State Championship Time Trial Report

JWT-not-so-hugeState TT race report from John Tenney and Bill Edgbert:
John – Friday
Got to the Palm Beach course a little late, around 6pm. Went out to ride the course, by myself. Bill and Wayne just drove it. Big dinner at Golden Corral with Bill, Lorraine and Wayne. They dropped me off, I drove back to Comfort Inn in Jupiter and slept well.

Saturday
Up at 6ish, had a nice breakfast at Comfort Inn. Got most of the Full Manny taken care of.

Out to the course, did some warmup. The sun was out and it was getting hot. My start time was 10:20 and they were on time. It was getting windy also. I couldn’t use the ghetto wheel, because it is technically not legal for UCI races so I switched to an 88mm rear wheel. The combination of 88mm on front and back wheels was not very stable. The seat was tipped a little forward too, so my left shoulder got a little sore. I completed the first 10 miles in under 30 minutes (about 29:45) so I felt good and was slightly ahead of schedule. I actually gained a little on Bill, who was one minute ahead of me (He was taking it easy for the first segment). As I turned on to the downwind leg, I was stuck behind a tractor pulling a device that spanned the road. I managed to squeak by but it slowed me a bit. Also, getting some noise from the bottom bracket. I stayed ahead of the 20 mph average until I turned on the downwind leg. I started dropping down to 18, 19 mph. Fortunately, I got a second wind and pushed it up to 24 mph at the end of the Hwy 98 segment. The last segment was slower though, as the road was bumpy, the wind was a factor and my shoulder started hurting more. I slugged through it and finished at 1:12:50 for a 20.3 mph average. I ended up 12th out of 13 Masters 55-59 that finished, HOWEVER, two of those guys missed their start times and did not get penalized. Seems a little unfair to me as I was there waiting for my start time, and not warming up as they probably were. 2 DNS filled out the field of 15.

Had a cool down ride after but I was pretty wiped out. Made my protein shake, jumped in the truck and started heading home, with XFL on my mind.

HugeBellyBill
My state TT race report (inspired by Johns report)

Same as Johns report except for the race. I was estimating finishing the race around 1 hour 5 minutes. Not a very competitive time when compared to what the field would be running but a doable time for me.

I started out easy and kept telling myself “do not start too hard” we have 40K to go. It was a little over 9 miles to the first turn so I kept the pace steady and kept looking for a smooth place to ride on the road. There was no traffic so that was the easy part.

After the first turn I got some help from the wind so I started to crank up the speed. The straight away after the first turn was short that was followed by a left turn another short section then a right turn with a longer section that took us to the return route. I kept the speed up on these shorter sections and raced to each turn.

When I got on the return route, which was a 4 lane highway, the wind was coming in from the right side but not to bad so I settled in to a pace and got ready for the last stretch which was a bumpy road 5 miles long with a head wind.

The last 5 miles were the toughest part of the race. At one point I had my head down and was struggling to keep the power at 100% and my speed was slowing due to the head wind and I asked myself if I was going to make it to the finish line. At that time I lifted my head an saw the finish line just around the corner. With that my cadence started to build and the speed went up. Got close to 100 rpm cadence and shifted to the next gear. I kept building more cadence and shifting to higher gears. I stopped looking at the power and concentrated on the cadence and speed. I turned the last corner and pushed as hard as i could to the finish line. I crossed the finish line around 27 MPH and let off but I could not stop pedaling. I had to slam on the brakes before I got to the corner.

I was totally spent. I rode around a while and then got off the bike and started thinking about the next day. The Cross Florida ride.

My time was 1 hour 5 minutes 26 seconds. I finished at my estimated time. All in all a good race. I have a better understanding of my FTP and can use that to tailor the trainer workouts so I can build the FTP up and get faster for next years 40K State TT. Looking forward to it.

