but neither of us went down luckily, but my front wheel had a wobble which was causing it to hit the break. I undid the button on the break and it stopped and I went right to the pit. Jeff changed my wheel out and I got back in the race with 9 to go. The next 8 laps were uneventful with only 2 attacks, neither succeeding and I knew it would come down to a sprint. On the bell lap coming around the last turn a group of lapped riders was going through the same turn. The first 5 riders made it through no problem, but then the lapped riders were trying to get into the group and caused the rest of us to slow down. I have never used so many curse words in one sentence. The sprint was now for 6th. 2 lapped riders got into the sprint and I was still cursing at them the whole sprint. I finished 10th and was still giving the lapped riders a piece of my mind the whole next time we went around the course. I still thought that 10th was a good placing considering the circumstances. Now I was 9th overall! While I was at roll out I started to talk to the rider who I collided with and I turned out that his derailure hit my spokes and my spokes tore off the derailure. Not just from the derailure hanger, but a piece of his drop outs was torn off and the only damage I had was a wobbly wheel! Easton wheels are the best! We stuck around for the 17-18 race only to see Philepe almost lap the field. As soon as we saw him take the win we were out of there. Back at the cabin Jeff made a really good diner and I thank him a lot for that. I went to bed early to be sure that I would be well rested for the next day.
The road race course is about a mile and a half with a little climb 400 or so meters from the finish that could win or lose you the race. Yet again it was attack attack attack and they let up when the laps dwindled down. With 3 laps to go before the last turn a farm racing rider touched wheels right next to me and went down. He and his bike bounced up into me and his bike hit my back wheel and another part hit the back of my right thigh. The part that hit my thigh was sharp and at first I thought I was bleeding because I reached down and my bibs felt wet, but after looking at my had I discovered it was only water. The next 2 laps and the finish were all a blur and I was not thinking clearly at all. I was not thinking about saving anything or position. I went into the climb with too big of a gear and was soon gapped. I managed to get the gap down to half what it was and felt defeated after crossing the line. I rode a horrible race and it was one of the worst in a long time. Looking back I must have looked like one of the most retarded guys ever. We left before the overall standings were released, but I finished 19th in the road race, a very bad showing for me. I am just going to use it as a learning experience and move on, not sit here and bitch about it for the next month.
P.S. Big thanks to Jeff for going up and helping out!
Ross
After a 13 year hiatus, I ran my second marathon today. “But Brian”,
you may say, “I didn’t know you were training for a marathon?” And
you’d be right.
Where last time around I was all structure, progression and science,
this time around I focused on the fundamentals learned on some long
hard roads - what can I eat, how much and when, how can I tell what’s
“racing w/in my limits” in the first 20 minutes of a multi-hour
odessey and what combination of shorts and copius amounts of vaseline
will keep me from getting an ass rash? Was I faster? No. Wiser. And
fatter. But definitely wiser.
Plus, this time it was on dirt - 26 mile of trail w/ 4 50-yard creek
crossings. Two laps of premo singletrack, buff in a Ryan Seacrest kind
of way.
I only raced today to qualify for the Escarpment Run. Just finishing
an off-road marathon = qualified so I ran in the same Steady Eddy pace
I used in training (expect when pushing it on hills to gap Don to,
well, fuck w/ him). Slow and low, that is the tempo. So when I saw
people ahead of me I would repeat the mantra “there IS no me and you”*
I’ll spare you the blow by blow. I ran. I passed people. People passed
me. I saw a baby snake and a guy catch a fat trout. My girls gave me
high fives at the start, paced me through the finish on the first lap
and chased me at the end.
A sword day, a red day, and the sun rises.
4 hours, 14 minutes.
17th out of 118 overall
6th out of 27 in my age group (30-39). Funny thing is if I was 40 I’d still be 6th.
*This of course didn’t stop me from turning on my limited afterburners
in the last few to pass a handful of people. Punk-ass bitches, really.
Around 6:45am Ross & I rode from my place to the Cape May TT as a warm up. A cold warm up but it’s still March. We took a few back roads & popped out at the turn around point of the TT. We got to the reg table with ample time so I signed in & buzzed around the parking lot meeting up with people I have not seen since the end of the road or Cross season. I took 2 laps around the park then ran into Annie Graves & Jackie Somers. They came down to cheer on all the Cape Atlantic Racing guy’s. As I was riding around I was noticing that only Ross, Fat Marc & I were on road bikes with everyone else on TT bikes. Ugh this was going to be a tough day on the bike!
My start time was 8:01:30am & I was the 4th rider off. I took off strong, maybe to strong, and it took about 3 km to settle into a groove. However, I was never comfortable in any groove I wanted to stay in. I was able to keep my wattage up near 300 but was not able to turn the RPM’s need to maintain 300+ watts. Close to the turn around point I could hear the 1st carbon disc wheel coming up behind me. Before I knew it I was passed & dropped. Just before the turn around point I heard the 2nd disc carbon wheel coming. With about 3km to go the 3rd & final person passed me. Yes I heard him & his carbon disc coming too!!! I gave it my all which isn’t much for the month of March. Maybe this April for round two I’ll be able to go a little faster.
Team Beacon Blog is up and running!