Cleave

@sarals, what everyone else said. Really -- no other salient comments about what you did.
@Heathpack, good seeing you again Sunday.
@Racer Ex, looked as painful as the data indicated.

First race of the year, first DFL of the year. I thought I was going to do better than I did and what I was most disappointed about was my NP for the race. One of my teammates (5 years younger) caught me about 1/2 mile before the turnaround. I stayed the requisite distance behind to the turnaround even though I felt like I could re-pass him. Same feeling shortly after the turnaround so I did re-pass him. A short distance later, he passed me again and this time I stayed behind. Near the top of one of the rollers, I did something weird and the chain dropped to the small ring. Lost some distance that I never made up. Was about a minute slower than December.

Average HR was a few beats higher than December but NP was about 10 watts lower.

Went to see Star Wars in Real 3D on Sunday night and realized I was getting sick. Been sick since then and my fever is actually worse today than any prior day. I guess the oncoming illness affected my race performance.

Racer Ex 

Excuses, excuses.

Get well. VOS is closing in.

Heathpack 

Today's race was number 7 in the ten race SoCal TT series. To remind you all, prior to this morning's race I was in second place with 18 points behind Nemesis with 20.

My race went "fine". No big disaster but nothing too incredible, either.

Showed up at the usual 6am for registration. Normally the road is closed for the race but the adjacent parking lot is open. Today the parking lot was closed too. So we parked on the road, Mr H started setting up the trainer, etc and I went to pick up my number. When I got back from that, I realized that we were parked illegally. So we packed everything up and then couldn't find any legal street parking that was anywhere near to the start. So back we went to the original spot and set everything up again, figured worst case scenario, Mr H gets run off by parking police and I finish my warmup on the trainer on the shoulder of the road and he could walk back for the trainer. Getting behind schedule now and the orange vests who (wrongly) have closed the parking lot walk over to tell us we'll be ticketed if we stay there. Too bad, I need to get on the trainer *now* for my warmup.

Hop on the bike and go to calibrate my power meter and my calibration numbers are way off from usual- like 900-1000 vs the normal high 500's. What? Turn the Garmin off and then back on, same thing. Try riding and my power numbers are absurd- like 30 watts when I'm probably putting out 120-150. Meanwhile the orange vests come back and start conversing with Mr H. I don't know what they're talking about, I have ear buds in. They wander off to the parking lot entrance and I'm trying to trouble shoot the power meter to no avail. Eventually, I decide the thing to do is to delete the power meter from the Garmin and then add in back in, that might work.

Trouble is, I need the ANT+ codes to do that and they're in Mr H's phone and he's still off talking to the orange vests about lord knows what. So I actually have to call him to get him to come back. He does and my idea works, I'm back up and running power-wise but now I'm flustered. Finally time to head off to the start. Nemesis is there, we ride around together and chat for 2-3 minutes until its time to get in line for the start, I start to feel a little better and more relaxed.

Nemesis is the first of the women's 1-4 starts and she goes off in usual good form. Next up is wonder girl. Here's what the announcer had to say about her at her start: "Next up is Wonder Girl, age 29, three time national champion from San Diego, racing today in her specialty". Lol. Then Wonder Girl's teammate, who is my age but much more experienced.

I get off just fine. But I look down at my power meter and my numbers are way off again, this time the numbers are way high. I think that through for a few minutes and realize my numbers are not wrong. I've gone out too hard, it feels easy because of the adrenaline rush of everything going wrong I guess. Doh. Total rookie mistake.

I rein it in but despite going out too hard, Wonder Girl and Teammate are out of sight. Whatever, I just do my thing and I'm feeling pretty good. Happy that I seem to be ok in the head after everything that had happened. I lope along on the first lap right on target power-wise. My plan was to maintain that for the second lap and I do. Until near the end, when we come into a little downhill right at a sharp left turn. It's really the only place on the course that you can't viably pass someone, because the best line through the corner requires that you go from the outside white line to the inside white line of the one-way road.

Right as I'm coming in to that turn, there's a woman going incredibly slow (her finish time for a 20k was over an hour!) right in the middle of the road. She's clearly lacking in confidence, the only thing to do is slow down and wait until after the curve to pass her. Which I do, but now I finish lap 2 two watts below target.

Oh well, $hit happens, and I'm planning to ramp things up a bit for lap three anyway. I do, but I'm tired and more uneven in power output. Trying to stay focused but it takes more concentration. Not a big deal, this all seems pretty normal to me now. Except that I feel better than usual, just happy and comfortable and one with the bike. But no burn, in retrospect I should have ramped it up more than I did.

Then towards the end of the 3rd lap, I come into that same corner and am setting myself up for a nice line through it andI hear some guy SCREAMING "On your left!!!"to me. Are you kidding? Totally unsafe place to pass especially on the left. I don't really yield (much) to him, he starts screaming at me again. I'm afraid he's going to cream me, I give way just enough for him to pass on that dangerous curve and the dip$hit actually does. And he doesn't even blow completely past me, I'd say I was going 22-23 mph and he was maybe 1 mph faster. He just swerves around me and then right back in front of me. I assess what he's doing and then continue on but that was a little more time lost for me. I finish just fine and immediately know I could have gone harder, I don't feel at all nauseated. Man, these things are a little tricky to get just right.

Chatting with Nemesis post-race while we're waiting for results, she is not happy with her time. But she is racing with broken ribs. Turns out she crashed in a group ride, the same gusty winds that I've told y'all about in training posts. A guy got blown into her during an easy club training ride. Broken ribs, a concussion and off the bike for about 6 weeks now.

In the end, Wonder Girl won easily. Her teammate took second and Nemesis was third. I was last and off by PB by 40 seconds. However it was 10 degrees colder than the Nov race (when I got that PB) and the road was wet. All the regulars were 30-45 seconds slower today. So the time was ok really. It would have been nice to be improved over my last try but mostly I'm just glad to have survived all the stuff that could have rattled me pre-race, to just go out and calmly do it despite the chaos. Huge giant learning curve to this racing thing and I'm still majorly figuring things out.

Heathpack 

Oh yeah a few more things:
Wonder Girl: 29:30
Teammate: 31:28
The Injured Nemesis: 32:04
Me: 32:14

So points-wise, I think the series totals are now: Nemesis in first place with 23 points and me in second with 18 points.

Nemesis' opinion was that I should have not yielded to dip$hit at all, the safest thing in situations like that is to hold your line.

And funny thing- the guy parked next to us on the road was doing his first race ever. His start was (unbeknownst to us) two minutes after mine. Mr H tells me after I'd been gone for about 10 minutes, the guy asks him how the starts work, he doesn't know what to do. Mr H asks him what his start time is and the guy says 7:18. It was then 7:20. Haha, they still let him race.

shovelhd

A we've all had those races where nothing goes right. Good for you for continuing on.

It was smart to say out of dip****s way but Nemesis is right, you did not have to yield.

TT rules are such that if you show up late to the line, you go. No holder, no starter, no countdown. Your clock started at the time on the start sheet.

LAJ

Awesome race report, @Heathpack, and well done! Not sure who these clowns are you race with, but they sure help to build character.

Heathpack 

Yes, that's exactly what happened. The guy actually came in 3rd place with a time of 36 min and something, three minutes of that consisted of talking to my husband and then riding to the start.

I actually feel way better now that I'm home and I've looked at my data in WKO+. I know exactly what happened in this race and how to maybe do better next time from a technical standpoint. We'll see if @Racer Ex agrees when he sees that data. I easily could have taken 2nd or 3rd place from a fitness perspective, I just made some mistakes during the race.

Heathpack 

San Diego = Land of the Triathlete.

revchuck 

This is true. Don't ask me how I know this...

