2012's Hill Climb was different because I raced as an Elite for the first time. That said, the fitness gap was huge. My competition scored times in the 16's and 17's, and my PR was only in the 18's. Knowing that I wouldn't really have a chance (I wasn't being pessimistic, just realistic ;D) I did it for the fun and because the race is special to me.
I warmed up for 40 min, and we started about 10:08AM. Everyone climbs the first incline that greets us. As the false flat begins, one rider brings up his rpm, but he wasn't moving as quick as he should have. As a result, it provoked an attack. Krishna Dole (eventual winner) goes off into the front with him, and 2 other guys follow. I'm the 5th man, only being able to maintain about a 10ft gap. By this time I knew I was just going to sit in and try to beat my PR. After the intersection at Carter Street, one more rider passes me and encourages me saying "Come on we're almost there!" I know this climb by heart, we weren't even two miles into the climb...
From then on I was only passing riders from the Categories that began ahead of us. Once we were on Radio Road, the headwinds became a problem. I was hoping to beat my PR, but I was getting pretty tired and just maintained a steady rhythm, until the end I sprinted to the finish line, and without knowing whatsoever, beat another rider in my category by 1 second!
I ended up with a time of 18:35, two seconds late of my PR, but 12 seconds faster than last year. The consistent times at these races are a good indicator to crank up my volume for the year, which I will, steadily. I still had a lot of fun suffering, and I look forward to doing this next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that, and...
Final Result: 5th/12
Official Time: 18:35
Garmin Data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/139226926
Thanks for reading.
-D
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