Second Cat 5 Race In The Books!

It has been a little longer between races than I wanted but this past weekend I completed my second Cat 5 race. This week's race was the Kirkwood Road Race. It was a 3 loop circuit of 7 hilly miles each loop. I was a little surprised by how hilly the course was especially with a hill that was 2.8 miles long with an elevation change of 254 feet. That hill was also the last 2.8 miles of each loop, so yes, basically an uphill finish. Until official results are posted, I finished somewhere around 5th or 6th in the race. Unfortunately, I missed a break in the first loop on the descent and 4-5 guys stayed off the front. I was a bit tentative on the first descent as it was congested and the guy next to me kept locking his brakes and mentally still somewhat nervous after crash with the car in The Mon Tour, I found myself towards the back of the pack being to cautious. Once at the bottom and starting the climbs, I dropped everyone else but could not get any closer to the 4-5 guys who broke away early. Because of missing the move and dropping most others on the climbs, I found myself alone on the windy day which made it even tougher to gain ground on the lead group. Now the Cat 5 under 40 group started 5 minutes before so I had the motivation of passing nearly 75% of that race to try and pull myself closer to the leaders of my race. I think to still average 21.1 mph given the amount of climbing (1240 feet total) is a very good result.

I know as I continue to gain my confidence back from the crash, I will be better able to mark these breaks and stay closer to the front. I also feel the way workouts have been progressing, I will be the one initiating some of these breaks. That will be nice since Cat 5 races can be dangerous as everyone has told me.

Workouts continue to go exceptionally well and definitely continue to grow in focus. I am also starting to get a bit more aggressive in my attacks of descents which will go a long way in racing. July was my biggest month to date of training. I easily rode my bike further than I have driven my car the last 3-4 months.

New training totals:
Week - 7 rides/ 280 miles/ 13hours 32minutes/ 20.7mph/ 7396 feet of climbing
July - 32 rides/ 1346 miles/ 65hours 51minutes/20.5mph/ 39,470 feet of climbing
Year - 215 rides/ 7585 miles/ 354hours 54minutes/ 21.6mph

This week's goals:
325-50 miles/ 15-16 hours of riding/ 9-10,000 feet of climbing

I have been looking for a race to do this week but there is nothing to close to here this weekend. I have decided to hold off on the stage race until I feel 100% comfortable about attacking descents, especially if in a crowd.

Here's to hoping I can find a race as I feel anxious to get back out there!!!

TdO '11!!