Way to keep your head in the game despite the distractions, Heathpack! Also interesting to note that Nemesis regards you as a worthy opponent rather than "the enemy."

Hermes

Congrats @Heathpack on the race and overcoming challenges.

Heathpack 

Thanks @Hermes.

@revchuck, Nemesis is actually a normal, nice person. She is a pretty class act. The whole intro to racing has been a positive experience thus far. Even the best people riding this series are not arrogant about it. Happy to talk about their bike or stuff or strategy. I thought the whole thing would be more intimidating than it is and that at least some people would be cutthroat about it. Nope. So far it's just a bunch of people who fundamentally get each other.

valygrl

Yikes, what a cluster! Good job keeping your head in the game and keeping upright.

YogaKat

I thoroughly enjoyed the detailed report. That sounds like a lot of chaos.

Well done on keeping your cool and your mental game on.

Racer Ex 

Yelling at someone when you're passing them makes it a lot more likely to have something go wrong. As a former 500cc GP champ once said "aim for where they are now, and when you get there they'll be gone".

sarals 

@Heathpack, very well done! For those of you who don't know, Heathie and I met along with Mr. H. Saturday morning and had breakfast and nice talk. Actually, a great talk! Heathie is a top drawer contender, she is quite a fierce and focused competitor. I got a look at Grasshoppa, too, and it's beautiful!

You rode a great race. Gosh, you are so close in times. To be within a couple of minutes of a young phenom is pretty incredible, and I'd say without reservation that Nemesis can feel you breathing down her neck, because you are.

Congratulations, Heathie - great job!!

sarals 

The Bump Circuit race is in the books. Race report coming. I am pleased, very, with how I rode. I raced. THIS is what this is all about, and I needed that reminder.

sarals 

The Bump Circuit Race, Livermore, CA Cat 3/4 Field Combined 02/07/16

This was my first "race of record" for the 2016 road season. I understood I was behind on fitness, and was coming off of a lackluster FTP test. I needed a push, a race, and I needed to stay in and really race. Doubts of my resolve and abilities had been creeping into my pysche and I had to prove to myself that I still had the will and drive to compete, no matter where I was on the fitness ladder at the moment. The field was a combined Cat 3/4 field, 26 riders strong. Two teams had a large presence, SJBC (San Jose Bike Club) with seven riders, JLVelo with six. There was also a national champion (Lesley Jensen) present. The course was a seven mile loop, half up hill, the other half downhill, located in the Patterson Pass area of Livermore. It was not a course that played to my strengths, but to me, that wasn't important. It also wasn't important that the field was very strong, and it wasn't important that I had many years on everyone (except for Lesley). The weather was cool, 53 degrees at race start, sunny, and no wind.

My plan was to stay attached as long as possible, and to race my race. Race, not ride.

I warmed up on my Venge for twenty minutes on the trainer, then did some moderate pacing around the parking lot, arriving at the start a couple of minutes before the whistle.

The field rolled off neutral for the first 1/2 mile or so. I positioned myself at the rear of the peloton, next to the centerline. My positioning was less than ideal, but I did not know the course, and I did not know the field, so I had decided to play it safe. When we went hot, the pace came up only slightly, because we were climbing the front side of the course. I felt okay, not great, but not bad, either. I was working pretty hard on the climb, but I was not having any issues staying attached. We made a 90 degree right turn, and in front of us was the course name-sake, "The Bump". It is a steep roller, and the start/finish is on the summit of it. The pace accelerated as we made the turn, and when we hit the bottom of the roller, I got gapped. I was redlined, HR was 160, and rather than blow myself up, I held the pace I had. The field got away from me on the back side of the roller, and because another climb followed it immediately, and because I was at my limit, I didn't/couldn't chase. Ideally, I would have been towards the front of the group to either dictate the pace up the climb or be positioned to slide back but remain attached. Not knowing the course played into that.

It was what it was.

