1st race of the yr...

Turkey Hill Country Classic. Road race consisting of a 6ish mile long rolling lap. We (masters 50+/60+) did 4 laps. Hot day. I brought plenty of water/gatorade. Got there with plenty of time to warm up. Got a nice 30 minute warm up in and then headed down to the staging area. had my pre-race gel and Red Bull. Didn't bring any more gel as it was only 25 miles, so no worries, right? Well. We waited. And waited. About 30 minutes later we went off. I was able to stay near the front of the pack; felt pretty good for most of 2 laps. Then the lights went out. On the long climb going to the finish line I lost energy and couldn't keep up with the pack. I was screwed. Dying many deaths I finally finished. Those last 2 laps were painful, but good in a way. This really is training for me and you never push yourself as hard as you do in a race so that was good. Plus, these guys have been racing for several months and this was my 1st race this year, so I'm not too disappointed. I know I wasn't DFL (whew!) but the results still aren't up. Had to get out of there in a hurry. Finished and downed anything wet and or sweet I could get my hands on as I just about passed out at the finish. It wasn't puking, but that's got to count for something, right?