Crank the Kanc Race Report

My first bike TT was this past Saturday! It turned out to be a great day despite the fact that I was a complete novice and unsure how to tackle the event. When push comes to shove, I do know how to just shut things out and work hard. So, that's what I did that day. The morning started out a little rough. We had to leave home by 6:15 a.m. with our three little boys. I made a plan with them the night before and discussed the fact that their typical 5 course breakfast ( I am not kidding...) was not going to happen. I packed a cooler and filled it with lots of food to help them survive until 7:30-8:00 when they could search for more food in New Hampshire while Mommy prepped for her ride. However, at 5:55 a.m., a couple of them decided that they would indeed starve if they didnt' eat Right then!! sigh....what is it about boys and eating?? (I say that with a grin because I do understand the driving need for food.) But seriously, they are completely willing to watch Saturday morning cartoons until 8:00 or so without breakfast but if we are on our way somewhere...Stop everything while we get out 3 bowls of oatmeal and yogurt.
Ok...I"m off topic. As I said, the quick departure from Paris Hill road was not as smooth as I had hoped.
Once we recovered from that stress...we enjoyed a pretty ride through rural Maine and NH and arrived in good time in Conway. I headed inside for my race # and start time. They had me in the Singlespeed category! Good thing I noticed!!! I don't even know what that means! (later, I did see the single speed bikes....that stuff is crazy!)
I met up with my friends Steve, Mary Lou, Nate and Kurt. It was great to see everyone and to have their advice.
We got our bikes ready to roll and headed off to warm up. My family headed off for more food. Yup...told ya. Every hour we're searching for more food around here.
The race started at 9:00 and every 15 sec. a racer started. I was told it was ~15 miles of false flats and gradual climbs with the final 6+ turning into hard uphilll forcing you into your small chain ring.
Ok...Just go for it.
9:33... I was off... Praying for my tires to stay inflated and the my legs to stay powerful.
I felt great. I didn't have my race wheels on or my aero helmet. I wanted power data and I basically spaced it on the helmet.
All I can really say is I worked hard. I was completely focused on keeping my cadence fast ( a newly discovered serious issue I have) and my power steady. I flew by a lot of people. And some fast fast men flew by me. I had my head focused on getting to mile 16 because of two things. That's where my family would be cheering me on and that's when the real climbing would begin.
Here I am coming up the hill to the mile 16 point.
riding by my gang. It was nice to be going uphill when I saw them because I could focus on smiling and saying Hi to the kids. Mark, Nat and the boys were there with encouragement and smiles. We had to stick our race #s on our sides because they do their own timing (no chips) and the timers with stopwatches had to be able to see them clearly at the top. I must say, it was crinkly and annoying in that spot..I really did notice it the whole way.

A brief snipit of what my boys do while they wait for Mommy.

Nicholas--not sure if he looking for a 4 leaf clover or watching a bug.

At the Top with Steve (foreground), Mary Lou ( in the coat), Nat (blue shirt) and me.

With my guys...you can see how pretty it is there.

I felt Great the whole way up. I was able to push hard all the way up the climb and I felt super about my day.

Here's how it ended up:

Time 1:14.49 21.5 miles ~2600 ft ascent

2nd Overall woman, 1st age group

(I even won $$ !! Very cool.)

My average watts for the ride were 214 and my cadence was above 95 until the final climb which made it go down to 89. The graphs were very very steady the whole way and I just feel Great about how I was able to maintain my strenght throughout the race.

It was a much needed happy reunion with my bike. I needed to race (on the bike) and feel strong and fast. I know that my Polarbear ride was a mess because of my flat tire. I know there was a reason my time was 3 min slower than usual. But what stuck with me was the way it felt! I needed to erase that feeling from my head and feel my real self.

Rev3 Half Ironman is in 11 days and I am Ready. I am SO ready. I am ready physically and NOW I am ready mentally.

Bring it on....