Estabrook Cross - A Lesson Learned

I am beginning to like these Milwaukee-area cross races.  Get up, get dressed, ride to the race.  It couldn't be simpler, except of course for the fact that one actually has to race.  The Saturday race at Estabrook Park proved something of a challenge for me in that regard.  I ended up finishing the Masters 35+ Cat.4 race in 10th place, which would not have been a bad result if not for some tactical mistakes that cost me about 4 spots.

The day started well enough, though cold. The ride to Estabrook was a good way to get an early warm-up started.  I did not have a chance to pre-ride the course, but managed to ride nearly the whole thing outside the caution tape.  The course was fast and flat with a couple of long sections where you could open it up and go all out.  The County opened up the Estabrook Park beer garden for the race and had a German polka band for the occasion.  Though difficult, I managed not to enjoy a liter of Hofbrauhaus before race time.  The Hampshire team had ample course marshals and ran an organized event.  

After registering and warming up, I felt pretty good going into the race.  At the start I managed to stay with the front pack and was in 6th position for the first lap.  When I hit the straightway to the finish line on the back of the first lap, I realized the unpleasant fact that my warm-up was inadequate (too casual).  I blew up and could not keep up with the pace on the long, fast flat section.  On the road, I am usually a strong rider on the flats so this was particularly demoralizing.  I lost a couple of spots but managed to stay with a group of three riders and was in 9th place.  We ended up catching a rider from our age group at the first set of barriers on the second lap, but I took a spill when I didn't get my left foot out of the pedal in time.  Second week in a row.  This has to stop.

After the barriers, the three riders I had been with pulled away.  The rider we caught stayed tantalizingly close, never getting out of my sight.  By the third lap I seemed to recover and managed to pick off two riders who caught me shortly after my crash at the barriers.  On the last lap, I actually put a significant gap into these two and started narrowing the gap to the 9th place rider.  I went full gas on the long back stretch and finally felt like I had some power in my legs and executed a flawless mount after the run-up, but there just wasn't enough time to catch him before the finish.  

I cannot complain too much because I was outside on my bike racing in a classic setting along the Milwaukee River.  That being said, it was frustrating to feel like I was physically capable of a much higher finish had I been adequately warmed up before the race started.  I am learning that cross is markedly different from road racing in that regard.  Cross has no pack in which to hide while you get your legs and lungs comfortable with the effort.  I noticed that the second lap was just a gut-wrenching disaster because I had to work through the final stages of my warm-up on that lap.  Once I recovered I went pretty well and finished the last two laps faster much faster than the second lap, and felt strong at the end.

I stuck around for the Cat. 4's, but was unable to stay for the rest of the races.  Hopefully any Trek Midwest Team members who raced did well.  I for one learned a valuable lesson, if nothing else. 

Patrick Callahan