Bike racing

S: 10,000
B: 192
R: 17

T: 14.5 hrs

I was actually consistent in the pool this week so that was a definite plus.  I'm hoping to stay like that but it would appear as though that's actually impossible this week.  Hopefully I will find some extra motivation soon as Louisville is 15 weeks away!!! So close!

Only one ride during the week as I was intentionally taking a very, very easy Mon-Fri to make sure I was rested up a little bit before a big weekend on the bike.  Did some bike racing on Saturday night after volunteering at Watkins' open water swim and that was an absolute blast (more on that later).  Had a nice, albeit very hard, long ride with Fletch on Sunday.

Running was very limited this week as I was trying to take it very easy and didn't really have time on the weekend.  Back at it next week.

Here is the recap from my two races on Saturday evening, a Cat 4 race at 5:30pm and Cat 4/5 35- race at 8:05 pm up in High Point.

First race was cat 4...pretty nervous about this one. No idea what to expect as I haven't raced my bike in 3 years. After one lap I accidentally got a gap and pushed for the next 3-4 laps just to see what would happen. I probably had a 2-300 yard gap but it wasn't getting any bigger so I let them come back to me and then sat in the rest of the ride. Nobody wanted to work on the front so I put in some more time up there. Pace was very up and down in this race; someone would attack and it would string out then everyone would get lazy. Last couple of laps I was second wheel the whole time. I used the heck out of the guy in front of me and sprinted around on the last turn. As far as I know, this one wasn't even close...
17.25 miles
39:45
26 mph
HR avg: 178
HR max: 193
...


Second race was cat 4/5 35 and under. This race was a much more difficult one as 3 other guys and I got a gap and pushed the rest of the way together. We traded off pulls and were really hammering. We never lapped the "pack" but we did put 20 seconds on one "chase group" and another 30 on the second "group." Last 2 laps got very cat and mousy and I executed absolutely perfectly. I sat 4th wheel the last 2 laps and started my sprint about 20 yards out of the last turn and closed the gap on the guy out front and passed him and put maybe a bike length on him before finish. It was perfectly timed.

I LOVE bike racing. It's definitely something I'll do some more of this year. It's such a different kind of pain.


15.1 miles
34:30
26.3 mph
HR avg: 177
HR max: 192