Missions Accomplished

This year was kind of strange. In years past, I would set several goals for a year and end up only hitting one or two.

For the 2012-2013 season, I set a lot of training and weight loss targets for myself in 12-week increments so that I could adjust my training as I needed to. I met most of them (but don't bother listing them all here). I also had a catalog of long term goals that I had accumulated over the years of training and racing.

This is a list of those goals, what I achieved, and what I might do with them in the future.

Weight Loss:
I've dropped 30 pounds, going from 194 pounds and 24.2% body fat to 164 pounds and 16.2% body fat. I gained a few pounds over the summer, drifting back up to 170 and 17.1% body fat. I can definitely lose that much over the next few months so I can be done with weight loss by January.

I'd love to hit 160 and 15%, but that might be too low (especially for Shelli, who thought I was a bit too thin at 164).

20 minute Power Increase
I was using my 20-minute power as a measure of my fitness increases over the winter. I was able to increase it from 260 watts in September to 309 watts in March, an 18.8% increase over six months (I stopped testing once racing season started). I admit, my starting point was low because I was pretty out of shape in summer 2012, but I never imagined that I could get my power up that high.

The one mistake I made last years was doing all my testing on my road bike. I really should have done it on my TT bike. Next year, I want to see that same high end power (around 310 to 315) on the TT bike.

5 minute Power
This one was really shocking. For pretty much as long as I've had a power meter (since 2009), my 5-minute power peaked out at 305 watts. This year I crushed that, reaching 370 watts, a 21% increase.

I'd love to see 400 watts by next year, but that might be a bit high to do in one year... still it will be a good eventual goal.

40K Time:
 I've had a goal of completing a 40K (24.84 miles) time trial in under and hour for as long as I've been into time trials (since 2005). This year I beat that goal twice, doing one in 59:35 (25.1 mph) and one in a stunning 57:42 (25.8 mph).

I've found that I like the shorter time trials better, so it might be a while before I go after a 40K goal again (though 55 minutes is a nice round-ish number... that would require a 27 mph average)

The Philly Time Trial
A staple in the Philly racing calendar, I've only done this in under 20 minutes a handful of times. 19 minutes was a goal just as long as the 40K goal was. This year I did it this year in 18:10 (26.8 mph).

I missed the podium by 15 seconds, so I know I'll want to get under 18 minutes.

USA Cycling Ranking
I know, USA Cycling ranking doesn't really mean a lot, but it gives me a way to compare how I'm doing.

I finished out the year (out of Category 4 time trialists) as 3rd in Pennsylvania, 23rd in the country, and 2nd in the 30-39 age group.

Training Volume
 Some of my best years, I was training around 420 hours over the course of the year (8 hours a week on average over 52 weeks). This year, I just crossed 500 hours, and will probably be around 510 (9.8 hour a week) by the end of my training year next week.

Betzwood-Art Museum Route:
I've been doing this 41.6-mile route since my skating days (though back then I was starting at the Museum and riding to Betzwood park and back). At some point I decided that I wanted to do it in under 2 hours. It's mostly flat but has a few decent climbs and there are several red lights to worry about and a little pedestrian traffic on the trail. This year I did it in 1:58:53 (21 mph).

Race Results
As of March 2013, I'd never won a bike race. My best ever result was from a long range breakaway in a race where I finished 4th (out of a 6-man break that finished several minutes ahead of the pack).

This year, out of 11 races, I won three, finished 2nd in three, and finished 3rd in one race for a total of 7 times on the podium. I never could have imagined such a solid season.

--


With the end of the season here, I'm faced with picking goals for the next season (including training goals, race selection, amount of weight loss, and target body fat). When I was fat and out of shape lats year, it was easy to set goals. Now that I'm a lot leaner and faster, I'm finding it a lot harder to pick goals that are challenging, interesting, motivating, and at least remotely possible so I can reach them.

