It seems like the days have been flying by without a run. The multisport lifestyle is so tough when you are not a morning person. Sure I can get up at 4am to head to a race, but I can’t make it up at 6 to train. At least not a regular basis. So today started off with a lunch time run of 4.5 miles. It was sunny for a change. The last few days have been nothing but clouds and rain.
My entire run I was thinking about the time trial after work. I had a pretty good time a few weeks ago, and with all the rain lately, I seem to be having an off week.
After work I headed out to New City. The parking lot was bare, but I saw Jason’s truck on the side of the road. The clouds were rolling in again, after a long sunny day. The wind on the other hand seemed to be dying down.
I pulled the bike out of jeep and mounted my profile water bottle. The humidity was rather high, and I figured I could use plenty of water for the short 11 mile ride. There is something about being able to take a drink of water at will, and wetting a dry mouth. You never have to leave your aero position and lose precious seconds. I love my profile water bottle.
Another great turn out. I lined up towards the back. The person in front of me…. Andy Lister. Talk about a carrot… And not only was it Andy Lister, but Andy Lister on a time trial bike. I did not have a chance in hell of catching him. Behind me was Dan Dungan. He might be my new Nemesis! I asked Dan why no one told me to wear my wind shoe covers. (Dan had a pair on) Every second counts in a time trial, as he joked about my velcro straps flapping in the wind. I think he was just trying to sike me out.
My turn came and I went out fairly strong. I figured I could do around 27-28 on the way out. Or at least that is how it felt during warm up. It was hard. I am not sure what I was thinking. But no one was passing me yet, and all 5 of the big wigs were behind me.
The turn around came and Andy had gained a ton of ground on me. I could see Betty Chesser, but she was riding strong too. I worked my way up to Jeff NIL8 Williams and just then, Justin zoomed by me. He was flying. I tried to dig a little deeper and speed up, but I could only hold that pace for a short time. Shortly after that, about a mile from the finish it was Robo’s turn. He came flying by, and once again I tried to pick up the pace to the finish. 28 mph into the wind was just a little too much for my legs. I could feel the cramps setting in and I think I was going cross eyed from staring at my front wheel.
I had written my previous time of 25:41 on my hand to motivate myself at the finish to keep pushing it. I ran accross the line in 25:26. 15 seconds off my previous effort. I felt pretty good about that time.
By the time I cooled down and changed and put the bike in the car the results were in. 6th place for the night, not bad, but I ended up 1 frickn’ second behind Dungan! 1 second??? I could only think about the shoe wind covers, or maybe it was when I took a second to lift my visor to wipe my brow…
It was a good night. Check out all the results here.
