In An Absurdly Perfect World

Let me start out by saying: Luck does not exist, you make your own luck, and being lucky never won anyone anything. (Have fun thinking about that one!)

Also: a quick alert: There will be a lot of pictures in this entry. Eye candy like woah, so be prepared.

Anyways, this entry is purely inspired by an unintentional all-nighter, excitement for the coming triathlon season, and obviously - the most important thing of all - looking fast (not necessarily being fast). What if you could put together the most epic and (just-so-happens-to-be) most epic-looking set-up out there? Yes, you would do it...pending resources and time, and getting good enough that you could rock it without looking like a complete fool. Just more motivation to get into the best shape I can.

Forever, my favorite colors have been Black and Orange...especially when it comes to athletic gear (black and orange isn't quite standard formal attire...yet). One might think this is from my Middle/High School colors at North Yarmouth Academy: the Panthers, but I have loved the colors from well before then.

So why the excitement about black and orange? It just so happened to work out that PBMC Triathlon Team has Black & Orange kits (1) that are awesome to say the least - and from first sight of them I was pumped (big understatement). Then, as a graduation gift to myself, I bought a pair of Oakley Jawbone sunglasses: customized as black and orange (2). The kit and shades are set in stone. Now the variables: bike, shoes.

(1)

(2)

I am currently riding a 2006 Trek Madone 5.2, and put aero bars on it for multisport races. Obviously having a TT bike would be a lot more optimal of a situation for triathlon...so I've been looking into potential machines. I have no idea what the summer/next year will consist of job-wise, but that's why we're talking hypothetically, right? Top choice (pending it being a great fit) is the 2011 Felt B12 (3), a killer ride. I mean a Speed Concept 9.9 ProjectOne would be sexy, but completely absurd (I suppose a picture can be put in anyways (4)).

(3)

(4)

The last bit is something my buddy Seth just showed me: the new Mizuno Wave Universe (5) racing flat. Note: I'm not sure how viable of a shoe this is as I have never tried it, but it is the lightest, slickest flat out there.

(5)

Put them all together and what do you get: Speechless.

My (Hopefully) Last Cat 5 Race: Bristol RR

I was very excited for this race. The previous weekend had been lackluster and I was irking for some real racing - primarily from myself, as I had been surrounded by strong athletes last weekend. So the only logical option was step up and stick it to it! My excitement for the race extended being needing to do well: this race was going to be 37 miles and with 2.5 times through some legitimate hills. 37 miles isn't "all that much" by standards of many other Categories, but it represents what one might start to see in the Cat 4 level, where I hope to be in my next cycling race.

I had a pretty solid week of training going into this race, with a track workout and a couple good OTB (off the bike) efforts running. I made a point to not taper for the race as it is not a multisport race and this mindset is critical to maintain focus on tri's. So I took Thursday fairly strong (after 2.5 hours on the trainer Wednesday) by swimming, then doing the Bristol course to a pretty hard 2.5-mile tempo, due to time limitations. Friday I took as an easy 7 miler, which felt insanely relaxed (too relaxed, in fact). The one good thing is that I finally got a good night's rest the night before a race. Two nights before, again, was pretty bad. I had an econ exam Friday and hadn't been to class for the second half of the semester (I know, I'm a bad person...but what can I say, I was busy training...). I got under 5 hours of sleep, but the test went fine and I was glad to be finished with exams!

Now for the fun stuff: race day! Woke up at about 7:45 in an effort to get as much sleep as I could manage without being late or screwing up the race day schedule. Got stuff together and made it to Bristol at 9:35 and check-in was closing at 9:40 (cut it close because I forgot to get gas Friday). Got situated and set out on a warm up, towards the finish line. Felt about as flat as I had felt relaxed Friday on my run - I knew it was too good. Chatted with Mike, Kevin, and Chris about planning for the race as we had a MASSIVE team (10 of ~30 total). Because the race was 2 laps and change, we figured keep the first lap steady but in control, and move if people moved.

