Kush's semi-training thread
- Thread starter kush
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kush
Active Member
I'm signed up yes.
I have to figure out what to do on the uphill TT, whether it's TT bike still, road bike, or my single speed MTB.
SS mtb, man.
I got the green light to do the crit Saturday. So when you try to solo off the front again you'll have someone 250 feet back to tell you what happened. Or maybe I'll feel a hair healthier and maybe be able to do something other than hide and try not to die.
kush
Active Member
Giro Del Cielo
Local stage race, hill TT, Crit, and flat road race.
Different in that it's more of a sprinters race. Typically a stage race finishes on one or two very hilly races, and the climbers have the advantage.
Here the climbers were given the advantage a little bit at the TT since it was all up hill, though only 2.4% grade for 4.7 miles, and there is no hills on the RR.
TT - I finished 4th out of 70, just 1 second out of the money. It was a good TT. I passed the first guy 2 minutes in, and 2nd guy 5 minutes in, and then towards the end I was actually passed by a 120lb kid. This was a first
At the end, made a mistake in not paying attention to remaining mileage, and didn't go all out the last kilometer, maybe last 200m when I finally realized I was close to the finish. I did 15:43, with 18.1mph average. strava is a bit diff for some reason
http://app.strava.com/rides/11561331#200258507
In this stage race, the scoring is points-based, not time-based. in otherwords, finishing in the pack doesn't give you anything, it's position in the pack.
The crit - 10 laps, 15 miles, not very long.
Norm was in it too, and some Montclair Bikery guys. I guess there was a loose team-mans-ship formed with mtbnj, but as I told Norm, I think in these situations, its going to be every man for himself, and you got to look out for yourself first.
My strategy was to attack and break. I tried a first break on the 2nd lap with 6 people, and man it was a mess. these guys wouldn't know a paceline from a pothole.
Then, on the 4th lap, I got a real break with 2 other guys. We put 10 seconds on the pack. One guy dropped off at the 2nd lap of the break, and me and the other guy kept trying but got folded on the 3rd lap. Two more guys and we'd be gone. Where were the Montclair guys - no where, waiting for the sprint.
Also pity that lap we got caught was a points preem.
Norm helped by dragging me back to the front of the line. I was pretty cooked though.
Sprinted to 24th, no points
Now still 7th out of 65, in GC contention.
Goal for today's RR is to finish top 5 but that's a tall order, lots of good sprinters.
If a good breakaway goes I will go. Otherwise I'll save for the inevitable sprint finish.
Local stage race, hill TT, Crit, and flat road race.
Different in that it's more of a sprinters race. Typically a stage race finishes on one or two very hilly races, and the climbers have the advantage.
Here the climbers were given the advantage a little bit at the TT since it was all up hill, though only 2.4% grade for 4.7 miles, and there is no hills on the RR.
TT - I finished 4th out of 70, just 1 second out of the money. It was a good TT. I passed the first guy 2 minutes in, and 2nd guy 5 minutes in, and then towards the end I was actually passed by a 120lb kid. This was a first
At the end, made a mistake in not paying attention to remaining mileage, and didn't go all out the last kilometer, maybe last 200m when I finally realized I was close to the finish. I did 15:43, with 18.1mph average. strava is a bit diff for some reason
http://app.strava.com/rides/11561331#200258507
In this stage race, the scoring is points-based, not time-based. in otherwords, finishing in the pack doesn't give you anything, it's position in the pack.
The crit - 10 laps, 15 miles, not very long.
Norm was in it too, and some Montclair Bikery guys. I guess there was a loose team-mans-ship formed with mtbnj, but as I told Norm, I think in these situations, its going to be every man for himself, and you got to look out for yourself first.
My strategy was to attack and break. I tried a first break on the 2nd lap with 6 people, and man it was a mess. these guys wouldn't know a paceline from a pothole.
Then, on the 4th lap, I got a real break with 2 other guys. We put 10 seconds on the pack. One guy dropped off at the 2nd lap of the break, and me and the other guy kept trying but got folded on the 3rd lap. Two more guys and we'd be gone. Where were the Montclair guys - no where, waiting for the sprint.
Also pity that lap we got caught was a points preem.
