15 seconds on/off x 10 with 1 extra

I did 11 just because I was having fun. Lost my bottle during one of them and too more than 15 seconds to retrieve and toss off the road. Averages: 596, 635, 650, 630, 625, 604, 633, 615, 623, 592, 642. Comparison to last September when we did this with a few minutes between.

Training for Lactate Tolerance

http://www.performancecondition.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Post-220-Section-2-Training-for-Lactate-Production-and-Tolerance-on-the-Track.pdf

Outside for these. Power was ok, but lower than yesterday. Pretty flat road but even a small undulation allowed my power to drop too much. Speed, while not the goal, was still pretty nice at upper 26 to mid 28's. It was a pretty windless day.

5x3 minutes, inside

Due to the rain I did these inside and held 401-403 on each. Hopefully tomorrows set will be outside. 

Mondays HR and Calorie Data

Half day with MyZone on with the TT effort, some commuting and then the circuit class

20 minute tt effort

I did this today so I can take tomorrow off. I went 9 miles before I hit a light. Power was still just 345. I was shooting for 350-355. Five watts isn't a big deal. I'll get there. Feel like I'm struggling to find the right cadence. I want to be 90-95 but I keep dropping back into the 80's. I don't see that happening in an actual race. The good news is that into the wind with just the aero bike but no helmet, skin suit or wheels that I averaged close to 27 mph. I will do my strength class later and get in some commuting miles.

Adding Life To Your Years

http://trainright.com/5-ways-add-life-to-your-years/?utm_source=CTS+Newsletter&utm_campaign=64d5479234-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_04_22_addyears&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9d08d48022-64d5479234-106443499&goal=0_9d08d48022-64d5479234-106443499&mc_cid=64d5479234&mc_eid=7cc4bcc2b1

More Time Trial Tips

http://www.performancecondition.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Post-219-Section-1-Focusing-For-Time-Trails.pdf

Clingmans Dome

Wonderful ride on a great day in the park. Temperatures varied from 80 to 55. Saw one bear on the way up near Chimney Tops. Round trip at 3:20 for 52 miles, 5500' of elevation gain. 

Day 2, 3x12's

I did the 3x12 today in Tennessee. Power was ok at 352-3 on the first two and 343 on the last one. I was on my Cervelo TT bike. Thats a tough bike to ride up hill in the tt position! I was pretty much out of gears from the beginning. It did feel good to get out on that bike for 90 minutes. Overall, I feel fine, just have to get my neck used to that aero position. I know I can do 360+ on these. I think after yesterdays outdoor ride, spin class and strength class that my legs are little tired. Slept great last night. May just do a fun endurance ride tomorrow and take Saturday off.

3x12 tt efforts

I did two of these yesterday along US 52 and held 353 and 361. Given that I had class I used that time to do 6, 8 and 10 minutes at similar power. I gave the class the option to take some 30 seconds breaks every two or three minutes.

April Blue Streak Time Trial

While my computer showed a 22:29 the results show a 22:09. Given that a few other people that I coach also recorded times 20 seconds slower than posted in the results, I think the results are off. Either way, for the first real tt of the season, I was satisfied with my numbers. Power was 345, cadence 89. Both were lower than expected (was hoping for 355 and 92-95) but this is about where I started last year. Actually my time was slower last year for the first ride but power was higher. It was a cool evening last year, around 50-55, compared to the low to mid 60's this year.

If going by race age of 55, I would have won the 55-59 but the Blue Streak uses actual birthdate so I won't be in that bracket until the June race. In the 504-54 my time was only good enough for 4th place. Even if I had ridden my best time of 2016 (21:38) I still would only have tied for 3rd. To win the bracket I would have had to ride within 10 seconds of my PR. Given the cool and pretty windy conditions, that wasn't going to happen.

http://www.speedy-feet.com/results.php

Taking Fitness Late In Life....CTS

How To Be An Athlete Forever

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I’ve been thinking a lot about longevity this week, probably because of the sudden passing of iconic American cyclist Steve Tilford. I met Tilly when we were juniors, raced with him on several US National Team trips, and was his teammate on the Wheaties Schwinn team. Long after most of my generation of pros hung up our wheels or moved on to less competitive forms of cycling, Steve kept racing – and winning – elite races in just about every cycling discipline. His multigenerational relevance was exemplified in the outpouring of tributes, which came from pros who raced in the 1970’s, young pros just out of the U23 ranks, and riders of all ages in between.

