Wanted: 34 seconds. . . .

Sunday’s Church Creek Fall TT (9/9/07) was a bittersweet event for me. On the "sweet" side, I rode a personal best time of 1 hour, 34 seconds, good enough for 4th in the Cat IV field. My time would have placed me in the top 10 in the Masters 40+ and Cat IIIs as well. Because I started near the end of the Cat IV field, I had the pleasure and motivation of passing at least 6 guys during the race.

Other good things included Jean’s excellent second place ride in the Women’s IV field (netting her a silver medal and her first cash winnings), as well as our decision to stay in a fantastic local B&B in Cambridge the night before. The Mill Street Inn was conveniently located less than 5 miles away from Church Creek and its hosts were gracious enough to allow us to return to the Inn after the race for a shower and a late brunch before heading back to Arlington.

On the bitter side, I fell 34 seconds short of my personal goal of breaking the hour for a 40k TT. My failure was not due to equipment (I was riding a new TT bike and was sporting the new Giro Advantage TT helmet) nor to conditions (winds were a modest ESE at 5-7mph), but predominately due to poor pacing. In short, I went out way too fast. I averaged 305 watts for the first 20 minutes and was on a 56 minute pace for the first 10k. At 20k my wattage had dropped, but a tailwind kept my speed up and I was still on pace for 56 or 57 minutes. But everything fell apart between 20k and 30k. I had been consistently seeing 25 and 26mph on the PowerTap until the 20k mark, when I started seeing 23 and 24mph on a regular basis. The legs were fat, my saddle was hurting me, and I could not find a comfortable gear. I got back some speed a couple of times as I hunted down and passed riders, but I struggled throughout this section. I managed to pick it up a little in the final 5k, but by then the damage was done and I fell short of my goal.

So, where can I find that missing 34 seconds? Or better yet, where can I find another 2 minutes and 34 seconds? I realistically think I can ride under 58 minutes at Church Creek given my functional threshold power. After thinking about it, I can see three areas that need improvement (other than my functional threshold power, which I’ll always be working to improve). First, spend more time in the TT position. By getting used to the position and the bike, I’ll be able to consistently generate power similar to what I can do on my road bike and I won’t be distracted by the pain of being the TT position. Second, work on improving aerodynamics, both in terms of body position and equipment. Finally, work on pacing. I need to consciously hold back during the first half of the race. This is tough to do, even with a power meter, because you’re feeling great and the adrenaline is running high. But you can use the power meter to set a "ceiling" in the first 5k that will prevent you from burning through your matches in the first half of the race. I purposefully allowed myself a few watts over my threshold in the first 1/3 of the race because I riding into a headwind, but even given that, I think I overdid it.

It’s only a matter of time before I get that "hour" monkey off my back!