sverrefehn

Vandervort's Corner RR, Cat 4.
48+ miles, 21.7 mph avg.

After three weeks of riding on some of the best form I've had, I came down hard. The last three weeks, I was not sore or tired after a race or hard training ride even though I had nothing in reserve after said race or ride. I felt like Superman. Then this past week, the signs of waning form loomed larger and larger. Sore, heavy with lead weights legs after every ride. I tried to dial it back out of fear of over reaching, but I don't know what I'm doing and have no plan.

I thought I felt good early in the race but on the second lap I bridged up to a guy trying to bridge himself up to the break and that about did me in. I knew right then it wasn't my day. I tucked back in and hoped for the best in the sprint and that "best" never came. I stupidly did some work on the last two laps covering a couple moves. I positioned myself well for the sprint. I had a leadout and stood to sprint but.....nothing. I didn't cramp I just had zero in the tank and my quads "collapsed" for lack of a better word. I rolled in about 20th or so.

It's high time to get myself organized and I will soon be starting up with a coach.
I must train smarter.

brianappleby

tapering for a week feels horrible while you're doing it, but feels awesome on race day.

DrPete 

Even tapering for a couple days feels great on race day.

Either way, sorry to hear the legs failed you. It's always sad when so much aligns in your favor but one thing goes wrong.

Rest, rest, rest, and get 'em next week.

MDcatV

Maybe too much accumulated fatigue from the times you felt "good" and pushed hard, that'll work itself out with a little rest and again you'll be flying.

OTOH - here's another possibility from my own experience. A couple years ago, right about this time of the season, I "thought" I was really on some good form, all my workouts were going great, I was kicking butt on group rides, felt very strong, etc. Then came race day (early May and again in August) and both went kind of like your race description. My initial thoughts were that my great form unfortunately came crashing down on race day, or that I choked when it mattered, but upon further review, I dont think that's what it was at all.

During my "great" workouts and group rides, I was in a position to dictate how hard I was going, whereas on race day, the pace was/is somewhat dictated by others. I just wasnt fit enough to handle the pace that my competition was setting. Maybe this is the case for you. I'm not trying to be a downer as I dont know what you're training plan is and I'm not a coach, etc., just trying to present a different perspective for you to consider in hopes that it might help you later in the season.

fly:yes/land:no

don't worry, i dropped out with 16 miles to go. my legs were hurting on lap 1 from my race on saturday, so i was kind of expecting to not to so well today. kind of a weird race too. (the danimal ended up winning after bridging to the break. :O ) another huge difference between the past weeks and this week was the weather. going from 35 degrees to 75 degrees in a week can really dork up your body. i know that i was blazing hot when i pulled off, which is something i haven't done since last year. i wouldn't sweat the poor performance too much. it was a funky race regarding the pace, the weather was MUCH hotter than it has been so far this year, etc. the fact that you were active early in the race is probably an indicator that you are in decent shape.

botto 

+1 to rest, patience, and beer.

sverrefehn

A fair question that I considered, but I think it has more to do with going too hard and too often when I felt good. Prior to this weekend, my past three races have gone very well with two top tens. I've also been riding very well on race training rides with Cat 2's and 3's. I think I got over confident and tried to do too much. The heat was probably a factor as well. I will be taking the advice of all of you and resting a lot this week. The Spring Series finale is this weekend and it's a hilly mofo. And botto, I'll take your advice and have a beer, which I haven't done in a while.

sverrefehn

Fly, it was good chatting with you before the race. Sorry to hear that you had to drop out. It was a weird race. We were keeping an eye on the danimal, and I was hoping to go with him when he went, but it was not meant to be today. My team and some others tried to hold him back, and did for a while, but he eventually slipped away. First race as a 4 and he wins. He'll be a 3 very soon.
I'll see you at Rabbit Hash.

botto 

as long as you're not a recovering alcoholic, or behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, go for it.

we sometimes get too wrapped up in our obsession that we wring all of the joy and fun out of it.

don't forget that cycling is too serious to take seriously.

sverrefehn

So true botto, so true.
No worries about the beer. I hardly ever drink because I'm prone to migraines and alcohol is a trigger. I'm usually fine if I limit myself to one only, but I tend to abstain while training hard because vigorous exercise can also be a trigger.
So while I rest this week, I'll have a couple while reminding myself that life is good.