Sonja and I made the trek up to Strasburg, PA last Saturday for a 22-mile road race. Yes, we are crazy and drove 2 hours to race for 22 miles which took us just over an hour. Oh, but wait, then we had to drive 2 hours home so that's a total of 4 hours of driving for 1 hour of racing. Pretty crazy since there was a crit right here at UMD. (We didn't race local because there was only a Women's Cat 3/4 race and Sonja is a stud Cat 2 now.) Anyway, I am not one for detailed race reports so I will only give the highlights:
- Sonja attacked 3 times, but I was mid-pack and didn't see her go.
- When I finally noticed her missing (after her third attempt) I went to the front and tried to pick up the pace to reel her in. Who knows if I actually succeeded in increasing the tempo but it sure felt like it, at least to me.
- I realized that the break was only gaining ground so I went back to mid-pack. Also, I am definitely not the strongest rider out there so too much effort for me at the front would have led to my getting dropped. (Sidenote here: How in the hell did Christine W do so much work at the front and still get 3rd in the field sprint? That girl is a beast!)
- I got run off the road and took a detour thru the grass. Sara Z commented to me after the race that she saw me offroading and was thankful I was a cross racer or else half the peloton would have gone down. That made my day. Thanks Sara.
- I really screwed up the sprint but I finished 16th and with the pack which I am extremely happy about.
Results here.
7 comments:
I'm no expert, but you're too strong not to try and do something results wise during the road season...I think you can do both (get ready for cross and have a decent road season).
Congrats on the race! Keep up the posts.
Way to off road it! Mix it up a little! Flip the script!
And I agree with Kari&Jessie, don't short change yourself! You're a strong rider, so don't let your mind limit what your body is capable of.
Oh, and nice race report. Short and to the point. Well done.
Hey, chicken - are you trying to practice for cross by taking short jaunts off-road in the middle of races?
Ditto what everyone else said - as long as you are going to be racing, you might as well go for it. You have the strength, and the more you go for it now, the better off you will be for cross too. Sure, cross is your thing - but don't let yourself think that during a road race!
Hey now peoples... I didn't say that I don't want to win. I'm just easing into the season because I sorta accidentally got upgraded with all of 6 updrage points, meaning I never had the results as a Cat 4 to updrade and all of the sudden I find myself racing against the 1/2/3 field. Honestly, my first couple of races I just want to hang on. If I think that I can do more than hang on, I certainly will try. And one thing for sure, I will always try and chase Sonja down if she breaks. We kind of have a bet on it.
Oh, and thanks for all the kind words. I really have worked hard in the offseason to try and have some success on the road. I didn't suffer thru all those Kelley Acres rides for nothing :-)
I'm on to your strategy Chickin. You're going to sneak up on us all:)
yeah - i've got her number.
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