Well for me AND to put it in perspective this was my 2 week streak - I have not been riding consistently. So, my goal was to finish and enjoy ??? It was hard work. I led my leader into the first sprint and she did well. I had no desire to sprint myself. Like you @Gossimrr I’m toast after a hard sprint and I wanted to last and not crash and burn.
I was in no women’s land for most of the time with a spread of 2 minutes in front of me and 2 minutes behind. There was one other person who I was drafting with for a short while but I couldn’t keep up after awhile.
What I was most proud of was my consistent push up the hills and I event passed someone …yeah! . I knuckled down (turned on my mental game) , tuned into my tunes and went for it. As a somewhat newbie to Discord, I was pleased to know I could listen to music and hear the chat.
The chat from our lead was encouraging but as I was not in the front competing to lead nor in the back where our powerhouse sprinter was - I actually tried to tune it out as it was getting a bit tense and I was starting to get down on myself.
I was focused on trying to put my time in the saddle in and finish and I did - mid pack. I was happy with that…but my ischial tuberosities ( just googled that LOL…aka SIT BONES) and adductors were NOT . Some awkward rolling brought relief. My dog was quite interested join me with his downward dog poses and thought it was playtime.
This morning I rode our e-bike to the gym and did my weight training and all was well . It’s definitely what @Coach_Theia recommends: I need to work on my TEMPO sweet spot mixed in with those hard surges…and not die! I’ve definitely gotten stronger from the gym…AND NOW I need to put it all together. Onward and upward!
Love reading all the race reports! No matter which category we race in and where we finish, we all do our best and that’s what matters!
My race started soooo fast!! I think I was dying after the first 2 min but kept my head down and pedaled to stay with the front. I really suffered on the first climb but didn’t give up. By the second climb I was starting to lose the front and the race stretched out a lot. My legs were burning so bad. By the third climb I lost the group I was with and the mini group behind was 1 min back. I took it easy until 3 other ladies caught up to me and pretty much rode with them until the end. There was one strong sprinter and she was trying for FTS so just for fun I was trying to go with her for the sprints. I had no shot and she was a rocket but I still tried and had fun sprinting with her. And we would wait for the other two after the sprints which gave us a bit of recovery in between segments.
Last night I had restless legs… all from trying to sprint against a real sprinter but I beat her to the finish line because I picked up the pace with 2km to go! I was not waiting til the very end because I knew she’ll beat me easily.
I hadn’t raced in so long or pushed myself that hard on the bike, so I was a bit nervous going in. I set a goal in my head to stay with the lead group for the first lap, and out loud I said I’d do it over the first climb. I’m proud I managed to stick with them until the first climb on the last lap. The rest of the week I’ve been pretty fatigued, but it felt good to know I still had the mental capacity to hang in there. There was one rider who quickly got 2–3 minutes ahead of everyone, but I don’t really count her—my focus was on the group I could actually race with. I love the developmental division because it finally feels like I’m strong enough to focus on race tactics instead of just grinding it out to the finish line.
This is so great @kellynoelharman and CONGRATS on a good race. So glad you are back. I am not experienced with racing having only just started having the courage to race so I also appreciate divisions that allow for thought and a chance of personal success. As you said it makes it a race instead of just a survival grind to the finish. Well Done and keep up the good work.
Race 3 on Turf & Surf was a lot of fun! Just as ZwiftInsider predicted, it started off like a well-paced group ride. Almost 40 of the field of 55 were in the front peloton. I had no trouble staying with the front group until the first climb at 12km. The group got strung out after that and I fell off around the 25 minute mark, riding the rest with one other woman. We kept our pace pretty consistent, but didn’t catch the front. Nor did anyone catch us. Finished around 44 minutes and I felt really good about my effort.
What I noticed: most women are climbing at 3+ w/kg but I’m more like 2.7. I’d like to work on that. Also, I’ve been getting messages from intervals.icu after big efforts that my threshold HR is going up, which seems a good indication of how the training is helping my body manage harder efforts.
