Regalado RR-3/2013-They all can't be Golden

Regalado Race Report...they all can't be golden

Regalado Road Race (54 miles - 3 laps)
CoreTechs Team: Jerome, Daryoush, Tom and myself-Andrew (Mike McLaughlin also raced in another cat)
Cat 45+ 1/2/3 (35 riders)

I am getting tired of writing reports with reasons for shitty results. It seems though, that I am in a period of having to do this for my recent escapades. As I tell my kids constantly..., "life is not fair, so the sooner you realize that and get the odds in your favor, the better you will do." I need to listen to myself once in a while. I sure "talk" a good game.

Daryoush and I met at 5:45am and headed out for our two hour commute. We met up with Tom and Jerome. I figured this was a strong foursome, possibly the strongest team in the race and that we would get some results. The race had 35 entered, many DGR's but no mutants! Thirsty Bear had six guys, Folsom had four and then a few independent strongmen (Don Langley-Specialized, Hunter-Hammer and Chris Courtney-SJBC). I was sure would do well.

The course is an unusual one. It has the usual rollers and small hills, but it also has a 1+ mile section of dirt road. Last year during this race it was mud and standing water. This year it was dry, but had a four inch top layer of loose dirt/gravel. I pick the mud next time! The dirt section was crazy. Bikes were sliding all over the place. The dirt mile had me unnerved. There was no traction and I found myself drifting straight when I should have turned a few times. After surviving the first go round, I got word that Daryoush was a victim of the dirt and had flatted. Not too much after D flatted then Jerome flatted. We were down to Tom and I. Each time we approached this dirt section (we did it three times), I felt my heart rate ratchet up. I could not get the hang of it and was letting gaps go constantly. Luckily I was then able to power back on once the road straitened. Word to the wise, don’t be on my wheel in loose dirt and gravel, not my thing!

There was one significant break that went on lap two of Hunter and a Thirsty Bear rider. The TB team blocked and mucked up the chase till the twosome were out of site. The race seemed destined for a pack finish to fight for third place. That was until Tom put on his cape and went to the front. He was not having it and decided he would bring the break back himself. He crushed it for half a lap, then disappeared from the front. A few guys rotated, but then, out of the corner of my eye, the cape comes flying back to the front. Tom had recovered and again drilled it! We were now within site of the escapees and were able to close down the break. This was groupo compacto, thanks 95% to Tom. With the group together again we took our final time through the dirt. Surviving and coming out the other side I became a bit giddy. I felt fresh as a daisy and had survived the dirt. I knew I owed Tom for the pull back and wanted to perform in the sprint as repayment.

Final half mile and Thirsty Bear went to the front in a lead out. I had a full matchbook left and knew I could do well (at least a 4th place :). As we hit 200 to go sign, someone in front blows up and stops pedaling. We are going about 25mph. Everyone slightly eases except it seems the guy directly behind me. I stand to sprint with a clear road ahead of me and good thoughts in my head. It was then that what feels like a giant hand grabs my rear wheel and pulls my bike violently to the left. I could hear pinging of broken spokes and the pressure on my rear wheel is huge trying to push me over. I focus straight ahead so as not to go down and struggle to stay upright. Then, the pressure is gone and a sickening sound of crushed bike and rider is in my ears. My sprint is over and the pack of riders has gotten around. I look back and see a rider in the fetal position in the middle of the road. The motto ref is stopped with him, so I ride it through the finish line. It is a shitty way to finish off a bike race.

Frustrating to drive so far and ride so long and finish with a full matchbook. I am hopeful the fallen rider is not to bad off and am thankful I stayed upright, but darn it, would have been nice to at least use a match. Tom did a yeoman's effort and rode fantastic. I give him rider of the day. If someone other than a Thirsty Bear rider won, they should send Tom a thank you note.

I on the other hand need to finish writing these shitty reports. Seems Daryoush, Jerome and I will have to take some aggression out at Top Sport (April 6/7 people, get this on your calendar!).

