Cyclocross GA CX #3

Time has flown by in the 'Cross season. Since I reported on the first race of the year in Dahlonega there have been several more races. I missed the second race of the series because it was in Savannah, GA - a five + hour drive from home. Also as reported in "Psycling" there were two off weeks in between. Things finally kicked off in earnest on 11/2/08 at the GA CX #3 in Conyers Int'l. Horse Park. This location has always been a favorite as the course is fast and challenging with good technical sections and a couple of difficult obstacles. This year they introduced an amazing spiral design where we rode in ever narrowing circles inwards, did a 180 deg. turn and rode the spiral back out and out to the course. They also introduced a new steep hill on a rutted and sandy access road. There was the usual log jump / run-up section and twisty sections from the past few years to make the course complete. I was in 8th place overall after missing Savannah but still got called up to the line so I got a good start position. At the gun I was off quickly and got settled in at the back end of the lead group. That gave me a big boost since last year I was already off the back by half way through the 1st lap. I kept in contact with the leaders for the first two laps but then a gap started to open up. Despite riding a lot more this year, there is just so much that is different in 'Cross racing than road racing. Anyway, coming across the start/finish line going into the third lap I had fallen off the back of the group and went into solo defensive mode - riding as hard as possible to keep my position and not get caught by anyone behind me. I still felt strong and rode well so holding onto my spot proved to be no difficulty and I ended up in 5th - which was my best finish for the past few years.

Having been in close contact with the leaders for the first 15 minutes, I began to understand why I have not done as well in 'Cross as I do on the road. Of the four leaders, I know for a fact that I can drop at least two of them during a hard road ride - since I've done it on several occasions. The other two I have also finished ahead of during several races this year. However, Cyclocross racing is much shorter, with many short intense bursts of power. The lead riders were constantly accelerating and attacking each other, and every time they did I had to dig deep into my reserves to stay with them. After a while I just could not hold on. My coach explained it best. He showed me that I have an excellent aerobic base and can perform well at my anaerobic threshold, but I have not developed a power, or creatine phosphate system. That is done by training in short but extremely intense bursts with multiple repetitions and good recovery between efforts. I'm also lacking in muscular strength as I slacked off on weight lifting this year. Simply put, I can go really fast for a long time at a steady pace with some accelerations. However, when the pace is already hard with constant accelerations and bursts of power, I'm exhausting my energy reserves which are not trained to replenish themselves and eventually can't sustain the effort. Like when I dropped off the back - after that I could still ride fast and had no worries about getting caught because I was going at a constant and steady pace. Looks like a new training plan is going to be a critical necessity!