Racing...

So, I did my first real race today. The Cat 3 (beginner) XC race at the Sea Otter Classic in the 30-34 mens group. I had fun and I hated it at the same time.

My only previous experience trying to race was on a 10 man team for a 24 hour event. I don't call that a real race because I didn't train for it, and we certainly were not trying to win it...just there to have a good time.

I live abut 5 miles from where the race starts and when I left the house, it was kind of chilly. Sill about 58 degrees, but sunny. I thought I'd be able to get away with (2) 24oz water bottles and hopefully pick up another one at the feed zone which is 8 miles into the 19 mile course. I'd been drinking as much water as possible for the last couple of days too.

Well, the race started and we ride around the Laguna Seca race track for a bit (I think we were going the opposite direction though). That was kind of neat. But, man, my hear rate was going nuts! Too much adrenaline. And, all of the guys in my age group bolted like crazy too. I didn't want to let them get too far ahead of me...some will surely hold me up once we hit downhill single track.

Sure, enough, that is what happened. I think there was even a non racer on the course holding a bunch of us up at one point. Going down the first part of trail 50 some dude was holdingl like 10 of us up considerably for probably 500 yards or so before he stopped and got out of the way (single track with no where to pass). Driving me nuts. I can't tell you how many times I had a dude pass me up on a climb to get in front of me...just to slow down and skid all over the place (kicking up dirt/dust for me) when we hit singletrack on a downward slope. Some dudes just did not get it either...complete hacks...but they had stronger legs/lungs than me. Guess that is why folks were telling me I should have been in the sport/cat 2 class...yeah, I would have gotten spanked even harder on the climbs in cat 2, but I don't think I'd be slowed down as much on the singletrack.

So, we head down the beach (trail 60...a sandy mess...thus the nickname of "the beach"). Before getting to the beach, I am already way tired and feeling like I want to puke and pass out. I can't seem to control my heart rate. Every time I look at it...it seems to be at 170 at least, and mostly in the 180s. I let some gaps build up for folks in front of me cause I don't want to get trapped by someone bailing right in front of me going downt the beach. That pays off as I see at least 3 or 4 riders (all ones that passed me at some point) off the bike becasue they couldn't negotiate the deep sand. By now, it is getting warm and I'm worried about water. I go through probably 30 or more of my 48 oz of fluids I have with me at this point. Damn....it is warm and I'm THIRSTY! I feel the heat and the effort of climbing up 82.

I survive the climb up 82. Do some of the ridge riding on top trying to slow myselfy down. I can't maintain this pace for all 19 miles. Hit the pavement and just coast down. Little bit of fire road...then yes...the feeding zone. Grab a 24 oz water bottle and a small cup of water. It is still warm. Is this going to be enough?

Then the climb up the fire road to hit "outhouse" trail. I seem to be doing okay..but my heart rate is NUTS! I can't get it down. My legs feel okay..but I just can't seem to calm my heart rate down. Anyway, hit outhouse and once again, we bunch up. Me behind a bunch of dudes who passed me on the climb. One dude was really clueless. Some young guy was yelling at him to get over. He eventually did, but only let that one guy by...not the 10 or so of us still behind him. I try to pass off trail...not a smart move and try to regain the trail but some dude jumped up into my spot. I almost caused a wreck trying to get around homie. I'm getting pissed that I have to expend a LOT of energy just to get around someone. I guess that is racing.

After outhuse...the "sisters" are tough. Again, I feel like I want to puke. Heart rate consistenly in the 180s...sometimes I see 192. Man, it feels hot too. I'm wearing my roadie outfit...all lycra and even my raodie helmet because it breathes better. No camelback. I should be doing okay with this setup to keep cool...but I still feel like I'm close to overheating.

We hit the east side Fort Ord trails and I'm trying to conserve energy. We hit a couple more sandy spots and people again piss me off by not being able to ride. I keep my mouth shut, but some hardcore sandbaggers (guys that look like they could be racing Cat 1) start berating the dudes that aren't skilled enough to ride those sections smothly/quickly. Then we hit the new little bit of singletack before hitting the road (jack's road?) that takes you up to climb the upper half of "goat trail." Again, I'm frustrated with being held up.

I hit the pavement. For some period of time...my chain kept skipping whenever I gave it a lot of torque. Played with the tension on the shifter, but didn't do much help. Bad grinding noises too that I can't tell where they are coming from. I think maybe a quick realeas on the front or back wheel is loose. So, I stop on the pavement to take a look. Can't find anythign wrong, so I pedal on to Goat.

Goat seems okay to climb. I go in spurts...I feel good, give it some gas, and quickly run out of gas and start crawling again. Then on over to skyline. Hmmm...wind is picking up. Felt like a good 15 kts steady...maybe 20 kts...almost right in your face too. This sucks. I'm tired. But, again, I go in spurts. Work hard, fall apart. Work hard, fall apart. I find a dude that I draft off of for a while on Skyline climbing back up to the top of Laguna Seca.

I reach the end of the climbing...but I feel okay for the most part...I can give it some gass...really go all out because I know the end is near. I give it all I can give it. I cross the bridge over the race track and hit the single track just on the other side. I'm feeling powerful again...I come up on another rider right at a corner where there is a tree and an option to go left or right. Some dudes are standing there saying "go left!" I know what is there and I go for it. There are some roots there and there is a bit of a drop. I'm feeling good and I take those roots as a drop. I hit it and do okay...I think passing some dude while I do it. Then, I hit a little rise and try to power up it. SNAP! Fucking chain breaks! WTF!!!!???

I half try to coast, half try to run without holding others up. Now it all makes sense. At some point about 8 miles into the ride, a link bent on the chain. That was causing my shifting problems. I've had this happen 2 or 3 times now with a realitvely new Avid PC 991 chain, and it happend again. I probably had 150 miles, certainly less than 200 on that chain. So, I coast where I can, and then run to the finish line. One hour, 56 mins. At least by my watch. We will see what the offical time was and who I placed in my catergory/age group.

Holly Heart Rate Batman! I just downloaded the data from my Heart Rate Monitor. My AVERAGE heart rate for the race was 174. That is average. My normal average for an every day ride is usually 145-151. It also says I burned 2069 calories in that 1 hour and 56 mins...with 2600 feet of climbing.