Heather & Uhl Albert: Jason Broome TT

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Today was the first race of the George's Spring Series and it was the Jason Broome Time Trial. I didn't get my TT bike together until last night because I was waiting on new headset bearings so without much time on the bike, I knew I wouldn't generate as much power as on my road bike. But I didn't think it would be 40 watts different!

The first start time was delayed due to some registration issues. The worst part was the cold wind, so after waiting in the long registration line for ten minutes, I decided to go back to my warm car and return when the line was almost done. Once registered we learned that start times were significantly further out than previously sheduled so we had a lot of time to kill. It gave a good opportunity to chat with fellow teammates and friends. Fortunately I didn't have any commitments or a need to get the car back to Heather so I wasn't riled by the delay.

The course was the same as last year with a 1km downhill followed by straight flat section with one turn towards the south. The wind was steady at probably 25 MPH and it was cold! I "warmed-up" on the trainer and did a 15-minute LT push. I didn't try to kill myself on it but it hurt more than it should have. I should have taken this as a warning sign.

I used the PowerTap on my time trial bike today and was really looking forward to using it for pacing purposes. I started out well and wanted to keep it at 290 watts for the first 4 minutes or so. That worked out close to plan but after that it became harder and harder to keep that wattage. This was frustrating because during last week's team ride I was able to 20 minutes at 325 watts! There were a lot of factors at play here and I was using this just as training, so I didn't worry about it too much. As I turned south into the crosswind I was really strugging and I basically put it in survival mode.

So I stopped looking at my PowerTap and started thinking about other things like the feeling of my riding with my mouth open into a cold wind. It felt like it did when I was a little kid in a snowstorm and I'd open my mouth to catch the snowflakes on my tongue! I also accepted the fact that I'd be passed shortly as I could tell during the turn-around it was inevitable. I knew Remi, who started a minute back, was going to pass me so I stayed to the right of the road so maybe I'd gain some benefit from his draft as he rode by. Well, all of a sudden I hear sand/gravel grinding and there goes Remi on the inside! Pretty sneaky! I also got passed by Eric R. and he was just motoring. I tried to pick it up on the hill but didn't have anything left by then.

My pacing wasn't that great due to my overestimation of my target wattage in my TT position. Obviously, I should have been training on my TT bike...I think the last time I rode it was last May! But that wasn't an option. I do like the fact that the Spring Series starts out with a time trial. It seems to diffuse people's nervous energy which usually translates into crashes when the first race of the year is a mass-start event. This way rider's will be a bit more relaxed for the Slammer road race in a couple weeks.

So it was a learning experience and by the end of the day it made for some great bitch-n-moan material for our LRC elite team meeting we had this evening. Todd did a great job providing some tasty treats as we talked about team plans for the season. I think we have a great bunch of riders and when we're all fit by early summer, I think we can get some results. For now, it'll be a matter of playing off of Bob's and Bode.