Today we awoke with no power in the hotel. The whole side of town was down. It didn't matter much , our race didn't start until 11:30 or so. By the time we hit the start line it was pushing 90 degrees. Searing heat. The sunblock we had on was on thick.
Even a $65 a night motel has a pretty inviting looking pool....at least to Canadian's in March.
About 40 or so guys were in our category, but there were 3 main teams. Z-Motion, Rossetelli, and the Heineken guys . The Z Motion guys appeared to be the strongest. This race was supposed to be about 115 kms but everyone complained it was too long long to race in this heat. They dropped a lap and made it about 103 kms.
The first lap started fast. I was breathing really heavy. I began to wish I had never told anyone that we were racing in Florida, as the trip was originally just a training trip....but slowly turned into a racing trip. I wanted to race but I always have found I suck in early season. Anyways, during the second lap the pace seemed to creep up fast. I was in a bad position near the back and I got totally blown out the back. No way of catching back on. the wind was really strong and seemed to be hitting us in every direction. For what it's worth, I wasn't the first or the last to fall off the pack but then I turned into the waterboy for Marc.
Marc held on strong in the front 10 or so for the rest of the race it seemed. Drank 6 bottles of water in the 2.5 hrs of the race. When the leaders came through for the sprint finish the first 2 guys were moving really nice. It was nice to see a sprint finish, instead of a bunch sprint. Marc had attacked 1/3 the way through the last lap in an attempt to catch the leaders but just didn't have the time. He got 6th, but crossed the line a good 15 seconds ahead of the main group.
There's a new Watson in town!!!!
Later we got home and looked at the power splits for each lap and compared that with my getting hammered into the ground on the second lap. Marc's wattage hit over 1100 watts right around the same time I got dropped. That laps average wattage (296) was 30 watts higher than any other lap. Had I been able to suck up that 1 lap I would have been able to finish strong instead of typing this confession of loserdom.
Here is an awesome restaurant we didn't go to...
Regardless, We are putting in more hard kms all week here and around Clermont, Orlando and wherever. Also doing a club race on Wednesday. Will post pics on Friday when I get home.
word.
About 40 or so guys were in our category, but there were 3 main teams. Z-Motion, Rossetelli, and the Heineken guys . The Z Motion guys appeared to be the strongest. This race was supposed to be about 115 kms but everyone complained it was too long long to race in this heat. They dropped a lap and made it about 103 kms.
The first lap started fast. I was breathing really heavy. I began to wish I had never told anyone that we were racing in Florida, as the trip was originally just a training trip....but slowly turned into a racing trip. I wanted to race but I always have found I suck in early season. Anyways, during the second lap the pace seemed to creep up fast. I was in a bad position near the back and I got totally blown out the back. No way of catching back on. the wind was really strong and seemed to be hitting us in every direction. For what it's worth, I wasn't the first or the last to fall off the pack but then I turned into the waterboy for Marc.
Marc held on strong in the front 10 or so for the rest of the race it seemed. Drank 6 bottles of water in the 2.5 hrs of the race. When the leaders came through for the sprint finish the first 2 guys were moving really nice. It was nice to see a sprint finish, instead of a bunch sprint. Marc had attacked 1/3 the way through the last lap in an attempt to catch the leaders but just didn't have the time. He got 6th, but crossed the line a good 15 seconds ahead of the main group.
Later we got home and looked at the power splits for each lap and compared that with my getting hammered into the ground on the second lap. Marc's wattage hit over 1100 watts right around the same time I got dropped. That laps average wattage (296) was 30 watts higher than any other lap. Had I been able to suck up that 1 lap I would have been able to finish strong instead of typing this confession of loserdom.
Regardless, We are putting in more hard kms all week here and around Clermont, Orlando and wherever. Also doing a club race on Wednesday. Will post pics on Friday when I get home.
word.
