Well I got my first crit out the way.
Costa Mesa, CA CBR # 6 Cat 5. 25mins.

The bad:
-Got a side stitch with 4 laps to go and pulled off to the side and watched the end of the race. I would always get side stiches in football and track in high school, but this is the first time it happened on the bike. I need to work on my breathing and to remember to use my stomach when I breathe during a race.

-I also need to work on my warm up. Did 20 minutes of easy spinning then had to stop to take a wee break. Then did another 10 mins of spinning with one sprint in the middle. Then got the the starting line.

-2 of the 4 turns were kind of scary because they were sharp turns and I could barely see them coming up while in the pack.

-There was a crash on a straightaway -_-. Good thing I was all the way in the back so I avoided it easily.



The Good:
-My drafting skills are pretty good. I was less than 6 inches away from a wheel while drafting. Didn't spend any time in the wind except when I was OTB trying to catch up to the field near the end of my ride.
-Several times I jumped on rider's wheels moving up on my side and moved up in the field a bit.
-Before the turns I didn't slow down and leave a gap in front, I just moved to the side slightly.


Few more weeks of training and I'll enter another race.