Sufferfest: Texas State Time Trial Championships

A month ago, I was looking for summer cycling races in the area because the last one left a nasty taste in my mouth, and I wanted to prove that I could do more. Seeing the TT championships listed made me smirk as I knew of the perfect friends to recruit for the team event. We would have a great shot for the top step of the podium. I also figured I might as well sign up for the individual time trial (ITT) event to see what I'm capable of holding for a 40km bike without having to worry about running a 10k afterwards. It'll be a great test to judge my pacing for nationals later this summer in the Olympic distance triathlon, which encompasses a 40k bike leg.

I love riding with these two monsters on the bike and couldn't imagine asking anyone else to race with me.

Race week dragged on as I just couldn't wait for the weekend to arrive. I was stoked to finally be allowed to ride out of power zone 1 and be challenged to stay in upper zone 3. What what!? Challenge accepted, coach. Training during the week was like any other week, and it went well until I tweaked a gluteal stabilizer muscle during my long run Wednesday and exacerbated it after my morning run on Thursday. By mid morning, I was severely limping and could barely walk by the end of the day. I hesitated to tell my coach because I really wanted to race and plus, my ride Thursday afternoon went well, and I wasn't in as much pain as I was when walking or running. So cycling is a go, right? *insert puppy eyes*

Friday morning, I reported the setback to coach and he said, "No worries. I'll work it out." An hour later, I was walking out of the massage room (aka heaven) without a pimp limp and could mimic a normal strut. The weekend games were on!

Texas State Individual Time Trial Championship

I did not sleep well the night before due to racing nerves, but that's not new. My legs felt heavy and sluggish during warm up, and my muscle strain was reminding me of its presence, but my wise friend and fellow racer Pamela ordered me to forget about all that because it's race day. I can't bring my A game if my mind isn't focused on performance. 

This photo was taken right after the wise words were spoken. Thank you, Pamela!

I cleared my head and saddled up. The official counted down to my start from 30 seconds. Those 30s dragged on but once he said go, the world went silent, and it was just me and my mind. 

Push it. Go! Go! Go!

Wheeee!!

Hang on, hold back. It's a 25 mile race. Pace yourself.  

We'll catch some riders later, don't worry. Just worry about your own race. 

Push.
I'm Elmer Fudd, and I'm hunting wabbits.
Pew pew! There's a wabbit. Get it!
[So.. I might have lost my mind.. but that's okay because I couldn't feel the pain since I was too busy smiling and laughing. :) ]

I was averaging watts that I wasn't used to. Riding in zone 3 is a totally different feeling, and it was definitely a challenge to balance effort with fatigue management. I was in a mystery zone since I had no idea how much I could hurt and for how long. I didn't want to blow up, so in caution, I held back. I'll suffer in the last half to bring it home. 

The suffering didn't come until the final few miles, when I finally picked up the pace and hit the numbers I was supposed to sustain the entire race. Upon crossing the line, I knew I had a lot more in me and was disappointed that I didn't just believe in myself and bang out those watts despite not having trained at that intensity. I really wanted to suffer like I never suffered before, but I didn't manage to reach that point. Back to my old ways. (My average watts was only in upper power zone 2)

Suffering and pushing the last 5k.

I always see pros and elites pushing hard on the race course. They are already hurting badly on the bike and manage to maintain that level of suffering on the run. I want to suffer like that. I've hurt before, but I've never really suffered. Instead, I'm constantly saving myself for the last half, but then nothing really happens. I wanted to break that mental rut and was hoping the time trial would be the place to bury playing too safe once and for all. Lucky for me, there was a day two.

ITT results: 40km, 1:05:55, avg 22.7mph, 7th Women Cat 4

Texas State Team Time Trial Championship

Given my performance the day before, I was stoked for the Team Time Trial (TTT). I arrived with a mission to suffer. I knew that I could push a lot harder than the day before, and I was ready to prove it. I just hoped my teammates were ready to deal with how much I wanted to suffer. 

My three favorite cyclists and some of my favorite people :)

I absolutely love and adore and admire my TTT teammates. I had hand picked them all for a reason. Natalie and Margie are very strong riders, and they do not hesitate to push and hurt to stay with the fast boys and even beat them too! The  Planetary rides on Thursday nights tend to have the same conversation at each stop light. "I'm about to throw up." "Me too" There are no other women riders that I know who are willing to suffer as much as them. They are perfect for my team. 

And then there's Pamela. Oh Pamela. She is just a kickass cyclist, hands down. I had the privilege of training with her the last few months, and she is a beast on wheels. You know the saying, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. :) It was a no brainer to have this winner on my team. 

Our team in action!!

Game plan: TT bikes pull most of the way and the roadies pull momentarily between rotations.

