El Tour de Mesa - CycleRoad Race


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Phoenix, Arizona
United States
Perimeter Bicycling Assn of America
59F / 15C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 40m 8s
Overall Rank = 268/816
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

This was an early race start...6:15 AM. Got up just after 4 AM, got ready and drove to my friends house. We loaded up in his truck and drove up to the start line. It was really cool out and we had a few drops of rain on the way up there. I stupidly left my arm warmers at home and didn't have a base layer on, so I was pretty cold until we started.
Event warmup:

None
Bike
  • 3h 40m 8s
  • 70 miles
  • 19.08 mile/hr
Comments:

Less than 2 weeks before this race, I got hit with Bell's Palsy. It came on quickly over the weekend when I had an 80 mile ride on Saturday and a 12 mile run on Sunday. I quickly got on steriods/anti-viral medication and it started to improve, but I couldn't wear my contacts because my left eye was too droopy. I did a 27 mile ride earlier in the week before this race and it was miserable. I wore my glasses and it was so hard to deal with the sun and the constant watering of my eye was annoying. I finally decided to just wear one contact and go with blurred vision in my left eye. It worked out pretty well and I managed to hang on for quite a while. At the top of the Usery climb I was so comforted to hear the sound of gunfire, it meant it was pretty much all downhill from there. Sadly, the winds were still strong and we all had to work pretty hard for the rest of the ride. I managed to make gold status since the cutoff was 3:45. The new Cannondale was a great ride to have out there!
What would you do differently?:

Not much. I couldn't control the Bell's Palsy and the steriods I was on seemed to be elevating my HR. I also knew that since I was registered for Marquee tri the next day, I couldn't destroy myself on the bike today. That wasn't an ideal situation, but I got a half price entry for Marquee from work (Intel) so I wanted to do that too.
Post race
Warm down:

Nada.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Crappy vision, Bell's Palsy, medication, losing several days of training in the week(s) leading up to the event.

Event comments:

Garmin data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/168080085



Profile Album


Last updated: 2012-01-22 12:00 AM
Biking
03:40:08 | 70 miles | 19.08 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/816
Performance: Good
Wind: Strong with gusts
Course: This was the standard TdM course. Up Scottsdale to Shea, over to beeline/bush, then Usery to McDowell/Brown and then home.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence:
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Comfortable Drinks: Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4