Sturbridge Road Race: 200 Meters Is A Long Way

In keeping with my new tradition of electrolyte overload (given the cramp episode at Turtle Pond) – preparation for Saturday’s race began with a trip to CVS for my Friday pre-race Pedialyte cocktail. I highly recommend grape (…if you’re feeling adventurous maybe add some red bull and vodka…there’s an idea!). After a liter of that and you can imagine how I felt (a pint of beer – good, a liter of pedialyte…not quite so good.) Well, anyways….several trips to the bathroom and I was good to go – ready to load up my rolling trash compactor (the Jetta) and hit the road! Next stop - the fabulous and talented, Guy Bedau – massage therapist extraordinaire. For weeks I had been meaning to get a massage (since the quad incident at Turtle Pond), but just couldn’t fit it into the schedule (or the budget) …but then Friday I realized I would be passing through Harvard (where Guy’s office is located) on my way to my friend Erik’s (who graciously allowed me to free load this weekend) – and as luck would have it, Guy was able to fit me into his schedule (thanks!!!)

Despite staying with Erik in Holden, I was still about an hour away from the race. With an 8:40 start time that still meant an early wake up call – 5:50 to be exact. Erik must have thought I was insane – I made him check the alarm clock no fewer than 5 times before going to bed Friday night. Are you sure it’s set right??? (Paranoid are we? As if I’m actually going to sleep!) Fortunately, Erik did in fact set the alarm correctly(!!!) and I managed to get out the door in plenty of time to pick up my number and warm up.

I must admit I can never really tell how I am going to ride based on how my legs feel when I wake up. I don’t usually feel good first thing in the morning. But on this particular morning I was definitely shaky. Although that being said, sometimes shaky walking doesn’t translate to shaky on the bike…we would have to wait and see…then of course all you can think about is all the things you shouldn’t have done during the week (ie: one too many hills with Brooke on Wednesday.)

So the race finally starts – we are instructed there will be a neutral start for the first 4 miles – essentially up the first climb. Wanting to get a good look at the climb and the finish line which would be at the top I decided to take advantage of the neutral start and sit on the front, get a good warm up. Well, let’s just say the first time up the hill it didn’t seem so bad. Two laps later was another story!

Throughout the race I’d have to say the women of Capital Velo did a nice job of launching attacks and counter attacks. Fortunately nothing stuck. At one point I got a little impatient with the women who would later win the race – she refused to chase anything, saying “they’re not going anywhere.” Well, that the hope anyways…fortunately her energy conservation strategy worked!

As we came into town on the last lap, Amy (the eventual winner of the race) decided to attack. With a 4 mile climb ahead I think the rest of us were basically like – “good luck” but the chances of you holding your lead is highly unlikely. Be that as it may – she did just that! To her credit, she rode a very smart race and not only took a big chance, but she pulled it off! Given my propensity to go too hard too soon, I decided to sit tight in the field and not over react. In the meantime, another woman (who was eventually 2nd) would take off in pursuit – another smart move. OK for those counting - I now missed not one, but two big moves.

So with those two off the front, the question was how would the field respond? Basically it came down to a fight all the way up to the line. There were probably 4 or 5 of us elbow to elbow, doing our best to maintain the pace in between gasps for air. It is usually at critical junctures like this that I mentally crack. This time, this weekend, I swore it would be different (ok, Bruce made me swear it had to be different! Thanks Bruce!) This weekend I was determined to stay mentally focused. After a little jostling, the third place rider (Julie of IBC) would surge…just enough that I couldn’t get out of traffic in time to catch her. And fight as I may to the line…200 meters can really seem like an eternity…I had to settle for 4th.

I say “settle” but honestly I was very happy with that result. Although I missed the two critical moves that would account for 1st and 2nd, my mental focus was much improved this week – I fought to the line. Julie had a nice surge to the line for 3rd. Woulda, coulda, shoulda…on this day 4th was actually very satisfying.

Though the mystery remains (and the debate continues) - had I not ridden the power tap wheel, would I have had a better result???