I also thought this race was more fun than the previous one. Maybe because it was quite a bit shorter! My race was pretty spicy from the start but the group stayed together until the first climb. During my warmup I felt sluggish but as the race went by I felt better and better.
As soon as we hit the first climb the pace picked up even more but I was able to stay with the front. By the top, the front group had around 20 ladies and thankfully the pace slowed down and I was able to recover but as soon as we hit the last climb I went off the back with a handful of other riders. We were still climbing strong but not as strong as the other ladies so the gap kept increasing. Still very happy with how my race went and I’m looking forward to the next one .
Finished 14th (out of 46) which was a good improvement from the previous race where I was 23rd.
Any words of wisdom from anyone regarding the last ZRL of the season? My head hurts just thinking about all these powerups. I will probably still use my usual strategy of “hang on for dear life”.
Looks like a lot of points up for grabs through FAL, so if I am having a good day, I’ll shoot for getting a top 5 for some of the segments. Because there are so many, I am hoping people won’t go as crazy in each, but who knows. My Division is full of very strong riders from Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark. This field is faster than some of the B divisions with lots of big 5, 2, 1 min power numbers.
I’m doing ZRL tonight, in cat D, and it will feel like I’m a struggling C again, I am sure Way too many sprints for my taste, but I’m sure it will be fun.
Bummed to miss the last race of this round. It looked like a super fun course! I took my daughter to a doctor’s appointment and should have been back in time to race, but of course, we waited for 1 hour to be seen, and from that it took 30 more minutes between x-rays, etc. By the time I got home, the race had started.
Luckily my avatar made it to the pen (I had everything setup before I left- was logged in, had the water bottles on the bike, etc etc), so I started the race 30 min late and just did a workout to finish the course, as we only had 3 other teammates racing that day.
@Coach_Theia so sorry you missed the race crazy because you would have done very well with all the sprints and climbs. Perfectly suited for you. Next round…
Due to low numbers on our roster I raced all 4 races in this ZRL round. For those of you who know me this is an accomplishment for me to arrive at the start line for 4 races. This time last year I lacked the courage and confidence to enter any races. I actually had fun in a hard sort of way this ZRL round.
Race #4 was definitely not dull and seemed something was happening all the time with power ups flying everywhere. I felt good at race time and had a great time. I was able to get a few points for my team and felt good about my contribution and my ride. My team of fantastic ladies won the race and placed top in the league. It is so fun to race alongside such talented and strong ladies each week. We also had amazing DS support for each race. @Covi helped us as DS one week even though she raced immediately after we did and she was a constant encouragement the entire round. Thanks so much Covi!!! Thank you @Coach_Theia for the spot-on training you provide week after week to get us all ready for cycling life!!
I bailed on race 4 about 3 hours before it started. Rebounding from Covid is still taking time. I did the WO instead and my HR was having a hard time coming down from 130 during the recovery intervals. It usually will go down to 98-103. I’m not worried. I know this takes time to settle but it’s annoying to say the least.
This was my first race series and I managed to do all 4 races. I learned a lot about racing and where my strengths and weaknesses lie. But most of all, it has been great to ride with some amazing team mates.
This last race was tough with the climb added in and the different powerups. I focused on FAL in the first 2 sprints (came 3rd in both) while I could stick with the lead group and then tried to hold my race position for the rest of the race. It hurt a lot especially on the last climb and then the last 5kms!
It was hard work. I led my leader into the first sprint and she did well. I had no desire to sprint myself. Like you @Gossimrr I’m toast after a hard sprint and I wanted to last and not crash and burn.
. Some awkward 
rolling brought relief. My dog was quite interested join me with his downward dog poses and thought it was playtime. 
. It’s definitely what @Coach_Theia recommends: I need to work on my TEMPO sweet spot mixed in with those hard surges…and not die! I’ve definitely gotten stronger from the gym…AND NOW I need to put it all together. Onward and upward! 
”
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Way too many sprints for my taste, but I’m sure it will be fun.