Mt. Diablo Hill Climb ITT Report

This weekend had my favorite Criterium, the Burligame Criterium, but I had established that I'd be doing the MT.Diablo Hill Climb this year, just to try it out. A big reason why I had strongly chosen to the hill climb instead of the crit is because my crash had left me a little traumatized. Crashing hurts--no doubt--but the real reason I'd like to avoid situations where crashing is of a high probability is not because of the pain (which actually isn't that bad after you've more than enough time) but it is the forced time off the bike which is really difficult to deal with.

With that being said, I had decided indefinitely to not participate in any criteriums. What his meant was that I can focus my training to building my Aerobic engine, and naturally I've been really inclined to focus on climbing. Thus, it was appropriate to do this race in order to see how well my climbing has improved since my transition back to hard workouts.

Pre-Race

I'm in the midst of taking summer school, and I'll say right away that I haven't been getting enough sleep. This race was relying on 5 hours of sleep but I wasn't really tired until after the race. I warmed up for a good 25 minutes or so and got to the start line. I was a bit nervous when I was being held up on the ramp because my bike was leaning left but I was leaning right.

Start

I was the first person in the E4/5 to go, so I didn't have a 30 second man, so I did constantly check if anyone was behind me, and it actually helped me perform better, by giving me encouragement. But going down the ramp, my gear was too heavy which probably costed me like 7 seconds. I told myself to not go hard on the rolling section in the beginning, but for some reason I was going really hard, my legs weren't listening to me.

The hardest part of the race, before the 1000ft sign, actually wasn't too bad compared to climbs that I regularly do. I was surprised at how gradual the inclines were. Compared to the climbing I've been doing, it wasn't too steep. In fact, the climb is very predictable--it's pretty much just a steady incline then a switchback or a kicker. So holding a rhythm was easy.

I knew the race wouldn't last more than 30 minutes. I also knew the E4 winning time would be in the 28min interval. So my goal was to get below 28 min. Once I hit the 12 minute mark, I assumed I could just imagine I was doing the San Bruno Hill Climb since it would've taken me a little over 16 minutes. I increased my pace and was definitely digging, but I had a reserve. I couldn't look at my power correctly, since technically I was riding in my 5-minute power at times. But whenever I dropped down to my 20-minute power, I did kick it up a little.

At 21 minutes I pressed the lap button just to check my average power, which was at 4.9 w/kg...way above my critical power, meaning I'd just set a record in these zones. I didn't know how many more minutes were left, it could have been 6 or it could've been 10. But since I was so sure I wouldn't go past 30 min I went really hard, any harder would've been a sprint effort (which I was able to save until the end!)

(Thanks to Craig Huffman for this amazing shot!)

Finish

After seeing Craig, I only had a couple of more switchbacks left. I didn't know this during the race, so I kept holding back...just right at 4.7 w/kg. Then I saw a sign on a cone that said "200m", which was surprising because I didn't pass the little white house--it turns out the finish line was over here and not at the junction like I had thought! I was able to finish strong, but if I knew the finish was over here, I definitely could've gone harder the last 5 minutes.

I ended up being only 23 seconds away from 1st, and 8 seconds away from 2nd. Both guys were Cat5's too! I wasn't too stoked about my result. I still believe the time is just "mehh" and I didn't pace correctly, Like always, I still had a fun time out here and definitely plan to do it again. I'm hoping I can shave off at least a minute and a half. That would be a good indicator of my focus toward climbing better!

Thanks for reading!

- DB

Pescadero Road Race - Summary

The Pescadero Road Race was my first road race as an Elite 4, but too bad it wasn't my last =p

The race would be the first race since my crash in the 2nd week of March. I didn't know how much fitness I had relative to my last period of racing, but I did an FTP test and ended up with the same FTP as I had in March. Therefore, I was looking forward to a challenging race yet I was confident that I could stay in the main field and hang around through every climb.

However, I knew my critical point was during the descents, and I did get left behind and used energy on the climbs to catch up. I knew that this was okay since the Stage Rd. Descent was really the only sketchy descent, and the fact that the descent had a few climbs in between them would make it possible for me to regain loss time. (The other descent was straight down then flat).

The biggest factor that had probably costed my race was me forgetting my water bottles at home. I thought I could be fine waiting for the feed zone, and even though I did hang on by the time we reached the feed zone, I ended up getting dropped on Haskins. What made it worse was that I didn't have an electrolyte drink...just water. It didn't hit me that I was bonking until the 2nd lap during the Stage Rd. Descent (I caught the main field with some other guys after Haskins). With that in place, I did my best to roll to the finish and rolling to my car was even harder.

Like always, I still had fun! Yes it was a disappointment that I couldn't race at my best effort but it's always a blast doing a local race. It didn't bother me at all after the race especially since it's happened to me at Wente Vineyards (another favorite course). I guess I haven't learned my lesson yet!

Now the interesting thing is I placed 44th which is exactly my placing when I did it a couple of years ago! 

- DB

2014 UC Berkeley Men's B Criterium

Hold on! I will mention what happened! =p

Running cold water down my legs the night before helped with my acidic legs for UC Berkeley's crit. I was running a little short on sleep but my legs felt pretty good. On my trainer warm-up, I was feeling pretty meh and agreed with Christian when he said "I hope my legs feel better during the race" because sometimes, that does happen especially when the adrenaline kicks in.

When the race started I was probably at 90% of my max effort already. I didn't have a HRM because 1) I was too lazy to put it on and 2) I thought power would be enough for 40 mins. However, during the race, it would've been nice to see the relativity because I was hitting really high numbers on the uphill S/F section on Durant.

For most of the time, I was struggling to maintain 2 or 3 bike lengths from the last person in the actual pack, but there were a few guys tailing off of me as well. The beginning was really hard for me, and for about the first 10 laps I was finding it hard to drink. The best place would be thee corner after the uphill but that really limited how I took the corner, and I had to stay away for safety.

My handling was really sloppy in this race. Last year, I was able to consistently find the best line. For some reason, my lines--especially in the 3rd corner, were inconsistent and inefficient, most likely because I was afraid of hitting the potholes which actually weren't really clear to me.

Toward 3/4 of the race I was feeling better or the pack was getting tired. I was finally able to move up and drink a little more. I moved up high but they still weren't showing lap cards which would come up with 9 laps to go, or about 10 minutes to go. Before I knew it, they were showing it. My lines through corner 3 were getting better, but still not the best! But moving up was getting easier on the uphill.

With 4 to go, I told myself to stay and fight the position I was in until the sprint. I was able to until people started to come up on the outside with 3 to go. I knew that I would have to go harder, and the best place to do it would be on the uphill. I knew I needed to take full advantage of the uphill to secure a leading spot in the pack.

At this point my mental focus was optimal and we entering the 3rd corner, where I took a good line. I exited the corner hard and fast to hold a good position for the uphill, and I was able to hear the Bell lap bell.

But I took the corner way too wide especially since there were people in my inside, so an optimal apex line was out of the question. The line I took would've actually been fine, had it not been for an awkward groove in the road that I didn't see! most likely since it was in a dark shaded area. The groove itself wasn't much, but the problem was that upon exiting, I stood up and dialed in some power, about 582w to be exact, and the groove facilitated in shifting my inertia to the front when my rear wheel lifted due to my jump.

The whole thing happened slowly (visually). I felt an awkward change in the road, but it was a smooth change, not like hitting a pothole. It was like going on a small ramp. Needless to say, when I was already going over my bars, I was already wondering what was going on. Nobody was really to my side and I didn't run over the boundary pole bases.

I was actually slightly able to brace for impact due to having almost full situational awareness. So I ducked into a fetal position, arms in front of my chest and braced for the impact on the ground. When I was on the ground, someone ran over me which was actually the part that hurt more. It turned out to be my teammate Christian, who went over and asked me if I was okay. I had a little sensation of the air being knocked out of me, but my lower back was hurting so I didn't move or say anything. 

After the EMT's came, I gave them all solid answers to the questions so they ruled out major injuries. I also checked myself and I had small scrapes and minor road rash. The real pain was my lower back but it was caused from landing on a plastic tube repair box which housed my catholic rosary. It must have caused some trauma from its edges but nonetheless I was okay.

The worst result was walking with a limp but other than that I'm fine. Christian was okay too, and he was able to do the E4/5 race, but I wasn't. The post crash morning was a bummer but I got through it, and I took multiple rides on the school shuttle on my university. However, I think I'll be okay for the most part of my recovery which I'm hoping will be short and sweet.

Today, only the neck whiplash, some trauma areas, and my left pelvic joint area are my injuries preventing me from riding, but I can already feel that I'm recovering quick.

After 4 years of racing that was actually my first crash during a race. I'm glad it was nothing serious, I'm bummed that it caused a small chain reaction. My bike is fine--it has a few cosmetic scars on the shifters but it still functions and my decision in choosing an aluminum frame (CAAD) was rational yet again. 

