I was looking forward to this race for a while. Originally I thought it was at the end of September, because I fail at reading things. When I realized it was the same week as when I would be in Jersey City, I started to think I wouldn't actually be able to race. This is ironic, as getting to the track is actually a whole lot easier from Jersey City. The problem lays in that I had no way of getting my track bike. Were I smart, I could have left it in the shipping container at kissena after sprint training last sunday. Oh well.
So Josh asked me if I wanted a ride down to the race, and originally I said no, it wouldn't work out. Then I thought about it more, and I figured I might as well just go to spectate and see what the track was all about. I told Josh my situation and a little while later he said he would check with Andrew B about letting me borrow a bike. The next thing I know, I have a ride down to the track, and a bike to use when I get there. Sweeeet. Now the big problem was the squats and cleans I did with Lucas the day before.
With a large threat of rain still in the forecast, I decided to treat the day as a big experiment. At the least, I would learn how to get to the track, and how long it would take. On a larger scale, if the rain didn't show up, I would be able to see just how my body reacts in a race situation right after lifting weights. As fate would have it, the rain held off until we packed up the car to leave the track, when it came down as a light sprinkle. The sky actually cleared for a little bit.
Backtracking a little bit, I met Josh, Jen, and Amira down by Reade street, we packed the car, threw on the bikes and headed out. The trip down actually seemed pretty straight forward, though we did overshoot the exit, which was more of a pain than I realized with the 50 cent toll each time. We got to the track, changed, registered, I adjusted my loaner bike (care of Andrea B), and did some laps. There are some scary concentric cracks along the track, which Andrew pointed out in a slow lap before the A field went to the line for the first race.
Our first race was a miss and out. I figured this would really tell the theme for the rest of the night. We started out and my legs were screaming in pain. Just clipping in, I had trouble using my leg strength, and had to push my heel down by hand. Either way, I was able to stay ahead of some riders, but on the fourth place pull, I just couldn't get my back wheel ahead of Josh's. This seems to be a recurring theme for me with these races.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/230299234
Next was a 20 lap Points race. A good bunch of us seemed none-too-excited about the length of the race. I think a big part of it was that the humidity must have been 100%. Just sitting on the ground, my helmet, glasses, notebook, et cetera all had condensation covering them. We started the race just rotating pulls at a moderate pace. The first sprint, I was maybe around 4th or so? We kept rotating pulls again, and I found myself leading into turn 4 just before the bell lap for the second sprint. I just stayed on the front trying to keep the pace hot. This was enough to give me first place on that sprint. After this, the pace slowed a bit, so I gave an attack over the top a try. The group caught back up with me, and the pace slowed again. My glutes were really killing me at this point, so I figured I should try another big move to get the blood flowing, maybe win another sprint and probably blow up magnificently doing so. The group moved uptrack a bit, so I attacked down below in the sprinters lane and was able to get a gap going. I kept my head down for a few laps to win the third sprint, where I then swung up track again to wait for the group, but the gap wasn't really closing down. I resolved to put myself deeper in pain, and kept soloing off the front to get the final sprint. This gave me first overall in the points race.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/230299222
The final race in the omnium was the Keirin. This was the race that I was really looking forward to. GSVA happens to have a legit straight-from-europe derny. I was sad that I didn't have my casco to wear to really get into the mood, but I was still happy to race. We drew lots to start, I think I was fourth or fifth. The start order didn't really seem to make much of a difference after the derny came around, though. It was a little bit hectic. Rather than slot in line, I opted to sit next to the second or third rider behind the moto. This worked pretty well as the pace ramped up, but I did find myself starting to fade by the last lap with the bike. I actually completely lost track of the laps we did, so I was slightly surprised when the moto pulled off. My timing was a little off for my sprint, but I was still able to come in fifth.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/230299219
This concluded the omnium, and since my legs were shot and Amira had to catch an early flight, the four of us decided to call it a night and not do the feature race. Andrew B and Sam were understanding, so we did the podiums quick, where I came in third overall in the A's. This won me $20 and a pumpkin. We packed up quick, and headed off to a diner to get some food. It was delicious. We got back on the road, listened to some good music, had some good talks, and Josh was kind enough to drop me off right in Jersey City. All in all, I'd say it was a successful evening. Thanks, everybody! I certainly hope to race at the GSV more next season.
Finally, what's the verdict on racing after lifting? My snap definitely wasn't there, nor was my top end. Steady state seemed about the same, though certainly a lot more painful. My quads just above my knee and my glutes hurt the most. My lower back also wasn't too happy. I certainly wouldn't recommend it. Especially since I felt even worse the next day than the day after just lifting. I thought my legs would collapse on me a few times while walking around the apartment. So there's that.
3.10.12
2012.45: 10/1 - 10/7
Sunday: Nada. Rainy, rainy day.
Saturday: Headed back from Jersey City. Rode from Ronkonkoma up home. It wasn't really a data-worthy ride.
Friday: Ohhh man, my legs felt completely wrecked today. I thought I was going to fall down the stairs when I went to get the mail. I still got out to spin around the block a few times, but nothing garmin-worthy.
Thursday: Got talked into racing the Fall Track Classic at the Garden State Velodrome. See the race report. My legs felt sore from yesterday.
Wednesday: Lucas was willing to meet with me a bit this morning, so we did some squats, cleans, and a lat/hamstring/other stuff circuit. I've come to realize my form is a bit off, but lucas is a good coach. My clean is ugly as hell. good to know.