John's map of the course with estimated wind direction

John’s map of the course with estimated wind direction

Cross Florida Ride Report

Thumbs-upJohn Tenney’s report of his first Cross Florida ride:
Sunday April 6th

Up at 4:30, we packed and left the house at 5:15. Got to Alan Shepherd Park in Cocoa Beach around 6 am. Did the usual preparation stuff, said hi to many folks, and made frequent trips to the restroom of course. I was still pretty wiped out from the State Championship 40K Time Trial the day before.

Kathleen ready for a very LONG day

Kathleen ready for a very LONG day


At 7am we rolled out from Cocoa Beach on our way to the other coast. The first hour was fast, riding along at 25mph typically in a large peloton. We covered more than 21 miles even with two bridges to climb (causeway).

About mile 30 to 35 Crockett, Morgan and I dropped off the back of the Eastside group, which had been doing 18-19mph but had started picking it up to 21-22. Somebody was pulling too fast up there. We stayed together for several miles. Morgan eventually started feeling better again and took off to catch up with the pack.

SAG-3Our first stop was at mile 48 and went according to plan. next, we went 23 more miles, but accidentally beat Kathleen to the scheduled stop – a convenient store / gas station that was inconveniently closed for repairs. We only waited about 15 minutes for her and enjoyed the rest. After this we scheduled stops every 10 or 15 miles or so, because it was now getting hot and we were going through our water supplies very fast. This interrupted our “plan” a bit but we were still on schedule to make all the time limits.

KWT-Crockett-101The whole time I was planning on calling it a day at some point and climbing in the truck with Kathleen to finish the ride. I was not expecting to have enough to make it to the end and was surprised when I started feeling better. At mile 127 I told Kathleen “I’m doing this!” and she was quite surprised. Crockett had told me to go on ahead and he would try to catch up. He was experiencing some stomach issues. (He did catch up after all, see below.)

Between mile 125 and mile 154 I got together with Kerry Smith, from Crystal River, who was willing to slow down a bit to ride with me. I was fighting “the bonk”, where my body had run out of easily accessible resources and was down to burning fat. I could only go 14 or 15 miles an hour on level ground, and unfortunately there wasn’t much of that left, as the course was getting rather “hilly.”

Crockett-finish
At the last stop I made, mile 154, I told Crockett (who was coming in as I was leaving) that I was glad to see him still rolling and would see him at the finish. Little did I know he would beat me to the finish by over an hour.

I skipped the last stop at mile 160 (Kathleen cheered for me as I rode by) and went on ahead to finish the last 7 miles. Somehow I followed a road marking that was two years old and “blacked out” but I still made the turn. There were road markings on this route also, although they looked a little worn. At this point, I was fatigued and just thinking about getting to the finish. I saw “<- XFL Finish!" on the road and turned in to a park. An empty park. Wrong park but I didn't know that. I rode all around the park looking for people. I had beat my goal of 12 hours (11:55) but where was everybody? I waited and waited. Nobody showed up. I rode around the park again. Found one lady who told me that this was not Bayport Park anymore, it's now Linda Jenkins Park and she didn't know exactly where Bayport was but it was "back that way." How I got lost
How I got lost

I almost went further in the wrong direction, but turned back up the road I was on and found a jogger who gave me good directions. I was about 7 miles away, ugh. It was getting dark, I had no lights, and my phone was in the truck on the charger. Not good.

JWT-176Fortunately I got back on the right road and Kathleen found me. I got lights out of my bag and finished the ride. I rode in to see Kathleen, Crockett and my new friend Kerry, waiting for me. It was embarrassing coming in so late (almost 13 1/2 hours) but I figured I had a great story.

We would have been lost without Kathleen.  It was SO vital, so important, that she was waiting for us at the next stop, with a truck full of all the things we needed.  Thank you again my lovely wife, for sacrificing your weekend to help us!

We would have been lost without Kathleen. It was SO vital, so important, that she was waiting for us at the next stop, with a truck full of all the things we needed. Thank you again my lovely wife, for sacrificing your weekend to help us!


