Sun 24 Oct: Back to the SKCC crits. First race of the points series. The improvement I’ve been noticing week after week has been almost scary, yet, it certainly brings about a sense of curiosity to see how far I can really push myself.
Woke up feeling a little sluggish – pretty sluggish actually. Probably due to the warm weather and I had woken up with my shirt drenched in sweat. Was going to head down to the Latte Laps session that morning to pick up a skill or 2, but could not pull myself out of bed. I really needed that extra hour of sleep in today.
Hmm…everything sure feels heavy today, I thought to myself as I rolled down on my warm up to the crits. I was already in the small chain ring and tried as best to get the legs moving.
With the first race of the points series (there was extra prize money and extra awards up for grabs), the big guns had certainly come out to play today. More new faces in peloton, more team kits out there today. With both Jenny Mcpherson and Nicole Whitburn in the mix – it certainly was going to be an interesting race.
We rolled off – with a scooter leading us out round the first lap. 2nd lap and it was get go. Things were quick right from the start with everyone throwing attacks left right and centre! A new pair of shoes up for grabs for the most aggressive rider – everyone was certainly keen to have a crack.
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| The scooter following us at the back of the peloton.. (Photo by Rob M) |
Managed to bridge one of the early breaks – but boy, it sure felt like I was hauling a sack of bricks around. I even had to soft pedal through the corners, and I couldn’t help thinking that it must have been the hill training the day before. No time for negative thoughts – just focus on the race. I tried to move up the peloton, but lap after lap I kept on getting spat out the back. Weird – the pace was high but certainly not unbearable. Every corner I was trying to crank down hard and found myself doing a lot of work. I need to move up! But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t quite spin the legs. I took a quick glance at my cassette sprocket – I was pushing a 52-19 – a 52-19?? That’s like somewhere in the low 70’s of gear ratios. I really must be tired.
A third way through, I eventually got dropped on one of the corners. Bugger. I tried to TT for 2 laps – I wasn’t going to quit. Every glance at my speedo – I was pushing a ridiculously low speed. No quitting. No quitting. Onto the 3rd lap, and eventually I was caught by 2 riders in a break. Ah well, gave it all I had. Certainly was a little disappointed with my performance but I knew I had given it my best shot.
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| Was really feeling like a sack of bricks at this point.. (Photo by Rob M) |
After a brief chat with my coach to reflect on the race, I handed my bike to him whilst I returned my race bib. “Your back wheel wasn’t fixed in properly and your brakes were rubbing!! Grace!!” Haha..no wonder my bike felt like a tonne!! A rookie move – certainly one not to be forgotten – and always, always check your bike before you race! Oh well, mistake made, lesson learnt, certainly not one to be repeated.
A power nap and some food, I headed down to DISC for Hawthorn CC’s (HCC) Sunday Roast track race. I was certainly excited, yet nervous – 80 laps round the track – works out to 20ks – but 80 laps sure sounds like a lot! Well, at least there’re no brakes to worry about (or be worried about?) this time!
The predicted rain didn’t eventuate, and it was really warm inside the velodrome. Well, good training to get use to the heat for the summer races. Fixing up my gears, this time, I certainly did a double take to make sure my back wheel was aligned and the nuts were done up tight.
The arvo kicked off with a 30 lap scratch warm-up race. Those young kids were pushing the pace from the get go. 5 laps to go and I eventually got caught behind someone who had blown, could not quite get over him, and ended up having to pull out. That’s alright, a warm up and I was more nervous about the bigger race later that day.
Next up – my first elimination race. Rules were simple: a few laps of rolling, then the last person every 2 laps gets eliminated till 3 riders were left to contest the sprint. Sure sounds like fun! With too many riders in my division, we were split into 2 groups. I was allocated to the 2nd group. As I sat spinning on the rollers watching the first race unfold, it looked like heaps of fun, and I was itching to get on the track. With about 10 or so riders, I lasted about half way through till I was eventually eliminated. Certainly can’t wait to give that type of racing a crack again!
Now it was time for the big one – the 80 laps points score. First 5 riders across the line every 10 laps score points but you had to finish the race. I was well warmed up by now, and certainly starting to get the hang of riding shoulder to shoulder. After about 30 laps of getting the feel for the race, I was keen to have a crack at scoring a point or 2. But gee, those sprinters are sure quick! So every 10 laps, I tried something different each time, but had not quite mastered finishing in the top 5. No worries, today’s plan was to get the feel and finish the race. Being a fun and friendly racing atmosphere, we had more experienced guys shouting out moves – move up, stay down etc. – it certainly was great having them in the bunch. Last 10 laps, I was still in the race – not long more. 2 laps to go, having just pulled a turn, I saw a gap and managed to swing into 5th position – not too bad a place. Bell
A great day of racing overall at the track, and I certainly enjoyed myself. It was definitely a fun and friendly racing atmosphere organised by HCC. A big day of racing done – another power nap before dinner. Can’t believe November is just around the corner – just received my racing/training calendar – and it certainly feels like I’m on a caffeine overdose just thinking about the races. Super duper excited!!
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