(Picture from Colavita website)
OMG!! That was a brutal race.
I knew I was in trouble when we arrived at the start area and the parking lot was covered in ice. I had never thought about it before, but it's pretty hard to pump up tires and walk your bike (while wearing bike shoes) over an icy parking lot. I almost fell twice, and I was being careful! But, I was so thick with clothes, I probably would have bounced anyway.
Conditions:
Somewhere between 25-30 degrees at the start
Sunny (thank God!)
Wind 6-10 (sustained) out of the E SE (cross wind with a slight headwind on return)
Dry (thank God again!)
I wore:
Bike shorts, fleece leggings, wind resistant bike pants
Underarmor top, fleece pullover shirt, wind jacket
Fleece lined full head/face cover and I taped over my helmet vents
I know that my hands and feet are ALWAYS freezing, so I had purchased some gor-tex cycling gloves and shoe covers. They worked great!!! For the first time ever- my hands and feet were okay!
(Picture from Colavita website)
My worst time from last year was 49:35, todays time was 49:53.4. UGH!
What I did wrong:
1. I didn't warm up properly - Ha! "properly"- try not at all
2. I couldn't find a comfortable cadence - I was all over the map 50rpms, 90, 82 - I saw everything.
3. I couldn't find a comfortable position on the bike- one minute I was down on the aero-bars, next I was sitting up.
4. I couldn't find a "line" - I was left of the white line, I was right, I was on it.
5. I probably overdressed- I was warm, but my range of motion was very limited.
I came home with the second place award, and some Colavita Pasta Sauce - but that's because there was only 2 in my class. I'm thinking of it as a "Participation Prize"- but, everyone that showed up really deserved one!
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