On Wednesday when I initially saw reports Steve had died, I thought there had to be some mistake. It always seemed like at the end of the world, Keith Richards would turn out the lights and ride off into oblivion with Steve Tilford. I don’t have a great Tilford story to share, but the events of this week have me thinking about longevity. Tilly was an athlete to the very end, so I’ll use this opportunity to share my advice on how we can all continue being athletes all the way to the end.

ALWAYS BE EXERCISING

You don’t have to always be racing or always be involved in structured training, but at some level always be riding. There’s a physiological basis for this idea as well as a behavioral one. It’s well accepted that VO2 max gradually declines with increasing age, but athletes who don’t significantly detrain from their peak performance levels are able to maintain a higher VO2 max for much longer, and the eventual decline is proceeds at a lower rate. That doesn’t mean you can’t be a high-performance athlete after a period away from high-performance sport, but it may partly explain why – in their 50’s – cyclists like Steve Tilford, Tinker Juarez, and Ned Overend have been able to win against elite athletes half their age.

Behaviorally, the premise behind ‘always be riding’ relates to consistently carving time out of your schedule for cycling so you don’t just fill that time with some sedentary task. You can even modify the idea to ‘always be exercising’ and change your sport focus; the important thing is that exercise continues to be a consistent priority in your lifestyle.

BE SOCIAL!

This applies to longevity for athletes in and across all sports. Make friends through sport. Cycling has introduced me to people I would never have crossed paths with any other way. CEOs, artists, politicians, garbage men, chefs… you name it. Go to the group rides. Participate in charity events, centuries, and gran fondos, and talk to people! Engage in the community and culture of your sport, because there will likely be a time when priorities outside of sport threaten to pull you away completely. When exercise, training, and/or competition are your only connections to your sport it is actually easier to drop out than when you would be walking away from relationships and friends.

TRY NEW THINGS

If you told me 10 years ago that one day I would own a Niner gravel bike (I just got a new carbon RLT RDO!) and love spending hours on Forest Service roads and singletrack on a drop bar bike, I would have laughed at you. Same goes with fat bikes, though I don’t personally have one. Regardless of whether you are a runner, cyclist, triathlete, or swimmer, there are so many variations and disciplines within endurance sports that you can shift your focus to a new aspect of your sport and reinvigorate your passion. If you’re feeling stuck or bored with what you’re doing, don’t quit. Just change.

TRAIN HARD, REST HARD

The longer you are involved in endurance sports and the older you get, the more polarized your training should become. It’s that grey area in the middle that sucks the life out of your training; the somewhat-challenging workouts that make you tired and necessitate more recovery time but don’t apply enough stimulus to improve fitness. Older athletes and time-crunched athletes (and especially older time-crunched athletes) benefit most from short, focused interval training a few times a week and lots of purposeful rest. When it comes to the endurance component of your training, save it for blocks of endurance-focused training instead of mashing interval and endurance training into the same schedule.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

Steve Tilford had nine lives and lived them all. The stories of his resilience are legendary, and he had the scars to prove it. Endurance sports may be gentler on the body than contact sports, but over the long haul you still get banged up. Young athletes bounce back quickly, but injuries take more of a toll as you get older. Hopefully age also brings greater means and better health insurance, but you still have to be willing to use them! Stop being stubborn about injuries; they won’t just go away on their own anymore. Invest in bike fit, physical therapy, massage therapy, and go to the doctor when you need to!

It’s not just your physical well being you need to take care of, either. To continue as a lifelong athlete it is important to address sleep problems. Insomnia, restlessness, and disturbed sleep are not conducive to an active lifestyle, career success, or overall health. Similarly, take care of your mental health. Exercise can have a powerful positive affect on dealing with stress, depression, and other psychological issues, but especially as athletes move through the phases of adulthood it can take more than a workout to work through what you’re dealing with. If an activity you have been passionate about for years and have devoted thousands of hours to suddenly loses its appeal, you could just need a break, but I think it’s also wise to at least consider the notion there may be a psychological component that is worth investigating.

Lest you believe I have it all figured out, I have at times struggled with more than one of the aforementioned tips for staying engaged in sport forever. I have struggled with motivation. I have ignored injuries only to see them get worse. I have neglected sleep and recovery in the pursuit of “having it all”. Being a lifelong athlete comes with triumphs and setbacks, highs and lows. But my commitment to being a lifelong athlete has never let me down, and I intend to be an athlete all the way to the end.

