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04-19-05, 08:22 PM
It seems in the last two races that I've become accustomed to short and moderately difficult routes. The philosophy had been to hang on until the end and sprint for the line. You didn't have to be especially well conditioned to be in contention in the end. Makes complete sense when you consider that it's still very early in the season.
Well sports fans, today was the real start of the season ... and let me tell you, it hurt!! I forgot how tough (demanding) this sport really is.
Today's route was a 4.5 mile route that included a nasty yet flat upwind leg and two uphill legs. The first of the two uphill legs was a breeze (literally). It was all downwind and most guys flew up it in the large ring. The second uphill culminated in a pretty good climb with the finish line at the top. The last climb was steep enough and long enough to separate the group. We did 7 laps of the puppy (and when I pre-rode the course last Sat. I figured we would do 5 max).
Lap 1 ... we drop roughly half of the ~50 B riders that start the race. It was a little unnerving to turn around and find that half the group was gone. I conserved energy and felt pretty strong. The penultimate hill is followed by a good downhill and everyone came together despite a bit of separation on the hill itself.
Lap 2 ... same deal ...
Lap 3 ... same deal ... I'm starting to notice that I'm not recovering as quickly from the hill as I had the first two laps.
Lap 4 ... actually felt better than the first and second. I played it smarter and hung closer to the front.
Lap 5 ... 6 riders get off the front on the upwind leg. There's a little chatter about working together to pull it back, but no one does in the end. I wasn't particularly interested in chasing the breakaway as I was too busy conserving energy for the last lap.
Lap 6 ... more of the same ... I'm back to a bit of energy deficit as I consume the last of my drink.
Lap 7 ... Feeling decent ... we go into the last hill (and the finish line) we me leading out. Two things stuck in my mind. The first was to give up the leadout and the second was that I knew we were only going for the last four spots so I had to place high (recall that the group of 6 riders that broke away on lap 5 managed to stay off the front). I tried to give up the leadout. I wiggled left, I wiggled right, but the guy behind me refused to take over. This left me with the unenviable job of leading up the climb. I set the pace as fast as I could without blowing up. As expected, 100 yards from the line a group of 6 guys dug deep and pass me. Refusing to give up, I sprinted for the line with everything I had and managed to repass only one guy ... finishing 5 in the bunch sprint. I was totally SPENT! In the end I took 11th and finished one place out of the points ... sucks!!!
What did I learn?
A. I am reminded of just how hard a sport this is.
B. I am encouraged for two reasons. First is that it's still early in the season and I feel like I still have a long way to go before I reach peak fitness. Second, most of the guys around me at the finish race as 4's (or at least that's what I'll keep telling myself as I fall asleep tonight).
C. I am reminded of just how hard a sport this is!!!
D. I can't say much about the breakaway. Sometimes they stick, sometimes they don't. I didn't have the energy to try to bridge every one of them, so it doesn't bother me greatly that I missed the winning move. What I need to do is develop a set-in-stone stratgey. Specifically, I need to establish rules that I will follow religously. Such as "if the breakaway contains more than 5 guys, you should always make an attempt to be a part of that group. Or, if so-and-so from team X is in the breakaway, you should always try to be part of that action. You get the picture.
Thanks to Mojo GoGo for the support at the top of each lap! You'll be out here suffering with me soon!
Mark
Well sports fans, today was the real start of the season ... and let me tell you, it hurt!! I forgot how tough (demanding) this sport really is.
Today's route was a 4.5 mile route that included a nasty yet flat upwind leg and two uphill legs. The first of the two uphill legs was a breeze (literally). It was all downwind and most guys flew up it in the large ring. The second uphill culminated in a pretty good climb with the finish line at the top. The last climb was steep enough and long enough to separate the group. We did 7 laps of the puppy (and when I pre-rode the course last Sat. I figured we would do 5 max).
Lap 1 ... we drop roughly half of the ~50 B riders that start the race. It was a little unnerving to turn around and find that half the group was gone. I conserved energy and felt pretty strong. The penultimate hill is followed by a good downhill and everyone came together despite a bit of separation on the hill itself.
Lap 2 ... same deal ...
Lap 3 ... same deal ... I'm starting to notice that I'm not recovering as quickly from the hill as I had the first two laps.
Lap 4 ... actually felt better than the first and second. I played it smarter and hung closer to the front.
Lap 5 ... 6 riders get off the front on the upwind leg. There's a little chatter about working together to pull it back, but no one does in the end. I wasn't particularly interested in chasing the breakaway as I was too busy conserving energy for the last lap.
Lap 6 ... more of the same ... I'm back to a bit of energy deficit as I consume the last of my drink.
Lap 7 ... Feeling decent ... we go into the last hill (and the finish line) we me leading out. Two things stuck in my mind. The first was to give up the leadout and the second was that I knew we were only going for the last four spots so I had to place high (recall that the group of 6 riders that broke away on lap 5 managed to stay off the front). I tried to give up the leadout. I wiggled left, I wiggled right, but the guy behind me refused to take over. This left me with the unenviable job of leading up the climb. I set the pace as fast as I could without blowing up. As expected, 100 yards from the line a group of 6 guys dug deep and pass me. Refusing to give up, I sprinted for the line with everything I had and managed to repass only one guy ... finishing 5 in the bunch sprint. I was totally SPENT! In the end I took 11th and finished one place out of the points ... sucks!!!
What did I learn?
A. I am reminded of just how hard a sport this is.
B. I am encouraged for two reasons. First is that it's still early in the season and I feel like I still have a long way to go before I reach peak fitness. Second, most of the guys around me at the finish race as 4's (or at least that's what I'll keep telling myself as I fall asleep tonight).
C. I am reminded of just how hard a sport this is!!!
D. I can't say much about the breakaway. Sometimes they stick, sometimes they don't. I didn't have the energy to try to bridge every one of them, so it doesn't bother me greatly that I missed the winning move. What I need to do is develop a set-in-stone stratgey. Specifically, I need to establish rules that I will follow religously. Such as "if the breakaway contains more than 5 guys, you should always make an attempt to be a part of that group. Or, if so-and-so from team X is in the breakaway, you should always try to be part of that action. You get the picture.
Thanks to Mojo GoGo for the support at the top of each lap! You'll be out here suffering with me soon!
Mark