Tested By Time

Today was my first time trial since the one I did in Connecticut in the early 80's.  I think that's over 30 years ago in fact! 

What can one say about a time trial?  You can go to the park and do a TT and give it your all for 30 minutes or an hour and get a pretty good feeling for how tough this can be. Put your head down and try this.  Make sure that your heart rate is at the 80%+ level for the duration as well.    However, in a real race situation, you will find out even more about yourself. 

So here I was in Atlit today getting ready to race.  I was in the the Master's group with 14 other people, and the top riders all had bikes dedicated to Time Trials.  When I say dedicated, I mean they had bike profiles built for this that have different configurations from the typical road bike.  Some have disc wheels or tri-wheels and almost all have specialized bars which allow the rider to assume a low and aerodynamic profile. 

On the other hand, I had my road bike, though I now have a pretty good set of wheels that are also very fast.  I can stay low on my drops as well, though I am sure my open position allows more wind resistance.  I did have a skin tight Nike shirt on, though it made me look a bit like a rugby player! 

We also had a group of riders from our team who were participating.  A few had never entered such a contest, and talk about guts, to jump in and do such an event the first time is a very brave thing that one can do.  I am so very impressed with our group and all of us ended up doing well.

But back to the start.  I decided to start from the ramp and locked my feet into the clips while they held me and began the countdown.  I looked down and having never gone down such a ramp, imagined myself veering to the left and crashing.  Well, I did do one of the two and veered left, quickly pulled my foot out, stepped on the ground at the bottom of the ramp and had to start from there.  That cost a good 10+ seconds, but it ended up not really phasing me which surprises me. 

The first 10KM were pushed along with a great tailwind.  I did not think it was such a strong tailwind and attributed my ability to maintain my speed well above 40KPH to being fast.  WRONG!  Though I did not get passed in the first 10K, I did get passed after the turn around.  And what a bad turn around. I actually slowed down for I could not figure out if this was the right place for the guy sat in a chair and made no motion to me.  Jerk! 

When this guy passed me, I kind of felt a bit of a let down.  No, I didn't slow down, but it kind of got to me.  On an ensuing uphill, I pulled back up to him and realized that if we were in MY element, hills, I would most likely blow him away.  However, we were in his element and HE blew me away once the road straightened out again.  Good for him and his cute little aero bars and dimpled aero helmet.  Ha, ha!

The wind coming back, oh it really was a wind, was substantial.  I was able to fight back for the most part, but my speed over the last few kilometers had decreased.  However, I was not alone and all of us were taking a beating in the wind. 

At the end of the race, I was a bit blocked out by some wheelchair racers and had to slow just a bit at the finish line, more than I really wanted to I suppose.  I pushed as hard as I could and felt that at this point, that was about the best I could give.  And isn't that the point in such an event.  You should have emptied the tank almost completely as you cross the line. 

My time, 32 minutes and 40 seconds did not compare to the winning time of 30 minutes and 10 seconds.  My seventh place finish is certainly not something to write home about.  However, I did manage, from what I could tell, to finish first amongst those who were not on a time trial bike which gave me a bit of a lift. 

I still feel that I can improve before the National Championships, but no matter what I do, I can't compete with those on these specialized bikes.  I think in a race like this, they are worth (with the helmet and other accouterments) perhaps two or more minutes.  I would have to start using drugs (never will of course) and be towed by a husky to have a chance against these guys.  But G-d willing, in three-weeks time I will do another TT and of course, will give it my best.  We are all tested by time in our daily lives, but then this test of time was a choice.  My hat is off to all the participants today.  I am so honored to have been a part of this event!