Click here to contribute to the Trudi Rebsamen Condolences Fund to support Steve Tilford’s partner, Trudi.

Chris Carmichael
CEO/Head Coach of CTS

Performance Conditioning Newsletter: Riding the ITT

The Race of Truth:
WINNING STRATEGIES FOR THE INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL

Steve Madden CSMT, USA Cycling Coach
There is no greater single challenge for a road racer than the individual time trial. The “Race of Truth” tests every physical and mental skill and ability you pos-
sess. There is no place to hide, no tac- tics to play off of, no shelter from the elements—just you, your bike and the clock. Good time trial ability always crosses over well into other racing venues. Maximal aerobic capacity, anaerobic power, aerobic recovery and mental toughness are vital to successful performance regardless of the racing venue. The athlete that races well against the clock is always a threat.
A 40K ITT requires that you ride at and sometimes above maximal aerobic capacity for about 60min. If your fitness is good and you ride a 40K ITT correct- ly you should have nothing left when you cross the line. I’ve known elite-level riders to say that if they ride a 40K ITT properly they will need someone to catch them at the finish because they won’t be able to stand up. This may sound a bit drastic but if you take the ITT seriously and you want to be com- petitive you have to be prepared to put out that level of effort.
Training your body and mind for a successful time trial effort requires spe- cialized training and precise planning. As with other racing disciplines you start with an evaluation of your fitness and skills and define your goals and make a plan to achieve them.
Evaluate Your Current Fitness
Aerobic training capacity and mus- cular endurance can be easily measured on the bike during long endurance level training sessions. If you have the capacity for 4–5 hours at an average of 70–90% of LT (lactate threshold) with some reserve strength your fitness is sufficient for more intense training.
Heart rate zones and performance values can be established with fitness testing. The Conconi protocol is a sim- ple and reasonably accurate test that can establish benchmarks for maximal aerobic capacity (LT) and Max HR. These values can then be used to set training zones. More elaborate and expensive testing, including blood lac- tate levels, VO2 and maximal power are often available through university sports physiology labs or local health clinics.
A even simpler test is a race pace effort on a 20K ITT course. Many clubs hold ITT training races that are especial- ly good for measuring the progress from

a specific training cycle. Remember, the purpose of any testing is to establish individual performance benchmarks, evaluate progress and determine fitness levels for the purpose of adjusting train- ing priorities and ranges.
Mental and Physical Skills
Are you proficient in the necessary bike skills for TT racing? Are you com- fortable and stable in an aero-position? How good is your start? Can you make a fast and safe turnaround? Being profi- cient in the necessary skills frees your mind and body to concentrate on the race. All it takes is practice.
Do you have the mental toughness to race hard for 40K? Can you fight back into a good rhythm after you fall off your scheduled pace? Are you capa- ble of focused concentration under the most physically demanding conditions? Do you have the confidence and moti- vation to push yourself beyond your established limits in training and com- petition? Racing solo against the clock is a difficult mental exercise at best. Your ability to be mentally strong and focused comes from pushing the limits of your performance and gaining confi- dence every time out.
Define Your Goals
Time standards are well known in different categories for championship distances. If you already have a personal best at a championship distance, set a realistic goal for a new PR (personal record). Your progress as a ITT rider is easily measured by how often and by how much to set a new PR.
Make a Plan to Meet Your Goals
Every USCF district awards ITT Championships for juniors, seniors and masters. Stage race events often include an individual time trial. Individual TT events are on the racing calendar in every region of the country. Identify the key events in your area and plug the dates into your training calendar. Periodize your training around these key events and structure your training to focus on specific areas of your per- formance that need attention.
Time trial training is a good compli- ment to your general training program. Everything you develop for ITT will be useful at other racing venues. Your TT training focuses on developing maximal aerobic capacity, hyperaerobic muscle endurance, active recovery, mental toughness and concentration and bike skills. More specialized training a few weeks out from an important event

