February 13, 2005, McDowell Park CR, Category 4
NE of Phoenix, AZ   12.6 miles

This race was just on the other side of the valley from last Sunday's race, so about a 2.5 hour drive again, but starting an hour later. Still, I couldn't fall asleep until 12:30 am, so I only got 3.5 hours sleep. The weather was clear and not too cold (just under 60) during the drive, but the course was covered in a light fog which moistened the roads. Fortunately the road surface was rough, so it was not slick, but I used my last year's racing wheels with the tires at a bit lower pressure. The course is 1.6 miles, dropping about 40 feet to the back stretch and two 90 degree turns. The last turn is about 350 meters from the finish and the line can not be seen until about 180 meters to go. The final stretch is a little rolling and twisty, as well as narrow.

We had about 25 starters, including my buddy Jesus Lamb again. My goal was to stay somewhat near the front, conserve myself for the finish, and not let anyone get away, hoping I had the best sprint at the finish. I had gotten one day of sprint practice in during the week and then we got rain for several days, so I still have lots of room for improving my sprint. I dressed a little lighter this time, shorts and arm warmers, which turned out to work well. There were three junior riders that started immediately behind us and we would occasionally lap them and had to be aware to not collide with them.

The race was to be 30 minutes, which would be 8 laps. Starting off at a fair pace, the group took the corners well and the riders were basically safe. We had 4 primes (special sprints for extra prizes within the race), but I had no intentions of expending energy on them. There were a few surges, but no serious attacks and the group stayed together for the entire race. I noticed that my heart rate was ranging between 172 and 182, which seemed a bit high, but I felt relaxed and not extended. I rode the entire race up until the final lap in my small chainring to keep my legs spinning and limber.

With 1.5 laps to go, I tightened the buckles on my shoes and put the chain on the large chainring to test the gearing for the final turn. I wanted to be in 3rd position going through the turn on the final lap, no matter what and I had picked out landmarks for 300 meters and 200 meters to judge the sprint. On the final ride through the back stretch, I maneuvered well up to near the front. My confidence was high, and my attitude excellent. Without much effort I found myself in third position as we approached the final turn, which happened to be right on Jesus wheel. We were in a straight line going through the final turn, so no problems with getting shoved. As we passed 300 meters, the rider in front of Jesus gave a long yell as he gave it everything he had (which is not usual). I was waiting for Jesus to make a move, but he was actually letting a gap grow between him and the lead rider; not good. With about 230 meters to go, I started my sprint, passing the two riders on the left rather quickly. I was greatly concerned that Jesus would latch onto my wheel and pass me at the line, so I gave it everything I could, slipping it into the 53x12. As I got to about 50 meters, there was another rider on the course, who I assumed was a Junior rider to pass again. Unbeknownst to me, he was a Category 4 rider who had snuck off the front while I was maneuvering to the head of the pack before the final turn. However I had plenty of speed and passed him also, getting the win! Jesus was able to get going and take third.

So I'm finally making some progress towards moving up to Category 3. After a warm down lap after the race, I stopped at the line, as my next race, the Masters 50+, started 10 minutes after the finish of this race.

Summary
Start
Time		 Distance
(Miles)		 Starters Duration Weather
(Deg F, mph)		 Climbing
(Feet)		 Speed avg
(MPH)		 Speed Max
(MPH)		 HR avg
(BPM)		 HR max
(BPM)		 HR waking
(BPM)		 Calories Burned
(Kcal)
8:41 am 12.6 23 31:20 57, Clr, Calm 320 24.2 36.7 173 197 46 270

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