:: One Second ::

:: fans may remember my april 1 post 'court date', about the 40km time trial down in carlisle. back then i didn't really fit into my skinsuit, and the best i could muster was a 68:03 (21.9 mph avg), and i vowed i'd be under an hour before the season was over. since then, i've done a few shorter tt's and watched my weight going down and average speed coming up. but thoughts of breaking an hour vanished after a 63:50 40km at pa states on monday. after persuasion that the carlisle course was faster, and i was probably still recovering from livestrong, i opted to give it another shot. a fitful 4.5 hours of sleep with drunkards outside my window, out of bed at 4am. donning the skinsuit (it fits! 17 lbs less tight) i had doubts. each 5km that went by i saw 15 seconds off my pace, seeing alot of 17-19 mphs and not many above the required 24.9 mph. turn around at 31:47. didn't help either that my only rabbit was a 4 man team just in front of me. still, only one had caught me, and i figured since i had to ride back to my car anyway, i might as well bury it. the next 5km was dead even with hour pace. at 30km i thought my oxygen deprived brain was tricking me, but i'd made up almost 45 seconds. i started seeing more 27-29 mphs with a nice long stint at 31.5. with 1km to go, sweat streaked my visor and i couldn't make out the time but knew it was close. crossed the line and conversed with a bush for a few minutes before heading back to check the time. one second. 59:59 ::