June 25-26, 2005, Track Racing
San Diego, CA

(All pictures can be clicked to go to a different page of more details)

The Arizona club put on their final in the series of track racing for the season (to be followed by the State Championships next month). They had also been tasked with timing the 1000m, 4000m, 4000m Team pursuit, and Team Sprint qualifiers for the elite National Championships that will be held in Los Angeles later this season. Thus, they had their typical practice during Saturday afternoon and some racing in the evening, which would be followed by some timed racing events on Sunday morning. There was a pretty small turnout this time, unfortunately.

I had not really been training much on my sprint since the last track event and after the disappointment of my lung congestion returning two weeks ago, I had a period where I was not very inspired to improve myself while having this handicap. I had tried a 5 Km TT three days after that criterium and that following evening and all the next day my lungs were feeling congested again; so this was confirmation that I was indeed not well. The doctor that had prescribed the highly effective anti-biotics previously now refused to see me again, stating that she wasn't taking on any new patients. So I'm back searching again for a recommended physician that is also willing to see me.

The first event would be a flying 200 meter timed event, starting shortly before 6 p.m. I had bettered my time last month to 12.8 and hoped I might improve it again. We had a bit more wind this time, coming from the NE, which would hamper the acceleration into the sprint and create a slight cross-headwind on the final 60 meters. I used the 49 x 13 gearing which worked well for me last month. Last month I hit a max speed of 35.8 mph and this time got up to 37.0 mph, but the headwind took it's toll and I again posted a 12.8 second run. Results

Due to the low turnout, they decided to run just one massed start race following the 200 m times, which would be a simple 10 lap scratch race (first across the line wins). Five people participated and none were of high caliber. So I decided to reduce the gear down to a 49 x 15. The race started off with riders doing about 2 lap leads at a moderate pace of 25 mph (typically riders would do 1 lap turns at a higher pace). With 5 laps to go, my turn came to lead and I decided to drastically pick up the pace and see if anyone could stay with me. After 1.5 laps I pulled up to see that Jay and Cheryl were still behind me. On the front stretch Cheryl accelerated and Jay left a gap. Seeing that she wasn't pulling away very fast, I stayed behind Jay to see what he might do, rather than towing him up to her. Jay was riding much smarter than last month and is improving rapidly with his track skills. She started to ease up a bit and as we got within several lengths of her, I dived to the inside of Jay and went flying by her. As we came around turn 3, I saw Jay's shadow, indicating that he was right on me, so I pulled up the track on turn 4 with still 2 laps to go. Cheryl came by the two of us playing cat and mouse and I decided to close the gap on the back stretch with Jay on my wheel. With one to go, I was in second position and Jay right with me. As we came to the 200 m to go line, I started to come around Cheryl and Jay decided to accelerate also. The proper tactic would be to keep Jay just slightly in arrears and hold him off all the way to the line, but I wanted a bit more of a challenge and let him pass me to take the lead. I waited as long as I thought possible before making my move to pass him and try to beat him to the line. Surprisingly, Jay was holding his speed very well and it was going to be a struggle to get completely past him. I was moving faster than he and as we approached the line I was about 5 cm behind, but was sure that my bike throw would more than make that up to take the win. However, the officials gave the win to Jay and without a photo for the finish, we had to rely on their judgment. Noel was taking photos, but the officials would not allow her to be right on the line, so the angle does not adequately determine an accurate finish. It was an exciting finish either way and I'm sure it will inspire more confidence for Jay. Results


The next morning I would have two simple timed events. Thirty years ago, the 4000 was my best event and they were running the qualifiers for the Nationals for this event this morning. I had considered doing a 4000 (rather than the 2000 which is now the distance for my age group), just to see how I would compare to my times nearly 30 years ago. However, my throat was feeling congested from the previous days effort and I was sure I would suffer greatly if I attempted it, both during and after the event. This time I was going to try to keep under 30 mph for the first half and then see if I could accelerate for the last half, using the 49 x 13 again. I was unsuccessful with this tactic, as I saw myself at 30.8 mph on lap two. As I was feeling that I was not working hard, I tried to back off a bit, but rather than conserving energy, it seemed to dampen my momentum which could not be returned. I slipped below 28 mph on the last lap and finished with a time of 2:42.3, a couple seconds slower than my best. In the future, if I see that I'm going too fast I'll not ease off, but just hope that I can maintain the higher speed for this fairly short event. Results

One event remained, the 500 meter. I tried a 49 x 14 gear this time, which seemed to work well last month. I had an excellent start and felt very good, but only equaled my previous best time of 39.3 seconds. Results

The weather was great, but not much racing for such an extended trip. With my results not improving over the season and this continued handicap preventing me from training properly to do so, there is little likelihood that I will be going to the Nationals in August as I am not close to championship times. However I'm sure I can maintain what I have for next month's State Championships.

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