I knew I was in trouble when I started to warm up on the trainer an hour before my start time.

I felt weak. I did not feel strong. I was coughing.

I came down with a severe cold. I went into work Monday only because a large project was kicking off and I went home as soon as I could. I miss work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I went in Friday, but I was told that I was too sick and to go home. I ignored this and worked a full day. Now I was warming up for a 12 mile TT.

But the weather was good. A bit cool in the early morning, but the sky was clear and sun was out. It’s warming rays felt very nice.

I decided that what was to be, would be. I would ride and race and give it my all, but if my results were not up to my hopes, so be it. Last year, at the first Ravens TT, I finished in 39:37. Even considering how I felt, I hoped to take 10% off of that – four minutes.

As my start time approached, I headed toward the registration table to check in, and then off to the starting line. Racing was to begin at 10:00 and my start time was 10:12, but the promoter was late in starting and I waited over 10 minutes for my start. Not to worry, I was in the sun and warm.

Five, Four, Three, Two, One – GO!

The Last Hill and Descent to the Finishing Line

I was off. The route is flat for 100 yards and then hits a short and steep hill that makes your heart rate rise quickly. Then a short lessening of the incline before it steepens again to the summit. Last year, I intentionally took it easy on this hill, but this year I hit it a bit harder. My average wattage output was 300, which is good for me at the start of a race.

The First Hill

Summiting the hill, you descend down toward the valley floor and make a slight right hand turn towards rolling hills and the turn-around point. The route is on quite, farm roads and if you can force your eyes off of the pavement in front of you, there are green vistas with Alpacas to enjoy (Sorry, I did not stop for photos).

Ravens Elevation Graph

When your heart rate is high, and hill, even a small roller, is hard. Based upon some advice from a dear friend (Thanks Martha!), I shifted down and got out of the aero bars to spin over the hills. This allowed me to crest the roller with momentum and keep my speed up.

The turn around is always tricky. The best case is keeping your speed up but not riding into the ditch. I was successful at not riding into the ditch, and my speed was six miles per hour.

Because the few riders who started in front of me were faster than I, I had no “rabbits” to chase. I had to mentally focus on my effort in order not to ease up. However, after the turn around, this changed. Even with one minute intervals between racers, I began to catch racers. Seeing someone in front of you gives you extra incentive to work harder. A comparison of average power output between the outbound and inbound legs reveals a slight increase on the second, inbound leg – 221 watts vs 225 watts. I slowly caught and pass a few racers and was only passed once, at the ten mile mark.

The course ends with the same hill you start will, but this side is less steep. And, as you know you are essentially done, you can pull out all of the stops and hit it hard. I did. As I climbed the final hill, I reached my maximum heart rate for the day and my maximum speed during the descent to the finishing line.

The Last Hill and Descent to the Finishing Line

Time: 35:36.65 – Official Time
Average Speed: 19.69 MPH
Average Power: 228 Watts (Peddling)
Maximum Speed: 40.34 MPH
Maximum Power: 704 Watts