Memorial Park Crit #9 2011
As my offshore visit required me to miss last week’s criterium, this week’s installment of the weekly Memorial Park crit circulated through my thoughts all day yesterday. I really wanted to do well this week and get a good result. Going in to the race, I noticed a build up of fatigue from the last couple of days. Although I designed this fatigue by not taking time off and resting for the race, I had hoped I would be feeling fresher than I was.
It was hot! Most people find the humidity in Houston unbearable, but I welcome the climate, as it stays cooler than the rest of Texas during the summer. But the relative temperature across the state has been higher than normal, meaning 110 deg F in Dallas translates to ONLY 100 deg F in Houston. It was still humid though.
In a few words, I raced poorly. I completely missed the winning move of 3 and did not race smart in the peloton. I attempted to bring the break back with help from a few others, but most were interested in the sprint for 4th. I probably should have been as well. Near the end of the race, after a hard pull, I overheated and got popped off the back. I furiously hammered 30 yards off the back for 2 more laps, hoping the pace would slow and I could catch back on. After the two laps, I gave up hope, feeling pretty hot, miserable, and disappointed.
I struggle with the fact that sometimes you are only as good as your last result, and if I gauge my fitness and form on that metric alone, I am sliding backwards. I know this is not the case, and I try to remind myself that as I prepare for the races in September, my results in August will not show the work I am putting in. Training hard means not being fresh and fully recovered for some races. Training through these races is difficult and puts me at a disadvantage to others which put a higher priority on the weekly crit at this point. Or at the very least, this is what I tell myself in order to feel better!
I was proud of my two teammates Jon and Justin. They followed moves and stayed safe to try to get a result at the end. Jon came in 7th I believe.
