Carolina Cycling Time Trial 7.7.10 Recap

Going into last night I didn't have high expectations for doing well. The temperature was in the upper 90s. I was feeling pretty tired from the training miles and oh, yeah, my cracked ribs and abrasions were still hurting from my bike accident. How could it forget those? LOL.

Usually, I like to arrive early to bank some extra miles on track before the TT starts, but last night I opted to arrive later and just do a small warm up.

After about 7 miles, I rolled over to the starting area. My starting time was 7:33 pm. The yellow group was pretty much out of on the track so I was able to roll right up to the starting blocks.

A quick count down was given to me, and I was off.

The legs felt heavy and tired. I tried finding the right gear to help smooth out the effort, but nothing seemed to be helping.

A quick check of my Garmin at 5 miles told me that I was running a little slower than my PR. My legs continued to feel stiff, heavy, and tired, but I was at least starting to feel like I was finding my rhythm. My avg. mph. started to climb to 24.1 and then 24.2.

Coming around for the final mile, I thought I might just be close enough for a run at my PR so I started shifting down through the gears. My last mile was covered in 2:19 at 25+ mph.

Crossing the finish line I stopped my Garmin and looked at the elapse time. 24:45 for 10 miles which was a PR by 7 seconds. If I hadn't pushed hard the last mile, I would have ridden pretty my PR time.

Considering everything that has happened especially in the last week, I couldn't imagine coming out and riding a new PR.

My breathing was labored the entire time and my ribs hurt with every bump in the road. Thinking back to previous rides, I don't remember the speedway having that many bumps. But then, I was probably a little sensitive and much more aware of the bumps last night than on previous nights.

I finished off the evening with a few more cool down miles. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to watch any of the other riders. By going off late and then doing a warm down ride, everyone was finishing up and starting to head out.

In hindsight, I have to say that these Group Rides are starting to have an effect on me. I walked away feeling that I hadn't give my max effort but still came away with a PR. I just have to get these ribs healed so I can use both lungs instead of one. LOL

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Rider