Time trial
Today's long ride was a 40 km time trial. I've never been timed over more than 20 km or so, so this was something new for me. The course was mainly flat, but there were a couple of annoying hills and a bit of an incline at one point (but we got to go down that in the other direction). There were also three turn-around points and the possibility of having to wait for cars to pass first, which I did at one turn-around. There is generally a lot of wind on this course and today was no exception. I was aiming for under 1:30, which may seem slow to a lot of people, but my best-ever time for 20 km on a flat, easy course was 44:04, so 1:30 on a more difficult course that was twice as long was a reasonable goal.
We started at 30 second intervals. Since I was the slowest person doing 40 km (the people slower than me were all doing 20 km), I started first. That way, the team wouldn't have to wait too long for me to finish. I managed to ride about 6 km before the first rider passed me -- one of the kids on the varsity team. A few more kids passed me after that, but it took about 15 or 16 km before the first adult passed me.
It was a bit tiring, but not too bad. At one point, when I felt like I'd had enough, I came up with a brilliant idea: I told myself, "You'll finish sooner if you ride faster." Hmm... Wonder why I'd never thought of that before! What an original idea. And what strange things the brain comes up with when it's deprived of oxygen!
At the second turn-around, I thought I was last, so I was surprised to see one of my teammates still behind me as I rode back in the other direction. I actually managed to keep him behind me for the entire ride and when we finished, he came up to me, patted me on the back and told me he'd spent 10 km chasing me like a mad man, but he couldn't catch up. He finished faster than I did (he started four and a half minutes after me), but not by a whole lot. The course turned out to be 39.5 km rather than 40. My time? 1:24:51. That's an average of just about 28 kph, which is faster than I did in any race last year, despite the fact that I rode several courses that were much easier than today's.
So I achieved my goal and actually bettered my 20 km time on a 40 km course. But the highlight of my day came later on at the pool. I met the kid on the varsity team who had been the first one to pass me. He also happens to be a private student of mine. His first comment to me was that when he'd passed me, I hadn't been riding slowly at all. And then he said, "Yigal [the coach] said that your cycling has improved incredibly." I plan for it to improve even more.
We started at 30 second intervals. Since I was the slowest person doing 40 km (the people slower than me were all doing 20 km), I started first. That way, the team wouldn't have to wait too long for me to finish. I managed to ride about 6 km before the first rider passed me -- one of the kids on the varsity team. A few more kids passed me after that, but it took about 15 or 16 km before the first adult passed me.
It was a bit tiring, but not too bad. At one point, when I felt like I'd had enough, I came up with a brilliant idea: I told myself, "You'll finish sooner if you ride faster." Hmm... Wonder why I'd never thought of that before! What an original idea. And what strange things the brain comes up with when it's deprived of oxygen!
At the second turn-around, I thought I was last, so I was surprised to see one of my teammates still behind me as I rode back in the other direction. I actually managed to keep him behind me for the entire ride and when we finished, he came up to me, patted me on the back and told me he'd spent 10 km chasing me like a mad man, but he couldn't catch up. He finished faster than I did (he started four and a half minutes after me), but not by a whole lot. The course turned out to be 39.5 km rather than 40. My time? 1:24:51. That's an average of just about 28 kph, which is faster than I did in any race last year, despite the fact that I rode several courses that were much easier than today's.
So I achieved my goal and actually bettered my 20 km time on a 40 km course. But the highlight of my day came later on at the pool. I met the kid on the varsity team who had been the first one to pass me. He also happens to be a private student of mine. His first comment to me was that when he'd passed me, I hadn't been riding slowly at all. And then he said, "Yigal [the coach] said that your cycling has improved incredibly." I plan for it to improve even more.
posted by bari | 16:31
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