PRE-RACE

Our first flight was scheduled to take off at 11:30 on Friday morning. We left the runway at 12:45. Our connection was scheduled to take off at 3:50. It left Miami at 3:52. We deplaned in Miami at 3:55. Alrighty, time to get comfy at Miami International! Next flight to New Orleans wasn’t until 10:45. So Chrissie, Jesse, and I set up camp in a nice little corner of MIA, and had a good ol’ time people watching. When 10:15 (advertised boarding time) rolled around and there was no plane attached to the gate, we kissed good-bye to the anticipated 12:30 bedtime. At 10:45 the airline attendant announced that there was a delay… Duh! We finally made our way to New Orleans and crawled into bed around 1:30am.  

Personally, I find indoor bike time trials to be one of the most painful tests of fitness. They’re worse than a 5k. The first 5 minutes are usually ok, and then all hell breaks loose as you try not to lose the wattage that you’ve averaged but your heart can’t seem to pump hard enough to get blood to both your legs and your brain. By continuing to pedal with all your might you force the blood south and start to see spots as a result. When you finally hit the “finish line”, every muscle, including some not generally associated with cylcing, is toast.