I have some other ideas that are more nebulous. I know my flexibility and core strength at not great. The gap between my 5 minute and 20 minute power is a little larger than I'd like. I want to see if I can get just a little more aerodynamic on the TT bike.

Oh yeah.... and maybe I'd like to win more than 3 out of 11 races ;-)

It Takes a Village...

There are several people who had an impact on this season and my successes in it, both in losing weight and in cycling results.

Shelli
Shelli's idea of support goes well beyond just saying congratulations when I do well.

She's done everything she could to help me to eat and train right, almost from the day we met. She cooked meals that were low-calorie, healthy, and enjoyable. She tolerated my weird sleeping and training schedule without complaint. 

In many cases, she was the voice of reason and objectivity. She went with me looking for equipment and offered opinions, often reminding me of things I had previously said I did or did not want. She helped me plan tactics for races and reminded me of things that did or didn't work out on previous races.

She came to every race, helping me get the trainer set up, put on my race number, and take pictures (even after her knee surgery). She had a towel and a cold bottle for me at the end of each event.

And of course, whether everything went according to plan or everything fell apart, she was still positive and supportive of me.

I could not have pulled this season off without her.

The Competition
At almost every race this year, I kept running into the same people: Rich Carolan, Anthony Sambrato, Nick Tsapatsaris, Rob Rakowitz. They inspired me to be better and I know that if I want to win next year, I'm going to have to fight them for the podium spots.

I also need to credit to race organizers, especially of the NJ Time Trial Cup events. They put on a great series, which have me something to aim for.

There are also the guys who were not in the same category I was (or upgraded out of it), but still offered an example of how to excel: Brett Kielick, Lee Sobotkin, and Pat Walter all showed me how it's done at the next level.

Lastly, my friends on Strava. I've never even met some of them in person, but our battles over segments have pushed me to be faster and faster. Mark Detweiler, Eric Schumacher, Mark Hineman, and Jon Gaarder all made me push a little harder than I could before.

Bentley Systems
My great employer who has showers in the office where so a bunch of us can ride at lunch and go out for rides afterwards.

Of course, there's also the group I ride with. Marcus who taught me how to pick a brutal climbing course. Tony who sprints past me every time I want to slow down and rest. Dave and Phil who are always there, who pounce at every opportunity. Allen, who thinks a 54-12 is an appropriate climbing gear. These guys push me every ride and make it fun.

Sponsor
I've been riding for Breakaway Bikes / Quaker City Wheelmen (with all the various names we've had), since 2005. It's been a great shop and a great team since day one.

The shop has taken care of me with great service, great equipment, and great training rides, both outdoors in the summer and indoors at the shop during the winter. Joe Wentzell and his staff have always been at the top of their game.

The team, well, what can I say? It's a great band of cyclists with tons of accumulated knowledge. One of them even officiated at our wedding :-)

Advisers
While I've worked with several bike fitters over the years, Isaac Denham has been the first one who got me truly comfortable on the time trail bike. He shifted my position just two days before my first race of the year... and it worked so well that I kept it all year.

John Dalzell has been a great source of wisdom and advice. I couldn't even tell you how long we've known each other now, but his guidance (and occasional willingness to say, "I told you so") on equipment, training, and other topics has helped me immensely.

Lastly, my Facebook friends for listening/reading me blather on endlessly about cycling and training.


I'm sure I am forgetting someone who has helped me out in some way this year and for that I apologize. I am well aware that I could never have reached this level of success alone and I'm looking forward to next year!

Soft Landing

This season started with a bang and ended with... well.... nothing.

My last race was Long Meadow on Aug. 11. I was planning to do a race two weeks after that but an eye infection stopped that plan. I had another race planned for this weekend, but it was delayed into October. There are other races I could do, but to be honest, I'm ready for the break. So I did my last race of the season without knowing it would be.

One of the benefits of hitting all my goals early in the year is that it's not bothering me. I crushed my goal of a 40K in under an hour and I surpassed any performance goals I could have dreamed of. Out 11 races this year, I won 3 and got second place in 3. I'd call that a spectacular year. It also sets the bar for next year :-)

Mentally, was ready for the season to end. Doing 11 races over 5 months, most of them at least a 90 minute drive and several of them overnight hotel stays, it was a lot of travel. I have a hard time treating any race like a "training race", so every race week I'm taking a few easy days to rest up for the race, which really throws a wrench into my training. With races every week to every other week, it felt like I was constantly tapering for the next event or recovering from the last event and not really training.

With the season over, I'm going to spend the next 5 weeks (until we go on vacation) riding how and when I feel like it. That's not to say that I'll ride less, just that I won't be structuring my workouts around certain goals or planning them out in advance. I'll just ride and see what happens.

My fitness is a bit of a mess. I'm strong in 20 to 40 minute time trials, but I have no endurance, no sprint, and no anaerobic capacity. I'm looking forward to getting a little more balance in the coming weeks.  Oh, and maybe a few Strava KOMs that I lost but didn't bother getting back during the season ;-)

I do have one other little goal related to training volume, but I'll go into that more in a later post. Let's just say that this year has been the highest training volume I've ever had and I'm getting close to a nice big round number.

I've started loosely looking back at the year to see what I did well and what I should take a look at changing for next year, whether it's training, event selection, race tactics, or travel logistics. I'll post some of the results of my analysis as I get around to it.

The Hat Trick

This week, the course was much more difficult with several downhills with speeds going over 40 mph and a few steep climbs over 8%.

It's a hard day to get into a rhythm and a steady pace, which makes it hard to balance "going hard enough" with "not overdoing it." By studying the course, first on paper and then driving it, I was able to figure out about how long each climb was and how long each descent was so I could estimate how hard to go up each climb.

I almost immediately realized that I did not have the right gearing on my bike for this race. My lightest gears were not light enough and my largest gears were not large enough. My bike was set up for a flat time trial, not a steeply hilly one.

Doing a little shopping, I decided that I wanted a front chainring  that one tooth larger than what I had but I could not find a rear cassette that I liked. The ones with a larger range had steps that were too large (one gear might be too easy but then the next one would be too hard) and others did not have a large enough large cog (for spinning up the steepest of hills). So, I did something new for me: I built a custom cassette.

Taking two cassettes off the shelf, I selected the cogs I wanted and put them together into a cassette and put it on my wheel. I also installed the new front chainring myself... a lot of mechanical work for a guy who'd never even adjusted his own gears before this summer.

Driving the course the night before, I was nervous. It's one thing to see a 10% grade on paper. It's another to see it in person. It looked bad. I almost wanted to turn around and come home.

To be honest, the course was not that bad. I found that my plan for attacking up the hills and recovering on the descents worked pretty well. I kept wondering if I could have gone just a little harder, maybe a couple of watts on each climb. I was worried about going too hard and burning out and I was worried about not going fast enough and losing because of either mistake. I was concerned that I'd only passed 2 people by the turnaround. I had a third in my sights right in the turnaround, but I didn't see anyone else the whole rest of the way back. I was trying not to panic.

I took the turnaround really slow because it was at the bottom of a pretty steep descent and I knew that I'd immediately have to go back uphill. It was also right at a spot where the sun was beaming through the trees and I could barely see. If I could not see the guy in front of me turnaround, I'm not sure I'd have seen the marshals in the road.

To give you an idea of the course: the way out was a short steep downhill (enough to hit 43 mph) and then about a 7-minute climb, which was the steepest right at the top. After that was a steep downhill for a minute, a short flat spot, and then a 5-minute descent with a couple of bumps back upward and and a steep drop to the turnaround. Going back the other way, an 8-minute climb back to the flat spot, then a brutal 2-minute steep climb, a descent, another steep 2-minute climb, and then a minute down to the finish. There was so much up-and-down that I was losing track of whether I was climbing, descending, or on a flat road.

