Jamestown Road "Race" Report- Kept the Rubber Side Down!
So the "race" in quotes may give you some indication on how it went....
Brief background: I had planned to do this race last year but I had to travel for work so I had to miss it. I was able to defer until this year so it was a "free" race, kinda. The fact that it was 2 weeks after IMCHOO was a little less than ideal but what the heck? I wasn't going to win anyway!
The race was in Jamestown RI, about 2 hrs from my house so I just drove the day of the race since my start wasn't until 10:30 (but later pushed to 11:17) A friend of mine joined me so that was nice. Had a muffin for 2nd bfast, got the bike ready, did a short warm up and waited to line up.
As they announced the groups that were to line up at 11:17, it was masters 35+, blah, blah and all women. So I see herds of peeps (mostly men) lining up and maybe 20-25 women. Yikes. Because they were running late, they were trying to get back on track by lumping groups together. Lots of women were complaining and even asked that they have us start 30secs back from the men but no go. My prior bike race ended in a crash after 5 miles so more peeps really freaked me out. I positioned myself super poorly (in the corner in the back) and I was off. Admired the lovely Newport bridge scenery for a little less than a mile, started up a little hill and was dropped pretty quick. Several factors 1) Probably wasn't close enough to wheel in front of me from the start. 2) Men in front prob started off way faster than just women would have 3) Hill in the beginning bad for me and 4) not great bike fitness except the ability to ride really slow for 8 hours. Yes, lots of excuses but bottom line, bad execution and sub-par ability for this kind of race.
Thought about quitting after one lap but then I realized that although the strategy of a bike race is to stay WITH the pack, the goal to finish (rubber side down!) was still doable. I wouldn't quit an IM just cuz I suck! No, I continue on, slowly! So I did.... The scenery was amazing and it was fun to see the packs cruising along down the road in the opposite direction. There was also a one-loop fun ride prior to the race so I passed some kids so I had that going for me. LOL I gave them some words of encouragement and that helped me keep going too. At the beginning of the second loop, I ran across (not literally!) a woman from my group. She drafted a bit, then I pulled and she said something to me like "I said to myself if she can do it, I can do it". I had mentioned to her before the race it was only my 2nd race, and I think she had considered throwing in the towel until she saw me still going so that was nice. But eventually I lost her too....
My powermeter is on its way to Saris for repair/rebuild so no power on this ride. Booooo But I worked pretty hard. Here's the file:
https://www.strava.com/activities/411790077
I came in 9th of the 9 riders that finished but 2 DNFd so I beat them! I really would like to "race" my next race" so I'm planning on going back to the race I crashed in and try it again... Would love to do a crit if I can figure out how to pedal while wearing a suit of armor.. Does Castelli make that?
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