I knew the basic rules of cycling, the #1 rule is DON'T GET DROPPED. Stay with the pack no matter what! I knew if I got dropped I'd never be able to get back with the front runners. I was able to hang with the pack for awhile, the speeds they were riding at wasn't a problem for me, but what killed my legs was the accelerations. I was not expecting how brutal the accelerations were! I'm in pretty good shape for triathlon specific training & racing, but triathletes don't train for explosive 5-15 second sprints. We go really hard for an entire race, but we don't do quick hard sprints, there's no need for them in a multisport racing. By the 9 mile mark the sprints were killing me, my calves were cramping up. At mile 9.9 we hit the biggest climb of the race & I got dropped from the pack.
From miles 10-17 I went back to my triathlon racing mindset, which is to push myself as hard as I can for as long as I could. Hindsight I realize that was a mistake. I was pushing myself so hard I didn't have enough strength to sprint & catch any ones wheel when a group passed me. By mile 16 I had been pushing myself so hard my hands started to shake. At mile 18 I was able to finally catch the slip steam of a couple of cyclists. At 1st the 3 of us were taking equal pulls at the front. I was faster riding with these guys, but each time I'd take the lead and hammer it would kill me! I'm just not accustomed to hard sprinting with short rests. At the end of the 2nd lap we dropped one of the guys, 2 of us left. At the beginning of the 3rd lap my lower back started cramping up. From then on each time I took the lead I was able to pull for less time. He'd pull for a minute, I'd pull for 20-30 seconds. Mid way through the 3rd lap I got dropped. I struggled from that point on. My inner thighs, calves, & lower back was cramping & I was completely out of energy. At mile 36 the cat 1, 2, & 3's started to pass me. At mile 38 the a few female cyclists passed me. At mile 40 I caught the wheel of 2 females. They were TOUGH! They were keeping a 20-28 mph average. I was able to hold their wheel for approximately 4 miles pretty easily, but at the next big climb I tried to peddle standing up to ensure I stayed with my new pack, but by then my glutes were TOAST. When I tried to stand my legs collapsed, I came near to crashing & I lost the slip stream of the ladies ahead of me. From miles 44 to 48 I tried my best to continue riding hard, but my legs simply had nothing left!
My average on the last 4 miles was 13 mph! My total average of the 48.5 mile race was 18.8 mph.
My top speed of the day was 47.3 mph & it happened while being in the middle of a large pack. Riding over 45 miles an hour with people 5-6 inches on every side of me was something I had never experienced. It was a major rush!
I burned 2015 calories.
When I came up to the finish line I saw my wife & kids holding signs saying "GO DADDY" & "YOU ARE MY HERO" that they drew with markers & crayons. They were screaming & cheering for me. It's amazing how their encouragement made all my pain go away. I felt on top of the world! I'm not saying I could have completed another lap, but I felt good enough to dig deep for one more sprint across the finish line. I'm very lucky, extremely loved, & have the best wife & kids!
I think next year I'd like to try a multi day stage race. Perhaps The Santa Fe stage race which is a 2 day event or Iron Horse which is a 3 day race with 1 road race, 1 criterion, & 1 time trial.
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