Like Sully said in his post about the race, this was a 6.5 mile course with a few climbs in it. We had to do ten laps, a mercifully short race of 65 miles. We had to go up the 18% climb eleven times if you count the neutral lap. My number one priority was finishing with a respectable group. I'd felt pretty crappy racing for a few weeks and just pulled out of it this week.
It was way hotter once the race got going than I thought it would be. I knew I'd made a huge mistake bringing only two bottles. The first lap I stayed toward the back up the climb, which was no problem. The second lap guys started to gap, but it easily came back together. The third lap I got caught behind a pretty substantial split and I had to shut it down myself. For the rest of the race I entered and exited the climb in the top ten to avoid that crap.
A handful of guys got a small gap when apathy set in among the main field. After one time up the hill, maybe the seventh or so, I actually had to do some work at the front because nobody else would. Nick Ramirez from Illinois made a great move then to bridge. I'd have gone with him but I was really worried I'd crack with dehydration setting in. On lap seven I took a bottle from a stranger in the feed zone. I drank it and tossed it back on the next lap with a "thank you." That bottle saved me.
On the last lap I ruled out attacking since I'd been one of the stronger guys on the climb. But I ended up cramping up pretty bad on the final climb. I started catching guys at the end but finished at the back of the group I thought I could win and got 25th. Overall I was only doing this for training and I guess it worked.
