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First race of the season!!

I can't believe that Karel is already racing. I still have a few more months until I think about getting into the ocean for a triathlon. But I do love watching Karel race because it gives me that boost that I need to keep me fired up to train all year long.

The morning started at 7am when I spent about 20 minutes deciding where to run. Treadmill or outside. It was 27-degrees and I had a 16 mile run to do. At 7:30 I was starting my run on the treadmill. I thought I would just run an hour and then go outside but after 10 miles of watching shows on TV I decided to stick it out and finish to 16 miles. It took me 2 hours and 5 minutes.
After the run I took a shower, got dressed and made myself a calorie-filled protein smoothie (topped off with cereal) to get me through the next few hours. I packed a PB&J sandwich, granola bar and an apple for later on.
We headed to Deland which was a new area for me. After 2 1/2 years of watching Karel race, I feel like I have been everywhere in Florida. Not only was I looking forward to Karel's first race of the season but I had Campy with me!
Campy joined us for the day and I was really excited to take him to his first (of many) cycling races. Campy had no idea where he was going but as usual, he loved the car ride and slept the majority of the ride.
1 hour and 40 min. later we were in an industrial park of the Deland Airport. The wind was strong and there was a slight chill in the air. I dressed warm but it got warmer as the day went on.
The race was at 2 and we got there around 12:40. Karel got him number and soon after we saw Jeff, Clint and Ryan (other members on the Lidner Capital Team). Karel warmed up with the guys and Campy and I walked around. The area around the start/finish line was great because it was lined with people and lots of grass for campy to pee and smell. Oh how he loves to do both! :)
Campy was the hit of the race, I must say. Aside from the Pro 1,2 race which brings lots of spectators, everyone wanted to pet Campy. I was one happy momma :)
Campy was a bit scared of all the bikes but this was great training for him. We are working on his anxiety with anything fast, so diverting his attention by standing in front of him or walking in another direction works great. He is doing so much better.

The race was fun to watch because there were 75 riders in the Pro race!! I couldn't believe the turn-out. In January, I couldn't believe how many people were ready to race. There were only a few people that got dropped but 68 people finished. Karel and his team didn't really have a strategy for this race because they all wanted to scope out the other riders, see what teams had new riders and just test their fitness right now. Jeff took a few good pulls for the team and broke away a few times from the competition. The race was a crit-style race but rather than having the course be less than a mile (typical crit format), it was more like a circuit race. The course was 1.2 miles and they raced for 60 minutes + 2 laps. There were lots of prems (premiums) where they ring the bell and whoever crosses the line first gets a prize. Sometimes it is swag but sometimes it is money. On the second from last lap they did a gambler prem. Those are always exciting to watch. In a gambler prem they give away money and at this race, it was $261. The reason why they do this prem with 2 laps to go is because you are either going to go for the win, or go for the money. It all depends on \ if you want the glory or the money. Cause with 1 lap to go after the gambler prem, there is no way you can sprint for the prem and still have legs to sprint for a win.
After the gambler prem it was time to watch the finish. I had my camera out for the finish and I missed Karel. I didn't see him finish but I wasn't expecting anything big from him since he just wanted to enjoy the race. He is super happy he doesn't have the pressure of placing top-6 in every race in order to upgrade. What a relief to just be able to race.
Well, I guess Karel was feeling good because he placed 5th!!!
I can't believe I missed him finish....I guess I was looking for him near the back :) Sorry Karel!
Campy and I were super proud of him and to make it all even better, Karel got $80 for his 5th place finish! YAY!
I can't wait to see how the season goes for Karel. Based on his fitness right now, just getting out of his base training (no lactate training yet), I have a feeling he is going to have a great season!
Here are a few pics w/ Campy's leash in one hand and the camera in the other....














RESULTS of top 10:
Pos No. Name Laps Total time Diff Best time In lap Best speed
1 260 Yosvany Falcon 22 1:09:18.638 2:56.194 22 29.422
2 141 Seth Hansley 22 1:09:18.818 0.180 2:56.626 21 29.350
3 188 Chad Burdzilauskas 22 1:09:18.869 0.231 2:55.964 22 29.461
4 174 David Guttenplan 22 1:09:18.891 0.253 2:56.076 22 29.442
5 119 Karel Sumbal 22 1:09:19.019 0.381 2:56.100 22 29.438
6 189 Daniel Chavez 22 1:09:19.045 0.407 2:56.341 22 29.398
7 149 Rudy Robaina 22 1:09:19.055 0.417 2:55.981 22 29.458
8 185 "Eduardo " Colon 22 1:09:19.074 0.436 2:56.076 22 29.442
9 111 Wayne Burgess 22 1:09:19.160 0.522 2:56.627 22 29.350
10 1 Phillip Elliott 22 1:09:19.207 0.569 2:56.370 22 29.393

http://67.199.38.224/Results/dynamic.asp?mylaps=type,run,runid,1039169