A quick bit about the course (visual provided below):

• Staging/Official Start: Just before 14 Mile mark
• Lap/Finish: 17 Mile Mark
• Solid 3 mile climb (14-17) then good descent, then constant climb (4-6), then FAST descent (50+MPH)

We set out from the staging and the pace was pedestrian. However, I felt like crap so I decided to sit in rather than take a relaxed spot out front with Mike at a pace that would actually help me warm up had I been feeling good. We hit the first section of hill and things remained very calm, but I felt pretty bad still. We passed the lap/finish (2 laps/34 miles to go) and cruised the downhill, which was when the pace definitely went into normal racing tempo. Coming into Egypt road (mile 4.25) there was some basic positioning going on, into the hill a U of Buffalo guy swung out left and blew his tire right in front of me. He started to slow and looked like he was coming right and I quickly yelled for him to just hold his line, which saved me from making a drastic maneuver. We hit the hill at a fair pace, and a Buffalo Velo guy led it out a bit. The bulk of the group was able to maintain contact for the first time around, or reattached shortly after the peak. Kevin, Mike, and Liam all looked real good up the hill the first time - I was working to hold on and would let a gap open up knowing I could seal it on the next flat/downhill safely.

We took the downhill fast, in the sense we didn't ride our brakes. When we were going about 50MPH I heard a flat pretty loud and it was Mike Hoffman's - not cool. Apparently it ripped a couple inch gash in his sidewall and he had a near-life threatening speed wobble, and his chain dropped at the same time. Luckily, by a lot of cleat dragging and well maintained control he came to a stop without crashing. Mike, who I believed to be a (or the) top contender was now sadly out of the race. I really wanted him in it to see what damage he could do. On the next set of hills everything started to split. By the time we hit the finish line (1 lap to go) there were about 10 of us remaining, including Liam, Kevin, and myself. We came into Egypt road fast and hit the hill much harder this time. Midway through it was down to 6 of us: Liam, Kevin, Overlook guy, White kit, Buffalo Velo, and myself. Went hit the hill hard enough that the Buffalo Velo guy started swerving and eventually bonked and toppled over towards the top. Only problem was, he nearly took Kevin and I out once and actually took out Liam. He fell perfectly into Liam's line and Liam didn't have a chance to react. He fell as well, but was uninjured. Sadly, Kevin and I were forced to keep going as the two others kept pushing. As we hit the crest it was Kevin, white kit, and me - with the Overlook guy about 15 meters back. We pushed and were able to finally drop the Overlook guy.

And then there were three. We kept in a paceline and were cruising pretty good - making sure to keep a strong pace and work together. Pulls started out fairly long, but shortened as we neared the staging area and got hit with some unfavorable weather. At about 4.5 miles from the finish, a crazy downpour came upon us - with pretty killer winds. It was nasty and wet, and made drafting almost worse than pulling. Before coming into the final turn ~2 miles from the finish, I took a pull and continually downshifted as I felt like I was running out of gas...not a good sign with so little to go. We moved along, more as an amoeba now, towards the finish and up the beginning hills. No one made a move and Kevin and I spoke briefly - he mentioned making a move to me as we were coming up to the "kill zone" that we had determined would be the time to make a move to seal the deal. It was the last kicker leading up to the false flat that was the finish. Once we hit the hill - I hit the gas hard, not having any idea if I'd blow up. I put in some real hard work and was nervous to see if anyone was with me (I couldn't hear anyone). After a good 20 seconds I checked back as I sat down to recover a bit and knew, to a fairly high certainty, that the race was mine. I had gotten a good 20 meters on Kevin and the other guy, who started to drop Kevin. I made sure to keep the pedal down and check my back often, as I did go very early (considering how toasted I felt) - especially if the other guy had planned to make a substantial counter on the false flat. When I was 150m out it was for sure I had won and I pushed it hard through the finish - winning by 12 seconds. Kevin took 3rd (1st for NYS Championships, I am Maine, 2nd place was CO) and Liam took 5th.

A nice bonus was the shwag! I got a new Lazer O2 Helmet, which lists for $110! So pumped about it. Wore it today (Monday on a 40 mile ride and love it, definitely a massive upgrade). Overall it was a great race and I liked that it was nearly 2 hours - felt more realistic and less like a sprint. Can't wait to get to 40+ mile races! So I'll be sending in a request to Cat up to 4's, as I now have 8 races - 5 of which are wins. I can't wait to get into some races where I can get my ass handed to me, looking forward to it (seriously!).

