Northfield Criterium (Masters 30 + Cat 4 and 5)

July 4, 2007
Northfield, Minnesota
45 Minutes

I have been dabbling in bike racing this year, and this was to be the culmination of that process. I've done a road race in April, a time trial in May and am actively trying to become a road racer and a triathlete. The process was going pretty well in that I am comfortable on both types of bikes and I felt like I could hold my own with both groups.

While I'd shown myself able to play in the world of triathlon, time trials and road races, criteriums are a different world, one I was not sure I was ready for. Crits have their own physical demands, particularly the ability to go real hard for short periods of time over and over again, and they also require a certain set of skills. Since crits involve a reasonably large number of riders on small courses with lots of turns, they are often pretty risky. Friends teased me as I told them I was doing my first crit in years with questions of medical coverage and how I was going to rehab my collarbone break. So I was apprehensive but excited as I approached this race. It was the center of my thoughts for a number of days before the race.

As I thought about the race to come, I saw two basic scenarios. The optimistic case was for me to hang in the pack for the ride, and for me to slowly drift towards the back as the last laps approached for a safe finish in the bunch. The more realistic view held that I was likely to stay in the pack for awhile, only to eventually get spit out the back. I would continue to work hard, only to lose ground to the field. In this scenario, it depended on when I got popped out the back of the pack whether or not I got to finish the race. Since the entire field is on a small and tight course, USA Cycling rules require that riders about to be lapped get removed from the race. I knew it was a real possibility that I could get removed from the race and have the results list me as "Did Not Finish."

While I dreaded the idea of a DNF as my result, I knew that I had to give it a try. I might not like the result, but showing up in of itself was in many ways my test. Show up I did, in time in fact to watch some earlier races and get in a decent warm up. There is no way to be ready for a crit if you are not pretty comfortable with the course. Most of the time, a rider will get the chance to ride several laps of the course immediately before their race. I did this and what I saw was a little intimidating. This course included at least 4 hard right turns and 1 significant left turn. The left turn was on a slight downhill and included a large hole in the road at the spot in which most people would like to ride. The first turn off the main stretch of the course was a tight right hander that was followed immediately by a short but steep hill. By most standards, this was a hard and technical course. It demanded a lot of a rider.

My son came down to the race with me and he really wanted to serve as official photographer. Below is his picture of me as I rolled up to the line a few minutes beofre the start of the race.

The race itself started just like I thought it would, hard. We took off and everyone was doing what they could to get a good line heading into the corner before the hill. My position was okay, I was near the tail of the field. Being at the back is a double edged sword in many respects. It allows you to see a bit better as you are not surrounded by other riders. The draw back of this position is the accordion effect of changes in pace. Small accelerations in the front of the field get much bigger as they ripple through the field and this makes riding at the back a good bit more demanding. As I hadn't done a crit in awhile, I decided I'd live with the extra work at the back so I would be more comofrtable. I moved along through several laps and things were going okay. I grew more confident in my abilities and was happy that I felt at home in the race. All was going about as well as was possible. Then I made a large mistake.

On the approach to the right turn preceeding the hill, I thought it best to move up the field a bit. The pace at the back was really going up and down more than I wanted. The course was not that tight so it did offer several chances to move up the line of riders but the home stretch was by far the widest and safest place to go. Hard thing was that whole home stretch was on a slight decline and the speeds we hit on this portion of the course were high. I was moving up okay and I thought things were fine until I got into the turn itself. I immediately knew that I'd gone too hot into the corner and would have to slow myself down a good bit to remain safe and upright. So I hit the brakes, pretty hard and lost a lot of speed. This was a major problem because I'd just given up a ton of momentum right before the hill and the field didn't slow a whole lot going up. I immediately lost 10 to 15 yards. This was not looking good.

Immediiately I do what I can to close the gap. I know full well that if I don't get back into the pack, my race is done. So I chase. And I chase and I chase some more. I got within about 5 yards of the rear of the pack but I could not get back in.

Below I am the lone figure chasing the pack, pretty close but still not amidst the safety of its numbers.

I continued my solo chase for several laps. I was not loosing ground but I wasn't gaining any ground either. Then I started to fatigue. I knew immedately that I was going to get pulled from the race if I hadn't caught back on and it was also clear that I was not going to be able to catch the pack. I kept working only to watch my gap to the pack grow.

Here the effort of trying to hold the pack becomes more clear as the gap has grown noticeably. I realize that I've got two choices, neither of which was particularly attractive. One, I could simply just quit as my fate was pretty sealed. The pack was 100 yards up on my and their combined power was far more than I could muster. It was only inevitable that I would not be finishing this race. Two, I could fight on and make the race officials pull me. I opted for the second choice, as I might as well make it a good training day. So I soldiered on, it was strange to keep rolling though the start finish area so far behind the pack. The race officials were using a whistle to tell riders to pull off and for several laps I kept waiting for the whistle as I approached. Part of me was hoping they'd blow it so I could stop. I was working as hard as I could and the effort was not insignificant. I knew that I was doing all I could, and the nausea I was developing made that all the more clear. So I kept at it until I could hear the pace car approaching behind me on the back side of the course. It was only fair and appropriate that I pull off the road so the field could pass by. So I did. It was a strange and uncomfortable feeling to pull off the road to watch the guys roll by me, knowing that I wanted to be there. Oh well, I played the cards I had on the day and they weren't good enough. But at least I'd put my chips on the table.

