Been a while

Well, it's been almost two years, but, here's a shot at a race report...yes...a race report.

Today's race was 4 7.8 mile laps (with a 1 or so mile neutral start) to net a total of 33 miles down outside of a small town called Sanford. I got up around 4:45am, ate my typical breakfast, only saving the toast and almond butter for the car ride to stretch the meal out a bit, and, eventually packed and left the house at 5:30. The drive was about 50 or so miles through some small little towns along the way, and, eventually, I ended up at the Sanford-Lee Regional Airport at the site of the registration tent. I pulled up around 6:30. In my earlier years, I learned a few VERY valuable lessons when it comes to racing, and, probably one of the MOST important is to it the Portopotties before you do anything, when you're racing first. Lucky for me, I got there so damn early I didn't even have to build a nest. (Yes...I"m a paranoid public pooper...there I said it). The temp was something like 25 degrees at the start and it was FREEZING. I couldn't believe how frickin cold it was. I spun around for a bit to warm up, but, had to go back to the car to sit in the heat for a bit to warm up. My hands were absolutely numb, and, I opted for leg warmers instead of tights. Recently, I've been annoyed with wearing all the bulky winter gear...seems like I'm most ready for spring! I put on some embro to help the leg warmers, and, I'm psyched to say that the only thing that really suffered were my feet (my hands thawed out on the 2nd lap).

The race itself was on a pretty flat course. There were two "hills" that were potential areas for the pack to shatter, but, after the first lap or so, I realized they weren't going to do much damage. The course wound around 4 different turns and, eventually ended with a semi-uphill sprint. The race rolled out neutral,and, as soon as we went "live", the hammer went down. We also encountered the very first hill after crossing the finish line, so, people were FREAKING out. The pace went really high, and, I was worried I was going to get absolutely popped on the first half of the lap. Eventually, we summitted the rise about 1 minute or so later (I hadn't pre-ridden or driven the course, so I had no idea), and, any real anxiety of being dropped was gone. I kept the positive talk flowing the ENTIRE race and it really helped me. One thing I noticed was that I was sitting almost too much in the middle of the pack, so, I picked a guy out that I saw riding up at the front, and, said "Ok...you stay with him". So, I moved up, and, just hung on his wheel. The pace went NUTS at each turn, and, it was SO important to stay at the front on the turns. I probably burned a few matches accelerating out of a turn and chasing onto the front of the group. This is a basic skill that I simply forgot about. It was ridiculous really.

So, as the race went on, and, I decided to mentally break down the course into 2 specific areas...the hills and the non-hills. On the non-hills, I had no problems with this bunch. The hills, I didn't know. So, I said...Ok...you will go up these two rises twice over 4 laps...essentially, you need 8 serious matches in the event the pace goes up to get over these things, so, save any and all energy for these rises. It worked like a charm. I will admit on the 4th an final lap I thought I was toast, but, again, the positive talk really helped out. I kept telling myself that however tired I was, these guys were as tired, or, more tired...so...I have an advantage either way. I knew that if I was still in the group after the 2nd hill on the last lap, I was going to be good.

On the final leg of the race, I found myself at the front 10-15 guys, and, was like...woah...I'm really in this! So, I hung in there, and, on the very last curve, went into the sprint in the 2nd half of the group. I finished after Justin's uncle Steve, who claims to have finished 15th, and, I can't remember how many people might have squeaked in between us......I can't remember...I was definitely done by the time I crossed the finish line. I finished within the top 30 that's for sure, and, I'm so good with that. I'm psyched with the way it all went down really. I mean, 2 years out of racing with no real structured training, and, only netting 45 hours in the last 30 or so days, I was psyched how I did. Now, that's not to say a race of 40+ miles I would have the same success. I'm not sure what my limit is, but, I'll take this!