Didn’t really want to hang around so we jumped in the truck and headed home. I was dreading the drive home. I thought it would be painful and long. It wasn’t. It was a fun reflection on the days activities as all three of us talked about the events of the day. Yes we were tired but we had done it, we had gotten through our first Cross Florida ride without serious incident.

USA Cycling Time Trials

ORR TT starting lineIn addition to the Airport Time Trials, Orlando Runners and Riders puts on a twice a month time trial (during daylight savings only) on Innovation Way, also on Tuesday nights. They are scheduled so as not to conflict with the Airport races.

This is also a USA Cycling points race. Finishers in rated categories who are USA Cycling members will see their ranking improve (or not) on their USA Cycling home page.

The course is a little longer, 9.5 miles, so it is a little more of a workout. It is also basically flat with two high speed turns in addition the 180 degree turnaround.

The USAC 9.5 mile Course for the ORR TT

The USAC 9.5 mile Course for the ORR TT

All races register at 6:30 pm for a start shortly thereafter (usually 7pm.)

2014 Schedule:
March 11th and 25th
April 15th and 22nd
May 6th and 20th
June 10th and 24th
July 8th and 22nd
August 12th and 26th
September 9th and 23rd
October 14th and 28th

Orlando Airport Time Trials

by John W. Tenney
Starting-lineupOne of the best ways to check your cycling progress is a time trial, and for those in the Orlando area one of the best events is Topview Sports’ Airport Time Trial Series. Promoted and overseen by Tim Molyneaux, this event is drawing larger crowds than ever.

With some new sponsors this year, the event is even more attractive, with race day prizes awarded. New sponsors include Winter Park Cycles and The Fit Lab

Races are held on Tuesday evenings (see schedule below) and typically end well before the light fails, but the Heintzelman Blvd venue offers excellent street lights for those that want to ride later. The course is an out and back with a total length of 6.94 miles. It’s basically flat except when it goes under a couple of aircraft bridges (see photo below) although the wind is usually a factor, since it is in a large, open area (airport duh) the breeze can be strong.

SW 737 on Aircraft Bridge at Airport Time Trial

Fairly common site on either of the two aircraft bridges that cross the route

The 2014 schedule is as follows:

January 21 (5pm start)
February 18 (5pm start)
March 18 (6pm start from here on)
April 8 and 29
May 13 (special 14 mile course)
June 3
August 5
September 2 and 30

The results are updated (live) using a pretty cool app called WebScorer, which posts the results to their website. Here are the complete results for TT #3.

The Orlando Runners and Riders team is starting to appear in respectable numbers at these events. While we are yet to be a threat to the podium, our times are improving and what’s more important, we are having fun.

Orlando Airport Time Trial series

Orlando Runners and Riders results from Airport TT #3

Wildman Olympic Duathlon

3rd overall in ODEpic Sports Marketing starts off their multi-sport events every year with the Wildman Triathlon Festival. For the second year in a row our founding author John Will Tenney entered the Olympic Duathlon. Here is his race report:

“I always choose the Duathlon on this one, since I hate swimming in that lake anyway, and this early in the year it is freezing cold so no excuse is needed.

The Course: The Duathlon consists of a 5K run, a 40K bike and a 10K run (two laps of the 5K run). The actual lengths are a bit shorter, but the transition running to and from the courses makes up for it.

The Run: Part trail and part paved road, it is almost always in the shade, which makes for a very comfortable run. Very pretty, and basically flat, it’s a really nice run course.

The Ride: In and around the Lake Mary Jane neighborhoods, there are a few spots with rough roads and some sand, but the main road has recently been repaved and is smooth, flat and fast. There are a few 180 degree turns which slow things down a bit.

Weather: It was a perfect day for a duathlon. Temperature started out around 55 degrees and warmed up to 72 by the end of the race. Sunny and clear with very little wind.

I got out of the house a little late and didn’t arrive until nearly 7am, with a 7:36am scheduled start. Elton Mancilla and I wandered down to the lake to take pictures of the start, which can be seen on the Orlando Runners and Riders Facebook Page. After a couple of waves went off I headed back to the transition area to get ready for the start of the first 5K run.

