Florida Criterium Championship

Downtown West Palm Beach, FL

Saturday, May 18, 2019, 5:20 p.m.

Criterium (40 minutes)

Cat 5 (23 of 31)

 

Course Description

The West Palm Beach Crit course was a 9/10 mile out-and-back course along the downtown waterfront with two 180-degree right turns. It was mostly flat, of course. There was a quartering headwind along the Start-Finish straight so of course, there was a partial tailwind going back the other way. The boulevard wasn’t arrow straight; but the bends were barely enough to form a very soft “S.” The lack of turns got in my head, which I shouldn’t have let happen.

Warm-up/Prep

With yachts and the intercostal behind me, I set up my trainer under a pavilion on the multi-use path across the road from the Start-Finish. For the first time, I had a decent breeze AND shade for my warmup. Note to self: bring a popup for all future races. It’s worth the hassle.  Nutrition and hydration felt on point coming into the race and neither proved to be an issue for me. Earlier in the week, I worked on my clipping-in issues, both physically by doing clip-in repeats and mentally with self-imposed pressure to be fully clipped in by the time I crossed an intersection or reached the next driveway/mailbox. I also worked on not letting the clip-in be my sole focus as we lined up.

 

Overall

I lined up on the front, staying left of center of the field to put myself on the outside for the first turn. On the whistle, I pushed forward with my right foot and then instead of fumbling to get clipped in with the left looking down to find the pedal all the while losing positions, I clipped-in within two pedal rotations, rolled off the front, up-shifted and led the field into the first turn. What I learned from my clip-in session: push easy gears at the start to keep the bike moving forward with ease and do NOT look down to find the pedals. I know where they are and just need to find it, clip in and race. This was a small, confidence-inspiring victory for me at the beginning of a what was my toughest race to date.

I rode well the first 8-10 minutes, for the most part staying in the top 10 and even top 5 as we rotated around the course. Gradually, the bursts coming out of the turnarounds caught up to me, especially because of the slow speeds with which we navigated the U-turns; the fatigue set in and I found myself having to fight to stay on the pack. Each lap, the work growing harder and harder. But before I slipped off the back around minute 17 or 18, I executed what I consider to be Part 2 of my plan (Part 1 being staying on at least 10 minutes) and I put in a tiny attack.

Mind you, this wasn’t a gap-creating, see-who-comes-with-me attack but just my mixing it up a bit just to prove to myself that I could and would do that. Up until my race in Ocala about three weekends ago, my strategy has been to just try to hang on. After successfully doing that in Ocala for ⅔ of the race, I was hungry for more. So going into WPB, I told myself to do some kind of attack if the situation presented itself, which it finally did and I went off the front into the headwind during a time the group was just sitting in resting.

Naturally, there were guys on my wheel immediately and after crossing the Start-Finish and close to the 180-degree turn, I drifted back into the peloton and continued to fight to stay with them until about minute 17/18.

Conclusion

From the field that lined up at the start to the mostly straight course, this was by far the toughest race I’ve done yet. I felt confident and strong going into it and though several things went right for me that usually haven’t my lack of fitness and finesse got the best of me. I started racing this year instead of waiting until “I’m ready” precisely to gain indispensable experience so that once I have the fitness needed I’d kind of know what I’m doing. I feel I am making gains in all areas, albeit slowly, but losing and falling off the group pace always sucks in the end, even if I am having so much fun with these races.

I finished the race with a strong TT effort and was lapped by the group with (about) three laps to go and finished about a half a lap down. My takeaway from the race is gear management.

Just as spinning an easier gear at the start contributed to my faster clip-in, I finally realized that paying attention to my gears going into the turns, downshifting a cog or two before we started the turn would put me in a gear that would burn fewer matches as we accelerated out of those turns. For the most part, I was happy with my cornering because I would slot up the outside 5-10 positions; by going wider I found myself in the draft as the surge began on the turns’ exits. Where I got myself into trouble was having to stand up to accelerate rather than staying seated and spinning: gear management.

Another takeaway is that when I am on the front and decide to stop working, I need to get back into the group within the top 10 or so to avoid the surges and sloppiness that naturally occur deeper into the field. All those little surges add up to wasted energy and added stress. My thought process up until now was that going to the back would provide the most protection from the wind. Instead, I find myself surging more, fatiguing faster and getting flicked off the back.

