First Track Race of the Year! -- Log

And so it has begun..

It was a pretty blustery day, i rode out to the track and battled the wind the whole way...great way to start the night. ;)

A few more familiar faces were there, nice to see my extended two-wheeled family out and about!

For those who are less familiar with my history, i've only recently (last fall) begun putting more effort into training - previously i was a 'weekend warrior' who'd race in the B category, but was a total fair-weather rider, who'd get out for one, maybe two rides a week.

This was the first winter i actually rode through..normally i'd take Nov-March off. =)

So this is the first year i'm racing with the A group - who'd normally blow by me when they accelerated a bit. Last night i discovered i can now keep up, until they accelerate a lot. haha

The first race was a 20 lap Scratch race, and it's started off at a reasonable pace, then would get faster and faster.. Vinko broke off the front for a very brave solo attack, i was too far back in the pack to (at least try and) jump on. He held this for most of the race i believe.. From there, the pack broke up a bit more, and Chris ended up tanking a group of us for several laps (wow - he just held the front!) as we tried to catch Vinko. Soon tho, Marcus and Matt blew by, and i had little extra to give, so i hung in with Bre and Chris, who all ended up ahead of me to hand me a sixth-place position. Not too bad for my very first race in the A category. =)

Next up was a short, 20 lap Points race. Unfortunately several A's went home, which left a smaller field. Matt also flatted out, basically leaving Vinko, Chris and myself, and that's pretty much how each sprint turned out, giving me a 3rd place finish pretty much by default. Which is fine by me. =)

I'm really impressed with how fast everyone is! Although i can now keep up with them in the bunch, it's pretty amazing how strong they all are when the sprints kick in. I've still got a ways to go before i'm competitive to these guys! If you're reading this - you rock, and it's an honour to race and learn from you all. =)

I'm also pretty happy with how my training has paid off - i've now got the cardio engine i need to keep me in the pack, which was my goal for the winter, so that feels pretty darn good. Now i've gotta build up more power to try and hang in on the sprints. Vrrm vrrrm..

Whatever happens tho, it's great to be out racing with these guys again, they're all an inspiration to me.

My training schedule is now up in the air, but will prolly look like this:

Fri: easy night at the track, practice some skillz
Sat: Observatory repeats w/Andy plus 2hr ride
Sun: Burnside ride
Mon: maybe RR w/Andy, Sprint Night for sure
Tue: should run..haven't been running..gym in the evening
Wed: ride w/sprint starts or other strength excercise
Thu: race night!

I took this last Tues and Wed off as well. Tues went to see Sin City. Holy crap, i did not enjoy it. Very specific target audience there no doubt...and i'm not it.

Keep on riding!!