During the drive to Auburn I was surprised by how calm my nerves were. Part of that might have been due to the fact that I was in a caravan and didn't have to think about where I was going. I was definitely way more excited than nervous for this new experience of time trialing. We arrived super early and got prime parking spots on the road with plenty of room in between our cars to set up all 9 bike trainers. When I hopped out of the car, I quickly realized that a hat and a hood sweatshirt would have been a great addition to my wardrobe choice this morning! It was cold. So with chattering teeth, I checked in. I was anxious to get on my trainer and start warming up.
Warmed- up easy on the trainer for about 35-40 minutes chatting and listening to all the conversations going on around me. It was great to be surrounded by such awesome people and teammates. I felt so blessed to have so many supporters surrounding me, especially when it was my first time at this. It is so much easier to relax!
My start time was 9:17. I got off my trainer at about 8:50 as Lisa kindly reminded me to take my dreaded gu. Good news is, I had a raspberry flavored one (apparently if I were to have a favorite this one would be it), got it down in three quick sips with a little water, and best of all NO GAGGING. You should have seen my grin, I was pretty happy about that. Oh, the small joys in life.
I headed to the start at about 9:10. Then I had to get back out of line to change my gears, after another friendly reminder (thanks Lisa), I realized I was still in my small ring in front. Pulled up to the start at 9:16, clipped in or so I thought, then with 15 seconds left I pulled up my right foot and realized it wasn’t clipped in. I got a little frantic for a second, but readjusted clipped in with 5 seconds to spare and then I was off! I could hear the wonderful cheering of Sandy (you're awesome) from behind who would be leaving just a minute after me and later end up passing me (you speedster) J.
The ride was an experience. I have never pushed that hard for that long! My goals for this first time trial were to push as hard as I could, stay in my drops the entire time, and hopefully maintain an average speed of 20mph. I had no idea how challenging it would be to keep up that pace especially when the wind, at times, was trying to blow me over. I kept telling myself that my legs are strong and keep pushing it.
My turn-a-round was, lets say, a lot less than perfect. When I was getting close, one of the volunteers put up his hand like I was supposed to stop. I was so confused…this is a race here, why would you be telling me to hold up? So I slowed up a little, grrr, until he pointed me to the official turn around. After the turn around I noticed who he was a holding his hand to, the car that was "apparently" behind me. But, it had to have been way behind me because it was still pulling up to him after I had turned around. I probably lost 30 seconds through that whole thing, but lesson learned!
On the way back I was really trying to focus on my breathing, steady strong pedaling, and staying low. My drool soon started flapping in the breeze, appealing I know. Then I tried to spit even though I am a terrible at it and of course it ended up all over my front and shoulder. No good. Probably won’t try that again.
Anyway, I tried picking up the pace the last few miles as best I could (which really turned into not slowing down) and sprinted to the end once I caught sight of the finish. Crossing that finish line felt so great!
As for my legs, they were complete jell-o. After hearing about the race from those who were back already, I put on my running shoes and ran for 20 minutes. It didn’t take too long to warm-up, and the run back felt great. It was good to get my legs moving again.
I managed to accomplish all 3 of my goals, learned a lot, and left myself a ton of room for improvement. I am excited to see where things go from here! It was an awesome day racing and spending time with teammates! I am so looking forward to more great times.
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