Copper 'Cross Race 9/14/08

It's been 7 years since I last raced Cyclocross. The main reason I stopped is because my chronic back pain hurts the most when doing 'cross. I also needed a break after racing road and crits all spring and summer. And finally as the weather gets colder and wetter (perfect conditions for 'cross aficionados) I get less interested. But it's mainly the back issue.

Why did I attempt this hardcore intense racing discipline again? Well, I bought a new 'cross frame to be my new winter bike since my old Litespeed Appalachian was looking at retirement. And after building up a pretty nice Salsa Chili Con Crosso it was just screaming at me to race it at least once. The Salsa couldn't "just" be a rain bike. It's a bewdy with decent components and I thought I'd give it a go.

I practiced my mounting and dismounting with Rick up at St. Ed's. I just couldn't seem to hop on the bike. I always did a little stutter step or dragged my foot behind. After about 50 attempts with Rick suggesting I start really slow and simply swing my leg over I finally started getting it down.

Initially I was riding my 700x35 tires with 60 psi up at St. Ed' but Rick talked me down to about 52. When I showed up at the race yesterday a teammate talked me down to 44 and I'm glad he did. I was nervous about running low, but it was fine. It helped absorb all the bumpy terrain and helped with traction in the corners. No pinch flats.

I pre-rode the course a couple laps and thought it was great. There was lot of fun single track with a few swooping corners and some fun downhill stuff. Of course there were a couple run ups and one was very long, loose, and steep. And the infield near the finish had two barriers to dismount for. I enjoyed the warm up with no back pain.

At the start I hung at the back of 20 guys cuz I figured this was just for fun and I wasn't going to be in contention for a podium spot anyway. As soon as we hit those first barriers (less than a minute) I wished I had gunned it for the front. I got stuck behind a big cluster bungle of riders falling all over themselves. I got into a rhythm and was able to ride a short steep hill that followed a loose downhill with a 180 degree turn. Most everyone else was having to dismount. Right after that was one of the two "real" run ups so had to shoulder the bike. Soon after that I was cruising through the single track and riding fairly well, but my HR was basically through the roof! I was nearly at my max most of the first lap and probably came across in 11th or 12th. My back held up.

For the second lap I couldn't keep up that intense pace so backed it down a notch or two and got passed by a couple guys. I have a whole new respect for 'crossers now. I can't believe the high end cardio you have to have to finish well. It's way above what my system is capable of. During the second lap my back started hurting which I expected, but it wasn't too bad yet. On my pain scale of 1-10 (10 being the worst pain imaginable) I was at a 6 by the end of lap 2. I was in about 15th at this point for the third and final lap.

Shortly after starting the final lap my back hit a "8" and I was done. An 8 for me means I'm having trouble pedaling let alone going hard. I basically was forced to soft pedal the last 2 miles and came in 18th out of 20.

(In four of the races throughout the day our team had 4 wins)! Rick had one in the Masters 1/2.

All in all I'm glad I did the race, but probably won't do any more unless I can get Redd and Mo to join me for one. Or if my back didn't kill me so much I'd be inclined to do a couple more. I'm starting some new PT for my back. Hopefully that will help.