Queen City Twilight Criterium and Springfield Criterium (CAT 4/5)

I just got back from Springfield and boy am I tired. I performed about like I thought I was going to. The Saturday race was really fast and the temperature was right at 100F. I knew the cram sessions I put in weren't going to be enough to whip me into shape for the races, but I still held my own. Although I got lapped on the last lap, I still managed to finish in the top half somewhere. There were over 50 riders that rode in the combined CAT 4/5 Race.

The second race is a different story altogether. I hadn't realized in time that there was an actual CAT 5 race on Sunday morning. I continued to register for the combined CAT 4/5 race like I had planned, so it wasn't a problem. It would have been nice to have pulled in another win however. Sunday wasn't as hot as Saturday, but it was still blistering. Although I didn't finish the Sunday race, I did feel stable the bit I raced.

My poor cousin Britney got ran over by a few CAT 3 racers that crashed on the final turn of their race. She had been sitting in her lawn chair on the outside of the turn and she suffered some minor bumps and scrapes from the guy that tackled her, but she seemed to be in good shape despite the pain in her neck.

I didn't really perform up to standards this weekend, but it's not something that I could have really helped with how busy my life has been lately. It's not my goals to do well this season anyhow. The real racing starts next season when I get serious about what I'm doing with my life on the bike. This weekend is probably the end of my 2008 season, but I'll be hitting it hard the rest of this summer and fall, crossing it up this winter, and hitting the roads hard again in the spring in 2009.

As far as my ability right now; I know how far I have come and how far I need to go. I've got a few training ideas in mind that should ensure my graduation from CAT 5. As I stand right now, I feel that I am about 85% of my way to being a CAT 4 in a race situation. Hopefully with my training, I'll be riding on par with 3s next spring.

Fun day.

It seems odd thinking back on it now, but I just did my first solo Jasper ride. It seems odd to me that I never got around to doing it solo earlier. I mean WHAT WAS I THINKING?

At any rate, the ride was very hot but very fulfilling. I didn't push myself to race pace or anything like that; I just rode at an adventurous pace. Considering the terrain, and that I was by myself, the 18.5MPH average speed on the way to Jasper isn't bad at all. Overall, the trip was 41 miles at a 17MPH average, at a total time of 2 hours 25 minutes.

My body held up much better than I expected it to, and even with my severely limited seat time I still think that I am in better shape than I was in early March. I'm nowhere close to peak, but I feel it will come in months to come(when it doesn't matter yay). My legs started to feel iffy about the 32-33 mile mark. I'm very pleased with myself that I got out today. I had almost forgotten what a deep burn felt like.

While my overall riding level is hirer than the beginning of the season, I feel that my staying power has dipped slightly in the last month. This can definitely be improved upon by next month. I'll be riding to work tomorrow, and hitting Jasper again on Monday. I'll be sore for the group ride on Tuesday, and I'm assuming that they will push for a Jasper ride themselves. I'll pedal around on Wednesday or sit on the trainer, and then hopefully get an easy group ride in on Thursday. Of course I'll be taking Friday off completely. That is unless I spin for a few minutes on the trainer.

I'm really looking forward to my first race in four months. I know I'll be racing with CAT5 and CAT4 racers, but I still feel that my chances are good. Maybe not a victory, but possibly a placing.

Update after a long content void.

Ok, So I haven't been posting anything. I know. I've been working a lot lately and I honestly haven't had time to do ANYTHING. I've barely gotten on the bike, and I haven't gone to a single race. My dad had a heart attack a couple months ago, and I've been helping out with things. He's been doing great for about a month now and things were really starting to settle down to where I was beginning to think about racing again. However, a couple weeks ago I wrecked my truck.

The truck had to be towed off, but I heard today from my dad that it was finally getting worked on today. It's going to cost about $3,000 to fix the thing, which is more than the truck is currently worth since it was already wrecked once. Hopefully I'll get the truck back in a few days. It's just a 1996 Ford Ranger, but I really miss the truck to be honest.

Anyway, as for actual cycling news; I'm going to hit the bike hard these next few weeks as I'll be riding to and from work and trying to make the group rides. I'm a shadow of my early season self and I need to get back to my peak range if I'm going to be ready for the Queen City Criterium on July 26th and 27th in Springfield, Missouri. The race is going to be a combined CAT 4 and 5 race over 35 minutes PLUS 3 laps. Yes, this means there is a possibility of winning cash for once(Yay!). Right now I definitely have more endurance than I did at the start of the season, and my race-pace-body-shutdown-mark as increased from 25 miles in March, to about 40 miles. I'm not really sure if my peak power has increased any as I haven't laid down a true 120% effort sprint in about three months. I've noticed my vertical jump has improved considerably, so more than likely, my sprint is still just as potent.

As for my physical body, I've gained about 3 pounds due to the lack of riding. I can't tell that I've lost any muscle mass at all, but I know that I can pack on muscle increadibly fast if I put enough effort into it. I've also noticed from the excessive amount of heavy lifting and pulling I do at work, that my body's power output exceeds what my body can actually handle. It's hard to explain. I haven't pulled any muscles or caused any injuries to myself, yet it is noticeable when I move something very large and heavy--and I do it quickly and easily, It feels like my body is tearing itself up inside and I wonder if I should be able to move something so massive as easily as I do. It's like my body is revving itself over the redline to get that extra power and torque out.

I always think about what Nate told me one day: "some people have more bullets than others." Then; I think about what constitutes a bullet, and how many I have, given the varying levels of output that I can achieve versus someone else. Based solely on my body, I would guess that over a standard 20 to 25 mile CAT 5 race, I can fire 3 bullets. I also feel that my body is horribly inefficient, and that it needs to be broken down more. Maybe by the time I'm riding at a CAT 3 level, my body will be functioning more like it should be allowing me to fire four or five bullets during a single race.

I had my bike overhauled a bit about two months ago: new chain, new tubes, new tires, steering tube cut, cable adjusted, and I lowered my seat about 1mm. The bike honestly felt brand new for about week. Now the bike is stating to argue with me and I need to take it down to the local bike shop for a once over before the race later this month. The derailer is shifting well, but it slips as I begin to put power into the pedals. This is the main reason I haven't been able to get into a real sprint lately. I think that I'm torquing the bike enough to cause the rear skewer to slip on the frame. I can't really get it any tighter, so I might have to change the skewer out. I also hear a grinding noise from somewhere. My crank and/or bottom bracket has been squeaking as well. I can't get on the trainer to iron these issues out as they only arise while I'm dropping hammers!

I still need a new freaking saddle!
I'm taking donations!

Well, that's all for now.