I raced in the Church Creek 40k Time Trial (TT) on Saturday then did the 56-mile bike leg of Eagleman for the She Does Tri relay team on Sunday.
I wanted to baseline my bike fitness so that I can answer this single question: “Is my fitness ‘good enough’ for me to be ready to compete in Vineman Full (Ironman distance) on August 1?”
My results from the weekend:
The short answer is “Yes.” My baseline fitness is good enough to begin an Ironman build 6 weeks before the race. My Vineman application is in the mail.
The TT took place on the back half of the Eagleman course and was completely flat although windy. This race was the first time I’ve ever competed in a pure cycling event. Riders started one at a time every 30 seconds. My 30 second man (30 sec behind me) caught me about 8.5 minutes into the race and my 60 second man caught me at about the halfway point. I raced as hard as I could, keeping my heart rate in the low 170′s bpm through the first half of the race then working it up to low 180′s by the finish.
My assessment: Not bad. Although I have been riding consistently, I have not been doing any time trial efforts would are necessary and specific to a time trial race.
As a relay team we started in the very last wave. The pro athletes in wave 1 started at 6:40 AM – we started almost 1.5 hours later at 8:08 AM.
I easily passed 500 athletes on the bike. On the one hand, I always had someone in front of me to chase down and pass. On the other hand, I had to navigate through small groups and deal with blocking through the bike leg.
My assessment: I felt strong. My effort was steady and I went as hard as I could. Without the other athletes to navigate through and around, I might have gone a few minutes faster. Like the TT, I had not been doing works specific to this effort so I would expect to be faster with more specific time trial effort training.
David
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David B. Glover
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
© 2009 David B. Glover
Whether you're training to win a triathlon, training to finish or just need inspiration from my life journey as a cancer survivor, Navy officer and sub-nine hour Ironman triathlete, my book will inspire you to chase your dreams and live life richly and boldly.