Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Carl Dolan.......

Saturday started off with a nice 65 mile ride at D-Ville at a relatively relaxed pace. Considering the weather it was a low turn-out but most people were either racing at Syn-Fit or saving their legs for Carl Dolan on Sunday. I managed to get a 25 minute run in after the ride so was all good. The rest of the day was spent getting ready for the BBQ in the evening.....shopping, grass cutting, cleaning the grill from the 2008 season, food prep! It was all go, but the BBQ was a hit and I think Sarah's cupcakes were the final bit of carbo loading that everyone needed (esp. as all attendees were racing Carl Dolan!).

I was racing twice on Sunday, the Cat 3/4 and the Cat 4/5. Fortunately there was a few hours in between the races for recovery. I hadn't raced a Cat 3/4 race since way back in 2006 at the Giro Di Coppi and so I wasn't expecting much other than just hanging in. The first few laps I found myself sitting too far to the back for my liking....the concertina effect isn't too good for me and I was spending way too much energy getting back into the bunch after the one corner when it gunned to the 40MPH mark. I gradually moved up and about halfway through the race was close enough to the front to actually close some gaps and cover a couple of moves. It was then down to the last few laps and time for the Team Latitude/ABRT to help Steve Wahl win his 2nd race in as many days. I rolled over the line in the bunch, pleased with the workout (not often you can get a 27MPH average for an hour).

The wind had kicked up a bit for the Cat 4/5 race, and with only 15 Cat 4 guys in the field of 75, I was looking for some points and prizes! The plan was just to sit in the field and then see what was going on in the last few laps. About 5 laps in (of 12) and after Stu had finished his solo break attempt (good photo opportunities apparently!), a group of 7 got off the front and looked as though it might be a bit dangerous. It was then that we started to chase and fortunately it didn't last too long or take too much effort to get the "groupo compacto".....Ty was able to roll off the front for a prime, although I think it may have gassed his finishing sprint slightly. No breaks stuck for the rest of the race as most that went just got stopped in their tracks by the surging pack and the winds. Coming into the final 1km, it was the usual mayhem and with the uphill sprint, guys were just dying all over the place. Stu stayed strong for 2nd place, Fabrizio grabbed 15th (3rd Cat 4) and I was in 19th (4th Cat 4). So mission accomplished in terms of grabbing some points and prizes ($35) and also two good workouts. The ride home didn't workout as the skies looked like they had rain in them and the car looked way more comfortable!

Next up is Bunny Hop and then we have the first triathlon of the year at the New Jersey Devilman 1/2 Ironman on May 9th. I think I might squeeze in a Greenbelt during that week as well.

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