Two In One

This weekend had two races at the Jersey Shore: the Long Beach TT and the Cape May TT. 

In preparation, I went out Wednesday night to practice my starts. I did not want to repeat my embarrassing start from last week. As the season goes on, those seconds will matter more and more.

Long Beach Time Trial

This 13.4 mile course was almost completely flat and straight, so much so that I could see the flashing lights of the police cars at the turnarounds from over a mile away. The biggest challenges on this course were the 14 mph crosswind over the entire course and that it is the longest time trial that I have done in a while. With an expected 32 minute finish time, I have not done anything in training that gave me a way to estimate what I could do with any certainty.

The course was a bit strange: 1.7 miles to the first turnaround, 6.7 miles back the way you came (past the start), then a second turnaround, and 5 miles back to the start.

I got there on time (I followed the GPS this time), used the rest room, got set up and got in a good warmup. As a slightly longer race, the warmup did not need to be as intense as it does for the shorter ones but it was still really important.

The winds coming off the bay were really strong, so I opted for a shallower front wheel. The logic was that I would sacrifice better aerodynamics (higher speed) for more control over the bike. At the time I was really sure of the decision. It turned out the winds were a lot stronger in the parking lot than they were out on the road.

I got to the start and the guy scheduled to start in front of me (who last week started in front of me with a $13K bike) did not show, so there was a minute gap between the previous rider and me. "See you soon" I thought as he took off.

I stepped up to the line and the holder grasped my bike. I clipped in, and focused....5....4....3....2...1.. released the brakes and stomped on the pedals. I took off and quickly reached my target speed. I smiled at the success and then focused on the first leg.

The crosswinds were pretty strong, as I'd expected. I was fighting against them quite a bit in that first leg. It went past pretty quickly. I could see the flashing lights of the police car at the turnaround almost from the start, so I had a visual target to aim for.

Going into the first turnaround was a big mistake. I stopped pedaling about 50 feet before the turn. It was far enough that I had time to realize my mistake and start pedaling again. I lost an easy 10 to 15 seconds there. Damn.

The second leg just felt like it was endless. It was 6.7 miles long with no grade and just a slight bend in the middle. The crosswinds were annoying but I could control the bike. I kind of wished I had kept the deeper profile wheel. I'd bet I lost another 20 seconds to that decision.

A much bigger mistake on that section was my pacing. The winds, which were now slightly behind me, gave me a sense of false confidence, giving me a higher speed. I let my power drop several times and then had to ramp it back up when I noticed. Looking at the download later, my average was 15 watts lower on this segment than I was the rest of the race. I had planning on being a little lower here, but not that much. This screw up was probably another 10 to 15 seconds.

On the plus side, I caught the guy who started a minute ahead of me on this section. I really needed that little boost to keep my focus on that section.

The second turnaround, I think, went perfectly. I was annoyed about the first one and I knew the second one was a lot easier. The first one was a U-turn. This one was a left turn down a short street, another left turn onto an angled street, and then a slight right turn back the way I came. I went into the first turn at nearly full speed, barely let up in the second turn, and was out of the saddle for just a second to get back up to speed.

The last leg is a blur to me. I was annoyed about letting my power drop in the last segment. Coming out of the turnaround, with 5 miles to go, I just tucked myself as low as I could on the bike to get under the winds as much as I could and focused on keeping my power up.

With about a mile and a half to go, I could see the police lights in the distance for the finish. I gritted my teeth and pushed as hard as I could with everything I had left.

I hit the finish feeling like I had done a decent race even if I made a few mistakes. These early season races are the right time to make these kinds of mistakes.

They put up the results not too long after the finish. I finished in 5th place, about 30 seconds behind the next rider and a full 2 minutes behind the winner. I'm thrilled with another strong result... and starting to think about what it will take to climb to the top next year.

What Went Well
Much improved start
Got one of the turnarounds right

What to Work On
Turnarounds (don't slow down too early)
Don't second guess your equipment.
Pacing (especially with tail/crosswinds)

The Numbers
Distance: 13.4 miles
Time: 31:52
Avg Speed: 25.2 mph
Avg Power: 275 watts

Cape May Time Trial

Yesterday went really well. Today, I decided to see if I was pushing myself hard enough. Instead of pacing conservatively based on what I've seen in training, I decided to go a little harder and try for a win. I aimed for a power that was the same as last week (290 watts), even though today was almost 2 miles longer.

Today I was back on the deep rim wheel. The winds were about 15 mph against me on the way out and then with me on the way back. There is a VERY slight downhill on the way out (and the reverse on the way back), but for the most part it's a flat course with the wind being the major factor.

My warmup was a little bit sloppy. It was a lot colder than I'd expected and only had thin spandex gloves and shoe covers, so I had a hard time focusing on it. My hands and feet were slightly numb. I needed to go pretty intense to get ready for this short, fast race and had a hard time doing it. Adding to that, the pavement was a bit uneven and the trainer kept rocking back and forth. With 5 minutes to go, I packed up and headed over to the start... and sat in the cold for a while longer.

I stepped up the start line feeling focused and calm. The holder grabbed my bike, I clipped into my pedals, pressed Start on my power meter, and got into my start position. 5.... 4.... 3.... 2....

If you've ever seen the Avengers movie, there is a great scene near the end when Captain America tells Dr. Banner, "This might be a very good time to get angry." Dr. Banner looks over his shoulder and says, "That's my secret, Cap. I'm always angry." He then changes into the Hulk as he turns around and saves the day, roaring at the top of his lungs as he does it. That went through my head as I hear. 1....Go!

I took off from the line without even a thought, accelerating smoothly up to my target speed and settling onto the aero bars.

The race went by really quickly. I was pushing harder than I did yesterday, trying to find that line between pushing too hard and being able to maintain it. Fighting into the headwind on the way out, it was not hard to push pretty hard.

My biggest mistake on the way out was at the train tracks that cross the road. They cross at a bit of an angle and I stopped pedaling about 5 seconds before I hit them, trying to make sure I didn't crash on them. I did not need to give up that much time or speed to reduce the risk. On the way back, I only stopped pedaling for a second and flew right over them.

I hit the turnaround and had a dumb moment. I was moving towards the center of the road instead of the edge of the road so I could take it at full speed. I slowed a lot and and still almost hit the guard rail. I got back up to speed but lost several seconds in the turn. I really need to work on that.

The way back was a blur. All I thought was "pedal harder." I'd look down, make sure the power meter had a number I wanted, then try to keep my head as low as I could. The tail wind pushed me a lot faster on the way back, but this time I kept my focus on the power.

I hit the line and was totally done. Other than a couple minor mistakes, I thought the race went really smoothly and I paced it almost perfectly.

One other mistake: since I pushed the Start button on the computer a little early, my power read low the entire race (it had about 10 seconds of zeros at the beginning). When I hit the finish, I thought my average power was 289 watts. When I downloaded it, I realized it was a little better: 293 watts.

I was really happy with that.... until they posted the results. I got 2nd place again by only 2 seconds, a gap I easily could have made up by taking the train tracks more smoothly or not messing up the turn. (I could also mention the winner had a deeper front wheel, a disc wheel, and a more aero bike frame, but I'm OK with that.... for now).

All told, it was an awesome weekend of racing, letting me fine tune a little bit, and getting some great results. The perfectionist in me wants to complain, but getting 5th and 2nd are really good results.

What Went Well
Start
Predicting the power target
Aggressive pacing
Staying focused on what I needed to do and not the results when I felt I was a contender

What to Work On
Staying focused on the warmup
Getting to the start closer to the start and not getting cold again
Turnarounds (again)
Not coasting over potential hazards


The Numbers
Distance: 7.3 miles
Time: 17:29
Avg Speed: 25.1 mph
Avg Power: 293 watts

Well, I didn't win...

One thing this winter has done for me is that it made me a preparation lunatic. I always kind of was, but now I really am. As I mentioned last week, by making my training more mathematical I've been able to make it more effective and build my confidence in it.

I'm still trying to forget the race I did last fall (my only race for the 2012 season), so this was the first race that I can say I felt even remotely prepared for since fall of 2011.

My winter training this year was probably the best I've even done. Over the last couple months, I've spent two or three rides a week on the time trial bike (including wearing my helmet on the trainer to get used to the weight). I had an idea of how long it would take me to finish the event and worked out what power I thought I could maintain for that duration. I was guessing around 290 to 295 watts.

The morning went pretty smoothly except that I thought my 6AM half-asleep brain knew better than the GPS and took a 15-minute detour, which cut seriously into my warmup time. I got my race number, got in a decent warmup for the amount of time that I had (about 15 minutes, half of what I'd wanted), and got to the start just 2 minutes before my start time.

I had a rough start. The start was slightly uphill and I have never done well with held starts. I need to practice them a lot more. I was in a small gear, too small for this case. I had this dumb idea that I could start in the small ring, get moving, and then shift right into the big ring. It wouldn't shift. I was in too big of a cog and the bike just wouldn't cross-gear like that. Instead, I quickly shifted the rear instead and sprinted up the hill. At the top, I was able to shift enough to get into the gear I wanted. Probably 5 or 10 seconds gone to a rookie mistake. Damn.

