Midweek Mayhem 'cross #3

Tuesday saw the second visit of Midweek Mayhem to Laycock Park. After feeling better during my two races on the weekend, I was looking forward to this race. It didn't disappoint as I ended up racing three women, including Tanya. I was able to stay with them for the first three or four laps. The lead was exchanged as one person would surge and the rest in the group would respond. I think I lost Tanya during the second climb of the lap. I was able to ride that climb the on the first lap but I didn't have it in my legs for the other laps. On the third or fourth lap, I plodded up the hill a little slower and moved aside for the riders who were lapping me. This allowed Tanya and one other woman to get away from me. Starting the fifth lap, the last woman in the group passed me but I stayed with her. I passed her back a short time later and was able to open up a gap of 10 or 15 seconds which I maintained until the end. Two other moments of note were me lapping another rider and our slower group getting to the short stretch of single-track just ahead of a group trying to lap us.

Hardcore Hop 'n' Hurl cyclocross

Sunday's race was also at Goldbar Park in Edmonton and I was disappointed with the course. Actually, I should say I was disappointed with the course designer. The technical guide showed a course which used the Woodchopper's Trail. I did a race at Goldbar a few years ago which used that trail and it was lots of fun. Sunday's course had a very good flat section around the small lake in the park with lots of twists and turns around trees but the second section of the course hadn't been changed from the race the previous day except barriers were placed in the middle of each hill which caused me to run up both of those hills instead of riding. A very good course but I was disappointed that something new hadn't been done for more than 80% of the lap. The stakes and tape was even the same as the previous day so it looks like it was just left out overnight.
Once again, I started at the back and toured around at my own speed. I did pass a slower rider on the first lap because he was much younger and much slower than me. On the second and third laps, I had a Pedalhead rider a short distance in front of me who I was slowly catching. Someone must have told him I was sneaking up on him as he picked up his pace and increased the gap.
I averaged 19 km/h for just over 46 minutes with a maximum speed of 45.6 km/h. I felt better than the day before since I never had any feelings of giving up after I was lapped. I don't think it was because I wasn't working as hard because I averaged 165 bpm with a maximum of 177 bpm; both just four beats per minute less than 24 hours previous.
After the race, I took Peter for a lap of the course since he bought a 'cross bike for commuting and was interested in seeing the race. It was nice to have him come and have a look. My dad was out for both races and seemed to have lots of fun playing with Julie and taking pictures. LP took a lot of pictures too and some are up on Flickr. She didn't get any of Peter though. It's nice having a few people cheering even though I'm just out for fun and won't be fighting for a win unless the top 23 out of 25 other races suffer some major mishaps.

GP Champion City cyclocross

I had been toying with calling this blog entry, "open battery surgery." Right off the top I should say that it wasn't anything wrong with me which was causing my low heart rate. My monitor got quite flaky the last time I wore it and was dropping lots of data points. I replaced the battery on Thursday and was up to maximum bpm for the races this weekend.
On Saturday, the GP Champion City cyclocross race took place at Goldbar Park in Edmonton. The weather was great and the course was fantastic. There were basically two sections: a flat, twisty section just after the start and then a more hilly section up above the park for the last two thirds of the lap. There was a good hairpin just before the start line and two dirt trail climbs which were challenging but could be climbed on the bike. My favourite corner was at the far NW end of the course. The trail had a slight bend to the left while going downhill. Where the trail emerged from the trees, there was a sharp right turn. The ground fell away slightly but very quickly and there was tape and a big side hill for anyone who ran wide.
The winner lapped me twice but the main field only lapped me once during the race. I was also able to keep many riders behind me but rode alone for almost all the race. I averaged over 17 km/h over 39 minutes and 42 seconds with a maximum speed of 44.6 km/h. My heart rate was back to normal values; I averaged 169 bpm with a maximum of 181.

Midweek Mayhem #2

My first cyclocross race of the season took place on Tuesday evening at Laycock Park. It was a good course run almost entirely on grass except for one very short, hard dirt trail through the trees. There were lots of chicanes on the flat and two climbs up the hill on the west side of the park. The course was well laid out with red flags on the right side and blue on the left. Some of the chicanes were a little difficult to follow and the course passed close to itself a few times which added some confusion but overall I enjoyed it. The hardest part was a diagonal climb up the hill and a 135° turn to run across the top of the hill. The barriers were right in front of a section going straight up the hill so I had to dismount there and plod up the hill.

Only one race was run since time is now limited before the sun goes down so there were Cat 2 through Cat 5 male riders and women all together. I started at the back and remained there. I was able to stay with a few other back-markers throughout the race until I dropped out at 17 minutes. I tended to lose a little time in the high-speed corners coming down the hill but I would make up the time in the chicanes.

I'm still overweight and not in shape and this was the first time I've tested myself against other riders since June. I'm still feeling tired most of the time due to trouble sleeping and I still cannot get my heart rate up to normal maximum levels. On recent commutes, I've been wearing my monitor and I start to tired quickly if I get above 160 bpm. Usually, I can sustain an effort over 170 bpm. On the last ride or two, my monitor has become a bit flakey so I'm trying to buy a new battery for it. I didn't have it on during this race. I know I worked as hard as I could but I have no feedback on my heart rate. I should have a new battery and my monitor on for both races in Edmonton this weekend.