A time trial or TT is an all-out effort. Swim it, bike it or run it, just do it as fast as you can. I’ve only become familiar with this term since Tour de France 2009. I would have had no idea what you were talking about before that. Perhaps maybe no interest. A year ago I wasn’t riding a bike either. I had no idea that I was totally missing out on a sport that I really love. Thankfully Mina took off her training wheels and we started biking around town. Thankfully a friend took me on a bike n’ brew. Thankfully that same friend challenged me to try something out of my comfort zone (triathlon – a race in front of people!) and here I am. I’m on a triathlon team. I’m sad if I don’t ride my bike for a day or two. And a couple of weekends ago, I just did my first outside TT. I had done several inside but this seemed more real and more daunting to me. And I did it!
After a week of Miles being sick and up at night, then ending up with the same cold, I wasn’t feeling totally up to my first TT. But I was signed up. I felt okay enough. I loaded up on decongestant. A biker friend told me not to worry about the results if they weren’t what I wanted. I appreciated that later.
I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was just going to ride 12 miles as fast as my sleep-deprived/sick body would take me. I was going to bike in front of other people. Oh yes, I was also going to go for the first ride on my sweet new pedals/shoes. Not being one for late change, that is Rich’s influence on me.
The whole family came. We got up early. I ate a reasonable breakfast. Porridge, flax oil, some kind of nuts. Americano. Water. We drove out there and knew we had arrived when we saw parked cars and tents along the road. I saw a bunch of people on very fancy bikes wearing very fancy gear and thought what the hell am I doing. I should drop off the road shoes and go home. They would be fine on their own.
I went and signed the paperwork, got my number. The bathroom line was not friendly. I was short on time. So I got on my bike and biked back to a port-a-potty that I had seen as we drove in. No one in line. I was happy. I went back to the car, got out the trainer and started riding. I didn’t really have that long of a warm-up and that wasn’t so smart. I ate some other food and drank a bunch of water. I knew my start time was coming and put the trainer away.
(check out the dude’s helmet). I’m 53.
One lesson I learned was, when you get to the TT, match your watch to the race clock. Mine was off. I was warming up on the road and should have been in line. I got into line in a hurry. (Sometimes being at race with your husband and two little kids adds a level of complication. But it was nice to have them there.) As expected some guy was waiting to hold my bike. Thankfully there was no ramp like on t.v.
Here I’m basically fumbling with my left cleat. Did I mention new shoes? That is why I’m looking down. I’m not deep into some zone, fiercely focused. They send you out in thirty second intervals and as I’m fumbling, I can hear the clock counting down. Thirty seconds goes quickly. But I clip in and am oddly calmer than I expected. My start time 9:26 comes up on the clock and I’m suppose to fly off. Instead i crawl off and take another note to NEVER start a TT in a high gear. Idiot! I felt like such a newbie at this stage. I had been distracted with getting to the start in a hurry and didn’t even think about that helpful detail.
So I fly off…
My breathing was all out of whack. I could tell that right away. I tried to calm it down and get into a groove. I just tried to push. Unlike a road race, you ride solo. There is no pack or group to follow. You just push. I’m still easing into road racing. TT is another type of racing. It probably won’t help me for road racing but it will for triathlon.
In keeping up with Northwest tradition, not too long into my first ever TT, it started raining again. It had been raining on and off all morning. It was cold and wet. So my new shoes were now soaking wet and I didn’t have any booties on. I need those. Shoe covers.
What sucked was getting passed by people! Mentally defeating. Am I that slow? You have no idea who is riding behind you though. Could be any category (quality) of rider. That is what I told myself when anyone passed. I had three people pass. One guy actually did not pass but BLEW BY ME IN A FLASH. I remembered his number and checked later. He was Cat 1-2. WOW. Happened to have a nice bike and gear too. I guess I should have been paying more attention to myself but it made you notice.
My garmin was REALLY helpful and helped me know where I was in the course. I really need to learn pacing though. I find it really hard to know exactly how to push for these things. That will come with time/practice. When I finished this race, I felt like I could be sick but I didn’t feel the empty tank feeling. My throat killed and I think that my body was just upset at me because I was sick.
I’m that dot, way out there. Coming this way. I saw the 1Km sign, the 200 m sign but the end…? I didn’t realize that the end was marked by a tent. I don’t think that I even noticed the tent or the mark across the road. I have no idea what I was looking for.
So unknowingly, I finished! Sick, cold and wet, I rode the 12 miles in 32:19. Nothing fancy. That ended up being a 23/37 th place for the Cat 4 women. I wasn’t so happy about that. My bike friend’s advice was like a gentle hug when I saw the results.
Couple other lessons for me to remember:
I realized afterwards too that I rode way too much over on the shoulder. I need to borrow some of Rich’s aggressive biking nature here. He’s totally right. That was also silly of me. But I might as well make all those newbie mistakes in one race.
I also could use to work on cornering. There was ONE corner and I didn’t ride it well enough. I would like to sit and watch people corner at a TT. Given I’ve only been riding a road bike since late last summer, I’m not too upset.
I saw a bunch of people brick the TT. So they got off their bikes and put on their running shoes. That is smart. I’ll do that in the future. Instead, which was also fun, I biked and cooled down with a rider, Tina, from the CycleU team. She’s been doing all sorts of races and events. Inspiring!
Compared to an indoor TT, which I’ve done several of this past winter, during an outside TT you find the real-life road challenging you (cars, debris, etc) and there is the scenery to watch. No one is directly beside you, encouraging you or pedaling away. Outside you have real weather. You are not just a little biker on a computer screen. But an inside TT is a really good workout. A little more controlled and since I don’t have a powertap on my bike, you get a lot of information which is motivating. Inside or outside, I really like TT.
Did I have fun? Absolutely. Will I do another? Absolutely! Would like to ride one of those fancy TT bikes? Absolutely!
1 comment:
Way to go, Annie.
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