Crossing The Line

Reforestation Ramble WORS mountain bike race up in Suamico (north of Green Bay) this past weekend. The closest thing to a WORS race I have previous experience with, as I attempted to race this course last year on my cyclocross bike. That ended badly with a DNF as a result of a stupid crash resulting in a damaged bike. So coming in this year, with an actual mt. bike, and some actual mt. bike competence, I was looking forward to some retribution.
I came up a day early with the Marchewka boys to get a good pre-ride in on the marked out course, and to just get a refresher as to what I was in for. The pre-ride went very well. I felt awesome. I was fast in the flowing single track, and blasting up the hills. I was very confident for the next day. I wanted to, and I honestly thought I could have a hell of a race.
RACE DAY: Morning of was good, didn't have to wake up too terribly early since we were already up there in a hotel, had a nice breakfast, and again, felt really good on the bike during the warm-up. Race description was two laps on a 12 mile course consisting of a lot of open, extremely fast double-track, with the rest, fast- flowing single-track in the woods. Hills were minimal, but the occasional, steep one or grinder thrown in there would make you feel the burn. Pretty muddy in some sections with all the rain that had fallen in the previous week, but overall not too bad otherwise. Weather was hot. Low to mid 80's.

10,9,8,7,6..................GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Great start, I was picking off people left and right. From the start, it stays wide open for a while before we'd finally get to single track where passing would be problematic. So I wanted to move up and make up as much ground as I could right away. Which I did. Actually found myself with a group of four other riders who opened a gap, and I was content to sit in with, and ride quickly with. I'd yo-yo off the back of them occasionally, but was always able to bridge back up, and keep the pace high. I didn't feel as great anymore as I did the previous day, but I chalked it up to being the fact that it was race-pace, and I just needed to suck it up, and keep hammering, and maybe my legs will come around more as I get further in. Well that's what I was hoping for at least.
Lapping through, after what looked (and felt) like a pretty solid first lap, I took on another water bottle and was ready for the next 12 miles. During that feed section, the little group we had, subsequently broke apart, with people grabbing bottles, and others not and pushing ahead. I imagined since we were all riding so similarly, I wouldn't panic, and we'd most likely come back together sooner than later. And then I felt the faint twinge in my left hamstring. Cramp. Just a twinge though, so I started sucking on my bottle a little more regularly. Unfortunately, it only got worse. Next came the right hamstring, then both quads joined in. At this point it was intermittent, so I kept plugging away, but at only probably 3 miles in, my second lap wasn't looking like it was going to be all that fun. I stayed seated and just spun as hard as I could, to try and maintain some as-semblance of speed, and as to not upset my already very angry legs, but then my calves would join the party, and start knotting up too. And though now, I was technically a damaged rider out there, I did everything I could to suppress the pain, and just stay in attack mode. Getting to the steepest hill on the course, I didn't know how my legs would react, but I knew I had to get up that hill. So I attack it, jump out of the saddle and hammer. Both of my legs. Instantly. Lock. From my hips, down to my toes. They went absolutely stiff. I just lost complete control of the lower half of my body. With both legs locked the way they were, I kinda tipped over off my bike, and duck walked up the rest of the hill, every muscle straining, trying to rip themselves from the bone. Be it shock, or straight up adrenaline, I don't remember the pain, so much as I remember the fact that I was genuinely frightened by the fact that "I can't bend my fucking legs!"
And somehow, [I really don't know how, but in fact I do remember having the retarded thought, "Well they won't bend as I'm walking, maybe they will back on the bike? Get back on the damn bike!!" Of course combined with the "GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" That's going through my head during a race anyway...] I remounted, and I kept on going. And oddly, after that full shutdown I'd just experienced, the cramps mildly subsided for a while. OR, they were actually still there, and just not as bad as that hill experience. Either way, I was back on, riding again, and back to attack mode.
Pre-riding implanted into my head exactly when and wear I'd come out of the last section of single-track and onto the open, long, flat, perfectly straight, all out, leave nothing left in your body, time-trial sprint to finish. And here I was. Just as a fellow Sport age-grouper went by me. Nothing left in my body? Ok. I spun out gears until I had none left. Both of my legs were completely cramped. My quads felt like they were coming through my shorts, my calves were petrified. But I pushed harder. With tears of pain streaming from my eyes, gritting my teeth, I sprinted as hard as I could towards the line.
Toppling over in pain onto my bike after stopping, barely able to walk, barely able to move, I promptly began hyperventilating. In a haze, I knew I felt bad, but pretty much thought, 'post race, you're supposed to feel like this...' But thankfully. For as bad as I felt, I must have looked even worse as I quickly caught the attention fellow riders. Anthony Dombrowski, Bob Zimmerman, Rob Willmas, and guys I don't even know, right after them themselves just got done suffering, helped me. Cold water over the head, down the back, all over. Slowed my breathing down. Took me into the air conditioning and sat with me. My appreciation for these guys is hard to express. THANKS GUYS, SERIOUSLY.

