At Least It Didn't Rain...

This is a little late but that's the summary of Walkersville this year for me.  I should just end the discussion with that one sentence, but at the risk of being that kid that makes up all kinds of excuses for a poor performance, I won't.

I've been trying to make some changes in my work schedule to better accommodate after-work, out-of-doors riding, which seems to be working out fairly well.  So, thats a plus.

I've also made some changes in my eating habits - while I'd love to lose some of the weight I put on during my various traumas this past year, I actually made the changes because they make sense for long-term health.  I suppose it's a looser version of Paleo mixed with the Primal Blueprint-thing ... no grains so pretty low carb except for what you get from fruits and veggies.  Lots of protein and "good" fats.  I do feel better on a daily basis.  However, I learned very quickly and in a devastating way that those lifestyles do NOT work for competitive cycling.

My quick lesson was at Walkersville so here's my version of the race:  start out a little warmer than I had anticipated (yay) and a little more crowded than I anticipated (racing with the 50+ guys).  Somehow between the lead moto and the pack rolling out, a mini-van managed to get in there and proceeded to slam on the brakes when he realized he was being swarmed by cyclists.  Sweet.

By the way, the 50+ guys were all gentlemen, as I would have expected.  The trouble was that there are varying degrees of experience - some of the long-time racers ares smooth as butta, but others, often spotted wearing a Discovery kit, have the cash to get the gear but don't really have the experience to use it.  As a side note to my side note, PLEASE, for the love of all things good, use the brakes that work with carbon wheels if you're going to ride your deep-dish rims in a race or ride.  If the winds are gusting to 30mph, think twice about using aforementioned rims.  The combination of being blown all over the road and brakes squealing at the slightest touch made for a very stressful event.

Anyhoo, we stayed tempo - ie fairly civilized through the first lap.  Until we got to the downhill leading to the climb - where there was a vehicle parked in the middle of the road, apparently picking up the collateral damage from the race before ours.  Panic and chaos ensued as we all tried to avoid the car, carry some momentum into the hill and avoid crashing into each other (brakes squealing all over the place).  I got a little gapped off through that melee and found myself alone as I finished the climb.  Caught up to a guy, then Diesel-Diane (ABRT) pulled through - I silently offered a prayer of thanks and knew we were going to make a run for it.  I dug deep to help Diane as we chased, finally making contact after turn 1.  I was pleased as punch.  But tired.  Settle in and regroup in the pack, the second lap passed without incident and I gained some confidence that I was going to be okay.

Then the 3rd climb ... thats when the wheels fell off.  Not literally.  Although I kind of wished they had, 'cause then I'd have an excuse.  Got up the first two pitches painfully but ok; the last one shut me down.  I couldn't turn a gear, I couldn't push harder ...
F A I L.  I chased a bit, trying to catch up with friend and former teammate, Sara Z, but she hooked up with another rider and they had a little more momentum.  I rode alone through turn 1 and made it about halfway up the highway before I called it.

After talking to Coach Slavedriver, we concluded that it was lack of carbs - easily accessible glucose to fuel the muscles.  The hard chase on lap 1, a decent climb on lap 2 and an increased pace for the 3rd climb was more than I had in my system.  I need to do a modified version of the Paleo diet for athletes, which would include some grains/starches pre-race to increase available glucose and post race to aid in recovery. 
 
I can count on one hand the number of races I've pulled out of.  Despite any excuses, I was devastated to say the least.  It's difficult when you know where you've been and how fast you CAN go, but you have taken three steps backward and have to make those gains all over again.  Sigh.  Thanks mostly to my teammates, I'll get over it ... and I'll get faster.  I'm not quite ready to take my dollies and go home ...