"Are You Having a Heart Attack?"

"Are you having a heart attack!?" That was deinfitely the most memorable thing shouted at me during my first race of the season yesterday.... 

I went into yesterday's race with 2 goals. First, to finish with the main pack. I was expecting this to be the type of race where there would be a breakaway or two that may or may not stay out, but then the rest of the field would pretty much stay together. I was hoping to stay with the field. Second goal was to not crash. I haven't even done a group ride in over a year, so getting into a master's group at speeds approaching 40mph with guys inches away on all sides can get sketchy from time to time. I was hoping I wouldn't be the one to cause a crash... So I managed to meet my second goal anyways.... I was seriously unprepared to meet my first goal, however.

Out of all the fields in a bike race, the Masters 35+ is arguably the second toughest group after the Pro/1/2 group.. This is because the masters 35 has any racer from Cat 1 to Cat 4 that is over 35, which in biking years, isn't far off your prime. These guys are mostly Cat 2 and Cat 3 racers that have been racing forever. Super strong. My goal of hanging with these guys for the whole race on a hilly course with the amount of training I've had at this point in the season was unrealistic. Here's why. I haven't put in any type of race effort this year. While I have about 1000 miles in, they've all been solo and they've all been targeted towards getting my base miles up with very little interval training. I haven't done any group rides where the pace gets pushed up to race pace. These are the types of efforts required to be able to match the intensity on race day. The guys I was racing against yesterday are up to 2000+ miles for the season and have spent the last month racing at Wells Ave, Loudon and other organized races to get prepared. This isn't an excuse, it's just the way it is. Some people train to win races in April. I haven't. My racing goals occur in August through December from the Mt Washington race through the end of the cyclocross season. I have to remember that to hang with a masters group in April, I have to train like a masters group from January to April. I haven't done that. But that's OK, I'm still on target for my goals and there were some really good things to come out of yesterday (along with the really bad).. 

