Neither race is my kind of course being a hill climbers delight. At a 180lbs, I don't actually "Dance on my Pedals" when climbing out of the saddle. I set up both races as level C and B respectively (following Joe Friel's method for catogorizing races based on importance, with A races the important ones) and use them for fun and training purposes. Though I'm a Masters 50+, I've elected to enter the Boulevard RR as an Elite 4. Now why would I do this? The elite IV's will be predominately younger guys but age is really not a factor in this 2 lap, 44 mile race. There is no category for Masters 50 just Masters 35+ or 45+. If I put myself in either one of these cats, I would have to complete 3 laps on this hill course or 67 miles, and I'm just not ready for this length at this time of the year. Also, I put myself in with 45+ guys that are Cat 1, 2, and 3s. I'm a lowly Cat 4 and my ego just doesn't need the hurt this time of year. One can argue that the Elite 4s are not as skilled and there is more of a chance for accidents - true. And if this was a crit I would avoid them and do Masters. The road race gives me a bit more room to stay out of harm's way. What I really need to worry about is the climbing. The last 11 miles of the 22 mile lap is all uphill with at least two 4-4.5% climbs. I did this course years ago when I raced in the San Diego Omnium. I weighed around a 195lbs at the time and was OTB by the end of the first lap. I'm looking forward to seeing how the lighter, new me will do. Below is a graphic showing the profile of the course.
The UCLA Road Race on Feb. 14 is also problamatic for non-climbers. I've also raced this course years ago and got to go OTB in this one too. Heck, take a little time reading other racer blogs and you'll find comments like, "this is my least favorite course of the season" without looking too hard. It's a pretty course, nestled up against the San Gabriel Mountains at the Northern edge of the Mojave Desert, like it is - it is just hard. But it is 20 miles from my home in Lancaster, and I've actually trained on this course. The course is 12.4 miles per lap, with 1500' of elevation gained in each lap.
Which category did I enter for this race? I'm pretty sure I entered the Mens' 4/5 race. Again, I had the option to enter Masters 45+ but they've got 4 laps or 49.6 miles to race. More importantly, they've got 6000' to climb. I've got only 2 laps or 24.8 miles and 3000' of elevation to worry about - only 3000'! It's not hard to see by my comments that I'm still a sprinter at heart. Hell, the leg speed is not what it used to be but it still sounds good to say, "I'm a sprinter not a climber" when I'm having those interesting conversations with other racers that have become vertically challenged.
Here's the profile for the course: Note the 5% to 7% parts of the course.
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