#ShuttGoesRacing

Ocala Crit

Downtown Ocala, FL
Saturday, May 4, 2019, 2 p.m.
Criterium (40 minutes)
Cat 5 (15 of 26) (with about a dozen Masters 40+ B)

Course Description

The course was about 7/10 of a mile with six 90-degree turns forming an “L.” There are two long stretches on this course, one medium straight and three very short connectors.
The two longer stretches both dipped in the middle and the climb out of them ended at turns.
My favorite part of the course was the three turns in quick succession that brought us back onto the start/finish straight. The left turn was at the end of the second longest straight and climb, then dropped into a right turn that climbed up to the next right and very shallow climb up to start/finish. Each lap was about 16 meters of climbing.

Warm-up/Prep

My “hope” when I reconnoitered the route pre-race was that most of my competitors are from the coast or south Florida and not accustomed to riding rollers.
Being the first race of the day is nice because it’s easiest to pre-ride the course without having to arrive excessively early. I rode the course for about 20 minutes then got on the trainer for my Coach Chuck prescribed 40-minute warmup, which I am more comfortable completing on the trainer than on the road. After the trainer session, I had about 15-20 minutes till go time. I took my wheels to the staging area and rode the course 2-4 more times and then we started. I followed my standard crit nutrition with low-GI oatmeal/fruit/nuts three hours out and half a banana one-hour out. Something I haven’t done until today was take a gel 15 minutes before go time. Following the race, I did my immediate gel then recovery protein within 30 minutes followed by normal eating for the rest of the day.

Overall

My plan, as suggested by Coach Chuck, was to expend whatever effort necessary to stay connected to the lead pack for the first 10 minutes. The reasoning: because typically after that point, things tend to settle and be less intense. I ended up staying with the lead pack up until 30-32 minutes into the 40-minute race. In hindsight, I should have fought harder to stay with my group. So even though I won the physical battle for the first 10-30 minutes, I eventually lost the mental war.
Overall, I think the course suited me from the wide sweeping turns and full use of all the road to the short punchy climbs and descents. For the most part, I was able to recover downhill and carry my speed uphill. It certainly seemed that the other racers weren’t accustomed to hills as it was very easy for me to coast up to the outside, inside or right through the middle to be in the top five of the peloton as we headed into the turns.

I did hurt myself on these descents though because there was a headwind on the first descent after the start/finish and while I used that to recover my legs, I’d lose contact with the group even though I’d easily catch and pass them up the hill. In hindsight, I should have stayed in that damn draft and recovered going uphill, knowing that they just weren’t pushing the pace at that point. I think that would have made a huge difference in my perceived fatigue.

My cornering was mostly smooth and predictable and that contributed to my overall performance. At one point I led my group around the course for a single lap, intentionally not putting in a hard effort and just waited for them to come around, which they eventually did. In hindsight, because I had achieved my plan of still being with the peloton after the first 10 minutes of the race, I think it might have been fun and certainly challenging had I put in some kind of attack to see what happened. Would they chase me? Would they even care or notice? Were they just as tired as I was?

Conclusion

This was my fifth criterium to date. My first was in February, so obviously a steep learning curve and if I wasn’t seeing continuous improvement in different areas with each new race, I’d probably hang up my timing chip and just enjoy riding my bike for fun again. Ocala is my third favorite course but because I did (relatively speaking) so well here, I want to move it up to Number 1.

My biggest takeaway from this race is that plans are just a starting point for a race. We all know that as soon as the starting gun fires, plans often go out the window. So, we know that we have to adapt and overcome at that point.

But what about when the plan is achieved? Once I knew I was past that initial 10-, 15-, 20- or 25-minutes and was still in the fight, I should have evaluated myself: How do I feel? What do I have left? And then I should have formulated a new plan to finish the race. That’s where planning an attack or planning to fight to CONTINUE to hang on would have made the difference from a very good day to a PERFECT race.

#ShuttGoesRacing

Sunshine Grand Prix Crit

Downtown Inverness, FL
Saturday, March 30, 2019 at 10:40 a.m.
Criterium (30 minutes)
Cat 5 (14 of 20)

Course Description

Rectangle with a dip toward the center of the rectangle creating a route with five 90-degree turns and two 45-degree turns. .53 miles per lap. Downtown course with moderately-good surface lined by curbs just about anywhere there’s not a driveway. Overall: a fun course and my 2nd favorite (Chain of Lakes in Winter Haven was a really fun course).

Warm-up/Prep

Standard warmup on the trainer following Coach Chuck’s prescribed criterium warm up. Arrived at the venue after about two hours of driving from my house with plenty of time to spare so not feeling rushed, hurried or anxious with respect to standard pre-race evolutions. Stayed on the trainer up until 5-7 minutes before the race started. Maybe 10 minutes before? To date, probably one of my best warm-up session.

