It was a BIG night. There were a LOT of people out there, which was a really good thing for me. I needed the speed to be UP over there, rather than the tepid 24 mph from the last time I was there. I just kept thinking, after seeing our average, how can I race at the Pro level in a crit that's 26 or 27 mph when the fastest thing I can do around here is going to average 24?! I mean, I was barely winded last time I went.
Usually, when there are more bodies on the start line, the pace of the evening gets bumped up. More attacks, more chases, etc. And, that was true last night.
It was definitely faster than the weeks prior. I could tell that right away when the majority of the night was spent in a 1-2 person wide paceline, streaming through the office park with nice, smooth turns, not a lot of sketchy wheels, and that beautiful sound that is a screaming fast peloton. We averaged about 25.6 for the night. Still not quite fast enough, but far better than 24!! The best part of this was that the only time I hit the top end of my zone (heart racing, breathing hard, legs screaming) was about 45 minutes in, when I jumped from the middle of the pack to the front and attacked up to a front group. It just felt like the right time to launch myself up to 30+ mph to see #1 if I could bridge and #2 if I could then come back into the field and stay in. I did both! :)
Next time...I'll try to sit on the front and pull for some of those laps. :)
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