Sonny Hutchins 2008 race report

Sonny Hutchins Memorial Criterium
March 2, 2008
Cat 1/2/3

Going into this race after having had the flu just 2 weeks before, I had almost no expectations of finishing. I hadn't finished one of the 1/2/3 races in the past, but I'd always raced an earlier race the same day. This time I was going to do one race, which would be the longest and fastest race of the day.

The course is a 1/3 mile slightly banked oval race track. It's paved, but there is an outside line and an inside line- the middle is pretty ground up and bumpy. It's not enough to make you feel uncomfortable on the surface, but it's enough to force you to think about where you are on the track at all times. It's also a little unnerving to do 40-45 second laps and turn every 10-15 seconds... But it's usually a safe race because there are no surprises in the turns. It's always the same turn, and doing 60 laps means you turn exactly 240 times. All that and the total distance comes to a whopping 18-20 miles (the rumor is that the actual distance of the track is not quite 1/3 of a mile.)

The first lap wasn't really that fast, but there were a few animated riders. Nothing to worry about (even if I was worried, I wouldn't have done anything about it. I was aiming to finish, not do a lot of work.)

Once we'd gotten about 10 laps in, my legs were starting to burn, and I started to think I couldn't finish the race. I got out of the wind as much as possible and recovered enough to get my legs back, though. About mid-way through the race, I wasn't able to move up to the front, but I was able to move around in the middle, and that was good enough for me.

In the last 5 laps or so (remember, these laps are SHORT), I started feeling pretty good, and started moving up a little. But with 2 to go I was boxed in. I found a wheel of one of the best sprinters in the area, and got on it. Unfortunately, he had lapped the field with a small group and didn't sprint the finish. I actually almost crashed when I started my wind-up and he backed off. I had to swerve to miss him, and my left knee caught the left handlebar end, and picked my front wheel off the ground briefly in mid-sprint. Luckily it was only momentary, but it still scared the crap out of me.

I believe I finished around 25th-30th out of about 52 guys. I'm completely content with that.

Also to note today... Happy Birthday, Sis!!! Thanks for coming to the race!!!