I went out to Maple Park today for the John Fraser Memorial Time Trial -- a good opportunity to try out my TT setup and get some good practice in. I raced the course twice, first in the W40+ category and once in the women's open.

We got there late, so I didn't have time to warm up properly. 10 minutes back and forth near the start house and then I was up. It HURT. I had my 30 second "man" in sight, and slowly reeled her in. We passed the guy a minute in front of her at the turnaround and soon after, I passed her. However, I started to die in the headwind and she passed me back. I also didn't know where the finish line was, so I wasn't able to gauge my effort optimally. My time was 21.03 - not terrible, but not very good either. It was only 8-ish miles.

Afterwards, my lungs felt like they were full of broken glass and [oddly] I felt like my teeth needed to fall out.

I got my other number pinned and went back to the start house for my second effort. This one felt better -- the aerobars weren't so awkward, my breathing was better. I felt like I was spinning better. I didn't have anyone directly in front of me, but I did eventually catch and pass my minute man. The wind had gotten stronger, but I didn't feel like I was losing power the way I did the first time. I ended up being a bit slower - 21.17, I think. Afterwards, I felt OK. I guess I didn't work hard enough.

I placed fifth in both categories.