Norm helped by dragging me back to the front of the line. I was pretty cooked though.
Sprinted to 24th, no points
Now still 7th out of 65, in GC contention.
Goal for today's RR is to finish top 5 but that's a tall order, lots of good sprinters.
If a good breakaway goes I will go. Otherwise I'll save for the inevitable sprint finish.
Good luck Kush. That's the road where I went OTB on a road bike going uphill over an acorn 😀
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Ugh, yesterday was kinda of a suck-fest just because I thought we were in really good position in that back stretch. But pick 1 bad wheel and game over. Sorry I wasn't able to help on the sprint. That last corner makes the whole race such a CF when the End Game plays out.
Yeah, of course the pre-game talks with Montclair were a lot of hot air. I guess to be fair we can never even mobilize with ourselves. I think I'm finally coming around a bit, spending more time up front that the rest of the year combined. Hopefully we can get out for more of these and have at least Eric tag along. But we need like 2 more willing participants. Blocking by yourself sucks ass. It was a good workout, but it's a good example of pissing on a house fire.
Cross is so much better. The pansy jerkoffs who can't handle their bikes last 15 seconds then either crash out or drop like an anchor. I love road racing but I feel like a lot of these just end up being a "spend $25-$30 and hope some douche doesn't box you in with 2 minutes to go." At least it's a good workout.
Good deal on 7th. Hide as much as you can today. Being a RR I would hope there's a bit more separation.
Yeah, of course the pre-game talks with Montclair were a lot of hot air. I guess to be fair we can never even mobilize with ourselves. I think I'm finally coming around a bit, spending more time up front that the rest of the year combined. Hopefully we can get out for more of these and have at least Eric tag along. But we need like 2 more willing participants. Blocking by yourself sucks ass. It was a good workout, but it's a good example of pissing on a house fire.
Cross is so much better. The pansy jerkoffs who can't handle their bikes last 15 seconds then either crash out or drop like an anchor. I love road racing but I feel like a lot of these just end up being a "spend $25-$30 and hope some douche doesn't box you in with 2 minutes to go." At least it's a good workout.
Good deal on 7th. Hide as much as you can today. Being a RR I would hope there's a bit more separation.
kush
Active Member
i'm in 7th going into Sunday's race, having gotten no points for Saturday's crit.
Sunday - Road Race - rolling hills, 5 laps of 5.5miles. I actually really liked this course.
2 mile to go I take a turn and feel my tubular rear slide a bit which felt strange. Then it got softer, and then I was bumping on the expensive 303 rim. that was half mile to the finish.
I stopped and zapped more air and got back out, but the pack is gone. I finish alone. No points for kush.
End result - took 13th out of some 80 starters. Top 8 get paid
I don't like the points format actually, I like time based better. But absent a real hilly road race, this is more appropriate I guess.
Here's a pic I like from the Zep crit. Doesn't look like I'm suffering enough.
Sunday - Road Race - rolling hills, 5 laps of 5.5miles. I actually really liked this course.
2 mile to go I take a turn and feel my tubular rear slide a bit which felt strange. Then it got softer, and then I was bumping on the expensive 303 rim. that was half mile to the finish.
I stopped and zapped more air and got back out, but the pack is gone. I finish alone. No points for kush.
End result - took 13th out of some 80 starters. Top 8 get paid
I don't like the points format actually, I like time based better. But absent a real hilly road race, this is more appropriate I guess.
Here's a pic I like from the Zep crit. Doesn't look like I'm suffering enough.
kush
Active Member
Ketchup
Tour de Medford - I win my first crit, so that's pretty cool. 24 people so not a big race. But what made it awesome is that my wife and kids were there.
I just basically attacked until 3 other guys went with me. I pulled them around so much, I overheard one of them mutter "i'm beginning to hate that guy". Then another told me to slow down because we had enough time.
We did almost lap the field by the last lap. Then with 2 laps to go, I attacked the 3 guys I was with, and was able to hold them off crossing the line without a real sprint. Which felt really good cause they were acting like *******.
Then I did 35+, where I was the only Cat 4, and which was a miserable experience, I wanted to quit. There were relentless attacks, and I was cooked. I'm not going to do that any more. Maybe.