Dave Mayer does an Ironman (bike race with extra stuff)

Dave Mayer's Ironman Cabo Report (March 17, 2013)

time: 11:30


place: 199 out of ~1500



Hey guys - this was my 4th Ironman and my last for a long time (or at least that is what I told my wife). I did an Ironman in Utah last May and that was supposed to be my last one, but I went out too hard on the bike and totally blew up almost from the start of the run. It left a bad taste in my mouth, so I wanted to give it one more shot before I hung up the speedos.



I didn't have any time goals, because everything depends on the course. The Cabo course was tough, with 7500 feet of climbing on the bike and some windy sections on the coast. The goal was mostly to just be happy with my race and enjoy it (kind of like saying enjoying getting your armpits waxed).



The swim went well. I have two friends, former Stanford swimmers, who started this company Roka Wetsuits. They gave me one of their prototypes to use and it was FAST. I think that mentally helped me. I felt smooth and controlled the entire swim, which was weird because I have only been swimming twice a week, whereas for past races I had been swimming 3 times a week.



I exited the water 113th place, in 1:03. My Ironman swim PR is 1:02, but that was in college when I was training a ton for it, and I later heard that the swim was a bit long.



I hopped on the bike and dug in for a long day. A coach that I had been working with told me to really dial it back the first 60 miles of the bike and stay controlled. The ideas is that I should feel very fresh after 60 miles and then ramp it up from there. In my Ironman in Utah I had gone out way too fast and then by mile 70 I was toast.



I had a bunch of people pass me the first 30 miles of the bike, which was tough mentally because usually I am passing people. My swim is usually my weakest leg, then my bike, then my run is my strong suit. So I start off slow but then get to pick people off.



I ignored the voices telling me to try and catch people and kept telling myself how long of a day it was. I needed to bike 112 miles and then run a marathon.



I stayed smooth and controlled and by the time mile 60 hit I was still totally fresh. Maybe too fresh, I don't quite know, its hard to estimate these things. I ramped it up and felt good for the rest of the ride. It was nice to hop off the bike and still feel like I had something in the tank.



My bike time was 6:05, which was the 204th best time on the course. So maybe I had taken it a bit too slow on the bike, I was just very afraid of blowing up.



I started the run again not knowing what to expect. My Ironman PR run was 3:27, but that was a long time ago, when I had a lot more time to train. And on a much flatter bike course. I wanted to just go really slow to start and see what happened.



I started running 8 minute miles and then tried to dial it back to 8:30 or so, which felt pretty comfortable. I felt really full, but I kept trying to take coke and water or gatorade at every aide station to keep up the calories. It was probably 90 degrees outside so the heat was really getting to me.



Ironman is such a mentally tough sport. It is so tough to mentally tell yourself, after you have been going hard for 7 hours "okay, now I just have to run a marathon". How do you convince yourself to do that? For me, this was really challenging. I didn't have a goal, really, so why not just slow down as much as possible? I found that it was really tough for me to talk myself into keep going hard. The whole time I was thinking "why the %^?! am I doing this? This is insane!"



At about mile 12 I started to hit a wall and my 8:30s started to turn into 9:30s. I don't know what it was. I didn't feel that I went out too hard on the bike. I didn't feel that I went out too fast on the run. I didn't feel like I was bonking. Maybe lack of training or the fact that everyone is going to slow down a bit after exercising for so long.



I tried to maintain as best I could. I ground through the remaining miles. It was a 3 lap course and on the second lap my wife and my two kids were there. They made up signs for me and it was really cool to see them cheering.



I finished off the race and was totally dead. I could barely walk after.



My marathon time was 4:14, which was 196 out of 1500. Overall I was 199 out of 1500.



I gave the finishing medal to my 4 year old and he really enjoyed it. Hopefully this will be one of his first memories.



Overall I'm satisfied with the performance. I felt good that I didn't go out too hard on the bike and that I set myself up as good as I could have for the run. And I felt great for the first half the run and when I did feel bad on the second half I was able to bear down and get through it. I don't quite know why I slowed down on the second half of the run, but that is racing. That is the tough thing about Ironman compared to bike racing. In bike racing you basically go all out, but with something as long as an Ironman you have to be very careful not to red line it or else you will blow up.



