When I signed up (a week ago) for the Capitol City race I didn't expect a highly competitive field. But when I found out the night before the race that Stephen Wright had also chosen to race, I knew things were going to be a bit more serious than I'd anticipated. Stephen, my former coach, is a phenomenal athlete who had the misfortune of suffering a rather serious injury that sidelined him for a year or so. While his comeback is young, I'm sure it will take him to the top of the sport in the not too distant future. Having the opportunity to race with him is always fun and challenging. Having him there certainly raised the stakes in Concord.
On race morning we happened to arrive at the same time and park next to each other. After catching up a bit, we started to get down to business with an easy warm up. As we'd arrived early, not many people were around when we departed. When we returned, however, transition was a different scene. When we got off our bikes, we took inventory of the rest of the field. By the looks of the bikes rolling into transition and the people with them, it seemed as though this saws going to be a much more competitive race than either of us had planned for. It happens every time I race, though it shouldn't, that I evaluate the talent level at a race by the price tag hanging off the bikes. You'd think I would have learned that the two things really don't have much in common by now, but it made me a bit nervous last weekend.
My guard went up even higher when the gun sounded. The entire field took off at a super human pace and I quickly found myself in eighth or ninth place. Perhaps my suspicions were try and I was going up against a stacked field....
By the first turn buoy I had made my way into second place. I pulled up alongside Stephen as we neared the second buoy and made the pass shortly after rounding the turn. Together, we steadily pulled away from the rest of the guys who'd all gone out at a pace they had no hopes of keeping up for much more than 50 meters. As we hit the final turn, I put in one last burst in order to gain a bit more separation from the field. The push worked and Stephen and I exited the water with a decent gap back to third place. That gap grew exponentially after we got through transition. We were off and riding without any company.
The two of us pushed the pace early on the bike. It took me two miles to bridge a 50 meter gap that Stephen had gained in transition, but once we got together we rode fairly hard for the first five or six miles. It became clear very quickly that we were on our own and nobody would be jointing us for the rest of the race. I was in a great position as I knew Stephen was rebounding from a serious injury and didn't have the run speed to hang with me if we got off the bike together. That being true, my goal for the second half of the bike was to get off the bike within 20 seconds of Stephen, who is a much stronger cyclist than me (or anyone, really). With that time gap I knew I would be able to run him down by the halfway point and get a gap before the finish. Much more time and I would risk having to out sprint someone who's been known to push himself so hard in the finish that he crosses the line throwing up. If I could avoid that scenario, I wanted to.
Almost immediately after hatching this plan it fell apart. As we hit a rather steep incline I attempted to drop from my big to small chainring. However, I was riding in a larger cog in the rear when I made the shift causing my chain to drop. I had no choice but to dismount my bike and throw the chain back on by hand. As I applied the brakes I took a deep breath to calm myself. When things like this go wrong the key to recovering is keeping cool and doing things deliberately. Allowing yourself to panic and fumble around is only going to compound the issue and result in major time losses. I was able to dismount, put the chain back on, and get moving again within 13 seconds which was incredibly fast. In a race where I did a lot of things well, this is the one that impressed me the most. I have all the physical tools to succeed, but this showed that I'm developing the mental skills that will translate potential into results.
Once back on my bike, the rest of the ride went smoothly. I rode about 25 seconds behind Stephen the rest of the way back to transition and that was a gap I was satisfied with. We both made our way through T2 in 20 seconds meaning that I needed to make up about 10 seconds a mile in order to win.
I made up about 15 seconds in the first 3/4 mile and I was feeling strong. As we passed the first mile maker I made up the remaining gap and surged into the lead. While I encouraged Stephen to jump on and run with me, he wasn't able to lift his pace and I began to develop a lead. By mile two I had a significant gap and I was able to relax a bit. Rather than running myself into the ground in a race I already had wrapped up, I kept the pace steady and stayed in control. The gravel trails that made up the final mile of the course seemed to go on forever, but eventually I emerged into a field containing the finish line. I crossed unceremoniously and captured my second win of 2014.
Stephen and I set off pretty soon after finishing for another 30 minutes of running. We quickly realized we were drawing some unneeded attention on the streets of Concord as we paraded around in spandex suits and decided maybe it was better just to circle the parking lot at the race before heading to the awards ceremony (where, because this was a small race, I was pleasantly surprised to be given a trophy, a jar of honey, and a gift certificate).
