Whiteface Hill TT Report & video

The weekend was great, primarily because I had two great teammates with me and we enjoyed every moment of our weekend which was filled with much more than the race. Lynn did fantastic for her first hill TT (as we knew she would!), placing 7^th in her category and Karen was right up there at 6^th.

The race was intense for me. I had marked it an A priority race back in December and I’m thankful all my training stars aligned: 2^nd place in my category and 7^th overall.

Below is my mile-by-mile recount.

Forty women of all abilities are lined up at the start. Marti Shea and Kristin Gohr, both Pro hill climb specialists, are present and take their places in the center front. They are both gracious supporters of the rest of us “wanna-be’s”, but are arch rivals and I notice don't acknowledge each other. Marti empties her one water bottle to half full (are you kidding me?!) Kristin backs her bike in at the center and Karen & I both glance at each other - jaw dropped. It appears Kristin has dropped another 5 lbs. Both women are expected to finish the race somewhere around and astonishing 50 minutes. I am shooting to beat my personal best of 1:11 and according to Dan Jansen’s power-to-weight calculator I could potentially finish at 1:06:32.

With five minutes and counting, I was having a mental melt down second guessing what gear to start in. I nervously re-adjust at the line. Mile 1: I make it over the first hump with the lead group. Marti & Kristin are quickly fading into the distance. Paula T and I are with our Canadian “carrot”, Domonique Codere, - but not for long - she clicks down and takes off. Paula T follows, but I know better and hold back. I’m already going into the red zone and there’s a fine line between letting someone motivate you and allowing someone to set your pace. Mile 2: Paul T has fallen back and some dude walks out in the road and asks us where the men are “or are we just that good”. I don’t have one ounce of energy to laugh or reply, but Paula lets him know the men start 5 minutes back. We pass the toll both and catch Sylvie (Canadian carrot #2). Now the three of us are playing cat & mouse. Sylvie lets me pass. Mile 3: I’m settling in and my time is where I want to be - “Just gotta keep it going” I tell myself. Sylvie clicks down and takes off. The lead men fly by like we are standing still but somehow manage to eek out messages of encouragement as they pass. Then, some young gal that I’ve never seen before passes us. She’s looking way to comfortable. We hit the frost heaves and I joke with her that “This is why they call it the bumps series.” We all chuckle and it helps the pain for two seconds. Mile 4: I’m at 32 minutes. If I can keep this up, I will finish way ahead of my goal. Mile 5: I start to fade and I am not able to stay with Paula — or young thing. Mile 6. This is the point in the race where you don’t want to look up at the summit because not only will it strain your neck, but it finishing seems impossible and sets an undertone of discouragement. I keep my head down and focus all my effort in my spin. Eventually, the road takes a sharp turn left and I glance back. No one. The road flattens now and I put it in the big ring and do a mini TT (and I mean “mini”.) I almost hit a big sinkhole and swerve, narrowly missing it by 2 inches - yikes! Near the top now and the Westerly wind hits quite hard. I look up and Paula T is only 20 feet away – but the grade is much steeper and my legs are starting to go into a full-on seize. I dig just a little deeper and spin just a little bit faster. The crowd is going crazy and their cheers are numbing the pain. I pass Paula. A quick thumbs up to the cameraman and cross the line at 1:07:13.

Afterward, I make a point to tell Paula what a great race she rode and then ride down to the line, just catching a glimpse of Karen, who arrives at top, all smiles. Then I see Lynn coming up to the line – she is super focused and driving hard. Good efforts by all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liL1bVe_B6o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmVC4mkdShQ&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE2K3jQbuYk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfgLVrnnuuQ&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Let it rain...we don't care

Photos (top): Men's 4/5 start, in the pouring rain! (bottom) Jeff Scala leading

That's what most racers (apparently) thought last weekend at the Nutmeg Classic Crit.

Recap: Congrats to Christine Poulin who won the CT silver medal - way to go!

Jeff Scala wrote up the following detailed report. Don't be surprised to feel your heart rate increasing as you read on. Good solid effort Jeff - thanks for sharing your insights to make us all more patient racers.

