So the first race weekend of the 2011-2012 cyclocross season is in the books. More importantly the racing is in the legs and soul. I’ve had a few people ask me directly and obliquely about how I’m “really” feeling about my racing on the weekend.

Well, to be 100 per cent honest – I’m feeling: okay with it. Just as I wrote on this site on Saturday and Monday – I’m okay with the racing. I knew I wasn’t going to come back and be right where I was in 2009-2010 – I will get there again but it wasn’t going to happen in the first races of the season or even in the first few weekends of racing.

There is a big difference between racing and training. Yes, you and I drill ourselves in training but this is a very different sensation physically and mentally than having someone else push you to your limits in a race. It is this feeling that I forgot and I need to get familiar with again.

I’m very happy that I’ve decided to start my cyclocross season early so that when I get to my goal races, I’ll be ready to go and everything will be fine-tuned: pre-race prep, warm-up, starts, technical riding, mental sharpness, post-race recovery and training. All of these fit together to make up a puzzle – if one piece is missing, the puzzle isn’t going to look the way we want.

Right now my puzzle is coming together. The pieces are a bit jagged and a couple are missing – but with time and patience – the puzzle will come together. There is no point in panicking after one weekend of racing and only two months of training.

It will come. I will get there. Until then I have to set small goals and focus on building the best puzzle I can. So, not to worry – I’m okay with the weekend. It would have been awesome to come out and be right back where I was two years ago – but it didn’t happen. I will get there. No doubt in my mind.

Well, the first race of the season is in the books! I must admit that I could have done without a muddy race for my first race in a very very long time – but that’s bike racing!

The day went really well – some good learning points – some successes and some areas that I definitely know I can improve on for tomorrow. Exactly what I was hoping to get from this first race. As a sign of how long it has been since I’ve packed a race bag – I forgot to bring pins and a towel…

So the race – well the result is not groundbreaking: 19th. But I’ll take it. Deep deep down I was hoping for a top ten. Deep down I was aiming for a top 15. On the surface, I was aiming for a day of fun bike racing with some good take-aways.

For the first time in about three years, I had a decent start – I wasn’t last off the line and I actually sprinted! Definite checkmark in the win column. But what I discovered pretty quickly is that it is a bit hairy when you’re in the mix at the start – I hesitated and backed off – giving up some crucial spots. For a while I was sitting in tenth… Then a few girls went by me and I was sitting in the top 15.

I did have a mechanical in the second lap which was a bit frustrating – racing with a bicycle seat that is pointing straight up in the air is not fun! But luckily Marc was in the pit and I was quickly on my spare bike. There were three mud bogs – two were ridable and one was a definite slog of a run. There was also a muddy run in the woods. The course also had the standard twists and turns as well as a couple of ups and downs. A good creative course with the wet tall grass and mud being a big factor.

In the last two laps (we did five laps – in my opinion one too many laps since I was out there for a well over 40 minutes) – I gave up four spots – partly out of definite fatigue, over-gearing, some tightness in the corners, and another mechanical – this time the seat on my other bike decided to get in on the action and was suddenly pointing straight up – time for another bike change!

Big thanks to Marc who raced to a very fine 9th place in a deep and competitive field and then quickly changed and stood in the pits for me – couldn’t do this without him.

So, how am I feeling? Well, I’m happpy to have the first race done and out of the way. I was very nervous beforehand but I remembered what my friend Sheri told me last weekend – everyone is nervous. I feel okay – obviously 19th is not where I want but I have to look at the performance and not the outcome.

My take-aways are:
– goodish start need to keep going and be more aggressive
– need to contintue to turn the wheel and complete my turns
– look up at all times
– pay attention to my gearing – I don’t always need to be in the big ring
– look for places to recover – I really gassed myself in the first three laps and wasn’t able to continue to sprint out of the corners or run as well as I would have liked
– barriers went well
– little steep climbs were better than have been
– my mud riding was pretty good (thank-you Belgium!)

Mentally I had a couple of low moments but I think this is normal when you’re going hard. I can say I haven’t hurt this badly in a long time – nothing like a bike race to really put the hurt in your lungs and legs!

