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2019 racing stories!

Old 04-21-19, 11:10 AM
  #151  
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5 man podium in a 12 man field #california .

For real though, nice work beating up on the skinny guys.
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Old 04-21-19, 11:27 AM
  #152  
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Thanks Scott!!!
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Old 04-21-19, 01:28 PM
  #153  
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Originally Posted by TMonk
San Luis Rey RR Cat 3, 4th/12 starters. Course is a 14-mi U-shape with the S/F line after a 10 minute low-grade (4%) stair-step type climb. Flattens out 1 km before the finish. We did four laps.

Short Version: I missed the break (of 3).

Long Version:

I knew that I was fitter than previous years when I wasn't a realistic contender for the win given the course, so mentally it would be different. I wasn't going to "check out" at the bottom of the last climb b/c I knew I would be one of the better ones.

In a race this small, I knew it would be a weird, and kind of fun race. They're not worth as many points (for obvious reasons), but I like small fields. A few short-lived breaks went in the first half with Cal Bike really animating the race with attacks and counters. With two strong riders they were the only "team" there. Halfway through the lap a group of three gets about a minute, then on the climb me and two other riders bridged up. As soon as we got there the cooperation up front just went out the window and the rest of the field was able to latch back on. Great.

Then after climb 2 (of 4), the real move went, and actually after the 180 degree turn after the climb, which is also the feed zone. I wasn't getting a bottle but I did soft-pedal to ditch one on the curb with our Team Director. Lame place to attack really. I didn't want to hustle the break back and instead relied on Cal Bike to bridge us back up but they didn't and that's why I lost. We spent a lap working fairly smoothly (5-6 of us) and just did not get any time. So they were probably the best three out on course.

After a lap of rotating and a third climb most of the rest of the field was dropped. I knew that I was the best of the rest and managed to salvage fourth. The last lap was sloooooooooow as we relegated ourselves to racing for fourth and everyone wanted gas for the climb.

At the final climb, it was a few skinny juniors, myself and Levi (Cal Bike). I knew Levi and I had the best sprints. I had actually planned on attacking the climb on a steeper ramp, but started getting some proto-cramps which is weird b/c I'm in shape and was feeling great. Like my legs wanted to go hard. But I didn't. A minute or two later some junior put in a moderate attack and it dropped Levi, leaving me and two juniors. At this point with ~1.5 miles to go I knew I had it. At some point I found myself on the front with 1 km to go when it flattens out, and I just started coasting. I told the kids if Levi got back to us he would smoke us. But it didn't work and they stayed behind. We were probably going like 6 MPH with 200 m left when one of the juniors launched his sprint. It was easy for me to grab his wheel, squeeze the legs for a few pumps and come flying around for 4th at that point. At a lean 145 lbs I was large and muscular compared to these kids.

Takeaway:

I had a fun time racing SLR and was really glad I showed up. I wanted more out of the race and was a bit frustrated half-way through, but by the end I was content at having had a fun time out on the road after an interesting ride. Plus I got a few points (3!). This puts me at 28 out of 30 upgrade points for Cat 2, so every bit counts at this point. I'll take it!!!



this 5 deep podium is like half the race...
@grats TMonk

Unpopular opinion but the more they can shove onto a podium the better! Most racers never get near the box, or sniff any sort of reward in a race. Another reason the burnout rate is so high.
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Old 04-21-19, 05:48 PM
  #154  
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@TMonk Keep it up. You are having a great season!
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Old 04-22-19, 05:19 PM
  #155  
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That podium looks weird, or are you all like 5'5"?
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Old 04-22-19, 05:55 PM
  #156  
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I'm 5'9". 1st and 5th are shorter than me, 3rd is about the same (but bigger) and 2nd is a bit taller.
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Old 04-23-19, 12:37 PM
  #157  
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Originally Posted by TMonk
I'm 5'9". 1st and 5th are shorter than me, 3rd is about the same (but bigger) and 2nd is a bit taller.
Check out Shaq over here. Next time you're out here I'm going to have you get some stuff out of my top cabinets.
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Old 04-23-19, 12:50 PM
  #158  
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lol
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Old 04-27-19, 05:55 PM
  #159  
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Another bad race in the 123 field. I'll get there eventually. Didn't even make it over the first climb. Chased hard, closed a 1.5 min gap down to 10seconds practically by myself and then couldn't close it off as we turned into a tail wind... I'll get there.
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Old 04-28-19, 09:43 PM
  #160  
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Keep at it @Ttoc6!
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Old 04-29-19, 06:53 AM
  #161  
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I'll file this under TT. I don't want to fully associate with the multi-sport folks just yet.

Sunday did the local duathlon. Definitely a run biased one, 5k 30k 5k.

Gentle rolling terrain for run and bike. Nothing perfect flat, no hills. I actually bothered to "do nutrition" in a somewhat competent way this time and it mattered. A lot.

First 5k it says was a PR for me by about a minute.

