Sunday, July 31, 2005

more racing

Had another race today. Super technical and it was pretty f'n hot. 3 laps, 21miles and about 2hours 50mins of pure hell. They sent us out as one big group -- Expert 19+. Must have been close to 40 of us. I got a good start but paid for it before lap one was finished. I broke my front shifter on the first lap. Halfway through the first lap I went over the handlebars and knocked the rear brake lever/shifter loose. Halfway through the 2nd lap I couldn't shift anymore 'cause every time i went to push on the brake lever to shift the whole unit would move in the bars. Luckily I caught someone watching and borrowed their allen wrench to fix it.

Then I cramped big time... paying for the fast 1st lap. I was then in survival mode and determined to finish the race rather than DNF. Three miles to go in the last lap every muscle in my thighs and calves cramped. I was laying on the side of the trail helpless and it fucking hurt. Haven't cramped that bad since a race in college. 15mins or so later I was able to walk (sort of) and very slowly and carefully rode to the finish line. It was my determination to finish that kept me going.

Think I finished 29th overall and 7th in my age group. There were 3 other people behind me overall and then the rest DNF'd (probably about 8 or so DNF'd). As much as it was a very painful race the resultant standings are still pretty decent.

Now I am paying for it though. My legs still hurt and I've been trying to sleep for a couple of hours now but only toss and turn. I hope I can sleep for I have another busy work week ahead of me.

That is partially why I physically didn't feel good during today's race. Those 15hour days last week are catching up to me regardless of how much I slept Friday night and all day Saturday. Fucking stress. It kills you and you don't even know it.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Mount Washington

Listed as one of the toughest New England bicycle climbs. I'm doing it on Sunday the 17th.
Some specs on the AutoRoad:
4,727ft vertical rise
7.6miles long
11.9% average grade
22% max grade (at the very top)
fastest male time is 49min 24sec set by Tom Danielson in 2002

I finished in 1hour 33minutes. Weather was overcast below the treeline, about 79degF and humid. Above the treeline it was sunny with a periodic breeze and about 70degF.

I averaged around 75 to 80rpm in gears 22front-25rear and 22front-27rear. 160-170bpm and an average speed of around 5 to 6mph.

Went out pretty fast at first and paid for it around mile 3. As Phil Liggit would say, I 'cracked'. Not to mention I almost threw up the banana I had while warming up. A few short bursts out of the saddle helped me recover and I was back at it again. The hardest part was between mile 4 and 5. That was the transition through the treeline. The road also turned to dirt and got pretty steep. Felt like the longest mile ever. Esp because I could see pretty far up the mountain and was like "F**k, the summit is so far away".

The last two switchbacks were the 22% grade and I was confused..... Do I stand out of the saddle and ride it? Or so I stay in the saddle and see what I can do? Either way hurt a lot and that is what confused me. The key was taking them really wide. The first one I stood up for half of the switchback and then was able to muscle through the rest of it in the saddle. The second one I just stayed in the saddle and muscled over it. I think the finish line being 20ft way mentally helped me get through those switchbacks.

time to go back to bed.