Tuesday: Rainy day. Went to lift weights with Lucas, but as it turns out, he can only check in two guests, so Andy and I went and got burritos and coffee instead. We then met up with Heather and Josh after they finished lifting, talked about the team a bit, then I headed back.
Monday: This week I'm in Jersey City watching my brother's cats. Today I walked around a bunch. Went down to the water and picked up some pottery shards along the waterfront.
Saturday: Headed back from Jersey City. Rode from Ronkonkoma up home. It wasn't really a data-worthy ride.
Friday: Ohhh man, my legs felt completely wrecked today. I thought I was going to fall down the stairs when I went to get the mail. I still got out to spin around the block a few times, but nothing garmin-worthy.
Thursday: Got talked into racing the Fall Track Classic at the Garden State Velodrome. See the race report. My legs felt sore from yesterday.
Wednesday: Lucas was willing to meet with me a bit this morning, so we did some squats, cleans, and a lat/hamstring/other stuff circuit. I've come to realize my form is a bit off, but lucas is a good coach. My clean is ugly as hell. good to know.
Tuesday: Rainy day. Went to lift weights with Lucas, but as it turns out, he can only check in two guests, so Andy and I went and got burritos and coffee instead. We then met up with Heather and Josh after they finished lifting, talked about the team a bit, then I headed back.
Monday: This week I'm in Jersey City watching my brother's cats. Today I walked around a bunch. Went down to the water and picked up some pottery shards along the waterfront.
27.9.12
2012.44: 9/24 - 9/30
Sunday: Another sprint training day at Kissena. I felt slow today. My little peak that I had a few weeks ago has definitely come and gone now. I pulled out a 12.81 flying 200. My first sprint was against Mike(?) and HarryZ. I started in the lead and just slowly ramped up the whole time. Since rain clouds were coming over the horizon, Josh and I asked if we could sprint against each other. I had the obligation to lead again, so that is what I did. I must have been having an off day or something, because I wasn't following any of my usual sprint checklist. Long story short, Josh beat me pretty handily with an early jump that I took too long to respond to. Before the jump, Chris B was telling me to close up my gap in front of him, which I was trying to do, but I just couldn't ride slow enough to get him to come back up to me. I guess that's something I'll have to work on.
Flying 200: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/228765607
Sprint 1: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/228765601
Sprint 2: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/228765590
Saturday: Went on a boat. Fuck yeah, boats!
Friday: No riding. Perhaps it was raining?
Thursday: I decided to ramble over to Northport in front of some mean looking clouds. Fortunately I stayed dry the whole time. I spent a lot of the ride checking out new areas that I've always meant to look into. I found a nice climb that parallels landing ave, went to a couple of beaches, checked the progress on demolishing the psych center. In Northport propper, I got a terrible latte. Now I'm down another shop that I trust to make me coffee. The ride back was uneventful.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227569216
NP/IF/TSS: 199W/0.862/186
Wednesday: No riding. Did 5x1 min planks and 2x25rep transverse planks. 2 minutes rest between.
Tuesday: No riding. Did some errands, raked some leaves.
Monday: Figured I would ride out on the mountain bike again. I think I felt more confident this time. I still dabbed two or three times. The couple of steep curvy climbs at the north end still screw me up. There also was a group of like 20 high school girls trail running in the opposite direction. I would probably be annoyed if it wasn't a group of high school girls.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/226615608
NP/IF/TSS: N/A
Flying 200: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/228765607
Sprint 1: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/228765601
Sprint 2: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/228765590
Saturday: Went on a boat. Fuck yeah, boats!
Friday: No riding. Perhaps it was raining?
Thursday: I decided to ramble over to Northport in front of some mean looking clouds. Fortunately I stayed dry the whole time. I spent a lot of the ride checking out new areas that I've always meant to look into. I found a nice climb that parallels landing ave, went to a couple of beaches, checked the progress on demolishing the psych center. In Northport propper, I got a terrible latte. Now I'm down another shop that I trust to make me coffee. The ride back was uneventful.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227569216
NP/IF/TSS: 199W/0.862/186
Wednesday: No riding. Did 5x1 min planks and 2x25rep transverse planks. 2 minutes rest between.
Tuesday: No riding. Did some errands, raked some leaves.
Monday: Figured I would ride out on the mountain bike again. I think I felt more confident this time. I still dabbed two or three times. The couple of steep curvy climbs at the north end still screw me up. There also was a group of like 20 high school girls trail running in the opposite direction. I would probably be annoyed if it wasn't a group of high school girls.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/226615608
NP/IF/TSS: N/A
18.9.12
2012.43: 9/17 - 9/23
Sunday: I was going to head to Kissena for another sprint training session, but I did not get much sleep at night, so when I tried to wake up, I just kept falling asleep again. I figured this probably wasn't a safe condition under which I should drive to the track, so I just passed out again. Eventually I got up and got guilted into riding despite a complete lack of motivation to do anything. I ended up riding to Port Jeff, looked at that wooden boat rotting away next to the Bayles boat shop, took some photos of some people, then headed back. I saw a lot of squished squirrels on the way back. I guess it's that time of year.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/226274296
NP/IF/TSS: 178W/0.771/84
Saturday: No riding. Did harvest type things with Haley.
Friday: Worked on bikes in the morning with Walter, then headed to syosset to pick up another pair of cleats. On the way in, I almost got hit by a postal truck that was upset I took the lane to cross some very angled railroad tracks. So I took down the truck number and followed it to the post office in syosset, where I complained to the management. Whether they actually did anything about it, I have not a clue, but whatever. I felt good today, and my speed seems to show that.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/225338430
NP/IF/TSS: 214W/0.926/195
Thursday: No riding. I don't really remember why. EDIT: I just remembered I was going to head to NJ to race on their track and then stop at a bicycle film thing in brooklyn on the way back. Why I didn't I still don't remember. Possibly the weather was looking iffy.
