I'll try to keep this one short since I wrote a recap for the MNSCS site, which should be up sometime this week.It breaks down like this: 2 weeks ago I went into Mont du Lac sick. Came out worse, with a 8-9 day cold/stomach bug. So between Mont du Lac and Mankato I got in 3 rides on the bike. I had no idea what kind of legs or lungs I'd have going into Mankato. So, I made a point to focus on three things I've let slip so far this season: hyrdation, nutrition and warm up. No beer the night before, no coffee the morning of. Good meal Saturday night, good breakfast and snacks Sunday, with lots of water. I warmed up for about 45 minutes and drank an entire bottle of sports drink. At the start line I took in a little gel and off we went.
I was 3rd up the first climb and held on all day to take second in my age group, 11th overall. That was the best I have felt all year, and the best I've felt during a race in a long time. I think the mild weather helped. I think locking out my rear suspension for the entire race helped (very smooth course and the few sections with some roots weren't bad). I absolutely believe being properly hydrated, fueled and warmed-up made the biggest difference. I got tired on a few of the punchy climbs, but I never blew up. Most of all, I had fun. It was tough, to be sure, but it wasn't a death march like Mont du Lac or Afton. I hope I can build on this for Red Wing and beyond.
Photos from skinnyski.com
3 comments:
GOOD WORK! But I think you are overlooking one important thing... The down time. I think your body forced you to take some recovery time. You recharged and kicked a$$!
I saw some bikes on a car heading west on 14, when I was heading east to Rochester that morning... I miss that race...
Dude you rocked Kato!! Congrats on great race! Are you racing the Firecracker this weekend?
Thanks guys.
Bryan, looks like you had a great race too. Just missed the podium by about 30 seconds? Nice job! I'm skipping Firecracker and going to Red Wing on Sunday to ride. Good luck.
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