The great Nebraska State Time Trial was Saturday. At 23.something miles, on a hilly(ish) course, it would prove to be a good test of fitness. Well, for some people at least.
Yes, I did go about a minute faster than last year. That's nice. But I kinda rode like crap. OK, I really rode like crap. I had 57:37 on my clock, which works out to an average of 24.1 mph. Not bad.
But then I started reading the times turned in the rest of the morning. Wow.
I wouldn't have been in the top eight in the frickin' Cat. 4 race. I wouldn't have won Cat. 5, even. I'm a Cat. 3 -- apparently, a slow one.
After talking with Sydney a bit on Saturday night, along with looking at my training plan and history on that course, I can see what happened. The first time I put the bars on (since last July) was late Thursday night. Only one ride on them prior to the race.
Also, I'm at the end of a hard two weeks (rest week starts today). So I'm not exactly rested, either.
But still ... I have to be faster than that, don't I?
I'll find out in a month or so, when the main peak for the year is here. Omaha Cycling weekend: TT, crit, RR. The only thing I dread is the crit, but not because of the corners. It's another 1/2/3 crit, which I'm souring on. And it's a tight course. And it's going to be fast as fook.
I guess this is what I signed up for, huh?
6 comments:
You'll be glad to know that we separated the 1/2s and 3 fields at the Papillion Twilight Criterium. So, you'll be racing in your category only. Given the nature of the course, it seemed the prudent thing to do.
OMG, a cat 3 only crit in Nebraska? That's almost unheard of. Very wise choice, Mark. The 1/2's race always bring out a bunch of really, really fast guys and throwing the 3's in there would just be evil.
Bryan, I know about the TT specific position issue from experience. The last year I raced, I pulled the same thing. I slapped on some aero bars a week before a race and did miserably. I had forgotten that my usual training regiment involved riding the TT bike (when I had one) once every other week, or every week as I was getting closer to a TT race. Now, with aero bars, it's a pain since you have to install and uninstall them every time out, but while on those TT rides, you can really figure out what minor tweaks you can to do your position to make it comfortable. You could even turn your Trek Madone single speed project into a makeshift TT bike position adjuster thingy. But maybe not.
The Madone could be an AWESOME makeshift TT beast.
I had the same problem with the TT this time around. Slow. My problem was that the wind was going the wrong direction. Usually you get the wind in your face on the way out and the tailwind on the way back. That's better for me. I break down mentally when I get my split backwards.
mark - that does, indeed, make me glad. There would have been some serious carnage if we were with the 1/2 field.
mike - I have ideas for TT bikes for next year. We'll see what happens. It'll be cool, regardless.
other mike -- It's one of the possibilities, for sure.
megan -- I was OK with going back into the wind. I really don't mind headwinds, as long as they're not gusty winds. Still, there were parts that definitely sucked.
Not everyone is born to TT or enjoys it for that matter. Don't beat yourself up to bad.
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