I had no race plans in the next few weeks so that's a relief, and my hours are cutting down (due to harder weeks in training) and I have a cushion for missing hours. Overall I don't think this will set me back significantly.

Anyways, it was a fun race and I was looking forward to doing well, even with bad form. Even so, I'm still greatly happy I was finally able to get some upgrade points the day before and am looking forward to coming back to the races in a few weeks!

--DB

"Wear a helmet."

-- Anonymous

2014 UC Berkeley (Crockett) Mens B Road Race Report

This race report was made possible by Noli at Putnam Toyota in Burlingame.

*Thanks to Craig Huffman for shooting all of these awesome photos across almost all categories at this Race! Be sure to check out & support his work at www.craighuffman.com!*

I just changed my bandages from the aftermath of the UC Berkeley Criterium, but I'm feeling really good! This past weekend was a bit bizarre. I'll say the good news, which was that I've earned some more upgrade points making me one-fourth Cat 3. My result at the road race helped me stay positive throughout the weekend despite all the incidences. I also had a wonderful time seeing other SFSU Cyclists compete for their first time or improve upon last year. We are such a great team :)

The Cal, Crockett Road Race is tied as my favorite with UCSC's. I did fairly well last year and was looking forward to repeating that. However, my form was very bad--after coming from hard consecutive workouts integrated with 3-race weekends. I was definitely fatigued during the week, and so I took two easy days and did an unstructured ride with some hills to tune up for the race.

Eric, Christian, and I warmed up by going up & down Cummings Skyway and turning around before it descended. I felt pretty good during the warm-up so I was looking even more forward to how things would turn out.

Lap 1
We left the start line and within 30 seconds someone had flatted! Yikes! We went up Cummings Skyway, which isn't much of a climb compared to McEwen, but it was fun. The descent was great! I forgot to mention, I put on a new Cassette with 11-28T for a) descending and b) climbing (with high RPMs!). I had no problem keeping up on the descent unlike in previous races. We cruised through the really short climb after the descent, then we made our way to the twisty Paradise-Loop like rollers. Yada yada yada we arrived at McEwen, made the right turn and I was already grinding the 34t-28t!!! Although I was able to spin over 90rpm, it was still a grind! I was also in the back, which made me work harder to not lost contact with the lead group. From the back, I could already see that someone had attacked. Like most people, I predicted that he wouldn't stay away (we had 4 laps to do), so nobody responded. I was already maxed out, and due to my form I couldn't do anything. After the climb, everything was fine. I was feeling good, and I moved up almost effortlessly to the front of the pack, and we can see the soloist, who had about 30 seconds on us.

Lap 2
The second time around was pretty much the same. The soloist was still in our view so we felt like we had no reason to go too hard. Felt okay on the rollers, terrible on McEwen. I was afraid I wasn't going to keep up by the 3rd or even the 4th lap, but I fought hard. Moved up again on Franklin Canyon, but we couldn't see the guy from UCSB off the front anymore. The feed zone told us he had over 1 minute on us!

Lap 3
Lap 3 would've had to be the determining lap, but nobody really wanted to work. Mark from UCSC had surged up a few times but no one wanted to rotate. This was especially annoying because a teammate from the UCSB would always get the front when nobody worked (good tactic on his part.) I tried to attack on Cummings Skyway, but I only got the group to surge along with me. I dropped back and noticed that it was again the UCSB guy behind me. On the descent, I was moving pretty quicker than others even without pedaling, so I was able to get to the front effortlessly to trade off with Christian. Next thing I know, Eric comes around me and tells me not to work so he takes a pull leading into the right turn.

Thank you to Craig Huffman for this photo.

We did go a little harder on the rolling sections, and even harder on McEwen. In fact, this was the race determining moment because the strong UCSB guy (not the one in the break) and a UCLA guy attacked and went off together. The field had exploded and the chase group consisted of 5 guys including me and Christian, but Eric had gotten dropped on McEwen. We went through the rollers of McEwen pretty hard to chase the break fighting for 2nd.

Lap 4
On the final lap my mental game which had been missing at Stanford had kicked in! My goal was to settle for 4th if it came down to that; ie. not catching the two guys and the guy OTF (we didn't). In the group of 5, Christian and Mark were working the most. I tried working too but I knew I if I went too hard, there'd be a high chance I'd get dropped on McEwen. So, I stayed in the back of the group for most of the time.

Me behind Christian, thank you again to Craig Huffman.

On McEwen, I had to do a lot just to stay in the group. I didn't want to be the one who got dropped from the chase group...yikes! During the climb, I was hoping nobody would attack. We actually saw the two guys off of the front, so I was expecting it. However, I told the group we were going at a good pace (according to my power numbers =p) and that would've enabled us (or me) to go harder at the end of the climb where it would matter most. If Christian did (like last year) that would've been awesome, but even he was working just enough to maintain a good position. With nobody attacking, I was able to focus on potentially taking the small field (uphill) sprint.

It was very awkward since it would be my first time contesting a high-placing (considering there were upgrade points for grabs still) in such a small group, but my seasonal goal depended on this, and so it was a good time to truly test if the hard work I put in to training would pay off!

The finishing effort started early in the flat-ish part. Uphill finishes were something I practiced quite a bit back when training neuromuscular power, but I felt confident so I went along with an early move, not quite at max, but hard enough! There was enough road for all 5 of us to contest it, so I went hard once I felt good enough and didn't look back. Once I saw SFSU cheering I dialed to a maximum effort & was completely exhausted just short of the finish line, but was indeed able to grab 4th place!

My overall performance wasn't the best, due to the regression in my form, but thanks to my hard work, I was able to maintain a baseline fitness which allowed me to stay on the climbs and win the uphill field sprint. I am getting closer to my peak fitness so I am definitely looking forward to seeing how I'll be then, but first I need to take care of some minor crash aftermath for a few days. Hopefully it doesn't push me back by too far, but either way I'm really satisfied with this present season.

-- DB

2014 Stanford Race Weekend Report (Men's B Road Race & Criterium, E3/4 Criterium)

Road Race

The road race course is shared with the NCNCA's Panoche Valley Road Race. Compared to last year's Men's C race, this one went quite further and also had more punchy climbs. It was a 55-mile race that lasted 2 hours and half. My goal was to finish in the lead group, which seemed pretty realistic. I raced with Christian, Eric, and Yao.

The course does not have the smoothest roads. It also gets twisty at times at the road width isn't consistent--it gets narrow and wide at times. With that said, it's easy to get locked into a position in the pack, especially in the back. Once you're there, you're there, unless the pack strings out. But for our race, our pack was bunched up for around 70% of the race.

Like I said, the climbs are punchy and can be big-ringed. For this race, I wanted to see how conservative I could be, so I either used the little ring or if it was like a 4% grade I'd just use the big ring and cross chain. For the most part, I felt I had an optimal cadence on all the small climbs. I think at one point I was spinning 110-120RPM but 100RPM was quite common on the climbs.

The race was pretty boring in the beginning. Other than the climbs, I was mostly in low zone 2 or lower. The first half of the race was also uneventful. My horrible descending skills were tested on a narrow descent that was twisty, but I didn't get dropped.

After the turn around everyone was anticipating the climb back, which was the reverse of the twisty descent I just mentioned. At the bottom, it surged and I knew this would be he perfect time to finally move up as I had spent all this time in the back. So, I shifted into the little ring and the chain had fallen.

Thankfully, I didn't need to get off my bike and was able to just use the shifter to bring it back. I probably lost like 5 seconds so I had to use more energy that I would've liked, but I was still passing people left and right, and I felt good. At this point, the field had been split up and Eric maintained staying in the 2nd group. Christian was up in the lead group.

The end of the climb was the transition to the long descending rollers. This is where I was chasing the lead group. A chase group of 4 or 5 formed and they were digging deep. I rode with them for a while, but they were going too hard, even though they didn't need to. I figured that I could just pace myself there without burning too many matches. At first it yo-yo'd but they slowed down so I caught on and stayed there until the end.

From here until the end, the pack was cruising at tempo. A few people tried to attack, including Christian and I, but the headwind (which wasn't even as strong as last year) prevented anyone from getting away. As a result, my fear of a bunch sprint was coming closer, because the road was narrow and I knew I'd get locked in, which did in fact, happen. My mistake was purely as a result of my mentality because I was focusing too much on the end instead of the now. In other words, I should've focused on moving up instead of being worried about getting locked in a bunch sprint.

I ended up finishing 14th, with Christian at 10th. We both expressed our disappointment because we both had the legs to put out a good sprint, but we both got locked behind guys who couldn't. Regardless of that, I still enjoyed the race and it was a great workout! Overall, I had good performance but bad positioning, so that is something I need to focus on.

Criteriums

The Men's B Criterium started an hour late due to a crash in the C's. I had a pretty good warm-up, but we started hard, which was a relief from the crit in Salinas and yesterday's RR. It finally felt like a race!

