Cross Season: Tacchino and DCCX

I kind of knew all along that I wanted to race cross again this season, and I even incorporated some cross-type intervals into my commute over the summer (I don't get to do a proper bike workout during the work week, so all work on the bike has to happen as part of my commute. Surprisingly, this did not lead to me signing up for any cross races and the morning of the first I could make it to, Tacchino at Rosaryville, I found myself (1) switching my commuting tires out for a pair of race tires and (2) signing up day-of when I got to the race.

Tacchino

My last minute preparations meant that I didn't get to preview the course but I could tell pretty fast that it was muddy. Luckily my new tires would help with that. It was a fairly small field, 12, maybe, so starting position wasn't a big deal. There is a new Masters Women 45+ race that they have going off with the Cat 4 women this year, so it is a little hard to tell where you are in the field unless you know who everyone is. I don't know who everyone is.

 The mud was greatly to my advantage, though, as I just dropped my elbows mountain-biking style and powered through it while lots of people were getting off. It was a slippery mess for most of the course, but I managed to stay upright through all of it. I passed some people, but felt like there were lots of women still ahead of me. Imagine my surprise then, in the last climb, when a group of spectators told me that #3 was right ahead and I should "go get her!"

That didn't seem likely and I actually thought they were teasing me, which seems like something cross spectators might do, so imagine my surprise when I crossed the finish line (legs literally shaking) and my friends told me they thought I had won the Cat 4 with the women in front of me all being in the Masters class ("Just don't go anywhere just yet," they advised.) In the end neither group was right, as there was a very young girl in the mix who everyone probably thought was a Junior but was actually Cat 4. The other 3 women were in Masters, however, so I was thrilled with my 1st cross podium in 2nd place. I got a medal and some chamois cream. Woot!


DCCX
 
Not signing up much in advance came back to haunt me more at DCCX, which is, it turns out, a huge race. By far the largest field for the Cat 4 women that I have been in in my vast experience of 6 cross races. Again I had not managed to get there in time to pre-ride the course (darn you Army Ten Miler and your road closures), but I kind of remembered the course from the clinic last year so I hoped it wasn't much different and went in blind. Unfortunately, the fact that I signed up week-of the race placed me in the last line for the start. Though honestly, the girls didn't seem to be very good at lining up by number despite the officials telling them to.

I seem to be learning that a lot of the time in cyclocross, you make your own luck. That is, my live and let-live attitude out on the course that probably comes from only racing bikes in the context of triathlon does not seem to be the norm. We'll leave it at that.

So the start was crowded, but I passed a big group of other women in the first couple of hundred yards, which felt good since last season everyone just seemed to pull away at the start. 

This course was dry, and I wasn't convinced that was to my advantage, having been able to pass a lot of people in the muck at Tacchino. I also thought the course was really quite hard, starting with almost a full lap that, as my friend John pointed out, "Didn't even count" since it was only almost a full lap. The lap had 2 sets of barriers and another spot where you dismount to run up some enormous stairs then mount at the top just to go straight down and do a 180 and go straight back up. I guess that's cross, because that happened a few other places on the course too.

Let's just say that when I went by the judges the first time and the lap counter said 3 laps to go, I might have let slip an expletive. But I checked my watch and yup, that painful lap had only taken 9 minutes, not the 15 it felt like.

So I just kept powering on, for what felt like eternity. (That might be hyperbole, but it felt like a long time.) I picked off a few more of my competitors and went back and forth with one woman in knee high bright pink socks.

Is the knee sock thing at cross a fashion choice or a performance choice? I haven't been able to figure that out...

Actually, after the first lap, I had hardly any jostling around the corners and tight spots and was pleased that the only places I had to put a foot down was when I got off the bike for the barriers and the stairs. Until the last lap, when going into the final uphill turn I made the mistake of thinking, "Last hard turn!" at which point I ran into the tape along the side of the course, got tangled up in it, and had to dismount. Whoops.

It was a really fun race and I ended up 9th, which I was ok with, since it was a hard course with a big field. Anyway, out of 29, being in the last row meant I started behind 20+ of them from the start.

A few more races to go this season, and maybe I will sign up not at the last minute. If I'm smart.