I recovered enough to keep a good hard pace up the next climb, and I could see the field about three hundred yards in front of me. I held that position down the (long) descent that followed, but never made up any ground, which is not something that usually can be done on a descent. A 90 degree right turn came up, leading onto a flat section of the course. I kept my pace high, and held a decent speed. The field wasn't pulling away, but I wasn't gaining on them, either. I was determined to hold what I had, I had a good TT going, and I knew if I ramped it up much more I risked blowing - and I still had (two) more laps to do. Another 90 degree right turn arrived, and not too far beyond that was another short climb. That's where I lost the field for good.

I had settled in and I stayed in, and kept up a good, consistent pace. Another right turn, and I started back up the long climb to The Bump. The second time up that roller was hard, but I got over it and didn't worry that I needed to do it again. I held a solid pace up the next short climb, and then started the descent. I became aware of someone on my wheel, and it turned out that two someones, two guys, were there. I moved left, and they went by, and I jumped on. I stayed with them all the way to the flats, and even took my turn on the front. On my second turn at the front, I threw a hard cramp in my right calf and had to get out of it. I moved left and let my train go. (I know - the rules say you can't use another race to get around the course - no motoref in sight, and I wasn't gaining any advantage).

I was slower up the long climb the third time around, I had backed down just a bit because I expected another lap, and I wanted to conserve some energy. When I got to the the top of The Bump, the RD called out to me "thank you, Sara!" I answered, "what, I'm done?" "Yes, you are - good job!".

I rode well. I was overmatched, short on fitness (but not a lot), and I had made an important tactical error, but overall, I was pleased with my performance and very happy that I done the race. 25 of 26. It's not always about making the podium, there are other ways to claim a victory in this sport. This was one, and I fought hard to get it.

Heathpack 

Nice to be back at it, @sarals. Doing what you like to do and didn't really imagine you could ever do, way back before you ever picked up a bike.

sarals 

Isn't that truth? This is a hard, hard sport. But I have to tell you - no matter what, I love doing it.

shovelhd

The most important thing is that you knew exactly what you did, what you would do differently, and that you garner respect on the course. A big thumbs up for all of that.

sarals 

Eyes wide open, Shovel. Thank you for that!

Heathpack 

I had kind of a crazy week this past week. Sick with a sinus thing, but not sick enough to miss work, and busier than usual because my colleague was on vacation. And lots of stressful crazy cases, things I was having a lot of trouble figuring out, so more mentally taxing than usual too. I was off the bike all week, did a little easy spin on Friday and felt good enough to plan on racing on Sunday.

We have had this crazy Santa Ana wind event going on here since Friday- which means high winds, big gusts and warm temperatures. For Piru, a Santa Ana condition means a tailwind/downhill going 6.1 miles out and a headwind/uphill coming 6.1 miles back. The winds for Sat afternoon were forecast to be similar to those we'd see at race time on Sunday, so I decided to drive the 20 minutes out to the course to ride my openers. Once I got out to Piru, the wind was pretty intense- around 15 mph, gusting to 30-35. When you head out on the course, the wind is coming generally over your right shoulder. To your left is a canyon wall and the thing that surprised me was how the wind would reflect off the canyon wall and you'd feel it coming from the right and behind you, but then it would hit your front wheel from the left and in front of you. Very squirrely. Five minutes of that and I swapped the front 60 mm wheel for my everyday 24 mm wheel. Much better. Still getting blown around some and I was not very relaxed on the bike. But doable.

Saturday evening, I checked the forecast and now it was calling for winds at race time in the 18-22 mph range, with gusts to 35. Before I fully processed that, they updated the forecast and issued a wind advisory- 20-30 mph sustained winds and gusts 40-50 mph. Yikes. I wasn't sure what to think, that kind of wind was just uncharted territory for me on the TT bike. I really didn't want to bag it, but had no idea how much improved handling I'd get by swapping out the disc and going with a rear 60 mm or even 24 mm wheel. "Emergency" text to my long-suffering coach (thank you @Racer Ex) and I decided on the 60mm for the rear and to bail if it was crazy when I got there.

