4th Annual Deep Blue Time Trial

Posted by Dan on 6. September 2009 05:39

Last weekend while in South Carolina for their state road race championship, I stumbled upon the 4th Annual Deep Blue Time Trial in Middletown, DE. Delaware? Sure, why not. It was a mere three weeks ago that Tim and I ventured up to Church Creek, MD for their time trial, so what was another hour or so? When I saw the payout for the Cat 4 race was $60 paid three deep, it was a done deal.

I recruited a support crew by bribing them with a swimming pool at the hotel and dinner at the Olive Garden. We left Norfolk around 2:00 PM on Friday and headed up the Eastern Shore. Shortly after entering Maryland, I was pulled over and given a warning for 69 mph in a 55 zone. Oops. It was Labor Day weekend and local law enforcement was EVERYWHERE.

Several days later (or so it seemed), we arrived at the Comfort Suites in Newark, DE. Interesting place. They couldn't figure out how to apply my discount code. There were no towels in our room (none!). Our bathroom sink was a giant basin on a giant counter making it impossible for my two children to brush their teeth without standing on my shoulders. Numerous switches, drains and latches were missing or broken. The curtains wouldn't close all the way because of the air conditioner/heater AND giant halogen parking lot lights were pointed right at our window ALL NIGHT LONG. And this was in one of the newly renovated rooms. The third floor was still under construction. The icing on the cake was the pool that had a maximum occupancy of 4 and was cold. When they finally delivered towels, they brought us 5 bath mats (yes, actual bath mats) - coarse, too small and (probably) covered with hotel-grade soap-resistant mushrooms or worse. They get zero stars and I'd highly recommend you share your trunk with a rabid badger before staying at the Comfort Suites in Newark, DE. Before you label me a hotel snob, consider that I happily stayed at the Lost River Grill and Motel.

Saturday morning we shoved the kids out of bed, packed up and headed down to breakfast in the lobby. Lydia packed my usual race-day meal so I was spared a breakfast of danish and Froot Loops. The kids crammed some stuff in their gobs and we set out for the race.

My start time was 9:38 AM. We arrived around 8:00. I had plenty of time to setup the tent, setup the bike, dress and warm-up. I even took a break at 20 minutes to stretch and then warmed up some more. Seriously - early arrival rocks. My watch was a minute or two slow, so by the time I made it to the line, my 30-second man was about to start. You can't finish your warm-up any closer to the start time than that.

The course was 10.8 miles out-and-back with a slight to moderate climb just before the turnaround. I understand it's typically very windy, but today's wind was about 5 mph from NNW - tailwind out, headwind back. The road conditions, though reportedly better, were still a bit rough, maybe as rough as Tidewater Dr.



I always have trouble with distances shorter than 40k because shorter races are never the same length, making it difficult to nail down a good pacing strategy. I'll typically guess at a speed to estimate my time, then use the TrainingPeaks WKO+ Mean Maximal Power Curve to get an idea of where I should be for the duration. Today, I just rode hard from the gun. I glanced at my speed - not heart rate or power - just to confirm my efforts were paying off. I saw 29-30 mph most of the time. Keep in mind there was a tailwind on the way out. I pushed it up the hill, averaging 450+ watts for the duration, then turned around. The route back had a headwind and seemed to require a lot more work. Halfway home, I felt like I was going to blow up, the inevitable consequence suffered by riders who go out too hard. My legs were burning, but not cooked. It became a mental game to keep going. I was not going to blow up. I came around the final curve and made for the finish line. This one wasn't even 11 miles long, but it hurt.

Results came out and my time was 0:24:37 which put me in first place. Second was 10 seconds behind and third was a 1:04 minutes back. Needless to say, I was very happy with this ride. My only regret was not doing it twice. That was a long way to drive for a 24 minute ride.

Considering the great weather, challenging course and my performance, this was a great race and well organized. Thanks to Team DRT and their sponsors for putting it on. If I had to make a suggestion, I'd mumble something about the forward official calling back rider numbers also make it a point to get motorists out of the finish zone. With the start and finish lines so close together and riders congregating on the road near both, motorists were hesitant to "push on through" and would slow to a stop just as riders were sprinting for the line. Made for some unhappy finishers and scared drivers.

PICTURES of the 4th Annual Deep Blue Time Trial were taken, processed and posted by Lydia, for whom we are super appreciative.