Parkside Criterium #3 - Masters 30+
I've actually been doing the 40+ and the 30+ back to back each week but haven't been filing reports on the 30+ races. This is due mainly to the fact that I'm so gassed from the 40+ races that I just sit in for the first half of the 30+ trying to recover from the training load of the 40+. It has been real tough doing these crit's back to back with no recovery lull between races but I've done them this way intentionally to put on a heavy training load in race conditions and speeds to get myself ready for Hillsboro Roubaix on March 31st.
The fields have been largest each week for the 30+ races with 48 riders in week 1 (I finished 15th) , 52 riders in week 2 (I finished 12th) and there are 62 in the field today.
The wind has gotten even uglier since the start of the 40+ and now there is a swirl of turbulence as you approach turn one that feels like it will knock you right off of your bike.
Today, the majority of the Met Life Elite 1/2 squad has shown up for the 30+ so this should be a suffer-fest (again). Tim decided to take a pass after his two man time trial in the 40+ so Dan and I will be riding with a few of the Mack Cat 4's. I know I won't be pulling any heroics for at least the first third of this race. The trick is to stay close enough to the front so it doesn't take the whole second half of the race trying to get to the front after I do get my legs back...IF I get my legs back.
The pace is blistering from the gun with the Met Life, XXX, Get a Grip, Hayes guys stringing the field out in single file. By 15 minutes I'm actually feeling like I can put watts into the pedals again and I find a good path toward the front. By the half way point I arrive at the front of the field to see that there are six guys up the road. My legs feel better, but not that much better. I'm not the least bit interested in a bridge attempt in 25-30 mph winds. Dan, however, decides to make a jump and draws out a group to go with him. Good, now I can suffer here and wait for someone else to attack. For the last 20 minutes I jumped on attacks that went nowhere and kept an internal dialog going that went something like this: "Ya know, this realy hurts. Maybe I've had enough training for one day and can just go sit and watch the rest of the race from the sidelines." I don't know why I do this because I always talk myself into staying and suffering 'til the bitter end. It's when you're suffering the most that the effort is doing your body the most good as far as training is concerned.
With two laps to go we can see that the 11 riders up the road are all in a single group now and they are playing chess with one another and slowing considerably. Great, now we have to try and real them in. Perfect. "Waiter, one more big heaping platter of suffering, please!" The field is strung out 50 strong. I'm sitting in the front five. How on earth did I get here? By the time we hit the line for the bell we're within 100 meters of the break and it looks like we might actually have a full field sprint. My legs are now screaming "Stop! Please! Stop!" but my brain keeps sending the impulses to crank with all I've got. As we reach the rise into turn two, Billy Ochowicz attacks from right in front of me so I match his jump and follow his wheel up the rise and into the back stretch with Rob Springer following on my wheel. I'm thinking "I sure hope the rest of the field appreciates this" when I look over my shoulder and am absolutely stunned to see that NOBODY followed us.
So here we are coming out of turn three, 900 meters from the finish, 50 meters behind the eleven break riders, three exhausted guys (two of us in our late forties) chasing down eleven. Since I know that we're not towing the entire field up to Dan in the break, I pull through past Billy and give it a 35 mph pull to try and close the gap but right about this time the break hits 400 meters to go and opens up their sprint. So close but no chance now. I sat up and let Billy and Rob do as they wished. We had put such a huge gap on the field with that final attack that I practically coasted in the last 250 meters and still beat the field sprint across the line by a good 50 meters.
Dan didn't have much left by the end and came across 9th in the lead group of 11. Rob and Billy picked up 12th and 13th with me coasting in 14th ahead of the field sprint for 15th.
So another March of Parkside Training Crits in the books. I think I'm just about there. My sprint has improved more than three mph since week one. I know that six blistering early season crits have hardened me up a bit. Next week, the famous Illinois Spring Classic, Hillsboro Roubaix. I'm as ready as I can be. Should be a fun one.
