June 11, 2005, Tucson Criterium Series #2, Masters 45+
Tucson, AZ   12 miles

This was the second in a series of three races, with several weeks between each in the series. I placed third in the first of the series on this course, which is a .6 mile, 3 corner, uphill finish.

I tried to get adequate rest and recovery this week after last Sunday's time trial. I took Monday and Tuesday easy, did sprint work on Wednesday, and another couple of easy days to be rested for Saturday. Since there were only five contestants in the 35+ race, they would be starting with us again and Denny Vaughn from the 35+ race would be the man to watch again. The top riders in Series #1 were present, and Norm Kibble would be in the 45+ rather than the 55+ race (probably the strongest sprinter in our group). There were a few less entrants this time. Noel had come along to watch also and took a bunch of photos.

We started on time and Denny made a strong move from the gun again, starting on the far left on the course. I started on the far right and was quick to be right on his wheel, however after the first corner he eased up a bit and I took the lead prior to the second corner. We were at a moderate pace to the last corner and then Denny hit it again up the hill, which had a bit of a tailwind again. I accelerated to counter the attack as David Beirne passed me and I opted to let him do the work and stuck to his wheel. As we closed in on Denny, things settled down again, but it was to repeat itself on the next climb.

Norm was right up there with the leaders and Bob Pomgratz, who I rode most of the last race with, was looking strong and took the first prime sprint. At least if the strongest riders were not going to motor along at 100%, then there would be a chance for me to hang in there with them and possibly do well in the final sprint. However the climb seemed to be a bit more of a struggle this time as I didn't feel real strong and would have a tough time just maintaining the pace of the other riders. A few laps later I noticed that Norm was no longer with us, so that threat was then out of the picture.

Denny, David, ?, Bob, Norm, ?, Lionel on Lap 3.
Dwight attacking, David & Lionel chasing on Lap 5.
Another attack on Lap 7.

On about the eigth time up the hill, I began to run into trouble. I was barely able to retain contact and I was breathing pretty hard. I lost contact and was concerned that the race was over, but I kept going as best I could and got back onto the back of the slowing bunch on the downhill stretch between corners 2 and 3. I moved up when I could, but I was definitely struggling most of the time and I was constantly breathing hard and never recovering. We had averaged 24.9 mph up to that point.

A strong attack on the eleventh time up the hill caused me to lose contact again, but when I regained contact with them on the downhill stretch I was surprised to see Denny, David, and all the top riders still together. OK, if I could just recover and get over this problem, I still would have a chance at doing well in the final.

Starting to struggle, Lap 8, although others have been dropped.
Struggling after having caught back up, end of lap 11.
After lap 12, corner 1, a big gap and gasping.

A couple of laps later we lapped Norm and just as I was about to welcome him back to the group, I ran into even more trouble breathing. It was not normal breathing from hard effort, but a straining to pull air in through some kind of restriction. It wasn't quite as bad as the wheezing that I thought I had gotten over and last experienced four weeks ago, but it was pretty darn close (strange that I had no problem with my lungs during the previous three races). I lost contact with the bunch again and one of the other lapped riders caught and passed me pretty quickly. I began going slower and slower, my heart rate also dropping from about 180 to 165, but my breathing just kept maxing out, not able to do the job. Another lapped rider passed me. After a full lap of not being able to do much over 20 mph, I had to pull over and quit and I spent the next five minutes just wheezing and breathing as hard as I could while sitting on the side of the road. There were five laps remaining in the race at that point.

Denny eventually rode away from the bunch and another 35+ rider was in a solo chase. David, Bob, and Dwight Nelson were the lead group for the 45+ race coming into the finish and David was ecstatic to outsprint Bob for the win again.

Time to make another trip to the doctor to hopefully find out what's happening.
Summary
Start
Time		 Distance
(Miles)		 Starters Duration Weather
(Deg F, mph)		 Climbing
(Feet)		 Speed avg
(MPH)		 Speed Max
(MPH)		 HR avg
(BPM)		 HR max
(BPM)		 HR waking
(BPM)		 Calories Burned
(Kcal)
9:19 am 8.6/12 12 22:03 89, Clr, SW@8 200 23.4 33.1 173 185 47 187

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