I hit the finish tired but wondering if I could have gone just a bit harder. I held back just a touch because I was worried about burning out. I was really worried that it might cost me. All the downhills messed with me. I'd alternate between feeling terrible at the top of the climb and feeling great at the bottom of the descent.

In the end, I won by only 2 seconds. I was thrilled that I could win three races in a row now.

I also felt like it was a reminder of how every second matters. My start, my tuck on the high speed descent, my turnaround, every watt on every climb. It all matters and every little glitch could be the one that tips the scale the other way.


What Went Well
My custom mechanical work
Plan for the race

What to Work On
Pushing just a bit harder when I know it fits into the plan.
I let my cadence bog down a bit on the climbs.

The Numbers
Distance: 14.1 miles
Time: 35:33
Avg Speed: 23.7 mph
Avg Heart Rate: 159 BPM
Avg Power: 249 (279 normalized)

Two in a Row

This weekend I had to choose between two races: one on a really hilly course (Lake Nockamixon) and one on a very flat course (Blueberry). I waffled back and forth for the last two weeks.

At the last minute, I chose Blueberry. I had done Nockamixon twice before and it's just not a course that I enjoy. It's a beautiful course and a well-run event, but it's almost constant climbing and descending for just a couple minutes at a time with no chance to get into a rhythm on the road.

I had never done Blueberry before, so it would be a new experience. Most of the guys I had been racing all season would be there. Perhaps most importantly, it's part of the NJ time trial series that I want to compete in next year and I wanted to do the course to gain the experience. Oh yeah, and it had a start ramp :-)

The course was more or less a triangle. We start in the middle of one leg and then have three sharp right-hand turns on the course. One leg of the triangle had some rolling hills, just enough to slow you down a bit but not enough to really consider them climbs.

We got there on time, got in a good warmup, and got to the start ramp just a minute before my start.

I thought the ramp would be exciting, but I was more worried about the road at the bottom. We would roll down the ramp at an angle to the road and then have to ride in a 2 foot wide section of road that was blocked off by cones. It was going to be a bit tight.

I was so nervous that I messed up my normal routine. In the final countdown, I usually hit the Start button on my computer with 2 seconds to go. I messed up and hit the wrong button. I made it through the cones without incident, when I noticed the alert on my computer telling me that motion was detected and did I want to start the clock. I had probably been rolling for 5 or 10 seconds, but I would not know my exact finish time when I finished.

Like most of these flat, straight time trials, I could see my 30-second man almost the whole time. As I settled into my target power, I started keeping an eye on him. I was a bit worried because going into the first turn about two miles into the course, he was about 35 seconds ahead of me. He was pulling away!

The turn was really sharp and I had to slow down from 27 mph to about 18 mph to make it through without running over the volunteer manning the corner. I sprinted out of the corner, maybe a little too hard, and settled back into my target power.

Once I was comfortably back in my rhythm, I started watching my 30-second man again. When he'd go past a sign, I'd look at my bike computer and see how long it took me to get there. The first one was 25 seconds. Then 20 seconds, then 10... I was not just gaining, I was accelerating in relation to him. I was careful to keep my power right on target and not overdo it. I caught him at about mile 8.

By then, he was the 4th person I'd caught and no one else was in sight. It's very motivating to have people in front of you to chase and now it was just me and my power meter.

I was really looking for the next turn. I finally saw two guys in orange vests standing a little off to the side, just talking to each other. At first I thought they were blocking traffic on a cross street, but then I saw the train tracks ahead that I was pretty sure we were not supposed to cross. I yelled out "Where do I go??" They look annoyed that they had to respond, but they both pointed into the turn. By then I was almost on top of them and had to jam on the brakes and take the turn in WAY too big of a gear. I probably lost a few seconds there since it's really hard to get back up to speed in a huge gear like that. (on a side note, I talked to several other people at the finish who had completely missed the turn because of those two volunteers not doing their job)

The third leg was really nice because it was almost all in the shade and, most of all, I knew the finish line was about a half mile from the end of it. I spotted another rider in the distance and was gradually gaining on him.

