Haute Route Alps - Stage 5 (Time Trial)

STAGE 5 - 10K Time Trial 

August 25th, 2022

Start: Meribel, France

Finish: Meribel, France

6.2 miles

59:33 riding time

6.27 mph average

2657 feet

Climb: Col de la Loze. 

For our "rest" day, all we had to do was ride 10K. Up the Col de la Loze. 2657+ feet to climb in 6 miles. Pitches above 20%. Over 9% gradient for the majority of the climb. Summit at ~7500 feet. At this point in the event, we have covered 390 miles and 52,000 feet of elevation gain in five days. 

Yeah, a lot to accomplish before we could full enjoy our rest day. 

The overall vibe was a bit lighter in the morning as every rider had a set start time range for the time trial. Mine was 9:45-10am and Karel had 10am - 10:15am. They seeded everyone based on overall times so that the top seeded athletes were at the end.

We woke up around 7am (yay for sleeping in!) and had breakfast at the hotel. Although I felt a bit more in my element with the concept of a time trial (my own effort), the course had me worried. I wasn't sure if I had the energy to get up some of the steep pitches and I was worried about having to walk (or fall over). 

After we ate, we took some time to foam roll and do some mobility before heading out on the bike for a warm-up. There were many riders out warming up which it was really important to go into the time trial with a good warm-up in the legs. We wore our triathlon one piece race kits because why not, it's a time trial! 

It was hard to find anywhere flat around the village so there was a lot of back and forth riding. Every pedal stroke was hard, especially going uphill. I found myself extremely nervous. 

When I rolled up the staging area, they called my name right away. After a 37 min warm-up, it was nearing 9:45am and I was about to go. I didn't even have time to think about the start so I just rolled up to the starting stage and within 60 seconds, I was off. I think this was actually a good thing as I didn't have any time to think about what was about to come. 

Once I started, I found myself a bit less nervous. I mean, there's no turning back now so I may as well make the most of the next hour. My goal was to finish but I also gave myself a bonus goal of trying to get under 1 hour. 

The first 1.5 miles were not too bad. It was a gentle 7% grade, weaving through the streets. Eventually the road turned into a golf path type of road (very narrow) and then I hit the first kicker. Ouch, that was steep. There was no way to control my heart or take it easy. I had to give every ounce of power to get up the climb. Then the road settled back down again to 7% (which felt like I was going downhill compared to the kicker) so I was able to relax. I knew I wasn't going to gain any time or places for this time trial so I tried to be really strategic with my energy. I didn't want to overdo it on the "easier" sections as I knew I would need the energy, muscle power and heart beats for the last 5K - the "hard" stuff. 

With other riders already on the course, it was easy to get a glimpse of what was coming - seeing athletes rock their bikes side to side to power up the climb helped me prepare myself. And then there were the riders who were descending down from having already completing the climb - which gave me some reassurance that I would die getting to the top. 

The switchbacks were a blessing as it gave a tiny bit of relief before the road kicked up. 
With every steep pitch, it took everything I had. I questioned if I would be able to get up the next steep climb but then when the gradient dropped to 9 or 10%, I had a bit of relief. There was a short 30 second moment of downhill riding which was grately enjoyed. Looking ahead at the finish, I could see the road ad it went straight up. 

But thankfully the end was in sight. 1K to go. 1K until I get to rest and fully enjoy my rest day. 

There were a few riders on the sidelines cheering and an announcer on the top. I soaked it all in. The hardest climb of my life. 

When I got to the top, I couldn't believe the view.  also beat my goal of breaking an hour and went 59:33. After enjoying a few apricots and a cookie, I walked over to the finish line to wait for Karel. 

There he was, muscling his way on the 20+ gradient to get to the finish line. 50:44 to get to the top. After he crossed, he made it a few more pedal strokes until he hobbled off his bike and collapsed. 

With no rush to get back (except getting a little cool at the top), we spent the next 35 minutes really taking it all in. 

The descend was even more amazing as we could really take in all the sights that we missed while suffering and making sure that our next pedal stroke was not our last. During our 22 minute descend, we stopped to take a few more pics and made sure to give way to the riders who were climbing. It was motivating and inspiring to see the top seeded riders (especially the females) riding so strong up the climb. 

After we finished, we changed and had a snack and then walked across the street to the Olympic center for lunch. After lunch, we caught up on some work for our athletes as we had a bit more time and energy. Later in the afternoon we walked around the town and got a few things for dinner. I was craving cereal and chips so that was my dinner. It totally hit the spot and I felt so good going to bed. 

