Humbling Race
I have already completed a couple early season races in
2016. These are “for fun” races, but I
am sure I take them more seriously than I should. One should not have high expectations for so
early in the season. Every winter I
think to myself, this year I have put in the time on the trainer to be fit when
I finally start riding outdoors, but every spring I am disappointed with my
fitness when it counts.
A promoter has faithfully organized the Iowa Spring
Classic gravel race series for several years.
These races happen on the gravel roads in central Iowa, so I feel
obligated to race them because they are close to home, and they get me outside
in the early spring. This year the race
in Colfax lined up with my schedule.
There were two options, an “A” and a “B” group. The A’s were racing 48 miles and the B’s were
racing 32 miles (6 and 4 laps of an eight mile loop). I signed up for the A race thinking I
typically do better in longer events. I
confirmed there was a small field (seven A racers).
I rode well on the first lap and was able to pull away
from a few riders on the long climb. I
found people to ride with so I could share the work into the wind on laps one
through five. I was feeling pretty good
about myself on subsequent laps because I was able to lap a couple of the B
racers. On the last lap I was all alone
in the wind with my thoughts and tired legs.
I was watching behind myself to make sure there was no one about to
overtake me. When I crossed the finish
line I noticed the promoter put away his clipboard. Could I be the last finisher?
Once the results were posted I confirmed my fears, I
finished last. I was very tired and
could not have given any more. The
person who finished just before me finished six minutes ahead. I don’t think I could have ridden nearly a
minute faster per mile, unless I was drafting 100% of the time which would not
have been a fair tactic.
I never finish races at the front, but I am not normally
at the back either. Also, most of the races
I enter have significantly larger fields.
I was able to console myself by looking at the statistics from my
PowerTap Joule GPS
cycling computer and PowerCal
heart rate monitor. My average pace was
over one mph faster than my pace in other long gravel events. My conclusion, I was the slowest in a small,
fast and fit group. This is completely
different than being slow and out of shape.
I want to remember this feeling to ensure I always give
my all on training rides and races. I
made little “DFL” stickers and put them on the handlebars of my bikes. Hopefully I can turn a bad memory into positive
energy and motivation.
Windy Iowa Spring
Another early season race I contest every year is the
Gent’s race. This is a 61 mile gravel
race taking place on the roads around Slater, Iowa. The format is unique because you compete as a
team of five and must stay together to the end to be counted in the official
results. The race organizers start teams
every few minutes from slowest to fastest, so the first team across the finish
line is declared the winner regardless of overall elapsed time. The format is fun because each team must work
together to get to the finish as fast as possible.
The forecast for the day of the race was for high winds
(25 mph sustained, 40 mph gusts) and cool (low 40’s, warming to upper 40’s)
temps. Race morning delivered the
weather just as predicted. I think each of
my teammates was waiting for someone else to say they thought the conditions
were too ugly, but luckily, no one did.
In our reluctance to start riding we ended up getting to the start line
about five minutes after our allotted start time. I had a hunch it would not matter.
The first ½ mile in town was windy, but when we made our
way to the open road where there was nothing to block the wind, we all started experiencing
challenges controlling our bikes. Within
the first mile, one of our teammates pulled over and almost quit. I was able to talk her into giving it another
shot and we were off. We were battling
head and side winds (simultaneously) for the first three miles. Our pace was not much faster than a snail. We then turned with the wind and found
ourselves able to maintain 18 mph without pedaling much at all.
Luckily, the course had no super long stretches into the
wind without turning to give us a break.
Controlling our bikes so we could ride in a straight line was almost as
hard as pedaling into the wind. We
worked together to keep the smaller riders out of the wind as much as we
could. I was watching my PowerTap Joule GPS cycling
computer and noted we were maintaining a blistering 8 mph pace into the wind
(north or west). It was so windy we had
to work hard to communicate on the bike and controlling our bikes took
considerable mental effort. Taking your
hands off the bars to grab a drink was very difficult. It was about this point I began to realize
our brains and bodies were starting to adapt to the difficult challenge of
riding in the side wind. We were “getting
our sea legs,” controlling our bikes was no longer a full time job. It is very interesting how our bodies adapt
to new challenges.
There was a mandatory check-point at mile 32. The race organizers transported one drop bag
per team to this location. We were
wind-blown, cold, hungry, mentally exhausted and generally miserable. The contents of our drop bag was not going to
remove all the misery. The route was a
modified figure eight, so we were only a few miles from Slater. The misery factor and ease at which one could
quit made the decision not too difficult for a couple of racers on our team,
and many on other teams (more about this later). Three of our team pushed on while two went
directly (and happily) to the finish.
The rest of the race was fairly uneventful. The portions into the wind were slow and
hard, while the route with the wind went by much too fast. I never warmed up (face, fingers and toes)
throughout the entire race. We
encountered a five to six mile stretch into the wind with less than 10 miles to
go which was slow and difficult. When we
finally made the turn where I knew we had less than three miles to go, all of
it with the wind, I finally felt like we were going to survive.
We finished before the cutoff after racing for 5:33. I was happy to finally be done and at the
finish. There were 63 teams signed up
but only 18 teams officially finished plus five who finished with fewer than
five racers. There is no data available on
how many teams started the race.
After we finished I was able to check on the weather
conditions. The maximum sustained wind
for the day was 40 mph with the highest gust at 50mph (as reported by the National
Weather Service). The high temperature
for the day was 44 degrees.
Ironically an article titled “Misery
Is a Choice: Developing Mental Toughness in Endurance Athletes” came across
my desk the week after the Gent’s race.
It is experiences like the Gent’s race this year which provide
yardsticks for measuring other events and conditions. By comparison, all other winds will seem
small compared to what we experienced this year. When faced with a strong wind in a future
race or training ride, I can recall the winds at the 2016 Gent’s race and know
I have ridden in worse. This will help
me to be mentally strong and more confident when the conditions are less than
ideal. If you ride and race enough you
will have the opportunity to build a rich history of memories you can use to
get you through the difficult times.
Reflecting further, I believe this same thing happens in life as
well. Please join me as I expand my
basis of misery in order to keep bike riding, racing and life in perspective.
