My road race was, well, an excellent LT training. My TT times were close to, a little better than, those of the 74-year old woman and the 80-something man, so I thought we might ride in a little group. Indeed we might have; they started a bit ahead and were often in catching distance, but I had a few mishaps. The course included a long fast (fun!) downhill followed by a hairpin turn and then a comparable uphill. It was my fault: I had gone there to ride the course previously but had misread the map, so didn't practice this. My road bike does not like shifting into the small chain ring under a load; on the first loop the chain came off; on the second loop I shifted into the middle chain ring before the turn but it initially wouldn't shift to the smallest on the uphill even when I relaxed the load; only on the 3rd loop did I shift into the smallest before the turn and have no problems. In addition, after the second loop the road marshals, not knowing I was a lap behind, were shouting for me to continue towards the finish and, although I knew I had another lap, there was some delay (especially as there was another cyclist stopped for some reason at the intersection) .
So the long & short of it is I finished DFL about 30 seconds behind my 2 peers, and never after the 1st couple of minutes rode in a group. However, in looking at my HR path when I got home, I saw that it danced around the LT the entire way, so I can see the ride as just a good workout. I should also say that my finish was strong & I sprinted the last half-mile or so, chanting my new mantra "don't ride like a sissy! suffer.. suffer..suffer" Also that riding up that long hill I retained enough awareness to be awed by the beauty of the masses of wild daisies growing by the roadside.

1) Check out the course correctly before the race.
2) LBS, where I had both derailleurs adjusted just last week, says I should replace the chain. Even though it is almost new and not stretched out.
3) Hill work!

Stretched & rolled. Recoverite drink, banana, yogurt with rhubarb.