Post date: Jul 18, 2010 2:59:7 AM
This was my first collegiate race and I'm happy to say I finished. I had done one cat 5 crit before and placed 3rd out of a field of 20 guys. The pace in the Ds race was a lot harder than I thought it would be since I was basing my expectations on the first race I did. The course was much more interesting than my last race with a small hill climb to the finish line. I started out the race towards the front and didn't really race very smart for the first half of the race. I spent too much time in the wind and not enough time stuck on someones wheel. I could have kept myself much more fresh for the sprint at the end. There was a breakaway early on in the race of I think 4 guys. I saw it happen and wanted to get up with that group, but I was stuck in the middle of the pack and couldn't get out in time. By the time I made it out of the pack the breakaway was gone. I think I could have held with the breakaway because after about a lap they were done spreading the gap between them and rest of the riders. Next time I'll definitely stay back and just plant myself on someones wheel for awhile before I start trying to do anything aggressive. All in all I was OK with a finish of 15th(I think). My cardio was great. My heartrate never spiked, and I never really got very out of breath, but my legs gave out about halfway through the race.
So with only 4 or 5 training rides under my belt this season, I'm pretty happy I finished the race. My swimming conditioning DEFINITELY helped me out there. So next time I'll have some more training under my belt, hopefully the cardio will still be there, and maybe next time I'll be able to get up there with the breakaway.
Anyone up for some rides this week?
Mark