What we care about here......the bike leg:
18mi, 450ish feet total, 23.2 mph avg.........210w AP and 218w NP with VI of 1.04

2008 Felt DA, Renn 575 disc, HED 3c trispoke........old crappy Zipp Tangente on the HED and a crap Conti blackchili Sprinter on the disc. New old stock Giro Advantage 2 helmet, and a $75 or so Galibier skinsuit.
Huge improvement........now running a 12-25 cassette instead of the bargain 11-28 I had on there. Geeeeesh. Looking at a power/cadence chart of prior rides and comparing to the 12-25 is amazing. The 12-25 looks like
a super smooth and steady line. The 11-28 looked like a mess.

Got 16 of 150 overall and got 3rd best bike split. I almost got 2nd best bike split but locked up the brakes going into transition trying to save time and almost ate ****. I got 3rd bike split by like 15 seconds.

Second run, if you count it as on the same day.......was also a 5k PR. It was a tad slower, but did that one about 30 sec faster than my old PR.

5th in AG. They bumped me up AG since it's the same as USAC with the "end of year" age.

Freaking would have podium'd if I was still in the under-35 AG. I would have gotten 2nd in that AG. Bummer. All those damn 40 year olds with kids in high school and more time on their hands.

Either way, the run was a great PR effort for me. But by all standards still "slow" for multi-sport people's standards.

I'll threaten a win in AG next year if all I do is find 30 seconds per mile on the run. I'll crush AG if I bother to run some non-**** tires on the bike leg also and gain time there. This was a great first ever showing in something like this. I know for SURE I can do that bike split over 25mph.

It was fun on the bike leg at least. Overall a really nice crowd and fun time. Fun passing a bunch of $8000+ P5X's and Ventums on my 10+ year old freebie frameset.
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Old 04-29-19, 10:38 AM
  #162  
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Raced individual pursuit at LAVRA yesterday at VSC on the 250 track. For 50+ masters, the distance is 2k. I always tend to over cook the start and 2nd lap and slow down for the 2nd kilo. Today, I told my coach I was going to crawl along for those two laps. Mission accomplished but just a little too slow. However, I did increase the speed for each succeeding lap and posted a solid time for the first race of the series.

It is a great feeling to keep increasing the pace and hear faster lap times called each lap versus hearing slower times while feeling the legs loading up unable to accelerate the pace.
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Old 04-29-19, 06:49 PM
  #163  
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Originally Posted by burnthesheep
It was fun on the bike leg at least. Overall a really nice crowd and fun time. Fun passing a bunch of $8000+ P5X's and Ventums on my 10+ year old freebie frameset.
Coming from an ex-triathlete.. this is the best part. Until one gets a touch better at swimming and never see the Fred's until the beer garden.

Great work dude. I never did any DU's even though they would've favored me well as a relatively good runner and (at that time) an above mediocre cyclist. They look fun. Maybe some day..
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Old 04-30-19, 07:06 AM
  #164  
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Originally Posted by Ttoc6
Coming from an ex-triathlete.. this is the best part. Until one gets a touch better at swimming and never see the Fred's until the beer garden.

Great work dude. I never did any DU's even though they would've favored me well as a relatively good runner and (at that time) an above mediocre cyclist. They look fun. Maybe some day..
Thanks!

I've been chatting on our local Google group with a really smart guy about my tire choices. I'm on whatever came on the front and something that isn't super fast in the back. He seems to do 1/2 or Full IM stuff and looks to be a really strong local cyclist also.

So, I'm tossing out about 15w or so to the trash right there. I looked up the tire I have on back, it's almost double the CRR of a good modern tubular.

If I was a couple months younger, I'd have gotten 2nd in my AG. But the birthdate got me.

All the actual dual sport or tri folks were running like 18 to 19 min 5k's. So, I was losing out 3 to 4 min per run leg. It's hard to make up THAT much time in just 18 miles. A 22min and 23min 5k in that race for me was absolutely smoking it.

If I can get the 5k's down to about 20min each I think I could start troubling a few people for a podium.

It was pretty low pressure, to me, since there's no concept of "getting dropped" and your day is over. You plan well, and you execute the plan. Like a TT, but mixed, and longer.

I'm going to sign up for the 40k TT that's in June. I'm starting prep now for that. I've got several things to tidy up. Tires, dial the position a touch,
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Old 05-01-19, 09:29 PM
  #165  
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2019 Barrio Logan GP Cat 3/4 - 4th/20+ Cat 3's, 40-50 total.

Short Version:

I got 4th from the break I started. Frustrated that I sold myself short but happy that I made my goal: 2 more upgrade points. I'm now at 30 and plan on submitting my upgrade more or less as soon as the results are on USAC.org


Long Version:

This local race is a favorite of mine due to the course, which features 8 tight corners and a solid 4-5% grade on the long stretches. Technical and punchy.

With 8 capable riders, our plan was to cover moves and maybe launch a couple in the 1st half, then have me or Trevor (race winner) go at like the half way point. If there was no move with SDBC once we hit the lap cards at 5 to go, we were going to bring it all together, control the front and make sure it ended in a smooth sprint for us. But fortunately it didn't come to that, not because I don't have a good sprint, but because I've been increasingly ambivalent to participate in bunch finish situations for safety reasons. Makes me nervous. Maybe I'm just getting old!

