Looking for the nearest seat & waterbottle. Totally drained.
The sprint for fourth (missed it by a couple of inches)
The face tells it all. In the hurt locker.
Unloading the finishing sprint. not much left at this point.
Tucked in the group...
...the group that did not want to work very hard.
Shirts unzipping, water consumption. HOT!
2010 State Games:
Toeing the line at 2:30pm on June 27, the finishing straight in Mooresville NC is radiating heat. My face feels as if I just opened up the oven to pull out my kids fish sticks. The heat makes the nose burn, eyes water, and brow sweat effortlessly. This is my first race since the end of last year and I am nervous. I didn't finish so well a year ago and I wonder if I will be able to hang with these guys, most of whom look extremely fit.
The first few laps are predictable. I feel better in the turns than last year thanks, in part, to improved technical skills acquired through targeted training. Thanks Orr Rd. Winded after about 5 minutes, the wind offers no solace from the heat. My water has warmed to air temperature and only provides moisture to wet my frighteningly dry mouth. Going into turn three, my computer sensor on my front wheel issues a loud, "POP" as it gets caught in a spoke. It goes flying from my front wheel into a garden on the side of the road. (I went back and found it after the race. No telling if it still works.)
On the next lap a CBC racer asks if I am feeling good enough to make a go of it coming out of turn four. I tell him if he can wait a couple of laps I will go with him. I do not know how my legs will respond this early to such a power output. I fear cramping and having to drop out. We had noticed the group expend energy on the hill before turn four and then slow as they entered the finishing straight. As they slowed this time, the CBC rider went. I am out of position and forced to watch his acceleration. It would be the last I saw him. He was the winner of the day.
I spent most of the rest of the race chasing but no one else wanted to work with me. I was in the position, therefore, of having to chase down every attack that came from behind. By the end of the race, most of the group had dropped due to the heat or was in my group. We began unloading the sprint coming out of turn four. I positioned poorly and took fifth, missing fourth by three inches.
Physically, I felt pretty good. Tactically, I performed pretty poorly and forced myself to work harder than I needed to. All in all, however, I had a great time. Friends and family were out to cheer me on. I sat in the shade, drinking ice cold gatorade, reveling in the gratification of a race contended well. The adrenaline lasted the rest of the day and turned my mind to thinking about when I might be able to race again!
For now, my attention turns to crossroads. The day after the race, my body feels great; better than it has all year. I am ready to go.
Monday: 30 minute recovery w/ light intervals HBP
Tuesday: Orr Rd
Wednesday: regeneration/strength day in the gym
Thursday: COCAC515
Friday: Sprint intervals
Saturday: 45 minute recovery
Sunday: 4th of July-OFF
