Zachary Hilton
Sea Otter Classic Road Race
Category 35+ 4's (Combined and Scored Separate with the 45+4's)
Sea Otter Classic Road Race
Category 35+ 4's (Combined and Scored Separate with the 45+4's)
Seaside, CA
Place: 12
Field: 14
Teammates: None
Place: 12
Field: 14
Teammates: None
Weather: 60 windy, sunny, but not to warm
Start Time: 03:30:00 pm
Start Time: 03:30:00 pm
Total Time: 02:34:00
Power: 220 W avg, 816 W max, 218 W NP
Power: 220 W avg, 816 W max, 218 W NP
Average Speed: 17.9 MPH, Top Speed 43.1 MPH
Average HR: 164 Max HR: 187
Elevation Ascent: 4,583
Elevation Ascent: 4,583
I'm riding a 2015 Specialized S-Works Tarmac with Ultegra 6800 53/39 11 speed group set with an 11/32 for this race. Lot's of climbing in each lap. I have a pair for Race Rim carbon tubular 32's for this race. They are light and stiff enough for some 40 mph plus racing and some poor roads. I follow Hammer Nutrition's Steve Born on many pre-race strategies. This race started late compared to most. A 3:30 pm start meant that I needed to change things up a bit with the food intake for today. I ate my oatmeal mix for breakfast. A plain bagel with peanut butter three hours prior to the race start. After Ward's Ferry RR I am now trying something new for on the bike nutrition while racing. I am carrying 4 Hammer Gels and two bottles of Hammer Heed. One Hammer Gel for every 30 minutes that passes. Sea Otter Classic is awesome at providing a neutral feed zone for all the races. They also have some cool new bottles with their logos that we get to keep. Souvenirs on the bike!
My goals for this race are to stay upfront and don't get dropped on the climbs. This is the beginning of big climbing races in May and June. Time to put this training to good use. The course was changed this year because of construction in the area. It's still a 46 mile course, but they made the laps shorter which means that we climbed Hennekens Ranch Rd 6 times. There is also a short climb on Eucalyptus Rd also that we will do 6 times. Hennekens Ranch Rd will be the deciding factor of where you will place, and that's where the Feed Zone was located this year also. Don't forget about Barloy Canyon Rd that you need to climb up to the finish line. We didn't get to start the race on the race track this year..bummer! We started on Barloy Canyon Rd just next the race track and it was a neutral start till we got onto the course.
We were combined with the 45+4's and picked separately at the start line. Which made us a group of 36. The race started neutral but the moto ref had us flying. I got a PR on the Barloy Canyon Rd descent because it was an all out positioning point. Moto was letting us fly and all 36 of us wanted to be at the front for the first climb :) Of course the first time up Hennekens Ranch Rd was fierce. We dropped several off the back. There is a long stretch of road after the climb that had everyone stretched out single file as we approached some rollers and a fast descent. Positioning is still a factor this part in the race also. The pace slows down a bit as we make a left on Gigling Rd. The road has pot holes and a slight rise. We had wind at us for most of the race except for when we made a left on Parker Flats Cut Off Rd. Huge tailwind on the sharp left hand turn section. Each time around we would be single file and someone would be attacking off the front. None of the attacks created a break but they hurt, and we dropped riders who came into the turn to late. I always made my way to the front 2-3 spots as we came around that turn and found a wheel. The same went for Eucalyptus Rd. We would make a hard left turn, then it was a sharp climb up, followed by a long fast descent back down to the start of Hennekens Ranch Rd. Lap two was pretty much the same. Lap three I was starting to hurt climbing Hennekens Ranch Rd. I took a feed this lap also. I was following my nutrition plan well, and no cramps coming on. My times were just getting slower going up that climb. 4th lap I took another feed and by the 5th lap I was popped off the back on Hennekens Ranch Rd. The rest of this race I promised myself I would chase, and not sit up. I didn't want anyone to catch me from behind either. I caught one other rider during the last lap and on the way up Barloy Canyon Rd to the finish a few more joined.
What I learned from this race is that less food is better for me while racing. My pre-race meals gave me energy while not slowing my gut down. I need race days like this to compete. It's hard to replicate this in training. For hard races like this I'll be using a Hammer Gel every 30 minutes, and a bottle per hour of HEED.
We were combined with the 45+4's and picked separately at the start line. Which made us a group of 36. The race started neutral but the moto ref had us flying. I got a PR on the Barloy Canyon Rd descent because it was an all out positioning point. Moto was letting us fly and all 36 of us wanted to be at the front for the first climb :) Of course the first time up Hennekens Ranch Rd was fierce. We dropped several off the back. There is a long stretch of road after the climb that had everyone stretched out single file as we approached some rollers and a fast descent. Positioning is still a factor this part in the race also. The pace slows down a bit as we make a left on Gigling Rd. The road has pot holes and a slight rise. We had wind at us for most of the race except for when we made a left on Parker Flats Cut Off Rd. Huge tailwind on the sharp left hand turn section. Each time around we would be single file and someone would be attacking off the front. None of the attacks created a break but they hurt, and we dropped riders who came into the turn to late. I always made my way to the front 2-3 spots as we came around that turn and found a wheel. The same went for Eucalyptus Rd. We would make a hard left turn, then it was a sharp climb up, followed by a long fast descent back down to the start of Hennekens Ranch Rd. Lap two was pretty much the same. Lap three I was starting to hurt climbing Hennekens Ranch Rd. I took a feed this lap also. I was following my nutrition plan well, and no cramps coming on. My times were just getting slower going up that climb. 4th lap I took another feed and by the 5th lap I was popped off the back on Hennekens Ranch Rd. The rest of this race I promised myself I would chase, and not sit up. I didn't want anyone to catch me from behind either. I caught one other rider during the last lap and on the way up Barloy Canyon Rd to the finish a few more joined.
What I learned from this race is that less food is better for me while racing. My pre-race meals gave me energy while not slowing my gut down. I need race days like this to compete. It's hard to replicate this in training. For hard races like this I'll be using a Hammer Gel every 30 minutes, and a bottle per hour of HEED.
Time to recover with Hammer Nutrition's Recoverite and get a good night sleep. Don't forget to recover during your sleep and take some Hammer Whey to boost that HGH. I've also added Hammer Nutrition's Chromate, and Super Antioxidant to the recovery mix. Both have great recovery ingredients! Time to go and walk the Sea Otter Festival! Great food, drinks, and swag!
Next race will be Berkeley Hills RR on May 7th!
Thanks for reading!
Thanks to Hammer Nutrition!
Thanks to SJBC Race Team!
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| Avery and I got to meet Ted King from Untapped Maple Syrup |
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| Avery competed in the Specialized Kids Zone on a dirt track. |