Although Karel found the stage very hard, the day itself was very much needed. It's amazing what a few extra hours of rest and food can do for the mind and body. 

While we were sad to pack up and leave Meribel, we were really excited for our next stop - Megeve. Our final destination for the event and where we would be spending the next two nights. 

Lessons Learned 
In the afternoon of the stage, we watched the Col de la Loze stage from the 2020 Tour de France. After riding this climb, Karel's entire perspective of professional cycling changed. He no longer understands how these riders can ride so fast, with such a high cadence and attack on these climbs. Watching this video left us with our mouth wide open, in disbelief of what these riders can do. 
There's something incredibly special about this experience of riding on these legendary climbs. Although we ride these climbs 2-3x longer than the TdF riders, we are on the same climbs. 
This stage taught me a lot about comparison. There was no way I could get to the top of this climb trying to race another athletes race. The only way was to focus on myself and my own effort. It's so easy to compare yourself to other athletes or even a past version of yourself. It's so easy to feel defeated when being passed by another athlete. But knowing that I was giving my absolute best with each and every pedal stroke, I was so proud of myself - on this day, with the fitness, health and ability that I brought to the stage. Watching the tour and other cycling events is one of our favorite things to do but we now have a whole new perspective of what these riders are capable of doing with their bodies and minds. 

Spinners 10-mile TT (and weekly training) recap

I can't believe that we are rolling into another race week. It's been great to have something to look forward to and to keep the enthusiasm for training alive, week after week. 

This season has been a bit unconventional for us as it relates to training. Although the pandemic was such a stressful and difficult time in our lives, it also provided us with an opportunity to step away from structured swimbikerun training. We took advantage of the opportunity and have kept our souls happy with swimming, biking and running, but just in different ways than in the past. With no goals to chase at races, we are so happy to still feel a spark for triathlon training and racing, especially after such a challenging past year. 

After our loooong drive home on Sunday after our Xterra race weekend (off-road tri for Karel and trail run for me), I needed a lot of sleep. I had no plans to workout on Monday as I had a lot of work and consults to check off my to-do list. With no intention on working out, I heard online that the Furman campus had opened to the public (after 15 months of being closed) and I couldn't wait any longer to be reunited with that beautiful campus (it's about 1.5 miles from where we live). I got on my road bike around 6:15pm and had an easy 43-minute cruise which included a lot of happy miles through the campus. 

On Tues morning I met my swimming partner/good friend Kristen at the aquatic center and at 7:30 we had a great swim workout. Three rounds of 7 x 100 steady effort on 1:45 (meters/long course) and I was coming in around 1:27-1:29. After each round of seven, we did a 300 smooth w/ choice toys). I felt really good in the water. The trail race + travel really made my IT band angry so I was being extra careful with my posture while working and light mobility and foam rolling on my back, quads and hamstrings. But swimming felt really good - the movement helped. 

In the afternoon I had planned a bike/run workout but after texting with my friend Alexi, I convinced Karel to join me (and her) for a group ride at Donaldson. But instead of driving to the start of the ride, we biked there with a semi large group on the Swamp Rabbit Trail to downtown and then on several new roads that we have never been on. It was a very adventurous ride as we had to jump over a guard rail with our bikes, ride on gravel and climb on a few big rocks to get to the start of the ride but it was fun nonetheless. We started at 4:40pm and arrived to the Donaldson center (7-mile perimeter loop) around 80-minutes later (17 miles). There was a very large group for the ride as the first loop was a memorial ride for a local cyclist who had passed away from a senseless tragedy and then was the "race" part of the ride - 5 loops with a police car leading the ride. There must have been over 200 people at the ride and a good 80+ people starting the "race" ride. Because I was on my tri bike (ha - I did all that adventurous stuff on my tri bike while everyone else in the group was on their road bike), I did my planned workout in the other direction of the ride (other side of the road) which was 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 15 minutes, each with 5 min recovery. All ON efforts were steady strong. Karel did the group ride and they averaged 27 mph! He had a lot of fun in the group on his road bike. We then biked back home on some new roads that we had never ridden on and the entire workout was 3.5 hours and almost 63 miles. Knowing that Wed was going to be a rainy day, it was nice to knock out a longer mid week ride - and it went by so fast and it was so much fun! 

