Fremont Peak Hill Climb (NCNCA's Hill Climb Championship)

Zachary Hilton
Fremont Peak Hill Climb

San Juan Bautista, CA 
Place: 4
Field: 4
Teammates: In Other Categories but grouped together (Alexander Komlik, Andy Crews, Alan Weatherall)

Weather:  85 Sunny down below and the warmest on the hill, especially miles 6-8!! No wind..just sun!
Start Time:  10:20 am

Total Time: 00:54:52
Power: 235 W avg, 632 W max, 251 W NP  

Average Speed: 10.8 MPH, Top Speed 35.7 MPH

Average HR: 179 Max HR: 187

Elevation Ascent: 2,365 ft

Training Peaks Data

I'm riding a 2015 Specialized Tarmac with Ultegra 6800 11 speed group set with a 53/39 11/32 for this race.  I have a pair for Race Rim Tubular 32's that are perfect for this race.  I've been hooked on my current breakfast for a while now.  Trader Joe's Multi-Grain oatmeal cooked in egg whites, peanut butter, berries, and maple syrup.  Yum and full of energy to start race day right.

My goals for this race are to try and salvage any racing effort I have after Mt Tam and get back on the podium.  Last year I set a PR of 45:09.  That's 9 seconds off from getting a free beer from the promoter at Jardine's Mexican after in San Juan Bautista!  I am not in the same shape as last year though :(  I'm still showing up and giving it my best.  There is a huge need to support these races.

I went to bed way to late the night before.  We were hosting a party and staying up late with friends we hadn't seen in a while, and you can't say no to that.  I still managed to get 8 hours of good sleep.  I woke up tired and the weather was starting to heat up again.  I got a great warm up in the shade, but the average temp is 87 now!  Not great weather to do a hill climb in for me.  Making me feel more out of shape.

We started off at the whistle and quickly formed a two by two formation that lasted for several minutes.  At around mile 2 we were starting to break up into smaller groups.  I followed the leaders until mile 3.5 when the rollers came.  At mile 5 I started to drop back and settled into my own tempo.  Miles 6-8 are the toughest and also most exposed to the sun.  I was by myself now and hoping to pick some others off.  I hit mile 7 and started to loose power and felt like I was going backwards.  Not a good feeling but I kept on pushing through it.  At mile 8 it begins to level out with some rollers and then the final mile is the best.  It's a technical and fast final 1K!  If you know the course well, you can take risks.  I crossed the finish line 9 minutes over my PR.  What a bad feeling, but it's what I deserved for being out of racing for so long.  The second and third place guys were at 49 and 50 minute marks.  That was even more defeating because I wouldn't even have to PR in order to get on the podium.

Overall this only make my will to come back stronger!  I'm racing SJBC's Vuelta, Winter Series, and some Low Key Hill Climbs.  I plan to be stronger than last year this January for the 2016 season openers.

I used one bottle of Hammer Heed no need to carry any more for this short race, Race Caps Supreme, and two Hammer gels.  Time to recover with Hammer Nutrition's Recoverite and get a good night sleep.

Next race will be Vuelta de San Jose on September 27!  That morning my wife Katie and I are running a 5K together in San Martin.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks to Hammer Nutrition!

Thanks to Voler!
Thanks to Vittoria Tires!

Thanks to SJBC Race Team!