OBRA Uphill Time Trial Championships

Last weeks OBRA TT Championships were going to be my last race of the season...however the updated TT cup standings were released and I was 1 point out of 1st place. Since I was so close I figured...what the heck, and signed up for the Uphill TT Championships hoping to beat the guy in front of me in the points.

I'm not a climber by any means considering I'm 196 pounds and stand around 5'11" tall...but I can put out good power numbers and can maintain a stead pace for 30 minutes or so. I knew the times last year and figured I'd at least be competitive.

So my wife and I drove up to Government Camp Sunday morning, I got my trainer set up, talked to some friends and got ready to climb a hill.

I got a report of the climb from another racing buddy of mine and he gave me an idea of what to expect, which also gave me a little extra confidence in the climb as it wasn't as steep as I thought it would be.

Warming up before the start I was talking to a couple others about just wanting to get to the top figuring I wouldn't be on the podium and again...my goal was to beat one guy!

My time came up and I was off...Early on I felt great. My HR was up where I wanted it and I was pushing some good power numbers without feeling it. As the ride progressed I was able to keep the pace up. At about 8 minutes into the climb I caught my 1 minute guy, at about 18 minutes I caught my 2 minute guy and at about 24 minutes I caught my 3 minute guy.

Crossing the line I was right at about 30 minutes...a good 1 - 2 minutes ahead of where I thought I'd be. I knew the winning time last year was just under 30 minutes and this time would have put me on the podium so I was pretty excited about it.

As time went on I waited for the times to be posted. They called out the names and mine was one of three called out for the podium but I didn't know if I was 3rd or 1st...as it turned out...I was 1st in the 40-44 Masters cataloger.

Who knew? I never, ever thought I'd win a hill climb, let alone a State Championship hill climb. My total time was 30:04 over 5.6 miles and around 1800 feet of climbing.

This is my first ever solo championship win...all other wins have been part of a Team Time Trial team...so I'm totally stoked about this win.

Looking at the numbers from the race, my HR was high, but my power was a little low. I'm chalking this up to the elevation...starting at 4000 feet and ending near 6000 feet.

My average power was 360 watts (adjusted for altitude it would be 387 watts, a new 30 minute PR) and my average HR was 167 BPM with a max of 173 BPM. My wattage stayed pretty steady through the race with only a few peaks and valleys and my largest power bump came during the last 3 minutes of the race. I only got out of the saddle once to accelerate around a corner, the rest of the time it was seated climbing.

My HR shows a near max effort, but my power numbers were down by about 15 watts from what I can do for that duration, again I chalk it up to the elevation. Given the amount I had left, I'm guessing I could have shaved off 20-30 seconds from my time if I had to push it. Crossing the line I was breathing hard, but still had gas left in the tank while others were on the ground just beat with exhaustion.

Overall, I'm very happy with my performance and excited about the win. I'm not sure I'll do this race again, but given my performance, if I'm in shape next year, I'll likely be back.