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NORBA MTB CHAPIONSHIP RACE REPORT
Here is fast race report, sorry, no time for any pictures. As I’m sure you know the race was moved from Mammoth to Infineon raceway in Sonoma CA. While the course was not even as close to being as fun as the Mammoth course, the altitude was a big thing for me. At last years race at Mammoth I could not breathe and was either last or 2nd to last going to in to the last lap where I crashed out.:madman: Since the race this year was only 2 hours form my place there was no way I was going to miss it.
I arrived the day before hoping to do a pre ride but no such luck. You could pre ride the course after 6:30pm and I had dinner plans with friends in the area. I knew there were A LOT of riders who are faster then me doing this race so my goal was to finish mid pack and not cramp or crash. After watching the pro race and checking there times and the semi pro times I figured my sorry old ass would cross the finish at around 2:40. So I needed to pace myself for a longer race.
The race started at 8am so I was up at 5:30am. Had my usual breakfast bagel and headed over to the race. I could not believe how calm I was. Nothing like knowing you have no chance of getting on the podium to keep the pre jitters at bay! At this race they put a marker with your class number on your legs so you can tell who is in your age group. They started my group Expert 45-59 with the 40-44. As expected the pace was uber fast off the line. My plan was to not go hard at the start and hopefully get faster and pass people over the next 4 laps. As we hit the first section of trail I was surprised at how loose the soil was and I lost a bunch of time in the first lap just getting used to the course and the terrain. It seemed you never stoped pedaling on this course, all the hills are short and a couple were paved. I figured I was way back in the pack after lap 1. I picked up the pace and was happy to see the number 10 on a guy’s leg in front of me. I passed him and picked up the pace for the rest of lap 2. After the second lap I did another dose of Sports Legs. I’ll talk more about this product later. Again I picked up the pace and passed a few more riders in my group. This felt really good to be doing the passing instead of being passed! :thumbsup: I was starting to get the feel of the course and was actually going downhill at a reasonable pace now. I finished lap 3 with the guy who got 2nd place in the 50-55 races. I was SO jealous he was done after 3 laps!:eekster:
Lap 4: The last lap. I knew there was nothing left to save so I went all out on the last lap. Passed another rider from my class. The amazing thing was: NO CRAMPING!!!!!!!!!! As hard I pushed my legs felt OK, not even the small beginning of cramping!! This product is a savior for me. I’ve had major cramping issues in 2/3 of my races this year.
I finished strong with a time of 2:36, and 9th place out of the 22 that started. There were a bunch of DNF’s so not sure how many finished. I feel great about this result and kind of surprised. When I look back I realize I could have gone a little harder but it would not have made a big difference in the outcome, the guy who won finished 15 minutes ahead of me.:eekster: :eekster:
Next race Downieville, the ultimate test of Sports Legs!
Here is fast race report, sorry, no time for any pictures. As I’m sure you know the race was moved from Mammoth to Infineon raceway in Sonoma CA. While the course was not even as close to being as fun as the Mammoth course, the altitude was a big thing for me. At last years race at Mammoth I could not breathe and was either last or 2nd to last going to in to the last lap where I crashed out.:madman: Since the race this year was only 2 hours form my place there was no way I was going to miss it.
I arrived the day before hoping to do a pre ride but no such luck. You could pre ride the course after 6:30pm and I had dinner plans with friends in the area. I knew there were A LOT of riders who are faster then me doing this race so my goal was to finish mid pack and not cramp or crash. After watching the pro race and checking there times and the semi pro times I figured my sorry old ass would cross the finish at around 2:40. So I needed to pace myself for a longer race.
The race started at 8am so I was up at 5:30am. Had my usual breakfast bagel and headed over to the race. I could not believe how calm I was. Nothing like knowing you have no chance of getting on the podium to keep the pre jitters at bay!
At this race they put a marker with your class number on your legs so you can tell who is in your age group. They started my group Expert 45-59 with the 40-44. As expected the pace was uber fast off the line. My plan was to not go hard at the start and hopefully get faster and pass people over the next 4 laps. As we hit the first section of trail I was surprised at how loose the soil was and I lost a bunch of time in the first lap just getting used to the course and the terrain. It seemed you never stoped pedaling on this course, all the hills are short and a couple were paved. I figured I was way back in the pack after lap 1. I picked up the pace and was happy to see the number 10 on a guy’s leg in front of me. I passed him and picked up the pace for the rest of lap 2. After the second lap I did another dose of Sports Legs. I’ll talk more about this product later. Again I picked up the pace and passed a few more riders in my group. This felt really good to be doing the passing instead of being passed! :thumbsup: I was starting to get the feel of the course and was actually going downhill at a reasonable pace now. I finished lap 3 with the guy who got 2nd place in the 50-55 races. I was SO jealous he was done after 3 laps!:eekster: Lap 4: The last lap. I knew there was nothing left to save so I went all out on the last lap. Passed another rider from my class. The amazing thing was: NO CRAMPING!!!!!!!!!! As hard I pushed my legs felt OK, not even the small beginning of cramping!! This product is a savior for me. I’ve had major cramping issues in 2/3 of my races this year.
I finished strong with a time of 2:36, and 9th place out of the 22 that started. There were a bunch of DNF’s so not sure how many finished. I feel great about this result and kind of surprised. When I look back I realize I could have gone a little harder but it would not have made a big difference in the outcome, the guy who won finished 15 minutes ahead of me.:eekster: :eekster:
Next race Downieville, the ultimate test of Sports Legs!