Living Without...Briefly

I am bracing myself for a short time without my prescription Rudys.

You know how sometimes someone new to triathlon might ask you what your favorite piece of gear is, for me it is a tough call, but the Rudys are right up there.

But I am getting a new pair of prescription lenses, clear ones for riding at night, for fun night mountain bike riding, if I ever do that again, and more practically, for commuting this fall and winter.

They said I would only be without for 5-7 days.

I hope so!

Shutdown

There are all number of things I could have spent all day doing on the 1st day of the government shutdown. I did some of those things from the time my "orderly shutdown" ended and noon.

Then I went mountain biking.

Because that's more fun.

Update

I have started quite a few posts in the last month and a half, but never finished them, including a race report for my final triathlon of the season, Luray, which was in mid-August and which was beautiful and tons of fun, if a little lackluster on the performance side.

The swim was pretty poor - I think I was out to lunch, though it didn't feel terribly slow. I was quite happy with my bike and the run was average. BUT, what a beautiful and fun course, particularly the bike. And we had a terrific day to do it. Cool. Cool? In August? I'll take it.

I plan to go back. Hopefully armed with a 10k faster than 50 minutes.

Which brings me to my next topic: moving forward.

I've had a couple of weeks of easy going, a terrific vacation in the Adirondacks, and another week of pretty easy going, so it appears to be time to get back to business.

I have been pondering the months ahead and have determined that I should work on speeding up my run for the Oly, so my plan is to run an open 10k in February and try to blow it out.

I don't even have a PR for an open 10k, I don't think. I have run several in Olys and I have run 10 milers and halfs and 5ks and more 5 milers than I can count and even a marathon, but I don't think I have ever run a 10k road race.

I have a goal, but I am not certain it is reasonable. I want to do 43:30 or better, which would be 7 minute miles. This is a real stretch, but I have 5 months so I am hoping it is doable. I should know better about halfway through, I guess.

I wanted to run an earlier 10k to gauge where I was, but I am amazed that I can't seem to find one, so I think I might run an 8k in December and see where we are.

So that's the long-term plan.

But first I might have to race a few cyclo cross races. I mean, I did just buy new cross tires for my bike. But it would be just for fun. (I am trying to forget how much they hurt last year as I say that....)

NJ State Triathlon

A little over a week ago I was starting a post about peak and taper period. I guess I never finished that one with all the preparations for a weekend away and two kids and all that. And it is moot now. So on to race day!

NJ State Olympic Triathlon was this past Sunday. It was basically my A race for the season, the one I built all my training since Kinetic around, and now it is in the books. I really liked this race and thought it was really well organized and run and recommend it to anyone. There was an issue Saturday when we were trying to wait for the awards ceremony because we thought Dave might have gotten something and it ended up going off an hour late, but that is pretty small potatoes. It is a big deal when it is 12 pm and you have 2 small kids, but in any other situation, probably not a big problem.

Going into the race I set my goals. I find the Oly to be a tricky distance -- too long to just go all out but too short to hold much back. I tried to set realistic goals that wouldn't set me back on the run. The weather was slated to be hot too, so that was going to throw in another variable. Triathlon in July, you know. 

I was on my own for pre-race, driving alone down to the race and setting up and doing my warm up. Which is just how I like it. When we were part of a big triathlon team I always saw people hanging out at the tent for ages before the swim start and never understood where they found the time. When all was said and done, I was there in transition pretty much until they kicked us out. I didn't do much in the last 10 minutes I was in there, but there always seems something to tweak or some sunscreen to put on or something.

After my warmup swim I saw the family and Holly, who was there to watch after racing her 2nd tri at the sprint the day before (6 weeks after breaking her collarbone in a bike accident! There's something to put any race-day suffering in perspective.) I got my pre-race kisses from the munchkins, got a pep talk from Dave (I believe it went something like, "It's going to be hot out there on the run--remember that suffering is going to be the order of the day") and left them in time to spend a minute getting my head in the race before getting in the water.

Swim
1500 meters
27:00 , 1:39/100 yards, 7/69 AG

The swim was hot. 89 degrees. It actually didn't feel that bad right when I got in, but I was pretty nauseated the last 200 yards. I thought I might actually be sick in T1. Happily that didn't happen.

