Well, it didn't happen. I didn't break an hour in the 40K nor set a new PR for the distance. I'm not disappointed because I'm generally happy with my effort. The final time was 1:04:03. There were two main causes for the time: one was the wind which I'll explain later and the other was when I dropped my chain with 10 kilometers to go...I had to dismount and reset the chain which dinged my time tremendously.
I was very pleased with my pre-race activities. I thought I got a good warmup although next time I'll do at least 15 more minutes on the trainer with a few more hard efforts. I wasn't rushed like I was at Monroe a week ago and I felt totally ready to go by the time I got to the start line with three minutes to spare. All my equipment was working, especially the disc wheel, and I decided to carry a small gel flask filled with an energy drink in case I needed a drink without carrying a regular water bottle. Turns out I wouldn't need it since I was already well hydrated.
The wind was blowing out of the NE at anywhere from 5 to 11 mph which meant I'd have a headwind on the outbound half of the course. Randy rode past me during the warmups and mentioned that this wasn't going to be pretty! My start was good, not as good as in Monroe, but I was surprised to be cruising at 27 mph into the wind so soon (the guy holding the riders up was pushing us off which was unexpected and a little disconcerting...he's not supposed to do that). That wouldn't last long and soon I would be struggling to stay over 22 mph into the wind. The first 10K took me 16:20 to cover. Not good but I knew I was pushing as hard as I could, the effort was good. Turnaround time was 32:40 (I did 30:22 last weekend for 20K in Monroe but there wasn't any wind). After the turn, I could feel the tailwind somewhat...that NE wind was swirling and sometimes became a sidewind on the return...and I was able to increase my speed. For a while I stayed around 26 mph but soon I got it over 27 mph and was able to stay there. I was hopeful and really pushing it. When I passed the 30K mark, my time was around 46 minutes and I realized that if I could keep up this speed I might break an hour! So I shifted into a harder gear.....
.....and my chain popped off the chainring! "Nooo," I said, "you've gotta be kidding me!" I had just touched 28 mph and now I'm coasting with my chain dangling off the crankarm. As I continued to roll, I reached down and twice tried to put the chain back on the ring but it kept popping off. I realize now that if I had shifted my cogset back in the other direction about 5-6 gears the chain might have stayed in place after I put it on, but I didn't do that. I was now rolling at 14 mph and I hit the brakes. I knew I'd have to get off the bike to get the chain on. When I dismounted I looked back real quick and couldn't see the guy who started behind me at all...I had put a big gap on him but I knew he was gaining on me now! I'm surprised at how calm I was in putting the chain back on the chainring. I spun the cranks backward and forward to make sure it'd stay in place. I put the bike down and looked back again...I could see the guy coming but he was still a small dot in the distance. I have no idea how much time had passed but I swung my left leg over the saddle and my lower calf went into a full fledged cramp! I mounted my bike anyway and started pedaling through the pain...which was tremendous, as Bill Cosby would say....and I knew it had to take a full minute to get up to a decent speed before the cramp went away.
With the pain gone, I got back up to 27 mph but I knew my losses were big so I tried not to think much about it. When I passed the 5K To Go sign, I thought I had a chance to at least get a PR for the distance so I pushed again, being careful when I shifted my gears. About 100 meters later a huge headwind hit me and stayed with me. Now I was demoralized and knew I couldn't push through this wind. Now I hoped to beat my time from last year but I was about 40 seconds too slow as I crossed the line.
Despite all that happened there were a number of good things in the ride. I was comfortable on the bike the whole time, unlike past 40K's where my butt would hurt and my shoulders would ache. Adjusting my position over the last few weeks was the best thing I could have done. Switching to my K2 bike was a good move, too.
It took me 32:40 to go the first 12.4 miles against the wind. Remember that I did the same distance in Monroe in 30:22 last weekend without a disc wheel or influencing wind.
It took me 31:23 to cover the final 12.4 miles and that's WITH my chain troubles including getting off the bike! I have no idea how much time I lost but I knew I had a chance at breaking the hour at 10K to go before the chain came off.
I have reason to be optimistic that I could have broken an hour with better weather conditions (like maybe a tailwind BOTH ways!). Next year I will put in even more effort to do it. I learned a lot in preparing for this TT and I appreciate all the help I got from Jonnene, Tim F, Jason W, RW1, and others.
Watch out for next year! I'm excited!
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