Chicago Criterium

Chicago Crit, 7/27/08
Race #14

12th/70ish (125 spots were sold, I don’t know how many people showed up to race)

Pre race BG: 167 (30 min after eating a granola bar, 18g)
Post race: 133

My blood sugar was way more stable and I felt pretty good. Nothing unusual or different, but I was able to ride to the course and that bit of activity helped calm me and stabilize my BG. Too bad not every race can be this close to home. I was fortunate to meet Bob Schrank of Team Type 1 and we got to have a really nice chat before his race. I was surprised to learn that there are FIVE Type 1 diabetic racers in the Chicago area. I know two, the other two I'd like to meet.

Gaining position. Check. Holding position. Fail.

I liked the course. It was long enough and somewhat technical enough to make it interesting. The turns and the bend at Congress forced me to plan my advances up the field.

One goal was to stay up front. I didn’t. Another was to work on positioning in the pack. On this I was able to do something. After two or three laps I was able to read the pack and determine how to move up and when; I did this rather easily on the outside. Once I got near the front I quickly lost ground and was midpack again. I must be a bit more aggressive in holding position.

I’m walking away from this knowing that I can finish 12th. If I learn to position myself better I can win another race before the season ends. I’m getting that same feeling I got after the second Great Dane, that I’m underperforming. I’m happy about that because I am regaining some race confidence and this will lead to progress.

SuperWeek madness.

There has been so much racing in July I don’t know how to manage my training during this thing. Well, I know what I need to do to prepare for next season, and I’m kinda excited about it. I mean, if I can do this well this unstructured, with a little more focus I can make some serious gains. A coach, however, would be really nice…so would a SRM or Powertap.

Results.

Dean, Can and Jonathan raced the 5s and had a great time. Vanessa (8th) raced the women’s 4s; Brian did the masters 1-3; Nate won (again) the Masters 4/5 and also won a prime in the 4s race; Alex (7th), Ernie (8th) and myself (12th) did well in the 4s.