I often have a problem on the swim that I lost focus in the middle third or so of the race, especially in an Oly. One of my goals was to not do that this time. I started out in the second bunch of women in the wave and was thrilled to get some feet to draft off of for the first couple of hundred yards. They disappeared, however, when we started hitting the wave in front of us. At this point I spotted a woman from my wave with a bright blue tri top on. She was just close enough that I thought I might be able to catch her and draft so I turned it on a little and tried. And tried. And tried. I never quite got her, but the effort helped me meet that other goal of staying focused. Once I lost blue-shirt, I was well within the last third of the swim and just put my head down and focused on getting to T1. And not throwing up.

My goal for this swim had been 26 minutes, which would be 1:35/ 100 yards. In the end I had to settle for 1:39/ 100 yards, but I feel ok with that.

T1
2:56  9/69

In my defense, there was a really long run out to the mount line. The fastest T1 in my division was 2:18.

Bike
22.5 miles
1:01:49, 21.8 mph, 7/69

Ah, the bike. It was a flat and fast course. Apparently not as fast as it usually is since they had to alter it (and shorten it from 25 miles) to work around some road construction and ended up adding quite a few turns. Now I want to ride the original course. 21.8 mph is really fast for me. 

I had high hopes for the bike. I was shooting for a 20 mph average and had done it for long intervals on several training rides, so felt it was possible. The course was impeccably marked and policed With 2 laps, the course was quite crowded (starting in the 5th or so wave never helps with that) so there was a lot of passing nonsense, particularly one guy who wanted to leapfrog me but always took a little break after passing. Why? Just tell me why? I finally got rid of him toward the beginning of the second lap.

I might have passed someone early on in the bike, but then didn't see anyone else in my age group until near the end of the first lap. She had a red and white top and was going just about my speed it seemed. I passed her, trying to be convincing, as always, and kept on down the road. A few miles later, another girl from my age group with an aerohelmet on came whizzing by, just as I was caught up behind some guys going just a bit slower than I was. Red Top followed Aero through and I saw them pulling away. I got out of my traffic and followed them as best I could. In the next couple of minutes it became obvious that they were going to be doing some shenanigans so I decided to let them have at it and I would just try to keep them just ahead of me and stay with them. This worked for a while, but eventually they pulled too far up. I don't remember if I slowed or got caught in more traffic or if they just were going to fast, but I lost them. In the end Red Top did the bike just :12 faster than mine, but went on to win the race with a 43 minute 10 k (spoiler, I didn't win).

I didn't see anyone else in the age group after that and just thought about racing my race and trying not to go too hard for the run. I am always thrilled to get through the bike with no mechanicals or anything like that, but I was really thrilled with this bike. I am not sure I would have thought that I could have done 21.8 mph for an hour but now I do, so the bar is set.

T2
1:15,  5/69

Run
10 k
50:44,  8:11 min/mile, 8/69

My goal for the run was a sub-50, which would have been 8:03 min/mile, so I didn't make my goal, but I can honestly say that I left it all out there on the run and didn't finish with anything left, so I can't feel too bad about it.

Fake-a Smile

I had gone hard on the bike, but I was hoping not too hard. I think I might have messed something up with my nutrition, though I didn't think 2 gels on the bike was excessive. Regardless, I started the run with a massive side cramp on my left side. This kind of cramp is so annoying. It was excruciating but I repeatedly reminded myself that there was no reason it should slow me down and that it was going to hurt with every step regardless of whether I was moving quickly or slowly. Since I wasn't planning on stopping, I might as well stick to the plan.

The run was on park running paths and wasn't quite flat, but pretty close. There was a fair amount of shade, though more on the first half than the second, which was unfortunate. And it was well supported, with lots of water stops. And Heed. Not my favorite. Other than that it was just kind of narrow. It also was designed as 3 out and back spurs, which meant you could see everyone around you, in front and behind. I didn't adore this layout, but maybe would have if I had been feeling stronger. Anyway, it is a fairly minor complaint.

