Lake Auburn Road Race

Masters 35+
14th/28

This was a 2 24-mile loop road race right down the road in Auburn. Typical of the spring, the weather brought chilly, rainy conditions. Also typical of heading into a road race, I was cautiously optimistic about performing well. I had a high HR all week, but hopefully due more to allergies and saddle sores than true fatigue. My legs felt a little tight, but as the week wore on, they loosened up.
I had a fairly brief warm-up and wisely took time to go back and grab arm warmers as I noticed everyone else had them. I should have worn a vest and leg warmers as once I was wet, the fast descents chilled me to the bone and when I would stop pedaling my legs would shake uncontrollably. Kind of comical actually. Luckily there was enough climbing and a steady pace to limit this sensation!
This was my first official race as a Cat. 4 in the competitive Elite Masters 35+ category. The pace was surprisingly high right from the go which made me change my goal from a high finish to merely staying with the pack. Based on my fairly brief experience road racing, I knew the only form of survival was to stay with the pack, no matter how hard I would have to pedal to keep up.
The first lap was fairly uneventful except for when we hit the hills. I consider myself a strong climber, but these guys really pushed the pace and it was all I could do to keep up. I was concerned I would lose the draft and had to work hard to stay in contact with the group after the climbs. My concern was without merit as the group eventually slowed after each climb or hard effort. I guess this is where sprintervals come into play!
The descents (what goes up, must go down) were fast! I showed a max speed of 43.5mph on my cyclocomputer.
The second lap was definitely a challenge. 48 miles was about the furthest I’d ridden all year, and definitely not at race-pace. So it was a matter of survival again. Several riders dropped off the back and there were a few occasions where I was the last rider in the pack and drifting off the wheel ahead of me. But I never felt like I would truly lose the group. One rider did manage to go off alone out front and won the race uncontested. The rest of us stayed together for a sprint finish. The pace was pretty high leading to the finish. I stood to gain as much ground as I could but my legs would not deliver, they were lead. So I sat down pedaled as hard as I could and earned a respectable finish. I definitely couldn’t have done better.
Next is the Great Falls Crit tomorrow in Auburn.