Hot and hotter was the theme of the 2008 Settlers Life Omnium. 94 on Saturday and 95 on Sunday. Blue skies and a little breeze. Summer-time. More organized than in previous years, the recent version was lively on all fronts: road race, time trial and crit.

As I’ve learned from my recent adventures in racing, the fewer number of mistakes usually translates to better placing and more fun overall. This weekend I made several mistakes – one of which that continues to plague me (more on that later).

Road Race
I lined up with the Masters 30/40 group and we left the parking lot ‘sorta’ on time. (Much better than last year where we departed an hour and twenty minutes late.) Within two miles three guys were off the front and beginning to work – and within another mile it was four. Our group settled into a simple and even pace that felt like a winter training ride not a race. Sure, on a couple of climbs we stepped up the pace, but overall it was steady and certain.

We exited the loop (the 20 mile extension) and returned to the “highway” where the pace quickened. In fact, we set a tempo up one small climb without regard for the Category 1 (yes, Category 1) climb at the end of the race. Naturally there wasn’t a feed zone so what you brought to the picnic is what you ate, drank or puked. Imagine that I didn’t bring enough fuel! Mistake two and three were layered upon my biggest mistake (number one), not fueling appropriately for the race itself.

Let’s back up. The prior weekend some of us (a few) accepted the Challenge – the English Mountain Challenge. Dehydrated and crumpled from the 109-mile adventure I never really recovered from the long, hot ride. My carb intake wasn’t near enough for the week nor was my rest. I awoke every day (Monday-Friday) exhausted. I felt like I could have gone back to bed for a few more hours each morning. Thus, my biggest mistake: arriving at an “A” event without the glycogen reserves to contest my position. Back to the race ….

Mistake two – not carrying enough gels (I took one) and mistake three – not carrying enough liquid (I took two bottles). My weak condition combined with inappropriate off-the-bike refueling was a sick combination. Rather than staying with the lead group, I bonked in the first ¼ mile of the final climb.

Sadly I suffered the last two miles – at one point ready to quit the whole race – I was that “done.”
Frankly, this issue has followed me for two years now. I start the season strong with consistent top 10 finishes, but when the season ‘heats up’ my performance sags a bit.

After reading a bunch about carb intake I realize (now) that my eating habits have been hampering performance rather than building it. Lack of carbs at key times (particularly after a workout) are actually reducing muscle mass. I’ll continue reading and learning to thwart these and other nutrition issues in the future.
Wrap up: 8th place in the 40+ and I was just glad to be done.

Time Trial
Now let’s move to mistake four, five and six.

I arrived early (imagine that) to find NO shade for warming up. It was 94 degrees so that sounds a bit funny to say, “warm up.” In any case, I moved up to a nearby hillside at the Borla Exhausts complex. My bike was ready in advance; check. My gear was ready in advance; check. My pre-race fuel (what it was) was ready; check. My watch was working; check.

My start time was officially 6:06PM – and I arrived at the start gate at 6:01; check. After circling for a few minutes I asked an official to provide the “official time” and affirmed it on my watch. I was told “we are running about 5 minutes late.”

Ahhhh. That was enough time to circle the entire route and be back in time for my start time. WRONG> we were not 5 minutes behind – we were 3:20 behind. BLAH. WTF cubed!

When I arrived at the start gate and saw another rider with a number that was behind me I asked the question, “where is my placing?” And the lead official’s response was, “you are late, you left 1:32, 1:33 … ago!” BLAH and WTF triple-cubed.

I hurled my water bottle in the grass and got on course with a very loud expletive – which was certainly heard by everyone in the area. I made SURE it was heard. It was like a set of rockets launched in my legs and I stormed away with fury. On the final portion of the course I clipped the corner and crossed the yellow line adding ten seconds to my overall time. When I crossed the small hill prior to the finish I was out of the saddle and I drove hard. My rear wheel was slipping and jumping sideways and I pushed.

With a 1:32 delayed start time, and the ten-second penalty I had a 6:57. That felt lovely. NOT. The real time was competitive (approximately 4:15).

SUMMARY: Get to the course early. Be ready early. When you arrive at the start house early (less than 10 minutes) DO NOT MOVE FROM THE AREA.

Crit Time
New day – new attitude – and new information. I drank sports drink prior to the event (a first). I actually consumed a gel pak ½ hour prior to my start (another first). I even warmed up using a mix of Gatorade and water (half and half); it seemed to have a positive effect.

Masters 30/40 Crits are just a joy (NOT): hard from the get-go, repeatedly hard and hard yet again.

The first 15 minutes were full-on and then the heat of the day (we started at 11AM and the temp was about 92) began affecting performance. We slowed a bit and then the second wave of attacks started.

Coming out of turn three I shifted down and stood up ready to jump on the back … then it happened … my chain wrapped up in my rear derailleur and my momentum jammed me into my bars and top tube. My left leg was coming up and smacked the left handle bar … which unclipped my left foot and my right foot slammed to the ground only after it bent my ankle out of position.

Both my “package” and my ankle HURT. Yes, I yelled out in pain. However, I got off my bike and remained calm. I was just thankful I didn’t face-plant it … and I was VERY close to going down hard. With my chain back on, I rolled to the official’s stand and asked for help: I got a free lap (the rule) and when the peloton rolled by I got a push-off to catch back on the end. I did and moved back into position.
I was timid about shifting – thinking something was broken but I quickly forget that and keep on doing my thing: racing.

Hurting I couldn’t stack up one jump after another but I held my own. I sprinted, if you call it that, and finished 5th in the Masters 40 category. I was thankful I had not gone down. Luckily I was able to ice the ankle after the race and walk around to capture photos of the other races.

SUMMARY: I will work on reducing mistakes. And I will be on time for TT’s.

8th – RR … 4th – TT (last) and 5th – crit. This “combination” placed me 2nd in the overall Masters 40+ Omnium with a payout of $40.

I left the race, went to McDonald’s, and I bought myself a cheeseburger Happy Meal. Race. On.