tunes up your fitness and gets you com- fortable on the bike.
Mental Preparation
Mental preparation is a daily exer- cise on and off the bike and is a reflec- tion of your overall outlook on life. Athletic mental toughness builds confi- dence in your abilities and enables you to push beyond established limits during training and competition. Being profi- cient in necessary racing skills like starts and turnarounds reduces the clutter in your mind and improves concentration during a race. Visualization techniques and mental imagery instill strong rein- forcing beliefs that boost your confi- dence and improve your performance.
With regular practice your ability to focus and concentrate can be developed into an unconscious, reflex level skill. In training, experiment and develop per- sonal strategies that help you stay focused. Try counting 50 pedal strokes between HR monitor checks. Create a mantra to repeat while you race, some- thing like, “my pedals turn in smooth and powerful circles” or “I am faster than the wind.” Have a time schedule (distance at various time splits) to fol- low to keep yourself focused and on pace. Regular checks of the readout on your HR monitor, speedometer or cadence keep you focused on your out- put, workload and speed. Whatever it takes, keep your mind in the race.
Practice keeping the mental and physical pressure on under difficult con- ditions. If it’s windy day, get aero and bear down and keep the pressure on. Don’t let up and back off. Quitting is a learned behavior. Stay focused and ration out your strength for the whole distance. You may go slower, but keep the pressure on for the whole distance and finish strong. Keeping the pressure on under difficult conditions makes you mentally strong and builds your confi- dence. Especially in training, practice keeping the pressure on.
Technical Preparation
By breaking down the race into its distinct parts, (pre-race routine, start, time checks, turnaround(s) the last 5K and the finish), you can practice and fine tune each separately and in prepa- ration for the event.
The start is more technical than physical. Practice starts with a holder; relax, breath, focus, repeat your mantra, block everything else out. The start should be practiced in 2-kilometer inter- val repeats. The start must be a power-

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XTP

MSR

MTB

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING FOR CYCLING — Vol. 5, No. 2

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ful effort that gets you up to cruising speed and into a rhythm as quickly as possible. However, the start is not a sprint or a maximal effort that will load up your legs. Begin in a gear that is 1–2 shifts from your cruising gear.
After 2K you should be up to speed, comfortable and breathing steady. Focus now shifts to your time schedule and projected splits at 5K intervals. Your speedometer, watch and odometer tell you if you are on pace between time checks. Each time check tells you how you are doing and if changes need to be made.
A fast turnaround can save precious seconds. Practice carrying good speed into the turn, shift into your exit gear, set up outside for the shortest line around the cone, break hard, cut the apex as close as possible, get the bike straightened out and repeat your start- ing procedure till you are back up to cruising speed.
The remaining time checks until 35K are routine. At the 35K mark assess what you have left and prepare for the final push to the line. Assuming every- thing has gone right you will be able to accelerate a bit in the remaining kilome- ters. Pick up the pace a bit every kilo-

meter. With 1K to go shift one gear and dig as deep as you can. Stay seated for the sprint and use everything you have to cross the line. Roll to someplace safe and cool down for several minutes before you try to get off the bike.
Physiological Preparation
The fitness requirements for time trial; maximal aerobic capacity, hyper- aerobic muscle endurance, anaerobic power and active recovery—are addressed as components of your gener- al training program. However, fine tun- ing your fitness and skills for a major ITT event requires additional special- ized training. Again, if you break the time trial race down into its distinct parts the performance requirements become clearer.
The start requires anaerobic power and muscular strength for acceleration of a large gear from a standing start. Over-geared sprint repeats are excellent training for the big leg muscles. The goal of these workouts is to increase muscle recruitment in the quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings for explosive power. AP sprint training also focuses on upper body strength and form.
A fast cruising speed requires maxi- mal aerobic capacity. Lactate threshold

intervals improve aerobic capacity and oxygen efficiency to provide a higher level of output during sustainable aero- bic activity. These long intervals are best done on the road with your TT bike (or TT setup) to simulate actual outdoor conditions encountered in competition.
Increased oxygen consumption (VO2) benefits your fitness in many ways. VO2 Max intervals improve Hyperaerobic muscle endurance (output above LT) by raising the ceiling of aero- bic metabolism and buffering the effects of lactate acid. VO2 intervals increase the amount of oxygen consumed by working muscles.
Active recovery is built into the structure of the workouts via rest inter- vals and set breaks. There are no specif- ic training or intervals for active recovery. Just remember that adaptation to training (positive training effect) will “only” happen in the absence of work. If you are training hard and competing often it is almost impossible to rest too much. Recovery is the key to a healthy and productive racing season.
Rider Profile
Male, racing age 43, road category 3, 12th year racing, self-employed, avail- able training time/week 12–15 hours. 1997 goals: improve overall RR perfor- mance, improve PR at district ITT cham- pionships by 2 minutes. This athlete is a very experienced road and track rider and enjoys competing in timed events. Many years of racing has produced good mental toughness and training dis- cipline. Overall race form/fitness and endurance is very solid so training focused on raising the LT and boosting hyperaerobic capacity.
This rider followed a 4-week sched- ule of specialized training using a stan- dard 7-day macro training cycle with two intensity days (interval sessions) per week. Intensity days were separated by one active recovery rest day. Workouts in weeks 1-3 included AP Sprints and Maximal Aerobic Capacity intervals as well as VO2 repeats on a technical 4-min. power climb course. Each week included one early morning race pace effort on a 20K ITT practice course using a dedicated TT bike. The weekly practice ITT was combined with a twilight crit-training race for a double workout day. Week #4 was used for rest and adaptation but still included the 20K practice ITT.
This preparation proved successful. The athlete set a new PR for a 40K ITT on a certified national record course of 57:06. Previous PR was 58:32.
Equipment
Every serious TT rider uses special equipment to reduce the effects of aero- dynamic drag. Disk wheels, aero han- dlebars, funny bikes made of “aero”

