Munson CX - 2007 Edition

"30 seconds, c'mon, anyone can suffer for 30 seconds!"
- Coach Troy

This morning was the 2007 edition of the Munson Park Cyclocross race. We got typical Munson weather too, cold and windy.

I got to the park on time, but I was slow getting my stuff ready, so I was feeling some time pressure for the warmup. As a result, I rode a little more aggressively in my warmup laps than I usually do, but it seemed to work out OK.

I got a good position at the start, front row in the middle (on the gravel path instead of on the grass). At the whistle, I made it into a group of 4 at the front. There was a small gap behind me to Mark C (FRCC) and John O (TSB). I stayed with the group pretty well until we hit the volleyball court, about halfway through the lap. I tried to ride it but got bogged down and had to get off and run. That allowed the other guys to open a gap that I was never able to fully close. So, that left me in no-man's land, working in the wind between two groups. I considered sitting up and letting Mark and John catch me so I could draft with them, but the gap I had was big enough that I didn't want to let it go.

I rode the second lap basically by myself, just out of reach of that front group. At the end of the lap, Mark finally caught me and pulled me down the windy front straight (thanks Mark!). I went back around Mark on the hill after the first barriers on the third lap. Since I was tucked in behind Mark crossing the line, I didn't see how many laps we had left, but I was hearing the announcer call "one to go" as other racers were crossing the line. It was sort of a critical point, because it was going to affect how I rode the rest of that lap, especially with Mark right with me.

I saw Sarah after the volleyball court and asked her how many laps I had to do. She thought it was one, but she wasn't sure either. I decided to ride as if it was one to go. I could see that Mark was just a few bike lengths behind me when the course doubled back on itself. When I got off the hill for the last time to go around the reservoir, I decided it was time to punch it. I couldn't see or hear Mark, but I kept after it (including that last hard effort into the wind). It was the last lap, and I finished a couple bike lengths ahead of Mark.

So, I got another 4th place, which I'm happy with, but I was hoping to break the top 3 this weekend. While it was my mistake in the volleyball pit that opened the gap, I don't think I would have ultimately been able to stay with that group. Especially with the wind, my threshold power was just a little too low to hang with those guys today. The Waterford course in a couple weeks will be much different (but potentially also windy), so we'll see how that goes. It'll be the last race of the season!

Last point is about how my tapering has worked. I definitely feel better than I did when I tried to taper last year. Last year I felt like my fitness really dropped off when I tried to taper, but I'm not feeling that way this year. I think the key has been going really hard when I do ride during the week. The legs felt very good during the first lap today, I didn't feel that lactic acid buildup like I usually do.