Yesterday at the velodrome was the Beat the Clock time trials, a fund raiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. One fun thing that they do is to open it up to road bikes and track bikes (NOT at the same time!) So this way the roadies and triathletes can check out the track. The coach had put this on my schedule and I'd done it last year, so it would be a good test. And also a chance to practice starts and the new aero helmet prior to next week's Masters States.
I was entered in 3 races but they added the 200m at the last minute, so I did that too, mostly to practice a couple of things (as riding a good 200 is somewhat technical), plus to use it as part of the warm up. I got to the track and first on the track to warm up were the road bikes, so I got on the rollers and did 10 minutes of warming up. Got off and changed cog and chainring and by then it was the track bike rider's turn to get on the track. Another 15-20 minutes of warm up on the track and I felt good to go. It was warm (not hot) and really really windy. Especially in turn 3 to 4.
First up, flying 200m:
I was the first woman to go after all the men. This was a track bike only event. I ramped it up early and was rolling pretty good through the turn but I guess in the wind you need to drop down sooner. I did keep my speed up through turns 3 and 4 and all the way to the finish. I was super happy with the effort, just not with the time, though seeing that everyone else's time was slow, the time didn't matter. Especially since I had the fastest time of the women!! 1st place.
Next up, 500m TT:
The 500m on our track is 1.5 times around and you do it from a standing start. I was about in the middle of the group of women to start and was feeling a bit nervous. Probably because I hadn't done a race with a standing start for 10 months. I didn't have my pedals in the best place to start and kind of lost focus during the countdown so I don't think I had a great start. Once I got going, again I felt really good and was able to keep it rolling the entire 1.5 laps. Again, not happy with my time, but OK with the effort. 4th place.
Kilo:
The coach put the kilo on the schedule and I've never done one as in official competitions only men get to do the kilo. All I knew was that it was a hard race if you do it right. Like falling over and puking hard. I didn't even know how many laps it was so I asked Warren how to approach it. He gave me some tips (and also said it was 3 laps), so I went to the start line and thought, "I'll have a PR time no matter what!" 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - whistle.....head in the game and a much better start. Got into the rhythm and the first lap went by. Float the pedals on the second lap and try to pick it up on the third lap. I felt good and kept up the cadence and crossed the line feeling good. The first thing Warren said was, "You look like a pursuiter!!" My time was pretty good I guess and again, the fastest time of the women! I like the kilo!! 1st place.
2K pursuit:
My legs were feeling a bit tired by this time, and I had no aerobars, so this was going to be--take it out somewhat hard and try to hold on. Six laps from a standing start. This start was the worst of all for some reason, but I got it rolling and felt pretty good. Lap 2, still feeling good, but float the pedals in the turn in the wind. Keep it rolling lap 3. Float the pedals again in lap 4. Around lap 5 I get passed by the State Time Trial Champion and I used her to lift my speed and keep it lifted. Lap 6 was probably the fastest lap of the entire 2K. Pretty tired when I finished. 6th place.
Got on the rollers and did a cool down. Very fun day and very happy with my riding.
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