The state
time trial (TT) championships were on Saturday.
Between traveling to and from Gainesville, GA that day and going to the
REO Speedwagon/Chicago concert at Chastain Park in Atlanta yesterday, I’m just
now getting caught up on my race report!
Dingo Race
Productions put on the state TT, and they did a great job. I really appreciate them stepping up to take
this on. The Georgia TT calendar has
been pretty lean this year. Peachtree
Bikes did not sponsor a TT series this year as they have for the previous two
because, unfortunately, they suffered a devastating fire at their main shop
last December. Understandably, they have
had to focus their resources on rebuilding this year. Also, the Healthy Newton Omnium, which is
usually in June, was cancelled this year.
Therefore, I did only three races this year: the Tundra TT in February,
the Georgia Cycling Gran Prix TT last month, and the state TT. There was a TT in June in Rome, but it was
scheduled rather late, and I had already planned to do the Solstice 300K brevet
that day.
Training
Despite the
dearth of TT’s, I trained hard this year for the events that I did race. I do TT intervals once a week for six to
eight weeks before a race. Therefore,
back in June I started my TT training for the Georgia Cycling Gran Prix TT and
the state TT. With those practices,
Tuesday Worlds (weekly group rides with lots of intensity), and long endurance
rides like brevets, I feel like I get a good mix of training that helps me in
all of my rides and races.
My husband
Robert is wonderfully supportive of all of my riding, training, and racing,
serving as coach and soigneur. He makes
suggestions for my TT training, generally increasing the length and intensity
of intervals as a race approaches and tapering the week right before.
The
Course
The course on
Saturday was beautiful and very well suited for a TT. Several days before the race, I checked out the
route on the street view of Google Maps.
I discerned that there were some rollers (not even big as the ones I
typically ride on) but no significant climbs.
Actually, I wouldn’t have minded some bigger hills because I climb well,
but regardless I was glad to know what kind of terrain to expect. It was 36 km (22.4 miles) long, which is a
fairly long TT. That boded well because
I tend to perform better on longer courses.
One of the
best aspects of the course was that the turnaround point was at the driveway to
a business complex (pretty much deserted since it was Saturday). This allowed for a nice, wide turning radius;
turning on my TT bicycle is not my forte, and I’m always concerned about losing
time at the turnaround.
The course
was easy for Dingo Race Productions to control.
Because it was out and back, they really only needed volunteers and
police at the start/finish area and at the turnaround. On the way back in, I saw a large truck
approaching from the left at an intersection.
In my race-induced stupor, I wasn't totally aware of what type of truck it was, but I think it was carrying chickens. That makes sense because we were in a rural
area near the poultry capital of Georgia (Gainesville). Anyway, the truck pulled in behind me, following
along at a safe distance for a half mile or so before it turned off. The driver seemed very aware of all of the
racers on both sides of the roads and was quite patient. I am so grateful for his consideration.
I Have
the Power
I’ve just
started using a power meter during races.
I got a Stages power meter, which is in one of my crank arms. I transfer it (or more accurately, my
soigneur Robert transfers it) between my road bike and my TT bike. I used to have a PowerTap, a power meter in
my wheel hub. I could transfer the wheel
between my bikes, which was fine just for training, but I didn’t want the
weight of the PowerTap while racing.
Therefore, I previously relied on heart rate during races.
Robert gave
me some good advice about racing with my power meter. He said to use it primarily as blow-up
prevention; for example, if I were averaging 230 W after 10 minutes, I needed
to back off. I intended to keep my
average around 210 W for the first half of the race and go harder the second
half. This was somewhat of a guess
because I’m new to racing with a power meter.
Also, a race situation inevitably revs up your adrenaline, helping you
put out higher power than in practice (unless you’re an alien and can train as
hard as you race, which is not the case for most people). About ¼ into the race, I was averaging about
220 W and feeling very good. Still, I
knew I needed to rein it in a tad.
The second
half was definitely harder than the first.
My mouth was constantly open in its fly-catching mode as I gulped in as
much air as possible. A few times I felt
kind of barfy. (That means I was doing
it right.) My average power had eased
down to 215 W, and I was determined to keep it there for the remainder of the
race. I did it, but it took all I
had. I knew that the course would take
me right around an hour; in fact, I was thrilled to finish it in just under an
hour, at 59:56. I held 215 W, which by
definition means that that’s my threshold power (what I can hold for an
hour).
Race
Variables
TTs are
different from mass-start races because it’s just you against the clock. There’s no drafting, no team tactics, or
other similar dynamics that affect your performance. If you’ve trained, you pretty much know what
you can do. Even so, I often feel barfy
before a race due to nerves, which is different from feeling barfy during a race
due to all-out effort (see previous paragraph).
Yes, this really is fun! I think.
One thing
that can help during a TT is having a carrot, i.e., seeing someone in front of
you that you try to catch. The carrot
effect was not as pronounced during the state TT because the racers started at
one-minute intervals rather than the more typical 30-second intervals. Still, I did have a couple of carrots,
passing the two people who started before me.
I knew I had a good shot at being on the podium – maybe.
The big
question was who exactly my competition was.
In previous years, state champions have been awarded in each category,
Cat 1 through 4 for women. However, the
Georgia Bicycle Racing Association (GBRA) had talked of combining the women
into two categories for state championships: A (Cat 1 and Cat 2) and B (Cat 3
and Cat 4). This was intended as a cost
saving measure because GBRA would have to purchase fewer state championship jerseys. On the other hand, a few days before the race
I received other information indicating that GBRA would be recognizing state
champions in every category after all.
There were
four Cat 4 women in the race and three Cat 3 women. In the lineup, I started fourth in the Cat
4’s with the three Cat 3’s behind me.
So, having passed the two Cat 4’s in front of me, I knew that I would be
on the podium – at least 2nd place – if it were just Cat 4’s in my
competition. None of the Cat 3’s behind
me passed me, but that was no indication of how I would do in a combined Cat
3/Cat 4 competition. All I could do was
wait for the results…
Results
Separate
awards were, in fact, awarded for Cat 3’s and Cat 4’s. I came in 1st for the Cat
4’s! State champion! Woo hoo!
(By the way, I would have come in 3rd in a combined Cat 3/Cat
4 field). All that training paid
off. It really does feel good to set a
goal, work hard, and achieve it.
 |
| The 3rd place women's Cat 4 finisher left before podiums were announced. |
If you win a
state championship jersey, you get to wear it over the next year until the next
state championship. However, you only
get to wear it during that type of race event; i.e., the road race champ gets
to wear the state jersey in road races over the next year, and the crit champ
gets to wear the state jersey in crits over the next year. The funny thing about the state TT jersey is
that you never get to wear it because serious time trialists wear
tight-fitting, aerodynamic skin suits instead of jerseys. My team, sponsored by the Georgia
Neurosurgical Institute, bought me a state TT championship skin suit after I
won the state TT last year. I have to
admit that in addition to being happy about winning this year’s Cat 4 state TT,
I’m really just as glad that my team doesn’t have to spend the money to buy me
a new (non-championship) skin suit.
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