| Sleep | 6 |
| Waking HR | |
| Body Weight | |
| Body Fat | |
| Breakfast | |
| Lunch | |
| Dinner | |
| Workout Food | HEED |
| Injuries | |
| Therapy | |
| Time of Day | 7:00 PM |
| Workout Type | race |
| Weather | 50, wet ground, dry sky, cloudy, some wind |
| Course | upper Seward Park loop, counter-clockwise |
| Distance | 44 miles |
| Time | I lasted 30 minutes |
| Power | |
| Results | Cat 1/2/3 see 'Time' above |
| Equipment | Road Bike 39/53, 12-25 Neuvation wheels with new Vredestein Fortezza tires |
| Clothing | knit shoe covers, knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, Polypropylene gloves, cap |
Today sucked.
I rode to work – no problems there.
I rode from work down to Seward Park – that was fine too except it had just dumped on the park and the roads went from bone dry to sloppy wet in a matter of feet about one mile form the park.
I got to the park pretty early so signed in and then went for a spin back up Lake WA Blvd. When I returned to the park it was about 6:40 so I just dorked around and then lined up.
Go. Jamie S had lined up on the front.
ASIDE – that guy persists in wearing just shorts and a short sleeve jersey, not even an undershirt! I was freezing complete with chattering teeth and this guy is practically naked. Just one more sign that I am old.
Jamie is off like a shot. The pack gives him some rope, he looks back to see the gap and goes even harder. Crap. The next three laps are all out and my cold legs are NOT liking the hill at all. In fact, no matter what gear I choose I am going backward on the hill every time. In the first three laps we drop at least five people.
After three laps I sorta get into a groove and by 'groove' I of course mean I work like hell on the flats to pass people and move up so that when everyone passes me on the hill again I am not off the back. As it is I am pretty much last at the top of the first climb and have to chase across the false summit. Repeat.
The road around the park is covered in moss and debris. If you go wide or try to cut any corner your tires are sliding. We were taking the hard left super slow and my wheels were still slipping on the pavement (or was it the paint stripe?). I already have a problem accelerating out of corners and this was not helping me at all.
After dangling off the back for a few more laps I finally decided to stop and let some air out of my tires. They were brand new (so perhaps still a little slick) and maybe I had pumped them up too high this morning? My recollection was that I had put in 110 PSI which should be perfect by my pump at home is crap so maybe I had erred on the high side...
I got back on the bike, waited for the pack to come around and jumped in. Right away I could tell I had let out too much air. Damn. My tires were still sliding and now I also had the vague, spongy feeling every time I stood up and accelerated. Not good.
after about 10 more minutes I threw in the towel. I rode a couple of laps by myself thinking I would get back in the next time the bunch came around but then I found myself coasting to the parking lot. DNF baby.
I watched two laps and it seems several other people had similar issues as the pack was at least 10-15 riders lighter than at the start. At least I was not the only one.
Riding home this guy passed me as I pedaled through Leschi and it was like the nail in the proverbial coffin. Turns out he was headed up Madrona and so was I so I managed to keep pace all the way to the top. My legs were done. Donner than done. The donest. Done times infinity. When I got home it was a handful of food, fix my computer (inexplicable bleu screen) and bed. Out.
I wonder how much of this was mental. At least I warmed up once the race started and even the ride home after was fine.
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