Team,
The following report it’s about my race @ Winters on 08/25 (I know kind late), I went there w/ lots of excite after all It’s have been almost 2 years since my last race in the 2010 GoSF, as many of you have been watching me @ the TNT I’m still on the work to get on a perfect racing fit,My category was the Cat 4/45+ which was full and there where lots of teams w/at least 3 riders (Me=0 teammies).
I arrive around 7;45’ish and after found a nice spot to park (just around the corner of the start line) and pick up/pin my number all of this in about 15min I have enough time to warm up (thank you Gonzo for borrow me your trainer) my start time was 9:05 and I have about 45/50 min of warming up ,We get a Neutral start about 1.5 of a mile then we get the green light and everybody was having good time (including me) then from 15 mph we jump to 22 then back again to slow speeds all this on a flat section which is running along w/505 freeway We have 5 maybe 6 pulls like this then settle down to a more moderate speed I was happy w/ this speed probably around 18/20 mph and I knew sooner it will be another pulls as soon we hit the rolling sections about 2-3 of rollers shorts but those kind if you are on the middle or the back of the pack it can do some damage fortunate for me I were on the front pack, I survive all this pulls and the burst of speed on the flat section and the last roller just before the climb;by the time We hit the bottom of the 1st climb where is located the Feed Zone legs decide not to respond and sadly I saw how all the pack where leaving watching around me to see if I can spot a rider to work together and get back on the pack I realized there was none but only me My hopes come back again when I spotted 2 riders in front of me and I target them to try and catch them to see if the 3 of Us we can minimize the damage but again my legs didn’t response and felt like they were full of rocks so heavy and can’t find my smooth pedaling by the time I get to the 2nd and last climb I was totally out and riding myself then I remember after this climb Ironically called “The Cardiac Hill” it comes a nice downhill section with a step and very sharp left turn (I heard there were 2/3 accidents here) and then is a long straight line where you can go over 45 mph then is a right turn and from there is flat till the Finish line which is located outside Winters town,by the time I was reaching the 2k to finish my 1st lap (i did 2 laps x 24mi.) I catch one of the riders of my Cat and I ask him to join me and work together He refused telling he was ok with the last place on the race so I decide to leavr him and do my own race which @ this point for me was to try and get my same time for my best lap and same finish from 2 years ago when I close the 1st lap I were up my time with about 5 min but my MexiCAN pride force me to finish no matter what. bottom line is i finished my back on business race about 11 min above my best time from 2 years ago I think it is not that bad since I don’t have any racing miles on my legs,but the disappoint came later when I check the results and the officials put a DNP next to y name (WTF seriously) I contact them to obtain an explanation and until today they didn’t reply back,I do the maths and from 40 racers 19 where DNP that’s 49% of the pack and just 21 riders where able to place/finish the race.
Anyways I’m happy with my 1st race and learn something new (yes I do):
1- Never try a new water bottles: my Clean Bottles 1 was leaking and the other was so hard to squeeze and I decide to throw both of them,thank you Neutral Feed Zone for being there.
2- Log more base miles
3- Drop more Weight still bit “Gordo”
4-Start offseason work outs
5- learn from my mistakes
Any comments are more than welcome; complaints or criticizes are welcome too you’ll never know when those can help you too
