st. mary's crit

I raced this last Saturday down in Maryland, but don't have much to show for it. It was a Cat 3 only field, maybe only 35 riders; 60 minutes on a 1.1 km course. One little climb and a moderately sketchy downhill turn.

Nothing spectacular to report on the race. The field set a fast pace from the beginning, bunching up on the climb and stringing out on the downhill and the downhill turns, as is to be expected. I'm not super good at holding my position in a fast-moving, aggressive field. Perhaps I'm too tentative. So I like a crit with a hill because the inclines allow me the opportunity to get back near the front when I want to be near the front.

My best opportunity for success came about 1/3 to 1/2 into the race. There was a three-man break some 100 yards off the front and I attacked on the hill in an attempt to bridge the gap. I was successful at putting some distance between me and the field and was gaining on the break--maybe needed another lap to close the deal--but the pack picked up the pace, swallowing me and the break in short order.

I attacked two other times on the course but both efforts came of nothing, and I could tell with each successive effort that I was losing my punch. On the last few laps I tried heartily to get into the front five, and not so much go for a win, but perhaps let one of the better sprinters pull me in to a respectable finish. At that point though I was sapped, my legs were feeling soggy, and I ended up coasting across the finish line safely out of contention in 18th place.

It really wasn't such a hot day. My max power on the day was a good 150 watts lower than I would have expected it to be, which seems to confirm my sense that I felt less than 100 percent physically. Too little sleep lately. Too much crap food. I've got to get things cleaned up in the next couple weeks before Edgar Soto.

It's interesting how one's expectations change. Two years ago I would have counted a race a success finishing with the field as a Cat 4. Now I'm disappointed w/o a top 5 finish in a Cat 3 race. Every loss just makes me mad, mad, mad. It's time to start winning.