We drove up Friday early afternoon to beat traffic and get to the hotel in Saratoga Springs, NY at a good time. But before we could leave, we had to have some car issues looked at. I don't think that the mechanic quite knew what he was doing, after a few tactful suggestions, we decided to just move on.
So a little behind schedule which meant that David couldn't get to pre-registration, so he'd have an extra early morning on Saturday. We ate well on the way up, plenty of good food packed! Becca's post marathon cookies were a big hit.
We made it just on time to check in to the hotel and scoot over to meet the rest of the team for dinner.
After that we were all ready to go straight to bed. David had to get up at 6am to get registered and make his start time at 9:25 am. It was freezing in the morning, literally only a few degrees above, but with a vicious wind chill. I tried to sleep in a bit, but I was too wound up with pre-race nerves and was wide awake by 8 am. I barely managed to get my french toast breakfast down, then it was time for final preparations.
The thing with biking is that it has too many accessories and paraphernalia. Layering clothes for the weather, arm warmers, knee warmers, which gloves? bottles, food, drink mixes or water? gells, shots, or bars? Spare wheels, bag of tools, etc etc...
We drove out to Cambridge and I was glad to see that the weather was coming up through the forties and there was even a hint of sun once in a while. Steve called to say that it was frickin' freezing, and the wind chill was brutal. Alright, maybe I'll add a base layer.
Most of us were racing, but Becca and Amy did a fantastic job with support. After we rolled out, they headed out to the second feed zone with all the kids, bottles for everyone. I'm trying to imagine watching those kids, keeping an eye out for the groups of racers coming through, and trying to get the right bottles to the right people. Not an easy task! Plus, they were looking for 4 of us in the Masters 30+, 1 in Women Cat 4 35+, 1 in Women Cat 4, and 1 in the Cat 4 Men.
David was still racing by the time we rolled out, so I didn't get to hear his story until we were finished.
We started with almost 50 degree weather, but the wind was quite chilly. I was actually surprised how slow the first part of the race was, but as soon as we hit the first real climb, we were definitely going. I saw Greg and Jeff still sitting in good position, but on the paved climb between the feed zones, the pack split and the field took the opportunity to try and separate for good. Greg was caught out, but after a hard chase, he got back on. After that we slowed way down for the next several miles.
Becca's bottle hand off was perfect, I heard her yelling and got over to the side of the road just in time to scoop up my bottle.
I hit a max of 48.3 mph down the dirt descent, but most of the dirt sections were pretty smooth and were very rideable with a smooth line.
My moment of "oh crap" came after the climb to Meetinghouse Rd. I looked up and saw two walls of dirt road and the field was really laying down the hammer. I hung on for the first climb, but a small gap opened up on the second part of the climb and I couldn't make up the deficit despite burying myself. I looked up and saw a group of 30-40 descending after the yellow Mavic tent and I knew I was popped off. I jumped into a small group of 3 others who were chasing hard, but I was too cooked to stay in the rotation. I slowed up and got on a larger group that were working pretty well together and rotated through until the final dirt climb. Everything completely split up at that point, but I followed 3 guys up and over the top. For some reason, I decided to try and get around the front guy on a descent and that extra effort put me a little too much into the red, for a little too long, and then I lost contact with them. They rode off and I soloed in the last few miles. The finishing miles were flat, and I felt alright, but my legs had no extra strength left.
So I rolled in 37th out of 84 finishers. Not bad for my first Masters race, so I'm happy with that.
It was a beautiful course, after the first few kilometers I relaxed enough to start looking around and enjoy the race. The route was smooth and it was great fun to come barreling into these towns and have all traffic stopped for the field. Greenwich even had a big cheering section going.
Definitely a fun race, for some reason I let the idea of a Masters race get to me and spent the morning far more nervous then I should have been. The roads were actually in really good condition, the Masters pack was very smooth, and it was just a really well run race.
There is no way to not be in a great mood after a race like that.
What worked:
- Specialized bottle cages - Nothing is coming loose from those grips
- Continental GP 4000 25mm - Good traction and a good ride, no flats
- 12-27 cassette - Crucial, I could sit and spin while maintaining traction on the dirt climbs while passing guys trying to mash a taller gear and just slipping around
- Bring a spare tube - If you do flat, it's a long way home
Jen got second and earned herself a podium spot!
Ah, this is going to be a good season...
Other Battenkill Masters 30+ race reports [1]
Greg's Garmin File.
No comments:
Post a Comment