Monday, August 4, 2008

End of My Summer Race Series

Yesterday we raced our last race of the Crossroads Cycling Classic in Winston-Salam. When I woke up in the morning my legs were painful to the touch and as heavy as they have ever been. I said to Matt ' if this wasn't the last day, I would take this day off '. We finished packing up our apartment and made our way to Winston-Salam.

During my warm up ride again I felt really bad. I just kept out of the sun and heat as much as possible. It was very hot with not much shade in the parking area. We have been freezing our water bottles all week long which has really helped me during the race. No more hot water in the face mid race. I rode the course backward during an earlier race to scope out the terrain. It looked OK to me because it had some shade on the back section with a couple little power hills that offered some recovery sections. I thought that I might be OK if my legs weren't so heavy.

About two laps into the race my legs loosened up and I felt great. I was really surprized. I could more up and back in the group at ease. Ted almost got caught in a crash early in the race but some how he got thru it. I really mean thru it because I thought the guy crashed right in front of him. But when I looked back Ted was still there. Amazing.

Matt was up working at the front for a good part of the race. With a little over a lap to go, I started making my way to the front to go get Matt. I was a bit to late as Matt was coming back and I didn't give myself enough time to get all the way up. I sprinted to 14th. Matt got 27th and Ted in 34th.

Again, what a great week. What a great summer. 14 races in 23 days. And if I can blow my own horn, I finished every race in the first group except Hunny Bop. What fun!

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