Wednesday: I thought about riding the trails again, but I figured they'd be muddy. Instead, I just rode to the usual beaches. I wasn't really feeling it today, so it was mostly an easy ride. I sat on the jetty at west meadow for a while, wishing I was out sailing instead. On the way back, I ran into Ben in stony brook, so we talked for a little while. In the evening I did some planks again. 5x1 min, 2 min rest.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224708918
NP/IF/TSS: 195W/0.846/160
Tuesday: No riding. Rainy, and I felt like death. I might be getting sick. I mostly just slept and drank lots of water all day.
Monday: Worked on bikes to get some cash to spend on bike parts. I did some planks in the evening. 5x1min with about 2 minutes rest. That's going to be my new off-season thing.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/226274296
NP/IF/TSS: 178W/0.771/84
Saturday: No riding. Did harvest type things with Haley.
Friday: Worked on bikes in the morning with Walter, then headed to syosset to pick up another pair of cleats. On the way in, I almost got hit by a postal truck that was upset I took the lane to cross some very angled railroad tracks. So I took down the truck number and followed it to the post office in syosset, where I complained to the management. Whether they actually did anything about it, I have not a clue, but whatever. I felt good today, and my speed seems to show that.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/225338430
NP/IF/TSS: 214W/0.926/195
Thursday: No riding. I don't really remember why. EDIT: I just remembered I was going to head to NJ to race on their track and then stop at a bicycle film thing in brooklyn on the way back. Why I didn't I still don't remember. Possibly the weather was looking iffy.
Wednesday: I thought about riding the trails again, but I figured they'd be muddy. Instead, I just rode to the usual beaches. I wasn't really feeling it today, so it was mostly an easy ride. I sat on the jetty at west meadow for a while, wishing I was out sailing instead. On the way back, I ran into Ben in stony brook, so we talked for a little while. In the evening I did some planks again. 5x1 min, 2 min rest.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224708918
NP/IF/TSS: 195W/0.846/160
Tuesday: No riding. Rainy, and I felt like death. I might be getting sick. I mostly just slept and drank lots of water all day.
Monday: Worked on bikes to get some cash to spend on bike parts. I did some planks in the evening. 5x1min with about 2 minutes rest. That's going to be my new off-season thing.
13.9.12
Race: T-Town Fuji Super Tuesdays 8/14 - Pro Men
Tuesday was the final race at T-town for the season. I met up with Keith, Andy and Jen in Brooklyn and we drove over. Steve was able to sneak out of work early and meet us there. We stopped in Jersey for some pizza again, but I wasn't really hungry, so I just had an RC cola. I don't really remember what I ate in the morning, but if it comes to me I'll edit this.
I feel like I say this a lot, but the weather really was near perfect. Zero winds, A few nice looking clouds. It just was getting a little bit chilly through the evening. I think it would have been worthwhile to crack out the leg warmers for between races. Non-team Andrew and Keith were there, as well as Joe. Despite the Pink Rhinos bringing almost half the minimum field size, the fields were combined into one Pro/Stagiare mix. It ended up being a total of 18 riders in our field. To be honest, this dropped my very high spirits a little bit, as I really felt it meant I wouldn't factor at all into the races.
The first race was a 20 lap Points race. The details are fuzzy, but here's what I remember. Steve attacked early, but got brought back around the first sprint. The bell for the first sprint was rung when the lap card said 17 to go, actually. I don't know if that was an error on the bell ringer's part or the lap card guy's part, but either way, the field didn't seem to respond to the bell, so I worked my way up. I think I was either fourth or fifth on that sprint. After this, Keith went off the front with two other guys. I ended up on the front of the pack while they were trying to break away, so I just set a tempo pace. one of the pro riders yelled something at me and came around to set a higher pace. I didn't hear what he said and didn't really care much. They got reeled back in before the second sprint, though. The third sprint saw nothing noteworthy in my mind, and the same could probably be said of the final sprint. I did put in an effort to try to move up, but I was still like 6th place, so I sat up.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221787609
Next was an elimination. I went into it thinking I could maybe make some moves in this one. We all lined up to the line and were told to roll off. The roll off ended up being a straight up sprint the whole neutral lap with the field already falling apart. Now, I'm not one of those "let's go as slow as we can" neutral lap kind of guys, but I feel like if the field is shredding before the race even starts, the gun probably shouldn't fire until everyone agrees to at least start together. I bet Alan wouldn't have started that race, but I'm sure Marty just wanted to get home to polish his medals or whatever he does. Regardless, Andy was the first one out, Steve came out second, and on the third lap I was confident that I pipped Andrew B at the line, but they called me out. Oh well. Keith stayed in longer and helped to represent the rhino.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221787602
Around this time was the women's 500m Chariot. Jen was pushed by Steve - the master chariot holder - on the backstretch. I could swear she didn't even have to pedal until turn 1 of the final lap. In the end she held on for fifth place.