Race for points - After that, I have 19 points, or 1 short of 20 I need to upgrade to Cat 3 road.
Then the next day I did Course de Evesham, where same guys were there, but I was told by several guys that I should've worn a different jersey - I couldn't make a move without being marked. Ended in a sprint, where I finished a disappointing 14th.
Then on 4th of July at the Seneca crit, I literally wore a different jersey and helmet (sorry team), which was kind of cool cause I was incognito, but that course just didn't lend to any breakaways, so I finished in sprint, 8th. I was pretty tired by that time too. That 35+ wore me out I think.
Randolph Lake Triathlon - .5 mile swim, 16.4 mile hilly bike, and 3.1 mile run.
I took 1st in my age group, and 8th overall out of close to 400 people.
My wave was first, everyone under 45 yo.
Swim - paced exactly as planned 1:30. took 13 minutes. I was 6th overall out of the water. I have been swimming 1x-2x per week.
Bike - I passed everyone ahead of me except 1 person who was on a relay team, so he was fresh and not holding back, and one other. By the numbers, I was the #1 bike time.
Run - my weakness. I paced 7:25, or an improvement over last time, but not by much. I've been running 1x per week. I was then 2nd person off the bike, and was passed by 6 other people on the course. It's incredibly frustrating knowing you will get caught and not being able to do anything about it.
T1 and T2 - pretty good, I was in the top 30 on both. I changed some things - no socks, and a shoeless dismount on the bike.
So there it is. All this racing is too much. I'm missing my ATP hours cause I can't get 3-5 hour rides on the weekend. Now that I have only a point to go, I'm going to race less and ride more. Maybe.
Tour de Medford - I win my first crit, so that's pretty cool. 24 people so not a big race. But what made it awesome is that my wife and kids were there.
I just basically attacked until 3 other guys went with me. I pulled them around so much, I overheard one of them mutter "i'm beginning to hate that guy". Then another told me to slow down because we had enough time.
We did almost lap the field by the last lap. Then with 2 laps to go, I attacked the 3 guys I was with, and was able to hold them off crossing the line without a real sprint. Which felt really good cause they were acting like *******.
Then I did 35+, where I was the only Cat 4, and which was a miserable experience, I wanted to quit. There were relentless attacks, and I was cooked. I'm not going to do that any more. Maybe.
Race for points - After that, I have 19 points, or 1 short of 20 I need to upgrade to Cat 3 road.
Then the next day I did Course de Evesham, where same guys were there, but I was told by several guys that I should've worn a different jersey - I couldn't make a move without being marked. Ended in a sprint, where I finished a disappointing 14th.
Then on 4th of July at the Seneca crit, I literally wore a different jersey and helmet (sorry team), which was kind of cool cause I was incognito, but that course just didn't lend to any breakaways, so I finished in sprint, 8th. I was pretty tired by that time too. That 35+ wore me out I think.
Randolph Lake Triathlon - .5 mile swim, 16.4 mile hilly bike, and 3.1 mile run.
I took 1st in my age group, and 8th overall out of close to 400 people.
My wave was first, everyone under 45 yo.
Swim - paced exactly as planned 1:30. took 13 minutes. I was 6th overall out of the water. I have been swimming 1x-2x per week.
Bike - I passed everyone ahead of me except 1 person who was on a relay team, so he was fresh and not holding back, and one other. By the numbers, I was the #1 bike time.
Run - my weakness. I paced 7:25, or an improvement over last time, but not by much. I've been running 1x per week. I was then 2nd person off the bike, and was passed by 6 other people on the course. It's incredibly frustrating knowing you will get caught and not being able to do anything about it.
T1 and T2 - pretty good, I was in the top 30 on both. I changed some things - no socks, and a shoeless dismount on the bike.
So there it is. All this racing is too much. I'm missing my ATP hours cause I can't get 3-5 hour rides on the weekend. Now that I have only a point to go, I'm going to race less and ride more. Maybe.
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SpartaBard
Well-Known Member
Great job Ilya! Congratulations on the victory.
nice job kush! i hope my description of the course helped at least a tiny bit.
ArmyOfNone
Well-Known Member
Id put in for your upgrade. There is a good chance you may get it without having to fry yourself the rest of the summer to get a point. Great work dude!