Thank you Road Racing forum. I loathe myself now.
 

Entered a race for the first time today. I got the humiliation poured over my head like liquid silver.

Many thanks to this sub-forum for preparing me for the self-loathing. I look forward to more brutal truth beatdowns, both online and in the pack / off the back.

your race report is too long, or perhaps it needs graphs?

welcome to being dropped....the painful truth that no matter what you did it just wasn't enough.

now go train and race again!

okay.

Second Lap:
Me --> Here
The Pack ----------------------------------------------------------->Somewhere up here.


Third Lap:
Me--> Here
The Pack ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------->Somewhere up here.


Fourth Lap:
Me--> F it. I'm going to Hip's lake house to drink beer and swim.
The Pack --> Just about to start lap five, I would guess.

did you wear a national championship jersey?

apparently that's a really bad thing, especially if you're in FLA.

National champ? Hells no. I went for the gusto, chief.


http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1294/dsc02023fi5.jpg


No, I don't wear this on rides. I didn't even wear it the day this picture was taken ages ago.

I coach. About 50% of the athletes I have worked for don't even finish their first race. If you finished, you achieved something. Instead of loathing, focus on what you learned. Write it down. Remember it.

Self loathing is a waste. If this was easy would it be fun?

ITA re self-loathing.

If this was easy, everyone would do it.

Enjoy the pain and come back for more.

^^ Bingo. ^^

Looking forward to the next thrashing and improving on at least 1, maybe 2, of the 27 things I realized that I screwed up.

Then look skyward as I realize the list of things I realized I screwed up has increased two-fold.

I see this hole getting deeper and darker.

CyLowe97* did you do masters 4/5?

Big field today?

Getting dropped is about the worst thing involved with bike racing. Worse than that is quitting. And even worse than that is quitting so you can puke.

I rode the 4/5. I think I heard the official say they were looking to count up 38 starters. The masters 4/5 looked comparable.

I was actually in contact with the field starting the second lap, but the hill in the first mile of the course just whipped me. By the end of the second lap I had no view of them at all. That was discouraging on a 5.5 mile course.

There's work to be done, apparently. :o

Shouldn't your Self Loathing gratitude be directed towards PCad? Shame on you.

I will forgive you if you forward a campaign contribution. I am running for President you know.

Eight times up that hill was one time too many for me. The cluster**** over the laps didn't help either.

Step one: show.
Step two: suffer.

Seems to be a success.

F it. I've got to get my lazy ass to a race. thank you for the motivation.

The way I look at it if you can hang for most or all of a race the worst thing that happens is you get an interval workout that's tougher than one you'd get by yourself.

was this the race that hip was threatening to do?

cylowe, Nice job, First ones done next one yet to come. This race stuff is pure learning. Took me three of them just to get the first 10 minutes right,

Now look forward to things like; dropping your chain, flatting, and my favorite, getting to the finish stretch and starting your sprint and your legs saying "HELL NO!!"

He followed through.

Yeah, that's where most of the learning took place. From a better way to pin on a number to having the bike in a lower gear for a pack start to being too far back at the first hill to.... too much more.

Chasing back to the field for most of the first lap and finally getting to it was nice, but dammit if that hill wasn't there on the second lap, too. And I was falling off the back again with no legs to chase down like the first time around.

So, in Pcad fashion.... I'm too fat, I'm too slow, I don't ride enough, etc. :)

and? :D

did you read the sticky?

53X19 ftw.

:eek:

where were you the 2nd time?

HTFU.

sorry, but that seat is taken.

He can report his results if he'd like.

I skimmed it. Waiting for the books on tape version so I can listen on my iPod while riding.

Yeah, :eek: . Combination of getting to line slightly late with about a dozen others and then some rookie looking clip-in flubs put me to the back really quick.


Attempting to catch my breath.... at the back of the pack. Then the hill. Bye bye everyone.


Duh. This probably could have been your whole reply, you know.

You do totally suck. You are on the road to Pcad Cycling Zen at long last.

CyLowe,

You showed up and raced. Sounds like you learned, too.

Good job.

Now do it again.:thumb:

Sweet. I'll be a champion in no time.