Glenwood CX - CCC #2

 After the Saturday podium it was time to be brought back down to earth with a smack down in the second CCC race of the season.  The CCC 45+ race has all categories (1-5) and my lowly Cat 4 status pushed me back to the 4th row (races are also 40 minutes instead of 30).  I did have company as Tony F. and Joe Doyle right there with me in row 4 and Bryan C. was just behind.  

We had a really good Tower turnout for the Glenwood race.  In the 55+ there was Fran, George, Bob, Brad and Mark.  Bob's son John raced in the Cat 4's later on in the afternoon.

The Glenwood course is what I expected of the Field of Riches course > flat and grass.  This is the second year of the course.  They made a couple tweaks to it so it was longer.  It is more of a power course favoring steady sustained power.  Technique is important in any cyclocross course but this one less so.

I didn't know exactly what to expect from the legs after racing on Saturday but last year we did Jingle Cross the 2 days before and I still did pretty good so there was hope.  The temp was about 45 for my race (I race right after the 55+ group) so while it wasn't warm it was warmer than Saturday and we had tons of sun so it was all good.  I made the strategic decision to keep the arm and leg warmers on but change the gloves and hat to something lighter.  I ended up ditching the arm warmers midway through the race. [I actually forgot them on course and while driving home had to turn around and go back :(  It actually worked out, I spotted a Portillo's and treated myself to a morning chocolate cake shake.  Glycogen replenishment right?!]

Clipping in at the start wasn't near as good as Saturday but wasn't horrible.  I might have been able to make up a few spaces but it was pretty clogged and not too much lost.  I was near the inside of the first corner when all of a sudden some jack-a-loon in a UPB kit with a curly mustache flies up and smashes into the guy in front of me.

Oh, I learned GoPro 101 and will post the entire race plus a recap video (hopefully).

The last CCC race I was mentally broken when I saw 4 laps to go at the end of the third lap.  I made sure to prep myself this time to make sure my expectations were not too low.  It was a longer course than last year and I was pretty sure we would do 5 laps so I mentally prepared for that.  Turns out that was what we did so that mental box was checked.

The first lap was all about just following a long line of wheels.  There were 54 racers and I was somewhere right in the middle.  The second lap started to string things out and is where Tony and I started to dance.  He passed me in a straight and then I passed him back over a barrier.  Tony and I had done a lap together in pre-ride and we chatted about preferences.  He prefers to rest in the straights and I prefer to use my power to extend gaps (power is relative to my technical ability).  At the end of the second lap he was right behind me with one rider in front.  I said Giddy Up and he grabbed my wheel as we punched it.  We passed the rider and gapped him and then once in the grass Tony passed me for good. He was even nice enough to say thanks lol.  He dangled in front of me but slowly pulled out a gap of 30 seconds by the end.  Spoiler > Tony was the first Cat 5 to cross the line and the second 4/5.  Tony is a monster. 

I should take time here to mention that I DIDN'T FALL!!!  I know you are all waiting for the GIF so sorry to disappoint.

I got a new pressure gauge after discovering that my gauge and George's (which are the exact same) were off by about 2-3 PSI.  A big deal when you are running in the 25-28 range.  So maybe I was dialed in just right.  I ran 28 in front and 29 in back.  It was dry and I'm heavy so I needed more pressure than most.

The last three laps there were 4 of us battling for positions.  And here is a good spot to talk about mental strength.  You can only control what goes on in your head and can't assume what is happening in someone else's.  Just like on the road if you are hurting the others are probably hurting.  Two racers were in front of me at one point.  The lead guy started to put a gap into the second guy.  I should have made an extra effort to get around him to close the gap but I didn't.  The gap went out to 5-10 seconds or so and so mentally I let him go.  Eventually I passed the second guy.  

An important thing in cyclocross is that if you are in the lead of a group and you make a mistake then the other guy is slowed too.  But if it is the opposite then there is a gap.  So taking what little aero drag there is in cross is usually worth it.  Surprisingly, that is not a precursor to a story about me making a mistake.  Just good tactics.  You can also go as slow as you want in the technical bits because they can't get past you and you can rest a bit.

Getting back to the mentality of it all.  I think this is where the ABD guy started to lose it.  Me passing him and then a SpiderMonkey guy passing both of us just broke him and he started to fade.

I was not thrilled that the SpiderMonkey guy passed me.  He was dangling for a bit behind me and then at the beginning of the last lap he got by me.  What is ironic is I finally was able to pass him back later in the lap on a straight stretch that was parallel to the stretch where he passed me. And within about 30 seconds he was 3-4 seconds behind.  I think he was at his limit and that was it.

Do you remember the guy who got a gap on the 3 of us and I kinda mentally let him go?  Well near the end of the race I could see him 4 seconds in front of me.  A measly 4 seconds.  (You actually count these things while racing to mentally help you).  I'm not sure if he slowed down or the chase with the SpiderMonkey guy brought us closer but he was there.  But I had reached the depths of my mental strength.  I think if I had been willing to go all in and really go into the red I might have been able to catch him.  But that pain cave was a bit too much for me.

I settled for 23rd place.  Actually, that is a fantastic result for me. Not only is that my best result in a CCC 45+ race it is the first time I've finished in the TOP HALF of a CCC 45+ race.  This is headline news!!!  Now, I hear you saying that I shouldn't really be bragging about a 23rd place.  That is positively pedestrian.  But it is progress.  Significant at that (especially considering my crap result at Schiller Woods 2 weeks ago).  So I am happy!  It improved my points which also helps improve your start position in the grid.

I do want to reiterate something.  The comradery of the Tower team (and heck the cyclocross community in general) is amazing.  Having other guys there to race or to cheer you on is immeasurable.  You can hear them cheering you on and you can cheer them on.  They also take pretty good pictures (Thanks Brad).

The same can be said for the entire Tower club.  Let's keep it that way.

Full race video: https://youtu.be/9S-7iVVlvso