After this was the ten lap Scratch. I don't really remember the early part of the race, but eventually Andrew Berstein (another andrew? really?) attacked and I jumped on his wheel. Steve was able to bridge up and we traded some pulls. Andrew would do two lap pulls, I managed half lap pulls. Steve's legs still weren't there so we told him to skip his pull, actually. He ended up sitting up out of the group, but Andrew and I kept chugging. We had about a quarter lap gap on the bell where I was leading my pull. I gave the sprint my best effort, but Andrew came around me for the win. I was completely expecting this and happy to stay ahead of everyone else for second place. Keith was able to get 4th place sprinting in the group.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221787593
This concluded the omnium. There was a feature race of a 10km (30 lap) Scratch. I was happy with my results for the day, so I sat out and got some beers instead since the beer stand is always closed by the time the feature race is done. Keith also sat out, but Andy and Steve raced. Keith put in a $20 rhino prime, which was a nice gesture. Steve put in some good time at the front of the race and in the end Andy and he came in 6th and 7th.
We all packed up, I stopped by the window hoping that somehow that second place in the third race would get me into the omnium. As fate would have it, it did, and I got $15 for 5th place. Moving up in the world, my friend. After this, Steve and I finished our beers in the shower, and then the five of us headed to a diner to celebrate our last race of the season. Despite some rough bits in the middle of the evening, I know I went into it really excited, and finished on a high, and that's really all I could ask for.
Gearing note: all races were done with a 51x15.
I feel like I say this a lot, but the weather really was near perfect. Zero winds, A few nice looking clouds. It just was getting a little bit chilly through the evening. I think it would have been worthwhile to crack out the leg warmers for between races. Non-team Andrew and Keith were there, as well as Joe. Despite the Pink Rhinos bringing almost half the minimum field size, the fields were combined into one Pro/Stagiare mix. It ended up being a total of 18 riders in our field. To be honest, this dropped my very high spirits a little bit, as I really felt it meant I wouldn't factor at all into the races.
The first race was a 20 lap Points race. The details are fuzzy, but here's what I remember. Steve attacked early, but got brought back around the first sprint. The bell for the first sprint was rung when the lap card said 17 to go, actually. I don't know if that was an error on the bell ringer's part or the lap card guy's part, but either way, the field didn't seem to respond to the bell, so I worked my way up. I think I was either fourth or fifth on that sprint. After this, Keith went off the front with two other guys. I ended up on the front of the pack while they were trying to break away, so I just set a tempo pace. one of the pro riders yelled something at me and came around to set a higher pace. I didn't hear what he said and didn't really care much. They got reeled back in before the second sprint, though. The third sprint saw nothing noteworthy in my mind, and the same could probably be said of the final sprint. I did put in an effort to try to move up, but I was still like 6th place, so I sat up.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221787609
Next was an elimination. I went into it thinking I could maybe make some moves in this one. We all lined up to the line and were told to roll off. The roll off ended up being a straight up sprint the whole neutral lap with the field already falling apart. Now, I'm not one of those "let's go as slow as we can" neutral lap kind of guys, but I feel like if the field is shredding before the race even starts, the gun probably shouldn't fire until everyone agrees to at least start together. I bet Alan wouldn't have started that race, but I'm sure Marty just wanted to get home to polish his medals or whatever he does. Regardless, Andy was the first one out, Steve came out second, and on the third lap I was confident that I pipped Andrew B at the line, but they called me out. Oh well. Keith stayed in longer and helped to represent the rhino.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221787602
Around this time was the women's 500m Chariot. Jen was pushed by Steve - the master chariot holder - on the backstretch. I could swear she didn't even have to pedal until turn 1 of the final lap. In the end she held on for fifth place.
After this was the ten lap Scratch. I don't really remember the early part of the race, but eventually Andrew Berstein (another andrew? really?) attacked and I jumped on his wheel. Steve was able to bridge up and we traded some pulls. Andrew would do two lap pulls, I managed half lap pulls. Steve's legs still weren't there so we told him to skip his pull, actually. He ended up sitting up out of the group, but Andrew and I kept chugging. We had about a quarter lap gap on the bell where I was leading my pull. I gave the sprint my best effort, but Andrew came around me for the win. I was completely expecting this and happy to stay ahead of everyone else for second place. Keith was able to get 4th place sprinting in the group.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221787593
This concluded the omnium. There was a feature race of a 10km (30 lap) Scratch. I was happy with my results for the day, so I sat out and got some beers instead since the beer stand is always closed by the time the feature race is done. Keith also sat out, but Andy and Steve raced. Keith put in a $20 rhino prime, which was a nice gesture. Steve put in some good time at the front of the race and in the end Andy and he came in 6th and 7th.
We all packed up, I stopped by the window hoping that somehow that second place in the third race would get me into the omnium. As fate would have it, it did, and I got $15 for 5th place. Moving up in the world, my friend. After this, Steve and I finished our beers in the shower, and then the five of us headed to a diner to celebrate our last race of the season. Despite some rough bits in the middle of the evening, I know I went into it really excited, and finished on a high, and that's really all I could ask for.
Gearing note: all races were done with a 51x15.
11.9.12
2012.42: 9/10 - 9/16
Sunday: Attended an informal sprint training day at Kissena. See the (non)race report. EDIT: I'll just write it here. Nice temperatures, but a bit gusty. Did my flying 200 in a 50x13, switched to 50x15 for the sprints. My 200 time was the fastest of the day at 12.7s. All the other times were really close, though in the low-mid 13s. I forgot who I sprinted against in the first round, second round was the same guy and Kim, third was Kim, fourth was Chris. We tried some trackstanding, but I still suck at doing it on the banking. Another thing to work on. All in all, it was a great time and some good learning. I think we had 10 riders total.