I realized I was going to be late and started jogging to the start line. I arrived and heard “15 seconds, get ready!” I still had sweats on. I had not even stretched yet. So, I ran to my bike, dropped the sweats and ran out with no warmup. I think I gave the field a 30 second head start. I know I saw Elton already running down the road to the right, as I was still on the grass running to the first turn.

Last year I started in the back and was the last finisher on the 5K. This year I was surprised to find myself catching (and passing) people. I didn’t feel I was running faster, so maybe there were just some slower people this year? I ended up finishing around 28 minutes, which is 20 seconds slower than last year, so given the head start I guess I improved!

Transition went well, and I actually ran with the bike out to the start. Unfortunately, my Garmin had not reset so I noticed that I was over 4 miles by the first turn. Oops. That will look weird on the first run. I was passed by a girl moving quickly out of the start, and I decided to try and stay up with her. She was doing 22 to 23 mph. I kept her in sight all the way through the first lap but lost her after the 180 turn to head back out. I don’t know where she ended up but she was a good pacer. Together we probably passed 50 riders. Only one of the leaders caught me before I made the 2nd lap turn, so that was good.

Mental things always mess up my race. The power meter, which I had gone to great lengths to use for this race, was not registering. My Garmin is excellent at picking up other people’s power meters and then totally ignoring mine. Typical. This was messing with my head a little, and may have contributed to reaching Lactate Threshold way before I thought I should. It limited me the second lap, as my legs just plain hurt. First lap was 32 minutes, second was 36, as I just couldn’t keep it much past 20mph. Several times I had to dip down to 18 or less just to rest my legs, and my butt. Still sore from some early season saddle sores.

My "Trophy" pic for my wall of fame

My “Trophy” pic for my wall of fame

Still, I started the second run well before 1 hr 45 minutes in to the race, which was my goal. Even though I stopped to use the park bathroom on the first lap, I kept my pace on target. I finished the 10K in 1:05:32, which is a personal record for me on that course, by 27 seconds (last year’s Wildman.)

It was great to have my wife and daughters waiting for me at the finish. My overall time of 2:50:22 beats last year’s time of 2:51:24 so I am happy :).

Summary: The bike was not as good as I had hoped but surprisingly my time was right up there with all my previous times last year. The second run was my best yet, so the long distance running I have been doing really helps. Disappointed about the power meter, because I really wanted to see how that looked. Well, the Spring Fling is next month!”

First Run – includes part of the bike in the map – I edited times.

Bike leg

Second run – 10K

Resource for “Try-Athletes”

This website will be in honor of all of us “Trying Athletes” out there, and hopefully will furnish some resources and insights that will help you with your journey. Maybe even some entertainment, who knows?

Chuck, Randy and I at the second Airport Time Trial

Chuck, Randy and I at the second Airport Time Trial

Annual Sports Journal 2014

2013-totalsThis journal will keep track of annual goals and achievements for John Tenney. It should be in reverse order, most recent month to oldest.


April
Started out on April 2nd at the NTC Short Course for a mountain bike race. Jami turned the course around on us which both made it harder and easier for me. Harder because the loops were longer but easier because the climbs were not quite as steep. I did three loops, the longest option, and I was the last guy running. So I finished last in the three loop division, but many people quit after two loops. It was that tough!

April 5th was the State Time Trial Championship in Palm Beach. The course was actually out towards Okechobee. It was a difficult 24.8 mile course, although it was flat the road was rough in places and here was one long stretch down SR 80 with many cars whizzing by at 70 mph. Bill and I represented for our team. I ended up averaging 20.3 mph with a 1:12:50 time. This once again put me at 12th out of 13 in the Masters 50+ division but this time with a difference, there were several guys that missed their start time, and were allowed to start later with no penalty. Also, 3 guys didn’t start at all, so my actual placement percentage should have been a little better. I’m not complaining because it’s not like I’m in the running for a state championship 🙂

The next day was the annual Cross Florida event put on by my friends at Space Coast Freewheelers. Starting in Cocoa Beach, it’s a 167 mile trek to Hernando Beach on the west coast of the state. I did an article on this elsewhere but the gist is I made it 167 miles to “a” beach in less than 12 hours, but I was at the wrong park. It took me nearly two hours to figure out where I was and how to get to the right place, and added 10 miles to my total, so I rode 177 miles in one day. Definitely a new record for me.

