The schedule called for the 5k at 9:00, 10k at 10:00 and the 20k at 12:00. The younger riders started first. That would give me time to change out my Stages Power Crank from the time trial bike to the road bike after the 10k. So, that's the background. See my 3/18/2019 post for last year's races.
The drive to Dallas gave me the first taste of I-35 in Waco (what a mess) and the usual Friday get-away traffic in Fort Worth (a nightmare). I checked into the Hilton Garden Inn and changed to my bike clothes (the A&M kit, I always wear that when I'm in macho territory). I did my prescribed Leg Openers routine which worked out to two laps of the 5-mile loop. Training Peaks gave me four gold medals for 5 second, 1 minute, 5 minute and 10 minute Heart Rate, so I guess the routine did what it was supposed to. I returned to the hotel, showered, and found Olive Garden for an early dinner.
Back at the hotel I found reruns of Bones, the TV not getting the Olympic Channel and the UCI Track Championships, as I relaxed in the room. I was asleep around 9:30. I was wide awake at 12:30 am. Sleep would not come. So here I am at 7:30 am, leaving for the Speedway, sleep deprived and not wanting to be here in the first place. Check-in was scheduled for 8:00 am but they were up and running at 7:45. I had to blink twice. I had no competition. Zero others in my age group.Tom, Fred, Bill from Oklahoma, two other guys whose names escape me but are faster than me, none of them were here. My mood lightened considerably.
On occasions like this I never refer to "winning" gold medals. I "received" gold medals. And it isn't like I slacked off on my runs. Well, maybe a bit in the 10k. But for my effort I at least wouldn't be beaten like a drum. Soothes the ego.For the 5k the temperature was 55 degrees and I kept my tights on, taking off my jacket just before the start. The first mile and a half or so were flat with a medium head wind, then a turn up an incline with the wind on your shoulder, then for the last mile a slight decline with the wind at your back. I took it out in the big ring, but pretty high up the cogs, trying to hold 90 rpm. A slight turn and an itsy-bitsy incline put the wind in my face and speed and cadence dropped for about a minute. Once I got the wind out of my face, things picked up. I hit 28 mph in the final stretch and it probably should have been 30. Last year's 5k was 9:40 and this year 9:17 so I wasn't slacking off. BTW, this is about a minute slower than my usual 5k races. Training Peaks gave me gold medals for 5 minute power and 5 minute Heart Rate.
I warmed down and returned to the car for refreshment and a bit of a rest. Shortly thereafter there was an announcement that the 10k would start at 10:15 am and the 20k road race at 11:15am. Dang! My 10k start time was 10:29 and approximating twenty minutes to race, that wouldn't give me time to switch my power meter crank to the race bike. Well, technically it takes less than ten minutes to switch, even taking my time. But I already had data on the 5k, so I switched cranks. Thus the 10k has no data other than time and speed.
For the 10k my plan was to take it easy and save something for the road race. I started in the small ring and lower on the cassette. The temperature was up to 63-66 but I kept the tights on. My cadence was good, around 90 as planned, and when I got to the speed section I only topped out at 26 mph. Then I turned into the wind and up an incline and the speed really dropped. I finished with a time of 20:10. Last year it was 18:45. Part of that was the wind, the rest because I wasn't trying as hard. But Training Peaks still gave me a gold medal for 20 minute Heart Rate
For the 20k I switched from skin suit to my ZFG kit, and with the temperature now in the 70's, put the tights in the dirty clothes basket. The temperature wasn't the only thing rising. The wind now became a large factor. Then came the announcement, all age groups would form a mass start. This isn't as bad as it sounds, it was a small group, less than a dozen. However, that meant if the young guys wanted to put the hammer down early, I'd be dropped in a hurry.
The wind was my friend. So was a rather large, young guy (60-64 age group) who was doing his first road race. We had a nice, friendly start for a third of a mile then turned into the wind. One really strong rider and the new guy were first and I was on the wheel of the new guy. They set a nice pace so no one felt the need to attack. This was a double pace line, but neither of the guys pulled off. Going up the hill we moved to a single pace line, with me still tucked closely behind the new guy, who was second wheel. When we made the last turn, four and a half miles into the race and back into the wind and up the incline (not enough to call it a hill), he finally pulled off. Fat chance of me leading into the wind, I pulled off also. But unlike him, I put out some heavy watts and caught on to the back and stayed with the group. By now it was clear that there would be no attacks until the hill with the wind at our back. I cruised at the back of the pack. It wasn't so much of an attack as just an increase in speed. My speed increased also, but not as much as theirs. Since I didn't have a dog in that fight, I let them go. They got about 30 seconds ahead but apparently slowed because while they continued to pull away, it wasn't by much.
So I continued on, and didn't push 100% for the last mile, up hill and into the wind. For comparisons, last year my time was 35:00 and this year 34.45. And I still earned two gold medals from Training Peaks for 10 minute and 20 minute Heart Rate.
I left Fort Worth feeling much better about my progress than when I got there. Next week is another race, then the Driveway. I'm liking my Heart Rate numbers, now just need to work on the legs.
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