Flying 200: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091883
Sprint 1: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091878
Sprint 2: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091875
Sprint 3: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091870
Sprint 4: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091862
Saturday: I decided on a whim to take to the dirt today. I want to incorporate more mountain biking over this off-season and winter. I figure it could help with my core and some different bike handling. My lower back certainly felt tired by the time I was done. I only did one loop of the blue square trail without any black diamonds. This seemed hard enough for me on my SSMTB. That, and it was another late start, so the sun was getting low. Maybe next time I'll aim for a loop and a half or two loops.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/223070410
NP/IF/TSS: N/A
Friday: despite my best efforts to get a terrible night's sleep, I got up in time to head down to Bellport for the friday morning Kreb ride. I probably would have just skipped it again, but I needed to get in touch with Charlie. Fortunately he was there, so that was good. There were a couple of sketchy riders again, which actually might have ended up saving my skin. Heading down from yaphank toward bartlett the pace kept yo-yoing, so I let a gap form so I could stay steady. Just then some car starts to pull out of a driveway and everybody in front of me locks up their brakes instead of just swerving around. Suddenly I had nowhere to go and ran my front wheel into the cassette of the rider in front of me, pushing me into a bit of an endo. I stayed up though, and once again was reminded why I don't bother with that ride much anymore. The rest of the ride was pretty quiet. Charlie and I did some sprints on the backroads at the end of the ride.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/222569372
NP/IF/TSS: 195W/0.845/262
Thursday: Another late start meant just enough time before dinner to head up into Old Field. I originally was just going to hit west meadow beach, but I decided to add in the light house as well. I made a conscious decision to not try for any Strava segments, though. It was a lot of fun to leisurely ride around without any strava pressure.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/222569469
NP/IF/TSS: 192W/0.831/83
Wednesday: Got a late start as I took a nice long nap in the afternoon. Decided to just ride around for the sake of riding around. I hit up the usual beaches, saw Dan's father riding along the way. I think I also saw the guy who almost hit me last year with his boat trailer.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/222063449
NP/IF/TSS: 195W/0.843/81
Tuesday: The final tuesday night race at T-town. See the race report.
Monday: No riding. I thought about it, but when I took my bike out to spin over to the bike shop, I noticed that my gears were slipping and my RD looked tweaked. Turns out my dad knocked my bike over yesterday and didn't feel the need to tell me about it. I re-aligned it in the evening.
Flying 200: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091883
Sprint 1: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091878
Sprint 2: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091875
Sprint 3: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091870
Sprint 4: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/224091862
Saturday: I decided on a whim to take to the dirt today. I want to incorporate more mountain biking over this off-season and winter. I figure it could help with my core and some different bike handling. My lower back certainly felt tired by the time I was done. I only did one loop of the blue square trail without any black diamonds. This seemed hard enough for me on my SSMTB. That, and it was another late start, so the sun was getting low. Maybe next time I'll aim for a loop and a half or two loops.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/223070410
NP/IF/TSS: N/A
Friday: despite my best efforts to get a terrible night's sleep, I got up in time to head down to Bellport for the friday morning Kreb ride. I probably would have just skipped it again, but I needed to get in touch with Charlie. Fortunately he was there, so that was good. There were a couple of sketchy riders again, which actually might have ended up saving my skin. Heading down from yaphank toward bartlett the pace kept yo-yoing, so I let a gap form so I could stay steady. Just then some car starts to pull out of a driveway and everybody in front of me locks up their brakes instead of just swerving around. Suddenly I had nowhere to go and ran my front wheel into the cassette of the rider in front of me, pushing me into a bit of an endo. I stayed up though, and once again was reminded why I don't bother with that ride much anymore. The rest of the ride was pretty quiet. Charlie and I did some sprints on the backroads at the end of the ride.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/222569372
NP/IF/TSS: 195W/0.845/262
Thursday: Another late start meant just enough time before dinner to head up into Old Field. I originally was just going to hit west meadow beach, but I decided to add in the light house as well. I made a conscious decision to not try for any Strava segments, though. It was a lot of fun to leisurely ride around without any strava pressure.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/222569469
NP/IF/TSS: 192W/0.831/83
Wednesday: Got a late start as I took a nice long nap in the afternoon. Decided to just ride around for the sake of riding around. I hit up the usual beaches, saw Dan's father riding along the way. I think I also saw the guy who almost hit me last year with his boat trailer.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/222063449
NP/IF/TSS: 195W/0.843/81
Tuesday: The final tuesday night race at T-town. See the race report.
Monday: No riding. I thought about it, but when I took my bike out to spin over to the bike shop, I noticed that my gears were slipping and my RD looked tweaked. Turns out my dad knocked my bike over yesterday and didn't feel the need to tell me about it. I re-aligned it in the evening.
10.9.12
Race: Lehigh Laps - Men's Open
I suppose this race deserves a preface. Here's the deal. I didn't know this race existed until Andrew B posted about it on facebook. Looking at it, I got really excited about racing, but then I realized I'd have to get up stupidly early in order to get to t-town on time. Further to that, I realized I would be at my cousin's wedding the day/night before, so I would most likely be hung over and aching from dancing. At this point it was pretty much decided that I wouldn't race, but then I got a call from Steve during the wedding service. As it turns out, he was the only 1/2/3 registered so far, with some pretty good prize payouts. So there I am in the parking lot after the newly weds walked out of the church registering for a race on Amanda's iphone. I tried to play it conservative the rest of the night. I still stuffed my face with all kinds of delicous wedding goodness, but I kept the dancing and drinking light and actually headed home before the cake cutting (it was like 10pm already).
