Ontario Cup 7 – Hardwood - Provincial Championships

Seeing as how bad Mansfield went two weeks previous I focused on preparing for this race in the same manner that I had all the other O-cups. The weekend before I rode the course with Todd on both Sat and Sunday. Riding a total of 3 race pace laps. During the week leading up I put in about 4 hours – all at an easy pace – sprints on Sat.

Food wise, I also included more protein into my carb loading phase. This seemed to work out quite well. I also ate a carb/protein breakfast at 10am. Overall I felt like I had a lot of gas throughout the race.

Note: eating this way was key for a 1:00pm start. I ate very little until 10 and then ate a full protein/carb lunch (whole wheat pasta, chicken, veggies)

Because Todd’s race is at 10:30, this time I only went to the feed zone each time he came through. I spent the rest of the morning resting in the truck and taking it very easy. For my warm up I spent 20 mins on the trainer, and only got up to 150. I wanted to save as much energy as possible.

Note: at the beginning of the race my legs did hurt, I probably could have used a bit more intensity in the warm up. This would have helped the start.

The race:
My plan for this race was to keep a consistent pace throughout and to ride with the trail and my HR. Don’t worry about people passing me or me passing people. Just stick to my own world. This is the way I always raced before – I need to come back to it.

Off the start I lined up at the back of the pack (new for me) and my plan was to stay in contact with the group as much as possible but to keep my HR under 175 for the lap and try to keep it closer to 170.

By about ½ way through the 1st lap (of 4) I was feeling pretty good. I learned during the race to ride the wheel of other riders. There is definitely a draft effect and also a mental effect. I would stay with them until I saw my HR drop down to 168 or so, if that happened I would then plan to pass and if it stayed low then I would go by them and try to bridge up to the next rider – where I would then sit on until my HR would either go too high and I would back off (which never really happened) – or I would bridge up to the next rider.

That was the story for pretty much the whole race, I kept my heart around 170 to 172 and never felt that I was running out of gas. I felt like I was on a pace that was around 90% - at the end I felt I could have went a little faster – but not much – more than that I was pleased to control and ride my own race.

Note: At one point two guys went by me. For a second I felt that I could have went with them because my HR was in check. I hesitated and didn’t go and stayed where I was. I think that I could have went with them and hung their wheels for a while – I was quite nervous about hitting the wall. As I race in more of these I will know how much I can give over 2 hrs.

I crashed in a corner moving slow at around 1hr 20mins – and wow did it ever hurt. It really slowed me down for a bit and I lost a couple of places. On the last climb – at around 2hrs I had some pretty serious leg cramping. I just kept my head down and worked through it – although this cramping is a symptom of not training past the 2 hr mark – something to plan for in the future.

Note: Cramping also may have occurred due to lack of hydration. To inhibit this I should have my largest bottle last – and include 3 scopes of 3 load. On that note: I also gelled every lap during the race and I think this helped keep the gas going.

In the end I was 10th place – which I’m happy with and 2mins out of 4th (9min 30sec out of 1st)- with more experience I think I have it in my to trim 2mins out of 2hr and 15mins.

Times:
Lap 1 35m43 (includes prologue)
Lap 2 32m19
Lap 3 33m45
Lap 4 33m15

What did I learn in this race?

1. I enjoy racing at this level
2. Stick to your game plan when preparing
3. Use road tactics off road makes me faster
4. Have to ride my own race
5. Consume gels during the race to keep the tank full
6. Use a large bottle on the last lap and make it extra eload – help to inhibit cramping
   
   
   Looking forward to next year J