Putting aside the West Michigan Stage Race, and coming off a week of great rest...I was ready to prove myself again at Frankenmuth. Last year I had to watch this race from the sidelines and it killed me, I enjoy this race. This year it was setting up to be a grand day. The weather was in the 70's and poring rain...it does not get any better for me. I love a good rainy race. The 4 laps and 66 miles would go by fast. For most of the first lap I tried to get the legs firing, eventually they got warmed up. Most the second and third lap I spent ether near the front or covering a few moves off the front. It felt great to be on the attack again, no nagging leg issues holding me back. At the end of the third lap I faded a bit to eat, this was probably my biggest mistake of the race. Up till this point pack position hadn't meant much, but boy did things sure change. One of my teammates made it into a two person breakaway. Due to this the pack pace eased and turned into a giant traffic jam. I was stuck and had no where to move back up in the pack. For 13 miles I tried and tired and to much anger got no where. Finally with a mile to go I was able to make some progress and creep up. To my surprise I actually made it through the final corner in the top 15. The downhill sprint was fast and furious, I moved up near the top five only to be cut off. In a 45mph sprint crashing for a few places is not worth the risk, after almost crashing by being cut off I coasted to the line to nab 14th. Looking back I should have picked a better sprint line, however though I was happy with having a very successful race in my mind.
Memorial Day I also decided to do a time trial in Ada, Michigan. A side goal of mine this year is to be a contender in the Michigan Challenge points series. For me to be a factor I need to work my strengths in the time trails. The rainy weather was gone though and the mid to upper 80's heat was back. The TT was about 15 miles in length, I opted to not use a water bottle. This ended up being a mistake but I learned a lot to take to the state TT. My legs still hurt from Frankenmuth and despite my best efforts to stay hydrated, I wasn't hydrated enough to go 35 minutes all out. This TT hurt, a lot...I crossed the line 6th with a average mph of 25.3. Way off the mark I should have run, however way above what I could do last year. I have come a long way since my injury. For a change my pacing felt good here, I just wasn't rested enough. Towards the end I stopped sweating and got shaky, water was the only thing I could think about crossing the line. All and all things are shaping up decent for the State TT, hopefully I can find a way to creep up onto the podium. Oh, with the result I slotted back into 5th in the Michigan Challenege. Hopefully I can stay up in the top 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment