Wrenshall TT Recap

Sorry, can't download the Garmin data till I get home.

Conditions were cold and windy. Headwind start, then crosstail, then crosshead. I started 1:00 behind Casper who kidded me I'd catch him for payback from TNT 2 weeks ago. Fat chance. Kruiser started 30 seconds in front of me, a perfect rabbit. Jordan started :30 behind me, and Timmer started 3:00 behind me, so I figured that was a safe gap, and didn't think about it.

I started hard as usual, and got my heartrate up around 170 right away. I caught Krusier just after the turn into the crosstail wind. From that point until the next turn, it was mostly a slight downhill, with just a couple rollers. I kept turning my 56-12 as much as possible, and it felt pretty good. I caught Mike Lyner for 2:00 at about the halfway, so I was pretty sure I was on a good ride. Then it started to rain. That kind of sucked, but it wasn't that bad.

I took the turn into the crosshead wind, and it hurt. I was wet, the road was rough, and it was a false flat most of the way home. I kept jumping between a gear that was too easy, and the next which was too hard. I just ground it out until I saw John Stamm ahead. He started 3:30 ahead, and I knew if I caught him, I was definitely on a good day. The last mile was deadpan flat, and I buried it as much as I could. I couldn't get my heartrate over about 175, so I was pretty wasted. I finished in 37:03 for an average speed of 26.3mph. Ave HR was 168.

Casper scored the overall win in a super fast 35:16, just 3 seconds ahead of Timmer. Great job guys. My time was actually good enough for 1st in the Masters 35+, and 3rd overall. Whoo-hoo! I got paid twice! I was only 1 second ahead of Mike Johnson and Matt McDonough. My teammate Paul Rennert got second in the Masters 35+ for a Loon State 1,2.

Jordan won the younger juniors by 17 minutes. Another job well done. Pretty soon, I'll have to think about putting clip-on aerobars on his bike. Not just yet though. He's fast enough.