Labor Pains - Stage 1 and 2

Sorry that I couldn't post anything sooner, but we were in Seward, AK and the reception there was not great, and I was unable to go on-line. Anyhow, we are off and riding! Monday included 2 stage races: a time trail in the morning and a criterium in the afternoon. It was a pretty full day of racing. I am not a great time trialist (you're not racing against people but against the clock and the key is to go all out throughout the event) but I was able to post a good time! I believe I finished overall 15th out of 23 racers in my longseat division. Felt pretty strong in the process, but still need to be able to push it to the brink better. The criterium course was in downtown Seward. The course was a pretty challenging one. It was .65 miles with five turns, some of them very tight. It started raining so on top of everything the roads were getting slick. How you handle your turns is especially critical to finishing well. I've only done two of these previously in all of my racing, so I wouldn't consider myself very adept. Overall things went pretty well and I find myself in the overall standings where I guessed I would be: some very, very fast racers in front of me, and some others behind me. I am hoping to continue to improve and with proper recovery every day, bank of my overall fitness level to see me through all of the stages!