Thursday Night GP Crit with LTJ

Strava:  http://app.strava.com/rides/6271612

The Cat 4/5 group was not as big as it typically has been during the last two outings, so there didn't appear to be as much craziness as was the case last week.  It seemed more people were prepared for the first lap breakaway, and in typical LTJ fashion, there was no way he wasn't going to chase anyone down who tried.  I, on the other hand, was not willing to push early on hoping for a better outcome.

Even though there were attacks here and there, the overall pace was definitely slower.  No one broke away early and held it.  I actually had visions of launching an attack on the first prime.  When it came around though, I never moved up to get in position.  I just sprinted from about 1/3 of the way up front just to see what I had.  I didn't get passed but neither did I pass anyone else.  Sigh.

LTJ, who in typical fashion despite having chased attacks and pushing early on was solid all the way through.  I thought for sure he was going to have some problems latching on after one long chase he gave, but not Todd.  He just latched on every time and was always up there in the mix.  Unfortunately, he did get a flat on the fifth lap and the race was over for him.  You can tell he was bummed, but he'll be back with a vengeance I'm sure.

On my fifth lap, I thought I was doing okay and then all of a sudden, I started to run out of steam once again.  I thought I was well within the front of the peloton but for some reason, I started to fall back where upon looking behind me, I found myself at the back of the group.  I thought for sure I can pull up as I saw others popping as well, but curiously they recovered while I just didn't have anything left to stay on.  Looking at my HR, it looks like I was just pegged for a while and unlike before, I just can't hold it.  Ultimately, I ended up falling completely off and once again, I thought I'll just cut across to get more laps in.  This is not a good habit, and as you would expect it is not something that I'm exactly proud of. 

It just so happened that I saw LTJ with his flat tire just as I was thinking to cut across.  I did offer him my wheel as a replacement, but he was just done.  After failing to have even a better excuse not to continue, I decided to go ahead and latch on again and see if I pop off again.

This time, the pace was manageable where I did latch on once the Cat 4/5 guys passed me.  I was thinking it may be a better workout to push up and do some pulling even, but I thought finishing with the group would probably be better.

I rode another lap or two with the group, and as we rounded the bottom of the track, I thought I'd get up front and lead out anyone who wanted to sprint.  From about half way up, I started moving up toward the front but before I could get up there, some guys launched an attack on the other side of me.  I had to sprint for a bit just to latch on as everyone was trying to shake the guys off behind them.
 For the final sprint, I knew I didn't want to mess up anyone else's position, so I thought I'd just spin up and see who I can pass from the back.  Not having any pressure to do well at this point, I actually was surprised I was catching and passing some people.  Hmmm...maybe I'm onto something.

With Todd having a flat and me going flat, it wasn't one of the team's best outing.  That didn't stop us from hanging out and enjoying each other's company at the end.  If anything, at least we can say that when we are there, you can pretty much be sure we'll close the place down.  You'll get them next time, Todd.

Thanks again to Lisa and Pam for coming out.  With no crit next week, we may need to find something else to do together next Thursday.  :)