The Turtle Pond Circuit race is 5 laps around an 11.5 mile rolling course with two tough climbs. The race started out up the toughest of the two climbs, about a mile long at about 7% grade, and I'm watching my power meter pushing over 300W to stay with the group with nobody attacking since it was a neutral start. I'm thinking "man, is this going to suck next time around when they're trying".. We get to the top of the hill and the attacks start immediately. I wasn't expecting this and I wasn't happy about it because I knew there was no way I was staying with a group for 57 miles trying to chase down attacks the whole time. Two guys shot off the front and got a decent lead. The rest of the pack picked up the pace to try to keep the break in sight. The group stayed together until the second tough climb of the day which was a short, steep hill that was about 1/4mile at maybe 10-12%, steeper in a couple sections. The group blew up pretty good at this point with several riders getting dropped for the day at this point. But I was still in it, and I was actually feeling pretty good. After the climb, the riders left in the pack re-grouped and it was about 4 or 5 miles at 30-40 mph back to the start of the loop. I realized I was already through my first bottle, not even 1/5th through the race, and feeling really thirsty. I had also drank one bottle before the race even started. I couldn't believe I was feeling this dehydrated. It was 85, but it's not like I haven't ridden in heat before. We got back to the big climb of the day and now the group was pushing the pace. My power meter was hovering between 350W and over 400W to stay with the group. By the time we got to the top of the climb my heart was way over threshold and I knew it wasn't sustainable. But I hung with the group, got back in the pack and recovered. On the second climb, I made sure I was towards the front of the group coming into it in case I got passed by a bunch of riders so I knew I'd have a better chance of getting on the back of the pack. Surprisingly, nobody really passed me. I was going strong, but I knew my effort level was too high to maintain for 57 miles. Oh well, it's not like I didn't expect to suffer. One of the toughest parts of the climbs is having the ability to stay on with the pack after you get over the top. That's because when people come over the top they know everybody's hurting so that's where you're going to see some attacks. That means you've just crushed yourself to climb a hill for minutes at a time at about 95% max heart rate and now you have to chase down an attack to try to re-group with the field. It's super painful, but you don't think about it because all you can think about is grabbing on to the wheel in front of you and hanging on. So now I've hung on for the first two laps, I'm almost out of water, my mouth is pasty, and my muscles are really starting to fatigue from the dehydration and the intense efforts that are above and beyond anything I've done to this point in the season. Thankfully, Danielle and Alison, came to watch the race and they were stationed in the feed zone with extra water bottles. We turned the corner to start the 3rd lap, I grabbed a bottle from Danielle, and raced back up to the group. We get into the major climb for the third time of the day and I'm hanging with them as best I can. Again I'm pushing between 350 and 400 on the power meter which is crazy power levels for me to maintain at this point in the year. I get to the top of the climb with the group, but the pace goes up. My legs are full of lactic acid and are so heavy.. I try to push harder but I can't. About 5 or 6 riders go way off the front but I manage to stay with about 5 or 6 riders trying to chase them down. But I'm just barely on at this point. We get to another incline and I'm dropped. Demoralized, dehydrated, dropped. I keep turning the pedals. The group is about 50 feet away from me but they may as well be 50 miles. When you have a group of guys working together, drafting off each other, they get to rest a little when they're in the draft. I'm solo at this point and fighting the wind by myself with no break. My day is over. Now it's all mental. I'm half way through a 57 mile race and I'm by myself. This isn't a race for me anymore, it's just about finishing. In a circuit race where you come through the starting line continuously, it's easy to get off the bike next time around and call it a day. But I signed up for 57 miles, Danielle and Alison came to cheer me on, and I obviously needed the work. Quitting wasn't an option. The last 2 1/2 laps were fairly miserable. My lower back hurt, I was starting to really feel the effects of the dehydration, and I wasn't able to maintain any kind of substantial power output. My legs started cramping on the hills and I was worried that I might not be able to finish. I grabbed another bottle from Alison on the way through to my last lap. My legs were cramping any time I had to go over about 200W, which is essentially any time the road turns up.. I got through the first major climb and then I was into a small climb about 5 miles from the finish, 51 miles into the race, almost done. I stand up on the pedals to go up the short hill and both quads sieze. It felt like two daggers were simultaneously plunged into my quads. I fell off the bike in the middle of the road and was writhing around in agony trying to find a position that would relieve the pressure. Under the skin on my legs, the quad muscles looked like two towels being wrung out, veins popping out. I was there for several minutes. What was left of the pro/1/2 group rode by me on the ground and one of the guys yelled "Are you having a heart attack?!".. To which I responded "I wish!".. A couple cars stopped to see if I was ok. I contemplated asking for a ride back to the start, but at this point I was able to stand up and walk around without seizing. I knew I only had about 5 miles left, but I also knew I had to climb the steep hill in the course. I figured I'd give it a shot. I ate the last energy gel I had with me, drank what was left of my water and headed out. I got to the steep climb and the cramping started again. It was bizarre. I could push one pedal just hard enough to keep me moving and just as the muscle started to seize I could transfer the power to the other pedal. I was on the verge of another complete muscle seizure but I made it up the hill and back to the finish. Danielle and Alison clapping and yelling for me at the end like I had just won. It was pretty awesome.

All in all, it wasn't my best day on a bike. Hell, it might have been my worst. But a lot of good things came out of it:

1. I know where I am and how much work I need to do to get to where I want to be.

2. I finished the race despite everything in my body and mind telling me not to. Not sure where I ended up in the standings, but there will be a time next to my name, not a DNF like many of the racers in my field.

3. Ummm... I guess there isn't a third good thing.. Oh, wait.. I remembered to put sunblock on so at least I didn't have to deal with a sunburn in addition to everything else.

Now I'm rehydrated, I figured it out that I drank a gallon and a half of water between noon and 6pm yesterday before I had to go to the bathroom again.. By the end of the race I had lost close to 7 pounds. I'm mentally re-grouped and re-focused. I've signed up for 2 more races over the next 3 weeks and I'm working out a way to get into some intense group rides regularly. It's very early in the season and I will be peaking by late Summer and into the Fall when I need to be ready for Mt Washington, Green Mt Stage Race and the cyclocross season.

Thanks to Danielle and Alison for coming out to cheer me on in the race. Without you there providing support and water, I might not have been able to finish the race. I can't wait till Michele is done with massage school so she can be there for me too. I will tell you that having her as a massage therapist is awesome after the races, and that the best reason for cyclists to shave their legs is for the massages :)

best,

kevin