Race 3 – 2012 Charlotte Speedway Time Trial
We finally had a decent night to race a TT at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Time Trial Series. By this, I mean that the wind wasn’t blowing over 10mph! I was excited about the TT because I’ve been riding pretty well lately. I feel like I’ve got some form building and really felt like I’d be able to put up a good time.
As usual, getting to the track was an adventure. I had to pick up our newly wrapped Van at Lake Norman Media. The plan was to pick it up and be rolling at 4. Well, I left LKN Media at 4:20, stopped by my house to get my bike, pick Chester up at the store and finally got on the road about 4:45.
When I arrived at the track, I parked and spoke to a couple of the Cool Breeze/Trek Bike Store team members that were at the track. A lot of talk revolved around the ‘new’ van. My start time was at 7:45 so I had some time to pass out some Lake Norman Excursion flyers. Probably not the best way to use my legs before a TT, but it would be interesting to see if it hurt.
I got suited up and started my warm up around 7. I don’t like warming up on a trainer so I did a few laps on the small track and then headed outside the Speedway to warm up on the road that goes around the track. In the past, I’ve always turned left out of the speedway but tonight I turned right. I think this is the best way to warm up as it is uphill at least ½ way around the track. I was able to get my heart rate up to 160 bpm on my 3rd lap and the legs felt good.
I ended up with a solid 40 minute warm up. I started at 7:46 and immediately was up to speed halfway through the first turn. I tried to take it a little easy on the start but quickly noticed my heart rate jumped to 170. Oh well, it’s supposed to hurt. I felt great on the 2nd lap and was able to ride the line on the 2nd lap which turned out to be my fastest lap.
The 3rd lap wasn’t so good. I noticed my speed dropped significantly on the backstretch. I think the wind must have picked up because both Sarah and Jasen experienced the same thing. But it could also be because we finally had favorable conditions and we were actually going harder than we thought.
When I was finishing up my 3rd lap, one of my training buddies came out of the start chute and passed me. I figured this was good because I could pace off Mark for a little while. We ended up going just about the same speed for a lap with me riding a couple yards off Mark’s right shoulder. On my 5th lap, a guy passed us and Mark made a big effort to match his speed. I couldn’t jump and held my speed. It sure looked like Mark was long gone.
I was suffering pretty good but started making up time on Mark going down the front stretch. I was able to pass him in Turn 1 starting my 6th lap. At this point in the Time Trial, knowing I only have two laps to go makes it a little easier mentally. I kept pedaling as hard as I could and had a good lap. Lap 7 was as hard as they could be. I tried to keep as much power on the pedals as I could. I entered Pit Road going as hard as I could. I couldn’t see straight when I finished and stopped my Garmin and saw what I wanted to see, a time under 21 minutes.
My official time was 20:53 (28.73mph) and I suffered a lot. It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to get into that kind of zone and it has been several years since I’ve broken the 21 minute barrier. My PR is 20:28 set in 2008! I really want to set a new PR this year which means I need to find at least 5 seconds a lap. I’ve been training with Sarah at Cool Breeze Coaching and riding Brushy Mountain in Wilkesboro a lot to build strength. I really believe I can set a new PR and get the Cat 3 record in the process with the right conditions at the track. Wish me luck!
