2009 Road Racing Goals

[RoadRaven]

Great to see this thread is still ticking along... and a few new names
*Rave waves* Hi folks!

Hey there SheFly - glad to see you know you do not suck
I was in that phase big time as Feb progressed cause I just couldn't lift my times in club time trials.
And Eden monstering that hill - awesome. How'd you go in the TT you mentioned?

Well... have been very busy - hence hardly here at TE... but thought I'd let you folks know about the Tremain Team Tri, which is a corporate tri, and each year I always do (surprise, surprise ) the cycling leg (distance of 19km). A faster time/average speed was one of my 2009 goals.

Last year I flew and while my club TTs were hovering around averages of 31-32kph, my average for the 2008 Tremain Tri was over 33 (on the first page of this thread, my average is wrong. We remeasured the distance and it is 19km not 20km as advertised, so that brings 2008 av down).

So this year, when I have been struggling to even get near 33kph, my average in the Tremain Tri on the 14th March was 34.7kph which is huge for me - I have never averaged 34, let alone close to 35. Thats maybe 15% more power than I out put in a club race... so now I am thinking that I need to think about my thinking. I obviously have the power to be where I am aiming to be - but its not happening consistently.

I have got out a pile of sports pscychology books to try and find the one with the least jargon and see if they offer insights in how to prepare for a race. And I am trying to work out what exactly is different between the two styles of race (the most obvious being that I am riding for a team in Tremains, but in the club I ride for myself).

The race itself was good. I felt prepared. I got a short warm-up and no-one bugged me while I was trying to focus. I felt relaxed. And the road just felt fast. I passed loads of people on the way out, and only had about 4 people pass me. I handled the turn-around well, and the way back which has lots of false flat I handled well and seemed to be quicker despite a slight head wind (breeze). In fact, as I passed people, I had people jumping on my wheel but only one guy was able to stay in my draft. I didn't look for help, because I treat this a TT and avoid drafting off others - but this time it wasn't an issue - because I was the one people were trying to hold on to. Great feeling.

I have two TTs in April so am putting some serious thought into them... trying to identify how I mentally prepared for the Tremains Tri, and replicate that.

So my Tremain Tri goal was definately achieved. Woohoo!!!