Post Race

I watched the end of the race and I was really impressed by how fast and hard the guys went. The field stayed largely together and the race ended in a group sprint. I don't know if I could have made it all the way to the end or not. There is no doubt in my mind that the effort I put forth chasing was far higher than I would have done in the field. I'd like to think that if I hadn't have bungled that turn, I could have hung around long enough to have finished the race. But that is neither here nor there. I am both attracted and revolted by this type of race. I really want to finish one but I'm not sure I'm quite strong enough yet. We'll see if I give it another go this summer.

Post Race Power Review

As a power geek, I always find reassurance in the fact that while I may not have had a great race, I captured really useful data. I'd say that was true for this day. You can see the data yourself by clicking here.

When I look at the file, the first thing that is immediately obvious is the huge swings in power that occurred. I was over 800 watts and below 200 watts within seconds of each other multiple times in the first 5 minutes of the race. When I look at these wattage figures, I see a good solid effort. What is interesting is that these values suggest that I could have done more in the race, particularly if I'd had better technique. Its that idea that will likely draw me back to a crit in the near future, that and the fact that I don't like to fail.

See you out there!

November 9

The Dig It crew is a hearty one and Michael was our latest example. He did his first cross race on a cold for Minnesota day today. Not only did he race well, he had fun too.

Nice job Michael!

October 25-26

Jason was in New Jersey for the PhysFarm Level II seminar on Training Plan Design and Periodization. Jason learned a lot to pass onto his athletes.

October 19

RuthAnn and Beth kick it at the Duke City Half Marathon in Albuquerque. Beth won her age group and RuthAnn came in 3rd, both with PR performances. Impressive runs for sure!

October 12

Dig It's Jill shows she's one tough cookie as she runs a PR at the Chicago Marathon just 5 weeks after IM Wisconsin. Nice run Jill.

October 11

Justin Hurd, who Coach Jason advises, shows shows his strength at IM Hawaii. On a challenging day, for the big island no less, Justin did great in his first attempt at the World Championships as a pro.

October 5

The Team Dig It at the Twin Cities Marathon. We setup and monitored the 5K pace clock on a rainy and chilly day. Nice job to all finishers. Dig It's Clifford showed great form in the 10 Mile race and took minutes off his time from the year before. Nice run Clifford.

September 28

Jason in racing mode at the ITU World Duathlon Championships in Italy. It was a fun day of action.

Here the bike awaiting its trusted rider.

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September 27

Jason serves as Assistant Coach with the elite athletes of Team USA at the ITU World Duathlon Championships in Rimini, Italy. It was a fun day filled with great competition for Team USA.

Here is the women's team poses for photos immediately after their finish.

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September 7

Dig It athlete Jill has a great day at Ironman Wisconsin. Jill exceeded all her goals and finished strong and could smile too. Hard work and dedication sure paid off, nice job Jill!

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August 31

At Ironman Louisville, Noelle does a great job on a hot and windy day in Kentucky. Noelle backed up a good swim and bike with solid run. Crossing the finish line with a smile on her face, Noelle showed how to get it done. Nice job, Noelle.

August 10

At the ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championships in Geel, Belgium, pro Justin Hurd, who Jason consults with on training, put in a great performance to finish 5th overall. In a perfect job of pacing, Justin ran, biked and ran with the best in the world. Way to go Justin!

Coach Jason was in action at the Town Hall Team Time Trial with 3 others from his bike racing club. The Birchwood Aged team might not have won, but we had fun.

August 2

At the Full Vineman in California, Dig It athlete Scott completes his Ironman dream with a solid debut race on a hot day. Awesome performance Scott!

July 6

At the Lake Steven's 70.3, Jill continued her great long course progress with a PR. Way to go Jill!

Dig It was a sponsor of the Duluth Duathlon. Coach Jason was there along with Todd enjoying a steamy day of running, biking and running again on the shores of Lake Superior. Here Team Dig It poses for a picture at the official Dig It Triathlon water station.

June 14

A great day at the Liberty Triathlon today as Noelle, Jill, Scott and Josh show their on track for long course success later this summer. Way to go guys!

Here Coach Jason and Jill hang out after the race.

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April 27

At the US National Duathlon Champs, Francois culminated his spring campaign with a 3rd place in the 35-39 age group. On a rainy and tough day in Richmond, Francois was solid across the board, yeah baby!

The 35-39 podium, with Francois on the right.

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April 5

Coach Jason joins the USA Triathlon National Duathlon Committee.

January 1

Coach Jason joins the PhysFarm coaching consortium. This group is dedicated to applying cutting edge exercise physiology and training software to use for all athletes. The newest software developed by PhysFarm, RaceDay, proves itself as a great tool for multisport athletes.

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December 12

Coach Jason now a USA Cycling Level 2 coach. Clinic in November was great and Jason learned some cool stuff and is ready to bring it to use with you.

November 25

Check out the newest edition of Midwest Events magazine for Coach Jason's article, "Spending for Speed."

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October 6

Coach Jason wins the inaugural Kickin' Leaves Duathlon in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The new race had a small field but a great course. Hope everyone can make it there next year.

Jason poses with bike and trophy at home after the race.

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2007 Dig It News

A full account of Dig It news from 2007 and early 2008 can be accessed on our latest news page, with archived links at the bottom.

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