So. Dehydration was obviously a factor in this race. As far as I knew my preparation was sound, but it obviously wasn't enough. Lesson learned there.
But furthermore, other than the finish line, I crossed another line in that race. Cycling is all about thresholds and how far you can push your body. My body hit it's limit in that race, and I tried to go beyond it. Not the greatest idea in the long run. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time, the manly thing to do even. But I pretty much hobbled myself and am going to need at least a week for my legs to recover from that said act of manliness.
But what I will do is. Work harder to get that line further out there, so I don't have to cross it. And that seems like a good plan.
Cycling, ain't it great? :)

Tri Hard with a Vengeance

August brought me my last two triathlons of the season. August 1st was the Ripon Medical Center Triathlon in Green Lake, and August 8th was the Oshkosh Triathlon in Winneconne. So yea, Ripon tri in Green Lake, and Oshkosh tri in Winneconne...
The RMC triathlon is a smaller triathlon, not part of the Midwest Sporting Events Series, yet still a very well run, pretty fun course, and well worth it being my fourth year of participation. The course is moderately challenging, with a little longer swim than usual, around a third-mile with no touching the bottom, a rolling to hilly, twisty at times, 15.5 mile bike course, finished with a hilly 5k run.
Leading up to this race, well... Friday included a hard-effort 50ish miler in a driving downpour. A nice character building ride with cyclocross on the horizon. Saturday morning was another CK sponsored time trial, this one a two lapper, for a total of 20.3 miles all-out. Did pretty well with the TT, was happy with how I felt and with my results. Feeling really comfortable and happy with my TT position lately. I feel fast, I feel powerful, I feel slippery. Plugging along through the course, tucked down on the aero-bars, I actually do feel the aero advantage. It's a swell feeling. Later Saturday night, I had my High School reunion... So night before a race, instead of relaxing, and hydrating, and going to bed on time, I was standing around, getting my brains blown out by unnecessarily loud music, drinking beer, and going to bed waaay too late...
RMC TRI- Race day... Got kind of winded on the pre-ride... Got even more winded on the pre-run, and my arms were sore as heck on my swim warm up... Shit.
Into the lake we go, I find a good stroke, a good pace and start hitting it. Actually didn't feel too bad, so I went with it. Drafting behind suckers for as long as I could, till my long arms started feeling their toesies and I'd go around them. I was indeed the 8th person out of the water, a good swim. Onto the bike. Exiting the 'Ripon Medical Center grounds' to get out to hwy 23 actually consists of about a 2 mile climb, which right out of the water, trying to get your breathe, kind of hurts. So I had decided prior that I would spin up it in the little ring, and then start blasting once out onto the open road. Spinning along up the hill, I was getting passed. I stayed calm and thought, I'll see you guys soon. Out onto road, hammer-time. I quickly dispatched the guys who got me up the hill, and was off to find the 7 who got out of the water before me. I felt GOOD. I was fast, I was smooth, attacking up hills, out of saddle sprinting out of turns, I was killing it. Turns out, my bike leg moved me up to 2nd place overall. Then came the run. The 3rd and 4th place guys came out of transition right with me, seemed like it was going to be a great race! Then my legs decided to go home. Hardly a couple hundred yards into the run, BOOM, my legs exploded. They felt like cement. Like from my pelvis down, I had nothing. Shit. So what do I do?? I wanted to walk. My legs were that gone, I could barely move them. But as I'm hobbling along, I just think, "Geez I'm in like 5th place, I can't walk! How terrible would that look?!" So with something slightly less terrible looking than walking, I painfully labored my way, for what felt like an eternity to the finish line, being passed a few more times along the way... Good swim, Great bike, topped off with what felt like the worst 5k of my life. But in a slightly ridiculous twist of fate, thanks to my swim and bike, still pulled off an 8th overall place and won my agegroup! haha
Gonna need a little better prep for Oshkosh I think...

