Racing in the Dark

Race name: 2009 ACA Summer Criterium Series and picnic

Date and start time: 07/1/2009; 08:00 pm

Location: Washington Blvd Cycling Oval, Pittsburgh

Type/distance: 0.5 mile banked Cycling Oval; 20 laps in total

Competitors to watch: John Cotter

Weather: 60-70 degF, cool but humid

Course condition: a little wet from a storm before the race

Race goal: Follow John and try to get placing

Race strategy: Save energy until the last 3 laps

Pre-race meal:
1300 - 1 Pop-tart (210 kcal)
1400 - 1 Swiss Miss hot cocoa (120 kcal)
1500 - 1 Pop-tart (210 kcal)
1700 - 4 Hammer gels (360 kcal) and 1 bottle of Cytomax (180 kcal)
1800 - 1 hamburger

Mid-race meal :
A couple of sip of water

Warm-up description:
8 min Tempo (2 min Recovery)
1X 2 min Power Interval (2 min Recovery)
30 sec Speed Interval
Endurance Miles for the rest of the time
Total 1 hour

Start-line arousal level(1-5): 3

Results: Finished in last one-third

Power files start/end point:

What I did well:
1. Doing just one power interval seems to work better - it helps me get used to the high intensity effort without fatiguing myself

What I need to improve:
1. Follow an accomplished rider like John for as long as possible
2. Timing for sprint
3. Sprint power - I think I haven't been doing this training for a while
4. Cornering

Aches/pains/problems afterwards:
None

Comments on or description of how race developed:
This race was a bit different than the usual format. Because there's a picnic during the race as well, the organizer tried to get all the racers and their family together on one evening. There's a women/junior and a C race after the A and B race, but the women/junior and C race were cut short to just 20 laps. Also, because of the limited time, there were no neutral laps and no marshals on the course. To make the race interesting, it was the only race in which every lap was a prime lap.

I told myself before the race that I need to learn to find a good spot in the pack. And the best way to do that is to follow an accomplished rider like Andrew, Samson, Kevin, and John. Unfortunately, I only saw John in this race.

Our C race started near 8 pm. By then, I felt pretty tired - I think it's more of mental fatigue, and I don't think there's any way to counter that. As there were no neutral laps, the race started fast. I tried to find John in the race, but I only got to follow him for a few laps, and someone else cut in between John and me. This shows how difficult it is to follow someone throughout a race.

Near the end of the race, it was so dark that I couldn't see the lap card, and it was difficult to see other riders as well. It surely was scary.