For the most part, I stayed in the pack, mostly in the pack, but I managed to move up some times when I felt good. I attacked at one point but couldn't get away, probably because I didn't want to make the mistake of racing too hard, like I did in the UC Santa Cruz weekend. My goal was to save everything for the sprint.

When the end did come, I couldn't move up in time. My mental game was truly off, most likely because I didn't have a specific plan or goal other than saving it up for the sprint? This is something I definitely need to address for my next races.

I ended up finishing 15th but had a lot of fun, and finally had the feeling I was racing, instead of being impatient and attacking all the time.

This feeling was amplified during my 2nd race of the day in the E3/4. This race started hard and fast. THIS was the feeling of a race. I started off in the front but pulled back into the pack after people kept attacking. There were plenty of surges because of this, but it wasn't hard enough to drop people.

I knew from my last race that I needed to move up so I used a line I was familiar with after the chicane to move up on the outside. My mental game was better, but still not good enough. I at least knew to stay on a wheel, and shift my lines safely on the straights. Of course if there was someone next to me, it would've been impossible to come from the outside on one corner and shift to the inside. This was especially true in the last two corners and the chicane.

I didn't move up to the front in time, and the pack was crowded during the sprint. I ended up 13th but was happy with my moderately better mentality that last time. 

The whole weekend was a great way to remind myself of the mental aspect of racing which includes the technique needed to move up in time for an optimal position in the end.

I'm looking forward to next weekend due to the hilly nature of both the road races and criterium :).

-- DB

UCSC Slugfest Criterium (Men's B & E4)

This race report was made possible by Noli B. at Putnam Toyota in Burlingame.

I've never done a stage race and I don't know how I feel about them, because Collegiate racing demands that you can race hard one day and race hard again the following day. Make that 5 or 6 days in a row, then you've got a decent stage race. Make that 21 days, and I'll shoot myself.

This is what makes me glad that I don't have the genes to be that good. Racing at a low volume is really fun at my ability, but this weekend my racing volume was really high and I went hard for each of the races because I was so excited to be back (and surprised).

Men's B Race Start
How the heck do you spell "Men's B?" Uhh anyways I'm glad I'm not doing this as a school paper or something.

Our race started fairly on time, but we got there early when it was cold foggy and slightly wet. To make matters worse, the Porta Potties didn't arrive on time. Thankfully they arrived well enough before our race. The sun was coming out as the fog burned away, and I did a slightly-okay warm-up of about 20 minutes with one threshold interval and one 10 second sprint. My warm-up ended perfectly, right when the awaiting B riders were allowed to get on the field to warm up.

I got right into the moment when we started, despite not having our teammate Yao with us because he missed the start (he still took awesome photos & did the E4 race). The pace was comfortable, lots of chit-chat again. I was wondering when I should make a move. There were little attacks here and there, but not much response from the pack.

When you notice that pack isn't responding to attacks and moves, you should use it to your advantage. However, I stayed with the pack for a good amount of time in the start. There was a prime bell on the second lap! Hmm...was the official trying to summon me out already? Nope. I finally joined an attack, when a rider who I marked as a strong rider went off the front alone.

The Peloton is a Scary Place
The course is actually fairly safe--at least to me. Very good pavement, minimal bot dots that were easy to avoid with a clean line, and wide roads to accommodate the squirrely guys. With that said, this race was not very sketchy, but when the attack that I wanted to join went off, I didn't know much after that because for the majority of the race I was spending time in a bunch of different breaks.

Photo taken by Yao Saeturn

I joined the UC Irvine rider and we gave each other the "I don't know you, you don't know me, but let's work together" look and so we did. Half a lap later, a UC Davis rider who I also understood as a really strong rider joined the break, and finally a UCSB rider who I didn't know also joined.

At this point I actually thought the break would stay, mainly because these guys were strong, and also because I knew there were a lot of UCSB riders and Davis riders, and I thought they'd block the pack. But they didn't, and for around 4 laps we had a decent-sized gap and we were trading pulls evenly. Eventually the UC Irvine rider lost faith in us and retreated back into the pack so I was only working with the UC Davis Guy and I forgot what happened to the UCSB guy.

Next a UCSC guy attacked and bridged up to me and the Davis guy, and we traded pulls again for a couple of laps. THEN a UCSB guy bridges and does a bunch of long pulls and drops the other two guys. I was rotating with him and he was really pushing me, saying that we had a good gap and he was telling me to go faster. Ah man. He had a lot of legs in him so he attacked me and went off solo.

The Race End
Toward the middle of the race when I was up front, there was a rider lying on the side who stayed in that position for a long time. It turns out he was okay but the EMTs were called out and the race was neutralized.

This gave the UCSB rider, who was 15 seconds ahead, a great advantage because I knew nobody in the pack wanted to work before the field sprint. At first I was debating whether I should bridge up but I decided against it, slightly because my legs didn't really want to do that.

So I went ahead and contested the field sprint, the UCSB rider won 3 seconds ahead of us. I ended up taking 5th in the field sprint for 6th place, and that was a surprise after spending plenty of time in breaks and what not! Looks like my criterium fitness is pretty established, so I can't wait to expand on it!

Mens E4 Race

About 2 hours later Yao, Eric, and I did the Men's E4 race. This race was pretty uneventful, apart from a few attacks that Yao made. I used this race to learn a little more about myself, but the pace was so easy that it didn't even seem like a race. The wind direction had also changed, there was now a tailwind on the backside and a headwind on the finish line side and the final corner. For most of this race, I stayed in the very back where I was comfortable and actually safe. There was a lot of braking in the corners and even in the headwind, because I guess people up at the front didn't want to pull hard so they feathered their cadence a bit.

This race was also more sketchier than the Men's B race because a lot of riders were making out-of-line shifts and sudden jerks. Luckily, people must have been paying plenty of attention to avoid a crash.

I looked at my time and it was approaching 20 minutes. I decided that I would make a move soon. Our race was 40 minutes and I knew that I could decently hold a 10 minute effort. Or well I at least estimated that I could, so I attacked when it hit 28 minutes which was the 6-laps-to go point.

I had a decent gap but they caught me with 3-to-go, and I sat in before the final sprint. I actually had enough energy to move up for the final sprint, but I took a bad line before the final corner, and when the final corner hit, the headwind was so strong that I couldn't firmly choose a gear to sprint with.

After all that, I ended up 16th, which wasn't too bad despite yesterday and today's race.

Racing 3 races sure made me tired though. I'm taking two days off because I have a lot of fatigue and also an irritated throat, probably due to all of the heavy breathing I did haha. I'm hoping I don't need to take 3 days off but I'm way over my planned training hours (about 3 hours ahead) so I have a cushion, but I don't want to lose 3 days of training or else I'd have to re-do my training plan.

Stay tuned for the Stanford Race Reports which will be my next race(s).

-DB

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” 
― Mother Teresa

2014 UCSC Slugfest RR (University Road Race Course)

This race report was made possible by Noli B. from Putnam Toyota in Burlingame.

If I wanted to do hill intervals, I'd have a lot of nice gradients to choose from in Daly City...from short, steep sections that only take a few seconds to power through to moderate, steady inclines that help you find a sweet spot climbing rhythm. Normally, 5 to 6 repeats of a hill or section is good enough for me.

When you tell me to do 15, that's when I'll start calling you...and maybe myself... crazy. But that's not the case at the Santa Cruz University Road Race, because this is one heck of a course for a road race...and a bike race in general...but it's inexplicably enjoyable. The course is literally a Hill Interval/Repeat festival, and it doesn't only demand well-established fitness, but also a focused mentality that will keep you from going insane before, during, and after the race.

If you've looked at this blog before, you might already know that I did this race last year in the Mens' B category, and was so traumatized that I downgraded to the Mens' C because I knew that the challenge of the B's with my state of fitness at that time would have possibly drained my motivation down to nothing. With that being said, my performance gave me an opportunity to reassess my training and address some of the gaps that I've been ignoring for over two seasons.

Well, after attempting to set a good foundation for my 2014 season, I finally got serious with making and strictly completing my training plan/hours. This was my first road race for this season ever since I've overhauled my training, so I didn't really know what to expect and was ready to be surprised.

The Start-

Like last year, we started fairly late off-schedule. The benefit from that was that I was able to get in a lengthy yet effective warm-up around the reverse way of the course. The warm-up lasted about 40 minutes and was kept in my endurance zone aside from a short tempo interval and a shorter threshold period. However, because of the late start we were only to do 14 laps instead of 15.

I started in the back but I was okay with it because I knew that nobody would really gun it out right away anyways. I wasn't feeling nervous or anything, just a little excited to start after waiting half an hour from the normal scheduled time. When we started everything was normal and people were actually joking around as if they were in a high school class that was about to start. Us young people would call it a "chill" pace, even when we got to the climb. I glanced at my heart rate and it was still low, unlike last year where it was already beating over 180bpm before the climb.

This "chill" pace was maintained for 2 laps in and after that I can't really tell you what the pace was like because I attacked.

