The Omnium
I had been waffling about doing the Omnium... the weekend was busy enough as it was. The River Gorge Road Race would certainly whoop me - 37 miles, finishing with a 3.5 mile climb straight up Raccoon Mtn. Then the 4 mile time trial that afternoon - in the middle of the afternoon. I'd be spent. Then, to try a criterium the next morning? I had no experience in this type of sufferfest. I polled my friends... "You'll love it!" "OMG, they scare me!" I ended up going for it, figuring since the event was here in town, I wouldn't be spending extra money on traveling and hotel expenses... so why not spend it on an extra race?!
The fun started Friday night with a Cowboy Mouth concert - my fav band, so I couldn't say no. I did however slide out early... luckily Rebecca was with me, so the peer pressure helped with our self-imposed curfew of midnight. Unfortunately that gave us only 45 minutes of show time, but it still made me happy - and helped me fall asleep quick :)
Saturday morning we had an 8:50am start from Tiftonia. The women's field was large, but I saw several familiar faces. We had a neutral start then most of us stayed together for a few more miles. A hill around mile 8 sadly spit me off the back with a group of others. 6 of us worked together for the next hour. I was the only Vixen, but recognized Marsha and Nancy from other races. Once we hit Whiteside, we were on the familiar roads of spring's Raccoon Mtn Road Race. The stairsteps came around mile 20 and again I fell back a bit. The weather today was much more humid than it had been for the last 2 weeks and I didn't want my asthma to blow up. Once at the top, it really didn't take much effort to catch up to the 4 gals ahead (1 never caught back up to us). We worked together through the backside of 41. Once we we made the left turn onto the road that would lead us up the mtn, things split up. Again, I played it conservatively so that I would actually make it up. I had only done this climb once on a mountain bike (and in the rain), so I was a bit nervous (and mad at myself for not ever coming out to practice it). The 3.5 miles seemed to last forever. Half of it was in the shade; the other half had the sun beating on me. About halfway up, David Meek drove by and cheered me on. Once we were through the gates, I caught up with Marsha... and then the pro guys caught up with us. While it sorta sucked (because they rode much further than we did and literally flew by), I have to admit they pepped me up a bit :) I ended up finishing in 9th place in the Cat 4 division (out of 18).
Of course now that we were at the top, we had to ride back down to our cars - it was actually a nice cool down. I grabbed a sandwich and headed home for bit, although I was scared to relax too much. I went back up the mountain at 2:30 to get ready for the afternoon time trial. My start time was 3:53pm. We started at the entrance to the East Overlook and followed the reservoir counter clockwise. There would be 1 pretty good size climb, but mostly downhill from here. Reba and I did ride it a few times the week before, so I felt somewhat prepared. What wasn't ideal is that I had the 2 fastest Cat4 girls starting right behind me... at a mere 30/60 seconds. I joked about "seeing them soon".... and yeah, I did. Nicole passed on the climb and Andrea when we were on the dam. After making the sharp turn into Laurel Point, we had a fast downhill.... unfortunately there was a gradual ascent before hitting the finish line. I was spent and out of oxygen. Sure, I'm not used to doing these "speed workouts", but I'm sure my asthma is playing a role in how I feel, as it's usually my lungs stopping me before my legs. I didn't do so hot here... finishing 10th/13.
Saturday night was lazy... just rented a movie and hit the sack early. (partially because I thought I rented a comedy and it was more like a tearjerker.) Sunday was the big day - my first crit. I headed downtown early to warm up and watch a few races before ours (at 11:50am). Inbetween races I was able to take a spin around and get a feel for the road. I also watched the guys go around each corner to try to figure out where I should be. Honestly, I was clueless about the whole thing, but hey, why not dive in. At the start, 40 women gathered which was apparently pretty large for a women's field. We tried to split up - it's not that enticing for us beginners to hang with the pro/1/2/3 chicks (and they don't want us newbies around either); but the officials kept us together. The actual start was ok... I was with the pack in the first turn. Then the 2nd turn came... then all of a sudden on the back I was alone. WTF?? I rode hard trying to catch up to the gals in front of me, but couldn't quite make it. Soon I realized I wasn't just alone, I was last. wow. I actually have never been in this position before and it was weird. unsettling. And the worst part was being in Chattanooga... with people I knew all rooting me on. I was hoping they wouldn't recognize me, but alas, the did. sigh. After 3-4 laps I finally caught up to 2 girls in front, then we got another. We worked together for the rest of the 30 minutes. Yes, the main pack did lap us (but only once). Luckily we were not pulled from the course, which happens in most crits. Finally we were on the last corner. I really tried to sprint to the finish, but I had nothing. absolutely nothing. I think I sounded like I was about to keel over, as Monica asked me if I was OK. (yeah, you know, just can't breathe.) Thankfully I did sneak past a few girls, finishing 12th/14.
I ended up with an 8th place finish in the omnium. Nothing fabulous, but hey, something new and different for sure. It was tough. And I'm not sure if I can call the crit fun. It was pure pain. (but oh yeah, I like that sometimes.) If I do another, I'll have to definitely get some practice in. On the bright side, I did notice my cornering improve 150% during the course of the event.