Going into the last turn, I was just about on top of that other rider. I decided not to risk passing him in the turn so I slowed down. Then he slowed down a LOT to take the turn. I was really annoyed at how much time I lost in that turn waiting for him to go through. As soon as I was through, I sprinted past him.

In just a few seconds, I saw the 500-meter-to-go sign.... or perhaps I should say, forest of signs. There were signs every 50 meters to the finish line telling you how far to go. 500, 450, 400... I hit the line at about 35:03 according to my computer... but remember that I didn't start right away.

It was not until after I got back to the car, got changed, got something to eat, and wandered over to the award ceremony that I would find out my actual time... when the announcer called it out as the winning time and I got to take the top step of the podium.

That makes two wins in two weeks! My next race is in two weeks with a much harder course. We'll see how I do there.

What went well:
Pretty much everything.

What to work on:
Tight turns at high speed
Passing people before a turn

The Numbers:
Distance: 15.5 miles
Time: 35:18
Avg. Speed: 26.35 mph
Avg Power: 265 watts
Avg Heart Rate: 165 bpm

A Different Result

This week I had to choose between two races: The PA State Time Trial Championship and the Sandrino's Sacrifice TT. The PA State TT was a 40K (25 miles) over hilly terrain, almost three hours away, and required a hotel (or to leave at 4 AM).

Sandrino's Sacrifice TT was 7.7 miles over pretty flat terrain (with no turnaround) and less than an hour away. It was also part of a series to which most of my races this year belonged, so I'd be racing against people I knew. Shelli is still on crutches from her knee surgery. It also seemed like a better idea to have a shorter drive and a race with a parking lot right at the start line. It seemed like more fun and less hassle, so that's what I did.


This race was the culmination of the season's lessons so far: I had a new time trial helmet, which is the best one yet. It's sleek and aerodynamic but comfortable and surprisingly well vented. I knew that I had to worry about overheating in the humidity while warming up, so I got a DC converter for the car so I could have a fan blowing on me. I also wore an ice vest while warming up to make sure my core temperature stayed down. I kept my drinks in a cooler with ice packs to keep them cold. Since it was warm and humid, I wore the shirtsleeve suit.

I rolled up to the start line feeling well-warmed up but not overheated, even though it was almost 80 degrees and pretty high humidity. I was also surprisingly calm considering my goal was to win today.

I started out strong... a little too strong, actually. At the end of the first 5 minutes, after two slight climbs, my power was about 15 watts higher than my target. I should have slowed down, but I made a rookie mistake and kept the power up, thinking I was just having a magical day and that I could maintain it. Um.... no.

I caught several people on the road. It was kind of a pain to pass on this course. There was a nice shoulder for riding, but there was not enough room to pass in the shoulder. I had to go out into the traffic lane on a road with a 45 mph speed limit and a fair number of cars, so I had to time my passes just right so I didn't get run over.

At 10 minutes, I knew I was in trouble. I could feel the humidity and breathing a lot heavier than I wanted to be. My power was dropping. I was 15 watts above target before, now I was struggling to stay 10 watts below. Not good.

They told us at the start that at about 1K to go, there was a 4-way intersection with state police. I had passed that quite a while back, it seemed, so I was looking for another one. There is usually a sign with 1K to go. If there was, I did not see it. I was really hurting and looking for the finish.

As I came around a slight curve, I could see the finish cones and tent ahead. Relieved it was almost over, I dug deep and pulled my power up just a couple of watts.