Going Solo-

Maybe I was enjoying the conversations in the pack, similar to hearing people talk during lunch period at a high school. But this wasn't the lunch period, nor was it high school. This was a bike race, so in an attempt to remind people that it was, I went ahead and surged up a bit--it wasn't even a full-on super threshold effort. Thinking that the pack would respond, I looked back and saw that they were still maintaing their lunchtime pace, as if I was invisible.

Now this course's 1-mile climb has a fairly flat section, and I knew I could use momentum from that part to go up to the 13ish % kicker which turns right into a descent. So, I "big-ringed" the flat part and did exactly what I thought, and went hard on the descent just in case they were coming. At this point, I didn't see them until I got to the bottom of the climb again. Since this course is circuit-like, you can see across from the opposite side of the course. But I didn't look back yet, I used my momentum going into the bottom of the climb and big ringed until I saw a road sign, which was a trait I learned from my training routes which had road signs every 200 meters.

I finally looked back during the climb before the view to the feed zone, and saw that they were behind me and not too far back. I was partly excited and partly crazy so I just went and held the effort all the way up, and did this for about 4 laps--I'd big ring the flat part and there was also a part on the descent which could be sprinted for a boost downhill before the wind slowed you down.

After being alone for about 2 laps, the official yelled "10 laps to go" and it only hit me then that that almost seemed impossible, considering my performance from last year. That was a mistake though, because it wasn't 2013, and I shouldn't have been thinking about the past at that time. I got into focus, into the now and asked myself if I should try to hold it off as long as I could. I didn't know how long I could stay off the front solo, so I went on to find out myself.

Photo taken by Yao Saeturn

What was possibly going through my head?
I had felt good because I organized that week's training into a block of hard-easy days. So maybe I tapered just a little for a race that was of C-Priority...hehe. Normally I don't look back when I attack off the front, but I was so confused and surprised (there's that word again) that I was holding a gap on a course that I got dropped on and finished almost last a year ago. Well, there I went thinking about the past again! But I couldn't help it because I was already noticing what a difference it had been!

So looking back, I couldn't see them...even on the base of the climb where you could see the other side of the course! All of the spectators and course marshals were saying "Good job, keep going, why are you so fast," but nobody ever told me my gap, so I just kept on going *almost* as hard as I could. I kept the intensity down a notch from "all-out" due to me doubting myself. During the beginning of my break I looked down at my Garmin and remembered it hitting the 1:00:00 mark, meaning I'd need about another hour of the intensity I was going...yikes!

The cramps came just when I hit the 1hour mark, and I actually stopped significantly to make it go away. 3 laps later from the 1 hour point, (about 1hour and 24 minutes in) my teammate Yao who was spectating told me I had a 2-minute gap and that fueled me pretty good, so I tried to maintain my comfortable yet hard pace, but at that point my legs wanted to give up. They did me a favor and kept on going, but only enough to finish the race.

Caught!
I wasn't sure if anyone in the pack was actually trying to catch me, because in the end the others were saying that some people didn't know. Also a possibility was that some people knew they would catch me anyway. But after 8 and a half laps of going solo (and also looking really cool in front of all the spectators) I was caught on the bottom of the climb when the lap cards was about to turn to 3 from 4. At first, I was able to hang on to the group of 3 for half a lap, including the whole climb. I got dropped from that group when we started to climb again, and half a lap later another chase group caught up with me and I couldn't hang on. At that point, I only had 1 lap to go, and took it fairly cautiously before my legs would eat themselves.

In the end, I finished 12th out of 25th, but I didn't care too much about the result--which was MUCH better than my placing last year anyways. I was more happy at the fact that I did something I didn't know I could, and I was happy that I found out that I could do it! Sometimes, you have to take risks like that, so that in the next race, you'll know what's possible and what isn't possible.

My teammates Christian and Eric fought hard as well! And Ray and Eric Fong fought hard in the D's race. And my peers from SFSU Triathlon and Cycling club came to support too. Thanks a bunch!

Stay tuned for my Criterium report, I participated in the Mens' B and the Elite 4 as well! Spoiler Alert: I was off the front at one point in each of the races :)

--DB

Summary:

- 14 Laps @ 2.7 miles each lap with 350' elevation gain

- 2 hour race

- 1mile climb, 2-3% on bottom, 5-6% average, 13% kicker then the long descent.

- Attacked on 2nd lap

- Surprised that I stayed away for 8.5 laps, caught with 3 laps to go

- Finished 12th/25

“My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.” 
― Michael Jordan

2014 San Bruno Hill Climb E4

Preparation & Background

If you've seen my other race reports on the SBMHC, you'll see that this is race is important to me and has a lot of sentimental value to me. It's not just the fact I can see the mountain from my backyard, but because the race and the course was what brought me into the world of cycling and racing.

Now that I got that part over, I'll move on. I want to mention that I wasn't able to do this race last year because I had to go to my grandfather's funeral in the Philippines. Needless to say, I had a great season for 2013. However, my time at the Mt. Tamalpais Hill Climb questioned whether I was improving because my time was about 30 seconds slower than 2010 when I had no structured training or a decent race bike.

That really put me into a slump and made me rethink what I was doing? With three weeks completely off the bike, I was motivated again and set up proper training hours and pursued the one thing I lacked, which was consistency. 

Now, no one really trains for the San Bruno Hill Climb, but one can certainly prepare for it. The most I did was go up the course at tempo or at a low cadence but race efforts never happen until the actual day. So I pretty much go into this race with nothing but base miles and a few training hours at tempo. However, preparing for the 2014 race was different because I actually had two complete cycles of Base 1 and 2 which totaled over 90 hours of base training. Compared to 2011 and 2012, where I had almost no quality base miles for the race. One of the biggest changes I made during these two base periods was my pedaling technique, which was done with consistent leg drills each week--mostly during Base 1. I also got a new heart rate monitor so I've been able to effectively stay in Zone 2 for endurance rides. 

With all that said, I'd say the most important aspect of preparing for the climb was the mental aspect, which involves expecting the intensity and knowing what to do during certain sections of the climb. Additionally, it also includes removing negative thoughts and practicing mental imagery but I don't want to get to complex with such a subjective topic.

The Actual Race Report

It takes me forever to get ready...like pinning my number and building up my bike and dressing up. It had my trainer but knew it wouldn't be worth it to set up and warm up. I had about 30mins to warm up so luckily I know the roads at the base of the climb so I did a few steady and even fewer harder efforts but when I got to the staging area I felt about 87.86192% warmed up. The E4 started with the E5s so we were last to start but the time seemed to go by fast with the silly chatter in the group.

With 2 minutes to go at the official start line, I was getting excited and as the time counted down I realized that this countdown was taken more serious than the countdown to 2014 last midnight.

Go time was indicated by the countdown to 1 from 5 and a whistle. I had a spot in the very front, and blasted at out toward the very first grade. I expected people to go around me but stayed in the very top of the group. I believe a group of 4 or 5 blasted past me but some of them were Cat5's (I think 2 were Cat 4's) and I knew that if I joined that group, I'd get exhausted. Thus, I stayed steady just like a time trial effort.

I was very surprised at my performance at the moment. On my Garmin, I only displayed speed, cadence, and gradient because I knew my seeing my HR would limit me. Surprisingly, I was going faster than I expected and although it was a very hard effort it was still sustainable. I didn't even display elapsed time so that I'd surprise myself because being behind my ideal time would surely affect my pace. For most of the first part I kept my head down and really focused mentally on my form on my bike and my pedal strokes. I knew I couldn't depend on whatever fitness I had because like I said I don't physically train for this race. This was the best way of pacing myself on the climb. 

Once the false flat approach to the Carter stoplights started, I knew I could take it fast so I shifted two gears and smoothly increased the pace. I was being drafted by two guys and although it was bothering me, I knew that if I attacked or tried to open the gap, I'd be too exhausted for the second half on radio road. So I stayed steady and also seated because I know that standing will drop my cadence and even my speed. Before the flatter approach to Radio Road's entrance, two guys passed me and I didn't chase because I was loving my pace and I knew I could sustain it until the end. I was being very cautious with my pace because I knew that one surge would really destroy me.

I entered radio road surprised that out of the group of almost 50 guys I started with, only around 5 passed me. I never really heard anyone behind me either...but I didn't look back because it would affect my focus of the moment. I increased my pace on another "fast section" after the gates. I used that momentum to carry me up the first gradient where it actually starts getting a little hard. 

I passed so many people from previous categories. Did I lose count?--no--I was never counting in the first place. I focused on what I was doing to the bike, my cadence and pedaling technique. I know my weak spot of the climb is the steep switchback but I managed to get through it without standing. Like I said, I knew that standing would slow me down. I wasn't too tired either which was why I was able to stay seated.

