Post date: Mar 21, 2011 11:27:41 PM
How can we drive 7 hours in a different direction and end up at Columbia again? There was a much smaller turnout from other schools this weekend due to spring breaks starting and finishing. This lead to field sizes being cut in half and a substantially lower pace.
The road race started out with a decent pace and slowly fell off until Peter and I were near the front looking at each other and wondering what exactly was going on. I'm not one to usually stay with the lead group and was dropped on the "decisive" climb partially due to a mechanical and partially to tired legs. The next eight or so miles were very uneventful until I was caught by a group of three other riders who I stayed with until the end and was able kick and get in front of a couple of them before the line.
I opted out of the individual time trial with the hopes of keeping my legs fresh as I would be racing with two stronger riders in the C team time trial. After 20k of rolling hills and wind we arrived back at the finish line where I discovered that I had apparently saved a bit too much energy. The more races I attend the more I'll learn about pacing and hope to have some of the finer nuances worked out.
Cool down and back into the car to head to sunny Georgia for a week long training camp!