America's #1 Balance Bike Destination

America's #1 Balance Bike Destination
America's #1 Balance Bike Destination

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Ninigret Criterium

That's me dead center:
Did the Ninigret Crit last night. I was very hesitant to put myself out there, having DNF'ed the last four races I started. Confidence was at an all time low. So I just stayed sheltered for most of the race, conserved myself. Seemed to be about 60+ guys there. Cool and foggy out. Our team had three, one (Neal Hull) took 2nd in the final sprint
I was so surprised at not being put into difficulty that I didn't know what to do at the end. I maintained field position through the sprint, somewhere in the front 1/3 of the pack. I have to work on being more aggressive and more assertive in the field. Whenever someone behind you detects a bit of weakness, they go around you. Next thing you know, you're blocked on both sides and losing position fast. Crashing three times in the past 3 seasons has not helped any. Getting hit by a car and having your first kid also takes some of the edge off. You tend to stay on the side of caution. I hate that.
You will notice on the chart that during minutes 53, 54 and 55, I made an attempt to bridge up to a break with another. First I had to sprint to his wheel, then he pulled for half a lap, I pulled for half a lap, he pulled for half a lap, and then I pulled through for a little bit but was so gassed I had to sit up. He connected on his own (we were close) but the field picked up speed and caught the whole break within another lap. Felt good to try something though.. Like I said, I have to find little boosts to my confidance any way I can. Opening a gap on the field for a lap and a half helped somewhat.
Another revelation: I've been racing on the hoods for way too long. This is a bad habit of mine, and I do it mainly because I find it painful to be in the drops. It's painful because I never do it, and because of my (disappearing) gut... Well some recent yard work and some recent crunches and core exercises and rest seem to have strengthened my lower back and my abs. I was in the drops the whole time and didn't even realize it til I sat up after the finish. It's a sign that my head was into the race. Being on the hoods felt weird all of a sudden.
Note to self: I race, sprint and accelerate much faster in the drops. Duh.
A team mate who raced there last Wed says that tonight was much faster. I don't know how "slow" it could have been last week, but tonight we averaged 26 mph. We'll be doing in the 27s by mid June.



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