Stats: 18.95 miles / 47:10 / 24.1 ave mph / 36 max mph / 162 ave HR / 186 max HR
I've actually been doing the 40+ and the 30+ back to back each week but haven't been filing reports on the 30+ races. This is due mainly to the fact that I'm so gassed from the 40+ races that I just sit in for the first half of the 30+ trying to recover from the training load of the 40+. It has been real tough doing these crit's back to back with no recovery lull between races but I've done them this way intentionally to put on a heavy training load in race conditions and speeds to get myself ready for Hillsboro Roubaix on March 31st.
The fields have been largest each week for the 30+ races with 48 riders in week 1 (I finished 15th) , 52 riders in week 2 (I finished 12th) and there are 62 in the field today.
The wind has gotten even uglier since the start of the 40+ and now there is a swirl of turbulence as you approach turn one that feels like it will knock you right off of your bike.
Today, the majority of the Met Life Elite 1/2 squad has shown up for the 30+ so this should be a suffer-fest (again). Tim decided to take a pass after his two man time trial in the 40+ so Dan and I will be riding with a few of the Mack Cat 4's. I know I won't be pulling any heroics for at least the first third of this race. The trick is to stay close enough to the front so it doesn't take the whole second half of the race trying to get to the front after I do get my legs back...IF I get my legs back.
The pace is blistering from the gun with the Met Life, XXX, Get a Grip, Hayes guys stringing the field out in single file. By 15 minutes I'm actually feeling like I can put watts into the pedals again and I find a good path toward the front. By the half way point I arrive at the front of the field to see that there are six guys up the road. My legs feel better, but not that much better. I'm not the least bit interested in a bridge attempt in 25-30 mph winds. Dan, however, decides to make a jump and draws out a group to go with him. Good, now I can suffer here and wait for someone else to attack. For the last 20 minutes I jumped on attacks that went nowhere and kept an internal dialog going that went something like this: "Ya know, this realy hurts. Maybe I've had enough training for one day and can just go sit and watch the rest of the race from the sidelines." I don't know why I do this because I always talk myself into staying and suffering 'til the bitter end. It's when you're suffering the most that the effort is doing your body the most good as far as training is concerned.
With two laps to go we can see that the 11 riders up the road are all in a single group now and they are playing chess with one another and slowing considerably. Great, now we have to try and real them in. Perfect. "Waiter, one more big heaping platter of suffering, please!" The field is strung out 50 strong. I'm sitting in the front five. How on earth did I get here? By the time we hit the line for the bell we're within 100 meters of the break and it looks like we might actually have a full field sprint. My legs are now screaming "Stop! Please! Stop!" but my brain keeps sending the impulses to crank with all I've got. As we reach the rise into turn two, Billy Ochowicz attacks from right in front of me so I match his jump and follow his wheel up the rise and into the back stretch with Rob Springer following on my wheel. I'm thinking "I sure hope the rest of the field appreciates this" when I look over my shoulder and am absolutely stunned to see that NOBODY followed us.
So here we are coming out of turn three, 900 meters from the finish, 50 meters behind the eleven break riders, three exhausted guys (two of us in our late forties) chasing down eleven. Since I know that we're not towing the entire field up to Dan in the break, I pull through past Billy and give it a 35 mph pull to try and close the gap but right about this time the break hits 400 meters to go and opens up their sprint. So close but no chance now. I sat up and let Billy and Rob do as they wished. We had put such a huge gap on the field with that final attack that I practically coasted in the last 250 meters and still beat the field sprint across the line by a good 50 meters.
Dan didn't have much left by the end and came across 9th in the lead group of 11. Rob and Billy picked up 12th and 13th with me coasting in 14th ahead of the field sprint for 15th.
So another March of Parkside Training Crits in the books. I think I'm just about there. My sprint has improved more than three mph since week one. I know that six blistering early season crits have hardened me up a bit. Next week, the famous Illinois Spring Classic, Hillsboro Roubaix. I'm as ready as I can be. Should be a fun one.
Stats: 18.95 miles / 47:10 / 24.1 ave mph / 36 max mph / 162 ave HR / 186 max HR
posted by Mack Daddy at 12:36 PM
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