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VA State Time Trial Championship - CycleTime Trial


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Stony Creek, Virginia
United States
85F / 29C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 00m 42s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = CAT5
Age Group Rank = 2/
Pre-race routine:

Whipped up a fruit/protein shake and loaded the car. Made a quick stop by 7-11 for coffee then hit the road.
Event warmup:

~30min spin on my trainer under the Coastal Racing tent. It was already starting to get warm even in the shade.
Bike
  • 1h 00m 42s
  • 24.85 miles
  • 24.56 mile/hr
Comments:

This was my first time trial. My plan was to pace completely on feel since I didn't have a reliable estimate of FTP. I didn't want to target some number that could be too high or too low. I just kept asking myself if I could hang on for an hour at the current intensity. I passed 3 or 4 guys on the way out and made the turn right at 33min which was a little slower then I had expected. I still had a shot at going under 1hr if there was enough tail-wind on the way back. I only broke my aero position once on the way out to grab a drink from my bottle at the 10k mark. On the way back my legs started getting a little tight and I stood to stretch for 2-3sec maybe 4 or 5 times and also took another pull from my bottle at 30k. With 10k to go it was starting to get hard but I knew the closer I got to the finish the less time I had left to suffer. With about 1/2 mile to go I was able to pass one last guy and dig deep for whatever I had left. Unfortunately, there was a bit more head wind on the return at spots and I missed going under 1hr but not by much.

I did what I showed up to do...get a good 1hr power to use as my FTP for training and race pacing. Since re-installing my power meter 2 weeks ago I've been trying to figure out what my FTP is...the re-install changed the reference readings and my Ergomo now reads about 30W lower. Based on the past few workouts I figured I was i the 250-255W range and today confirmed 250W. To top it off I ended up taking 2nd in CAT 5...not bad for my first 40k TT.
What would you do differently?:

If I want to go faster I need to make the event a priority and show up with fresh legs. Today was meant to be testing primarily and a race secondary.
Post race
Warm down:

Coasting and soft pedaling was about all I could manage for 2-3min after crossing the line. I was gradually able to start turning the pedals and spent ~10min riding very easy. I took 20min to change my bike over to a training rig and then went back out for a steady 45min ride.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I had a hard 3hr ride on Friday and spend yesterday out in the sun playing kickball and sprinting around so I was feeling really tired and generally sore all over. My hamstrings were particularly tight. If I were fresh I might have been able to squeek out an additional 5-10W and maybe break 1hr.

Event comments:

Cycling events tend to be more bare-bones in terms of post race activities and overall production. Time trials specifically don't require much support. This event had the basics...registration, officials/timers, bathrooms. I don't know if there was any water or sports drink available because I brought what I needed but I didn't see any sort of snacks or fluids.




Last updated: 2008-06-23 12:00 AM
Biking
01:00:42 | 24.85 miles | 24.56 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Work: 900 kJ; TSS: 99.1; IF: 0.99; Norm Power: 248W; VI: 1; Avg Power: 247W; Avg Cadence: 108rpm; Avg Speed: 24.6mph; Max Speed: 33.7mph;
Wind: Some
Course: Flat out & back along Blue Star highway (301) which runs along the edge of I95 from Stony Creek south. There was no shade and we had some head winds on the way out which turned to head/cross winds on the return. Although there weren't any significant climbs there were several gradual rises and I actually did a lot of shifting between 2 or 3 gears to stay in my cadence comfort zone.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 108
Turns: Average Cornering:
Gear changes: Good Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2008-06-23 8:41 PM

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Pro
3870
200010005001001001002525
Virginia Beach, VA
Subject: VA State Time Trial Championship


2008-06-24 1:12 PM
in reply to: #1484982

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Pro
3870
200010005001001001002525
Virginia Beach, VA
Subject: RE: VA State Time Trial Championship
UPDATE - Turns out there was an issue with the course and it was actually about 500m long which would be roughly 45sec so I likely did go just under 1hr for 40K.
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