Is there one more race in these legs for 2007? My Race recap, a long one, well it was a 48 mile race.
September 22, 2007 Saturday, ABR Rockford Road Race: Well this will be the last race of the 2007 season. But I said that a few weeks ago when we did the Ft. Atkinson Race. But that is only because I didn’t know about this one. I can’t pass on a race in Rockford, my home town, I get to race with my age group only, and I will hit dinner with my Dad, who just turned 82, after. I am really stoked for this race and am hoping for a great finish. I am riding well right now and want to give one more all out effort.
My plan is to race smart, it is a 48 mile RR, 6 laps of 8 miles each. The course has some rollers, but nothing over 5% grade. Should be perfect for me. I would love to get in a break with 3 or 4 other guys and pull away from the pack. My confidence is high, we will see.
As I start to get my stuff together I see my race strategy changing, 3 Mack guys are there and two include G-Mack and Flec, both strong Cat 2 guys. I raced with Flec a couple times in the 45+ not to mention that I have watched him race. His MO is attack, attack, attack, and keep attacking. I know that Flec has the best chance at the victory. My race strategy will now be to try and stay with him as long as I can.
My warm up consists of taking a lap around the course. The flyer promotes the race as 8.1 miles per lap; my recon shows it to be slightly less. It is a hilly course, but nothing steep, so I am excited to see what I can do.
At the start line we are 21 strong, and I recognize many Cat 3 and above riders. We roll out and immediately Flec attacks. It is a lung bursting move for me to stay in the top 5. As I try and recover, I wonder how many we may have dropped in the first 1/2 mile. Then Flec goes again, another hard effort to stay with the front group. This continues and I minimize my hard efforts by sitting on his wheel and anticipating when he was going.
Lap 1 is complete and it was not the way I had expected this race to go. It has been very fast from the start, my HR hit the low 190’s, my LT is 170. It is a taste of what I see in the Master 1/2/3 races, but on a much smaller scale.
Lap 2 is more of the same, I am not recovering from my efforts to stay in the front group and with about a 1/3 of the lap to go, Flec puts in another effort and 8 open up a sizeable gap. 5 of us try and give chase; I wanted to stay with the front longer than this. I go to the front and hammer it and we catch the front 8 as we cross the start/finish line. G-Mack asks how many we are down to and indicates that they have been trying to whittle the field down. I think “well its working”. Lap two is complete and we are down to 13.
About 1/4 of the way into lap 3, (I am no way recovered), Flec puts in another attack. I watch as 5 riders pull away. 3 of us try to give chase, putting in some huge efforts. I admit my efforts are way below the other two. We drop one, and it is down to #81 and me. He is much stronger than me and I let him do a lot of work. Several times he flicks his elbow, I ignore it. About 2/3 of the way into lap 3 I start to think we are not going to catch these guys. #81 does not let up, I do a little work, put it pales in comparison to #81. He flicks his elbow again looking for me to take a pull; I am barely hanging on and ignore the request. As we make the turn to the start/finish line stretch (about 2 miles ahead), we have to decide if we are really going to try and catch the front 5 or not. I go to the front and put in a big effort, this is it, and I give it my all. We are gaining, then #81 puts in one of his superhuman pulls, we are still gaining. I go one more time and close the final 200 meters as we pass the start/finish line. Lap 3 complete and we are 7 strong, (well six strong plus me). With half the race complete I think I have already put more effort into this race to this point than any other ride of my life.
The pace lets up a little, no complaints from me, and #81 and I shake hands to salute our effort. I take some time to feed on some Clif Shot Blocks. I am not sure how this happens but #81 and I are pulling at the front. Didn’t we do enough work already? As we approach the turn to the 2 mile stretch to the start/finish, I know what is coming and sure enough, Flec goes again, and only 2 are able to follow. G-Mack yells that we have to go now or we won’t catch them. Since it is his teammate making the move, he won’t chase. Only #81 and I are chasing, we push hard and we hold the distance of the front three. We are not gaining but we are not losing ground either.
Then with 1 1/2 laps to go, #81 goes hard, right after I had put in a pull, and I am left alone, nothing is in the tank to cover the move. I am trashed but determined not to let any riders left behind catch up. It is all the motivation I need, that and I see my cuz, Riverman, hanging out at the finish area. I yell as I go by trying to recap the race in 5 seconds. We are doing a 60 mile ride tomorrow with 2 Pts (another cuz). Seeing Riverman carries me for a few more miles and I can now start to think the finish is only a few miles off. I don’t let up and cross the line in just over 2 hrs. Several minutes later a group of 8 finishes. I am happy with how things went. Dinner with my Dad and a few brewskis will be pretty special tonight.
Sunday I ride with 2 Pts and Riverman covering 60 miles at a nice recovery pace. We mix it up a little at the Stop Ahead signs to keep things fun. We also stopped for quick beverage at a local café in Durand. We end up having a good breakfast, with Riverman adding a chocolate shake. With a couple miles to go, Riverman takes me by a house that my Mom lived in with her family while my Dad was dating her. Riverman pulls out a few black and white photos from the late 40’s with my Mom and some of my uncles and aunt standing in front. It gets me thinking about life and how certain moments can be captured forever.
Look for my season recap in the next few days.