OSHKOSH TRI- A race I have had success with in previous years, being better than previous years, I wanted to destroy this course. Plain and simple. Last tri of the season, and from as far as I could tell, could wrap up my agegroup ranking for the five-star series, I had lofty goals for this race. First place in my agegroup - top ten overall - and improve on my time last year from a 1hr 14min to a 1hr 10min, were the goals on the chalk board. Driving up there, my goals didn't look good... The race didn't look good... Thunderstorming, pouring buckets the whole drive up there, gave me a very empty feeling in my stomach. But upon arriving, still plenty of rain, but no lightning made it look like we'd be racing. Game back on! All of my stuff in transition, my bike, and of course I, was soaked. But oh well, so was everybody else, and they'd all have to deal with it too. RACE ON! Into the lake, water was actually calm and really nice and warm, didn't feel like a superstar, but did what I could and had a fairly solid swim. Onto the beach, into transition, the moment I'd been waiting for, training for. The bike leg. However I knew I couldn't just go out and crush it, I had to race it smart this day, which sucks for only 15 miles, but with as wet as the roads were, the swirling winds, and with as many twists and turns as there are throughout the course, I knew I had to be careful or I'd end up on my butt. So the plan: little to no risks taken through turns and obliterate the straights. Immediately into it, I knew it was a good plan, as I babied around the first 90 degree turn and heard a huge crash, glanced behind me to see a guy and his bike sliding off the road... No problems for this gentleman though, I took it easy on the turns, and the rest of the time went like hell. I felt good. The head-wind from every direction never really made me feel great, but I was fast. Battling with and eventually dropping a guy on a $10k bike feels good. Onto the run, legs don't fail me now! Out of transition, College was there cheering for me, and yelling to me my overall position "You're in 5th!!!!!" (huge props to Mr. Marchewka for coming out and spectating, I sincerely appreciated him being there!) This day my legs felt good for the run. Good enough to keep up with the guys who got by me, apparently not, but I ran my fastest 5k of the season, and did all I could do. They were just faster runners than me. Crossing the line, I knew I did a good race, it felt good. Saw the clock, I saw the magic 1hr 10min I was shooting for. Sweet. Turns out the 2nd place guy overall was in my agegroup, so I got 2nd. I'll take it. Sweet. A strong later wave finisher knocked me from 10th overall, back to 11th overall. Not quite a top ten, but I'll take it. Sweet.
So I suppose these two snigglets are there to give me motivation for next year? Oh yeah, Oshkosh, I'll be back next year, you better believe it.

CONCLUSIONS-This was easily my most successful season of triathlon racing. I was in the mix at probably all but one race. I'd said early on I was probably done with tri's after this season, due to my new love affair with mountain biking. BUT, I think there is always going to be at least a little time devoted to triathlons. Probably not a full season again, but I think I'll come out and kill a couple of my favorites. So that's that.
Furthermore, in these last two races. I don't generally toot my horn, but... The bike is strong. At RMC, out of the 200 or so, I was the 4th fastest on two wheels, essentially tied for 2nd, we were all within 10sec. And at Oshkosh, out of 800, I was the 5th fastest. How about them apples?

Cyclocross, here I come.... :)