1000 warriors

This was it. The 1000 warriors race was the race I trained for all year, my "a" race as they say in the training and coaching world, the race I trained to win. I would be happy with a top 10 finish.

Well that didn't happen. At the finish I was VERY disappointed with my performance. I failed to keep up with the lead group during the Alpine Loop and Suncrest climbs. I just cannot physically push my body to that level of competition. By the time I got to the Little Cottonwood climb I was in 6th position, I bonked, then cracked, then died, then I swear I got passed by every one in Cat 4. Two or three turns before the finish I was lucky enough to catch and pass one person in my Category 4 group which yielded me "last place minus one".

I didn't know I could stay upright at 4-5 mph with a cadence of 40 rpm. Didn't think it was possible.

So those were my original thoughts on the subject. I was dejected. I just cannot compete at this level, whether it is Cat 4 or 5.

However after giving it some time I realize racing 94 miles while climbing 13,000 feet [advertized, 9491 per Garmin] in 5 hours 26 minutes is not too shabby. It is an accomplishment and a serious improvement over last year. Whether or not I can compete is not as relevant now.

Then the results come out and I earned a 10th place finish out of 26 competitors. 20 minutes back from the winner.

Full race data available on Garmin Connect. It's not pretty.

Here's a graph displaying the evil climbs and their effect on my speed and heart.