NinjaTurtle's Racing Diary: Last Major Race of the Season

Me on the 2nd lap, I think. Look at the bulging neck muscles! I guess I was really pushing hard.

Race name: 2009 Refrew Ras Road Race

Date and start time: 07/12/2009; 08:00 am

Location: Butler, PA

Type/distance: Mostly rolling hills - Steep hill at the corner of the Refrew and the Meridian Rds.; 3X8 mile-loop; 24 miles in total

Competitors to watch: Ben Stephens and Ted

Weather: 60-70 degF

Course condition: The Three Degree and the Renfrew Rds are about two-lane wide but have no yellow line. The Meridian and the Brownsdale Rds are two-lane roads with yellow line. They are pretty well maintained. The corner of the Refrew and the Meridian rds features a 120-deg turn with a steep climb coming out of the corner

Race goal: Stay near the front till the end

Race strategy: Advance on the Renfrew Rd to avoid the bunch-up at the corner of the Refrew and the Meridian rds. Advance near the end of the Meridian Rds to avoid being dropped at the uphill corner of the Meridian and the Brownsdale Rds. Sprint hard coming out of the corner of the Three Degree and the Meridian Rds.

Pre-race meal:
0500 - Pancakes with syrup (420 kcal); 1 glass of soy milk

Mid-race meal :
2 Hammer gels (180 kcal)
16 oz of water with 4 scoops of GU powder in one bottle

Warm-up description:
2 Jumps
Endurance ride (150-200 Watt) for the rest of the time
Total min

Start-line arousal level(1-5): 5

Results: Around #20 (I was erroneously recorded as DNF)

What I did well:
1. Getting a good position near the front on the first climb in the first lap

What I need to improve:
1. Ability to repeat 3-min maximum effort (Power Interval in CTS term)
2. Skills in advancing in the pack

Aches/pains/problems during and afterwards: None

Comments on or description of how race developed:
I made a mistake at the very beginning - I miscalculated the time required for registration. I thought the registration would be at the Start/Finish line, but instead, it was at fire engine house at the corner of the Three Degree and the Meridian Rds. I had to ride my bike from where I parked – the grass field inside the airport – to registration because it’s too far away to walk. By the time I finished registration and dressed up, there’s only 20 minutes left for warm-up. I did a couple of jumps and rode loops around the parking lot where the Cobra helicopter is, but I hardly felt ready when the race started.

The race started on a mostly straight downhill section on the Three Degree Rd, but the pace wasn’t as fast as I feared. On the Refrew Rd., the pack wasn’t as compact as during Ft Cherry race, so after we passed the waste water processing plant, I moved up to the top 4th position to get ready for the technical corner of the Refrew and the Meridian Rds. I was able to make the corner with the front group, and stayed there for the first half of the climb and then I started slipping back. At the top of the climb, I was panting hard and couldn’t do much for the rest of the lap.

On the second lap, people were more confident and closer to each other. Near the end of Refrew Rd., I know I should move to the front before hitting the climb again, but I failed to do so because I was still hurting from the effort in the first lap and the pack was more compact than last time. Even so, I was able to hang on to the back of the front group of about 11 riders on the climb. I could see Kevin and Ted in that group. Near the end of the climb, a rider broke away, and the front group picked up the pace and chased him. This was when I got dropped. If I had been closer to the front group, I might have been able to stay with them. Alas, my poor position entering the climb prevented from doing so. After riding alone for a while, 4 riders joined up with me, and they were really trying to bridge up to the front group. I was struggling to tag along, and was dropped near the end of the 2nd lap.

On the 3rd lap, I was passed by Steve Marlette of Ag3r on the Renfrew Rd. – I learned later on that he is a time-trial specialist and really good on flat, but soon afterwards, I joined up with a group of 5+ riders coming from behind and caught him on the climb. The pace was rather steady after the climb, probably because everyone was resting their legs for the final sprint and there’s no chance we would be able to catch the front group. I was thinking about the same thing, so I didn’t pull at the front for too long.

About 100 feet from the corner of the Three Degree and the Meridian Rds, Steve broke away, but didn’t get a huge gap. Knowing that I wouldn’t stand a chance powering up the last hump leading to the finish line, I moved to the front of the group. We caught Steve on the hump, but then everyone sprinted hard and passed me. I was near the back of the group at the finish line.

# Kevin got 5th place in the race. He’s doing really well, and I’m sure he’ll be in Cat 3 in no time if he’s really pushing it.

# The race organizer did a great job. They were the first group I saw distributing flyers at the registration which had details about the race, such as where to pin the numbers.

# My power data showed that I produced about the same power on the hill in the 2nd lap as in the 1st lap, so it’s very likely that I just had a poor position entering the climb and thus got dropped afterward.