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.

August is here

I am finally gaining confidence in my climbing again. My new road bike's lowest gear of 39 x 26 is taking some getting used to.

Just in time for the excitement of the big races. First the ULCER team time trial followed by the peak of my season at 1000 warriors. Maybe I'll still be fit for Sanpete too. Should be brutal.

I am spending a lot of time in the mountains all over the place, sometimes on my new Trek Fuel Ex 9.8 mountain bike but mostly on the road bike. It has been nice to get back in the rhythm of the SuperSeries and ride with the team to get that much more incentive to ride hard.