MDcatV

Since I put this out there, I thought I'd just reply to it. As stated, it's a flat 40K TT on the eastern shore of Maryland. The typical course is a help wind for about 20K to 25K then a hurt wind for the next 20K to 15K, with hardest headwind being last 10K dead into it. I've been practicing on my TT bike much more than prior years and was pretty comfortable in what I could do. My goal was to be in the 56 minute marker. Got there in plenty of time, warmed up like I typically do, mostly ez spinning with a few efforts to get the heart pumping and roll to the start line.

Bobby the bullet Phillips was the holder at the start. Always nice to see Bobby. I am not a big fan of being held at the start, trust issues I guess and I always feel like I'm going to get dropped, but I didnt, so all good.

Countdown, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and go! I got up to speed quickly and settled in, focusing on not starting too hard and keeping wattage in low threshold range. I noticed in that range, my speed was a little less than I'd expected, and forced myself to forget about it, focus on the Ws and the Ss would take care of themselves. The first turn is about 4 or 5K in, and approaching it, I noticed that the guy 30" behind me was on me. I know him, and respect his ability, but didnt expect to see him on me at all, let alone that quickly. I railed the turn in the saddle without stopping pedaling and kept it going. Guy behind me passed me a few minutes later. It took some mental fortitude to not panic and said to myself, this is an ITT, if you get caught up in chasing or negative thoughts, you'll blow. So I just kept with my pacing strategy. A few minutes later a nat champ TT guy came flying by. He's a former teammate of mine and is a TT specialist. Rock on brotha!

So, I'm pacing it, and rolling along, which is kind of what you do in a TT. The guy who passed me was continuously about 100M or less in front of me. I didnt want to pick up a draft from him due to a) it would falsify my time; b) it's cheating and could get a DQ, which would be really embarrassing, but I didnt want to blow past him and mess up my pacing. So, if he went to the mid of the road, i'd go to the side, etc. At about 20K I was at 28 minutes and change. Quick math, I have a chance at 56 mins., how many seconds was it in the 28 minute? damn, I dont remember, OK, just keep pedaling!

I started upping my pace and realized I was gaining on guy in front of me, then at 25K or so, I passed him and then another guy, then some people that I'm not sure if they were TTing or riding, if they were really even there or just my imagination. no matter.

I made the final turn onto the head wind section and knew this was going to be the slowest leg of the course but I needed to slice it to get to my goal time. I started having conversations with myself. "turn a bigger gear, no higher cadence, no just go with what feels better, stay aero, no go with what's faster, no go with whats higher wattage, does that truck have truck nuts on it?, rumble strip ouch that hurt, stay aero, pedal harder, smooth, wiggle your jaw, relax, rumble strip ouch that hurt, 5K to go, keep your head down, 3K to go I dont think I'm going to finish, 2K to go, harder, bury it, I must have missed the 1K sign, ****, there it is, 1K to go, where is the goddam finish line, harder!, 500M seriously?, harder, there's the finish, sprint!!!!!!, and I rolled across in what was 57:19 on my computer, but 57:22 on the official timing.

So, I missed my target, but I was 12W higher AP than last year, 36 seconds faster than last year, and paced it perfectly with my max 1' being my last minute, etc. all the way to max 30" which were at the start.

pedaled back to the reg area with some others who thought it was a slow day, and some who thought it was a fast day, etc. results posted, and they have me listed as 4th in the 35+ list. What? OK, so there were only 13 finishers and my former teammate who passed me DNFd somehow. 1 spot from the podium, but 2 minutes and 2 seconds away, so not very close.

Highlight of the day was the crab cake sandwich I had at a place called the Suicide Bridge Restaurant, best ever!

Then lowlight was the 4 hours it took me to get home due to a nasty crash on the chesapeake bay bridge that had beach traffic backed up for miles and miles.

That's a lot of words for an ITT!

edit: best time of the day was 49:29. for 40K. that's over 30 mph. that's fast. and non-masters age poster @echappist put down a 56:26 on the day :-).