The past two weekends have been race weekends for me. They have been a blur and very little preparation, but that's how it's supposed to be right? Not having done much intensity it's tough but it's good to open it up a bit and see what's in the tank. I've been fighting a cold/allergies or some crap that's clogging me up a bit but I'm hoping to be 100% soon. I'm definitely on the upswing - at least for now.
The first race I did was the Allamuchy Short Track race. I had a good showing and some mechanical issues but overall a good experience. It was a fun course with a good solid group. It was interesting to see how fast everyone is already. This nice spring weather should have a nice bonk effect later in the season for a few. The second race I did was the Trooper Binkerhoff race in Coxsackie NY. It was a Cat4 field with 100 registered so I knew it would be interesting. All was well there and I worked my way to the front in time to have no sprint once again. No strategy and no sprinting ability makes road racing hard.
I'm hoping these efforts help put some pain in the memory bank and set me up for a good season. Just two weeks away is the 6 Hours of Warrior Creek in Wilkesboro, NC. I did this race two years ago and I did well placing 5th, and I want to go back and get all dizzy on the berms again and see if I can better that mark. Hopefully. I remember I was in a bad place for laps 3 and 4 and came back strong so I'm hoping my fitness and experience won't let that happen to me. I also didn't race before that one, so this year should put me in a better places mentally anyway. Just to make sure I'm ready to go I'm going to do one more hard effort this upcoming weekend.
This weekend is the Hell of Hunterdon in Lambertville NJ. This race I did last year on a very blustery and cold morning. This year it will hopefully be warmer, but in any case it'll be a different experience. With the 6 hour race looming the week after, I don't want to use all my energy this weekend. So I'm going to do the HOH at an easier pace. It's a road race with some rough pavement and dirt sections. Most will be on their road bikes and I'll be there on my mountain bike. I'm hoping this will keep me at bay and not want to go play with the big boys. That'll make it a much more pleasant experience and set me up better for the following week. We'll see.