This whole time I had sight of one guy who passed me earlier and I was closing the gap without making any major changes to my pace. Again, I paid attention to my pedaling technique and new that I didn't have to make changes because I was comfortable. Toward the last bend, a Squadra SF rider passed me. Since it was so close to the end I was debating if I should tag on to his wheel but I decided not to since I knew I was going to pass the guy ahead of me. The last bend to the summit, I finally stood and went hard but only managed an average of about 83rpm. It probably wouldn't have made a difference if I stayed seated, but I definitely felt like I wasn't going as hard as my maximal effort just because I was being cautious. (3rd place ended up only 5seconds ahead of me, but that's ok and you'll see why)

Despite that, I crossed the line thinking I was 3rd but I was actually 4th.

I changed my screen on my garmin and saw one of the best things in my life: a personal record!

It wasn't just a personal record though, it was the queen of all of my personal records, and it smashed my old one by 1 minute and 48 seconds!! That is almost a 10% improvement from 18:33 to 16:45 and strava has it at 16:43!!!

I kind of teared up joyfully upon seeing this because I didn't know that I was capable of even reaching this time. And even if weather conditions were right or if there was a tailwind (I know there was a headwind at some point on radio road) it is still a radical improvement. For instance, my ideal goal for the past 3 years was to do better than 17:20, but my realistic goal was to get a sub-18. I was definitely surprised to see a "16" on my Garmin. I can't even describe how surprised I was, so I won't even try to.

The best thing is, I think I could've gone harder at some points. In the past times I did this race, it felt like a sufferfest but today's race felt like a cautious time trial where I did my best to stay right at the threshold of my maximal effort. I really don't care about my placing because of my new personal record. 

I expected an 18 minute time because for the past 3 races that's all I got. So I'm really happy to see an improvement like this one and it really makes me look forward to the rest of the 2014 season.

I think that the best thing I executed about this race was my mental focus but that's all I'm going to say about that, for now.

Highlights:

E4, 4th place

Time: 16:45 (garmin) 16:43 (Strava)

- Personal record by -1:48

Foothill College Circuit Race E4

Racing in July is unusual for me because I've been forced to end my season after the Burlingame Criterium for two years in a row! That probably contributes to a whole bunch of reasons why I can't seem to get out of the Elite 4's.

Regardless of that, this was my first time racing this fun course. Overall, I had a great race with a not-so-great result. At least to me. Last two weeks I increased my volume significantly (by about 44%) to work on aerobic endurance for the late season road races. Well that tired me out by Tuesday when I worked on some threshold intervals. I realized I was on the verge of overtraining and took the next 3 days off (also because I was busy) and then on Saturday, when opening my legs with a few sprint efforts, I knew I had bad form. The 4-5 hours of sleep the night before this race didn't help either.

Our race started late so I warmed up for about 12 minutes. Oxygen debt and labored breathing came on quick but my legs weren't too bad. The race with 59 other guys started easy. I started in the back but at the hill I knew using my momentum would help conserve energy. Well, people really took it easy on the hill and I found that I passed over 50 guys and I was still under threshold. For the next two laps I stayed off the front but nobody worked and I might have lost some energy during the false flat.

My focus during the race was also out of whack. I knew that I needed to stay hydrated but I'd forget and just delay until the next lap or so which may have contributed to my poor performance. The race overall wasn't hard for me, I was just in bad positions throughout the race. I thought I could move up efficiently up the hill--although I WAS able to pass plenty of people on the hill, I'd always be out in the wind. I'd pass on the left side, but most guys were on the right side.

With 2 to go I moved up to the front and again was out in the wind, and I guess as a response, I allowed people to pass me so I could get a wheel. But it wasn't just one person who'd pass, it would be 3 or 4 guys. So on bell lap I knew I had to hold my position because I knew I could make something happen in the uphill finish. Getting around people and then having no wheel to protect me from the wind was what ultimately exhausted me. Again, most of the action was happening in the right side where the surge was smooth and efficient. I was on the left side where people were passing me.

On the finish I couldn't get around the people in front of me and played it safe. I was pretty disappointed because I knew this was my kind of course, but I was plagued with bad form, lack of sleep, and that ultimately led to poor concentration.

I don't know my exact result because the registration was so far from the parking lot that I didn't bother to check, but I'm expecting somewhere around the top 1/3 of the field.

2013 Burlingame Criterium E4

Oh man my 3rd year entering the Burlingame Criterium as a Cat 4. That totally says I need to upgrade, and two years of getting mid-pack results also shows I didn't train enough.

There's a long story with me and Burlingame and the criterium, but I'll just say that this is homeground to me, and the race that initially really pushed me into cycling. Thus, I always target this race as my season's focus in terms of criteriums. I'm more attached to the traditional course but this alternative course this year is literally a few hundred meters apart and uses some of the same roads so it was still my turf :)

This being my A-race, I can't really say I had a smooth peak because I lost almost seven total weeks from being ill and also my crash in April. But I knew I had a lot more fitness than the last two years so I was looking forward to having better results. My whole year was focused on placing well in this race--all the collegiate races and other Criteriums have prepared me well.

Preparation:
I got around 5 hours of sleep and woke up at 3:30AM...not too good. I had a good breakfast at 4:45AM which was a serving of Oatmeal with some honey and two pieces of toast with some de caffeinated coffee.

I got to the race at 6AM and registered and I knew I had no time to warm-up on a trainer so I just warmed up for 10 minutes on the road--which wasn't good either.

Alright, so having no sleep and no warm-up for my A-race. Not a good habit...

I forgot my chain lube and tire pump too. So I had crappy shifting (and I knew this race would require lots of shifting) but thankfully I borrowed a pump from my teammates :)

I also forgot my Gu which was a ritual before every race so I just ate Clif Bloks instead.

First Half of the Race:
Got to the start line and was in the 2nd row. I was racing with a few other teammates, about 4 or 5. I heard the whistle then clipped in well. Good grief the pack was going hard right away. I think I was dead last in the pack when we hit the hairpin for the first time. I looked at my speed--13MPH and I knew I could go faster because when I was doing hairpin drills I hit over 16.5mph.

My plan was to breakaway after the last prime but I threw that plan away after the first lap because we were going way too fast and I was already in oxygen debt. It was kind of strange because of all the Criteriums I did this year, this one was the hardest! I had the hardest time moving up and I stayed in the back (because I couldn't move up) hoping that the pace would slow down, but in the first 20 minutes I was hanging on for dear life.

There were plenty of attacks but none stuck. There were a lot of crashes in the hairpin. Yikes...this is why I did hairpin drills.

Second Half of the race:
With 20 minutes in, I noticed people were getting dropped. The field had actually split into to two separate fields with both strung out. We could see the second field when we exited the hairpin.

The pace had actually slowed down a bit but it was still fast and I was still at or over threshold. I found the easiest part to move up was either the stretch where the finish line was (also the easiest place to drink) or either the entrance or exit to the hairpin. Again, I will mention that doing hairpin drills really help. It almost felt somewhat wrong moving up in the hairpin. The chicane was where I lost places because I tried to avoid cracks which were at the apex and also the metal covers which were at the exit upon taking the apex. Pretty crazy.

I was feeling stronger as we came closer to the end of the race and with 5 or so to go I felt I should test whether my sprint training really worked. I moved up to the front with 3 to go and entered the hairpin first at full speed. Doing this, I thought I could secure a top ten position but I took a bad line in the chicane.

Last two laps:
The last two laps were a little more calm but still pretty fast. I moved up again in the hairpin going to the final lap. On the final lap itself, I stayed at the side and risked going into bad pavement at the cost of taking the outside of the hairpin fast in order to stay at the front. I was able to take a nice line through the hairpin, and was among the top ten ours of the final sweeping corner.

I think this is where I always make a mistake. For some reason, I hesitate during the final sprint, thinking I'd blow up before the finish line. Out of the sweeping corner, I waited long for the jump. I expected it to happen before the sweeping corner but in fact in happened after it.

But I took the inside line heading into the finish line and sprinted hard enough to take 5th place. I was disappointed because 1st place was only a few bike lengths away (it was a really close sprint). However I was happy to get some BAT points as well as another single upgrade point to Cat 3.

I mean, if I do this 18 more times, I can be a Cat3! No really, I need to start placing higher and start placing in road races. Although I will still be doing maybe 5 more Crits this season, I'm going to start focusing on climbing to become a better competitor in road races for next year.

Aside from that, I'm proud of myself for improving my performance in Criteriums which I knew was my weakness from the start of my cycling history.

Highlights:
- A-Race
- Good breakfast, no warm-up, dry chain (crappy shifting)
- First Half of race, hard as heck.
- 2nd half calmed down
- Moved up in hairpin
- Sprinted for 5th place

Red Kite Criterium Tri-Valley E3/4 (6/15/13)

I'm making this one quick because I forgot to do it and I just want to jump into my Burlingame Crit report. I raced with a handful of Leopard-Sapporo members including some of the 3's which was a very humbling experience. The pace wasn't bad at all--in fact I was getting kind of bored especially since I was in the back. So I moved up and at one point one teammate was in a break so I took hold of the front to set a false tempo for about 200m but other people quickly went around me. Well, it's good to know that people work because nobody worked in the last few E4 Crits I've raced.