On Wednesday morning I opted for the treadmill. My IT band was feeling better and I wasn't feeling a colder run in the rain. After Karel and I did an EC Fit mobility session, Karel ran outside and I did 10 x 3 min steady strong efforts w/ ~90 sec EZ between for a total of ~75 minutes of indoor running. The time passed by quickly as I had several Vlogs to catch up. 

On Thursday morning I had another good long course swim. It was a long one of around 4600 meters (~5000 yards) and I did a lot of pulling (paddles and/or buoy) to focus on the upper body. Around 4:30pm, we drove to the Donaldson center for the big "event" of the week - the Spinners 10-mile TT! This free event (all you have to do is be a Spinners Cycling Club member) was something that I really looked forward to last year as all our triathlon races were cancelled so this TT was a fun way to suffer and be in some sport of "event" environment with a bib number, start and finish line. Our athletes Alvi, Yannick and Ruthanne also participated. Karel wasn't on board until the day before the event when he convinced himself that he wanted to do it as well. 

Here are the stats from the event according to my Garmin (Results Here):
9.90 miles
Total time: 24:44
~445 feet elevation gain
Average power: 200 W (max 445)
Average Normalized Power: 204 W
Average speed: 24.0 mph (max 36.2 mph)
Average HR: 139 (max 154)
Average cadence: 88 rpm

After picking up our bib number, we did a warm-up on the opposite side of the course for around 33 minutes. This warm-up included a few pick ups to get the blood flowing. It was really really windy and I was a little apprehensive to ride with the disc wheel but I tried to get the negative worries out of my head by reminding myself that "racing" always feels different than training. 

My start time was 6:10pm so I lined up around 6:07. Karel's start time was 6:14pm. There was someone there offering to hold the bike (official time trial start position with both feet clipped in) but I was a little nervous to try that for the first time so I just clipped in when I started. 

As for the 10 mile out and back time trial, I gave it all I could and really focused on being aero, working the downhills and being willing to suffer deep on the uphills. The biggest hills are at the beginning/end so I gave it all I could and was happy with my effort. I was the only registered Pro 1/2/3 female which was a bummer to not have any competition. Maybe next time. It was fun to race with some of the guys. After the ride we did an EZ spin for 20 minutes and then gave a big shock to our legs with a 20 min run off the bike - ouch! It took a good 1/2 mile just to loosen things out from the hard effort. Karel did great and he was happy he didn't have any back pain on the TT bike. 

It was a late night as we didn't get home until around 8:30pm and then an early wake-up alarm for our 7am master swim workout on Friday morning. Surprisingly, Karel had a really great swim. I was struggling a bit but was still able to put together a good 3800 yard long course workout (~3400 meters). I had a well-needed massage on Friday at 12:30pm and I was really happy that my ITB was no longer angry but the massage was good as my hips were feeling a bit tight and twisted and I didn't want to take any risks going into the weekend (I actually booked the massage before the trail run as I knew I'd be dealing with some niggles after running off road for 13+ miles). In the evening, we drove to Furman to walk Campy around the Furman lake. It was so nice to be back on the campus with Campy as we love walking him on the beautiful campus. 

As for the weekend, it didn't feel much like training. I guess that was kinda the theme for the week as I was really looking forward to every workout and the time just went by so quickly with each session. My friend (and pro cyclist) Alexi texted me on Friday evening to see what my Sat riding plans were and it worked out the I was planning a 2.5-3 hour ride on my tri bike w/ some intervals and she had 3-4 endurance ride planned. So we linked up for the ride (Karel joined as well but did his intervals ahead of us) and after ~1 hour of warming up on the country roads, I did my intervals on Pumpkintown Road and Alexi just stayed on my wheel. The workout was: 

3 x 15 min (build within to over half IM effort) w/ ~5 min EZ between

20 min steady strong

We ended up with almost 3 hours and 52 miles. I felt really strong on the bike and Alexi kept me honest with her staying on my wheel. The miles went by really fast and it was nice to have some company for this last ride before race week (IM 70.3 Chatty). After the ride, Karel and I did a ~40 min run w/ 3 x 5 min stronger efforts w/ 3 min best EZ pace between. Both of us decided to run in Furman and it felt great to be back there running. In the evening we had dinner with my mom at her house and then walked to the park in her neighborhood for live music. 