Actual plan: everything went as perfect as could be. Pamela and I set the pace and remained in constant communication as how to approach turns or inclines to keep the team together. In the meantime, since Margie and Natalie ride together nearly all the time, they could read each other well without words. Margie could tell when Natalie was getting fatigued and automatically swapped places to shield her. Pamela and I also had the same connection, so despite all of us never having ridden together as a unit, teamwork was a breeze :)

All we had to focus on was catching the two teams ahead of us and to keep the legs churning and the speeds high. 

After the turnaround:

Pamela: "Natalie, how are you feeling?"

Natalie: "I'm hurting."

Pamela: "Margie, how are you feeling?"

Margie: "I'm hurting."

Pamela: "Well, Angie and I feel good, so let's kick it up a notch and bring it home."

The beast unleashed and we were blazing! My heart rate soared as I had limited recovery time since Pamela kept jumping back up to the front after my pull, and I had to quickly follow and fill the gap.

Pamela: "My heart rate is at 176. How is yours?"

Me: *panting* "Mine's at 190, but I feel great."

Pamela: "What!? I was worried about you not getting enough recovery."

Me: "No! I'm fine! I feel great! Keep pushing!" 

(I really really really wanted to suffer if you couldn't tell..) 

7 miles left and I had to keep pep talking the team as I knew the roadies were hurting. 

Me: "Just 7 miles to go!"

Me: "Just 5.5 miles! Hang in there!"

And then my moment happened. It was what I dreamed of doing! Pamela was getting a little tired, so she handed the reigns over to me, and I gladly took them. I wanted to carry my team home and prove to myself that I am someone to fear because I love suffering. I shifted up and kept the pedals moving. And they were moving alright! (Average cadence was 94! I never average that much on a TT bike.) 

Me: "C'mon guys. Just 3 miles left! Less than 10 minutes! Dig deep!"

Sustaining a speed of 27. I didn't even know I could hold these numbers for that long of a time. Mind over matter. Keep pushing!

Pamela: "C'mon baby duck, bring us home!"

Me: "2 miles. Just 2 miles. Push a little harder!!" *click*

Holding 27-28mph. I took a quick peek behind my legs and could see Pamela's front wheel sucking my rear wheel like a leech. I was hurting and was tempted to ask her to pull but seeing her that close to me pushed me into an extra gear. I picked up the pace.

Me: "1 mile!!!! Just two minutes left. That's it. Two minutes and we're done! C'mon, we got this! "

Speeding up to 28-29mph.

Me: "Half a miles guys!! There's the tent! GO GO GO!"

I took another peek behind me to make sure Pamela was still there. Yep. Real close. I had no idea what was happening behind me or if our team was still together, but if Pamela was still there, then I just needed to keep pushing. I geared up again (seemed like I had unlimited gears that morning!!) and sprinted home at 30mph. 

Crossing the finish line..

...and shouting, YEAH!!

Once we crossed the finish line, I did what any reasonable person would do and screamed. I was freaking proud of our efforts and especially my effort because I had a breakthrough in suffering. Who in their right mind finds joy in suffering? I do! :) (and judging from the big smile on her face, apparently Pamela does too!)

I had no idea three of us stayed together till the finish. I thought we might have splintered during the crazy attack home, but I was so stoked to hear after we had regrouped that Natalie hung on till the end and we crossed the finish line as a team.

Only 3 team members needed to cross the line for the official time

Smartest player of the day goes to Margie! She sacrificed herself to protect Natalie in the back half since Natalie had the best shot of hanging onto the pain train the last 5 miles. I didn't realize she had dropped off, but she raced brilliantly and did whatever was necessary to give our team the best shot at winning. It takes a real athlete to know how to sacrifice herself for the team. You're AWESOME!

Special kudos to Natalie who pushed herself beyond any realm she's ever been. She hung onto Pamela's wheel till the very end and threw up soon after crossing the finish. Amazing effort. You really do know how to suffer, and I can learn lots from you!

And just huge amounts of my stupid grin to Pamela who set the pace high early on and made us all bring our A+++ game. You are an amazing athlete (and person!) and it was such an honor to race along side you. It's so so so much better to race with you than against you. :)

It was my upmost pleasure to share the road and this experience with these three fabulous women and awesome athletes. I couldn't have asked for a better team or better friends. Repeat next year? :D

TTT Results: 40km, 1:03:13, avg 23.7mph, 1st place Women Cat 4

Aww yeah! State Champions!

I finally got to suffer, and I must admit, it felt freaking great! We could've gotten dead last, and I would've still been just as excited because I did what I had set out to do. After a quick cool down spin, I was actually still feeling really good and knew I could kick off a decent 10K run afterwards. If I continue to suffer like this in all my races... watch out Nationals!! :)

Thank you to Juan and Jason for letting me borrow their aero wheels and helmet! I don't have to ride fast, just have to look fast ;)