Sacramento Cyclocross 2018 Race #1 - Race Report

Saturday October 13th, after several years of racing triathlons and living by the adage "don't try anything new on race day",  I slipped into my brand new skin suit and loaded my bike with my brand new pedals into our truck and headed off for my very first race in a brand new sport (to me)...cyclocross.

Looking back on my preparation for this race really has me wondering what I was thinking. When I first started doing triathlons, I would lay out my gear days in advance. I would post pictures so my teammates could tell me if I forgot anything. I would check and double check everything, including my bike. One would think that I should have had at least a small bit of concern for my first CX race but I didn't. I'm not sure why I was so complacent with my race prep.

Pre-Ride

My race was scheduled to start at 10:15am. I figured if I got to the race venue by 9:00am I would arrive in time to watch some of my Freakshow Red teammates race and then pre-ride the course. My timing was correct and I had just enough time to complete one loop of the course before having to report to the staging area. 

Since I didn’t take the time to read up on appropriate tire pressure or even bother figuring out where my tire pressure was, I left the tires alone and figured it would be “Ok”.  One of my teammates even asked what pressure I was running and my reply was “I don’t know.” He later told HS that it felt like 45 psi…probably a bit too high LOL

The course was dry and bumpy and although it wasn’t quite 10am, it felt warm. My mouth was parched and I was thirsty. That’s when it dawned on me that I hadn’t packed anything to drink. I took the bottle cage off of my bike because I knew I wouldn’t be racing with water but what was I thinking not bringing anything to drink before or after my race? As I finished my lap, HS raised his phone to snap a pic and I called out “Get me something to drink”.

Not quite sure what I'm doing ;-)

Luckily, he was able to find some water and brought it over to me in a red Solo cup. My guess is the beer vendor was nice enough to help him hydrate his stupid wife who should have known better. You would think this was my first race of any kind.

Race

I lined up for the start of the race. It seemed like so many more racers compared to the Prairie City MTB races. I had a vague idea of how the race was timed yet was confused about when my time actually started. The whistle blew for my category to start and it felt as if I was moving in slow motion. The other riders took off while I struggled to get clipped in.  My heart sank as I watched the other women distancing themselves from me. Maybe cyclocross wasn’t for me.

To say that I was playing it safe on my first lap would be an understatement. In my mind, I was certain that my bike was going to go sliding out from underneath me at every turn. Perhaps if I had checked my tire pressure before the race I would have felt more confident. On top of that, my legs felt a little shaky from the practice lap. I had tried to ride easy and was surprised that I was feeling fatigued on the very first lap. Note to self…pre-ride before the first race next time, not right before your race.

Eventually I got clipped in and started to get into the race. I was still being cautious but felt a little more comfortable on my bike. Ok, maybe this won’t be as bad as I think and I won’t end up embarrassing my teammates. Then I got passed by some single speed riders. Ugh. Ok, maybe this will be as bad as I think.

Towards the end of the first lap there was a sharp left turn followed by a short but steep climb. I hopped off my bike and ran up the hill. When I climbed back on, I struggled getting clipped in again. Jeez, I thought the 20 minutes I had practiced with the new pedals would have been enough. Obviously, I was wrong…AGAIN!  

I heard some of my teammates cheering for me. What were probably words of encouragement sounded like orders to start moving my legs faster. I worried that they thought I was going too slow.

Everything matches when it's black and white

I chatted with my friend Libby on the second lap. She was the third single speed rider to pass me. I was starting to really feel tired and was glad that the race was going to be over soon. As I neared the finish line the announcer called out that there were two more laps. Two more laps? What’s up with that? The only thing I had even bothered to look at before the race was the previous year’s results.  In 2016 the C 40+ women did two laps at this venue and in 2017 they did three. How is it that we were going to have to do four?  I prepared myself for things to get ugly.

I found this explanation of cyclocross laps on Active.com: 

"The first two laps are timed and an average lap time determined. From that number, the race officials determine the number of laps remaining."

I crossed the timing mats for the start of my third lap next to another rider. I whined about the extra laps to her and continued to pedal. As I headed back out on the course, I noticed that the fatigue in my legs wasn't as bad as it had been on the first lap. I started to close in on a rider in front of me and my mood improved. Maybe an extra two laps is just what I needed. What I lacked as a fearless sprinter I could potentially make up for with a little endurance.

40 second difference between lap 1 and 2!! 

Lap 1     9:47 

Lap 2     9:07 

Lap 3     9:15

Lap 4     9:12

I felt like I was finally getting into the race on my fourth and final lap. The course felt familiar at that point and I was a little more confident in the corners. Regardless of how good I felt on this lap, I was extremely happy to see the finish line. This 37 minute race was tough and I had finished it in spite of my poor preparation.

So happy to be 3rd!

Race Prep for Race #2

Race number 2 is this Saturday and I have made some changes ;-)

1) I took my bike to Robby's Bicycles and had the wheels changed over to a tubeless set up. I probably could have figured this out myself, but HS and I both thought it would be better not to take the chance of something going wrong and have it done right the first time. Robby's had my bike changed over and back in my hands the same day and for a great price. 

2) I've done some research on tire pressure and have made some adjustments. Hopefully I will notice the difference on race day. 

3) I've started getting my gear together and I plan on packing food and drink this time.

4) I've been practicing clipping in and out of my pedals. 

5) OK, I do have some new gear.  I got a new pair of Pearl iZUMi X-Project P.R.O. shoes and a pair of fingerless gloves to wear instead of my stiffer MTB gloves but I should be ok. 

#PearliZUMi #RobbysBicycles #FreakshowRedCX #Cyclocross