8/20/10 15 mile Time Trial

Trying out my "aero" helmet, which has been in a closet for 13 years

Another Friday night, another time trial in the can. This event was 15 miles, the same distance as the very first time trial I competed in earlier this year. But the result was very different. In the last 15 mile event I finished in 19th place. This time, I finished in 4th place, shaving off a big chunk of time. But in that first one I was a different rider too. I was much more nervous, which I am sure contributed to a quickly tiring upper body and starting out waaay too fast and burning myself up. This time around I was more confident and relaxed, and felt a lot better. The only thing I wish I could have done differently in this race was to get to my chiropractor the day before. I am happy with my result but my back was hurtin' like the dickens... again. When I get an adjustment before an event, I am typically pain free, but when I don't, my back quickly flares up and the pain works its way down the back of my right leg, and I have to just ride with it to the finish line. I think if I had been able to get to the doc, I could have had a better time, but I'm not complaining.

Now I only have two races left for my season. The first one is the West Virginia State Time Trial Championships, which I'm not eligible to win the title, but I can still "win" the event on September 18, and the Pennsylvania State Team Time Trial Championships in Erie on September 25. I am very excited about the latter as I will be competing WITH my teammates as we pedal our hearts out for the state gold.

Team Cervelo as they crush a team time trial

We don't want anything less because, according to my teammate Brian Hopkins, "Silver is just stupid." So we're either going for the gold or "die trying". Between now and then all my training is geared towards these two events. Looking forward to it!

2010 Smith Dairy Milk Race

Yesterday, August 15, was one of my all time favorite races, the Smith Dairy Milk Race in Orrville, OH, the home of Smuckers. It's a great 10 mile loop that's gently rolling with only one hill that's not real long or steep but can be made hard by attacking it hard and hurting your competitors every lap.  We had around thirty people in our race and accompanying me was my teammate Mark Briercheck.

At 10:05 the race started and we rolled off for the 40 mile battle, or four laps around the course. The first lap went well as nobody really attacked the group until the hill about 7 miles into the 10 mile loop. To my knowledge no one was dropped on the first lap.

On the second lap I really started to notice, "Man, it is HOT and muggy," as sweat was really starting to run down my face and leave streaks on my glasses. The pace picked up on this lap but Mark and I were right there in it.

The third lap got even a little harder and the sweat was really pouring now. I heard someone behind me say, "Someone's really sweating up there. It's hitting me."  Haha... he was probably talking about me. I was making sure to drink heavily to replace what I was losing. Still, Mark and I were looking good and feeling fresh.

Fourth and final lap, the pace was all over the place. We would speed up dramatically and after a little bit we'd slow back down, waiting to see who would make the next attack. Guys were starting to get weary and tired and mistakes were starting to be made with two one-man crashes throughout the lap. When we got to the "big" hill we charged up it and my left hamstring started cramping. Ow! But I got to the top and rode through it. I noticed a few other guys shaking and rubbing their legs, trying to get their cramps out too.

About one kilometer or so to the finish I was right at the front of the group, behind one or two guys, and we were going S-L-O-W. No one wanted to go first only to get caught and passed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Briercheck flew past all of us looking like he was going for a solo win. Well, that perked everyone up and at that point we were off to the races!

Okay, so here we go. But the problem was that the guys I was behind didn't jump as quickly and they were leaving a gap, and riders were starting to pass us on the outside, to the left. I was looking everywhere for a hole I could get through to pass these guys. Arrrrgh! Nothing! And then one guy started to fade and drifted just a little to the left, but just enough for me to squeak by on the inside on the edge of the road.

I got around him and then a few more holes started appearing. I passed other riders, dodging around them, but nowhere near where I needed to be for a "in the money" result. I tried to muster all the violence I could conger up, but it just wasn't enough. And at the same time the inner muscles of my left thigh were on fire with cramps. Crossed the finish line... 12th place.  Eh, I'll take it. Guess I have no choice. Next time I'll be sure to be on Briercheck's wheel having him lead me out. If I had done that here, I'm SURE I would have been... in the money.

On another note... today, the day after, my inner thighs and upper body are pretty sore. It was a good battle.

Working on the Time Trial

So it's been a while since my last post about the July 2nd, 15 mile time trial I competed in, and since then I have raced in two more time trials, both at the same location as the July 2, time trial.

The first time trial I did following the July 2, event was a 25 mile race on July 30. Now, this was only my second time trial since 1997, and my first attempt at a time trial at this distance. The goal for most cyclists at the 25 mile distance is to do it under one hour. That's a pretty good deal and shows some fitness if that can be accomplished. So, with that goal in mind, I would have been happy with a time of 59:59:99... under 1:00:00.

The start of this race felt much more different than the previous 15 mile race. I was much more relaxed, not nearly as nervous, and just generally feeling very good about myself.  The clock ticked down to my start time... and I was off. Man I felt much better than last time. Comfortable, relaxed, fast. I just got a good tempo and pedal cadence and just ticked off the laps. Last lap, gave it all I had left and crossed the line... 57:09. Whoa! What?! Like I said, I was going to be happy with one second under an hour, but about three minutes? And that was without the fancy time trial wheels or helmet. Nice. Everything just clicked that night for me. No nerves making me tense and uneasy. Good fresh, strong legs keeping the cadence high. It really was all good that night. The time of 57:09 put me in 5th place. What a good night.

The next time trial race was on August 6, with a distance of 10 miles, and again on the same course as the previous two. This one felt a little different for me, again. I was relaxed and confident as I was before the 25 mile race, but my legs felt a bit more tired. And again the clocked ticked down... and I hit the course. In a time trial you have to pace yourself, not going too hard early and blow yourself up, but not too slow and lose a lot of time. This is something I am still working on and learning. This evening I probably went out of the gates too fast. I was going very good on the first half of the race, perhaps too good, but as I was closing in on the last few laps my legs were starting to tire out on me and my average speed was slowly going down. I finished with a decent time of 23:16 for 10.2 miles, which put me in 10th place, but I believe I could have done better. But hey... that's what these Friday night races are for. They're training races (well, to me they are) to help me become a better time trialist for the bigger weekend races.

The next and last Friday night race is on August 20. I'll be quicker this time to post the race report.