winghaven debacle...

well, today just wasn't a good day for me. i hadn't been sleeping well lately and so i took a tylenol pm last night thinking i had plenty of time for it to wear off. the race wasn't until 12:30. i guess i was wrong or at least i'd like to think that. my legs felt heavy from the start and i just wasn't feeling like it was going to be a good day. it was crazy fast from the start, which is hardly anything new. i periodically checked my heartrate during the first few laps and i was continuously in the 190's, high 190's. with three or four laps to go i started getting to that breaking point, mentally i just wasn't there, thinking do i go into overdrive and into the red zone and hang with the pack? well, with five laps to go, my mind got the best of me and i just popped off the back of the pack. i wasn't feeling well and i had to work tonight, so what the hell, i'll take a dnf and come back next race. so as i make it up the one short, punchy climb i start to realize that i may be able to latch back on and give it another go. instead of making a right turn i proceeded to give what i had left. they weren't too far ahead, but i just couldn't catch back up. at this point there was only four laps to go so i figured i'd work with some other stragglers and maybe reel in the pack or just finish. i ended up catching and dropping a few guys before finally working with a hub rider. we worked together until the end and he took me on the sprint up the hill. it was a rough day in the saddle, but all things considered it was a success. i ended up finishing on the same lap as the main pack although a few minutes back. oh well, back to the grind!!!