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First race in 5 weeks

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orion_134

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
I am finally gaining the confidence to enter into a race and I have a few questions. A little background: 26 and have been MTB'ing for about 6 months about 8-10 hours a week. The course will be Santos and I've ridden the trails twice before. I will be riding the trails twice more before the race. I've been on the same SS bike since I started. Think that about covers the intro.
First question is about the class. Having never raced before, I would hate to be "that guy" who jumps into Base and is holding up other riders. However, I'd rather be in the SS category because it leaves with the Expert and Sport categories because I feel that I will have less of a chance of getting held up by "that guy" (the Expert and Sport guys will leave me on the holeshot anyway). Plus, I don't want to enter as Novice because I automatically will feel like I'm sand-bagging. So does it sound like I just need to enter the SS cat or the Base?
Second is about pre-race training. Aside from riding the trails in question as much as possible, is there anything that I should do in particular 1 month out such as intervals or the like? The terrain consists of short, explosive uphills separated by flat singletrack. Should I do intervals weeks 4 and 3 and no closer to the race?
Thanks guys,
Jesse
 
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#2 ·
Ride in the ss cat. If your riding a ss then race with those guys and in the first mile or two everyone is going to find their place anyway so just give way to other riders if they ask to get by. Otherwise good luck, if your already riding 8-10 hrs/week on a ss the you should be fine for the race. Only thing I might suggest would be to practice eating while riding if your new to racing. If you race cat 2 or ss distance, you'll probably need to eat something during the race so try some different things to see what your stomach likes best and work on eating while at a high hr while riding. Good luck
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
I'm also registered for a 50 miler in Jan, so I have only recently been introduced to the eat-on-the-ride. However, I didn't know that it applied to a ~1 hour race. Is it normally just one snack/gel etc. during the race eaten somewhere near the middle?
 
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#4 ·
orion_134 said:
I'm also registered for a 50 miler in Jan, so I have only recently been introduced to the eat-on-the-ride. However, I didn't know that it applied to a ~1 hour race. Is it normally just one snack/gel etc. during the race eaten somewhere near the middle?
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i usually do a caffeinated gel 10 mins or so before and then one near mid way in a 1:30-1:45 race.
 
#5 ·
Sorry, our cat 2 and ss races around here are usually closer to 1:30 - 2:00 hrs or 20-24 miles so eating is not really necessary but good practice. For a 1 hour or less race you don't need to eat, just keep some fluids in you and you'll be fine.
 
#6 ·
If you have been riding for 6 months and never raced, why not race novice? SS and Sport class are VERY competitive. If you really just don't want to go novice, try your age group in base. It will be a lot more fun for you if you are competitve. There will be some fast guys in that novice race, so I don't think anyone will accuse you of sandbagging. If you do well, great. Base class will be waiting for you next season. As far as nutrition, you will be on the bike around an hour in novice or base (2 laps) so don't worry about food, just stay hydrated with some type of electrolyte drink like Heed which also provides some calories.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Whoops, I meant SS or Base. Edited. Last couple races at Santos were only one ~35 minute lap in Novice, two in Base, three in SS.
 
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Discussion starter · #9 ·
As much as I'd love for my first race to be at my home trail, I'll be at my sister's wedding.
 
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Discussion starter · #11 ·
Went on a nice 26 mile ride today (my longest ride by far) and was really pushed by another rider so we were booking for many sections of the ride. I tried some pre- and during-ride gels and I've never felt better during the ride! I had a Hammer at the start, a Powerbar caffeinated at the one hour, and then another Hammer at the third hour. I also had a bottle of Gatorade laced with some powder called Jacked and I dropped hammers all day. I can't attribute the feeling to anything in particular because of the three additions to the ride (I normally only ride with water and on no fuel but breakfast) but I'm sold on the gels!
Just a rant...
 
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#12 ·
Hey sounds good man, glad to see it helped. I usually will carry a bottle with HED and water mixture, a bottle of Poweraid/ Water mix, and a bottle of water and in the summer months try to take in atleast 24 ounces/ hour for liquid. For food, I stick with shot blocks and usually will eat 1/2 pack per hour during race, one pack is around 200 calories and 50g of carbs.
 
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