Saturday, September 28, 2013

Tuesday Night Time Trial (T'N'T) 2013 Summary and History

In August, the 2013 Tuesday Night Time Trial (T'N'T http://www.twincitiesspoke.com/tnt) came to a close.  This year I did 7 of 8 races, which is the most I have done since 2010.  In both 2008 and 2010 I did 7 of 8.
In summary, since I have been doing this series, to some extent or another, since 2006, this was my third slowest, second with a TT/Tri bike.  2006 was my slowest.  I only did two (I did 4 Black Dog TTs that year) and they were on a road bike.  2007 I did 5 (I also did 2 Black Dog TTs that year) and that was my first year with a Tri bike.  2008 is still my fastest year.  I guess all the volume and speed work I was able to put in that year, really paid off.  In 2009, I only did two.  2009 was the year I had a stress fracture.  2009 and 2010 were opposite direction years.  In 2011, they went back to running in the "usual" direction.
I contend this is one of the most difficult course, especially for the "short" distance that you will find.  Since I am not a contender at these races, the competition is way too fast, I look at it as a hard training ride.  The people who race this race are crazy fast.  The good thing about it, is that it allows me to get in a very hard ride with a good run after.  This year, after every race, I got off the bike and did a 20+ minute run.  The neighborhood I run through is a nice mix of flat and hills of different grades.  It is probably my best workout of the week.
Below I have my T'N'T results from each year, starting at 2013.  Since 2006, I have done 39 T'N'Ts and 6 additional TTs, for a total of 45 TTs.
At the end of this year, as I did last year,  I will have some numerical comparisons of my performance, in each triathlon leg, related to my training time.  Just looking at the amount of time I spent on the bike, in 2008, 2010, and 2011 I spent over 100 hours on the bike each of those years.  I spent nearly 100 hours in 2009, and over 120 hours in 2010 and 2011.  In 2012 I spent less than 90 and this year will probably be less than 90 hours.  To get faster on the bike, you have to spend time on the bike.  I am sure decreasing time is not helping, but intensity is part of it too,  When I worked at OptumHealth Performance I had free access to spin classes, which helped.  When I had a coach, that probably got me going more.  I have been busier, and training is less of priority than it used to be, so, as is the case with everything, there is a tradeoff.  That is fine.  That being said, when I post my triathlon, and duathlon summary for the year, that shows about normal performance to previous years.  That might partly be due, in the case of triathlon, to the new Masters swim I am going to which has been a lot more challenging than previous Masters swim.  The improvement, possibly, in swim conditioning, would definitely help me on the bike.  Anyway, just some random thoughts about my performance. 
Hopefully, in 2014, I can continue to do T'N'T.  My plan going into 2014 is to do more strength and I would like to regularly attend a spin class somewhere once a week.  Also, maybe, finally, start yoga.  I don't think I am going to go above 100 hours cycling, partly because I want to continue to keep up my run, so I need to work on higher intensity workouts into 2014.

2013 Tuesday Night Time Trial Results










2012 Tuesday Night Time Trial Results









2011 Tuesday Night Time Trial Results (Least Consistent Year)









2010 Tuesday Night Time Trial Results (Reverse Course Year, Most Consistent Year)










2009 Tuesday Night Time Trial Results (Revers Course Year, coming off stress fracture)







2008 Tuesday Night Time Trial Results (Fastest Year)











2007 Tuesday Night Time Trial Results (First Year with Tri Bike)










2006 Tuesday Night Time Trial Results (First Year, on Road Bike with Aero Bars)


 

2 comments:

Unknown said...

What masters program are you doing?

Christopher Hawes said...

I Swim, in Eden Prairie. I like it, good mix of technique, distance, speed work, etc. http://www.iswimllc.com/w/