ZenJen Tillmanator Blog: One last XC MTB race to get ready for CX

NoFilm Photography - Thank-you!

For those of you who like a main summary headline vs. a detailed story, here you go:

I raced Fairhill MTB XC Pro/Cat 1 Women race Saturday 8/17
it was my first MTB since May since I had decided to focus on training both hard and playfully close to home
Fairhill race was 27 miles of fast, flowy and technical classic midatlantic single track trail
I proved to myself that my summer training is paying off (summer of the Tillmanator) and I am stronger and feeling solid on the bike
I took 6th overall in the combined Cat 1 field, even with a crash in the first 1/4 of the race that stunned me a minute
i won $50, not enough to quit my day job :-), ha. I'll continue back to the office so i can continue to sponsor my '13 race schedule
I'm bruised, sore and ready to start seriously prepping for 'cross season now!

A few more words down below for those of you who would like to read on:

I haven't raced the mountain bike since May. I just felt like training and hitting the local trails and roads for efforts, play, etc. With the 'cross season fast approaching (Nittany CX Weekend is 3 weekends away), I decided to race the Fairhill XC (Cross-Country) elite women's race up in Elkton, MD.

Fairhill is a fast, flowy, rooty course spread over many, many acres of forest lands. It is sweet and classic midatlantic racing. The pro race was 27 miles of rippin' fast and technical trails that would test all of our abilities to hold super fast speeds in super tight single track.

Fairhill Pro/Cat 1 Course

My goals - determine how my "summer of training" translates into a Race...

Could I start stronger and hold the lead group of notoriously fast "Team CF" women (women who tend to clean-up at all races they enter)?
Would I feel stronger?
Would my sustained power be greater?

I would see.

Before Race - solid 45 minute warmup with some high-end openers. Legs felt ok, not great, and not bad. Sometimes feeling ok is perfect.

Race - the cat 1 40+ women and the cat 1/pro women would start together at 945A. The two classes were separated for the race series but would race together for the race cash prize purse.

I was in the 3rd row at the start. Really didn't care. I figured I could move up if needed. I felt calm and fairly mellow for a start.

The horn blew and we were off. I quicky moved up passing women on the far left in the thick grass. I had the sustained power to keep the acceleration going strong moving into good position, 6th wheel, down the smooth line in the center of the fire road. Team CF took positions 1-4, Stacey 5th, and I held 6th. Halfway down the fireroad we dropped the rest of the field. Goal 1 - yes, my start was stronger. This power will be perfect for 'cross.

As we approached the woods, I knew where I wanted to be from pre-riding. I had guessed the group would hold the left line up a sweeping left turn climb 1/4 mile before the single track entrance and they did. This line was a tad moist and I noticed it had scrubbed my speed during the warmup. Right where I had planned, I made a strong Single-speed like move (thank you to the Tillmanator training project bike) and Hauled ARSE up the climb on the far right where the ground was firm. i was now in 4th place. I continued to chase hard.

On the first right hand turn entering the single track, Kathleen Harding went down. It was a gravel, slippery turn and she laid it down pretty fast and hard. Wow. She was ok. A few of us took the outside line and quickly followed the lead 2 into the tight trails. I was in 3rd.

I immediately chased the top 2 into the first 25 miles of fast twisty fast N flowy classic single track The ground was surprisingly damp from the many days of summer rain that hadn't drained 100%. The roots were everywhere. Trees hugged the tight turns. And I was on the gas revving my Tillmanator engine hard. Mock speed. Engine on high. Trails flying by. Heart-rate pounding. Everything must be "on" to win in these conditions. There is no time to think or to process. You are either "ON" (or are not). In these moments of full on 150% heart attack racing is where my training takes over. While not sustainable for 2+ hours of racing, it is in these moments where you can make a move that will give you the advantage... or the advantage can just as easily be taken away... like when you "clip" a branch/tree or you didn't turn fast enough and end up on the side of a trail...

It wasn't long before there was serious pressure from behind. Kathleen was back and quickly trying to overtake ... I knew I couldn't hold "this pace" and let her fly by and back on I went.

MTB racing is all about strong accelerations at the start. The order you enter the single track is usually the order you finish in. Starts are important. Once you are in the thick of the woods, folks settle into their race pace and this is where the "races within the race" happen.

My first race within the race was with Carolyn Popovic and Stacey Barbossa. I had overtaken Carolyn with the move i made leading into the single track but she got me back when Kathleen came rolling by. Our trio raced for awhile together and I played tit N tat with Carolyn. I'd make a move and she'd make one back. I'd make another and she'd make one back. Stacey was probably the smartest for hanging in back and watching us saving herself for later. It was fun though and it is interesting to see how deep I can push myself into my pain cave.

In the end, Carolyn made another move and kept it. Solid ride, strong. Meanwhile the race within the race part II became 2, me and Stacey. I led her out for awhile. The race course turned tight in what I call the "1000 turns" (wicked tight fast turns) section of the race. Right, then an immediate left through tight trees. Left then immediate right. Et cetera. Add speed, roots, trees and just plain tight race lines and you realize it requires all of your focus.

Stacey and I exchanged a few chats through this 1000 turns section when POW BAM, my front wheel slid out and a nanosecond later I was kissing the ground with my bike twisted up behind me. She quickly asked if I was ok and when I said yeah, she was off. Stunned me stood up untwisting my handlebar and checking to make sure both my body and bike were ok while a few more riders passed. One woman amongst a group of Masters 50+ men that had raced up quickly behind our field.

Bah. Mentally it took me a second to snap out of it. My left wrist and hand hurt. I was a little browner than when i started (dirt stains) ...

I raced on taking the turns a tad more cautiously. I focused on climbing as hard as I could, using that Tillmanator Singlespeed strength. I put a ton of power down in the flats and mild descents. I was cautious over the loose gravel turns. In the end, I played my strengths and exercised caution on the fastest and loosest downhill sections. Figured it'd be faster to stay up right at this point.

As I continued racing, more speed came...

Into the last 1/4 of the race, the woman who had passed me after my crash was in sight. This gave me some extra incentive to dig deeper. I knew she was faster on the downhills but clearly I was outriding her on the climbs and flats. I held her wheel a short distance before making a go of it on a climb and putting (and keeping) the hammer down. I just had the gas to burn and so I pushed the pace on the climbs. Standing, big gear climbing. It made me smile. I felt so strong.

I rode the last 1/4 of the race at a solid tempo pushing myself as hard as I could on the hills.

Top 10 Women Overall with a Man-Stand-In for Nicki in 1st

I finished 6th overall in the combined field. Funny, I was 6th off the start and here I was 6th on the finish. The final finish order nearly matched the start order. Like I said, in MTB, this is generally what happens.

I finished the day with a a little ice on the wrist/hand, some food in the belly, and a big smile on my face. I'm looking forward to pushing my own limits in the upcoming 'cross season. It's going to be a wild, fun journey.