My First Time Trial!

I finished class yesterday, ran to Menards to pick up some lumber, got my bike ready, and got ready to head out to the TNT Time Trial out near Maple Plain. I made a small sandwich for an early supper. The frozen piece of bread that I pulled out of the freezer was HORRIBLY freezer burnt - it had ice covering over half of it. Once I toasted it, the icy part was soggy and un-toasted, while the non-icy part had burned:

De-lish!

Pharmie and I headed west, and we met her brother Matt out there (yes, the other half of “Team Happy Pants”). He just got his new aero helmet, so we touched tips:

That’s gay. Our tips are touching.

Then we grabbed another photo:

We were supposed to be showing our bellies...
Matt didn’t get the memo.

We grabbed our stuff and biked out of the park to the start about a half mile away. We warmed up for a while. Matt was the first one to pick up his number, so that meant he was #1. Here he is being held just before his start:

Go!

The course is a lot of rolling hills, but the biggest hill is right at the start. Here’s Matt half way up the hill in the distance, with person #2 getting ready to start the climb:

I was number #41, and being they started every 30 seconds, I had about 20 minutes before my start. I stayed loose and kept riding the small hills out by the park entrance. When I got back to the starting area, I started chatting with this woman. If I remember her number correctly, her name was Bonny (according to the results). I told her it was my first TT, and she gave me all kinds of little pieces of advice: notes about the course, what the turn-around is like, 2 strategies for the hills, all kinds of great info! I LOVE people like that! Thanks Bonny!! She wished me luck, and it was her turn to start.

Here I am clearing my computer, getting close to my start time:

Being held for the start:

“...4, 3, 2, 1, and you’re rolling!..."

I tried to stay easy up that first hill. Overall, I tried to stay easy on the entire way out - I wanted to go hard, but I didn’t want to have to end the TT “limping” to the line. I got a little depressed 4 minutes into my ride: the person who started behind me went FLYING by me when I was only 3:55 into my ride. “Damn. I’m gonna get totally owned tonight...” (Looking at the results later, that guy finished 5th with an average of 26.6 mph.)

• 1/4 done (mile 2.75): 22.3 mph average.

That was good so far. I wanted to pick up the pace by the end, but it was respectable at this point. Nearing the turn-around, I hadn’t been passed again. In fact, I was gaining on someone else. I passed her just before the turn-around. That was all my action for the day: got passed early in my race, and then passed someone about half way in.

• 1/2 done (mile 5.5): 22.3 mph average.

We turned back into the sun, and headed for home. My legs were starting to feel heavy. I only had a little Gatorade left (I started with about 1/3 of a bottle), and my mouth was DRY. I worked my way up and down the hills, and tried to stay consistent.

• 3/4 done (mile 8.25): 22.2 mph average.

Gah! My average dropped by 0.1 mph! I was hurting, but now I just had a few miles of pain left. Time to crank it all home. I saw the final hill coming up. I knew I had to get up that hill, and then crank down the hill on the other side towards the finish line. There was one problem: there was a tractor and baler on the road that I had to pass. As I was cranking up that last hill (at a solid 22.5 mph!), I had to swing wide and pass an old tractor and baler. The tractor was “running a little rich” as Matt would say, meaning it was spewing out the exhaust. That was a fun little job. I got around the baler, up the rest of the hill, and pushed my way home.

Matt had finished 20 minutes earlier. I said “hi” to him on my way out as he was headed back in, and he looked like he was working. Here he is coming to the finish with a 23.44 mph average:

I hit 34.8 mph down that last hill, meaning I might have saved a little too much for the end. Pharmie heard a funny noise just before I finished. As I got closer to her, she realized that the noise was my breathing! Over that last mile, it was like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the world for me!

I came rolling through the finish line with a 22.6 mph average.

Official Results:
Time: 29:17.07 (14:49 out, 14:27 back)
Speed: 22.54 mph
Place: 46 out of 65

This was Matt’s 4th TT, and he’s been getting better and better. Last night, he finished 36th with a 23.44 mph average. Nice!

I pulled up next to Matt, and we talked about the hellish ride:

And then that damn baler came by:

I smiled as it drove past:

Settle down: that’s just my water bottle...

Matt and I rode off into the sunset together:

And a big thanks to Pharmie for coming to check out the TT and taking all those photos!! Thanks Hun!

We match everywhere we go. Gross.

So, overall, it was a pain-fest. Going into it, I figured it’d hurt like a 5K. But actually, I think racing a 5K hurts a little more. I think I could have pushed a little harder in the middle of the ride, so I’ll try that next time. I wouldn’t mind doing a few of these a year.

Well, I’m off to teach class. Then I think I have a date with the pool! Happy Hump Day!