Despite the cramp, my first mile was fast, about 7:25, and the next two were just under 8s, at 7:55 or so. Things slowed down after I went back past transition at the 5k mark and headed out on the second half. There was a long sunny stretch and my shoes were starting to feel sloshy (I can't believe it, but despite my intent to wear Swiftwick socks, which are awesome when wet, I somehow grabbed a pair that weren't. Still paying for that mistake with recovering blisters).

As I said, the second half of the run was slower than the first, which is a little disappointing, but I know that I was putting out everything I had. I know that because when I did cross the finish line, I got my bottle of water and then squatted down and held on to the finisher chute barrier for about three minutes (the volunteer was very worried about me, asking several times if I wanted Medical). Then after a few more minutes I went and stood in the "misting tent," in quotes because instead of mist, they had the cold water coming down in torrents, like you were standing under three hoses at once. It was excellent.

Overall: 2:23:45, 5/69

All in all, I am really happy with the race, even though I missed two of my time goals. For the run, I think what it comes down to is proper form off the bike, when I am trying to go fast and I am thinking I may have to do some training specifically to address that in the next month before the Oly at Luray, which will likely be my last tri of this relatively small tri season for me.  Nutrition (i.e., cramping) and pacing are other possible culprits for the run.

I want to thank everyone who was cheering me on - my parents came down and cheered and helped out with the kids, Dave was everywhere and took the photos, Holly came out and cheered as well. It was a great course for spectators and they were all over.

I also want to thank the Ignite Endurance sponsors, particularly Tri360 for making sure my bike was good to go the week before the race, Zoca for their great kit (I didn't notice it at all during the day - if that's not evidence of a great kit, I am not sure what is), Blue Seventy for my swim goggles, Skratch Labs for their drink mix and cookbooks, which fed us in the weeks and days before the race, Gu for my fuel on the bike, and Rudy Project for my all-time favorite sunglasses that I wear biking, running, skiing, and any other time.

Skratch Much?

Last night Ignite Endurance got together and made a bunch of different portables recipes from the cookbooks to fuel our weekend activities and taste test a variety of different options. SkratchLabs is a team sponsor so we are all getting into it.

Our household made the fig honey rice cakes and the original rice cakes, which are delicious but I still can't seem to get them to stick well as a cake yet. Won't keep me from eating them. After tasting other creations, however, I will definitely be making the french toast cakes AND the macaroons sometime soon (doesn't worry me that Dave doesn't like coconut-less sharing, you know). 

We rarely do team events as a couple since it requires a babysitter, but we made it happen last night and had fun.

This morning I made the sweet rice porridge to fuel my 12 miler (in 80-some degrees pushing 90, but that's another story) and it was delicious! As I was making it, Ben asked for his "new favorite pancakes." You guessed it, from the Feed Zone cookbook. Finally, for dinner I made the sweet potato egg burritos, even though they are supposed to be a breakfast dish. Again, quite good, though I am left wondering what "liquid amino acids" are and where one gets them.

Basically, I'm getting my money's worth out of this cook book.

Ow!

I didn't exactly feel fresh heading out on Sunday morning for my ride, a scant 12 hours after finishing my 11 miles at dusk on Saturday (how do you all train for Ironman?!!), but I was getting the legs warmed up and they were starting to turn over faster and with less stiffness (I don't remember this kind of stiffness when I was in my 20s).

I was just getting going about 9 minutes in when something whacked against my helmet.

Oh, ok, some kind of bug.

About 10 seconds later I almost rode off the shoulder as the bug, clearly a bee, stung my left temple.

"Crap!" Or possibly something worse, I don't even remember, and I swerved toward the side of the road and tried to rip the helmet off my head.

How did that thing even steer inside the vent? Why? Stupid bee.

It has been almost 10 years since I got stung by a bee, so as I hyperventilated on the side of the road I thought about how people sometimes develop allergies over time and wondered if I should pull my phone out just in case. But that wasn't what was going on, I was just panic breathing from pain and surprise and managed to take it down a level in about a minute and went out and finished the ride without any problems (though my throbbing head didn't make me feel any fresher).

And now, 2 days later, it doesn't hurt anymore but it is kind of itchy up there. The unconsidered dangers of cycling.