The 8th was the next installment of the Airport TT. Just Randy and I made it out for the team, as it was windy and threatening rain. Neither of us got much of a warmup but we rode it anyway. My legs were rubber so I was happy with my 20:11 time in the wind. Randy and I finished 13th and 14th out of 15 but we were happy to ride.

Steve Agronick, My and Randy Durkee following Airport TT #4

Steve Agronick, Me and Randy Durkee following Airport TT #4

The 9th I went out to Lake Louisa (finally) for my first road race of the year. This was a serious week of riding for me! I got dropped immediately but I finished, and Adam awarded me 18th place out of 40. (Most people quit when they get dropped in this race.) I did get lapped, but I went ahead and finished anyway.

Me rounding the ranger station turn at Lake Louisa State Park in my first road race of the year

Me rounding the ranger station turn at Lake Louisa State Park in my first road race of the year

On the 12th the team went to the UCF Time Trial, which oddly enough has a Masters 50+ division. Bill, Randy and I entered the 7.1 mile course on Lake Nona Blvd. It was a nice course which featured a double climb, out and back over the 417 overpass. We finished 16th, 18th and 19th out of 19 entered. Yeah that’s how we roll. By the way I missed 17th place by a tenth of a second! We both show 19:45 as our finishing time but David Riusech was given the nod. I’ll be watching for him …

On the 19th I joined Bill and Ward Bates for a test ride on Deer Park Road, where we hope to one day host the State Championship TT. I laid out a 24.8 mile course and managed to do it in 1:13 and change, which isn’t bad for a first try and without all my aero equipment.

On the 29th I was the only team member to make it out to Airport Time Trial #5, as the weather was seriously threatening. It was raining hard when I got there. I waited for it to stop and rode a practice lap. The course was wet but not too bad. There was an option to ride two laps but there was a thunderstorm looming near the south end so I only did one. I set a new record with 18:38 but finished 2nd out of 2 in Masters 50+ for my division. It was definitely my best yet. It was kind of hard to say how I did because many of the big hitters were doing two laps. I finished 8th out of 9 in the single lap group.

8th out of 9 of the single lappers

8th out of 9 of the single lappers


March
On the 1st I started out the month with the Winter Haven “Chain of Lakes” Time Trial. Put on by my friends at Topview Sports, this 8.1 mile time trial takes place out in the middle of nowhere, somewhere south of Winter Haven. I was just hoping to finish something other than last, as a lot of heavy hitters were out there. A total of 105 riders were entered. I was in the Masters 50+ division which had 13 entrants. Even before the start my equipment was giving me problems. My Garmin computer was picking up someone else’s heart rate monitor, and since my power meter is on the fritz, I was now without my primary measurement for level of effort. Also, it was the first time I was “held” for a start, where some lucky guy holds on to my saddle and I clip in both pedals. I was nervous as I had no idea what it would be like to pedal away from a standing start. Not to worry, JP Russo did a great job of holding me up and reassured me that it was easy, I would be fine. He was right. It was a weird course, started off downhill and went out to a very narrow and treacherous 180, where I had to unclip to get around, and then finished on a long uphill section which really hurt. I finished in 22:27 for a 21.43 mph average, which I will take. I also beat someone, as I finished 12th out of 13 in my division and 89th overall.
Chain-of-Lakes-Trophy-pic

On the 8th, Kathleen and I decided to run a little longer than usual around the neighborhood. I got a little over 7 miles and she ran 5 miles for the first time in her life. She was very excited so I took her out to dinner to celebrate that night.

On the 15th I entered my second Wildman Duathlon. Last year I finished in 2:51:23. I wanted to be fasted this year and I was – by more than a minute.