My wife and friends don't believe it, but I am officially done with Ironman until I sell Clean Bottle for $1B and retire and have more time to train (in other words, a long time). I feel good about my performance and am ready for some new challenges. I think I'll still hop into some sprint distance races with Andrew for fun, but that is probably it. I'm excited to take training more casually and flexibly and race some bikes with you guys.



Thanks for reading and I promise my other race reports won't be this long! I'm in Mexico now on vacation w/ the family and I'm going to try and shut off email for a few days but I'll get back to you guys when I get home.



Dave

Merco RR-Tom's version-45+ 1/2/3

Written by Tom Rice

Where: I'm gonna call this the Merco Classic Road Race because, this year, the race seems to have at least 3 different names


When: 3 March 2013
Race: 45+ 1,2,3
Course: 72 miles in 3 laps on a mostly flat course around rural Snelling - very little wind
Teammates: Eric Saltzman

I had some trepidation entering this race. My race fitness is just coming in and I knew all the mutants would be there and that the race is a premire event. So, I set my goals somewhat lower than normal. I just wanted to finish in the mix and I wanted to have some noticable impact on the race. Also, I always have a ridiculous, unattainable BHAG - that is a Big, Hairy Ass Goal. This time, my BHAG is to get in a break with Dirk and finish Top 5. I know, insane but you gotta have goals.

I drive up the night before so I can get a good breakfast, stay on my normal biological calendar(!) and so I don't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to drive to the race. I stay at the Hamptons - okay, I stay in a Hampton Inn but it sounds way cooler to say you stayed at The Hamptons. I get to the race in plenty of time to get reg'ed, pinned up and to the start.

Report: We got a quick brief by the referre and at his whistle, we were off. The pace initially was not fast and stayed pretty mellow for most of the first lap. A couple of guys from Iron Data/Thirsty Bear went off the front early (not unusual) and the pack just let them dangle out there. Thirsty Bear finally packed it in when they realized that no one was going to bridge up to them and there was no way they could make it the entire race without some major help.

My goal at this point is to stay in the pack and make sure I'm fully warmed up by the time the real attacks begin. This turned out to be no problemo because NOTHING much happens for the first hour of the race. Just a nice ride with 70 or so of my new/old friends.

Once we get into the second lap, Dirk attacks a few times but the pack won't even let him get a gap. He has a target on his back and he's going no where!

Things slow down for quite a while and I'm getting a little anxious for something to happen, so during a lull, I jet up the left side and go for a solo break, hoping for someone to come with me. I'm betting that I can get away because nobody really knows me. I get a good gap and 3 riders are bridging up to me. But, by the time they get to me, the entire pack is on their heels. I drift back into the pack and someone else takes off with a couple of riders with him. I jump on those wheels but again, the pack is strung out behind us. As the front of the pack begins to pass me, Dirk takes off (again). I jump on his wheel hoping this is the one. I even take a hard pull with Dirk on my wheel. When I look for someone to take the next pull, I see that the entire pack is on our heels. At this point, a break looks hopeless. Everytime Dirk goes, someone goes with him and the pack simply chases him down. I go with him at least 3 more times. But Dirk is getting frustrated and none of his attacks last any more than a minute or so (of intense and incredible effort on my part!)

So, I settle back into the pack and let the others cover the attacks. It's pretty easy to sit in and just deal with the accellerations.

I'm a little tired at this point but here's the end:

With three kilometers to go, I blast off. I do my best to put in a supreme effort - again hoping that the others will just let the silly attacking man go. But I'm gassed. All I really do is string the pack out. So, I settle into the pack to work towards my goal of finishing in the mix.

I make my goal of finishing with the pack and I'm certainly an enthusiastic participant of the race. I'm not sure I'm too much of an impact but I'll let Eric tell that side of the story. Next time he and I race, we're gonna work together more effectively!



It was a fun day and I'm tired!

Oh yeah - on the way home, I bumped to The Ohio Players because Kanye don't bring the funk like that.


