I woke up looking at my clock in confusion. Ten out of the last twelve days, I've woken up in a hotel for work. For the last five days, I've been in the Pacific Time Zone.
Making matters worse, road construction outside my hotel in Portland kept me up the last three nights, so I slept the whole flight back. My body is pretty exhausted and has no idea what time it is.
Waking up in my own bed was a bit of a shock.
My weight was up a little this week. I'd eaten out with coworkers most nights this week and only worked out a little bit. My weight 183.2, up from 182.8 last week. It's my first setback since I started losing weight, but it's not a bad one. I didn't let it bother me. I couldn't or it would throw my whole mental game off for the race.
I dragged myself downstairs, got breakfast, packed my stuff, and just had to top off my bike tires. The pump I have just did not want to work with the valve extenders on my 808 wheels (the rim is so deep that the tire stem is completely inside it, and needs an extension). It took me 10 minutes of messing around and fighting with it to get it to work. Finally, I was off to the race!
It was about a 45 minute drive to Hammonton, NJ. I got my number, changed into my racing gear, and got in a good warmup. I pulled up to the line about 3 minutes before my start, with a good sweat going.
A time trial (or TT) is a relatively simple thing. Riders start every 30 seconds, they ride the course, and get a time. It's not like a pack race where you just have to beat the guy next to you. In a TT, you have to go as hard as possible and just hope that you went faster than everyone else. You really don't know. Anyone who you pass, you have beaten by at least 30 seconds. Anyone who passes you has beaten you by at least 30 seconds.
As I waited for my start, I noticed they were using a "held" start. In most time trials, an official holds you upright while you sit on your bike with both feet clipped in at the start line. It's been a couple years since I've done that and it was a little nerve racking waiting for my turn. I was pretty convinced that I'd fall over on the start line. Still, once that guy had a hold on my bike, something clicked in my head.
The whole world went away, and everything in my head focused on the race. It's like in the movies, where everything goes into slow motion and the focus narrows in on the task at hand.
I grabbed my brakes hard and reverse-pedaled until my left foot was in the start position, I hit the interval button on the Power Tap. I stood up with all my weight on that front foot and my brakes locked. All I saw was the road ahead. The clock beeped. 10 seconds to go.
I took a couple more deep breaths as the clock beeped out the last few seconds 5.....4....3...2..1.. I let go of my brakes and all my weight on one pedal shot me forward.
Over the first mile, I settled into a rhythm. I quickly realized there was a tail wind and that I'd have to pay attention to keep my power output high. With a tail wind, it's easy to look at your speed and think you are doing great, when you are really coasting a little. I actually started out a little too hard the first few miles and had to dial it back. I reminded myself that there would be a head wind on the way back, and I'd need to be ready for it physically and mentally.
The course was 20.25 miles. It's mostly flat with two turns and a turnaround. There are only two climbs, both of them highway overpasses. The latter overpass is pretty steep and short. I hit almost 35 mph going down it.
Throughout the race, I tried to pace myself. I knew that my leg muscles were a lot more developed than my lungs right now, and I tried to take advantage of that. I generally pushed a bigger gear at about 85 RPM. When my legs would start to burn, I'd shift to a lighter gear at 95 RPM. After a few minutes, I'd switch back. My speed and power didn't vary by much from either style, so I'd say it seemed to work.
I knew I was not going to win any prizes in the race. At least 3 or 4 people passed me before the turnaround, which is a sure sign that you're not winning. My only goal was a decent power output (I was hoping to average around 215 to 218 watts) and to do a race.
With just a few miles to go, I was struggling. The headwind was up and the course that I thought was dead flat had a very slight incline to it. My power was right where I wanted it to be, but I wanted to see some speed!
At the start, I thought it was a 19 mile race. When I passed the 19 mile marker and didn't even see the finish line, I was a little annoyed. At the 18 mile marker, I poured on all the speed I had left (which was not much). When I hit the 19 mile marker, I was really hurting. I really worked to hold on to that speed.
Finally, at 19.6 miles, I saw a 1 K to go sign. "Gee, thanks...." I thought. I gritted my teeth and tried to hang on.
I shot across the finish line at about 25 mph. My whole body ached from having so much lactic acid coursing through my body. I pedaled lightly for about 5 more miles, gradually cooling down and trying to get my body to clear out all the waste products in the muscles.
When I got back to the car, I finally looked at my data for the race:
Distance: 20.28 miles
Time: 52:38
Average Speed: 23.08 mph
Average Power: 222 watts
Since I was aiming for 215 watts, I was really happy with that number. What struck me most about it, though, was that two weeks ago I did a time trial at 224 watts that was only 8.25 miles. Granted, I'm better rested now, but to hold 2 watts lower for two and a half time the distance really surprised me.
I'm pretty sure I finished near the back of the group (maybe even last?), but I am really happy with my performance. I hit the power targets I wanted and showed a level of fitness I would never have thought possible when I got back on the bike just 12 weeks ago!
Besides.... it's all intel for doing this race next year and maybe aiming for some real results.
