FSC 3: Risk with no reward

I gambled early in Sunday's Florida State Championship Series race in Tallahassee at the beautiful Tom Brown Park. I felt like I had great legs and really pushed the pace in the first lap and a half of the four-lap 27-mile race. But I paid mightily.


I was among the top quarter of the field after the first 30-minute lap and felt great going into the single-track for lap two. I was with two other racers, and I decided to try and drop them. I got rid of one but not the other. We were in sixth and seventh place. A short while later, I knew I was in trouble. The other guy built a gap and I started that slow drift back.


I ended the second lap nearly two minutes slower and knew I was in big trouble. I couldn't power up the climbs like before and my descending got sloppy. Halfway through the third lap, two guys from my class passed me, and as much as I wanted to get on their wheels, I couldn't. Then in the final lap, I was passed by another fellow racer. I crossed the line 10th out of 14 and was cursing my flawed strategy.


My final two laps were nearly five minutes slower than the first. Obviously, I rode way above my fitness. In other words, I blew myself up. A lot of times, I ride too conservatively. This was one time where I rode too aggressively. Well, sometimes you need to take a chance. This was not one of them.


One other factor that could've gone against me was the riding I did Saturday, when the team time trial took place. I raced for one of the On Your Mark teams and put out a lot of effort. I also rode fairly hard on the trail earlier in the day. All told, I turned 21 miles and that's a lot more than I usually do the day before the race. I'll never know how much that played a role in my performance Sunday, but I won't use it as an excuse.


I feel like my fitness is really improving. I'm building a strong engine that just needs more time to evolve. It might not be in time to do my best in the state series, but I think my second half of the season, consisting of the Coconut Cup in South Florida, will be really strong.