My "Trophy" pic for my wall of fame

My “Trophy” pic for my wall of fame

On the 18th I did the Airport TT, which has always been a favorite event of mine. This time Randy and Bill joined me, so we once again had three riders in the event. Bill was the fastest of course, but Randy and I both posted record times as well. I did 18:58, finally cracking the 19 minute barrier. Average speed 21.95 mph(!)

Orlando Airport Time Trial series

Orlando Runners and Riders results from Airport TT #3

Crockett and I continued to do our Clermont route on Sundays as well.


February
February 1st our group teamed up with East side again to do a century ride to Titusville and back. The weather started out miserably, with heavy fog and wet roads. It was also still unseasonably cold, in the mid 50s. We were cold and wet most of the ride. The last 40 miles were in to a chilly southwest headwind and were very painful. Crockett and I managed to ride home, as we resisted the urge to call the wife and ask her to come pick us up. In retrospect, we think now we should have called. The pain was not worth it!

On the 4th I took my road bike down to Heintzelman Blvd (site of the Airport Time Trial) for some after dark practice and it wasn’t bad. I was the only one out there. The road is well lit and I managed to do two laps plus a side road, adding 20 miles to the 20 I put on the trainer earlier. Practicing for the next Airport TT!

On the 8th I entered the Xtreme Half Marathon, which was my first half the year before. I was hoping not only to beat my last year’s time of 2:52 but to bring it down to 2:30 something, so I could beat my sister Julia’s best time (2:39). It was a chilly, rainy day but actually not bad for running. I hit 13.1 at 2:37:40 but I wasn’t at the finish! Due to some construction at Orlando Wetlands Park there had been a slight reroute which added almost .4 miles to the route. I finished in 2:41:40, with 13.48 miles on the Garmin. I still count it a win. My legs were sore the next day but not as bad as last year. I still managed to go out to Clermont with Crockett and Manny and ride 2 loops, for 51.3 miles.

This map shows how the reroute added .4 miles to the half marathon trail run

This map shows how the reroute added .4 miles to the half marathon trail run


January
It started off great, with the Annual Hal Downing New Year’s Day ride. I stayed with the lead pack a long time this year, and stayed with the second pack up until the finish. Set many new personal records on Strava segments. On the 12th I was having a great ride with the East side gang, and on the way back with my friend Crockett Bohannon, we touched wheels and I went down hard. Injured my neck and right shoulder. This affected me negatively the rest of the month and as I write this (Feb 11) it still bothers me a little. I managed to complete the Jack Frost Duathlon on Jan 18 in Avalon Park (the picture at the top of this article) third overall and first in my age group. Of course, the 39 degree temps kept a lot of people from showing up, so there wasn’t a lot of competition. Hey a win is a win! I beat all those people that stayed home.

I put on a charity fund raiser time trial on Jan 20th, Martin Luther King day, around Fort Christmas. I ran the course myself after everyone else and set a new personal record, surprisingly, because I still wasn’t feeling well. I attribute it to the space bike and the new wheels. We didn’t get a great turnout as it was cold and foggy in the morning, although it turned out to be a beautiful day. We only raised $40 for charity.

Finishing the Airport Time Trial, 3rd in Masters 50+

Finishing the Airport Time Trial, 3rd in Masters 50+

The next day marked the return of one of my favorite events, the Airport Time Trial series, put on by Top View events. I was 26th out of 34 over all, but finished 3rd in masters 50+ which got me a Winter Park Cycles gift card! I need to go spend that …

This event is planned out on many Tuesdays throughout the year and I hope to improve my time as the year progresses.

I only got one dip in the pool this month as the temps were unusually cold. In my wetsuit, I completed 500 meters, but with a lot of rest stops. Not in swimming shape at all yet!

The rest of the month I spent a lot of time on the space bike hooked up to the Cyclops indoor trainer, since it was so darn cold outside. I’ve decided to count the miles towards the “Race to the Moon”