Other than that it was pretty much uneventful but one of the sketchiest races I've done. People were taking all kinds of different shapes through the corners and unfortunately one of my teammates got caught up in a crash.

On the last lap I was feeling ready for the sprint so I moved up but even though I was able to get at the front, I was poorly positioned and couldn't move up in the final surge. Another rider almost took me out when he swerved as was literally centimeters from swiping my front wheel.

I decided to just keep it safe so I rolled in mid pack. I placed 37th/70 overall and 19th in the E4.

I know I wanted to save my energy for the sprint but I couldn't contest it so I had no idea if I'd be able to contest the sprint at Burlingame.

IC3 Dash For Cash Race Report - E4

Last week I caught a bad cold and wasn't able to do Mt. Hamilton RR and Memorial Day Crit like I had hoped. I also got stomped by the end of school havoc with finals and papers. But with all that out of the way, I got back on the bike with some build-up in the throat during sustained efforts.

I knew I'd do Dash For Cash so I took it easy this week and didn't do any interval training, just easy rides with Strava segment KOM/PR efforts. Thus, I planned to use this race as a good workout to get me ready for the next few months of Crit racing.

I was able to race with 2 teammates but my plan was to not go for any primes--I was confident I could take a few but after missing a week of workouts and coming from a cold, I planned to just see what I could do in the end. I had two choices--to save it for an all-out sprint (which was my original plan) or attack after the last prime. I didn't want to do the latter because it was really hot, really windy in the back stretch, and of course because I lost some fitness.

Getting 4th in the field sprint at Cat's Hill encouraged me to save my legs for the sprint, so for most of the race I sat it. Sometimes I moved up to the front but the energy cost wasn't too much! Most of the race was pretty boring though--my heart rate was at 190+ but I think the high number is due to the heat since it was 90+ degrees F. So most of my harder efforts came from sprinting out of corners or short sprints to move up or close a gap.

After all the primes were done, with about 3 to go, it was still uneventful and I was really getting bored, seriously! Somebody went solo and nobody chased because his attack was kind of gradual and the gap was growing slow, but he was still staying away. I moved up to the front with 2 to go and the cramps started coming. But I stayed up there with a Squadra SF guy and held a top 3 position in the pack. On the final approach to the last corner I notice that the field is drifting away from behind me because the guy whose wheel I am on had actually surged.

So, I changed my mind about the sprint and decided to attack...

It was bell lap and I chased the guy who was attempting a solo win, I could see that I was closing the gap and I looked behind me and also saw that the field was quite far. But the windy back section came and I was already toasted. On the last approach to the last corner, the field got me. I tried to match their pace but I was done so I just rolled to the finish line after being passed by 28 guys. I ended up 29th/44 which isn't too bad, but I know I could've hit top 15 if I contested the sprint.

The thing is, I still don't know what I am--a climber? Sprinter? Time trialist? That's why I'm experimenting with these race situations I encounter, so I can truly find what I'm better at and what will give me better results. Last race, I did a pretty good sprint but that's because it was Cat's Hill and not a flat criterium. So for my next race, which is most likely Tri-Valley's Crit, I'm going to commit to contesting the final sprint!

So I'm going to write this just so I actually do it! --In my next Crit, save all my energy for the final sprint! Do not attack on bell lap, save my legs for the final sprint!!!!

Cat's Hill Classic Criterium (Cat 4) Race Report

After having a bad race at Wente Vineyards (Road Race) I wanted some redemption at one of the hardest Crits on the calendar. My last Crit was also a hilly Crit--at UCB's race weekend. I knew I was getting better at Crits but I'm still not sure if the fact that it is hilly plays a factor in that claim.

Anyways, I raced with a good number of teammates. We started on time and pretty mellow. I stayed behind my teammate Christian Hughes who is also a junior! It's been two years since I did this course, but the climb wasn't startling. I did it in the right gear the first time, then experimented the next few laps. I also did my best to stay hydrated; the best place for me to drink was right after Cat's Hill...on the back straight.

There was an early break with two riders. Nobody did anything because they thought it was too early. The pace increased a little after two laps of them away, and we were closing the gap.

Soon I was falling behind the field and doing very uneconomical maneuvers--not closing gaps, choosing too heavy of a gear, being out in the wind, etc. So I knew I had to get as conservative as possible. The first way I conserved energy was during the climb--I told myself to use a very light gear, and when I did, I passed almost 3/4 of everyone in front of me and ended up in the front.

The next way was by using the descent to recover. After the descent, there's a right corner which people slow down for. Thus, I didn't pedal during the final approach to the corner, and as a result I was able to cruise into the apex and pedal out of it to eventually land behind a wheel to draft.

With me at the front behind two guys, both of them said they couldn't do it anymore. Nobody else in the field wanted to work, so I went ahead and dialed up some power to try and bridge To the break. I was 5 seconds away from them on the climb (people were yelling it out) and almost caught them on the back straight, but coming into the 9th lap (halfway point of the race) I started to fade and redline, and didn't want to waste all my energy (like in Wente Vineyards). I believe it was a gamble that I won because the two guys in the break were really strong and they probably would've burned me!

However, I ended up getting a prime which I was unaware of!

I fell back into the field right before the climb, and felt like crap--so crappy I was unsure if I could finish! So I stayed as conservative as possible for the rest of the race.

One thing I noticed was that I always gained positions on the climb. I was able to gain on average 5 positions, even 10 at times. I thank my power to weight ratio for this. There were also a lot of collisions on the climb, easily avoided though because they were all on the right side and I always turned into the left side.

On the lap before bell-lap, the pace increased and surprisingly I was able to adjust to it. I stayed in the top 15 of the pack to get ready for a good position during the bell lap. The 2-man breakaway was able to stay throughout the end, so we were getting ready for the field sprint. On bell lap, the pace remained the same. I was looking forward to the climb, but didn't drill it too hard because everyone around me was already suffering. However, I was able to pass every rider so I slowed down to recover and held on to my position in the top 5 of the field.

I definitely had enough left in me for an all-out sprint. I took the final corner fast and waited for the sprint to start. Apparently it had started and I started too late but I was able to pass some guys. Before I knew it, we were already at the finish line where I ended up 4th in the field sprint--nearly neck to neck with another guy.

My official result was 6th place/50 starters, plus the prime I was unaware of. This is one of my best results yet, and outside of Collegiate racing it is my first time placing in a criterium. The winner was a talented Junior from Bear Development, who stated the other guy in the break was a professional mountain cyclist who gave him the win.

I had a bad race last week but a superb race this week. Maybe I am becoming a Criterium guy? I know I'm getting better at them, but I need to race a flatter one to see!

P.S. I got my first point toward upgrading to Category 3!

--D

Wente Vineyards Road Race (Cat 4) Race Report

This one will be pretty brief because there's not much to say. I knew the course and looked forward to it because rolling hills and windy descents are fun (to me)! I raced with plenty of Leopard-Sapporo teammates--my first road race with the Cat 4 squad!

We started and once we approached the climb everyone was drilling it. I was probably the 6th guy in the train up the climb and I was already dying trying to stay on my teammate, Chris's, wheel. I looked back once we hit the overpass and saw an incredible gap on the field. Yup, way too early.

We hit the next climb which isn't supposed to that bad and I went from 6th wheel to 60th as I saw everyone pass me. I wasn't feeling all too good and I was already in no men's land on the false flat section. Luckily, I was able to catch and pass riders on the windy downhill sections! I ended up bridging to the field on the windy straight section.

When we approached the main climb again, I got dropped toward the 2nd lap turnover. Spent most of my time in no man's land again for the lap, and toward the end the heat cramps came up. Thought I should dropout, but decided to finish the final lap without any care toward my result.

I most likely hit the wall/bonked due to not drinking enough fluids, and my Gu was ineffective because I didn't hydrate myself enough after digesting it. It could also be because I went way to hard in the beginning. But I finished the race nearly dead last and climbed at, like, 35 RPM with cramps and such.

Overall, it was a bad race. Everyone has bad races so there's nothing to complain about. I just need to move on and learn more!

--D

Berkeley Streets Criterium Cat 3/4 Race Report

I wish I was able to race in the Leopard-Sapporo Kit, but the order has yet to come! But that said, this was going to be my first race for Leopard-Sapporo despite not getting any results. But personally, I was happy enough to be able to hang on in this race because it was my first race in a Cat 3/4 field. I raced alongside Erik Camacho and Rann Valdez.

I didn't know how I'd do because of the mixed field. I knew the course already, which was a giant benefit, but I didn't truly know if I was fit enough--I knew it was a hard course. Right off the whistle, Metromint guys took control of the front and set a fairly quick tempo. Earlier in the day...around 3 hours back, I raced a hard Men's C race, but during the 3/4 race it felt about the same. I was stronger in the beginning of the 3/4s compared to when I started the MC race.

