The Bad Ass Lucero gets the Nod

The srm has been switched over to the Lucero.  Looks like I’m going to get another race or two on this bike.  Now I just have to rummage through my parts and find a seat.  The seat that was on it is on the Specialized which is at the shop.  So now it’s just a getting through each day waiting for Sunday to roll around.  There isn’t a taper for this race, in fact I’ll still put in over 3 hours of training the day before since the first race I really care about isn’t until April.  Have to do the work now to get the results later.

The first race of the year is always a bit nerve wracking for me.  All the unanswered questions about your training get answered.  The objective data says things are good, power numbers are about where they were mid June of last season, average running pace is a bit faster then this time last year, average length of my bread n butter daily run has gone from 6.8miles to 7 miles. I’ve done much more running in the 7.5-8.5 range but not as many long runs.  So we’ll see.  Subjectively I oscillate from being fairly confident that it won’t be too shabby Sunday to what if I get smoked out there?  So many people look fit and fast before the race starts.  I’m hoping this sorts itself out, as in previous years, shortly after the gun goes off.  After the initial rush from the line, things usually shake out quickly, the fit and fast to the front and the I look fit and fast but am not so fast or fit tend to hang around for 3-5 minutes then fade.  Of course this is relative, if I raced elite I’d be neither fit nor fast and would fade from the gun.  The forecast calls for sunny and mid 70’s for the high so racing conditions should be fairly good.  I’d prefer a bit cooler and cloudy but Mother Nature seems to have other ideas.