I got out to the Chesterifeld bottoms and got my number and chip. I went back to the car to pin on and get the bike ready and guess I spent a little too much time kitbitzing because all of a sudden it was 25 minutes to my race time. I headed out for a warm up and made sure I got my heart rate a bit agitated before heading to the line. There was a ghost rider in front of me, so I chatted with Aero. I really think he would have talked me up past my start time if I hadn't asked about a holder. It was like a light came on and he realized I had to race. I rolled up to the actual line and the holder grabbed me with 30 seconds to go. I clipped in and back pedaled to get a good start position and my chain dropped. I stayed calm, hopped off and got it back on. 10 seconds to go. I couldn't get my left foot back in my pedal. Come on, come on, come on. Buddy started counting me down from 10. I got the go sign and took off. I fumbled, fumbled, fumbled to get in my pedal. I rolled off the start mat and tried to take off without being clicked in. Finally I felt it lock. I imagine my mistake cost me about 8-10 seconds, though it felt so much longer. I stood up and gave it all I could. I got my speed up and dropped in to my bars. My heart rate was over 170 at that point. With some self-talk and controlled breathing, I got it down to about 168. I felt comfortable in my gear and got settled in on the bike.
I rolled down the straight away and into the trees. The railroad tracks would be coming up soon. I knew from last year that the railroad tracks should be covered. I hit them doing about 22mph and heard a clunk and hit something. There went my water bottle. The mat wasn't as plush as last year. I kept going, debating if I should tell a volunteer, but didn't know how to yell it out for them to understand me in such a quick pass. I made the short turn/jog in the road and prepared for the small risers. The course appears to be flat, but in actuality, it climbs oh-so-gradually. I concentrated on my cadence and focused on breathing through the lactic build up. When I started seeing the racers who started in front of me coming back, it gave me a mental boost.
I got passed about 14 minutes into the race, just before the 500 meters to turn sign. I made the turn easily, stood up, added gear and took off. It was nice to have the gradual downhill and tailwind. At some point I was rolling between 27 and 28 mph. I was about 8 miles in when a dump truck turned in front of me. There was a recreational rider in front of him and I assume the narrow roads made him too skiddish to pass her. I knew I was closing in on him and would have to cross the yellow line to pass. As I got up on him, I made sure it was clear and turned it on as fast as I could to get by. I used that momentum to keep myself going. I went around the jog in the road and headed to the tracks. Yep, my bottle was still there in the middle of the road. (This is the 4th race this year where I've dropped a bottle out of the cage...first time on the tt bike). After the tracks, I added gear. I felt good and wanted to finish strong. At the 1000, 500, and 250 meter mark, I added gear. My finish was strong, although I'm not quite sure which line was the finish.
I had hoped to break 30 minutes on this race, but realized after seeing everyone else's time that may have been an unrealistic goal. Overall, I'm pleased with the results, the improvement and the recovery from the fumbled start. I was over two minutes quicker than last year and six places higher.
Photos are at: http://www.timlaytonphotography.com/wwcentaurtt #5, #23, #29, #41, #116(the ones with my skinsuit unzipped are when I was retrieving the wayward bottle!)
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