Here's another great race report from Dave Baker:
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This week I was the lone Team Zanc member at the RMR Crit series in West Valley City, UT. Since our team training camp over the weekend was exceedingly instructive and motivating (details in an upcoming post), my primary objective for the crit was to do things differently. In reviewing my recent races and camp performance, a common theme emerged: I tend to begin with little to no warm up, push myself to stay with the group, start to over-cook, panic, blow up, and get shot out the back of the peloton. Based on the PLE scale (Perceived Level of Exertion), when trying to keep a race pace I'm usually between Level 9: "I am probably going to die" and Level 10: "I am dead".
The training camp was my first chance to use the sponsor-provided SRM Training System. This included the Campagnolo PowerMeter cranks, heart rate monitor, and PowerControl 7 computer. I am still establishing the "training zones" to determine my Functional Threshold Power (FTP), so I first focused on gleaning insight from my heart rate and cadence. Using the imprecise formula of 220 minus age (44), my maximum heart rate (HR) should be about 176 beats-per-minute (bpm). During most of the climbs my HR was in the 140s, and I felt I could barely hang on. When the pace picked up, my HR would drift into the 150s, then jump into the 160s, and I was cooked.
Further, my cadence tended to be high--apparently a little too high. You see, I don't have an abundance of what you might call "muscle". In fact, my arms have the tone and definition of half a Schleck brother. So my thinking for some time has been, "What I lack in power, I should make up in efficiency by spinning a high cadence." Although this makes for a smooth pedal stroke, I tend to look like a hummingbird on wheels. Even when drafting, my cadence can hover between 90-100 revolutions-per-minute (rpm). That's not exactly soft-pedaling in the slipstream.
Given these realizations, Steve (as Directeur Sportif) offered some suggests for this week's practice crit. First, move up from the D Flight to the C Flight - although a bit faster pace, there will be more riders to work with. Second, make sure I have time for a good, focused pre-race warm-up. Next, since the flat course is susceptible to strong crosswinds, find a good position to stay protected. Finally, bring down my cadence.
I arrived 1 hour beforehand to make sure I had plenty of time for a warm up. After getting the bike ready and registering I did 15-20 minutes of spinning, 3 or 4 sprint intervals, then 5-10 minutes of cool down to let the heart rate settle a bit before rolling up to the start line.
This was a 30 minute race, so I anticipated about 10 laps. We had a crosswind along the straightaway, so I focused on staying protected on the leeward side of the group. My HR stayed around 160bpm (91%), but felt sustainable. My cadence was around 70 rpm – decidedly slower for me, but I wasn't mashing the pedals by any means. About 15 minutes in, I found myself on the outside against the crosswind and could feel the difference in my legs. Toward the end of the lap I was in about 6th place and took the hairpin turn so properly I was catapulted into 2nd place. The lead rider pulled off and I found myself up front. Not where I wanted to be. My HR hit 171bpm (97%). On the backside I fell back fast. The last rider of the main group passed me and I knew I had to catch his wheel before we headed back into the wind. I dug deep to catch him, but was back on. Soon after, the HR was back to the 160s and holding.
Going into the last lap I was in about 8th position. I was moving up on the outside when a rider ahead and to the left of me braked abruptly AND veered into my line. I knew we were going to touch, so I yelled, rubbed my front tire on his rear derailleur body and kept a left-leaning pressure on my bars to keep myself upright. He accelerated and chased the leaders. I was a bit rattled. Realizing I almost went down, I sat up and composed myself. I took it easy around the back and finished out of the saddle on the final straight.
Takeaways:
- Moving up to the C Flight was a confidence booster (even with the close call).
- Purposeful warm-ups are essential. I was able to sustain a much higher HR than expected.
- Reading the wind before a race makes it easier to act purposefully during the race.
- I felt the lower cadence kept my legs fresher and it was easier to keep pace when the group accelerated.
- I like racing.
I’m also eager to dive into the PowerMeter features of the SRM system. Definitely more to follow.
Ride on.
Dave-------------------------------------------------------
WB: here's a little preview for the next post (team bike photos, and a Moab Training Camp report)
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