Episode Whatever: A New Hope

It was pretty hot yesterday...

A little late on the update because I wanted to see how my training TT would go Wednesday afternoon, whether I was still dragging ass or if I was coming back around to a reasonable level of fitness.

I managed an 18:22 in 8 miles, a little over 26mph on a moderately hilly course. My watts were down a good amount from previous attempts (which was to be expected and planned for) but my pacing was much more "optimal" than past TT's, so I managed a better time than I expected.  The problem I have (and am working my best to fix) in local TT's (and Tri's for that matter) is that I am not good at pacing up and down short hills. I'm one of those types who loves to crush a 15-20" climb in a big gear with massive watts, then recover on the downward slope of the roller... and around here that means doing that over and over again. Of course that means I have a low avg. power and high NP, along with a slower overall time, mainly due to burning myself out with 500w intervals, along with not maximizing my speed.

Last night my goal was to hold my target watts throughout, going moderately (but reasonably) above on the short climbs and slightly lower on the declines, but still holding close as possible to that number. It felt odd, I've almost taught my body to unconsciously take it easy going down, so pedaling harder (and faster) was foreign... but I could feel the difference. I was definitely going faster over the 8 miles despite not spiking over the uphills. I still wasn't anywhere near perfect (or smooth for that matter) I'd say I paced 75-80% optimal... compared to my usual 50% or lower though, that was a big boost.

My body also felt more in tune, like it was ready to accept the stress/work vs. me trying to battle with it to keep going. Not sure what that was...it's hard to explain... but I hope it's the fact that my body is at least starting to heal and re-balance itself vs. the often very "dead/flat" feeling I had grown used to in the not so distant past.

I rode my Cervelo (hoping that I get my Felt finished before the next one) and the position on it felt exceptionally good... which is odd considering I was having a tough time staying in aero in my first TT this year and have not done very much riding in aero since then. Outside of the turnaround I never sat up, and just all around felt very comfortable.

Same position different day

Sooo... there is hope. Hope that I'll be a healthier, smarter and ultimately faster athlete. Some day.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!

- Christopher Morelock