Pink Kona
03-26-2006, 02:23 PM
There were rumors about the course being hilly before my carpool even arrived to the scene of the Independence Road Race. I should have known better considering it was part of the Washington Cup race series. Come to find out there are two hills on this looping 19 mile course - the first of which was about 1k long - a small ring climb but sustained - about 3 miles into the race. And the second hill, a big ring burner - about 1/2 k and at its steepest pitch 14% grade - at about mile 14. In between the climbing the winds were drafty and our group maintained a rotating paceline to quicken the pace on slightly rolling hills.
I started the race pretty anxious - I took the past two weeks off from the race scene to attend to a family emergency but was still able to get some good riding in. It's not like I was out there to win the race - but let's just say the thought crossed my mind a time or two before the race. (It always does - it's that competitive streak rearing its ever present head!)
We hit the first climb and I felt fantastic. I breezed up the hill and ended up pulling down the hill first - even putting a couple bike lengths between myself and the pack. Then the group consolidated and we pacelined through to the next hill. I felt strong - but once we turned the corner and the second hill came - it was almost as though everything was in slow motion. Everyone was standing up and started pulling away. I must have dropped an anchor off. I tried giving it more juice but was completely zapped. I chased the group on the descent but they kept pulling further and further away. I didn't give up though and soon I was joined by a teammate and another girl. We worked together to try and join back up - but to no avail. We were all cooked and the pack was turning up the heat. My teammate ended up pulling herself once we passed the finish line (we had one more lap to go) - she wasn't feeling well and headed back to the car. The other woman and I said let's go for it - you never know how things will pan out further up the road. We finished the race together - and got to chat for a while - unfortunately never catching up to the group. Both of us had no idea what happened on the hill - but at least we were in good company. Maybe it was fate for us to meet one another.
In retrospect - I definitely went way too hard in the beginning of the race. My heartrate was sky high - which is typical for a race - but I maintained an average of 173 for a solid hour and ten minutes. My max is 189 to give you an idea of how hard I was pushing. So when the time came to use that little bit of energy everyone else had stored - I had nothing to give and was dropped like a bad habit.
Lesson learned. Chill out - relax, deep breathing and make sure you are doing the least amount of work as possible to save it for when it really counts. Who needs to be the first one up a hill when you have two more laps to go? Do you really need to pull that hard during the paceline? Ahhh... there's nothing like experience. Slowly but surely I am gaining a treasure chest of knowledge. :) I just can't wait to get back out there and learn more.
I started the race pretty anxious - I took the past two weeks off from the race scene to attend to a family emergency but was still able to get some good riding in. It's not like I was out there to win the race - but let's just say the thought crossed my mind a time or two before the race. (It always does - it's that competitive streak rearing its ever present head!)
We hit the first climb and I felt fantastic. I breezed up the hill and ended up pulling down the hill first - even putting a couple bike lengths between myself and the pack. Then the group consolidated and we pacelined through to the next hill. I felt strong - but once we turned the corner and the second hill came - it was almost as though everything was in slow motion. Everyone was standing up and started pulling away. I must have dropped an anchor off. I tried giving it more juice but was completely zapped. I chased the group on the descent but they kept pulling further and further away. I didn't give up though and soon I was joined by a teammate and another girl. We worked together to try and join back up - but to no avail. We were all cooked and the pack was turning up the heat. My teammate ended up pulling herself once we passed the finish line (we had one more lap to go) - she wasn't feeling well and headed back to the car. The other woman and I said let's go for it - you never know how things will pan out further up the road. We finished the race together - and got to chat for a while - unfortunately never catching up to the group. Both of us had no idea what happened on the hill - but at least we were in good company. Maybe it was fate for us to meet one another.
In retrospect - I definitely went way too hard in the beginning of the race. My heartrate was sky high - which is typical for a race - but I maintained an average of 173 for a solid hour and ten minutes. My max is 189 to give you an idea of how hard I was pushing. So when the time came to use that little bit of energy everyone else had stored - I had nothing to give and was dropped like a bad habit.
Lesson learned. Chill out - relax, deep breathing and make sure you are doing the least amount of work as possible to save it for when it really counts. Who needs to be the first one up a hill when you have two more laps to go? Do you really need to pull that hard during the paceline? Ahhh... there's nothing like experience. Slowly but surely I am gaining a treasure chest of knowledge. :) I just can't wait to get back out there and learn more.