My goal was to hang on and not get dropped or pulled out from the race. If my goal is to upgrade to CAT3 this year, then I have to be exposed to their pace. However, I can't officially gauge a CAT3 pace since it was a 3/4 race and most of the 3's were racing the 1/2/3 race so this could've been a warm-up for them.

I adapted to the pace every lap, and felt good around the 16 minute mark and decided to attack the field and I gained a gap. One rider came with me but I knew a break wouldn't work so I decided to ride around threshold for a good workout.

For the rest of the race, I had no plan as I felt a little intimidated by the teams of Metromint and even some Squadra SF guys but there weren't any moves, but the race was still hard. In fact, half the field got pulled out of the race! Furthermore, in both my collegiate race and this race, I hit a new max-BPM of 211! 2 beats more than last weekend's race!

So with laps counting down, I was already satisfied that I stayed in the field. Besides, I raced a hard race earlier in the day. I finished 18th and I'm still looking for results to see how well I faired up against the 3's and the 4's. I felt strong in the end, like I could've done a longer race at a faster pace.

And that's when I realized that I'm getting better at Criteriums, and I'm finally seeing improvements from my training. Last year I finished in the last 30 riders, but this weekend I got my first top 10 in a Crit and lately I've been getting top 20s. I'm motivated to get into the Top 15, then Top 10, then Top 5, and hopefully get my first Criterium win at my A race.

--D

UC Berkeley (Berkeley Streets Criterium) Men's C--Race Report

After Stanford's Crit, I felt a lot more confident with my endurance and skills in a Crit so I was actually looking forward to this one, especially because of the slight incline. We only had under 30 riders in the field, and I was again joined by Christian, Eric, and Bryan. I still had a lot of legs left despite yesterday's tough race, so I had good feelings for this race. The race was 35 minutes around a course that took only under 1 minute to complete.

The Start:
Right from the whistle, the pack went hard. Bryan led the pace for the first 3 laps and I stayed in the front hanging on tight. Couldn't believe how tired I was getting so quickly even after recovering from the descending straight. It was an interesting race as we had to dodge two potholes on turn 3 so everyone except inattentive riders took the same line. Turn 3 to 4 was also bumpy and manhole covers ruined the perfect line, sometimes I would take the outside AKA a really horrible line. But for the first 10 laps or so I was struggling to keep the pace and made gaps in the corner as I was concerned about aggressively tackling the rough surface on what was the fastest corner of the course.

Halfway Point of Race:
I was getting a hang of the course, and the pace seemed to decrease. A large portion of the field had already dropped out or had been asked to leave the race, including Bryan who got sick from a Bagel eaten before the race, so he was on the Sidelines cheering across from Ben and Nia. Eric made a nice move from the side and made his way to the front where he set a nice pace to drop more of the weaker riders. Rex Roberts (CSULB) and some Cal and Davis riders also took the front. But the halfway point was really a glory period with nothing major.

Final Laps and End:
Lap Cards were shown at 8-to-go. Lap Cards?! I saw them and I surged from the left side and the field began to yell out my move. I only went 85% of a full attack and wasn't feeling totally good but felt confident anyways. After an uneventful lap, at 6-to-go I attacked and a Stanford Rider followed, I worked with him especially on the downhill where I recovered and got momentum, but I was pulling up the hill, and he couldn't hang on so with 5-to-go I went to time-trial mode. Eric and Christian covered the field but Rex Roberts quickly read it so he prevented any measures of me soloing for the win, as he worked with other teammates to reel me in. With 4 to go then 3 to go, I felt I could make it but I felt I lost a lot of time cornering. With 1.5 laps to go (2nd to last lap) they catch me and I hang on to the front. Surprisingly on bell lap, the pace only slightly increases so I was able to hang on in the front, had a good position in the front for the final sprint but was way too far as Rex had started strong and early. He takes the win with some Davis, Stanford, and Cal guys following and I come in 8th, getting my first ever Top 10 in a Criterium, with Christian 9th and Eric 11th! Update: I just found out that only 12 of us finished out of about 21 guys! I guess the race was that hard!

Great weekend for the Men's C and also Nia Ransom in the Women's C Crit won her race as she lapped the C's and technically Podium'd with the B's!

--D

UC Berkeley (Crockett Road Race)--Men's C's--Race Report

I was joined by my SFSU Cycling teammates Christian, Eric, and Bryan. Our race was 3 Laps around the 10-mile course. We all got a nice position and the start line, and started on time after the Men's B. As we started I yelled "Let's Lap the Men's B's guys," and some of the riders laughed. Cool--I'm a funny guy.

First Lap:
I felt good today--legs were spinning fast and I was able to manage to pedal economically. The course began up a slight incline before a really long descent. Then, a right turn up another small incline--which was apparently enough to make some of the (probably) weaker riders breathe heavily. Next, another slight descent which then led into a Paradise-Loop-Type scenery with fast switchbacks and short powerful false flats. After that it leads a right turn into the steep McEwen road climb. The pack slowed down tremendously and didn't use their momentum up the beginning of the climb, which wasted my energy and probably everyone else's. We only went around 7mph and I did get stuck around weaker riders so had to burn a few matches to get around. No one attacked since it was the first lap and we all wanted a feel of the climb.

First Attack: (First Lap Still)
When the road leveled off, and everyone was recovering, I made a move, as I told Christian I'd need to warm-up since I had a short warm-up. I was next to the center line, and the center line rule was in effect. I made a mistake by technically crossing it even though there was enough room to pass the rider on the right. I was the 7th rider so I zoomed on the left and some people called out my number and "center line!". (Two guys from the same team ended up protesting against this move, but the official didn't do anything since it was at the beginning of the race as well as because we were "noobs.") It was my mistake and I'm not going to attack from the centerline anymore. So I guess I accidently attacked and soloed until the Franklin Canyon Climb going toward the start and finish. I guess I was warmed up enough after that.

Second Lap:
I recovered from the attack quickly, then rolled next to Christian, our star climber, and asked him if he felt like he could attack up McEwen. Positive. So we took it easy until the slight incline after the right turn, where I attacked all the way throughout the Paradise-Loop place, and stopped a moments away from McEwen. We even passed several Men's B riders! Now we were on McEwen, where the field was quickly filtering out. For a while, the pace was only slowly growing, then I saw Christian attack and the surge came. Eric passed by me as I was barely hanging on. I got dropped as the incline leveled off and it became rolling hills. I didn't think I could catch up, but I still made an effort to bridge, and worked with someone else as we entered Franklin Canyon before the S/F line. I was closing the gap when they began to surge, so I went 100% and eventually caught up to them just at the S/F line! At this point, only 8 brave riders had made it through the halfway point.

Third/Bell Lap:
I dropped my chain and thought I'd get dropped but the break tempo was rather moderate so I was able to catch on. Nobody attacked our group and nobody bridged to us. We were 8 riders even up McEwen where a headwind attacked us. Then Christian attacks a few miles before the finish, when everyone was recovering from the climb. I couldn't respond so just stayed with Eric and a UC Santa Cruz rider. The top 5 attacked on the final short incline to the S/F with Christian taking 5th, Eric and I raced each other to the finish line and he beat me for 7th, I rolled in feeling proud with our team's effort at 8th place, and Bryan finished the race with a great workout and battle up McEwen!

--D

Stanford (Criterium) Race Report

Oh this wasn't on my race schedule but I decided to do it anyways because I could do it with a team to replace an Anaerobic-like workout. The Men's C began at 9:40AM but we left around 7, and we had to wake up early from Daylight Savings Time too. I actually woke up at 4Am so technically I woke up at 3AM and got about 4.5 hours of sleep. I was worried that it would hinder my performance but it wasn't too much of a problem.

I didn't have much of a warm-up because I took too long getting ready, but I was able to walk the entire 1-Lap of the crit which consisted of 3 sweeping corners and a 4th corner leading into a chicane. Fun! For this race I joined Yao, Christian, Eric, and Bryan.

Feeling bummed from missing yesterday's break, I decided my goal for this race was to make a statement for our team, which I think I was able to do when I attacked the chase group I was in around 6 times. I saw Davis guys and knew they had a thing for sprinters so I thought I should try to tire out all the sprinters so that Yao could have a clean shot at taking a high position in the field, provided there was no break. I myself, anticipated a break but nobody wanted one, and it may have been because Davis controlled the front.

The Start-
The race didn't start out like what I'm used to. Usually I'm struggling to keep a wheel and I move up places in the corners, but I found it comfortable for me to grab a wheel, move up and repeat. I stayed away from guys who cornered on their hoods and who didn't close gaps after corners since it would waste energy. I comfortably stayed at the front, top 10 for a good amount of laps, until the 1st prime when the first surge hit.

