race report: tuesday night time trial, 07.01.2014

07/11/2014

You know you biked your legs off when you say, “I think I may die,” at the end of the race.

Not much to say about last week’s Twin Cities Spoke Tuesday Night Time Trial, other than it was a painful 13 miles punctuated by a few eff bombs and laser focus on all the watts.

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human bike stand while Nick swapped out his brake pads to work with his Mavic race wheels.

It was arm warmer temp – not what you’d expect for July 1 in Minnesota – and I shivered through my eight-mile warm-up and the 10 minutes I waited in line to start (number 39 this go-round). But, once I was racing, I was roasting. Per coach’s instructions, I held back a bit the first couple miles (to the first pothole-riddled corner or so) and then let my legs rip. 

It hurt – a lot. About halfway through, I started some positive self-talk and really zoned in on my target watts. So fun to see what your body can do when you quiet your mind. 

After super cyclist Leah Prudhomme passed me around mile eight-ish, I focused on not letting her get too far ahead; thank you to the race photographer for the encouraging words to keep pushing and chase her down! Still some work to do, but pleased I cut the gap between us to less than 90 seconds compared to the first TT where she had more than two minutes on me. 

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focused and legs burning… and, I need an aero helmet. Photo courtesy of Memories by Dee at TnT. 

Passing a couple other ladies the last few miles gave me a little morale boost to keep pedaling as hard as I could, and with about a half-mile to go, I kicked it up – snot and foam faced – about 15 watts to the finish. 

Overall, much happier with this TT, as it was better all around; my average watts were higher, my average speed was higher and I cut nearly 90 seconds off my previous time. And, I have a shiny new critical power number. Boom! 

Official results // 34:24.26, ~22.8 mph average, ~222 watts, 3rd open class, 2nd AG

Two takeaways: Have average power on your Garmin home screen (in addition to 3-second power) and restart your Garmin at race start instead of hitting lap. 

Thank you, Coeur Sports, for keeping me stylish and comfortable on the bike (the chevron kit! the seamless chamois!) and to Osmo Nutrition for keeping my properly hydrated and recovering well! I am so very grateful for the support of these two incredible companies run by rock star women! xo. 

DCIM102GOPRO

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14 Comments

  • Reply Beth 07/11/2014 at 12:59 pm

    Wow that’s fast!!! Congrats lady!!! (I totally chickened out on the time trial here. I swear, one day.)

  • Reply Erin 07/11/2014 at 1:15 pm

    nothing but stem!

    great job 🙂

  • Reply carrisamarie 07/11/2014 at 3:22 pm

    Way to go!!

  • Reply Leslie @ TriathleteTreats 07/11/2014 at 7:11 pm

    YOU are such a BAD ASS!!! I can not wait to see what you can do in Wisconsin!! You are so strong and getting stronger by the second! How much do you think you will shave off when you get an aero helmet??!! 🙂

  • Reply Kecia 07/11/2014 at 7:53 pm

    Way to chick those other ladies!! You ROCK!!

  • Reply Kristen 07/11/2014 at 9:17 pm

    I love hearing about your races and training because it is always SO inspiring. You are FAST woman!!! Congratulations on a strong finish. What type of sunglasses are you wearing? Super cute.

    • Reply erin 07/15/2014 at 6:24 pm

      Thank you, chica! You are pretty speedy yourself 🙂 My fave sunnies! They’re Oakley Miss Conduct Square (the polarized version… REALLY want the hot pink, too!) 🙂

  • Reply Danielle @ I Eat Therefore I Run 07/12/2014 at 3:16 am

    Cool! And so fast! Now that I’ve started road biking with my Garmin, it’s incredible to see how fast a mile can be.

  • Reply Andy 07/13/2014 at 9:13 am

    So much faster with race wheels, aero helmet and no wrinkly arm warmers! So strong.

  • Reply Kathy Howe 07/13/2014 at 1:06 pm

    Nice job! TT scare me! Looking strong!!!

  • Reply De 07/14/2014 at 2:42 pm

    Amazing work Erin!! Such an inspiration 🙂 I have been toying with the idea of getting into bike racing next year and your posts are making me consider it even more. Do you find it gets in the way of tri training at all?

  • Reply chasingmyjoy 07/15/2014 at 10:17 am

    Great work Erin, can’t wait to see what you can pull off at IMW!

  • Reply Change of Pace 07/16/2014 at 9:16 pm

    Your watts are insane!!! Congratulations! I second everyone’s comments- you will kill the bike course (and entire IM) in WI!

  • Reply ironman wisconsin 03/25/2016 at 10:13 am

    […] lotta fun – punctuated by some AlterG running, getting comfortable with the uncomfortable, a couple TTs, one 70.3, drinking all the Osmo, feel + focus, a couple Wisco training weekends, and a […]

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