On Sunday morning, Karel had a last minute idea to do a 1-hour gravel ride in Tuxedo, NC (by Lake Summit) followed by a run around the lake. I was excited for the change in scenery and I just love running off road at Lake Summit. It was a beautiful gravel ride and then a strong build run off the bike. Karel ended up with about a mile more than me on the run as he ran the last mile with me. We both felt surprisingly good over the weekend - although we are both in need of a good night of sleep tonight. 

It's been a while since I have done a weekly training recap and I felt like this was a good opportunity to share how we have been having fun with "race" specific training. !6 hours of training and although it was tough at times, it was a lot of fun. It may be unconventional but it's certainly feeding our soul - which we need right now in our athletic career. 

Greenville Spinners 10-mile TT #3 - Race recap

 
Photo: Greenville Spinners

After the last Greenville Spinners Time Trial event (#2 in the series but my first time participating in the event), I made note of some areas of improvement. Although only a few weeks separated the two events, there were so many lessons learned from my first ever Greenville time trial event. 

There are so many differences between endurance racing and time trial racing. In an endurance triathlon event, it's all about energy management - being great at not slowing down. In a time trial race, it's all about you versus the clock. Although both are extremely uncomfortable, it's a very different type of hurt. In endurance racing, the body endures great mechanical fatigue, not to mention dehydration, glycogen depletion and central nervous system fatigue. You can't fake the training if you want to perform well in an endurance event. There's no skipping steps or rushing the process. You need great body awareness and exceptional mental strength. Going into an endurance vent with a haphazard fueling and hydration strategy (before and during the event) often leads to GI issues, early fatigue and other performance limiters. In a long distance event, there is room for error and mistakes. Not always does the "fastest" athlete perform the best on race day.

In a time trial event, every physiological system in the body is called into action. The little details (like aerodynamics and willingness to suffer) are extremely important. Although nutrition is important, it won't necessarily make or break the race. Being fit, strong and powerful go a long way. Did I mention the ability to suffer? It's a very uncomfortable feeling when the heart is beating out of your chest, your legs are burning and at any moment, you feel like you can't go any harder but something inside of you tells you that you still have a little bit more in you. 

After my first attempt at the 10-mile event, I knew there were things that I needed to do differently if I wanted to perform better. I certainly felt a bit of expectations in this last time trial event as I had a reference point to compare to (series #2). Knowing that improvements are not always linear, I felt like I could do things better this time around. 

               

I went into this race very tired - emotionally and physically. Still mentally exhausted from our 6-days of training camps, this past week has been extremely busy. I've also found myself emotionally drained from all of the COVID-19 news/media. When Karel and I arrived to the Donaldson parking lot around  4:45pm on Thursday late afternoon, I was anxious to get on my bike to loosen out my legs. As I started my warm-up, my legs felt just like they did throughout the week - heavy and tired. Interestingly, my running legs have felt good and I've been enjoying swimming long course this week. But on the bike - ugh - I had no oomph. I made sure to give myself plenty of time to warm-up. I felt it out as I went along and did a warm-up that helped me get into the zone. It took me the entire warm-up to finally start to feel somewhat good. 

Warm-up
15 min EZ
2 x 30 sec all out (w/ 60 sec EZ)
2 x 45 sec all out (w/ 60 sez EZ)
3 x 3 min build w/ 3 min EZ
EZ spin until my start time of 6:14pm EST

Karel joined me (as a participant) for this last series (even though he is not a fan of time trial events - he was always a crit-style racer and enjoyed the sprint at the end of a road race). Of course, with 8 years of triathlon under his belt, he has become a different cyclist and much more of a well-rounded endurance triathlete - not to mention an incredibly fast and efficient runner! Karel put himself in the Merckx category (no time trial equipment, just a road bike) just to keep it more fun for him. 

As I warmed up (Karel and I each did our own warm-up), I took note of the wind direction and made mental notes of the parts of the out and back 10-mile course that I needed to take advantage of. In the last event, I felt like I could not have gone any harder/faster on the downhill segments. Instead, I needed to embrace the suffer and push harder on the more difficult sections (climbs and false flats and in the wind). This is where I would be able to gain a little more time (talking seconds - not minutes) but it would certainly come at a cost. I also knew that I needed to have a really quick start (clipping in) and needed to nail my u-turn at the turn around. 

