usgp 1 and no 2
friday night was boys night. after having breakfast for dinner, playing spirited games of tackle tumble and bedtime i was able to get both bikes ready to rock. i knew i wouldn't be feeling well (more gut issues) but i was able to focus myself on the positive and not the negative - my current 'form' is the best it has been in years. my gear is not holding me back. i'm hungry to make the next pass and not be complacent.
saturday morning came fast. i made some yummy steel cut oats, tried to chase my coffee with suitable amounts of water, got the car loaded up and headed to sun prairie. it felt really cold between the wind and the air temp. the morning went fast between watching mike c race, getting my gear in order, pit bike in place, and practice laps after the 45+. before i knew it we were lining up.
i managed to get a third row call up which was key (i think it is based on my wca standing). boom, the start was chaotic but i thought everyone did a good job of being good race citizens (foreshadowing). the big dogs rode away from me but i held my own amoungst the second tier of racers. i wasn't feeling the best and wasn't breathing well but i just focused on riding smooth lines and pushing the straights. i knew i was going well when i saw that every lap i was reeling in joe c and holding off jeff c. joe got a burst with two laps to go and shut down any chances i had of catching him, but finishing within seconds of a guy that usually beats me by minutes was encouraging. 27th and my best usac points score ever.
while i was racing, robin and calvin met jeremy powers and cal got a sweet photo with the reigning u.s. champ. watching the pro race just made me more excited to race on sunday.
sunday morning was similar. the day started with pancakes and once i got food/coffee down i was feeling really good. like, one of those feeling where you know you might have a really good race. similar description of the day from saturday leading up to the 35+ race except i felt much more calm. line up for the start. i was right next to the official and couldn't here any type of countdown. all of a sudden (seemingly out of the blue) the whistle blew. that caused panic in the group - it was a different feel in the first few seconds of the start from the day before. as i was getting to speed i heard a very loud popping sound. not a puncture, or even a typical bike sound but a sound i didn't recognize. i was a little sloppy in the start and lost some spots but then somehow surged back up to around my 18th staging spot. through the barriers and jeff went down in front of me with twisted bars. i hammered the first big straight and felt really good about my position. through the pits and on to the 'lower' part of the course i was focused on catching wheels when i heard it - the official's whistle. the pop i heard was a 'catestrophic' crash that required an ambulance. and that was game over - by the time the cleared the course it was too late to start and stay on the schedule for elites.
listen, to anyone who stumbled on this let me apologize if my comments regarding the crash were at all deemed to be insensitive - i was in no way trying to be negative or judgmental or insensitive but i totally see how what i wrote might have come across that way.
with the course changes that they made for sunday, that race would have been fast fast fast and fun. i was nice to watch the pro races but hard to watch at the same time. we lingered a little and had j-pow sign the photo with calvin that robin had printed that morning. behind the barriers was filming the exchange so calvin might end up on one of the first few episodes! he would dig that...
back to work. no racing this weekend due to a family wedding. minnesota cross racing the following weekend. furthercross after that (on my home course).
last week's training:
m: 1:10 (road)
t: 1:10 (commute)
w: 1:15 (cx practice)
r: 0 (planned rest)
f: 1:10 (commute)
s: 2:00 (usgp cx 35+)
n: 1:00 (pre-ride, warm up and 3 hard minutes)
total: 7:45
that was a long one.
happy monday.
saturday morning came fast. i made some yummy steel cut oats, tried to chase my coffee with suitable amounts of water, got the car loaded up and headed to sun prairie. it felt really cold between the wind and the air temp. the morning went fast between watching mike c race, getting my gear in order, pit bike in place, and practice laps after the 45+. before i knew it we were lining up.
i managed to get a third row call up which was key (i think it is based on my wca standing). boom, the start was chaotic but i thought everyone did a good job of being good race citizens (foreshadowing). the big dogs rode away from me but i held my own amoungst the second tier of racers. i wasn't feeling the best and wasn't breathing well but i just focused on riding smooth lines and pushing the straights. i knew i was going well when i saw that every lap i was reeling in joe c and holding off jeff c. joe got a burst with two laps to go and shut down any chances i had of catching him, but finishing within seconds of a guy that usually beats me by minutes was encouraging. 27th and my best usac points score ever.
while i was racing, robin and calvin met jeremy powers and cal got a sweet photo with the reigning u.s. champ. watching the pro race just made me more excited to race on sunday.
sunday morning was similar. the day started with pancakes and once i got food/coffee down i was feeling really good. like, one of those feeling where you know you might have a really good race. similar description of the day from saturday leading up to the 35+ race except i felt much more calm. line up for the start. i was right next to the official and couldn't here any type of countdown. all of a sudden (seemingly out of the blue) the whistle blew. that caused panic in the group - it was a different feel in the first few seconds of the start from the day before. as i was getting to speed i heard a very loud popping sound. not a puncture, or even a typical bike sound but a sound i didn't recognize. i was a little sloppy in the start and lost some spots but then somehow surged back up to around my 18th staging spot. through the barriers and jeff went down in front of me with twisted bars. i hammered the first big straight and felt really good about my position. through the pits and on to the 'lower' part of the course i was focused on catching wheels when i heard it - the official's whistle. the pop i heard was a 'catestrophic' crash that required an ambulance. and that was game over - by the time the cleared the course it was too late to start and stay on the schedule for elites.
with the course changes that they made for sunday, that race would have been fast fast fast and fun. i was nice to watch the pro races but hard to watch at the same time. we lingered a little and had j-pow sign the photo with calvin that robin had printed that morning. behind the barriers was filming the exchange so calvin might end up on one of the first few episodes! he would dig that...
back to work. no racing this weekend due to a family wedding. minnesota cross racing the following weekend. furthercross after that (on my home course).
last week's training:
m: 1:10 (road)
t: 1:10 (commute)
w: 1:15 (cx practice)
r: 0 (planned rest)
f: 1:10 (commute)
s: 2:00 (usgp cx 35+)
n: 1:00 (pre-ride, warm up and 3 hard minutes)
total: 7:45
that was a long one.
happy monday.
Comments