By Jeff Scala:

I did the Nutmeg Classic Criterion last weekend. After some self reflection, I extend my apologies to Karen for being so grumpy after my race. I was full of lactic acid and adrenaline and felt I should / could have done better. Sorry… thanks for your kind words and support.

The weather was terrible. During my warm up I could not decide what I was going to wear during the race. Decided on a long sleeve synthetic shirt with my cycling concepts jersey and shorts. Not sure that was the way to go as we stood around at the starting line longer than planned and cooled off a bit. I race my best when I’m warm, but I never got to the point of being warm that day.

It rained hard on and off for the entire race making seeing difficult. So much water was flying around that my contacts were floating all around. (For those who wear contact you know the feeling.) At one point, I thought I lost them and was riding with one eye closed. Not good for depth perception or peripheral vision.

The group of riders consisted of both cat 5 and 4 so the group was pretty big. The course is pretty fast with mostly fast corners with one moderately tight and one pretty sharp corner. One small short hill. You really had to fight for position and fight to stay in position as the action was very dynamic and it seemed that I always got stuck on the wrong wheel.

The inside line on a few of the corners were very dangerous as there was a few times that I got pinch off by riders not holding their line and apexing the corner. I got pinched three times by the same rider! I yelled at him the 2nd time. Yelled again the 3rd time. He blamed me because I was “making a move in a bad spot”! Go figure… He actually caused a three rider crash which I narrowly missed by inches. He squeezed someone else off, like he did to me. Fortunately no one was hurt. Lesson of the day… be aware of erratic riders at all times!

First prime (lap 5) I moved to the front 5 but did not go for it as I was concerned about a break attempt after the prime. A two rider attach on lap 7. They got a quick 50 yards on the field and were pulling away. One of the riders was from Bethel. Three Bethel riders were now on the front of the peloton. Too obvious as they tried to control the pace. I surged ahead with two other riders to chase them down. When we made our move to cover the attack the rest of the peloton followed along and helped us out. Attack was caught quickly. We are now once again one big happy family.

Second prime on lap 9, Expo Wheelmen and another team surge to the lead the peloton. The pace must have jumped at least 7 mph! The peloton got stretched out. I kept my eye (one eye as the other was closed) on the leaders but sat in trying to conserve my matches and fix my vision... But looking for another attack.

Bell rings again on lap 10… back to back primes. Now we are having fun! I expected someone or team to surge forward. Nothing. The peloton compresses to the full width of the road minimizing maneuvering room. I’m stuck in the middle of the pack. The hill frees up some room and I move forward. I have no intention of contesting the prime just want to be in position to cover any attach following the prime. A couple of riders shoot off the front to easily take the prime. Pace is very fast but nothing crazy. Must be too many miles to go as no attacks following the prime.

Everyone regroups and a few laps go by with some minor surges in speed. Not sure if they were caused by weak attack or just someone pulling harder on the front. Nothing happening. Just missed being caught up in the crash. It was like watching in slow motion as it unfolded in front of me. Someone / team attacks on the crash (not cool but good strategy as there is a lot of confusion following a crash.) The race gets strung out but comes back together within a lap or so.

Four laps to go! Four miles of rain soaked fun. There is a lot of action and movement in the peloton. Once again I find myself behind the wrong wheel and end up in the back of the pack, so I make a strong move to move up to near the front. As I reach the front a few riders attach. I make a split second decision and I go with them. I’m in third position. Lead guy takes a good pull and pulls off front. Second place guy seems reluctant to take his turn on front, but takes a short pull but pace drops a little. My turn on the front. We have about 30 yards on the field which is not much. I take a good hard pull and signal to move off front. Second place guy just sits on my wheel. Signal again and pull to the left, he still sits on my wheel. Signal a third time and waive him around, still sits on my wheel. I decide to sit up and make them work or we drop back to the field. Nothing! I’m pissed for wasting energy so near the end of the race. The peloton comes racing by.

