Jason Lapierre Memorial TT
After my big day at GWN, I took an easy week of training to recover. Probably a little too easy... but GWN took a lot more out of me than I thought. I didn't feel like doing much except relaxing and sleeping. I think I did one workout that involved cycling.. 45min on my cruiser bike.
On Friday night Naomi and I arrived late into Calgary, and didn't actually get to sleep until almost 2am. I set my alarm for 6am, which would give me enough time to grab a quick bite and then drive the 100km or so to the site north of Cochrane. Well.. I slept through my alarm and awoke at 7am. CRAP! I threw all my stuff in the car and raced out the door. A quick stop and Tim's for a coffee and muffin and then was pushing the speed limit on Deerfoot Trail to make up time.
I arrived at the race site at shortly after 8am, with just enough time to tweak my bike, register and get in a warmup and the 5km ride to the first TT start line. The lack of sleep, poor recovery and improper nutrition made the first TT a painful experience. I gave it my best.... but 5th place was all I could do (in the Cat5 race). With some time to recover and eat before the second TT, I packed in a few calories and a couple cups of coffee.
The second TT started late at 1pm. I was 5th starting position because of my result in the first TT. I rode the entire 11km course in warmup, so I had a good idea of how to pace it. I was also feeling MUCH better with the calories and coffee. I felt really good, but ran out of gears on the 1km KILLER KM section (that was worth points for fastest ascent). My effort was enough for second place.
We waited a long time for results, apparently this is common at cycling events, even though the race organizers promised quick turnaround times! That was ok though, the day was nice, I had a few burgers from the BBQ and chatted with everyone in the beautiful lodge and soaked up the sun. I really enjoy the people in the road racing scene... a good bunch. When Cat5 results were ready I was surprised not to make the top 3 and win some of the prize money. However, after the results were corrected the next day, I was actually 2nd in the Cat5... my strong second TT had actually pulled me up. :-)
posted by Greg Nicholson @ 7/14/2008
5 Comments:
Good job! I've always been curious about road racing. Maybe one day I'll get a chance to try it out and that event sounded like a great opportunity to get your feet wet.
I've been tired too since GWN. Resting lots (too lots).
There are not enough women in the road racing scene. It is a fantastic way to improve fitness, bike handling skills and confidence.
I'm not sure why so few women take it up.. when triathlon is such a popular sport which involves cycling.
Although, in road racing you WILL get dropped, and you WILL suffer. These are not bad things, and they make you a better cyclist in the end, but I can see it being a bit intimidating.
Get your road bike out and enter some crits. Ask questions, learn tactics, and just try to "hang in" until you learn more... everyone starts at the bottom.
Greg, nice job on the second TT.
Check out teamtbb.com for a great article (Inside Triathlon) on the team, on Brett - and on The Method.
It's all there.
Greg, your cheque went into the mail on Friday for your Omnium position. Sorry for the screw up on the day.
Trev
Wow, thanks Trev. I didn't actually expect that! Great event.
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