Hard Work Is Paying Off

Well, I finally got some results to speak of as I got 3rd in yesterday's Great Dane Velo Club Crit (which is more like a circuit race). I'm surprised a bit because I didn't feel all that great going in to Sunday as I was a little under the weather on Friday and Saturday with a sore throat, congestion, and body aches. I still did my normal pre-race rides and routine and when I woke up Sunday morning I still wasn't feeling the greatest but I was energized by the fact that I was racing again after a week off for Easter. I had an afternoon start so I skipped the normal race breakfast of pancakes and went with my more traditional breakfast of eggs, low-fat bacon, and then I also had some strawberry-cheese danish and a quadruple espresso, yes 4 shots! I was energized and feeling good when my teammate Glen and I arrived at the race course. After registering and walking the course we went back to the car and spent a bit on the trainers to warm up. I could tell my legs were feeling good and I was ready for some action. The race started as our races normally do, a fast pace with a few guys trying their hand, but basically staying together as we went around the almost 1 mile loop. About 20 minutes in to the race a small group formed and I went around about 20 guys and bridged up to the break and we had a nice small group of 5 of us working together. The first lap or so we kind of dangled about 15 seconds off the front of the pack but then we started working well together and and the pack was slowed down a bit by the efforts of my teammates. Dave Sapiro and I from Team Wheaton were in the break along with Aaron Schindler from Chiropractic Partners and then two other guys that I didn't know. We went from 15 seconds to a sizable gap of about one minute by the end of the race and it came down to a sprint between the 5 of us. I was struggling a bit up the hill on the back end of the course but easily caught back on as we rounded the downhill before the last turn in to the finish. It was a fairly long, slight uphill finish and I started my sprint a bit late as I went around one guy and then my teammate Dave but the line came too quickly and I couldn't catch the other two so I ended up 3rd, which I'm pretty happy with. Of course I always want to win, but I guess I was lucky enough to be in the break in the first place after missing it at Sheboygan 2 weeks ago. All in all it was a great race, we had a lot of Team Wheaton guys representing the Master's 4/5 with myself, Dave, Glen, Rudy, Greg, Chris, and Bob all showing up to give it a go. We have 2 races next weekend so I'm hoping that the form continues to progress and that I can give it a go in next weekend's races as well. Sunday's race will be on the same course as yesterday's race but run the opposite direction, either way, it's a course that suits me so I'm looking forward to it again. Well, time to get some work done here in the cubicle, but more to follow tonight about my plans for this week.....until next time.....