Prime Laps-
The official told us we only had two prime laps, then Davis contested saying we're supposed to have 3, so I hope we really did get 3. Feeling strong, I thought about taking the prime on the first lap but the pace surged and I just hung on a wheel, they drove into the corner so fast that my rear tire got some air and almost hit Christian who was behind me, but he managed to control it and an unfortunately Stanford rider couldn't control the quick fluctuation, but I heard he crashed "smoothly." After the surge, the pace slowed down and then came the second prime where I was closer to the front, but not quite there yet. Then moments later a Davis rider attacks and goes off solo. I waited for chasers but nobody chased, so he was alone for a lap. I noticed that whenever someone would make a fast move, riders at the front (who were probably Davis guys) would point it out saying "LEFT LEFT LEFT" or "ON THE RIGHT!" So it must've meant they didn't want anyone to get away from the pack. Well okay then...I decided to test my observation and attacked on the 2nd corner on the outside of the exit and behind me I hear "on the left on the left" but nobody did anything so I was able to get away, bridged up to the solo Davis guy, sucked on his wheel a bit, and took the 3rd corner and chicane at full speed. I gave a little more gas at the start/finish where the spectators were and realized that the next lap was the final prime lap so I decided to push a little more, felt really good, looked back, and saw a good gap. I did the prime lap alone and was able to take it away even though it wasn't much, but it was my first prime :)

And then the rest of the race...-
Seeing as nobody was bridging to me, I knew I couldn't hold an extreme breakaway so I recovered and went back to the pack just in case my teammates needed me. I actually had a misunderstanding with my teammate Yao, our sprinter. He said "I got you Dom" and I thought he meant he would go with me on an attack, so on the 3rd corner I drove the pace in with Yao behind me and the field actually responded (along with some more "On the left on the left!" So we didn't get away, but after the race Yao told me that he meant for me to suck on his wheel. Whoops haha. Yao and Christian were looking really good and I saw Eric and Bryan at the front occasionally. I was getting a feeling that whoever was at the front (who wasn't from our team) was planning something for the end so I went and attacked one more time and held a really good gap for a about 3/4 of a lap, and when I got back to the s/f there was 4 to go so I thought maybe I could make something work, but the group got me and recovered. With the 3 laps to go I realized I was pretty much out of top end energy so I stayed behind Christian and around Yao, but I got boxed in at the corner between two inattentive riders and had to brake a bit, and I lost about 10-15 places!

The end-
With two to go, I was burning matches going back to the top but the pace increased and a swarm of Davis guys huddled at the front and took decent control of the pack. I didn't have enough left in me to attack at the corners and so at the bell lap the final surge occurred, and I tried to make it to the top ten but either got boxed in or just didn't have enough energy. I saw Yao and Christian at the front and didn't see any other sprinters except for the leadout train that Davis had going.

Yao ended up getting an impressive 3rd! We talked about it and they told me that my attacks probably did scare them a bit since they really wanted a leadout going. So I'm hoping to have similar legs at our next races.

With Berkeley coming up, I think our team will be able to sharpen up some tactics for our A race.

Stanford (Road Race) Race Report

Unlike the UCSC Road Race, this race was actually planned on my schedule but as a "C" race (no pun intended, and you'll see why in the next sentence.) I had decided to downgrade from a B to a C because the Collegiate season is too early (for me at least) in the general season to suffer in the B's, and all I want to get out from Collegiate races are 1) Learning Team Tactics, 2) A great workout and most of all 3) FUN! In this case, doing this race was a combination of all 3 in the Men's C Category because I joined my other 3 teammates and had a great, fun, workout.

The Stanford Road Race borrows the NCNCA's Panoche Valley Road Race, and for the Men's C it is a fairly abridged variant. The turnaround is at around the 18 mile point so the race was expected to be pretty fast. I had never done the course so I read race reports on it and assumed that breaks in the first half were unlikely to get away, and that there was an annoying headwind on the way back after the turnaround.

Yao courteously drove Eric, Christian, and I and we were there early enough to eat and get a really good warm-up in. Yesterday, I did my LTHR test, because I've been waiting 4 weeks to do it (it was a rest week) and I didn't want to wait another 4 weeks while at the same time risking overtraining by training at an intensity higher than what I really should be at. I felt good during the field test and I tested it with a headwind too. I also lowered my seat a bit after I realized it was a bit too high while I was riding on the trainer. So yesterday I also realized that my economy was better (but it could've been due to the fact that I had zero fatigue as well!). With all that in mind, I was pretty excited for this race because I felt I had really good form.

Our warm-up was at an effective tempo-like pace with a small sprint thrown in the middle. I actually didn't feel too optimal during the warm-up, and my other teammates looked really good so I couldn't predict my overall performance for the day.

The Start-

We had a mild and relaxing start and nobody attacked from the start. I had a great position because I was at around 2/5ths of the whole field and right in the middle, so I was unaffected by crosswinds and such, and I saved a ton of energy especially when dropping down during the small descents. It was like that until the first attack of around 6-7 guys came. Christian was in the break and I felt like I could bridge the gap since they were in plain-eye view, and I was feeling strong enough, but still struggling enough for me to hesitate. I had to  think about it--it was the beginning of the race (about 20 minutes in) and I knew from past races that most early breaks were unsuccessful. As a result, I just sat in top positions of the field and saved more energy. I was still with Eric and Yao and since I was feeling good I stayed near them just in case they needed me.

The Field Explodes-

Because the climbs were short and moderate, I didn't expect the field to explode like it did. The main field caught up to the break on a steady climb, and I was struggling and thought I was going to get dropped, but I stayed on a wheel. I was able to "steal" a lot of positions because a lot of the riders kept leaving gaps that were as wide as two bike lengths. The twists were great as I was also able to steal wheels from riders who weren't as skilled enough yet to close gaps on turns. Every small climb would drop other riders and it came to the point where a lead group had form in front of the exploded field. Christian and I were together but Yao and Eric weren't able to make the lead group.

The Break and the Turnaround-

I looked at my computer and realized the time was now reaching 45 minutes, meaning that the turnaround was near. A few moments later, three riders break off while the rider next to me gets a puncture flat. The speed was increasing slightly and it was fluctuating throughout the Paradise-Loop like terrain. I assumed that the break wouldn't get away because it was pretty much the halfway point of the race and there were only 3 guys, but it turns out they must have been 3 really strong guys. We passed them as we approached the turnaround and I actually saw them turn around from a distance so I thought it would be okay to rest a little more and bridge after the turnaround. After the turnaround, I heard two Cal Cycling riders talking and one said "It's go time" so I decided it would be go time for me too. I was the third man and I thought we were going to bridge the gap but it turns out neither rider had the capacity to work or maybe they realized there were enough riders. So we drifted back into the pack which Davis was pulling. Realizing that Davis had a man in the break, I knew that other teams and our team would have to work out to phase Davis out and set a faster chasing speed because Davis was taking it easy at the front.

The Series of Attacks & the end-
I forgot how many people we were in the chase group but I thought we were enough to catch the break. However it didn't help that the Davis guys were out in the front slowing the pace down, so I decided to attack the group and get a small gap going between the field and I. Before I could get a gap, the Davis guys responded and spun up as well, which brought the overall pace in the chase group up. So I drifted back into the pack, and realized that I recovered fairly quickly, so I did it again, and this time got a small gap going, but the headwind was nasty so I didn't want to waste my energy just in case we did catch up and I'd need it for the sprint. When the group caught up later, the two same Cal guys asked me "Hey SF STATE, do you have a man in the break?!" and since we didn't, he said he'd work with Christian and I to chase the break back. Great idea, I thought--so he went and pulled, then his teammate, then I did and then next thing I knew I might've pulled too fast but I knew that we'd need a much faster pace to catch up.

By this time, most of the guys must've been tired and Christian was still hanging on strongly. I was feeling strong so I attacked again and actually got a bigger gap than my last attack--yet no one followed. I knew I needed someone to come with me so I recovered and threw in yet another attack, (one of the guys at the front said "Is he seriously going again?" and Christian and a UCSB guy followed, but around 2 minutes later the field caught us. Finally, after recovering from that, I let out a 95% effort and held it for 3 minutes when someone from UCSB bridged and agreed to work with me. So we tried our best to get a bigger gap and I looked back and we had a pretty decent gap that was actually growing so I went a little harder on the pulls and so did the UCSB rider, it lasted almost 6 or 7 minutes but I started to cramp up and I told him I couldn't take it anymore, plus the break was nowhere in sight so we relaxed and the field eventually caught up, the pace was pretty steady and I was feeling good and was planning one last attack but before I knew it I saw the Winery tower where the finish line was and the pace increased.

Felt strong but I was in the wrong position especially since I didn't know the end would be so close even though I frequently checked my time on the Garmin, so the sprint started and I was able to pass a good amount of riders but got boxed in at the final 10 and settled for 8th place.

I had a great race and the course was fun so I'm planning to do Panoche Valley as an Elite 4 if I'm committed to the drive. My teammates did very well too, Christian actually finished in front of me at 6th and Yao and Eric finished a little later.

We couldn't truly execute a tactic because the field exploded but I think we got close and still figuring our fitness levels. This was our first race together! Stay tuned to hear the good news at our Crit!