AM: 3 hours total.
242 watts @ 166 BPM. 20.8 MPH. Pretty solid race overall. Rode with a chase pack that worked together fairly well at times, but the effort was a little uneven at other times. I probably could have been a bit farther up early in the race to try to stay a little closer to the front, though I wouldn't have been able to hold the pace for the entire race. Still trying to work on conserving energy but also riding hard, which is not really something you do in running.
Weather was decent. Quite warm and humid with the sun at the start, then cloud cover, which helped a good deal, but we had decent winds most of the day.
I think we were around 22 or just under through the first hour, which was about what I wanted. I figured given a small group that that pace wasn't likley to last, but I still wanted to push as much as possible. My numbers were pretty much in line with Cow Pie Classic for 95' in a 35-mile race, so I think that was good to see. I thought at Watermoo I would be able to push around 235-240 for 5.5 hours, but I am less sure now. Though I guess on my own I have done 235 or so in training for 4 hours, so I will just have to see when race day comes. I think that is about what it will take to ride 20+ MPH on that course.
It was about a 2.5 hour drive to the race, but the drive wasn't too bad. Got to see some new towns and ride all new roads, which were in really good shape and fast, so that isn't a bad thing. Looking forward to my next race. Need to get some running in this next week, but I really just want to be riding bikes. Right now I am not at all looking forward to Beach to Beacon. I was earlier in the year, but now it just seems like a waste of time, when I could be doing final prep for Watermoo if I can get my bike with me to Maine.
| 