Having friends/athletes at the event made a huge difference. Our athletes Alvi and Yannick, along with our former athlete and good friend Thomas, were also participating in the event. Since the starting times are first come, first serve (you sign-up online), we strategically positioned ourselves one after another for motivation. With a 1-minute gap between each rider, we each rode our own race but also had vision of who was around us on the out and back course. Having Karel ahead of me gave me a rabbit to chase (I never caught him but I did ride faster than him ;) and I also felt like I had a bullseye on my back as I had Yannick, Alvi and Thomas chasing me down (in that order). I knew Yannick would catch me but my goal was to not let Thomas catch me (he started 3 minutes behind me). All three of these guys are incredibly fast. This mental approach helped tremendously. Even though it was me against the clock, I was able to squeeze a bit more out of myself knowing that I had people chasing me down along with having Karel to chase. 

Lastly, I focused on all the little things during the race that could make a big difference. In addition to my race bike set-up, I had a little sport nutrition in my Ventum hydration system to keep my brain alert and to keep my mouth/throat from getting dry. Although it was a little added weight (I didn't have anything in my front bottle - it was just there for aerodynamic purposes), it was negligible. After the last event, Karel put new elbow cups (Wattshop) on my Ventum and moved the cups a bit closer to the aerobars. While this position allowed me to get more aero, it also helps me feel even more stable on the bike (especially when pushing hard). Lastly, all 5-feet of me needs every opportunity possible to gain free speed - whether it was tucking in my head (while still safely looking ahead), nailing my start and u-turn (thankful there was a cop controlling traffic, which allowed me to quickly and safely take the turn), pushing as hard as I could on the downhills (to get out as much watts as I could) and lastly, being willing to suffer a bit more on the inclines. 

It's amazing what you learn about yourself after one all-out effort. You quickly realize that you are always capable of a little more - even when you think there was absolutely nothing left in you. 

I left everything out on the course. It took me several minutes to return back to life after I crossed the finish line. I didn't physically catch Karel, Yannick passed me a few miles in and Thomas never caught me. Although the course was slightly shorter than the last time, I had a big improvement. It hurt, it was painfully delightful and I was reminded of why I love racing - there is so much satisfaction in breaking down physical and mental barriers. You learn so much about yourself (like thoughts/feelings are not actions) and you get to surround yourself with like-minded individuals who understand your joy for suffering. 

A big thank you to the Greenville Spinners Bicycle Club for putting on this series. With all that is going on in the world, none of us are immune to a wide range of emotions. I can't escape my daily rollercoaster of emotions but for these brief moments in time -when I move and use my body - I feel tremendous joy and gratitude for my physical health. I didn't come this far to only come this far. Onward I go! 

GARMIN STATS (Series #2)
Distance: 10.2 miles
Time: 25:33
Speed: 24.0 mph
Normalized lap power: 198 watts (average power 192 watts)
Elevation gain: 436 feet
Average cadence: 95 rpm
Average HR: 152 bpm (max 166 bpm)
Average temperature: 87 degrees 

GARMIN STATS (Series #3)
Distance: 9.98 miles
Time: 24:17
Speed: 24.7 mph
Normalized lap power: 203 watts (average power 201 watts)
Elevation gain: 410 feet
Average cadence: 90 rpm
Average HR: 151 bpm (max 164 bpm)
Average temperature: 87 degrees 

Race Report: Greenville Spinners 10-mile TT

Although your race season may look different in 2020, it's important to find ways to feel athletically challenged. Here are a few reasons why athletes still need to be put into "race like" scenarios:

• To look forward to a physical and mental challenge.
• To keep you motivated and dedicated (give yourself a reason to keep showing up to your workouts).
• To give training a purpose.
• To anticipate, plan and prepare for something (similar to a race).
• To feel the nerves, excitement and wonder of the unknown.
• To test yourself in uncomfortable scenarios (similar to race day).
• To feel pressure to show up and deliver the best version of yourself on that day.
• To challenge yourself. Perhaps to do something that you have never done before.
• To hold yourself accountable: Start what you will say you will do. Finish what you start.

Although the Greenville Spinners Time Trial series always interested me, it was never well-timed with my triathlon races (or our group camp schedule). With no triathlon races on my 2020 summer calendar (all have been cancelled), I have been itching to race. I am really missing the comraderie of suffering, seeing familiar faces, cheering for others and going through all the emotions and motions of racing. The race itself is just a bonus.

