Livermore CX - 10/18/08

(photos courtesy of the folks doing the Livermore CX)
Dang, I think I'm starting to like this cross stuff. My training up to this event was non-existent however - I traveled to the East Coast for work and did one workout back there on the elliptical. But other than that, nothing much to speak of other than being dehydrated and sleep deprived. So wasn't sure what to expect today.

I showed up and was thinking it was going to be the same course - but it wasn't. This course was routed through the horse riding area - sandy sections, really flat hardpack, some off camber muddy grass, and some more wood chippy area. A really good course which had a lot of variety. Three dismounts too, including two on uphill sections which really hurt late in the race.


I warmed up with Bob Lofland again and he was saying the course was really fast. And that it was. Took about 5 minutes per lap approximately. So we're standing at the start line and I meet an old friend - Doug Jorgensen - he rode for TWW way back in the day and probably the last I saw him was at our trip to Moab back in '98. Good to see him again (plus I beat him :) ). The same start group for this race - Masters A's take off first, then our group about 30 seconds later, the B's, B35, B45, B55, et al take off. I started cautiously but felt pretty good so I shot forward. I was in the top 10 at the start and thought to myself, "sweet! what the hell am I doing?!!!" I had my heart rate monitor on this time and of course it was chirping at me. It would chirp at me most of the day until it got tired of doing that.

The course was tough, it was difficult to really get a rhythm, and the dismounts particularly hurt. I kept a pretty solid pace throughout the race, although I was definitely fading at the end. Got lapped by the bastage National Champ Master A rider again (with about 3 laps to go). But the nice thing about being lapped is that the lap call out goes from 4 to 2 left - sweet!

So we get the bell lap and I tell myself to let it go for 5 more minutes. I try but man I was pretty well cooked. Two guys passed me about midway through the lap and I noted their numbers to be in the same series as mine. I tried latching on but there was no chance. I had a chance to pass one last rider on the last dismount and got ahead of him, but unfortunately that was the first time all day I missed my pedals on the remount. Doh! So I said that was my chance to pass him and I blew it. He smiled and pulled away. Oh well, I don't think he was in my category.

So I cruised in with no one around me, happy the race was over. That was a really tough effort today. The fields were smaller - too bad, they missed a fun, technical course. No real opportunities for drafting, so it was a true test of your skills and fitness.

We sat around for a bit and chatted while we waited for the results. Then they posted them and I see my name in 6th place - right behind the two guys who I saw pass me on the last lap! I was so close to the podium - dayamn! If I could've just tracked one guy down. But I don't think I could've caught them. I was cooked after the race and still feel the effects of that effort as I type. I have to keep telling myself that it is very early in my CX experience and really I don't have a lot of miles in my legs in the past several years. But I'm seeing improvement so that's cool.

Bob scored a podium spot with a 5th place finish - way to go Bob! So overall a successful day for TWW - and it was a lot of fun too! Looking forward to next weekend's Psycho Cross by Velo Bella. Should be a hoot! Come join TWW in the madness - http://www.surfcitycx.blogspot.com/ - and here is a preview of the course - http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/player/4265810 - looks like they took the death spiral out but should still be a great time. Really, it's a big party where some bike racing breaks out... :)

Oh and here are my numbers for the day:

6/9 Master B's 35+
Time - 46:07
Average HR - 182 bpm
Max HR - 193 bpm

See attached image too - pretty consistent effort. I don't think I could've gone any faster. I had hoped to hit the lap button on my HR every lap but was too tired to do that. Figured once I missed the first couple, just to forget about it.

Mike

P.S. - thanks to Spiccoli for coming out and cheering me on - and for letting me drink some of his water during the race. Hopefully he'll have some photos and video to send me.