16 February 2008

2008 Feb 16, Cantua Creek Road Race

CTL: 115
TSB: 5
Pretty much same fitness as last year at this time but without the 2007 back injury so I can hold onto the bars with both hands and can use the drops so road racing here we come.

Our field happens to have the two strongest kids from the San Bruno Hill Climb and the Early Bird Road Race so this should be fun.

I had gotten way too used to riding in colder temps and the wet weather this January so ended up wearing as much clothes as I normally do which ended up being way too much for the temperature after two hours and ended up a little dehydrated by the end.

First lap was uneventful with a flat out and back course that had a some rollers on the way to the finish line until I dropped my chain and spent a minute putting it back on just before the start of the rollers. Had to do a little VO2max effort for five minutes to bridge back up, and then we went up the steepest hill and some of the riders still in the pack were having difficulty so I had to pass them, too.

Got a little overconfident on the second lap when the telltale tremors in the calves started coming on after about halfway. Thought it was over, and then we go to the forty five mile mark, and my right leg cramped up totally and I had to stop for a minute and massage it. Then I did another VO2max effort and caught the group again, at the start of the rollers. Then the other leg cramped! Not my day today. Massage the left leg and got in time trial mode and started picking off a lot of riders who apparently just packed it in after the second lap, and figured if I've driven this far for the race, I'm doing all 75+ miles of it. Ended up doing a time trial for about an hour that was actually harder average power wise than the time I was with the group, lost about a minute and a half by the last turn around.

Maybe next time I'll get the clothing and hydration right...

2008cantuacreek


T: 3:26:32
W: 1911 Kj
TSS: 206.7
NP: 194
AP: 154
D: 114.4 km
C: 87
S: 33.2

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