After signing up for the Time Trial, I quickly found myself feeling all the nervous energy that I had been missing for the past 9 months. Karel was really excited for me to race in my first ever time trial so he decided to stay on the sidelines for this event so he could watch/cheer for me in action. Plus, we had two of our athletes (Alvi and Yannick) along with knowing several friends and familiar faces at the event, so Karel had fun being in the race mode without having to suffer. Not to worry - I did plenty of suffering!

I went through all the motions of preparing for my time trial effort (which started at 6:52pm on Thurs evening). I "tapered" with bike specific workouts to help sharpen my engine. I reduced my running volume (I kept with my normal swimming training) and I kept strength light and focused on mobility. I found myself nervously excited on Thursday as I counted down the hours to the event. I triple checked my gear, got overly excited about putting on my "race kit" and got all the feels when I saw my Ventum bike all race ready (thank you Karel!) with the race wheels on. 

The event atmosphere was safe, fun and inviting. There were over 80 athletes registered in all types of categories. Some had full time trial set-ups whereas others had road bikes. There was a wide range of abilities and even a hand cycle participant (so inspiring!!).

It was hot and steamy out but I wasn't complaining. I love the heat and I was ready to suffer. 

Karel joined me for my race warm-up, which lasted a little less than an hour. As an endurance athlete, I knew I would need a long warm-up before I felt ready to go. Thankfully we arrived early and gave myself plenty of time to get in a solid warm-up.

WU:
~15 min EZ
~10 min steady (still pretty easy)

MS:
3 x 2 min (build #1 to 3 from strong to very strong), each with 90 sec EZ spin
5 min EZ
2 x 15 sec all out sprints w/ 90 sec EZ spin
EZ spin

Total time: ~50 minutes (~15 miles)

I rode on the time trial course, which was an out and back course, totalling 10 miles (it ended up being slightly longer at 10.2 miles). The course features rolling hills, with one significant climb on the way out and way back, right near the start/finish. The course is on a popular road for cyclists as its a nicely paved ~7 mile loop that circles that Donaldson airport. There are also several large factories spread out inside the loop so the best times to ride at Donaldson are in the evening and on the weekend. There's a designated parking lot (with two port-o-johns) provided by the Greenville Spinners. 

Did I mention how great it was to see so many familiar faces?? I've been competitively racing triathlon for over 14 years and although I love to compete, I just love being around like-minded individuals. 

After my warm-up, I kept spinning my legs until it was time for me to line-up for my designated start time (6:52pm). Riders went off in 1 minute intervals and we spaced ourselves out as we stood in place, ready for our start time. 

I didn't feel too nervous for the event but instead, I was excited for the suffering. I was going to give it my best effort as I didn't want to miss out on this opportunity to test myself. Karel prepared me well and I was mentally and physically ready to leave it all out on the course. 

Just me against the clock. Often called the "race of truth," a time trial is often viewed as the ultimate test of a cyclist's fitness ability. Lucky for me, I am a triathlete and I have not done any specific time trial workouts specific to this distance. Time trialing for 10-miles is very different than completing 112 miles on the bike after 2.4 miles of swimming and before 26.2 miles of running. Nevertheless, I focused on what I could control - bike handling skills, terrain management, aerodynamics, gear and mental attitude. I can't change my fitness when I arrive to a race but I know I can give my best.  

Garmin Stats: 
Distance: 10.2 miles
Time: 25:33.58
Speed: 24.0 mph
Normalized lap power: 198 watts (average power 192 watts)
Elevation gain: 259 feet
Average cadence: 95 rpm
Average HR: 152 bpm (max 166 bpm)

Cool down spin: ~20 minutes

After my effort, I was spent. My legs were shaking and I could barely stay stable on my bike. Karel was on the last hill near the finish and he yelled "push it, push it" to me as I was giving everything I had at the finish. I managed to squeeze out a tiny bit more but wowzer, that hurt. It was painfully delightful. My heart rate rarely gets that high so I knew it was a honest effort, leaving everything out on the course. Mission accomplished. 

I am incredibly grateful to my body for allowing me to participate in this event. I realize these are difficult times and life is uncertain and unpredictable. I am thankful that the Greenville Spinners put on such a well-organized and safe event and that I have the health and ability to participate. And thank you Karel for all your support and for teaching me how to become a stronger, more confident and more skillful cyclist. It's crazy to think how much I struggled to ride a bike when I started triathlon and now I absolutely love my time on two wheels. 

Learn more here: Greenville Spinners Summer Time Trials