Those breakaways. 
. Of course you all caught them. They broke away too soon!
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I went in with a bad attitude, not really feeling it, overwhelmed with work stuff and certain I’d be dead last. So, I was happy to be able to stay with the front group for about 6 mins before I got dropped. I’d been using @Coach_Theia ‘s suggestion of the race within the race.
Then I channeled the other D rider on my team who is typically last and always works hard and always remains cheerful. She couldn’t race yesterday, so I kept her in my thoughts. It was just the attitude adjustment I needed. So, yeah, it was a iTT for all but those first 6 mins. I worked to keep my effort high and even though that last climb was really hard, I gave it a good push to get to the finish. HR was Zone 4 whole time but I felt really in control, which is a sign of improved fitness, I think.
I’m glad I raced. The team I was with is absolutely wonderful and so supportive. But I’m also glad to be finished. I need a break. I won’t be racing ZRL for a while because I’ve taken on a second university course so racing on a weekday afternoon won’t be possible. If/when I do race again, I’d really like to find a D team where I’d feel more in the mix.
Today, my legs are shot. 
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oof last night was rough in the end - i’ve been racing our D Dev team but we only had enough to race one team last night so we raced our D Regular - considering 5/6 of our racers can race the Dev team, we did really well. @vivian.a.workman PRd the QOM by i think she said a min and a half 
I cracked on the climb - the start was not hot thank goodness - FEAR on Sat was such a hot start and i got dropped pretty quickly and had no hope of catching. We had a good group going into the climb - not sure if i pushed too hard too soon or it was i did not take any chews beforehand - which I should have - telling myself i didn’t need any since the pace was not hard up to that point in the race - i do think that was contributory
@laurasibson I’ve got D Regular and Dev in both Mint and Indigo if you ever want to join us 
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What is the difference between developmental teams and regular teams? I’m very interested, but like I say, my teaching load won’t allow for weekday afternoon races until summer and I think ZRL goes on hiatus in the summer, correct?
@laurasibson Development teams are basically the lower bit of each cat. You can see the exact power allowed for each category to be development on the WTRL ZRL website. You would have to see if your team is able to have development team in your category. It is really nice for folks such as you and the competition is a bit more reasonable. Definitely ask in your team if there is one.
Look on the WTRL ZRL site for the dates of the next 2 rounds. And yes ZRL doesn’t race during the summer. But there is always something going on. Ladder league goes year round and TTT goes year round. You can check in your team to see if there are those opportunities.
As @bkolden said, it’s lower part of the pace cat - it has a lower upper limit so that those lower down don’t have to race those at the top end/close to catting up - it can be really demoralizing for some
i couldn’t find where you’re racing to see it but definitely some of the leagues are very competitive - my C Indigo ladies have been racing against ladies that have previously been B but were off zwift all summer - not all of them have catted up yet
Womens D Regular is zFTP <2.63w/kg zMAP <3.2w/kg
Womens D Development is zFTP: < 2.40W/kg zMAP: < 2.83W/kg
The ability for D ladies under 2 W/kg to race against others under 2.4 is much more palatable than racing those under 2.63
Not all teams can field both regular and dev for a cat - I registered D Dev for both Mint and Indigo but this round my Mint team couldn’t race as I could only manage 6 each week across the 2 and so had to go Regular because of the ladies above the 2.4
Obviously some want to push themselves and enjoy racing up, whether within their cat or moving up but that’s not for everyone.
Round 4 ends April 6th.
There are many other racing opportunities if you want to push yourself but Tues isn’t good.
Flamme Rouge Racing does short tours all year long basically.
If you’re not already in the Femme Cycle Collab Club in Zwift and Discord many events get posted there and they’re not all team based so you can pick & choose. As a TTer, even if my racer profile rarely says that 
I enjoy Zwift TT Club, which is a series each month, a different route each week and you can race any day/time during the week that fits your schedule.
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@PaleGail and @bkolden - thanks for the explanation. My numbers put me in D regular and I wouldn’t mind trying C dev, if that would be the lower C. This session I raced in C2 Cobalt. I know there are many other options for racing aside from ZRL. I was on the FRR discord but wasn’t participating, so I left. (Too many Discord servers I was juggling.)
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@laurasibson My team has C development teams in around the Mint and Indigo timezones. We also have multiple regular D teams in Mint and Indigo. Our team does all the organization for teammate participation in FRR, Ladder, ect so all happens on one discord server. So easy to get “Discord overload”. Send me a PM if you are interested in more info.
For sure Laura! Have you considered the women’s only Tiny Races on Sundays? Those are a good way to work on race starts as they are very short.
Congrats on all the strong racing! I am a bit late to comment here, but so glad @vivian.a.workman posted and everyone chimed in! The whole race I kept asking myself, “why is everyone sprinting up every escalator?” I don’t even think that is a good plan to drop riders because presumably all teams have lighter and heavier members, so it can be detrimental to their own teammates.
Excited that I was with the front group all the way to the KOM, and from there things split. I still finished strong and am happy with my effort. Not my best 4-5 min power, but that came at the end of the race, so not really comparable to having it at the start (where I set my PB).
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Good Luck everyone who is racing Round 3!!! 
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Really excited for this round, as my team won the TTT on Tuesday, and I feel really strong. I went down from C to D during summer, and finally felt like racing was fun again, after having struggled a lot in C for a couple of years. Rounds 1 and 2 went well too, which I was so happy about, because I’ve mostly had time only to do 4 WOs a week since last summer, and worried that my form was slipping.
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You have been on Fire these past 2 rounds as well as TdB and now Round 3. Keep up the good work @nina It’s a privilege to ride with you! (and watch as you fly up the road while I wave goodbye. )
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