I hit the finish, shifted to an easier gear, hit the lap button on my computer, and then pulled into the gas station parking lot to wait... I waited to see how close the guys behind me were. My biggest competitors started 30 seconds and 1 minute 30 seconds behind me. The first one arrived... I think at 36 seconds. The second arrived at 2 minutes. I was pretty sure that I had won.

We rode back to the start, chatting about gear and racing. I got changed, put all my stuff away, and wandered over to the start just in time to see the results.

I was right: I had won. After three second-places this year, I had finally won my first bike race :-)

What I did right:
Kept cool while warming up
Picked a race I really wanted to do
I took a bottle with me to drink on the ride back from the finish line

What could have been better:
My pacing

The Numbers:
Distance: 7.7 miles
Time: 17:29
Avg Speed: 26.4 mph
Avg Power: 282 watts
Avg Heart Rate: 164 bpm

Forced Recovery

With the PA State TT just 3 weeks away, the last thing I wanted to do was take a week off the bike but I really didn't have much choice.

I woke up last Sunday with a seriously sore throat and my nose was running constantly. At the time I thought it was just allergies, but by the end of the day I knew it was something more. I went to work Monday and tried riding but I felt really terrible.

Tuesday I took a turn for the worse and I called out of work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I spent three days pretty much doing nothing but sleeping, watching TV, reading, and eating everything in sight.

I barely got on the trainer Friday just to see if I had any energy yet and I really didn't. My power was really low and my heart rate really high. I cut it short and went into work, which was not fun but at least it got me out of the house.

I'm still kind of congested but I don't have the serious fatigue that I did earlier in the week. I was able to get in a short ride yesterday and didn't feel too terrible. Hopefully today will go a little better.

While I'm sure my body enjoyed the rest, I'd like to get back to training with another 40K coming up!

Full Speed Success

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

Another Record with an Asterisk

By now, it's no secret that I'm faster on the bike than I've ever been in my life. I've done well in every race and broken every personal best that I've ever had.

The problem that I am having mentally is that very few of those records are over courses I am familiar with. Sure, I just broke my 40K record, but my previous record was not on that same course. Maybe it was easier than the one I had done before.

Yesterday, I was excited to finally be able to do the normal West River Time Trial, held every Saturday through the summer over an 8.2 mile course that I've ridden hundreds of times in my life. Between my racing schedule and the random rainy day, I have not been able to do this yet this year. Yes, the race two weeks ago was on this course but used a different start/end. I was finally about to get the comparison I wanted.... except for one problem.

The road which we use is closed to cars from 6AM to 5PM. The first mile and a half is re-opened to cars at noon, which are blocked by a pair of gates across the road (which are chained and padlocked in place). Whoever closed the road to traffic that morning closed those gates as well, blocking the road for us.

Our solution was to go around them. Once on the way out and once on the way back, each rider would have to drop from racing speed enough to make it onto the sidewalk/path beside the road (which has a very narrow curb cut to get to the trail), travel about 50 yards, then get back onto the road and get back up to racing speed. Looking at my download, I'd guess that I lost about 20 seconds going each way for 40 seconds total.

Other than that, it was a perfect morning. Sunny, light winds, temperatures in the low 60's, not too humid.

My previous best time on this course was 19:42, set back in 2006. Yesterday I did it in 19:32. Let me reiterate this for those of you who missed it: I was 10 seconds faster despite having to go around the gates each way.

I probably would have been under 19:00 otherwise. Of course, I have a race next weekend and won't be able to try again then. I just hope I get another good shot at it this year!!

Burning Under the Sun

It's been over a week since I set a lifelong accomplishment and it's way past due for me to write about it.... but the fact is I didn't have a very good day so it does not feel like such a great thing.

I've had a long standing goal of doing a 40 kilometer (24.8 mile) time trial in under an hour. Maintaining 24.8+ mph for an hour is not easy. I've tried several times, with my previous best was in 2011 at 1:02:50.