Sunday morning I woke up at stupid o'clock (roughly 4:30am EST), threw on some clothes, added some more bluegrass to my mp3 player, and headed out the door. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to pack the night before - although I did forget my aero bars for the 4km pursuit. I got on the road about 5am, and got to Steve's by a few minutes after 6. Interesting side story: the gate to Steve's place was closed, which is on a nature preserve type deal, so I also didn't get any cell reception. I was able to send off a text to him, but I really wasn't sure if it would get lost in the aether of space, so I took a look at the gate system. Lucky for me, the side gate next to the main gate wasn't actually locked, so I just popped that open and drove through. I did end up meeting steve along the driveway, so I guess he got my text.
Anyhow. We packed up and headed out around 6:30. The traffic was light for once, so we had no trouble there. We did accidentally put ourselves on the 22 for a while, though, but it's still pretty direct. Along the way, we also stopped for some coffee and cheese danishes at a truck stop with a very energetic cashier. I certainly was not energetic at that point in the morning. At this point, we realized we might have actually left too late, which really would have sucked. Technically registration ended at 8:45am, with racing starting at 9am. We arrived at 8:59. Steve unpacked all the gear, while I ran over to the promoters to make sure we were still good to ride. The group running the race were really nice, though, and they had no problem with us still racing.
Up first for us was a flying 200. I changed my gear to a 50x13, put my skinsuit on and suddenly I hear my name called for staging. No number, no warmup, shoes in hands I ran over to the starter. The 200's were started right at the transition from the infield ramp to the warm-up circle, so the ride would be 2.5 laps. I put my shoes on (sans shoe covers), hopped on my bike and rolled off. My legs were cold and I was tired, but I gave it my best half-assed effort. First lap low and slow, moving up track, picking up speed. The bell rings and I start to put on the gas. I realized I wasn't really super high up by the rail before I swung down, which Steve called me out on later. Oh well. I dropped down right about the middle of turn 2 and just kept my head down. The high gear felt alright, I didn't feel fully on top of it, but I wasn't bogged down. Regardless, it was good enough for the fastest flying 200 time of anybody with a 12.20.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968645
Next came the 4k pursuit. We were the last group in the schedule with collegiate women and C/D riders doing 500m, A/B with kilos, then women 2km pursuit, A/B 4km, C/D 2km. It was a long enough wait that I realized a couple of times that I've only done 1 race so far in the day. I would hop on the rollers from time to time, but mostly I just sat around. I talked to Travis a bit. He's a C/D rider who was at the labor day meet. It'll be interesting watching him progress on the track. Steve and I were finally called up to stage for our pursuits. I was debating on stepping up my gear, but Steve convinced me to stick with a gear that I'm used to riding, so I stick with my 50x15. I started on the backstretch, Steve on the homestretch. The gun fired and I started the dullest 12 laps of my life. I threw advice to the wind and went for a hard start up to speed, which gave me a few seconds on Steve. From that point, I just tried to maintain a fast pace, and always check that I was ahead of him at the pursuit lines. Our first lap was around 30mph, and it slowly dropped through the race to just under 27mph. I was still feeling pretty fresh with 2 to go, but I didn't want to risk blowing up just before the end, so I waited until the bell lap to ramp up the pace. I got it back up to 30mph and brought it home. I think Steve ended up doing the exact same thing, as our splits were consistently about 2 seconds different. I finished with a final time of 5:27.40, which was the second fastest time across all riders.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968633
The schedule originally had a separate 1/2/3 and 3/4 field, but since Steve and I were the only 1/2/3's and Mark and Sean were the only 3/4's racing the mass start events, we were combined as a 1/2/3/4 field. This still left us with only 4 racers for a 24 lap points race, which sounded none too fun, so the promoters also added in the collegiate A/B field for a super-combined 24 lap Points mega fun race. From what I could tell, the two fields would be scored separately, but I figured it would be in my best interest to win it outright, just to be sure. Steve and I agreed that the biggest threat to that would be west point, who had something like six riders in the field. The pace started hot, which I think was set by me and then Steve. Army had a few riders who were content with setting a fast tempo, which was fine with me. The first sprint saw Sean attacking the group, but I was able to come around him. We pulled up track and waited for the group. It's interesting to see how the race dynamic changes depending on the number of laps between sprints. This race had sprints every six laps, which I felt resulted in a less overall aggressive race. It certainly gave you plenty of time to recover between sprints. From what I remember, the second sprint saw me leading the pack in turn 4 before the bell, so that one was a long sprint around, which I also took. The race was starting to split up around this point, so the front was three army guys, steve and me. I think somewhere between the first and second sprint Steve looked set to break away with me, but I wasn't sure how easily Army would be able to reel us back in, so I opted to just sit in the pack. The last two sprints basically played out the same. We all took even pulls, except for one of the army guys, so I figured he was probably the sprinter to look for, but I never really saw him trying to come around me on the bell laps. I took both sprints, and the overall win. The promoters were originally not too sure about combining the A/B riders with us, but I think it definitely played out to a much more interesting race.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968620