Training Assessment

Training is coming along as planned. This was a C Priority race so I went into it slightly tired from this week’s training but not feeling over/undertrained or particularly fatigued.

The Race

I wanted to be up front for the race and was on the 2nd row, so was very happy about that. It was funny because while in the staging area, waiting for the course to clear, some dude just forced his way ahead a few of us (namely ME) and he had caught me off guard so I let him by. But he got behind a light pole or something and I realized my error and asserted myself to get onto the course before him and he ended up somewhere behind me. I started on the far right (first turn was 90-degrees left) directly behind Friday’s Circuit winner. Probably not ideal being on the outside but I was pleased overall, compared to my previous starting positions.

I have a big issue to work on: clipping in at the start. During group rides, there’s no pressure and clipping in is a non-issue for me at home, whether it’s quick & smooth or slow & clumsy. But on race day, I need to dial that in. I lost so many positions ON THE START because I was having issues clipping in my left foot. This is something I will practice. And test which side is fastest for me: right or left.

I was behind the eightball early and off the lead pack within two laps but still ahead of one or two others but not many. Rode solo for a while until a guy on a gold/yellow Cervelo came up from behind with one on his wheel and told me to get on so we could work together. They were going faster than me and I was already cooked so I told them I couldn’t pull for several rotations but eventually started working with them as I was grateful for the tow. I tried to keep my pulls short and as infrequent as I could get away with.

Eventually, we caught up with other dropped traffic and my buddy Britt. We had a good group of about 6 or 7 of us working together, keeping the pace up while giving us all time to recover between pulls. I was feeling really great about how this race was going, not just relative to my first three starts but taken alone it was a solid effort physically and tactically.

Britt gave me some solid feedback on my cornering (going to wide before the turn) and not pedaling through the turn. I felt my corning was solid and had I more fitness, I would have been able to make those behind me work harder. But he has video, so I want to analyze my lines and if they’re not efficient I need to practice cornering as well. I agree I need to work on pedaling through turns but admittedly, a recent pedal strike during a group ride has me a little spooked and I have to get over that and dial in cornering.

I did better (but not great) with situational awareness, making sure to check my position relative to others to make sure I was sharing the workload with my competitors. At one time though, I think I pulled almost a full lap before checking to see who was behind me and rotating out. Clearly, this is a work in progress for me but I’m moving in the right direction.

At one point a dropped/lapped rider asked us if we’re off the front or back and I just told him we were off the front (we got lapped around the 11th lap). During the cool down lap, he made a spectacle of yelling at me that I need to answer correctly and he “explained” to me the differences. My first response was “what’s your point?” then he repeated himself so I just said, insincerely, “My bad man. I’m sorry.” And the guys who were with me when we passed him and he asked that told me I didn’t do anything wrong and I didn’t need to apologize. I agreed but said I was just being diplomatic and it DID shut him up. Small victories. And yes, I knowingly lied to that guy about our situation.

Overall

Yes, I got lapped and yes I was 14th in a field of 20. Nonetheless for where I am at right now: I crushed it and am very happy with today’s results knowing I have a long way to go. But today was encouraging from a new guy point of view. I continue to learn what I need to improve and I continue to incorporate lessons learned from prior races. My greatest challenge or limiter today was the start. I have to dial in getting off the line without losing sight of the front of the pack.

Olympus Speed Works Training Crit
Miramar Regional Park (Hollywood FL)
Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 9 a.m.
Criterium (45 minutes)
Cat 5 (4th place of 5)

Course Description

The course was held on the boundaries of an outlying parking lot at a county park in Greater Hollywood FL. Shape was mostly an oval with one hairpin of about 120-degrees sharp turn and one 90-degree turn. Other two turns were soft turns of about 45-degrees each. Laps were about 6/10 of a mile.

Warm-up/Prep

Slept great because I drove down the night before and stayed in a comfortable hotel. The initial plan was for my son to join me on a weekend getaway and watch me race for his first time but he came down with a cold Wednesday night and we collectively decided I didn’t need the distraction of a sick teen, knowing I already don’t have the best bedside manners. Was a little sad not to have him but grateful not to have to deal with his cold. Stayed on point with hydration and nutrition on Friday up until I arrived at the hotel around 9 p.m. and nervously ate two small bags of chips from the hotel gift store. Poor decision for sure. Prepped my gear as much as I could and went to bed by 10:30 p.m., later than my normal bedtime of 8:30 to 9 p.m. but I was able to sleep in until 5:30 a.m. Had oatmeal with blueberries but I forgot to pack my walnuts. I should have bought nuts from gift shop Friday night instead of chips.

