Hi Everyone! I must start by apologizing for my late race report from the Peninsula Cliff Climb. There, that's out of the way!
Once again, just like the morning of the Fiesta Island TT, the alarm went off waaay tooo early! The good thing is, now that I've been at this racing thing for some years now, the pre-race nerves aren't present near as much, and going to bed early and actually falling asleep the night before a race isn't hard at all anymore. That coupled with the knowledge that as long as you've been logging some decent sleep hours the nights leading up to the pre-race eve, you'll be fine race day, even on limited sleep.
I met my good friend Andy at the Park and Ride in Oceanside, and carpool we did up to Ranchos Palos Verdes. Instead of warming up on the trainer as I planned, we opted to actually ride the course, all the way up to the top of the climb. That was so much nicer then pedaling to go no where for an hour!
My goal coming in to this race was to set a new PR, last season I ran a 23:04.9, and the winner ran a 22 something, so I told myself I had to post in the 22's to have a chance at winning. The goal at the prior week's race down at Fiesta was to test myself for an FTP number, which just happened to result in a win, but this week the goal was to win, and also to see what kind of number I could establish for an FTP since the data from the Fiesta event was so off.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and off I went. I surged pretty hard out of the gate which is typical for most in a Time Trial. I looked down at the power meter and saw 600w's. Way too hard! I settled in to a pace that I figure I could maintain to the finish, attempting to average 320w's to the top. The legs and lungs were hurting at the pace, but I knew I could hold it.
Needless to say, 22:05.0 later, I crossed the finish line! The result...1st place with an average wattage of 324! Sweet!!! I was definitely pleased:)
The following week, last Saturday I competed in the UCLA RR, up in Pearblossom, almost the exact same track as the upcoming Devil's Punchbowl RR in April. That was my primary reason for going, to get reacquainted with the course before Punchbowl, and also to get back in a pack race. The goal...top 10, the result...29th out of 100. What did I learn? My legs are on fire. I was able to hang with the leaders up the climb, rounding the summit in about 20th, right where I wanted to be. What needs to be worked on? My descending skills. There's an old saying in the cycling world..."You can't win a race on a descent, but you can lose one". That's exactly what happened. I'm not saying I could of won the race per say, but with the legs I had, I could of finished with the lead group and maybe got that top 10 I was after. Oh well, time for reverse hill repeats:)
Next up, the Santiago Canyon TT on March 17th, followed the next week by the 2nd race in the Peninsula Cliff Climb TT series, where I must go back to defend!!!
Until next time...
Hi All! Well, Sunday has come and gone, and yesterday's 4:15 wake-up call was a brutal reminder of why I stopped racing the Fiesta Island TT Series! I know I'm whining, but hey, I don't get paid to race my bike, and the upside to that is I get to choose what events I want to enter:)
I kept the week fairly light coming in to Sunday, not wanting to overwork the legs, leave something in the tank for the 20k TT. This last Saturday was the Boulevard RR, and for the first time in the last five years I didn't race it. It felt a bit strange to be home Saturday and not out there. Boulevard was the first race I ever competed in, and it sort of became a tradition to race it every year since, even though I never place well out there. I almost drove out Saturday at the last second to compete in the 35+ category, (the only open category left), but I just kept reminding myself to stick to the new plan, focus on the events that I want to do well in, and don't deviate.
I rolled down to Fiesta Sunday morning with absolutely no intentions of competing, by that I mean I was going strictly to run the course to help establish my FTP, so I have a better idea of how I need to keep training throughout the year. If I placed well great, if not no biggie. One thing I knew, the race was going to hurt! I hadn't raced since July, and anyone who's raced knows that no matter how hard or intense you train, you just can't duplicate racing, and the intensity that brings.
I arrived at the island around 5:30, checked in at registration, parked, set up the trainer, and proceeded to warm-up. I was entered in a new category this year, the Merckx Category, that's road bikes only, no clip-on aerobars, no TT helmets, basically a straight road bike set up. I did have a goal in mind as far as the average wattage I wanted to hold, and was confident I may come close with how strong I've been riding.
My start time was 7:14:00, I rolled in to the start gate, the countdown begin, and off I went. I settled in to a nice hard pace, not too hard, but not too easy. I kept looking down at the power meter, and wasn't pleased at all with what I was seeing. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't able to put out the numbers I was expecting, numbers that I routinely put out on the trainer during my weekly intervals. Needless to say, I'm a bit confused about that and am seeking out some advice on why this is?
In the end, although I'm not too happy about my power numbers, and a little confused, I managed to place 1st, and win my first race of the year! A couple of friends that raced with me, Fiesta being their first ever TT, placed 5th and 6th, great showing for their first run on the "Island"!
Up next...the Peninsula Hill Climb TT up in Ranchos Palos Verdes. I did this event in January 2011 and really enjoyed it. A 6-mile uphill TT. I managed to place 2nd then, losing to an extremely strong rider who placed well all year in various other races. I'll let you know how it shakes down this year:)
I hope all is well with you, until next time...