Sunday morning, checking in for the race, the wind was pretty gnarly- 20ish sustained and gusting almost continuously in the 30-40 mph range. Chatted with Nemesis in line to pick up our registrations. She told me that she was halfway hoping I wouldn't show, so that she could just go out and ride it however. Lol, I told her that I actually went to the extent of bringing a road bike. In case she didn't show. So that I could just go out and ride it however.

It was just the two of us in the Women's 1-4. No other licensed women had any compelling reason to come out and ride in the nutso wind, I guess. But generally there were lots of people there and I had a later than normal start time. In the holding pen where you wait for your turn to get in line for your start, one of the experienced guys who I've gotten to know during this series rides up to me and says, "So you've decided to go with the shallow profile wheels, huh?" I tell him yes, I rode on the course the day prior and I was having issues with bike handling and this is what I decided on. He proceeds to tell me that's all in my head, its just mental. Which irritates me. First: because why would you try to get a newby to second guess their equipment choice 3 minutes before race time? And second: because he's bigger than me and probably legit does not get blown around to the extent I do and he has a flat disc whereas mine is lenticular and how the heck does he have any idea what I'm experiencing in the wind??! Anyway, my response must have been pretty irritated-sounding because he dropped it and moved along to chat with someone else.

I decided my game plan would be to go out pretty easy, see how the bike felt, then ramp things up. If everything really clicked and I was having a great day, I'd just go ahead and race as usual. If the bike was squirrely or I just wasn't feeling it, I'd just ride the thing for the experience of being on the bike in winds that I otherwise would not choose the TT bike for. I had a slow start and then took a while to ramp things up and never fully got engaged. The bike handling was actually fine, it was much better than the previous day, good wheel choice, I guess. But I was spending most of my brain effort at processing the wind, I had nothing left for racing. But it still seemed like there was some chance for it, until the turn.

The headwind coming back was just nasty. It was constantly alternating between brisk and strong. I couldn't get in a groove and finally just decided to abandon the idea of racing and just get some time in riding in the wind. In and out of aero, just trying to get to the finish. I did manage to pass one woman on a road bike who had started 4 minutes before me. In the end, I finished in 38min and something, maybe 5 minutes off my PB. Nemesis was 3ish minutes ahead of me. We were both just glad it was over.

We did chat a little afterward about what each of us were doing next. She loves road races and will go that direction as soon as the ribs allow her to start getting in long rides. Probably the Sherman Pass Road Race (which she won last year, bad ass, that is 8000+ ft of climbing over 60 miles) and the Everest Challenge Stage Race and basically anything that goes up hill. She'll do the SoCal State TT Championships, but she turns 55 this year and there's no age group for 55 year olds, she has to do some other TT to race age group (I wasn't following those details). So she will have to race it as a Cat 3, which is of course not entirely fair.

All in all, it was an ok day. I just really want lots of experiences of all kinds on the TT bike, the more the better. I need to get to the point where all the other things you do on a bike happen automatically, which then leaves me room to actually race the bike. So winning is nice. Doing well is nice. But failing both of those, riding in the gnarly wind at least gets me one check in the experience box. And no way would I ever volunteer to ride in wind like that, a race is the only format that could really make that happen.

shovelhd

You're my hero.

sarals 

I'm seriously blushing! Thank you - again!

sarals 

@Heathpack, that was something! You were right, there is no way anyone (unless they were some badass pro) could race in those conditions. And as I said to you earlier, you deserve major props for your bike skills, you certainly demonstrated that they are stellar. Major, major kudos for getting out there - that in itself was a win. And congratulations on a decent time in HORRIBLE conditions!

Oh - Patterson Pass, where I raced today, is notorious for fierce winds. Today - dead calm. I'd have been happy to share your winds with you!