NECX Regional Championships

[rusto]

Chilly start to the Cat 4 35/45+ race yesterday morning. After a slightly too-short warmup, I lined up 4th row and had a very good start, crunching my way past a few people as we made our way to the "death spiral" where I picked up a few more spots on the way into the center. Right at the middle, however, a major traffic jam and I was on the inside and was forced completely out of both pedals and had to "Fred Flinstone" for a few feet until I could clip in again.

As we exited the DS that first time, a rather large front group had formed and I was just off the back of it. I worked hard to reel in the guy in front of me but even as I did, that front group strung out very quickly as it wound it's way to the far side of the course past the mostly frozen sand pit (was that a volleyball court?). I was very nearly at max effort and fully warmed up, finally.

I bolted past a coupla more guys at the barriers which were between the two long straights along the roadway and one more at the fly over then passed more pedaling up the run up (which had a diabolically placed chunk of ice/snow right at the middle at the top).

The first 1 & 1/2 laps done, I spent the next part of the race in a no man's land probably somewhere just behind mid-pack. A coupla guys visible ahead of me and when I was on certain parts of the course, I could see a coupla guys behind me. I knew this would not be good - without someone to chase or be chased by, the mental task of keeping the pressure on would be tough.

I bore down and over the next two laps caught up to the two guys ahead of me. My best moments in the race: I made artfully timed and executed an inside pass on a turn on the far side of the course to get by one of them and a short time later, passed the other guy on a straight and got maybe 10 seconds in front of them both.

Along the roadside straights, I could even see Stefan not too far ahead and made him my next goal but that lasted about 10 seconds: I crossed the start/finish with 2 to go, my dilithium crystals failed and I dropped out of warp.

• BRAIN: "Scotty, give me more power!"
  
  LEGS: "I'm giving her all she's got, Captain!"

There just didn't seem to be anywhere on the course to get a little rest and at this point, I needed one bad.

Two turns before the barriers flyover, the guys I passed earlier came up behind me fast and I let them by rather than foul them up with my now rather non-existent bike handling skills. The rest of the race was just survival. I did have the experience of lapping some poor schlub who was older and more decrepit than even me. I give him credit, I hope I'm still racing when I'm that old... in five years.

Don't know where I finished as I had to jet home right away. Unloaded all the bike stuff and loaded up all the photo stuff for a location shoot later in the day.

So, I caught the 'cross bug and I hold you guys responsible. Thanks a lot!

[swawersik]

That course was friggin' hard! None of the technical sections was very long, and there were many long power sections over bumpy frozen ground. It all added up to one big festival of pain.

Which I thought would suit me well, but I must've overestimated what I had left in the tank at this point in the season. Despite a level of apathy during the week, when I woke up in the morning, and as I warmed up, I got a great start and was 5th wheel going into the spirals. Unfortunately, I touched the wheel in front of me when we switched from right turns to left, had to dab briefly, and let a gap open up to "gruppo sandbaggers" in front. Here's where I should've let someone else come around to close the gap and hopped on their wheel, but instead went way into the red trying to close. And while the gap held steady for a while, I was throwing my bike around like a maniac and not riding smoothly, which led to my chain dropping off over the top of the big ring. As I cursed my lackluster bike check this week and shifted the chain back on (at least I didn't need to stop), the five guys who'd been enjoying my efforts on the front came around. I tacked on the back, but was cooked - so I didn't stay long in group 2, and I knew it was going to be a long day.

The rest is a big blur of, first, my usual nemeses going by me without any ability to respond, then came my usual victims, same story. On the last lap, I was riding on Les Bethel's wheel (he's an old friend from NEBC, who was a regular group-mate during last year's cross season). I figured I could probably outsprint him, so planned to stay there until the end. Except my chain went over the big ring again going into the sand pit, opening up a gap that I just couldn't close. And so my season ends with an 18th out of 32 whimper.

So what did I learn this year?
1. My bike handling has improved, but I still have a long way to go.
2. October matters - it's really hard to train well once the days get short and it get's cold out, so you need to work hard in October in order to hold fitness through December. If there's an upside to having hurt my calf and lost October, it's that I think I learned this and will alter my training accordingly for next year.
3. I need to race smarter - my best race after my injury came on Day 1 at Baystate. I'd had only a few weeks back and had been travelling, so had very modest expectations. Instead of trying to kill it, I sat in on many sections, and had the gas left at the end to close a big gap, then outsprint that group. Yeah, it was a modest result, but I need to learn to think during races, like I did that day, instead of just reacting.
4. I had a blast racing with all the MRC guys this year. While I'm psyched at the great results so many people had, I'm a little sad that it means that you'll be racing in the 3's next year. Hopefully, I can improve enough to join you guys, so you're helping me with goals for next year.

[rusto]

Stefan: +1 on #2

[tsavage]

Ron

Fabulous event. Thanks. Very fun course.

[tsavage]

Champion in the house!

What a great course. I could blather on about my mid-pack finish but what you all want to hear and see is MRC's newest champion!

She was bubbling over with excitement to start and it was well rewarded. Diane said to me after the start, "does she ever stop talking?"
Richard was throwing her 'props' the whole time. But I still need to work on her shifting.
AND she rode the flyover! Big step up.

2010-12-19 11.01.30.jpg (46.99 KiB) Viewed 5054 times

[Rob]

So AWESOME!!!!!!!!!