Shannock Valley Mountain Bike Race, Rural Valley, PA, 7/18/2009

If you asked me today how the Shannock Valley mountain bike race was, I’d tell you excitedly that it was a great race and I had a lot of fun! If you asked me 3 days ago how the race was, I’d tell you eh, it was ok. If you asked me right after the race how it was, I’d tell you it sucked and it was a painfest and uphill battle.

It’s funny how our perception of pain changes with the passing of time. I think that if people were able to vividly recall the amount of pain they experienced in any particular situation, athletes would no longer race, mothers would never have more than one child, and you would never drink more than 2 martinis in a night!

I started fairly close to the starting line, learning from prior races this year. I knew that the field would spread out after the first hill and if there were guys behind me that were faster than me, it would be easy for them to pass before we got to the single track. The race starts out on the road on a fairly flat section for about half a mile, then takes a sharp turn up a steep hill for another half a mile before we turn onto the access road. I was feeling pretty good, ok, actually, I was dying, and I see Ruthy just ahead of me. I knew Ruthy was a strong rider and I wanted to keep her in my sights. Ruthy and I went back and forth a few times up the hill and on the access road, before she pulled ahead of me right before we entered the single track.

We started down the first descent and everything is going fine; Ruthy is keeping a fast pace but not unmanageable. As we approach a 180 degree turn in the descent, my legs start to tremble uncontrollably. I’m not sure if it was nerves or adrenaline, but I knew it wasn’t good. As I come into the turn I pop my right foot out for balance but I lose it and come falling down with my bike on top of me, jamming my pedal into my right calf. The pain shoots through my leg but I hop back on the bike as quickly as possible. 4 or 5 riders pass me and I jump back in line, losing only seconds.

We come across a small bridge and the trail turns up a steady gradual hill. The grade should be a piece of cake but I am struggling to keep up. I can feel my calf throbbing and I start to wonder if I should finish the race. I know what’s coming next; one of the steepest hills in the race. It’s a short hill but if you don’t approach it right you’ll be pushing. During my pre-ride with Paul I had to go back for a do over to get up this hill without pushing, and I knew I had to get my gearing just right. Unfortunately the trail was a little wet this day and there was a pile up starting about half way up as other people were pushing their bikes. I made it ¾ of the way up until I finally had to jump off and push. As soon as I stepped down, a sharp pain shot through my calf. I never realized how much you use your calves when you push your bike up a steep hill, until now. I thought again about quitting, but remembered hearing about guys in the Tour that would finish a stage after crashing and breaking bones. If they can do that, I can live with an hour of pain.

As long as I kept riding really hard and didn’t let my heart rate recover, I couldn’t feel the pain as much. This wasn’t a problem considering the amount of climbing there was. The course took us on hill after relentless hill; our only reprieve being the short sections of single track in between the access roads and quad trails. Most of the descents were sketchy with massive ruts due to the fall line or ATVs. I was careful not to go too fast to avoid getting stuck in one of those tracks.

I rode with Paul for awhile until he passed me heading into a section of single track. Then I rode with my Dad for a bit until he passed me as well. I kept him in my sights for almost the entire ride. He was ahead of me by about 15 seconds with the gap slowly increasing. The race finished with a section of double track that took us across a 30 foot mud puddle; what mountain bike race is complete without a little bit of mud? I finished with a time of 1:03:46, just 3 minutes later than Ruthy who came in first.

Race Stats: 2nd Overall
Course Length: 10.5 miles
Finish Time: 1:03:46
Heart Rate: 23 minutes in Zone 4 and 41 minutes in Zone 5! Time for a retest of my threshold.

Renfrew Ras, Butler, PA, July 12th, 2009

I competed in the Renfrew Ras this past weekend, a 33 mile road race in Butler, PA. This was my first USAC sanctioned event and I was thoroughly impressed. The race had a "full rolling enclosure", meaning there was a motorcade leading the way in front of the first rider, and support vehicles in the back following the last rider. The motorcade led us through the intersections, pointing out road hazards along the way. The intersections were staffed with at least 3 or 4 volunteers at each one, waving us through as we rode by. Now this, is what a race is supposed to be like!

There were about 8 or 9 girls competing in the Open Women classification. 3 or 4 were from Steel City Endurance, a local Pgh cycling team. Upon registering I saw that I was up against Cat 2 and 3 riders so I knew the competition would be stiff. At the starting line, I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I anxiously waited for the count, and before I know it we're off! I immediately took off, thinking the rest of the pack would be right behind me, but to my surprise they weren't. I held a steady pace: fast, but comfortable, yet still no one is gaining on me. I told myself before the race that this is exactly the position I didn't want to be in; out there in the front, on my own. I should hang back with the pack and let them take the lead, but I didn't feel like I needed to slow down. I knew they must be thinking I'm such an amateur, attacking at the beginning like that. They were probably back there thinking, "she can't keep that pace the entire race, it won't be long before we catch her". And, catch me they did.

The course was an 8 and a quarter mile loop which was mostly rolling with one killer climb, 5 miles in. The climb was a 250 foot vertical ascent over half a mile, and right as I was beginning the climb I heard them coming behind me; the dreaded click, click, click, click of their gears shifting. They're close now and I can hear someone breathing down my neck. I wanted the King of the Mountain points at the top so I stood up and picked up my pace, trying to stay ahead. After just a few seconds though I couldn't hold it any longer and didn't have any gears left. I sat down and tried to shift into my small ring and suddenly my legs started spinning uncontrollably..NO! I tried pedalling backwards to see if I could get my chain back on but no such luck. I had to jump off my bike and put my chain back on. As I'm doing so the group goes flying past me. I jump back on as quick as I can, as the last rider is approaching. So much for the KOM points.

I spent the rest of that loop trying to catch up. I caught one rider, Sharon, and rode with her until we caught up to the Steel City girls, Patty and Barb. Soon after we caught them we were at the hill again and they completely dominated us. I was taken by surprise at how fast they climbed this hill. I thought I was a strong climber but I didn’t seem to have near the power they were producing. No chance of me getting any KOM points this time around either. Since they put a distance on me on this hill, it took another half a lap just to catch them again. I left the rider I was working with and chased them down. It wasn’t easy, but I knew I had to do it. When I finally caught them I was so relieved; I needed the help. We worked together well for the next lap and a half. I stuck with Barb on the hill the next time but right as we approached the KOM line, she sprinted past me. I was impressed with the explosive power they had.

I had the rest of the third lap to think about my strategy. It was great that we were working together but at the end of the day this is a race and I want to improve my standing (I knew 1st was already gone as we hadn’t seen the leader, Grey, since that very first climb). I decided to make my attack after the last killer climb. I stayed on Patty’s wheel the whole way up, and right when she let up, I took off. I hammered as hard as I could for as long as I could, until Patty caught me. We worked together for the remainder of the lap until the final turn to the finish line.



Patty was in front and as soon as we made that turn, she took off up the hill. I sprinted after her, staying close to her wheel, but just couldn’t close the gap. As the hill leveled off there was about a 100 meter sprint. I put my head down and rode hard but Patty took 2nd, by about 5 seconds.

Race Stats: 3rd Overall
Course Length: 33 miles
Finish Time: 1 hr, 40 minutes
Heart Rate: Mixed – some in Z3, Z4 and even Z2. About 6 minutes in Z5.

I wonder if I could have finished higher / faster if I had been working on my own. Should I have left the comfort and safety of the group I was working with? Could I have maintained a lead on them? I suppose as I get more experience racing I’ll begin to be able to assess these situations and make the right decision at the time. But for now, I’m happy with my results!