Anaerobic Power Sprint Intervals (3 Sets, 9 Efforts)

Rolling start from +/-5 mph, Gearing 53/14-15, 15-20 second efforts or to 120rpm, NO target HR Zone for efforts, 10 min. Zone 2 active rest between sets: Rest periods are shaded. Warm-up.........30min mostly zone 2 finish with Zone 4 jumps Set #1..............3X 15-20 sec w/ 3min Zone 1-2 between efforts Break ..............10 min. Zone 2 active rest Set #2..............3X 15-20 sec w/ 3min Zone 1-2 between efforts Break ..............10 min. Zone 2 active rest Set #3..............3X 15-20 sec w/ 3min Zone 1-2 between efforts Cool Down .....30min zone 2 easy spin Zone 1-2 Total time of workout: 95min

Maximal Aerobic Capacity Intervals (Lactate Threshold)

15min. lactate threshold intervals, Target HR is ITT pace (LT + 4-5 bpm), 10min Zone 2 between SETS, 5min Zone 1-2 between efforts. Rest periods are shaded. Warm-up.........30min mostly Zone 2 finish with Zone 3 jumps Set #1..............2X 15min @ (LT+ 4-5 bpm) w/ 5min Zone 1-2 between efforts Break ..............10 min. Zone 2 active rest Set #1..............2X 15min @ (LT+ 4-5 bpm) w/ 5min Zone 1-2 between efforts Cool Down .....30min zone 2 easy spin Zone 1-2 Total time of Workout: 140min.

VO2 Max Intervals (3 Sets, 6 Efforts)

VO2 workout can be done on the road on trainer. Gearing is best for 25mph@100rpm, Efforts are 4min in Zone 4 (LT+8-10 bpm) Active rest between efforts is in Zone 1-2, Active rest between sets is Zone 2 Rest periods are shaded. Warm-up.........30min mostly Zone 2 finish with Zone 3 Set #1..............2X 4min @ LT+8-10bpm w/ 5min Zone 1-2 between efforts Break ..............10 min. Zone 2 active rest Set #2..............2X 4min @ LT+8-10bpm w/ 5min Zone 1-2 between efforts Break ..............10 min. Zone 2 active rest Set #3..............2X 4min @ LT+8-10bpm w/ 5min Zone 1-2 between efforts Cool Down .....30min zone 2 easy spin Zone 1-2 Total time of Workout: 114 min.

continued on page 8

continued from page 5
tubing, special helmets, skinsuits and shoe covers are just a few examples of the technology being used. Having a specially prepared bike for TT will help you go faster.
Take a close look at what other riders use and you will find that the best TT riders often use very basic equipment. They understand that tech- nology it is by no means a substitute for training, preparation and skills. These top-level athletes use specialized equipment to enhance their abilities, not replace them.
Equally important is your position

on the bike. The general rule for TT is to shift your position up and forward (from your normal road position) on the bike that accomplishes several things. A forward position combined with aero-handlebars produces a more narrow and compact upper body pro- file, reducing aerodynamic drag.
This position also produces a bio- mechanical advantage. Opening the angle between the thigh and upper body allows for increased leg extension and a more powerful pedal stroke. Keep your saddle height the same and try moving everything forward about

