Phoenix, AZ — First stage race of the year and I’m glad it’s starting out with the time trial. Since we had a minivan, Laura and Trish joined us which saved them from renting a car. My field was one of the earlier fields to go off, but they didn’t mind hanging around the TT venue until the women’s field went off later in the day. We stopped to pick up a trainer on the way out. Last time were were in Phoenix, I had met Charlie from the Brumby’s club. He put me on the mailing list and I have become sort of an “adopted” member. When I mentioned I needed a trainer for the weekend, Sterling, head Brumby, hooked me up with a couple who lent me one of theirs. In their neighborhood, we got a kick that they didn’t have speed bumps, they had “Speed Humps”!
Driving down was fun. Both Laura and Trish are a hoot. We talked about time trialing and I gave my thoughts on how to pace for a TT and stressed not going out too hard. There wasn’t too much traffic on the way out and we had time to make a pitstop on the west outskirts of Phoenix. Then we continued to Buckeye, where the TT course was. It was really dusty out today from the windstorm they had on Wednesday.
When we got to the course, there were already a lot of cars there. The first riders started at 9:00 AM. Luckily, we found a parking spot pretty close to the registration tent and starting area. The day was overcast with a slight west wind. I setup my road bike on the trainer to warmup. I got a good warmup and my pushes felt pretty good, although they didn’t feel as good as yesterday’s ride. My heart rate was a little high this morning so I think I was feeling the travel a little bit.
I rode over to the staging area and got in line for my start. Ted was there for encouragement. Once I was up on the ramp, I felt anxious, but not overly so. I sprinted down the ramp and for 30-40 meters, then briefly sat down, shifted to a bigger gear, then stood up again. I probably sprinted too hard but it was hard to judge being the first TT of the year. I got into the aerobars and then started to push. I felt like I was going into oxygen debt and realized that I went out too hard, so I eased up. So much for my lecture about not starting out too hard!?
It took me a mile or two before I felt like I finally got my heart rate below threshold, but when I finally did I started to feel better. My legs burned, but it felt like I could keep that pace indefinitely. The course is pretty much flat, but it’s deceiving — there are some very slight rollers that make it look like you’re always climbing a slight grade. I couldn’t tell whether I had more of a tail- or head-wind, but I figured I’d go out at a steady effort level.
Even though I didn’t have a speedometer, the bike felt fast. It was so nice to be riding the time trial bike without the PowerCranks, it actually felt comfortable. I got to the turnaround and made a pretty good turn. I was more conservative accelerating out of the turnaround than at the start and eased back into my pace. At this point there were a few riders just ahead of me, including my 30 second guy. Even though my legs were burning, I felt like I was still at a good pace. I passed a couple riders, and was about to pass my 30-second guy. At this point we were approaching a bunch of cones that were forcing traffic to the left lane. Then there was an officer and his car in the right lane. I thought the cones were marking the course for the riders, so I started heading towards the left lane, but at the last minute I realized they wanted me to go to the shoulder. At this point I was just about to overtake my 30-second guy and I had to sprint slightly to pass him and weave my way through the cones towards the shoulder. I’m sure the cop and the course marshal were wondering what the heck I was doing! I also probably gave the guy I passed a nice draft!
After that little incident, I continued to plug along. I wasn’t sure how much more I had to go, there weren’t many landmarks out in the middle of nowhere. Then I saw the 1 KM to go sign and I started to really push it. I shifted down and gave it my all. I almost shifted up after 300 meters, but I persevered and ground it out straight over the line. I felt like I gave it my all…I was totally spent when I came across the line. Between Ted’s timing and my timing we both figured I was around 32:10. Ted said he timed some other riders and said that my time was pretty good. I then went back to the trainer for a quick cool-down. I ate some food then helped Ted and the girls with their bikes and setup.
Betsy showed up at the same time another car was going to park in the spot we were saving for her. The girls and the guy who wanted the spot had a little exchange of words but we ended up backing down. The car to the east of us was leaving anyway so we didn’t care. It’s amazing how racer’s will get peeved at even small things like a parking spot (that we’d been using for the last 2 hours!).
I went over with Ted for his ride and cheered him on. I hung out there watching riders go out and come back and waited for Ted to come in. When he did I checked the time and it seemed like he had an OK ride, but not great. He was a little disappointed but felt like he did the best he could. Then going back to the car I noticed they already had results posted. I checked the Masters 35+ results and my time of 32:09 was good for 6th. It was also less than a minute off the winning time. I was hoping for a little better, but not too bad for February and only having completed Base training.
Ted and I helped the girls get ready and race. It was a good thing we stuck around because there was no way they’d fit all the bikes and stuff in Betsy’s sporty little car. Once they were done we packed some stuff and then Ted and I headed home. There was a lot of traffic on the way home. We tried to find alternate routes but ended up in even slower traffic on the surface streets. Since we were in the area, we decided to go up to Main St in Mesa and go by the Mesa Temple. We even stopped to take some pictures to prove it. By the time we got home the girls were already there. They had been waiting for us since we had the key!