Now that I’m 50 will be starting the gravel race later then the young guys. What pacing should I do the first 10-15 minutes. Last year I did the mt bike race and pushed hard the first 10-15 minutes but then was stuck in line on some of the single track. I ended up really struggling the last lap and thinking I should just ride my same pace the first 10 minutes. Other suggestions?
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We have a Sea Otter thread here (granted a small one)
It starts on a downhill. I’d get down safely then pace appropriately so you have something in the tank for the last big climb. The singletrack is short and in traffic you’ll lose 10-20 seconds? But you can lose minutes if you’re suffering up lookout.
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Do you have a power meter? I usually go a bit harder earlier to get with a faster group then settle in. How hard is really dependent on your goals and fitness levels.
While not exact and just an example, if I’m doing a 5 hour race with a planned RPE of 5-6 for the first half (which feels like 8-9 towards the end of the race) I might shoot for a 7-8 RPE for the first 15-20 minutes if it means finding the right group.
Sea Otter Gravel and XCM are very different starts. Yes, for the XCM you can get stuck behind someone on the first bit of single track, but it’s two very demanding laps, so being chill on the first long stretch of single track isn’t going to do as much damage as you think. As @Jolyzara pointed out, those climbs up Lookout (2x for XCM and up to 3x for Gravel) can really hurt time wise. Make sure you have some left in the tank for that, plus the climb UP the Corkscrew on the track.
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