The fun started Friday night with a Cowboy Mouth concert - my fav band, so I couldn't say no. I did however slide out early... luckily Rebecca was with me, so the peer pressure helped with our self-imposed curfew of midnight. Unfortunately that gave us only 45 minutes of show time, but it still made me happy - and helped me fall asleep quick :)
Saturday morning we had an 8:50am start from Tiftonia. The women's field was large, but I saw several familiar faces. We had a neutral start then most of us stayed together for a few more miles. A hill around mile 8 sadly spit me off the back with a group of others. 6 of us worked together for the next hour. I was the only Vixen, but recognized Marsha and Nancy from other races. Once we hit Whiteside, we were on the familiar roads of spring's Raccoon Mtn Road Race. The stairsteps came around mile 20 and again I fell back a bit. The weather today was much more humid than it had been for the last 2 weeks and I didn't want my asthma to blow up. Once at the top, it really didn't take much effort to catch up to the 4 gals ahead (1 never caught back up to us). We worked together through the backside of 41. Once we we made the left turn onto the road that would lead us up the mtn, things split up. Again, I played it conservatively so that I would actually make it up. I had only done this climb once on a mountain bike (and in the rain), so I was a bit nervous (and mad at myself for not ever coming out to practice it). The 3.5 miles seemed to last forever. Half of it was in the shade; the other half had the sun beating on me. About halfway up, David Meek drove by and cheered me on. Once we were through the gates, I caught up with Marsha... and then the pro guys caught up with us. While it sorta sucked (because they rode much further than we did and literally flew by), I have to admit they pepped me up a bit :) I ended up finishing in 9th place in the Cat 4 division (out of 18).
marsha & i heading up the mountain... speedy guys creeping up behind...
me making a weird face & rebecca at the overlook, finally done!
Of course now that we were at the top, we had to ride back down to our cars - it was actually a nice cool down. I grabbed a sandwich and headed home for bit, although I was scared to relax too much. I went back up the mountain at 2:30 to get ready for the afternoon time trial. My start time was 3:53pm. We started at the entrance to the East Overlook and followed the reservoir counter clockwise. There would be 1 pretty good size climb, but mostly downhill from here. Reba and I did ride it a few times the week before, so I felt somewhat prepared. What wasn't ideal is that I had the 2 fastest Cat4 girls starting right behind me... at a mere 30/60 seconds. I joked about "seeing them soon".... and yeah, I did. Nicole passed on the climb and Andrea when we were on the dam. After making the sharp turn into Laurel Point, we had a fast downhill.... unfortunately there was a gradual ascent before hitting the finish line. I was spent and out of oxygen. Sure, I'm not used to doing these "speed workouts", but I'm sure my asthma is playing a role in how I feel, as it's usually my lungs stopping me before my legs. I didn't do so hot here... finishing 10th/13.
at the start line... and me smiling big (to cover the nerves)
Saturday night was lazy... just rented a movie and hit the sack early. (partially because I thought I rented a comedy and it was more like a tearjerker.) Sunday was the big day - my first crit. I headed downtown early to warm up and watch a few races before ours (at 11:50am). Inbetween races I was able to take a spin around and get a feel for the road. I also watched the guys go around each corner to try to figure out where I should be. Honestly, I was clueless about the whole thing, but hey, why not dive in. At the start, 40 women gathered which was apparently pretty large for a women's field. We tried to split up - it's not that enticing for us beginners to hang with the pro/1/2/3 chicks (and they don't want us newbies around either); but the officials kept us together. The actual start was ok... I was with the pack in the first turn. Then the 2nd turn came... then all of a sudden on the back I was alone. WTF?? I rode hard trying to catch up to the gals in front of me, but couldn't quite make it. Soon I realized I wasn't just alone, I was last. wow. I actually have never been in this position before and it was weird. unsettling. And the worst part was being in Chattanooga... with people I knew all rooting me on. I was hoping they wouldn't recognize me, but alas, the did. sigh. After 3-4 laps I finally caught up to 2 girls in front, then we got another. We worked together for the rest of the 30 minutes. Yes, the main pack did lap us (but only once). Luckily we were not pulled from the course, which happens in most crits. Finally we were on the last corner. I really tried to sprint to the finish, but I had nothing. absolutely nothing. I think I sounded like I was about to keel over, as Monica asked me if I was OK. (yeah, you know, just can't breathe.) Thankfully I did sneak past a few girls, finishing 12th/14.
I ended up with an 8th place finish in the omnium. Nothing fabulous, but hey, something new and different for sure. It was tough. And I'm not sure if I can call the crit fun. It was pure pain. (but oh yeah, I like that sometimes.) If I do another, I'll have to definitely get some practice in. On the bright side, I did notice my cornering improve 150% during the course of the event.
Labels: race report, road biking, tn, velo vixens
posted by cathi at 9:15 PM
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