I was a bit uneasy about my performance for this particular race because the Tuesday prior to race day I had attended an impromptu short track throwdown...and had my rear handed to me by some of the local "hard noses". Granted the group included two multi-year West Virginia Mountain Bike Association Points champions and a well known Sport Veteran regularly finishing in the top 10 in local events, but I still felt I should have been in better condition at this point of the season. I had spent most of the evening chasing their wheels as we made laps of one of the tougher trails in Marietta, after which I soft pedaled home mending my bruised ego. Work was also picking up, so my stress level was increasing and my nutrition had taken a turn for the worst. Additional projects at work had led to skipped meals, less water, and more caffiene. I entered the weekend feeling a bit tired, and nowhere near as ready for Sunday's race as weeks prior.
Race morning I was feeling a bit better after a good night's rest and some late night carbo-loading. We drove up to The Wilds, I registered, and did my usual warm-up of fast pedaling, a few tempo climbs, and a sprint or two. I still was feeling a bit "off" but there wasn't much I could do about it now, so I lined up with my class in the typical staggered start pattern and prepared for the mayhem to begin. The OMBA breaks their race divisions up a bit differently than the WVMBA and that made my class the unequivical heavy-weights in terms of sheer number of participants. We were stacked 4 deep in a large mass at the start line, awaiting our turn to hit the trails. The whistle was blown and we once again tore out of the start area like mad men. The approach to the trails was a downhill section of double track road, and our mass of cyclists all but choked the road completely. A small gap quickly opened up, with the faster of the group laying the hammer down early to get a better position on the trail. I was midpack in the front group and knew we were approaching the first singletrack section so I switched up to the big ring, passed two more guys and slid into the first turn of singletrack in around 7th position.
I hadnt had a chance to pre-ride the course, so I had been polling riders at the start line. Everyone described the trails as fast, not too technical but challenging. Boy was that assessment correct! The first section of trail included twisty single-track with criss-crossing roots and a generous supply of mid-size boulders. One false move on these trails and you were going to be walking thanks to a tacoed rim or a broken chain. At the end of that section of single-track came a 1-2 minute climb up out of the woods into an open field. I have determined that my specialty, if I have any, is climbing and thus try to make up time on any uphill I can. I made two passes on that first climb to sit in 5th position behind a Dirt Coalition Team member whose pace suited mine nearly perfectly. We hammered along at a steady tempo for several miles of single-track, passing Sport class racers and steadily gaining ground on the 2nd and 3rd position riders for our division.
We were nearing the halfway mark of the race and I could tell by the pace and slight mistakes that the Dirt Coalition rider was making that he was nearing his breaking point. I stayed glued to his wheel, pushing the pace for another mile or so when finally he cracked. We came to a short uphill and he over compensated in a turn, losing his momentum for the hill. I kicked up a gear, attacked up the climb and pedaled away from my tempo partner, whom I didnt see again until the race finish. I now was alone, riding my own pace. The number two and three positions were several minutes ahead of me, and the nearest challenger for fourth was several minutes behind. So I just rode.
I rode the rest of the race as if I was out for a trail ride. I let the Expert racers pass when they came through and kept my tempo high, but not devastatingly so. I was hurting and could definitely tell I wasn't on form as much as the passed few weeks, but I also knew that as long as I avoided mishap I could finish on the podium at my current rhythm. So for the last 3-4 miles I took the descents carefully, hammered the flats, and paced the hills. I was fine with a fourth place finish by this point. Then within the last mile of trail, I spied the third place contender. He was several bike lengths in front of me, but was really feeling it by that point. His pedal cadence was slow and he was bobbing on the seat. There was a final 3-4 minute climb at the end of the course and we were almost to the bottom of it. I mustered what strength I had left and moved up to pace off of him.
We entered the climb at a good clip, since he now knew I was right on his wheel. The climb was a relatively long one for this course, so I was just biding my time sitting on his wheel until partway up I heard him drop a gear. I said "On your left", kicked up another gear and spun past him. I kept the hammer down the rest of the way to the top of the hill and he didnt contest the pass. I floated through the last single-track section and then soft-pedaled across the finish, a respectable third place and several minutes ahead of fourth.
The biggest lesson I can walk away from this race with is how much your fitness is affected by proper nutrition and non-sport related stress. I managed to finish on the podium again this week, however it was a tougher fight, with fewer and shorter power surges than weeks prior. Had I focused on my nutrition and race mentality earlier in the week instead of trying to make up for it on Friday and Saturday night, then perhaps I could have been rolling across the line in first position instead of third. However, while I am a bit disappointed to not have walked away with the overall win, I had alot of fun and fully satisfied with my performance simply based on how I was feeling.
My next race is a 25 mile endurance MTB event in Wayne National forest on June 28th. I plan on taking a few days off and then focusing on long distance race efforts for the month between now and then. I need to work on mountain bike mileage in order to even survive this event, let alone be a contender in my class. That means more short track spankings, long days on the roadie, and the best nutrition/sleep that I can manage. Hopefully I will be able to keep you updated on progress and the pre-race fitness between now and then. Until next time, Ride Hard and Stay Safe!
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