regarding pace, let me say this. in a crit in Philly during the ECCC season (collegiate cat D, equivalent in some ways), the course was just over 1 mile, it was pouring cats and dogs, I sprinted harder than I ever thought possible. there were also times where I was coasting and thought my heart might actually pull through.

average speed on my garmin at the end of the race: 27.2mph

wtf?