The day was incredibly successful for so many reasons. I executed a plan, I ran well, I was able to bike with one of the best cyclists around, and I avoided disaster by staying cool and collected. And, for the second race in a row, I left with a smile on my face. I actually enjoyed myself. It was a fun event and I got the chance to catch up with my old coach and friend at the same time. There are worse ways to spend a few hours early on a Sunday morning.
On race morning we happened to arrive at the same time and park next to each other. After catching up a bit, we started to get down to business with an easy warm up. As we'd arrived early, not many people were around when we departed. When we returned, however, transition was a different scene. When we got off our bikes, we took inventory of the rest of the field. By the looks of the bikes rolling into transition and the people with them, it seemed as though this saws going to be a much more competitive race than either of us had planned for. It happens every time I race, though it shouldn't, that I evaluate the talent level at a race by the price tag hanging off the bikes. You'd think I would have learned that the two things really don't have much in common by now, but it made me a bit nervous last weekend.
My guard went up even higher when the gun sounded. The entire field took off at a super human pace and I quickly found myself in eighth or ninth place. Perhaps my suspicions were try and I was going up against a stacked field....
By the first turn buoy I had made my way into second place. I pulled up alongside Stephen as we neared the second buoy and made the pass shortly after rounding the turn. Together, we steadily pulled away from the rest of the guys who'd all gone out at a pace they had no hopes of keeping up for much more than 50 meters. As we hit the final turn, I put in one last burst in order to gain a bit more separation from the field. The push worked and Stephen and I exited the water with a decent gap back to third place. That gap grew exponentially after we got through transition. We were off and riding without any company.
The two of us pushed the pace early on the bike. It took me two miles to bridge a 50 meter gap that Stephen had gained in transition, but once we got together we rode fairly hard for the first five or six miles. It became clear very quickly that we were on our own and nobody would be jointing us for the rest of the race. I was in a great position as I knew Stephen was rebounding from a serious injury and didn't have the run speed to hang with me if we got off the bike together. That being true, my goal for the second half of the bike was to get off the bike within 20 seconds of Stephen, who is a much stronger cyclist than me (or anyone, really). With that time gap I knew I would be able to run him down by the halfway point and get a gap before the finish. Much more time and I would risk having to out sprint someone who's been known to push himself so hard in the finish that he crosses the line throwing up. If I could avoid that scenario, I wanted to.
Almost immediately after hatching this plan it fell apart. As we hit a rather steep incline I attempted to drop from my big to small chainring. However, I was riding in a larger cog in the rear when I made the shift causing my chain to drop. I had no choice but to dismount my bike and throw the chain back on by hand. As I applied the brakes I took a deep breath to calm myself. When things like this go wrong the key to recovering is keeping cool and doing things deliberately. Allowing yourself to panic and fumble around is only going to compound the issue and result in major time losses. I was able to dismount, put the chain back on, and get moving again within 13 seconds which was incredibly fast. In a race where I did a lot of things well, this is the one that impressed me the most. I have all the physical tools to succeed, but this showed that I'm developing the mental skills that will translate potential into results.
Once back on my bike, the rest of the ride went smoothly. I rode about 25 seconds behind Stephen the rest of the way back to transition and that was a gap I was satisfied with. We both made our way through T2 in 20 seconds meaning that I needed to make up about 10 seconds a mile in order to win.
I made up about 15 seconds in the first 3/4 mile and I was feeling strong. As we passed the first mile maker I made up the remaining gap and surged into the lead. While I encouraged Stephen to jump on and run with me, he wasn't able to lift his pace and I began to develop a lead. By mile two I had a significant gap and I was able to relax a bit. Rather than running myself into the ground in a race I already had wrapped up, I kept the pace steady and stayed in control. The gravel trails that made up the final mile of the course seemed to go on forever, but eventually I emerged into a field containing the finish line. I crossed unceremoniously and captured my second win of 2014.
Stephen and I set off pretty soon after finishing for another 30 minutes of running. We quickly realized we were drawing some unneeded attention on the streets of Concord as we paraded around in spandex suits and decided maybe it was better just to circle the parking lot at the race before heading to the awards ceremony (where, because this was a small race, I was pleasantly surprised to be given a trophy, a jar of honey, and a gift certificate).
The day was incredibly successful for so many reasons. I executed a plan, I ran well, I was able to bike with one of the best cyclists around, and I avoided disaster by staying cool and collected. And, for the second race in a row, I left with a smile on my face. I actually enjoyed myself. It was a fun event and I got the chance to catch up with my old coach and friend at the same time. There are worse ways to spend a few hours early on a Sunday morning.
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