I jump into the pack about mid pack. We hit the bell lap all bunched up. It seems the teams are looking for a bunch sprint. We hit the hill still bunched up at very fast pace. I’m still stuck near the back which is not good at all. The hill frees up some space but the front of the peloton has surged and I’m losing ground. I power up the hill gaining a lot of positions but my race to a top ten finish is over!

I lost my chance at a top ten with 3 laps to go when I went with the attack. Maybe I should have attacked the attack since they didn’t want to work… maybe I should of just put my head down and kept going and let them sit on my wheel… maybe I should have been more patient with three miles to go…. Maybe … maybe… next time.

What I do know is … I made a mistake, but if you don’t try you will never succeed.

Nicole Drier competes in Quasi Half Ironman

Don't let Nicole's quiet demeanor fool you - this woman is an animal! Congratulations Nicole!




By Nicole Drier: On Sunday, I completed my first half Ironman! The event consists of a 1.2mile swim, 56mile bike and 13.1mile run (in that order). The Rev3 took place at Quassy amusement park in Middlebury, CT. It was extremely well organized with tons of support! The weather was perfect with a low of 59, a high of 72 and a water temp of 69. My goals were to complete the swim in 40mins, bike in 3hrs 45mins and then run the entire half marathon. Two things I am glad I purchased for this race are my new blueseventy tinted goggles for sunny mornings and 2XU compression tri shorts. On a recommendation from Daria, I had the Cycling Concepts folks order me a longer pair of tri shorts and they were excellent!!

My morning started pretty early; the transition area where you rack your bike and set up all your gear for the race (cycling shoes, running sneakers, etc) was open from 5:15am – 6:40am. Everyone had their own spot in transition with their name on it and there was plenty of room. At one point I took a look around and it was interesting to see what everyone else was doing to warm up, how they set up their gear, what kind of bike they had etc. I tried to make some friends, but everyone seemed really nervous and quiet. I ended up giving a lesson on pumping tires. Doing a good deed pre-race always helps ease my nerves and makes me feel good!

Once transition closed I had a snack and headed down to the water in my wetsuit. The swim was broken up into waves each with its own start time. While I waited for my wave to start I tried to make conversation with no luck yet again. Oh well! The swim was a little crazy. There seemed to be an excess of arms and legs flying everywhere. I had to make my way around quit a few panicked swimmers and ended up catching a slower group of more arms and legs everywhere. I got hit a few times, but managed a decent time of 38 mins.

In transition I had a quick snack (I love my snacks!) then swapped my wetsuit and goggles out for my Cervelo S1. Time for my favorite leg of the race! It was a little chilly at the start heading downhill and my knees were achy, but I warmed up quick. It was a lovely ride with a good mix of steep short climbs, long steady climbs and short down hills which usually turned into up hills. I believe it was 3, 850ft of climbing over 56 miles Once again, tons of support with 3 water/food/rest stops. At mile 20 I noted how great I was feeling and then at mile 23 I felt sick. I eased up a little, unzipped my jersey, ate more food and drank some water. We had a steady climb that started at mile 23, leveled out for a moment, and then continued climbing to mile 31. I was feeling better after the climb when I got a good breeze cruising downhill. I finished in 3hrs 30 mins with an average speed of 16mph. When I returned to transition someone had racked their bike in my spot. A volunteer immediately recognized my confusion, and came over to shuffle the bikes for me.

I was feeling pretty good so I pulled on my running shoes and took off. A man caught up to me in the 1st mile and informed me that I was insane for riding my bike down hill so fast. I reassured him that I knew the course and it was ok, but he threw his hands in the air and yelled something as he ran off. My max speed was 40mph and I think that was pretty reasonable for the course. So anyway, the run started off easy, but as expected, the hills started at mile 4 and just kept on coming! Luckily there were food/water stops every mile with lots of awesome volunteers. Most of the run was shaded which helped. At mile 6 I had to pull over for an ambulance and it was hard to get going again. I was dragging my feet through mud at mile 11 and reminded myself I had a massage booked for the next morning! I managed to run the entire thing although mile 11-12.5 was more of a shuffle run. I finally crossed the finish line at 6hrs and 18mins! I met my fan club and then headed to the water to cool my legs. I was lucky to have so many people cheering me on; my father, brother, future sister-in-law, and Dave. My mom and grandma were at home, but they watched live online as I made it across the finish.