Arrived to the venue at about 7:30 a.m. thinking it was plenty of time to get warmed up but registration process was slightly slower than I expected (had to fill out waiver paperwork despite the one on file with USAC) and just moving slowly because of the cooler -than-normal-temp in the low- to mid 60s. Plus had to ride to another part of the park to pee, so that took away from focused warmup time. Got on the trainer and followed the prescribed crit warm-up program until about 5 minutes prior to race start on went to the course, which I was able to pre-ride because there were no females for the 8 a.m. race. I got behind some other guys who were also warming up/pre-riding the course. I didn’t have the confidence to continue following the workout even though it was still on my Garmin. I just sat in behind the other guys warming up and was happy to get a few laps around the course to at least try out lines and look for escape routes. Only about 2-3 minutes from when we stopped riding to line up until we started, so that was good not having a prolonged cool down period.

Training Assessment

For what this race was and what my goals for it were, I do believe my training was on point. IMO, my biggest training challenge this year is dropping another 30 lbs, which I hope to make happen with the return of the Spring and Summer riding season and with an increase in training volume to help keep me in a net calorie deficit. And continued focus on what I consume.

The Race

My goal for this race was to finish on the lead lap of the main group, allowing for the possibility that I might get dropped by that group and/or lapped by a strong breakaway. I just didn’t want to get lapped by my “peer” group. My plan was to let any breakaways go because the reality is that I’m not strong enough to be in that group and lack the 45-minutes of stamina required to stay with a breakaway off the front. However, my plan was to stay with any small or main group that chased the break because I didn’t want to be off the back without a group to do the work for me. My strategy to accomplish all if this was to line up on the front (which ended up being easy as only seven of us started (Cat 5 with Masters 35+ Cat 5) and we were ALL toeing the start line. That said, I brought the confidence with me to get to the front had it been a bigger field.

We started and at least one guy was off the front with a vengeance and as planned I stayed out front but settled in with a group of two others (they were teammates, not that I think team tactics were much a factor in this race because of the field size). My plan was playing out and I was taking turns pulling with these two guys. To my credit: I had controlled the rotation such that I was only pulling when we had a tailwind and one of the other guys was doing the work into the headwind….this lasted a few laps until their teammates on the sidelines pointed this out and they shortened their pulls which put me out front for some of the headwind (which was on the front straight), but I tried to keep my pulls short to minimize my work in this section. This also resulted in my not being on the front going into the hairpin (120-degrees?) turn leading into the front straight.

I’m very confident through turns when solo or on the front but get a little nervous when in a group or further back in the paceline than first wheel because I don’t trust their abilities. This is a liability in general and specifically caused me to lose my “peloton of two” in the first third of the race.

On the fourth lap, my nervousness into the hairpin got the best of me, and I looked at where my bike was pointing and no through the turn where I wanted the bike to go. I might have had too much speed as well. It all happened quickly, but I locked up the rear brake for a second and the bike go squirrely. I was able to keep it upright and not crash and possibly not even put my foot down. Went off the course into the grass and was just a foot or so from the chain link fence.

I lost my group and was now soloing. Working on keeping my power up and picking fast lines to keep myself on the lead lap and maybe even reel somebody in.

Somewhere past the halfway point, I was passed by a guy, and I’m thinking he was the lead rider who was off the front and I rode his wheel for a bit then he suggested we work together to catch the group in front of us. There’s a chance he was behind me the whole time and I just didn’t know it, but that’s unlikely. We worked well together until I made the exact same mistake AGAIN going into that hairpin and ended up soloing it again until the race ended.

Initially, I thought I had maintained my position on the lead lap, but it looks like I was exactly one lap down when the front runners finished. I’m actually quite happy with this result because I wasn’t lapped earlier in the race and certainly not multiple times. After the second near-crash, I had to back off a bit to recover once or twice or four times but I also kept an eye on the lead group and pretended that I was the breakaway trying to keep this off up until the finish. So even though I was gassed and off the back soloing, I was still racing.

Overall

I made mistakes that cost me my goals, but I still felt good about the strategy and my overall performance. I feel that had I not made that first mistake into the hairpin and I had a legit shot at the podium and definitely of not being lapped.