Tom Rice
Bicycle Racer
CoreTechs Cycling Team

Merco Crit and RR report by Eric Saltzman (45+ 1/2/3)

My wife keeps telling me not to program my GPS while driving. While the rest of the team found the new CCCX course on Saturday, I somehow ended up in Merced riding a criterium with smoke from a barbecue wafting across the course. I figure that bike racing is about suffering so giving up warming up with scenic views of the Monterey Bay for a scenic tour of downtown Merced seemed appropriate.

We did 20 laps on a 1 mile barbell shaped course. The distinguishing feature of the course was the very long finishing straight. It was well over 400 meters from the last corner to the line. The field was relatively small (about 35 riders, 27 of whom finished), but filled with strong crit riders. As a solo rider the race was a game of craps and I had to place my bets carefully. The race ended up playing out in a strange way. My first bet was a loser as I watched what turned out to be the winning break roll up the road on the second lap. No one got organized to chase and it was gone. Morgan Stanley was the biggest team to miss the break and did some chasing, but got no consistent help. I made a couple of efforts to bridge, the first with Andrew Nevitt of MS and Shaun Bagley who had a teammate in the break. His presence doomed our chase effort. The second was a solo effort trying to get to Don Langley and one other rider who were trying to get across to the break. I rode solo in no mans land for two laps, suffered well and then got caught. Don and his cohort came back just after that and it looked like we were settling in to sprint for 3rd. With two laps to go, the field watched Chris Black from MS roll off and he dangled just in front of us for the remainder of the race to hang on for 3rd.

The sprint was tricky because you needed to be in the first few wheels coming out of the last corner, but not open up the sprint too soon. I was positioned well and got second in the sprint behind Shaun for 5th in the race.

After spending a night in Modesto listening to the drunk people in the next room scream at each other all night, (not knowing Tom was going to be in the Hamptons), Jason and I dragged our rears out of bed and headed out to the road race.

One of the plusses and minus of having raced for a long time and having ridden most of the courses in Nor. Cal. more times than I can count, is I have a pretty good sense of how a race will play out. I got out of the car, took one look at the completely still trees and the 80 rider field, and knew that the odds of a break sticking were only slightly better than my odds of winning the lottery and I don't play the lottery The key to success would be doing absolutely nothing for the first 68 of the 72 miles so you could be as fresh as possible for the last time up the hill on Cox Ferry and then hold good position from there to when the sprint opens up on the up hill before the gradual downhill 300 meters to the line.

This is exactly what I did. While Tom was playing chase DIrk and Dirk was getting frustrated because half the field was playing the same game, I was sitting 15 riders back having nice chats with various riders. I averaged 143 watts for the race. Was this boring? If the road weren't like riding on a rumble strip I might have fallen asleep. Was it the best workout I could have gotten? I had a higher TSS for my two hour training ride Wed. morning than for this two hour forty seven minute race and felt a lot more tired when I got off my bike on Wed. Was it the best way to get a result without a large team? Almost certainly. That I could ride 72 miles in 2:47 with so little effort is exactly why the race came down to a field sprint.

On the last lap, I moved up on Cox Ferry, was ahead of the guy who decided that the sand and gravel on the inside of the corner off of Cox Ferry onto Keys must have miraculously disappeared between the second and third lap and took himself out (fortunately, he was the only one that went down), and was holding position pretty well. I knew this was going to be a wild ride to the finish because almost the entire field was pretty fresh and lots of people that are not sprinters decided that today was the day for them to become sprinters. Unfortunately, they would make it to the front of the field, realize it is hard to hold position and then start going backward in a big hurry. The problem was that they got to or near the from just long enough to break the rhythm of the lead out efforts and cause the field to bunch. Lots of guys would have won the race if they could have painter lines on the road between 1K and 400 meters to go. Each guy ended his sprint, sat up, in some cases swerved, and started going backwards.

I was fourth wheel coming into the hill at about 500 meters to go, but had to slow to avoid someone who sprinted past, got half way up the hill and then exploded. I lost a few positions and some momentum and could only manage 8th in the sprint. I was glad to keep the rubber side down. Let's hope for more wind next year.