The race weekend did not go as well as I had hoped. Let the excuses begin:
First, I worked my ass off this week and the heat is finally here. I didn't think that it would affect me that much but I think it did. I just wasn't well rested and ready for the race.
Second, and probably more importantly, I wasn't properly hydrated all week and especially prior to the race.
It was a very hot day out on the road yesterday and our race started at 1:30, basically the hottest part of the day. Fifty percent of the course was climbing with a the last climb to the finish being close to 20% grade for about 1/3 mile. That is something you definitely need to train on to become a better rider. I ended up not finishing the race. I quit with 11 miles to go. Basically one lap short of finishing. I got dropped from the group on the first lap and rode the rest by myself. I was exhausting myself and getting no draft help from other riders. I got to the feed zone to start my last lap and realized that I had stopped sweating. WARNING SIGN ! At that point I could have refilled my bottles and kept going but I decided that I had had enough. This was probably the most responsible decision. I didn't want to spend all day sunday recovering from a dehydration hangover. Man, am I getting old!
The good news is that I hit a new high speed on my road bike. 44.7 mph. This was on the first lap, mid pack in the draft. We were four wide and I wasn't pedaling, just coasting. Not bad.
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1 comment:
I didn't see a single excuse in there. Life is life - you have to work and you can't control mother nature. Hydrating . . . eh, we all slip sometimes. Personally I'm glad you were able to recognize the signs and called it when you did. Yes, surprisingly enough, you were actually a responsible adult for a change . . . Seriously - I've been there before and I know you made the right call. Especially hangover . . . I HATE that feeling the next day!
I'm floored by that top speed!! That's amazing.
See your email for a recap of my weekend . . .
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