All in all – a good day. I got to hang out with some good friends. I’m very happy for Marc as well. The post-race clean-up was time consuming but now the bikes are sparkling clean, the clothes are washed and we’re ready for tomorrow.

Tomorrow I have a few goals:
– better gearing
– have a good start again
– recover on the course so I can go really hard when I need to
– turn better

Alright, this is a bit long – sorry I couldn’t write two posts – I’m blogging from my iPad and can’t figure out how to access some sections of my website…

Oh, and in case you didn’t see this: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/chase/5377975/story.html

And now – back to the Food Network – it is a Chopped marathon!

We made pretty good time and got into Trexlertown at around 4:30 – luckily the highway around Binghamton, NY was still open for us – not the case for the folks driving North on the 81. (Not sure what we’ll do for the drive home – but we don’t have to worry about this until Sunday!) The flooding in the area is pretty crazy.

We made a quick stop at the race course to see how soggy and muddy it really is. We decided not to ride the course due to not having an easy way to clean our bikes (luckily we discovered a car wash across from our hotel for tomorrow!). But from what we saw, it is definitely soggy and soft – muddy but not European muddy. By the time I race in the early afternoon I’m sure some sections will be very chewed up.

Had a pretty relaxed night here at the hotel – some supper and then a stop off at Wegman’s and Starbucks. We are spoiled here at the hotel to have a television so I’ve been watching the Food Network!

Looking forward to racing tomorrow. Marc races before me and then I’m up at 1:15ish. I’m feeling good. Just looking forward to having some fun on the bike.

I’ll post a race report tomorrow. Nothing quite like the first race of the season – no expectations – just get out there and race my bike – oh and show off my new purple Ottawa.cx kit. (If you’re in Ottawa – pick up the Ottawa Citizen tomorrow – there is an article about me and cyclocross in the newspaper.)

Alright, time to get back to the Food Network – Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is on!

This is has been one of those weeks when I feel like I’ve learned something new from each and every training ride. Yeesh, I think I even learned a lot while sitting here in front of my computer reviewing my training data and thinking about my training. Yes, one of these weeks where little things click and other things don’t.

I didn’t do anything groundbreaking out there this week – the normal recovery ride, intervals, ‘cross skills practice, and some running. But I learned that you really can’t shirk the details. Making sure tire pressure is correct. Really measuring saddle position correctly. Paying attention to body sensations – maybe a headache shouldn’t be ignored. Pushing a bit deeper can do wonders for one’s confidence. Remember to eat.

Yes, some vital lessons here. I think it is worth re-emphasizing the “remember to eat” lesson. On Tuesday I set out for my VO2Max interval work-out. I left at around 11 a.m. – before leaving I had some fruit and Luna protein bar (chocolate mint). After an hour or so of riding I settled into my interval workout: 4 min VO2Max efforts with 4 min of recovery (I had four of these to do). The first three intervals went really well and I was ready to really rip the fourth one… Well, I had absolutely nothing. It didn’t seem to matter how hard I pushed on the pedals I couldn’t get the wattage numbers to budge. I was flat, empty and frustrated. I recovered from these and then did some short all-out efforts (these went well) and then I rolled home (munching some Clif Bloks).

I told Marc about this and he summed up my issues with the last interval very simply “you were under-fueled” – I thought I had eaten enough but I guess it had been a while since I had eaten breakfast (6 a.m.) and by the time I started my intervals it was around noon… Yes, so big lesson learned – even though you don’t feel hungry – eat – particularly if you have an energy draining work-out to do…

Thanks for the feedback on the Freaking Out blog post. I’m feeling a lot better today. I’ve got my lists of things to do before taking off for Pennsylvania on Friday. My feelings of confidence have returned. I can only do what I can do – and whatever it is – I’m going to savour it – I’m super lucky to be able to be riding my bike and to not be on the sidelines watching.

I’ll be posting over the weekend so there will be some race reports posted on Saturday and Sunday. Best of luck to everyone who is kicking off the ‘cross season this weekend – and for those of you racing in the Ontario Provincial Mountain Bike Champs this weekend.

You are better than you think you are. You can do more than you think you can.