Race Report
Time Trial Series - Race number 1
4/3/2010

9:15 start

I started 1 minute behind Wes which was strategically planned by Ladd and Jeffro. The plan was to catch him on the first lap but that was just not to be. Wes does ride these things very well so I knew going in that was a tall order, 1 minute is a long freaking time in one of these things.

It takes experience to do these and with just 1 under my belt coming into today it showed. This time I had a better understanding of power usage since the test showed where I need to stay so the plan was to stay about 255-260 watts for the entire ride. That's 95-98% for one solid hour. It's hard to write how bad these things hurt. If you go out hard as you can go for one minute on a bike just imagine doing it for one hour. The first minute hurts and the next 59 or so just get worse. It truly is the race of truth!

I have yet to download the data but I think I am under wattage a good bit but managed to keep the speed at 24mph even for the full 40k (right at 25 miles). This IS NOT a flat 40k by any means, at one point I was under 16mph going up a long steady climb. We had a good head wind
coming back in which just made it much more difficult but I just focused on the power output and hoped for the best.

The first lap came in at about 31:38 so I knew the quest for the sub 1 hour was over right then and there. The 2nd lap was maybe a little faster but will check on that shortly. Coming up the hill with 1.5 miles to go, the pain was incredible as my legs were burning so bad but I had to keep Wes in site. At the final turn I knew I had him by about 15 seconds as I spotted where he was on the road then looked at my SRM time on how far I was back. The problem was I just had nothing left, Nothing and I doubt he did either.

I gave everything I had on the last mile and went by 2 guys doing the 20k like they were going backwards but, to his credit, so did Wes. Sprinted across the line and I could not pedal another 100', DONE!

Final results have me 12 seconds of front of Wesley but I had to pedal my ass off to get it. Those things hurt..Wes held a lot back at the downtown triathlon last week and I knew the evil genius mofo had this all planned out - Good job dude. I enjoy the camaraderie and competition we have. This is why we do what we do.

There were several riders who went under an hour - most came from the Charlotte area but Mr. Gordon - 55min? D A M N! M U C H R E S P E C T !

I did win the Cat 5 division and beat the only Cat 1/2 racer. Not quite sure how I got the Cat 5 ranking though ? I was the 8th fastest 40k speed average and my average beats most of the 20k people as well. In the 40k, Eric and Gordon are just speed freaks so getting beat by them was just a formality. Can I get below 1 hour? Man, I just don't know, that is difficult. On this course it would take a little less wind and some rest and lots more time in the saddle.

5 of the 7 that beat me are in their 40's and one (3rd place at 25.3mph) is 55! The winner was 27mph and 42 years of age. It just never ceases to amaze me of how faster you get can as you age. Got a lot to look forward to if I am lucky enough to stay healthy.