It was a great event, and happily for my family, at least one of us rode well, with Son of Rouleur doing pretty well in the Li'l Belgians 6&7 year-old class.
Me? Not so much. Very flat courses and I just don't get along that well. It seems I'm a VO2 sort of athlete. A course with little rises and hills like Charm City really hurts me, but it also gives me recovery time. A really rolling course does exactly the same, only moreso. A stone flat course? It's nothing but grinding along for me. I sucked pretty bad today, even as other people like Sol (Nice race!) were kicking ass and moving up.
Rather than get tired, blow up and wuss out, I decided to rock the Powertap today, in the hopes it would keep my effort steady and chastise me for easing up.
What did my race look like? Well... like this:
Avg. Power: 267
Normalized Power: 289 (threshold is 335)
Time: 44:03
IF: .826
I'm not sure that IF is quite right - I figured this ride would be an NP buster and my legs are wicked sore, and my stomach churning with post-race acid. This was an easy ride, according to my Powertap. And maybe it was, maybe I pussed out something fierce. But it doesn't feel that way, perceived exertion was 9/10ths, with the only easing up coming in a few turns I couldn't rail, and on the last lap (for me) when I'd been lapped by a group of 3-4 leaders. Even then I stepped it up when the next little group passed, and was actually a bit dizzy when I crossed the line at [unspecified -1 position] place.
I don't get it. Other than the need to keep pushing, and in fact start pushing harder on my diet. That part I get. But as for work ratio... OMG, was that race hard. Why does the PT show it was no harder than a 3x15 low threshold (steady state) interval workout? My legs sure don't feel like I just had an easy workout...
Enough about me, and enough whining. There was a lot of good stuff going on at the race. Good barbecue, great playground for the kids (and a moonbounce), terrific sponsorship from Franklin's Brewpub and Arrow bikes, and Route 1 Velo did a great job putting it together, and squeezing every bit of remotely interesting terrain into the race course. It's a classy event and if you didn't make it this year, you should mark it down for next year. Some of the Coppis had great days, and it was great seeing dozens of my crossy friends on a nice hot day, with clear skies and lots of hard racing going down. Though the racing is disappointing for most of us, the fun we have with friends and the cool scene keep us coming back.
[Update: And just when I'm feeling a little down, Scott The Surprisingly Competetive Stagiare Elite Master sends along this video of today's SuperPrestige race, with special instructions to check out what Stybar does at around 10:45.
That is sick, sick, sick. Brought a smile to my face. I know maybe two or three guys who are actual good racers, who could also do a tailwhip at that speed on an MTB. I am pretty sure I don't know anybody who could do that on a CX bike, much less while riding away from the field at the top race going down today anywhere in the world.
Thanks for passing along, Scott. It gave me miles of smiles. And now that I think about it JeanBean and everybody else who was cheering and who chatted me up later did too.
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Time to register for the Tacchino Ciclocross if you haven't, folks. Some of the popular fields are starting to get a bit full, and you're looking at being a loooong ways back at the start if you don't get after it soon. Did I mention there will be sausage there? There will be, and the vendor will have some, and you can win some for a mid-pack prime. Funk music, spectator pavilions, sponsorship by Duvel/Ommegang (with Hennepin and Duvel Green at the pavilion) and a moon bounce for the kids. Get after it!
5 comments:
Yeah, the PowerTap data really does not reflect the effort does it? Part of that is the running. Part of it is that that many many accelerations are so short that they aren't captured by the NP algorithm.
Most of "us" (race 'cross and coach) do not run a PT for just that reason. The data just isn't that valuable.
today's course was the definition of many many many short flat accelerations. And I find that PT and cyclingpeaks just don't know how to measure cross. Like you said, a 2 hour medium club ride registers as harder than the 45 minutes of a cross race.
"surprisingly"? really. Ok, well, thanks. Unfortunately not today
Chris - maybe it's seem stronger if I got hold of that spreadsheet that zaps the zeros.
Scott - I thought I heard something about you on a podium... must have been Liam.
I raced my 2nd cross race ever last Tuesday (1st of an 8-week series) and the course is quite flat. I have been training harder than last season and yet amongst the cat slow category, I finished 17th of 24. Uber-MEH. I felt like I was hitting it really hard, but stunk. A few issues will help:
1) I have yet to get the timing right for my final laps after the bell. I have a hard time riding slower to finish faster and end up at half-lap to go when the bell sounds.
2) I'm riding a tall-geared and heavy converted road bike of odd geometry; about 3" too tall for me in standover height, but I can still rub my toe on the front tire on tight turns?! But it's what I have, and until my performance demands better, I will ride her.
3) My shape and 'cross skills ain't great...yet.
But it is a blast--and I'll be back for more!
Dr. Brett - good on you. FWIW, it's not worth complaining about your gear, or worrying about upgrades, until you're good enough for it to matter. Yep, you can upgrade and I encourage you to do so when it makes sense to you - just groove on the fact though that Tom Ritchey has a stable of three 20 year-old rigs in his cross quiver. As long as the old stuff isn't toooo heavy and doesn't break, it probably isn't that big of a handicap. (Says the guy with the 16 pound single...)
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