After this was a 5km Scratch with just the 1/2/3/4 field. Since there was only four of us at the rail, the official asked if we would be too deeply upset if they dropped it down to 4km. We all were fine with that with both Steve and me separately saying "Well, that's 1k per person". That's how you know you're team mates. We rolled off and the race started. There were two $25 primes mixed in to the race. The first one seemed to come right away, maybe the second or third lap. Sean gave it a go, but I was able to catch him and pass him to pick it up. The second prime came around halfway through the race, where I attacked and Sean tried coming up around me. I got that one, too, and the race continued. At the final sprint, Steve attacked at the beginning of the bell lap, and I drag raced him to the line. I took the win, Steve second. Afterward, I started to think about how I presented myself in that race, specifically the primes. On one hand, I really wanted the money (as it turns out with all my payouts and expenses, I only netted $10) and I figure it's almost disingenuous to not put your best effort into a sprint, but on the other hand Sean did work really hard for both of those sprints, and I don't think he came out with a payout. What would a classier rider do? Is winning really everything? I'm not sure. I think If I did it again, I would probably let him win one.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968603
The final event on the schedule was the match sprints. There was one other rider registered for the 3/4 field who only wanted to do the sprints, Camille. Since this left us with an odd number of sprinters in the 1/2/3/4 field, it was somehow decided that since I had the fastest flying 200 time, I got a 'bye', or basically instant entry into the finals. I had never heard of that before, but I was all for it. In the end, Sean had to head out early, so we were back down to four racers. It was run as Steve vs me for 1st and 2nd, Mark vs Camille for 3rd and 4th. One run each. I decided to up my gear a little bit to 51x15, to hopefully get a little more top end. Our race started pretty innocent. Steve had the obligation to lead, but we stayed pretty much even with each other the whole race. I went straight up to the boards and the pace slowly picked up the whole way around. It's funny, I thought steve was forcing the pace, but really he was just trying to box me in and I was trying to get ahead of him. At one point, I tried to get behind him to cut downtrack, but he wouldn't allow it, so I had to try a long attack over him. He cut down to the pole lane to try to force me to go around him the long way, but I was able to get ahead of him for the win.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968590
This concluded the omnium, with me in first, steve in second. Since there were less than 10 starters, the prize list was cut in half, but I still won $40 and steve won $25. I split my primes with him for gas money. We packed up as some angry looking clouds floated by, but there was no rain. A quick shower, then we talked to the promoters for a bit. We talked about what we felt was good with the event and what could be improved, but the overall impression of the race was really positive. We agreed that doing both sprints and pursuits leads to a very long day, so we'll see what the schedule looks like next year. I certainly look forward to racing at it again.
On a final note, thank you to Lamprey Systems for the prime donations. Thanks to the officials and promoters, and of course everyone who raced. It was a ton of fun.
EDIT: two other notes:
1- My shoes were really killing my feet by the end of the day. I wonder if this means I'll have to invest in different track shoes. It's not like they feel too tight, I think the problem is that right by where my little toe sits are these circular ventilation holes in the inside layer of leather, which presses into my toe. Maybe I can pad that area some how.
2- Granted, as army cadets, the USMA riders are probably used to being yelled at a lot, but it was rather off putting to me to hear their coach yelling at them all the time. Particularly to the women riders. Generally with bad coaching advice. I feel like if something like this happened when I was first getting into racing on my collegiate team, I would have given up out of sheer annoyance.
Further edit:
results are posted here.
Sunday morning I woke up at stupid o'clock (roughly 4:30am EST), threw on some clothes, added some more bluegrass to my mp3 player, and headed out the door. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to pack the night before - although I did forget my aero bars for the 4km pursuit. I got on the road about 5am, and got to Steve's by a few minutes after 6. Interesting side story: the gate to Steve's place was closed, which is on a nature preserve type deal, so I also didn't get any cell reception. I was able to send off a text to him, but I really wasn't sure if it would get lost in the aether of space, so I took a look at the gate system. Lucky for me, the side gate next to the main gate wasn't actually locked, so I just popped that open and drove through. I did end up meeting steve along the driveway, so I guess he got my text.
Anyhow. We packed up and headed out around 6:30. The traffic was light for once, so we had no trouble there. We did accidentally put ourselves on the 22 for a while, though, but it's still pretty direct. Along the way, we also stopped for some coffee and cheese danishes at a truck stop with a very energetic cashier. I certainly was not energetic at that point in the morning. At this point, we realized we might have actually left too late, which really would have sucked. Technically registration ended at 8:45am, with racing starting at 9am. We arrived at 8:59. Steve unpacked all the gear, while I ran over to the promoters to make sure we were still good to ride. The group running the race were really nice, though, and they had no problem with us still racing.
