Track Racing

Today I was in Trexlertown again for another day of track racing. Today on the menu was a 2K scratch, 4K points race, and another of my absolute unfavorite race that I hate so much, the Unknown Distance race. Today turned out to be a weird day.

In the first race, the 2K scratch race (6 laps) I was in the field for most of the race until the last lap and a half when I finished behind the lead field by about a half a lap I believe. There were some guys behind me but I couldn't tell you exactly where I finished. I was in my 49x15 for this race (gear ratio) which comes out to be about an 88" inch gear (how far the bike will go in one full pedal rotation). This is all track cycling talk.

For the 4K sprints race (12 laps), there was a sprint lap every 4 laps (8 to go, 4 to go, final lap) which I knew would make this a faster race. I went down to my 48x15 (86") to give it a try. I tried to keep up and was doing a good job until 4 or 5 laps to go when I started dropping back. I got lapped with 2 laps to go, and I pulled out only finishing all but one lap.

Now, for my most hated race, the Unknown Distance... This is where the "weird day" part comes in. As you may remember in my previous posts, I hate this race because you have to really use your ears in this one to listen for the bell to mark when we have one lap to go. I did pretty well keeping up with the lead field, which after a few laps went down to probably 10 or 11 of us. I was leading the field for a lap, and then pulled off to get back into the field and sit in. This turned out to be a good move at the right time, but I ended up getting in the far back of the lead field instead of in the middle where I wanted to. It would have been more perfect if I accomplished that.

After a lap of this, the bell goes off and everyone starts sprinting. Coming around the finish line with one to go, I just gassed it with ALL I had, and I mean literally ALL I had and started passing other riders one by one. There were four off the front, and I caught up to these two guys a few meters behind them, and sprinted out for 5th place with them. I missed 5th place by an inch or two, and I'm not sure if I beat the other guy or not. My honest guess would be that he beat me by just a very little. So out of 15 or so, I got 6th or 7th in this race, which was my best performance for today and one of my best performance in my cycling career, despite it being the one I absolutely hate to race in. When I got back into the infield, Dad was waiting for me but didn't expect me to practically collapse on the ground after getting off the bike. I couldn't feel my legs after all that energy I exerted from that strong effort. My heart rate maxed out at 235 bpm, and my established max heart rate from last year during a testing was 199 bpm!
I'm amazed I did this well in the first and last race, considering I haven't been to the track since the last time I race there about a month ago. I'm ready for next week's racing now, I can't wait!

I have two more races I can make it to (of the final three available). The next one, as I mentioned, is next week. This will be a make-it-or-break-it for me, as to whether or not I'm ready to upgrade to Category 4. I want to do well next week, and then take the 2-3 weeks I will have to train hard for my final race on September 12th, hopefully as a Cat 4.