Donaldson Center RR: First WIN Of The Season

Today was pretty F-ing awesome to say the least. It was my first win of the season and it came in the shape of an 8 mile Solo Break away in strong winds. The race started pretty quick and there was never really much time to relax and get in a rhythm. I was antsy to move the whole time. There were a couple breaks as well and I was smart enough to keep myself in the pack where I could draft and save my energy for my own break. Luckily everything worked out the way I wanted it to and the breaks were caught.

Finally, as the 2nd lap was coming to an end I took off from way in the back right past everyone and immediately created a 10 second gap between myself and the field as we crossed the line for the final time before the finish. It was motivating to have everyone see me with a gap like that, and hear the announcer talk about my break. It all gave me adrenaline and made me go even faster. I pulled out a 6:40 5k for the first part of my break away. I was hammering and I was hurting. But I never stopped.

I played my cards really smart. Every time I came up to a hill I would dig deep but at the same time I would relax on it and make sure that I had a lot of energy at the top. I did this because I knew the 8 man chase group that had now broke the field could see me, and for a chase group, that is the most motivating thing they can have. So, my idea was that I'd climb easy (relatively speaking) and once I got to the top, when their sight of me was blocked by the hill in front of them, I would go as hard as possible. After every hill on this course there is either a descent or a flat so after saving the energy on the hill I would hit over 55kph every time. Then, by the time the chase would get to the top of the hill, which I know for a fact they pushed as hard as they could on because thats usually where you plan on making up the time to catch someone, I would be gone. They'd see me all the way down the road and nearly out of sight. This is extremely demoralizing for a chase group, especially after a hard effort on a climb. The race stats from my Garmin are below.

Donaldson Center RR #2 by darionfleming at Garmin Connect - Details

The smart thinking and careful planning really worked off in the end, even though I really was dying in the final sprint and my 30 second lead had gone to a 10 second one. I held onto 1st place despite my 8 mile Solo TT effort. One thing I know for sure now, it is absolutely exhilarating to win a race on a Solo break away!

Greenville Spring Training Series: Fork Shoals RR

Well, I'm back in South Carolina again for the 2nd week of the Greenville Series. The driving is almost getting normal now and I think I'm beginning to get into the "travelling to races that are hundreds of miles away" mode. Todays race was on a 15 mile loop and my race consisted of 2 laps. I did an easy warmup and made my way to the line.

I sat in the back the entire race until the last mile where I moved up to second and drafted off the leader for about 1k. Then with 400m to go I began to sprint. I think it may have been a little too early to go off like that, but it worked out pretty well because I was able to hold onto 2nd place after getting passed by less than a wheel at the line. I'm definitely happy with the way the race went. It would have been nice to win but judging by the fact that I haven't been on the bike since Monday, I am pretty happy. Now I've shaken the cobwebs off and my legs are warmed up for tomorrow's race.

Part of Fork Shoals RR + Extra Mileage. by darionfleming at Garmin Connect - Details

The link above is part of the race plus some of the riding I did after the finish. I forgot to start the Garmin when the race started and remembered about 10 miles into the race. After the race I went on a nice ride on the country roads while everyone else was racing. The weather was beautiful and I couldn't pass it up. Later on that day I went for a hilly, hour long ride (which was supposed to be only 20 minutes long...thanks Garret) in my flip flops, a t-shirt, my helmet, and some basketball shorts...That was fun. Overall, I got in a little over 4 hours. It was a good day.

A Day With The PT

At the end of yesterday's ride I could feel that pain in my left leg coming back again, not the tightness but the spot right under my knee cap where it is a very dull and uncomfortable pain. So, when I realized that I had scheduled a PT Workout today I was skeptical to go. I happy I did go, because Steve was able to give me some tips on how to avoid the pain I was feeling with a few exercises and strengthening techniques. We also went through the whole 45 minute session with major core and leg strengthening which was definitely necessary and always needed.

Exploring The Jefferson Cup Course

While driving back home from SC last night, we all decided to stop at a hotel in Charlottesville and do a ride in the morning on the Jefferson Cup Race Course. It was a great idea because it turned out to be probably the best ride I have ever done. The weather was amazing and the views of the Blue Ridge Mountains at the top of the climbs were absolutely beautiful.

I took the climbing very hard and left Chuck and Monika a couple times to go at my own pace. I'm so happy we decided to do this before heading home. Now I just cant wait for Jeff Cup! Here's how the ride went...

Long Rolling Hills Ride, SC by darionfleming at Garmin Connect - Details