It was warm and breezy, but not terribly windy. We got there and I did my warm up. I rode on the roads outside the park because I didn't want to interfere with anyone's race. I went to the start about five minutes before my time and they were no where near on time. I turned around and kept spinning for another 15 minutes or so. I went back to the start area and there were still about 12-15 people who needed to start. I should have turned and ridden some more, but I was also nervous about missing my start. I had talked to Eddie and he gave me the insight on the wind (and let me borrow a tt helmet since I forgot mine) since I didn't preview the course.
My start was a little slower than I like. I've felt that way on every tt this year, so it's something I need to focus on more. I got my cadence up and was able to add two gears pretty quickly. I was feeling good through the first three miles until the bend where the wind hit. (Eddie was right on with what he told me). I took a gear off until I got back into the cove where I was able to add it again. I could see back there that the woman who started in front of me had added time between us. I made the turn and saw the girl behind me had made about 10 seconds on me as well. I put my head down and pushed. Once I got past the bend, the wind was almost a direct tail. I was able to add two gears and speed. The toughest part of the course was last mile. There it was a direct headwind. I took off gear to maintain a decent cadence. I finished in about 21:06 for 8.4 miles. Slower than I would have liked. I finished first in Cat 3, but fifth overall. Not a stellar result for me. In hindsight I would say I could have suffered more, especially on the way out. I didn't push as hard as I should have. I also felt like I lost some benefit of my warm up by sitting for as long as I did.
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