I wasn't feeling too comfortable and despite a good starting position, eventually found myself towards the back and playing it cool. Wasn't really my role to do anything at this point anyway. Before 15 min in I decided to move up. I practiced finding parts of the course that made me use a minimum of energy to get some speed, surfed a few wheels and was back in action.

At the front, I had a couple "green" but talented cat 4's that were doing a great job following my orders, which ranged from "close that gap" to "easy/smooth". As a teammate reeled in a solo move I could feel the pack starting to slow so I put a sneak attack up the left side of the hill by getting low and accelerating my gear to a high rpm, seated. It was clear by the top of the hill that I had a few seconds already, so I got lower, up shifted and squeezed harder.

From here everything just felt right. I was joined about 1 lap in by Jake, local racer and acquaintance, also fairly strong. I guess our race director and coach saw promise in the move so they yelled at Trevor to get up there, who eventually did, along with three others.

Six is about the number where I start to worry about cohesion and cooperation in a break. Really I'd prefer 4 or so committed riders, but we managed to work together fairly well. I knew all but 1 rider in the break, and with 2 CalBike guys (only other cohesive team) and 2 SDBC (including me) I was excited about our prospects. We hovered around ~10-15 seconds for a while which is a little close for comfort, but eventually we pulled out a half-lap, or about 40 seconds. I was feeling strong and driving hard on my pulls, even gapped second wheel a couple times w/o a big acceleration. A couple guys were hurting up there.

Going into the final my head was so fixated on getting fourth place, but I should have been on the podium. I had more to give in the sprint, but instead I focused on beating at least two in the break so I coasted for bits and didn't really squeeze full power out of them except for like 5 seconds. Briefly, Levi (Cal Bike) attacked going into 1 to go, then again, and only me and Trevor followed. He slowed and the break re-formed. Really this would have been a cool place to counter and I had some gas, but again I was focused on not losing fourth lol.

Instead I let Levi and Trevor (teammate) dual it out up the hill, and just watched others chase. I followed the fourth wheel up the climb and just put in enough to pass him after we cleared the last corner.


Takeaway:

I had a total blast racing with my teammates and having fun at one of my favorite crit courses. I'm disappointed that I sold myself short on the podium - our race director and teammates deserve that much. It is much cooler cheering on and talking about your buddy that podiumed versus got fourth. But, I am happy that I executed the race very well and nailed my goal!

While it has been fun this season I feel like I'm ready for a higher level of speed and organization in my racing. This year has been great because I've proved to myself with just a tiny bit more dedication on all fronts, I can be a fast and effective breakaway rider. I look forward to being on the elite team for a short while and long term probably a competitive Masters team where I can apply myself and make a difference. Racing Age 33.



all San Diego podium!!!
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Old 05-02-19, 12:50 PM
  #166  
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@TMonk. Solid report and results. Onward and upward.
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Old 05-02-19, 08:47 PM
  #167  
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Great work @TMonk. These california podiums keep getting weirder and weirder though.
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Old 05-02-19, 10:53 PM
  #168  
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Thanks guys. The six man podium is a bit redic., but we're all buddies and we were the break so I guess it felt okay at the time.
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Old 05-03-19, 04:59 AM
  #169  
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Congrats T-Monk.

But if I didn't know better, I would assume you were a junior based on your past few podium pics.
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Old 05-03-19, 08:20 AM
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You mean because of the inclusivity on the podiums? We're soft here in socal . But fast!

Also 2nd place (Levi) is basically a junior, was last year or the year before. Good kid.
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Old 05-04-19, 06:19 PM
  #171  
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75 mile road race today. Mostly flat with rollers. Went in with a solid team plan for our three guys. Ended up putting one of em in the early break that lasted all day. He got second after a hard fought battle. I covered moves all day and got to go fast on flat pavement.

Also.. highly reccomend against riding on antelope island in the middle of spring. The bugs are awful. I've got a lot of bites and probably obtained countable numbers of grams of protein from my intake during the race.
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Old 05-05-19, 08:29 PM
  #172  
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May 2019 Piru 20k ITT, Women 1-5, 1st of 6

I’ve intentionally started my last several TTs by racing a 10K pace and then winging it from there, with predictably ‘meh’ results. Today I just wanted to go out and pace it right. And I did. Below the power I hoped to put out but well executed, 17 seconds off my PR for the course and not in the fastest conditions.

Second place was 20 seconds behind me and third was 90 seconds back.

Happy to get the win, just what the doctor ordered.

I decided not to race the State ITT this year to focus instead on National Senior Games. But got asked to join a women’s race team for the purpose of racing the State TTT. Really wish I could do it, I’m out of town for a work conference that weekend. I’ll probably join the team though, so I can try the TTT next year, if they have it.
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Old 05-06-19, 05:49 PM
  #173  
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nice @Heathpack!
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Old 05-08-19, 01:35 PM
  #174  
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@Heathpack Congrats on the W. TTTs are fun.
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Old 05-10-19, 08:19 PM
  #175  
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Congrats. TTTs are underrated and take work. They are very alive in juniors and collegiate. In the day (1985s) they were pretty popular with adults.
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