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Category: Race Report
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Lucarelli & Castaldi Branchbrook Park Spring Series: Bloomfield Tour

Posted on March 2, 2014March 2, 2014 by Anthony

Guess what I just did? My first criterium race! 😎
The race took place at right across the Hudson River. Well not really, but it was close enough, at Branchbrook Park in Newark, New Jersey. I made my best effort to get some snapshots before and after the race.

Special thanks to ISM Saddles for the super race kit!

Here are the results via USA Cycling – I got 10th place in the Cat4/5 race. There was a 2 man breakaway, with a 2 man chase, followed by the rest of the pack. Clearly, I was in the pack. Being that this was my first race, safety was my main concern. I found an outside line during the sprint finish, but was boxed out and outsprinted by 5 others. It was such a fun experience!!!

Our lead vehicle was a VW Beetle! How cool!!

I don't remember what the race director said, but I guess it was funny... — I don’t remember what the race director said, but I guess it was funny…

Nassau Run Series Part 1 – Old Bethpage 5km

Posted on February 7, 2014February 12, 2014 by Anthony

Instead of saturating my schedule with New York Road Runner races this season like most NYC runners, I have opted to do some events out east, mainly in Nassau County of Long Island. The Old Bethpage Village Restoration 5km is part of the Nassau Run Series. It is the first race of a four race series that leads up to the Long Island Marathon weekend in early May.

Due to the excessive amount of snow and challenging running conditions, my winter training has been more about getting workouts done than running high mileage. However, my low mileage these past couple of months mainly stems to shifting my focus towards cycling.

The race begins at 9am.
Actually, it was 8:58am according to my Garmin 610.

Sarah and I did our warmup, previewing the entire course and then some. We both almost slipped on some ice, which would have been a nightmare.

Anyway, I was expecting this course to be flat. Nope! In mile 1 and mile 3, there was this 60 foot climb.

Once the gun went off, it was a mad dash. Go figure. It felt like a 400m repeat before I it settled in. We hit the first hill and I was in 3rd. By the top of the hill, I had slotted myself in 2nd, where I remained for the rest of the race. After the hill, it was all flat until the second half of the course where we climbed back towards the base of the first hill to get back where we started (start and finish lines were the same).

My splits were consistent. Here’s what my Garmin caught:
1k – 3:34
2k – 3:35
3k – 3:32
4k – 3:37
5k – 3:35
= 17:53
Official time was also 17:53! Thank you Garmin for being so accurate!!

My teammate Sarah finished 4th overall and first female. She totally killed it! We did a long warm down, totaling our mileage at just under 10 for the day.

This was my first race of 2014 and it matched my 5k effort at my 2013 Coogan’s 5k result. However, I am now 5 pounds heavier than last year…

The second race of this series is on March 9 at Lido Beach (near Long Beach, right off the Loop Parkway).

Thanks for reading!
-Anthony

P.S.
Can you spot me in this starting line photo? Hint: I’m boxed in. (Something I need to work on)

My 1st Cyclocross Race – COMPLETE!

Posted on December 31, 2013January 2, 2014 by Anthony

I couldn’t think of a better way to end 2013 with a totally new experience! Cyclocross has always been on my list of things to dabble in during the offseason – and so I raced the Long Island Cyclocross event in Nissequogue State Park. This event is hosted by Kreb Cycle, one of the bike shops on Long Island.

When I got to the park, which is surrounded by empty buildings, I was skeptical about the course. I knew that the terrain would be mostly grass, but I didn’t know if there were any obstacles along the circuit. Once checked in, I did a quick 2 loop warmup. The course was actually quite simple – a few technical spots and 2 obstacles.

The race started a few minutes after 10am, with all categories in one mass start. The start wasn’t as hectic as I expected, and it was nothing as crazy as an Ironman mass swim start. Nonetheless, I put myself into ‘race mode’ once we all started. The course wasn’t tricky, but there were a couple of technical spots that really made me focus on my line and balance.

I started in the middle of the field, probably around 30th place out of the 51 racers. After the first lap, I had passed a good number of racers, but could see that I was still far from the front. I knew that racing with a mountain bike would give me an instant disadvantage against those racing with much lighter cx bikes, so my goal was not to catch the leaders, but to catch anyone I could see in front of me. With that game plan, I pushed an averaged of 181 bpm throughout the 60 minutes; and lap after lap, I caught up with the guys in front of me, finishing in 16th place.

Here’s the ride data!

The following photos were taken by LimPuiu Photography. Be sure to check out his other albums!

Would I do CX races on a more regular basis? In a heartbeat.

Category: Race Report
post race analysis

Lucarelli & Castaldi Branchbrook Park Spring Series: Bloomfield Tour

Like this:

Nassau Run Series Part 1 – Old Bethpage 5km

Like this:

My 1st Cyclocross Race – COMPLETE!

Like this: