After several events in a row where I did well but felt I could do better, I can only call yesterday the best I've ever done.
When the year started, my major goal was to do a 40K time trial in under an hour. 59:59 would be good enough, I just wanted under an hour. That would require an average speed of 24.8 mph for an hour, which is pretty fast.
Yesterday at the Church Creek Time Trial in Cambridge, MD, well.... I did a little better than an hour.
After losing a lot of time in the heat three weeks ago at the NJ State Time Trial, I was worried about doing that same thing again. To help keep me cool, I opted for short sleeves this week and didn't wear gloves. I carried one bottle with me on the seat tube, which I had practiced removing and drinking without coming up from the aero bars so I did not lose as much speed while drinking.
There were light winds on this very flat course which seemed to hit me the most in the first and last stretches of the race.
Mentally I had broken the course into four 10K (6.2 mile) quarter. I set my bike computer to automatically set a new lap every 6.2 miles so that I could see my average power for that quarter, making sure that I was pacing correctly.
The first quarter was into the wind and a bit slower than I would have liked. I kept calm, knowing that at some point I would get a tailwind and be able to make up the speed I was losing. I paced it well, hitting the 10K marker just 2 watts above my target power. I had the guy who started 30 seconds in front of me in my sights the whole time, but did not seem to be gaining much.
The second quarter had 2 miles of really bumpy pavement that practically vibrated my aero bars out of my hands. I was all over the lane trying to find smooth pavement, but there was none to be found. I just had to grit my teeth and deal with it. At the end of the quarter, again I was 2 watts above target power, seemed a little closer to my 30-second man and passed one other guy.
The third quarter is always the hardest. I'd been going full speed for a half hour and it was starting to hurt. I had a tailwind now and was going noticeably faster than I was before. I was definitely gaining on my 30-second man and I passed another guy. With the tailwind I was putting out a little less power, and was 1 watt below target this time.
The fourth quarter was sheer agony. My legs and lungs were on fire. My helmet visor was coated in sweat and all I could think was "keep pedaling, you're almost there." I finally caught and passed my 30-second man. That gave me a little mental boost.
In the last 5K, they give you a sign each kilometer telling you how far to go. 5K... 4K... 3K... with 3K to go, I knew I was inside the last 5 minutes and gave it everything I had left. I think I went up about 2 watts, which is almost no difference at all. I had nothing extra left... and suddenly I came around a corner into a headwind. I fought hard to keep my speed up as much as I could, but I really had nothing left.
So far, I had not looked at my overall time. I was watching my average power each quarter and my average power for the overall ride, but not my time. I knew my quarters were pretty fast because I'd happened to glance down to see one turn around 14:30. With 1K to go, I just had to know. I took one had off the aero bar and flicked my finger across the touch screen on my computer... with 1K to go, the computer read 55:55. At that speed, I was going to cover a kilometer in about a minute and 45 seconds. Oh my God!!!
I switched the computer back and dug as deep as I could. Seeing how close I was to a massive personal best, I wanted it to be as fast as possible. My legs screamed in protest but I was so close to the finish I didn't care.
I hit the line, switched to a lighter gear, hit the button on my computer, and suddenly everything hurt. The massive effort hit me all at once, my legs started shaking, my balance was off, and the slightly-out-of-alignment pad in my skinsuit hurt like someone was stabbing me. I managed a wobbly half-standing position over to the start area where they had a jug of water and a bathroom.
A few minutes later, I finally got my time: 57:44, an average speed of 25.8 mph (I posted the wrong time on Facebook by a few seconds). When I was planning the event, I thought I could do 58:45. Maybe if everything went miraculously well, I thought I could hit 58:00. I never dreamed I would come in below that, let alone by 22 seconds.
For comparison, in 2011 I did this course in 1:03:05. Pretty big difference... 5:21.
I finished 7th place. The winner put in a time of 54:23, a speed of 27.4 mph. Now I have a potential target for next year :-)
What went well:
Pretty much everything. My planning, pacing, and equipment choices we dead-on.
I can't remember a race where everything went as perfectly as it did yesterday.
What to work on:
Picking the right outfit to wear so I'm not changing skinsuits in my car halfway through my warmup when I'm soaked with sweat.
Remember that short sleeves and no gloves means sunblock. I got sunburned on the tops of my forearms and hands.
The numbers:
Distance: 40K (24.8 miles)
Time:57:44
Avg Speed: 25.8 mph
Avg Power: 260 watts
Avg Heart Rate: 166 bpm
