Time Trial Race Report

Damn it was hot today. It was really hot out in fact. I was a little nervous about the time trial today mostly because the last one didn't go as well as I had planned and I had to use a different wheel set up than usual. We got to the Portsmouth Ruritan Club (yay) at around 10:00, about an hour before the first CAT-5 person was supposed to start. This was good, enough time to get set up and warmed up. I guess it was good, but once I checked in I found out I wasn't set to start until 11:39... Yeah, so I had plenty of time to sit around. Not a problem though, I'd rather be way early than late as I usually am. Once the time came I pulled out the rollers and started warming up. My legs were feeling pretty good. I wasn't getting my hopes up, but maybe, just maybe today would be a good day on the bike. After 10-15 minutes of warming up, by which I was already drenched in sweat, I lined up to start. 11:39 came and I was off. If anybody could describe a pancake flat course, they would be describing the course at the PLT. I don't recall a single hill. I do vividly remember the headwind on the way out, but that's a different story. I started out at 26 mph, but decided to tone it down so I wouldn't burn out. I maintained 22-23 for the first portion of the course. Once I got to the first turn I was thankful for having a spoked rim in front because the Cervelo handled much better than usual. I didn't feel like I was going to slide out. After about mile 12 I started to turn it up. From this point on I was keeping a pace of 24-25 for the remainder of the race. The tailwind on the way in helped a little. I finished with a sprint and a final time of 57:54. I was very happy since my goal was to break an hour. I felt pretty horrible afterwards mainly because of the heat. My legs were OK, and once I got some water I felt a lot better. So, with my PR time, I ended up 10th out of the 30 or so guys in my category. I was very pleased with this.

So here's where the good part starts. One of the guys on my team (who just so happens to be a monster) comes up and asks if I wanted to go for a run. In an attempt to not be a wimp I agreed not realizing I just finished a 23 mile time trial. But, here's the but, I really didn't feel like it when I started running. My legs felt fresh, and cardiowise I was good. This is a good sign for the Olympic race on the 18th. I'm ready for it. Nothing left to do but polish at this point and continue to train for the Patriot.

Since I couldn't find my camera yesterday I'll post some pictures today...