RACE REPORT: FILTHY FITTY

HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WAS A HARD RACE? It could be that I'm still super dehydrated, and not really hungry.  That's common, this is novel: struggling to control the van's accelerator pedal on the way home...

... my shin was cramping so hard.

The promoter likes to start the gentlemanly riders after the Sport categories.

So, I pinned it from the gun and knocked nearly a minute off my previous PR, while...

... passing as many slower Sport riders before the single track.

I blew up our group and myself.

What can I say,
it felt good.

Me and my 2 frenemies, Bob and Todd, had a nice pace line.

I thought we were gone.

10 minutes later, the great Reggie Miller somehow latches on outta nowhere...

... what the?

I was so stoked for him.  He has worked so hard to get good at this sport and he was on point.  Really charging.

Super cool.

A fluke sidelined the tall guy when he sliced a side wall,
and lost 20 minutes.

Bummer.

At this point, Bob gapped us and Todd wouldn't pull through.

Teammates.
Can't blame 'em.

I was still feeling okay, but I could tell the legs were not battle hardened and I had to ride conservatively.

At which point, Todd floated up a hill and bridged up to Bob.

There is a real sense of luck when starting behind 300 sport riders.  Sometimes you get a clean line through single track and sometimes you don't.

I did.
They didn't.
We were all together again.

It was brief.

Things got steep, 
I got gapped.

It would have been easy for me to push too hard and stick with those guys.  I didn't.  Instead, I stayed right at the limit and banked on my descending skills to catch back up, which mostly worked.

I could see Todd, when I reconnected with Bob.

We rolled up on my pal Chris, who started with Experts.  Normally, he throttles me, but he has taken some time off this year.

Jump on my wheel, Todd is just ahead.

Ok.

We can see Todd.

About then, freakin' Eric comes outta nowhere and blows by all of us.

Dang!

I got nothing.
Bob has less.

The last 20 miles was largely suffering,
cramps coming on and off,
power output dropping.

What could I have done different for this race?

Not much.

It's been a long year, and I've been dialing back the training and intensity.

The bike worked perfect.

I slept ok, not great,
which is unusual when I'm in the van.

I consumed 315 grams of carbohydrates,
coulda used 40 more to stay on 100/hour. 

My strategy of going out hard at the start might not have been the best,
but, like I said...

... I felt good, and it was fun to control the pace.

When we got back to the Finish, I was able to connect with a bunch of my friends who I don't see often enough, as well as some Strava friends who I'd never met.

Our podium was filled with people I know and admire for the lives they lead.

Eric, won.
Todd, just behind.
Me, not just behind Todd.
Rob, rode super strong finished right behind me.
Bob, battled through some physical challenges that started a week ago.

Overall, I'd call today a 10.

PS... look at that pic, can ya believe we're all over 55, one dude is in his 60s... It's crazy if you compare us (and you're included) to our peers.

Keep riding my friends.
And do you pull ups and push ups.

---

162ish?
6.5 hrs
No Strength training today - race
10 minutes recovery
60 minutes reading + Journaling