wxduff

I'm signing up for my second race after doing alright, but not as good as I would have hoped in my first race.

I'm doing the Corning Circuit Race this time around, in Waltkins Glen, NY. Has anyone done the course before? I've watched a few youtube videos and checked out the course on MapMyRide but it is hard to gather what the hills are like there. My first race was largely flat but had one double kick which I was dropped on. I've lost about 5 or 6 pounds since then and my climbing is always getting better, and if the gradient is a near constant 4-6% i think I'll be fine. I struggle when it goes from 3 to 10 to 5 to 12, etc, I can't find a rhythm.

Also should I sign up for the "Citizens or the Cat 5"? I'm not expecting to win, and I believe they take off together (with some of the 4's as well), so either way I'm doing the same exact race. I'm thinking since my last race was as a Cat 5 I should keep trying the 5's as I will be able to use finishes towards upgrading (if I ever get good enough), even if I race on a one day license, right?

Either way I'm going to do the race, I've just been working so hard, I really want to pack finish this time.

Silvercivic27

Cat 5

carpediemracing 

Cat 5. Do you have an annual license? Technically you need an annual license to count all your Cat 5 finishes (to upgrade to Cat 4).

If you're having problems finding a rhythm on a double peak hill it may mean that you're getting tweaked when you need to accelerate again. This means either a lack of peak power or lack of fitness. I'm guessing that aerobically you're probably relatively fit - from my experience many new racers have great fitness. My guess is that you may lack peak power which is totally normal for a new racer.

Work on accelerating, especially when you're already working hard. You could do a hill that you do all the time, for example, but at the top of the hill you do a huge acceleration. You can even try some "outside of the box" type thoughts. Whenever I feel mentally stagnant I do something crazy, usually involving using a 53x11 and climbing some short steep hill. I fell victim to the whole "use a climbing gear when climbing" thing when I started racing:

(The first part is pertinent to the whole "outside the box" thing)
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...ic-and-me.html

jsutkeepspining

i love that story from your childhoob cdr. Always makes me think back to the first couple times i rode a bike.

Grumpy McTrumpy

I've done it every year since they started it.

It's not a climbers' race but it does climb a lot.

The sprint is incredibly long and usually headwind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP_fHtL8Rvk