I have to work this weekend so I tried to squeeze in as much training as I could this week. Today I rode over to a neighbor called "Stonebridge" near Ann Arbor airport. This a great locale for TT efforts. It is a circular drive that is extremely quiet. The course is 2.4 miles long with only two stop signs. My goal for today was to put in a 40K effort to (1) gauge my fitness on that distance, and, (2) get a good muscular endurance workout.
I did this with a complete road configuration, (no aero kit, bars, etc.) To complete the distance I needed to complete 10.2 laps. The first lap I held back a bit and turned in a 5:50 which seemed good but it would be the fastest lap overall which was not to my liking. The next 6 laps I turned in 6:00. From here on I lost a few seconds each lap. The wind started picking up and that might have had some effect because I was really trying to work harder as the laps piled up.
At the end, I had put in a 1:02:35. This didn't make me happy but as I rode home I reasoned things out a bit and there is cause for hope. First, I rode 70 hard miles yesterday in the heat. That fact cost me a few seconds, maybe even a few minutes. Second, not having an aero kit cost me at least a minute or more. Third, not riding in a formal race cost me a few more seconds. At the end I wasn't as spent as I should have been. Tired yes but not competition TT tired. All of this buoyed me some and give me cause to think my goal for the Wolverine TT is attainable.
Today I rode an average of 24.2 mph. To get myself under 60 minutes, I will have to ride 25.o mph or faster. Can I do this? I think I can. Just a .8 mph increase in average speed is all it will take to close 2 minutes over that distance.
You might not hear from me for a couple of days. If I can, I'll try and write something Saturday but Sunday will be a non-blog day for sure. I will be traveling all day long, (from 2am to 6pm EDT).
Best of luck to everyone doing Allen Park. Watch those SLC boys in the vomit colored kits! No question in my mind, they are the class of the cat three field. Rip 'em up boys!!
Friday, June 15, 2007
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3 comments:
Hey Darrell,
Aero matters. Just about everything slowing you in a flat TT is wind resistance. Every 1% you improve here is worth about 36 seconds. Aero bars would probably make the biggest difference, and a skinsuit and an aero helmet would contribute as well. If you can generate the same power in your TT position as in your road setup, I think these could easily save you 2-3 or more minutes over 40km. This should put you right where you want to be. You might also want to do some training in your TT position this week to get the feel for it. Oh, and if you could find somebody to lend you a deep-section low-spoke front wheel, that could help a lot too. Good luck! I'm sorry I won't be there.
David
I have readers all over the world and many don't know who David is. He is a PhD in physics so when he speaks of such things I suggest you all perk up and LISTEN!!!
David, I am going to put my TT rig together tomorrow. I am going to put on my aero bars and 175mm cranks. I think I will take out one of the spacers on the steer tube to get the bars lower on the bike. Those clip-on bars sit up so high. When are you leaving? Could I still use your wheel cover?
On race day, I will be wearing my skinsuit, shoe covers, one water bottle, (on the seat tube), and my aero helmet. there will be no excuses.
Dave needs to turn on his blog.
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