Spring Series Race at DCI have never been one for long, lengthy, detailed packed race reports. Nutshell version of Saturday’s Spring Series Race.
We were placed in a CAT4/CAT5 grouping and within minutes we were off. With a pack of maybe 15 riders we were to complete 3 loops for a total of 21 miles. The first two loops were actually easier than I thought they might be and we moved along as a pack rather efficiently. Because of some riders that were horrible at holding their lines I moved towards the back of the pack to avoid what I thought might result in a wreck. Not such a good move since I do know that this is the worst place to be for efficient racing. As we began our 3rd and final loop the pace picked up. Still manageable but if you are not ready and surge when the pack takes off you are done. This happened 4 miles out from the finish. It was at this point that 4 of us, including me, was dropped (example of poor placement in the pack) and a small gap was formed that we just could not bridge. Still we formed a pace line and finished with a nice strong sprint.
This weekend was just amazing and for once we had picture perfect weather. On Sunday I had the pleasure of supporting a friend who was running a Marathon SOLO. His original event was canceled due to bad weather so he decided to run his own here in our home town. Several runners jumped in a shared miles with him. I was able to run the first 7 miles with him and then jumped in for the last 4 miles. Simply AMAZING!
Thank goodness for compression socks!!
11 comments:
Nice job on the race eh? The learning experience has begun. What a great friend you are to jump in for a split 11 with the marathoner. Very cool!
Congrats on the cycle race! It's never a bad thing to come away from it as a learning experience.
And wow, kudos to your friend running his own marathon. Great that you (and some others) were able to keep him company.
Scott emailed me and told my you guys rocked...sounds like you did really well despite bad "pack" placement....nothing to be ashamed of for sure...great job.
Hey, this is only your first race and you didn't crash, learned some good lessons and finished strong. Plus, you had some great weather. I'd say the event was a success.
And, yeah, I heard about the Myrtle Beach Marathon getting canceled. Glad you could support a friend.
It's just the beginning... way to go Robin! Look forward to finishing with you soon!!
Lesson learned, and once is enough I'm sure. Might be a book on CAT racing to help shorten the learning curve if you look around.
Congrats on the great support for your runner friend.
Congrats on your first race Robin!
oh girl, i am scared now too. you did a great job, you really did.
What an amazing experience Robyn!!! You have me wanting to ride outside again so badly! Well done on finishing! You rock!!! Awesome to support your friend too, and kudos to your friend for doing the marathon on their own, that's fantastic!
You will learn something new in every race. Sounds like you did a great job staying with the pack till that last lap!
Those attacks & surges were (and still sometimes are) really hard for me - runners like to get into a steady groove & a pace they can maintain till the end - with road racing, you gotta throw intervals into your groove!
Nice job on the run too ... man, I can't run more than 3 miles these days!
To add on to Grey Beards comment, there are 2 really good race tactic books: Bike Racing 101 and Racing Tactics for Cyclists.
When is next race? :-)
Girl,I am so incredibly proud of you! Craig and I talked about it on Sat. on the way to Bamberg. It will come...I know how focused you are! Love the pics!
How did day #1 go yesterday? So excited for y'all!
Love ya!
Susan
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