Team Mango

battle in seattle 2004

is it spring already?

having raced the “battle in seattle” course in seatac last year, i was familiar with its tight turns and limited passing opportunities (both in number and in length). knowing this, i decided that vying for position on the lead-in was the way to go if i wanted get a decent placement. at the starting gun, our mass of 44 riders had a mere 300 yards of cranking hard on asphalt before diving into the singletrack. i gave it my all and found a spot somewhere near the front 1/4 of the line.

the trick then was to keep my position (or better it if possible). however, i quickly found that the pace of those in front of me and immediately behind was a wee-bit more than i could handle. after the starting loop and about halfway through the first lap, i noticed that my heart rate had been almost constantly above my anaerobic threshold — obviously something i couldn’t sustain for any great length of time. i found a nice wide spot in the trail, pulled politely off to the side, and watched almost the entire pack pass me as i sucked wind and fumbled for my gu packets. oh well, first race, i thought. just try to survive and finish.

my heart settled down and i hit the trail again. it became almost leisurely cycling along with no one else around me. i picked a pace that kept my HR just below my AT and just tried to have fun. and that i did!

so rather than killing myself with exersion, i thought i’d work on getting my mountain biking skills back into shape after a trail-less winter. doing so had me wiping out not once, not twice, but three times! the first happened after running up a steep incline. i went for the quick remount, but failed to notice that my tires were on a sandy off-camber slope which sent me immediately to the ground. the second was a tight, very technical section of roots crammed between a group of tree trunks. most riders seemed to be walking it, but i (foolishly) thought i’d go for it. i got hung up about half way through, wedging my bike between two trees and leaving me on the ground once again. and lastly, the 20’ dropoff from last year that ejected me from my bike did the same again this year. last year’s slippery muddy slope was replaced with slippery sand this year. on my first lap, i went full-bore down the slope and quickly realized that i wouldn’t be able to hold much traction. i’m not sure how it happened, but i basically stepped both feet over my handlebars and found myself running down the slope with my bike tumbling wheel-over-wheel behind me. still alive, i guess. the following two laps i navigated the dropoff successfully but oh so cautiously.

the remainder of the ride i simply pedaled until it was over. at 2:02:19.47, i was 41st out of 44 riders in my class. a disappointing result for someone who usually strives for the mid-pack finish, but it was a nice wake-up call saying that i should be a little more religious about my training. and with an age group of 30-39, at 36 i’m definitely feeling like an oldie within my group. maybe i’ll do better when i hit 40!