Frozen Dinner

Well it had to happen at least once racing out here. Today I was dropped and dropped out of my first Colorado race. So far this season has been looking great...I've had decent early season form, have battled a few colds but nothing too bad and have been looking forward to the RAAM and a great season of racing. So I suppose today was a foregone conclusion and was just a matter of when, as opposed to if.

I was blasted right off the line and I believe that I wasn't mentally prepared to race in mid-40's rain/slush/heavy wind. I spent most of the day trying to recover from overnight at work where we were shelled with 4 calls resulting in about 3 hours of interrupted sleep. In between naps before the race I kept checking the weather which of course looked fine until about 20 minutes before the race when the rain and wind picked up, resulting in a terribly cold field. Right off the gun the pace was ridiculous and it appeared that 2 riders got off to an early break. I had 4 other teammates with but wasn't able to make any sort of attempt at even sitting in. Today's event reminded me that it's: A. early season, B. Colorado racing isn't what I'm used to quite yet, C. good to eat some humble pie in a new race environment with a new team.

Back to work tomorrow, with a couple of heavy training days sandwiched before the RAAM simulation next weekend. I'm headed to the allergist on Thursday to see if I have any recurring or treatable allergies. My breathing has been hard/heavy, especially in the morning, which may be a diagnosable problem. Time will tell.

The next big race weekend comes on the 19th and 20th of this month, just a couple of short weeks away. Have two big criteriums to battle through and should ante up for at least one of them, especially since my team (GS CIAO/Wild Oats Presented by Al's Barber Shop) is co-hosting the race on Sunday. It would be special to race the North Boulder Criterium to a top 5 finish or ride in support of a teammate who may finish strong. Time will tell?

I'll check in post RAAM simulation, early next week...until then...

Keep the rubber side down.

Tim