I had a damn good TT to the top of Wintergreen resort this year. I wish I could say so good as not to get passed by Paul Buschi (I did hold him off for 10 mins – and kept him at about 15 seconds for another 10), or so good as not to get passed by Ted Michaels (I forget when that happened, but at least it was over quickly), or even good enough to beat Hosang (he had an “off” day, which for him means only 2:00 faster than me) but I did pass 2 guys in my group, and came within 5 seconds of my PR for the race (despite being about 3 kg heavier).

Some pertinent facts on the TT course:

• 6.75 miles long, with 2,625 feet of elevation gain (7.4% overall average grade)
• Gradients for each mile: 2.6%/4.3%/8.2%/10.9%/9.7%/7.5%/7.3%
• Several sections at 13.5-15% grade

Compared to last year, which was a debacle at 48:00, I was 5:40 faster, with a 42:20. That was good enough for 6th place this year (which is exactly where I finished last year – heh). I didn’t go to win, though, I went into this TT with the intent of putting in a hard effort for the first 20 minutes and then see what I could do for the full 45 minutes (a bit shorter than the typical winning time for the State Championship TT course). So here is the “damn good TT” part:

• Peak 20 minute average power: 367 watts (+19 W compared to last test)
• Average power (& normalized power) for entire TT: 350 watts (359 watts)
• Watts/kg for TT: 4.43
• Estimated FTP: 335-340 watts

Needless to say, I am very happy with the numbers, even if my time was not a PR. Being able to still hold 335 watts for the second half, after averaging over 365 for the first half, is a huge confidence booster. On the flats, 365 watts for 20 minutes is a strong solo breakaway attempt. If I can drill it with enough juice to get a gap, that’s the kind of power I need to win or place well in the crits. And 330 or more watts on the TT bike… well, let’s just say that would be icing on the cake.

Well, if I could describe the 3/4 race in a single word, it would probably be clusterf**k. Of course, as someone who finished off the back, in 68th place, my word choice might be just a tad subjective. Let’s just say that, with a (strict!) centerline rule in effect on roads where the lanes are maybe 8-10 feet across, 100 racers, and a “neutral” roll-out, I felt like the race was basically decided before it even started. Not that it would have mattered, I fell off the back a little on the climb on the first (of four) laps, managed to get back on just barely, and had no time to recover when the field sprinted out of the next corner. Disappointing, but not the end of the world; as Andy Coggan says, “Alls you can do is alls you can do.”

I decided to ride a TT-like effort until I topped the hill for the final time on the 4th lap, then ride tempo for the final 6 miles to finish the race. I was only maybe 2 minutes off the main field when a small group came up to me. I spent some time riding with the chase group of about 10 riders, including my teammates Steve and Jinks, but only about 5 of us were willing to work in a double paceline, and I was getting the feeling that I was one of the stronger riders in the group, so when we hit the hill on the 3rd lap I rode off the front. That was the last I saw of them.

I think I may have had more fun riding solo (not surprising, seeing as I ride solo all the frakin’ time anyway), getting to bomb through some of the technical chicanes, getting to attack the hill on the 3rd lap, and just generally getting to pay attention to the scenery instead of white knuckling it in 60th place on the back of the field (yeah, that’s right, I think staying with the field on the back would have been a whole 8 places – woo hoo!). It’s not like I was going to be in the top 20, so all I had to do was finish at that point anyway.

Maybe the stationary bike at the YMCA is out of calibration, maybe I am just hitting a new level of fitness, maybe it was the fact that I only rode for half an hour, but I rode at about 320 watts yesterday for the entire time, at only 155-157 bpm. At least that’s what the bike was telling me. I was using a different bike than usual, so it could be the ergometer or the HR setup. I should have at least worn my HR strap to verify one of those variables, but I was in a hurry to get at least a nominal amount of TSS in. Breathing-wise and PE-wise, it felt more like SST than FTP riding.

I only ride the stationary bike when none of my students show up for my class. Oddly that has happened the last two consecutive Thursdays. Thursday used to be my “big” class. I’m chalking it up to Maundy Thursday last week and Spring Break this week. And maybe the improvement in the weather. I know I’m happy to not have to work out indoors anymore.

Sunday will be my first crit of the season. Also the first where I am going to race both my Masters and my Senior categories. There’s about 3 hours between each race, should be more than enough time to recover. Plus I’m noticing that I am sometimes stronger in the second hour of my longer hard workouts.