Learn Something

I remember talking with Neil before my first race back in February. He told me that my goal should be to "learn something." I also remember laughing about that later and deciding to add my own goals in too: Finish the race, and don't be last.

Well, things have changed and I'm beginning to appreciate the importance of "learn something." Tonight was a GVCC criterium (1 mile course, 30 minutes plus 5 laps). Last time I raced this course, it was 10 minutes shorter and I suffered miserably the whole time. This time I went into the race knowing that I would get dropped. There was no way around, so I decided to just put everything I had into hanging on for as long as possible, holding nothing back for the end. What does it matter if you've got energy left and you're sprinting for last anyway? So, with my goal being, "learn something" and my plan being, "Hang on for dear life and leave nothing in the tank," here's what I learned:

1. My maximum heart rate is actually 194. I figured that once I wore the monitor for a race I would discover a higher max HR.

2. It is physically possible for me to spend 20+ minutes with my HR over 170. It just hurts an awful lot.

3. A heart rate that high for that long will induce stomach heaves and retching, regardless of the fact that I am traveling at 25mph on a bike and so anaerobic that I can barely stay upright. Also, I can stay upright while my stomach tries, but thankfully fails, to spew Gatorade all over spectators.

4. A high cadence is the key to following people's moves. By keeping my cadence up, usually around 90-100, I was able to respond faster to accelerations, corners, and hills. Also, my muscles were burning less (though my lungs were burning just as much).

5. I've got the pure power to stay with the fast women, I just don't have the stamina. On the first lap, the group split in half. I managed to stay with the front half for almost a full lap. After they dropped me, I was still managing to work with the other chasers to help us all get back together and start moving up. Then we all started falling off the back one by one, and I was among the first to go.

6. Working with other people makes things much more interesting and fun. I spent almost half the race moving among the chasers, sometimes in the front few, sometimes dangling off the back, but there was always a goal with the others around. Find the wheel ahead of you and hang on until you can get around them. Then move up to the next wheel. It was the first time I've had the opportunity to do that and I really enjoyed it.

7. Spectators are a godsend. By the end of the race, I was suffering so badly that I couldn't even think. Every time I went past the finish line and heard people yelling, "Go get her wheel!" or "Move around her and catch the one in yellow!" I would realize that they were right, that's exactly what I should do, and I could do it. Without them telling me that, I would have been completely at a loss, since my brain had shut off. Also, a little bit of cowbell goes a long way.

9. I like crits. They're super fast, tricky, strategic, and basically sum up everything that I love about bike racing. Oh, and there are spectators. I really want to try a crit with a full-sized field of women at my level.

8. Perhaps the most important thing I learned tonight: I'm getting stronger. Compare this post with the one linked above. And then realize that this race was 10 minutes longer, fewer neutral laps, and everyone else is in much better racing condition than at the beginning of the season. I may have been dropped, and lapped, and I think I even finished last, but I'm still feeling pretty good about myself tonight.

So, that's what I learned. I'd say I reached, and possibly even surpassed my goal for the evening. Maybe next week I'll do it again and learn more.