Racing What's Up

I've completed two races recently. One was Beat the Clock at the track - a tune up race for Masters' States next week. The other was the Benecia TT.


Beat the Clock TT


I decided to do the 1km and 2km only this year, so as to really focus on my distance, and not pound my body into the ground too much. So, I showed up a bit late and did my warmup on the trainer. The 1km was up first. I started on the back stretch. The holder and I were not getting along. He would not hold me how I asked and then told me to relax....but I wasn't comfortable, so how can I relax? Anyway, I finally got off and had a good, hard effort - a nice warmup for the 2km. I only finished a couple seconds faster than last year at this distance.

The next race was the 2km. I was on the front stretch this time, and had a good holder. I had a much better start. I floated right and got my efforts in the right places. The only problem was that I did 7 laps instead of 6, because they messed up the lap cards. And, when you're that blown, you can't really remember if you heard the final lap bell, or if that was just ringing in your head....Anyway, I finished 12 seconds better than the prior year, and 7 seconds faster than my time from States last year. So, great progress at the 2km distance!


Benecia TT

The Benecia TT was on my birthday - what better way to earn a fancy birthday dinner? We went out in the morning. It was cold! It was quite foggy with winds around 20-30 steady and gustier than that at times. Fortunately, the clouds broke up a bit during my warmup, so I wasn't under-dressed for the rest of the day.

I was the first to start in the W35+, so the rabbit for everyone else. I had a great start and was cruising...holding some back for the return trip. The only issue was that any time I came around a bend and the wind shifted from side to quartering, it was difficult to keep my bike in a straight line. The descents were terrifying. I think I spent most of this race not in the aero position. The good news is that I made it almost to the turnaround at mile 6 before Maryann L. caught me. She is the national record holder for 50+ this year. I thought for sure she would catch me within 5 minutes. So, it was a small victory! In the end, I finished 50 seconds slower than last year (not a surprise given the winds and my upright positioning). I think in the future, I will choose to go Merckxx in this race if it is that windy! I did finish in the money with a $10 prize. Woot!