Hollenbeck's Spring Classic RR

This was what I call going into a race at 80%. I knew I was going to be pretty sore and tired coming out of the Duathlon from the day before, but my hopes were still high. I wanted to race to the best of my ability on that day, regardless of how I was feeling going into it. I was only able to really fall asleep at 12:30, despite going into bed at 11:15, and woke up just after 6:00AM to get things set and prep to leave at 7:15 for the 2+ hour drive to Virgil, NY. We got to Virgil a bit before 9:30, much time to spare before the 10:15 start time. We got our numbers and had some time to spare. I did a really brief warm up to check out the uphill finish. About halfway up my legs felt shot so I rode down and did some light spinning on flats.

There's the course. Some decent hills, with one real kicker just after a long slight hill up to mile 16, and a legitimate uphill finish.

The Race: Like most other races, this one went out real easy. The first thing I noticed was a large contingency of Ommegeng/Syracuse Bicycle members who were holding out the front line. I sat in as best I could without losing too much contact with the front of the pack because it was clear they were going to make moves. As we hit a very quick uphill the leaders tested the pack a little by picking it up swiftly. It didn't drop anyone besides those were were noticeably unprepared for racing. Next we hit a decent climb at 5.5 miles in, this one was much more serious as it was the first real effort of the race. Normally, I'd come out of the hill up at the front and comfortable, but about halfway through I was already looking to where the peak was. I made it up the first hill, and knew it wasn't going to get any better - the feeling I had when I went up the finish hill warming up. So I made sure to conserve as best as I could. The next set up was a slight uphill, with a quick downhill recovery, then a steeper and longer hill (miles 6-10.5). Coming up the first part, the leaders started pushing pretty solidly - as would be expected. There were less than ten guys who got a bit of a gap at this point, 2 were slightly off the lead pack by 15-20m and the rest of us were around 30m back. Kevin and I were at the front of this group. We saw that another hill was upcoming and knew we had to get back before it if we wanted to be in the race - because they were not going to let up at all on the second hill. I was feeling pretty fried working these hills, which was a major letdown as I was excited to be in a race with a team who was working it pretty good and I wanted to be in it to step it up - but the duathlon beat me up pretty good. Kevin made the push to reattached and I figured I'd might as well go with. Once we caught the two who were 15m or so back, Kevin started to slow up and had it not been a teammate I would have stayed tucked in. Without receiving a signal I jumped in front of him and pulled with what I had at that time to reattach. Luckily my efforts did not go in vain. After the race Kevin told me had I not jumped in for that pull he didn't think he would have been able to reattach and maintain.

That pull made me taste the red zone a little, not something I've ever had until about 1 mile to go in a bike race. I knew had I kept crushing myself I would've blown up. The next climb was immediately after my pull and once we hit it, I was struggling. I worked to not lose too much contact, and there were more than 5 of us who got dropped back. At the pretty consistent downhill we worked to make contact - and got damn close: about 3 seconds (45m) coming out of a turn. Only two of us (myself and a CNYC guy) had put in significant work, and we could've gotten back in it had 2-3 of the other guys made the effort. We started to drift and lost the leaders. I continued to keep the tempo up and didn't realize I dropped the others, so I sat up and waited so I could conserve. The group eventually grew to 12 (I only thought it was 6 during the race but I just checked the results: http://flcycling.org/?page_id=2101). But I took a few pulls, and the CNYC guy did nearly all the work. We took it somewhat comfortably, but I was pretty tired and just wanted to have enough gas to move up the finish hill. Things were pretty uninterested here on out - besides that kicker I mentioned at 16...not fun. We came into the turn towards the finish and cruised into the hill. The CNYC guy jumped and I let him go: not only did he deserve it, but I didn't know how little I had in the tank and didn't want to blow up halfway up the hill. The next guy went - from SU (Cat4) - and I stuck somewhat close to him, less than a meter off his back wheel. The hill kicked up but I still had no idea where the finish was, then, when I finally saw it, the line was 20m away. I started to reel him in and with about 10m to go, put in a hard effort to (with a high guarantee) nip him at the line - I was too sore to try to bury anyone. I got him by less than half a wheel length to secure 12th place (2nd in the chase group), but knew I had it for sure

I was glad to be done. Kevin ended up 3rd, which is excellent considering it was in a 4/5 race. I'm glad I had a hand in getting him back up to that lead pack, it was pretty rewarding knowing that even though my race was quite lackluster, I helped a teammate get to a good finish. I hadn't experienced this before (I tried to make some moves with Jensen at the PSU Crit, but we weren't organized enough). I'm really looking forward to the absolutely massive UR contingent @ Bristol this coming Saturday! Currently 11 of 18 confirmed riders are with UR!