#264: Tulsa Tough – Sunday
I was not Tulsa Tough on Sunday at all. I warmed up and felt pretty good considering it was the third race of the weekend… we started and then charged up the hill…. I just couldn’t stay with them. I chased back on before the sharp hairpin and then proceeded to overestimate the field’s braking and ended up having to chase down a gap all the way through the start / finish. 2nd lap, repeat…gap grew…. by the 3rd lap, they were gone and my race was in countdown mode. Needless to say, it was a disappointing result since it has been a while since I have been left behind in a crit. This one was a bit unique that it featured a short (800ft) pitch at 7%, a small roller and another 5% short grade.
I got pulled after only 6 laps (14 minutes of racing). Man that was rough. When I got back and downloaded my power, I saw why it was so hard. It was so hard because it was so hard. Average power was nearly 300W despite the fact that 10-15% of the course was a no-pedal (steep downhill to corner) and the NP was 348W. Either I need to lose 20 lbs. or gain 20W… I guess I will need to work on the 20W.
I plan to take a non-race weekend this weekend. After that I will probably do 4 in a row:
- Tour de Lousiane SR (Covington, La)
- Avery Trace / Cookeville Crit (Tenn)
- Smith & Newphew / Marx & Bensdorf GP (Memphis!)
- Plein Air Classic (Oxford, Miss)
Then it is time for a mid season break!
