Thursday, September 10, 2009

All the things I didnt do...

After the TOTV stage race I had planned a full test program to dial in my new position tht I pretty much established after riding Sam Brodes' bike after the State TT. Once I get the TT bike to a certain set-up in the winter or early spring I dont touch it. No mid season tweaking. But this year I wanted to dial it in for the fall Presque Isle TT. Which I am not doing this fall sadly.

So what have I come up since July 10th? Absolutely nothing!! The bike literally hung from the work stand in the basement since the TOTV prologue. I went from riding it every single week to abandoning it. I also had not done a single Jim Behren Leroy Township TT this year.

So tonight my college class was cancelled and I had all of the reading and assignments done so I treated myself to some fun. But I kept this bad attitude about it instead of being excited. It was all confirmed when I started riding. Riding at threshold in the TT position felt all wrong and I didnt feel very fast at all. So I kept riding short LT intervals till I started to feel better. With every interval it started to feel more normal. I figured I'd go about 26mph on the out and with any luck 28 to 30 on the way in on the flats by what I did in warm-up.

So I line up and I go first and as soon as I clear the first rise I am up to 29mph and hold it for awhile!! Over 3mph faster than what i could hold in warm-up at my LT wattage. In the race I dont have wattage so its that "on the clock" rush!! I was LOVING it. Fly through the corner and to the first rise and then try and hold speed up the climb, but drop down to 14mph. Drill it to the turnaround in 9:14 and down the hill. I make the corner, sprint up to 27 and then go from 32 to 26 at the first false flat to 29 to 30 all the way in and cross the line at 36mph!! I only average 24.9 to the turnaround tonight (too slow from corner to turn around is my guess) and 30.1mph from turn around to finish line. Much better and so much fun to travel under your own power at that speed. Really a big rush.

I am convinced I am on a PR!! Leroy makes you think that because it has these great fast sections. But youve got to be good after the corner to get a 16 minute run. SO I go 17:06. Its only disappointing because in 2007 I went 16:52 on my first or second try on the course. But considering how things have been lately I'll take it and I felt great during the TT!! And thats whats really important right now. To enjoy every ride.

As for testing and tweaking? Well I am all charged up again. I know exactlyu the changes I want to make, but I think the poor bikes gonna be stuck in the trainer for a few months now!! At least I have the Computrainer to keep me company. A good two day block of training (the first in a long time) just in time for the first cyclocross race this Sunday.

1 comment:

Jim said...

Can you set up the TT course on the CT? If so, you could get really tired of it by next spring!