Up first for us was a flying 200. I changed my gear to a 50x13, put my skinsuit on and suddenly I hear my name called for staging. No number, no warmup, shoes in hands I ran over to the starter. The 200's were started right at the transition from the infield ramp to the warm-up circle, so the ride would be 2.5 laps. I put my shoes on (sans shoe covers), hopped on my bike and rolled off. My legs were cold and I was tired, but I gave it my best half-assed effort. First lap low and slow, moving up track, picking up speed. The bell rings and I start to put on the gas. I realized I wasn't really super high up by the rail before I swung down, which Steve called me out on later. Oh well. I dropped down right about the middle of turn 2 and just kept my head down. The high gear felt alright, I didn't feel fully on top of it, but I wasn't bogged down. Regardless, it was good enough for the fastest flying 200 time of anybody with a 12.20.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968645
Next came the 4k pursuit. We were the last group in the schedule with collegiate women and C/D riders doing 500m, A/B with kilos, then women 2km pursuit, A/B 4km, C/D 2km. It was a long enough wait that I realized a couple of times that I've only done 1 race so far in the day. I would hop on the rollers from time to time, but mostly I just sat around. I talked to Travis a bit. He's a C/D rider who was at the labor day meet. It'll be interesting watching him progress on the track. Steve and I were finally called up to stage for our pursuits. I was debating on stepping up my gear, but Steve convinced me to stick with a gear that I'm used to riding, so I stick with my 50x15. I started on the backstretch, Steve on the homestretch. The gun fired and I started the dullest 12 laps of my life. I threw advice to the wind and went for a hard start up to speed, which gave me a few seconds on Steve. From that point, I just tried to maintain a fast pace, and always check that I was ahead of him at the pursuit lines. Our first lap was around 30mph, and it slowly dropped through the race to just under 27mph. I was still feeling pretty fresh with 2 to go, but I didn't want to risk blowing up just before the end, so I waited until the bell lap to ramp up the pace. I got it back up to 30mph and brought it home. I think Steve ended up doing the exact same thing, as our splits were consistently about 2 seconds different. I finished with a final time of 5:27.40, which was the second fastest time across all riders.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968633
The schedule originally had a separate 1/2/3 and 3/4 field, but since Steve and I were the only 1/2/3's and Mark and Sean were the only 3/4's racing the mass start events, we were combined as a 1/2/3/4 field. This still left us with only 4 racers for a 24 lap points race, which sounded none too fun, so the promoters also added in the collegiate A/B field for a super-combined 24 lap Points mega fun race. From what I could tell, the two fields would be scored separately, but I figured it would be in my best interest to win it outright, just to be sure. Steve and I agreed that the biggest threat to that would be west point, who had something like six riders in the field. The pace started hot, which I think was set by me and then Steve. Army had a few riders who were content with setting a fast tempo, which was fine with me. The first sprint saw Sean attacking the group, but I was able to come around him. We pulled up track and waited for the group. It's interesting to see how the race dynamic changes depending on the number of laps between sprints. This race had sprints every six laps, which I felt resulted in a less overall aggressive race. It certainly gave you plenty of time to recover between sprints. From what I remember, the second sprint saw me leading the pack in turn 4 before the bell, so that one was a long sprint around, which I also took. The race was starting to split up around this point, so the front was three army guys, steve and me. I think somewhere between the first and second sprint Steve looked set to break away with me, but I wasn't sure how easily Army would be able to reel us back in, so I opted to just sit in the pack. The last two sprints basically played out the same. We all took even pulls, except for one of the army guys, so I figured he was probably the sprinter to look for, but I never really saw him trying to come around me on the bell laps. I took both sprints, and the overall win. The promoters were originally not too sure about combining the A/B riders with us, but I think it definitely played out to a much more interesting race.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968620
After this was a 5km Scratch with just the 1/2/3/4 field. Since there was only four of us at the rail, the official asked if we would be too deeply upset if they dropped it down to 4km. We all were fine with that with both Steve and me separately saying "Well, that's 1k per person". That's how you know you're team mates. We rolled off and the race started. There were two $25 primes mixed in to the race. The first one seemed to come right away, maybe the second or third lap. Sean gave it a go, but I was able to catch him and pass him to pick it up. The second prime came around halfway through the race, where I attacked and Sean tried coming up around me. I got that one, too, and the race continued. At the final sprint, Steve attacked at the beginning of the bell lap, and I drag raced him to the line. I took the win, Steve second. Afterward, I started to think about how I presented myself in that race, specifically the primes. On one hand, I really wanted the money (as it turns out with all my payouts and expenses, I only netted $10) and I figure it's almost disingenuous to not put your best effort into a sprint, but on the other hand Sean did work really hard for both of those sprints, and I don't think he came out with a payout. What would a classier rider do? Is winning really everything? I'm not sure. I think If I did it again, I would probably let him win one.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968603
The final event on the schedule was the match sprints. There was one other rider registered for the 3/4 field who only wanted to do the sprints, Camille. Since this left us with an odd number of sprinters in the 1/2/3/4 field, it was somehow decided that since I had the fastest flying 200 time, I got a 'bye', or basically instant entry into the finals. I had never heard of that before, but I was all for it. In the end, Sean had to head out early, so we were back down to four racers. It was run as Steve vs me for 1st and 2nd, Mark vs Camille for 3rd and 4th. One run each. I decided to up my gear a little bit to 51x15, to hopefully get a little more top end. Our race started pretty innocent. Steve had the obligation to lead, but we stayed pretty much even with each other the whole race. I went straight up to the boards and the pace slowly picked up the whole way around. It's funny, I thought steve was forcing the pace, but really he was just trying to box me in and I was trying to get ahead of him. At one point, I tried to get behind him to cut downtrack, but he wouldn't allow it, so I had to try a long attack over him. He cut down to the pole lane to try to force me to go around him the long way, but I was able to get ahead of him for the win.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220968590
This concluded the omnium, with me in first, steve in second. Since there were less than 10 starters, the prize list was cut in half, but I still won $40 and steve won $25. I split my primes with him for gas money. We packed up as some angry looking clouds floated by, but there was no rain. A quick shower, then we talked to the promoters for a bit. We talked about what we felt was good with the event and what could be improved, but the overall impression of the race was really positive. We agreed that doing both sprints and pursuits leads to a very long day, so we'll see what the schedule looks like next year. I certainly look forward to racing at it again.
On a final note, thank you to Lamprey Systems for the prime donations. Thanks to the officials and promoters, and of course everyone who raced. It was a ton of fun.
EDIT: two other notes:
1- My shoes were really killing my feet by the end of the day. I wonder if this means I'll have to invest in different track shoes. It's not like they feel too tight, I think the problem is that right by where my little toe sits are these circular ventilation holes in the inside layer of leather, which presses into my toe. Maybe I can pad that area some how.
2- Granted, as army cadets, the USMA riders are probably used to being yelled at a lot, but it was rather off putting to me to hear their coach yelling at them all the time. Particularly to the women riders. Generally with bad coaching advice. I feel like if something like this happened when I was first getting into racing on my collegiate team, I would have given up out of sheer annoyance.
Further edit:
results are posted here.
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