Air Force Association Cycling Classic: Getting Back to Business

So for the last month my training has been extremely sub-par.  I got injured mid-April so I completely stopped riding to allow myself to recover, I graduated college, and I moved 1,000 miles across the country to Virginia.  I try to stay positive and think that although most athletes do not enjoy injuries, mine tend to come at times that I can take a break.  It took some effort to get back to training and I have been hesitant to try to ride.  It started with not being able to bend my knee, then I had to teach a spin class one legged (yes it was entertaining to watch), and then finally I have slowly worked myself up from being able to ride for about 20 minutes pain free to an hour without any pain.  Once I got to an hour I decided I would give a race a try to see whether I was ready to start doing what I’ve always done.

The Air Force Association Cycling Classic Challenge Ride is a really cool event. It basically is a big loop around the Pentagon and surrounding areas.  All the roads are closed from traffic so the cyclists have a lot of room to ride.  There was about 2,000 riders so there was a great chance to work with other riders at my level and test my leg.  For any cyclists reading this, the event is REALLY cool and I encourage you to try it out.  The challenge was to see how many loops you could do within three hours.

My view to the start line.

Now I knew I was out of shape compared to what I know I am capable of.  I hadn’t really been on any group rides for nearly a year and my handling was going to be sub-par.  I calculated what speed I needed to average to reach the Gold Level which was the top level and figured I could do it. I got registered and lined up about 300 riders deep before the race start.

Waiting for the race to start I began chatting with the riders next to me.  I mentioned this was my first time and that I have just moved from Iowa. This is the conversation that followed:

Rider: Oh you’re from Iowa, are there even any hills there?

Alex: Ha ha, yes we do have hills but you typically have to go looking for them.

Rider: …….are they all man-made?

Alex: Well no, they are actually hills.

Rider: Well the loop only has one hill but it is a long and gradual one.  It isn’t too bad the first time, but it will wear you down.

This is my rant. He just said the wrong thing to the wrong person. I do NOT like people who doubt me without knowing me.  Does Iowa even have hills? For the record, one of my first  group rides I got dropped on every hill we went on and I made a point to always do hill work from then on so it would never happen again. If you ever are watching me race and want me to push myself harder, just doubt me. There is nothing that motivates me more than doubt. I was determined to show everyone what a rider from Iowa can do.

Time to put on my game face but first, let me take a selfie.

When the race started I was about 30 seconds back since we had to wait for everyone to roll out.  It was extremely congested but after a few sharp turns and weaving through people I got into a good group and we started working.  My knee was acting well and everything was going as expected.  We hit the first 180 degree turn and went into a quick uphill.  A lot of the group slowed so I pushed up with the lead of the pack I was in. We formed a smaller group and started working together as we neared the hill. Putting my Iowa pride on, I got into my hill climbing mindset and picked up the cadence.  I worked my way past the group and up to the top with ease.

As the group reformed at the bottom of the hill we were catching a larger group from ahead so I took the entry ramp onto the freeway as a way to power up and catch onto the back wheel of the next group. We made our loop past the Pentagon and finished lap one in about 25 minutes, done.

I did a little math and realized a few things.  First off, I was on pace to not only reaching the Gold level, but to get an extra lap in above what was needed. Secondly, my knee wasn’t having any problems and I seemed to have a lot more power in my legs than I thought. Lastly and the most worrisome, the longest ride I’ve done in the past two months is a little over an hour……and I have 2.5 more hours to go.

The next few laps continued to see the same results for me.  Each lap I would form up with a pretty decent sized group.  When we would hit any incline Mr. Iowa (that would be me, representing with pride, holla!) would drive up to the front of the group and form a smaller and stronger group.  Once we got to the hill I would then power myself to the top and not let a single rider pass me. As we worked our way back on the second half of the course I would use the triathlon race strategy and the expected flat road conditions I was supposedly used to riding on to take the smaller group I was riding with to close in on the next big group. Any time a few riders would try to ride past the group I was with I would hop on their wheel and move on up.

A small scare happened in lap three.  As I was making my way back from the first U-turn my front tire seemed to have caught something.  Another rider’s helmet sticker had come off and I rode right over top of it, grabbing it and attaching to my wheel.  This caused more noise than actual concern as it clicked rapidly as my wheel spun until magically it got caught up in something and just shot out to the side of my wheel.

When I began finishing up lap five a problem started to arise.  The pain in my knee was starting to creep itself into my mind.  To give you an idea of what this feels like, imagine having an open wound and then somebody takes a small needle and slowly just scrapes around inside the wound.  It isn’t a large single impact pain but the slow continuous pain can drive you crazy. Due to the mechanics of cycling this pain would come back every time my leg would come over the top of the pedal stroke which is about 80-100 times per minute. Of the last five rides I have done, three of them the pain got so bad I had to unclip my leg and pedal with only the other leg so as not to increase the pain.

I have no idea how this will turn out but some of the riders coming in after I finished.

The idea of getting in the seventh lap was a bad one.  This was only a test and there were bigger and better races ahead of me. With only one lap to go to get to the top level and having twice the time I needed left to do a lap I decided to take lap six casual.  I broke off from the group and started riding solo.  I was able to maintain the pain and still make decent time. With only one last go at the hill I picked my head up and kept my record: zero riders passed me on the hill. I would like to think that is pretty good for somebody whose home state apparently doesn’t have hills. I coasted for a few portions of the lap and still came in with about 20 minutes to spare.

Near the finish line with my medal with time to spare.

My main goal for this race was to convince myself I can push the bike. Being able to complete all the laps I needed really boosted my confidence in that. For not riding a lot and going from one hour to a little over 2.5 hours in one jump was a pretty big stretch but my body was able to handle it.  Also my knee previously acted up in less than an hour but during the race it took over two hours and a lot of strong efforts to really aggravate it in any way. I think it is about time I get out in the triathlon circuit and really show everybody what Kristine can do.