I’ve acquired a reputation it seems. Word has got round as I was recognised as “that blogger” when I stuck my head round the door of the hut with the photofinish equipment to see where I had finished last night at Hillingdon.
I might have mentioned that I didn’t think I was in the points which is what probably gave the game away. I was right in my assessment: I finished 23rd or so.
Good thing was that I didn’t really feel like I had gone too early or used up all my sprint when I crossed the line. OK, maybe I should have felt a bit more spent at the line but it felt much better than going too early and blowing myself out. I was still coming through people towards the line even if a couple of those were sitting up which felt good. Now I just need to find a way to get in the points.
Yes there was the statutory early dig when, after a couple of laps of waiting to see what happened, I bridged up to the guy who went from the gun on a lone break. My legs felt good but I think I went a bit hard getting across to him which left me with that metallic taste of blood in my mouth. That in turn led to a sticky throat that wouldn’t shift for the rest of the race and which turned into a nasty sounding rattly cough by the time I got home.
Some will say that I should have just taken let the bunch gradually bring him back but where’s the fun in that? It’s a Tuesday night “training” race to most people but I always see it as a chance to have a go and test myself a bit. As I’ve said before “where’s the fun in sitting in for an hour then playing the bunch sprint lottery?” I enjoyed it far more having a go then toughing it out and trying to recover a bit for a few laps than not pushing myself.
Now I’m looking forward to recovering a bit in time for Saturday’s race down at Chertsey, a circuit I like and which I feel pretty comfortable on. Yes, it can be a bit nervy and a break rarely gets away but I know where I need to be and when I need to be there. It’s in the first 15-20 places coming off the final bend on to the straight and tucked in looking for someone’s wheel to take coming into the last 500 metres to lead me out.
It’s one thing to talk about it, now I really want to start scoring results. It’s my second full season of racing and I really want to get out of this run of not improving my results.