UBUvelo

yes, i agree. i found out in the last two laps it was a good idea, while riding (since i rode through most everything) to stick my finger behind the brakes to clear about 2 pounds of muck helped. alot. then i started trotting, pushing through...

anyways, here i go with my half-processed insights a day+ later.

my first race was definitely a blast. i found out what i was actually, naturally good at...and definitely alot of the opposite!

let me ramble and hopefully make some sense for others:

*i had ridden pretty hard all week...but not too much the 3 days before the race...but i did a good warmup ride those few days, that morning before the ride, and one good steady lap at the course; if anything, i should've taken the trainer and done a bit more warming up

*i think i did a good job of getting some energy into the body: coffee, oatmeal...then about 20 minutes before the race some fluids...and a hammer gel...my BIG mistake was forgetting to bring water....and plenty of it...i should've hydrated ALOT more...heck, there were plenty of folks actually carrying water, so next time, the camelbak or a bottle! i thought no one did water WHILE racing...

*STRONG points: i discovered i was pretty efficient (from my mtbiking) at picking lines of least resistance; i took corners of all sorts great, never fell over or off. good to know that's not something i need to be concerned about...my STAMINA was taxed in the middle of the first lap, but i found i naturally fell into a rhythm without freaking out and watching most of the field shoot past me...eventually, i re-passed a few (who still eventually re-passed me), but i found that i have stamina and reserves...

*which leads to the WEAK points: those reserves were taxed by my lack of hydration...i had to slow down a bit to recover but i never stopped or felt i needed to quit. not at all. and as it went, i discovered that when i had speed, it didn't last long (endurance)...and sustained endurance levels meant not fast and too tired to gear up to a powerful gear. true, the weak link is ME i realized, but inexperience, training and...riding a 1990 non-competitive steel Schwinn is not a way to help yourself! i dragged that monster through all that muck which made everything else quite a chore: barriers, sand pit, mud/straw marshes and the little mucky streams. the bike itself handled corners really well, but the pure weight issue didn't help, esp. going up against aluminum and carbon fiber steeds.

o yeah...and my chain came off right after i let me bike down too hard (after the sand pit)...i lost nearly a minute grappling with the chain as folks whizzed further past me...i thought i had that possible eventuality minimized. at least it only happened once. as much of a negative it was, i see the positive in that i regained SOME ground once i established a rhythm.

so, my advice (to myself, out loud) is:

*lighten the bike you have or (ultimately) replace it. soon. and go clipless. or clips, at least!
*figure out what level you want to do this! fun-fun? serious fun? competitive fun? ... whatever it is, find the amount of effort of training and articulate what you need to do to keep on doing this, whether it is jumping into intervals and all that jazz or..just ride and become one with the bike. either way, ride alot and often.
*heck, i'm 46, but glad i shifted to Cat 4 and not the Masters!
*don't be disheartened that a guy snaps his handlebars but still manages to fall over, get up and ride with a nub and still outpace you...3/4s of the field are really not 'beginners' at all...
*was it a blast? totally.

anyways, on to the next race.


p.s.
i did take advice to ride the start HARD.....and it was a snakey beginning for sure...i held my own through it all, but the first true straightaway, i was tanked....and i got passed by 3/4 of the field in a flash...that was disheartening at first...but it all acquired a rhythm and it all fell into place. of course, 52nd place ultimately (out of 60+ folks...10 of which were DNS!). no complaints.