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Nervous about TTs
ewanamacdonald
Posts: 184
in General Chat
what avarege speed are you hoping to be riding at? Also you will almost certainly ride faster in a race than in training thanks to the adrenalin. In my experience the TT bunch are very hellpful and friendly, especially the marshalls
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A little advice please?
This august I am racing Ironman UK, I've thown myself in at the deep end a bit with this one having only ever done one shorter Tri before now. Anyway, I've been taking my training seriously and it was all going well until I got a stress fracture in my ankle. It is on the mend and I'm optemistic I'll be good to race by August, but it has rather scuppered my plans of doing loads of Tris over the summer as race practice.
Since I wont be doing many Tri's I was planning on doing a few 50 and 100mile TTs to hone my biking, but as I was on the verge of entering my fist 50, I noticed that based on my training times I would have come a resounding last in the field lat year. I think I would have only been 4 minutes behind the guy who actually finished last, but shockingly I would have been almost an hour slower than the eventual winner!
I know I'm new to this, but I didn't think I would be that bad... I was hoping for a 6 - 6:30 bike leg for the Ironman.
All this is a bit intimidating and I'm having second thoughts about entering. I don't want to turn up and be a niusence to everyone finishing miles behind the field.
Has anyone else had much experience with TTs are they a generally friendly bunch? Any advice woud be much appreciated since I think the entry deadline is either today or tomorrow.
Nervous,
Ewan
It won't do any harm to have a go at some shorter distances, to get race experience, rather than anything else.
Also, your local club might well put on some "turn up and ride" events - which are a bit more relaxed, and you don't need to be in a club to do them (check at your local club, LBS before turning up). These tend to be in the evening, which means that they will be shorter distances - typically 10 miles, as there isn't really any time to do longer events. Weekends are for the main race days.
A good benchmark time to hit is 20mph - if you can do this then you will be at the end of the field, but not necessarily last - this applies to most of the events - certainly up to 50 miles!
A TT is _always_ faster than a training ride. Not just from the buzz of competing, but because the courses are usually very flat. The whole point of a TT is to go as fast as you can, so there is a natural selection process going on - you are paying to enter, so you want to go for the one that will give the best results. Non-flat courses are usually advertised as "hilly" - e.g. "The Wobbly Wheelers Hilly 25"- which are there for the real masochists.
TT folk are generally friendly - of course the young males are all about making an impact, willy waving etc. But, like a lot of sports these days, TT tends to be dominate by Vets. They've got over all the need to impress - and are generally pretty friendly and helpful!
Have a look at the Cycling Time Trials web site - there is some good advice for beginners, lists of clubs, and lists of events and results. Always good to study the form!
My Tri club puts on a friendly series of 10 mile TTs - limited to about 30 places. In the evening during the week. It's a good way off cutting your teeth without getting embarrassed!!!