Quote Originally Posted by SheFly View Post
Personally, I think you are spending too much time stressing over this before you have even tried it! I showed up at my first TT with a too-big-for-me road bike with MTB pedals, and a kit that was baggy. I had NO idea what I was getting myself into - had never raced on the road, and CERTAINLY had not been training. I had pre-ridden the course the previous day, but that was the entire extent of my preparation. I finished 2nd in my age group that day, and have been hooked on the TT ever since.

You are going to be FAR more prepared than many of the people who show up. Relax, and have some fun.

SheFly
Thanks, SheFly. I totally get what you're saying. I'm really not as stressed about it as it may seem. Mostly just curious. I'm very competitive and have had to mentally deal with being near the back of the field in the three road races I did because of the climbing ... and really don't care to do another event and be at the end ... when I know I have it in me to NOT be. At the very least, I want to be mentally prepared for how fast (or slow) I might ride an actual TT so I'm not discouraged after. I do intend to think of it more as a baseline for improving on when doing the same TT in the future, and less about competing against others.

I have good news and bad news regarding finally actually doing my first TT. Good news is DH seems to be on board now. I talked to him about the one on Mother's Day in San Diego (Fiesta Island). I told him we should make the kids get up early and go with us and then we can hang out in San Diego for the day and do stuff. He took it a step further and said we should stay in "our hotel". So, looks like we may make a weekend out of it. I asked him if he was thinking of doing the TT as well and he said, "Well, I can't imagine going to a TT event and not actually riding in it." I figured as much. He's also supportive of me getting the clip on aero bars and helmet, although it looks like I have a helmet to borrow for now ... and possibly the clips too.

The bad news is ... I was just hit with a bout of anemia again. I went through this last July. I was riding better than I ever had (having trained for and ridden in those three races, and a timed century with over 8,000 feet of climbing). I had also lost about 15 lbs (mainly for the purpose of climbing better) during which I apparently didn't get enough iron in my diet for the intensity of training.

So, it took the momentum out of my training. I rode way less and worried less about maintaining my weight and getting more foods with iron in me and slowly gained most of the weight back. After I got over the anemia, I got a cold, followed by another cold, and then Christmas chaos came ... all of which kept me from consistently training. I was finally back in both weight loss mode and training consistently enough to start seeing results and working toward my former glory (haha!) when this past week my period came and, with it, the same symptoms of anemia.

DOH! I'm so mad at myself that I somehow "forgot" to be super aware of the iron intake. I can't even believe I did this to myself again. I also can't believe it happened so easily. Obviously, this is something I have to be aware for the rest of my life, particularly as long as I'm riding a bike with any intensity. Anyways, I know what it takes to get over it and I think I'll be able to avert it ever happening again as long as I'm not an idiot. But I also know it will affect how well I do my first TT, which will NOT be this weekend now for sure (the first one I was considering doing). So the one on Mother's Day is really the first reasonable one I should consider doing under the circumstances. It's 6 weeks away. If I take it easy on the bike for a couple of weeks, I should be able to amp it up a little after that and at least do my first TT at my about my current fitness (or what it was a week ago).

So while I may not "improve" between now and then, I think it's reasonable to plan to do it and have a baseline to improve upon in the future. And then there will be no more TT's until September around here.