After that, it went smoothly. I held a high pace on the way out. The course was slightly uphill and the wind was lightly against me on the way out, so I pushed a little harder on the way out than I would have otherwise. I was having a bit of a hard time keeping my pacing steady on the rolling hills and the slight winds. I was not used to pacing when I could not see the power meter. Something to work on.

I also found that I was a bit wobbly at top speeds. I need to get a little more stable.

Still I did OK, hitting the turnaround, I was averaging 295 watts and 24 mph.

I hit the turnaround of the very narrow, two-lane road with no shoulder. I took it as fast as I could and really didn't think about it much.

The way back was FAST. With the return slightly downhill and downwind, even at a slightly lower power, I was able to keep the speed higher than it was on the way out, pushing over 26 mph. My power dropped a bit because, as planned, I went a little harder on the way out and expected to let the descent and wind do some work for me on the way back.

I saw a rider ahead of me and decided I wanted to catch him. I dug as deep as I could, but I was already going pretty much full speed. I hit the line maybe 10 seconds behind him (seeing his number, he started a minute ahead of me).

I was completely wiped out and felt like I did pretty well for my first race of the year.

Going back to the "preparation" motif: Last weekend, I looked at my power output on past events on other courses and calculated what I thought I could do on this one. I was guessing around 12:30 to 13:00, depending on the wind (which turned out to be harsher than I'd expected and it was a hillier course than I'd expected. I thought it was dead flat until a couple days ago).

Winning time from last year was 12:31. My high speed target would make me the winner; my low speed target of 13:00 would have put me in 5th place last year. So yeah, I was expecting to do well today. It was all I could do all week to not tell my friends that I might be a contender in a time trial when I've never finished in the top half of the results sheet in one before. I didn't entirely believe it anyway. I thought maybe my math was off. But there was a chance...

That's the only reason I stuck around for 45 minutes to see the results sheet. Otherwise, I would have been long gone when they put up the results sheet. When I saw the results, a smile slowly spread across my face and I pumped my fist. "Yes!"

I finished in second place. 

I was second by a pretty substantial margin (35 seconds, with the winner at 12:26), so I don't think doing something more smoothly today would have gotten me the win. But I'm not worried about that now. This is not a day to worry about not winning. This is a day to celebrate improving from finishing dead last in my last time trial to finishing at the top end of the event.

What Went Well:
Remembered all my gear
Training.
Predicting power target
Predicting duration to maintain power
Preparing/packing everything the night before (using a checklist)

What to Work On:
Not enough time for a good warmup
Held starts in a variety of conditions
Time outdoors on the TT bike, pacing more smoothly and holding a straighter line

The Numbers:
Distance: 5.4 miles
Time: 13:01
Avg Speed: 25 mph
Avg Power: 290 watts

Building Confidence

One of the biggest issues I've dealt with in years past was my lack of confidence on the bike.

Perhaps the best example was last fall. I only did one race all year and it was the Deep Blue Time Trial. My confidence was so non-existent that I didn't ride my time trial bike, wear a skin suit, or a time trial helmet. I showed up equipped for a road race and I finished last in my category. No surprise. The way I showed up for that race, there was almost no pressure to perform... which is a common trick for people with no confidence.

I've mentioned before that my training this winter was completely different from what I normally do. It had an interesting side effect: for the last 6 months, "speed" never crossed my mind. I was focused on power. The courses I set up on the CompuTrainer were all uphill, so my speed was not really relevant to riding outside. I just focused on hitting my power target for the day for the amount of time I was supposed to hold it.

Power and time. That was all I focused on. Each week, I increased the target just 1 or 2 watts. No big deal. Small steps that I could handle. Not to say it was easy, just that I could handle it. After 7 months, my power targets were up dramatically and I have absolute confidence in how much power I can put out for any set amount of time because I've done it a dozen times in training.

I learned an incredible lesson: that success in training builds confidence. Success in really hard training builds really solid confidence.

Since my races are all time trials, I can plan for them by knowing roughly how long it will take me to finish (within a couple of minutes) and then base my power target off the training I've already done. I might add a couple of watts considering it will be race day and I will be a little better rested and more motivated than I am for routine training. But I know what power to aim for.

For example, next week's race is only 9 km (about 5.4 miles, according to the mapping sites). I'm guessing that I will finish somewhere between 13 and 15 minutes, so all I have to do is pick the power I think I can hold that long and then show up and do it. It might be cooler or windy, but I know the power that I can hold for that long so I can pace for it.

In years past, I've been a nervous wreck, worrying about placement. This year, I'm just focused on power and duration. If I hit the power target, it's a good day. We'll just wait and see where that goal gets me on the result sheet.