Would I do it again you ask?? Absolutely! Is there a full Ironman in my future? You only live once so why not!?

Donna Davis races Coyote Hill Classic

Not just a MTB race - three races in two days! The following is Donna's recap of last weekends two-day event - Nice job Donna!

From Donna Davis:
This MTB camp is situated in a Vermont setting surrounded by a trail network which includes miles of single track, mowed fields of double track and dirt roads. It is run by Tom Materson who also comes up with these challenging courses. Short track and XC: For these courses he took his lawn tracker out and started mowing, when he came across water, he built homemade bridges using planks or trees cut in half lengthwise with chicken wire over them for traction or on most occasions you peddled through the mud. When he lead you into the woods, be assured it was technical. Saw Jon Tarbox there, he said this entire place is really tough. All courses were changed from previous years.



Race 1 Short Track: Got there plenty early so I was the 1st to pre-ride it and my front tire was slipping out on the grass, which made me really nervous and cautious. (I need to figure out if there is a way to avoid that). The woods part was short but nuts, rocks strategically placed so if you managed to avoid one, there was another and don't forget the slippery big root and the tree. There were 14 of us including me and 2 cat 1 women. He said 20 mins + 3 laps, if you get lapped, don't worry, your last lap will be the winners last lap. This race was a mass start. You start out climbing around his yard, get on the dirt road, onto the grass that seemed drier by then, and try to go like heck. I saw the 2 laps to go sign and said, "omg, not sure I can do this" then when I came around again he said that's it, I said "thank you". I came in 1st (because I was the only cat 3 women there). Once it was over it didn't seem that tough, but doing it seemed like torture. Looking back on it now, this one was cake!

No rest for the wicked............

Race 2 (one hour later) 1.5 mile Hill Climb (think he meant to say "side of a mountain climb"): The start was in someone's dirt driveway across the dirt road, 1 minute between each rider. Single track, with switch backs, roots, rocks, sharp turns and thundering in the background, I tried to hurry up. I thought this wasn't that technical, others thought it was too technical. Made it to the top in 9+ mins, winner came in 4+. (1st again, because I was the only one).

Rest up for tomorrow's XC (6 miles......."oh come on, how bad can 6 miles be")

Race 3 XC: I started pre-riding what I thought was the course and got freaked out. Had to walk down part of it and then turned around. Then I was told it started in the opposite direction from yesterday's race, did part of that and felt better, but was told that other section is part of the race. Cat 3 race 9:30, there were alot of racers with 6 women. I was really nervous on the line, even thought of chickening out on this one. At that point I decided to stay in the back and play it safe, well, 2 others thought the same and I wasn't in the back. The 1st part was doable, then came that nasty section and I flew down it (2nd time's a charm) so I started to feel better and started ramping it up, but it was kinda late since there was only 1 person behind me. I managed to get up all the hills, walked a couple scary downhills, didn't want to get the shoes dirty so made it through all the mud pits, fell a few times and was grateful it was only 6 miles. Some cat 2 guys passed me that were pre-riding it and I heard them say "what is Tom doing to us"!! I Came in 5th, 5 mins behind 3rd or 4th.


When I was done with my race, it seemed like there were a couple/few hundred people there for the next races. Great turnout.

Looking back/Lessons learned: Never count on any mtb'ers option as to how technical a course is, you'll need to form your own opinion. Depending on your ability, likes and dislikes, it's all........well you know. So in my opinion, I think the 1st 2 races where not technical at all, just different. The last one was fun, very technical, grueling and never judge a book by it's cover, 6 miles was plenty for me!! Need to stay clipped in more, wasting too much time unclipped worried about not unclipping in time. Overall great races. A special thanks to Frank my weekend domestique/photographer, you are the best babe!!