CBTT

I went up to Concord Wednesday after work to do the NEBC-sponsored Charlie Baker Time Trial (CBTT). I figured it since it was 13 miles from work and registration ended at 6, I’d leave work at 5 and I’d casually average 13 mph to make it in time for registration, ha. It never works out when I plan stuff like this. I didn’t actually get on my bike until 5:07, I was carrying a backpack weighing around 10 lbs, and got backed up in some nasty traffic. By the time I found the start and registered it was 6:20. Luckily the officials were laid back and didn’t seem to mind, friggin awesome!

The scene at the race was pretty intense with a lot of neat aero gear that I don’t typically see at roadie races. Speedsuits, trick custom paintjobs, spaceman helmets, all sorts of cool stuff. I don’t have any of that neat gear and I wasn’t even sporting my new aero wheels. Also, I hadn’t eaten anything since noon and I’m pretty sure my fuel was body fat by the time I finally made it to the start. My legs were also pretty toast from a high volume high intensity interval workout the day before.

All things considered, the plan was to set sort of a worst case scenario time, a mark that I should never be slower than unless I race half-assed or I’m out of shape. I gave pretty close to a 100% effort, easing up more than I should have only once or twice for a short period. The race was pretty boring and uneventful other than the aero-rocket guy staged behind me that yelled out a jet engine sound as he passed me like I wasn’t even moving. I finished around 27:30 which is around 21.2 mph. I was happy to be above 20 mph.

My ghetto power calculating worksheet suggests that my LT power in the race was 257 W at 176 bpm. I’m new to the whole LT power thing, but it’s my understanding that if I were to do the time trial when I was well rested, fed, and hydrated, that this heart rate value would be higher and hence my power as well. I’ll come back this this next time I do the race.