Tuesday, April 24, 2012

More humble, less pie

My education as a Cat 3 road racer continues.  This past weekend was the 4th time I have tackled the East Canyon Road Race.  With all the climbing, I've never done really well at this race but I have managed to at least stick with the main group after the initial climbs.  I've had to work like mad to get back on at times, but at least I wasn't solo for the majority of the race.  This year's edition of the race was different however.

The speeds that the Cat 3's race is quite a bit faster than the 4's.  I managed to stay close until about 1 km before the summit of the first climb.  At this point I was feeling positive as there was ample time to get back on with the group.  However, it was not meant to be.  On the steep climb back out of East Canyon Resort, I hit a wall.  My stomach starting turning in knots and I felt out of gas.  Me and another rider worked reasonably well to bridge back, but after about 10 miles, I sent him up the road solo.  I battled the headwinds by myself and even managed to pass one or two guys on the finishing climb but I was worked and way behind.

I have to keep reminding myself that last season, my most successful ever, started much the same way.  I'm 180 lbs and that's not a good climbing weight.  We'll see what happens at Bear Lake and some crits coming up.  I'm focused on dropping some more weight with some serious dietary modifications.  I'd love to see what I could do at 170 lbs!

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