The New Jersey State Time Trial Championships was held last weekend. It's a gently rolling course that is more downhill on the way our and more uphill on the way back, but it's not that much of a climb really. The biggest challenges came from the weather: 85 degree heat and 15 mph gusting crosswinds that did nothing to make the heat feel any better. They just made it dramatically harder to ride in a straight line.

It was so warm before the race that I had a hard time warming up. I had my trainer set up in the shade and the winds were not enough to even remotely help me keep cool. It got me thinking about things I've seen other riders do, like wearing ice vests as they warm up and maybe finding some way to run a fan off my car. It was brutal.

I rolled up to the start pouring sweat, but not really feeling like my legs and lungs were warmed up enough to race. The long sleeved speed suit and aero helmet with very few vents did not help.

At the start, the guy behind me was giving me grief about having two water bottles on my bike. He kept telling me that I should throw one away and that it would not get me anything in a race like this. I resisted the urge to tell him to mind his own business and an even stronger urge to challenge him to beat me if he thought they were such a detriment to me. Over the course of the race I drank both bottles... and beat that guy by almost 3 minutes.

Mentally, I try to break races into quarters. For a race this length, I did them in 15-minute quarters for easier math on the road.

The first 15 minutes were both the best and the worst. It was the best in the sense that it's the only time during the entire race that I was putting out the kind of power I wanted, about 255 watts. It was the worst in the sense that I felt so awful that I was not sure I'd even finish the race. There was no shade, I was constantly fighting with the winds for control of the bike, and my heart rate was sky high. I was trying to drink only every 15 minutes, but it was so hot that I drank three times in the first 15 minutes. I was not even thinking about pacing my intake so the drinks lasted me the whole hour. I was just drinking all I wanted.

In the second 15 minutes, my power dropped a lot, only averaging about 225. I was still fighting the winds, but dropping my power made me feel a lot better. I was not longer worried about heat stroke and just tried to keep on going. The course curved slightly, putting the winds more at my back... which was only good until I turned around and headed back into them. I hit the turnaround pretty smoothly at 30:32.... not terrible really. I figured that if I could hold the same pace on the way back, I'd finish around 1:01:00 or so, which was still way faster than my previous best. At the turnaround, I was already starting my second bottle.

The third quarter was just hell. My heart rate was back up again and the course was both slightly uphill and into the wind. I still kept my power around 225. I tried keeping my head down as low as I could to cut down my wind resistance all that I could. The winds did not feel as bad as I'd expected. In fact, they seemed to be helping me now. On the way back there was a little more shade, which made it a little more tolerable.

The last 15 minutes was just beyond description. My legs were sore, which I couldn't explain since I was way below my target power. My hips and back were not used to being in this position for so long and were really aching. With about 10 minutes to go, I drank the last of my second bottle. But I had a suspicion... The winds were helping me a lot more than I'd expected. I saw the 1K to go sign at about 58 minutes. As awful as I felt, I knew that I had only about a minute and a half to go and that I would almost certainly reach my goal.

I hit the line at 59:35, immediately switched to a lighter gear, sat up, and unzipped my suit. I pedaled softly for several minutes until I caught my breath. I never really stopped pouring sweat until I'd been back in the car with the air conditioning on for a really long time.

I reached the goal... but it felt a bit hollow. Going into the race, I had expected to hold about 250 to 260 watts for the race. I only averaged 237. My whole season has been focused on hitting a target power for a set duration. To me, missing my target power (even with the heat) was a huge failure. It means that if I had been able to cope with the heat, I would have been a lot faster.

I also look at my new equipment. With the new bike and the rented disc wheel, I am inherently faster than I was before. It's true that the new gear leveled the playing field with the competition, but in comparison to my own goals, I really wanted to break an hour by more than just a few seconds to really feel like it was me that did it and not the bike.

It's a couple more weeks until my next 40K and I am working on being ready for the heat and a much better time.