10mm to start. If you use your standard road bike for TT it helps to have a sec- ond saddle and seatpost set up to drop in for TT races.
Time Schedules
A schedule of time splits will be your strategy for the race that will keep you mentally in the race. Your schedule is based on certain criteria: desired fin- ishing time, course profile and condi- tions. Every course and day will be different. Your experience will help you decide how to structure your splits. Make your schedule realistic based on
continued on page 12

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PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING FOR CYCLING — Vol. 5, No. 2

4-week Preparation for District ITT Championships 1997
Rest periods are shaded.
Week 1 .......Intensity Day #1: AM 20K ITT practice PM Twilight Crit Intensity Day #2: AP Sprints
Weekend racing and/or race pace/endurance training Week 2 .......Intensity Day #1: AM 20K ITT practice PM Twilight Crit
Intensity Day #2: Maximal Aerobic Capacity Intervals
Weekend racing and/or race pace/endurance training Week 3 .......Intensity Day #1: AM 20K ITT practice PM Twilight Crit

the race number, duct taping carbo gel packages to the top tube by the tear-off tab for easy opening, wrapping the tops of shoe covers closed with electrical tape so they don’t catch the wind and, my personal favorite (yes I actually use this one), wearing silicone ear plugs to block out the loud and distracting noise of the wind in your ears. It really works. Be creative and think up some tricks of your own. Even if it only makes you “feel” faster it’s worth it.
MTB Adaptation
MTB racing can be described as a 2-hour lactate threshold ITT punctuated by brief periods of rest on technically difficult terrain. The kind of fitness nec- essary for a 2-hour MTB race cannot be easily developed only with road train- ing. The workouts and physiologic demands prescribed for a road TT are excellent training for XC MTB racing. By training for endurance, anaerobic power and lactate threshold on the road the MTB athlete can use off-road training time to sharpen bike handling skills, test fitness and build confidence.
The three interval work-outs for road TT preparation are easily adapt- able to MTB training. Lactate threshold intervals can be done on long climbs at steady pace while VO2 Max intervals are more suited to shorter power climbs. Resting often occurs on technical descents and a short up-and-down loop would be good for VO2 Max repeats. AP sprints can be done on flat terrain to simulate the mass start sprints common in MTB racing. O

Week 4

Intensity Day #2: VO2 Max Intervals
Weekend racing and/or race pace/endurance training Compensation/Rest Week, Active Recuperation, 2 moderate/easy road rides, 1 day OFF THE BIKE, cut volume to 60% of Week 3 level, intensity limited to 70% of Max. HR, Morning 20K ITT session, District ITT Championships

your fitness and preparation. Once you have your schedule write it down and tape it on your bike for reference during the race.
Sample Race Time Schedule
Our hypothetical course is 40K, basically flat, mostly straight out and back, neutral wind conditions with one turnaround. Your goal is to ride a steady pace and finish under 1 hour (60min). You know that from training you can ride a 07:30/5K pace. Following a schedule using 5K splits your race might progress like this.

ing area 10 minutes before your sched- uled start and listen for your race number to be called for staging.
Have your bike in your starting gear and be prepared to stage 5 minutes before your start time. Start your stop- watch when your 1-minute rider leaves the line. Roll up to holder, clip in, posi- tion your pedals, breath and relax and listen to the starter’s instructions. Your starting routine begins at 15sec to start. Move your hands to the starting posi- tion, take two more deep breaths and relax. Your eyes look up the road at 5
to go. Out of the saddle at 2 to go. Rock your weight back at 1 to go and blast off on GO! Practice your start routine until it becomes a reflex.
Tricks
Everybody has little tricks for race day. Some of the more clever ones include using spray adhesive to apply

Race Day Routine
Putting it all together on race day calls for a consistent routine that you can follow at every event. Here are some useful suggestions.

When you arrive at the venue go immediately to registration and get your race number. Then find the starting area and check your watch against the race clock. Wander back to your vehicle and set up your warm-up gear. It’s a good idea to warm up on your road bike leav- ing your TT bike set up and ready to race.
Begin your warm-up routine about 1hr 20min before your start. Begin with a 45–60-minute wind trainer session designed to progressively rev up your body and get all the fuel systems running. Next take in your pre-race fuel and change into your race uniform. Reset your HR monitor and bike computer, make a final bike check and roll out for the start-

5-Kilometer Splits for 40K ITT at 07:30/5K Pace Distance Elapsed Time Splits/Pace

0K 0:00 Start

5K 7:00 time check 1 (Up 00:30)

10K 14:30 time check 2 (Even)

15K 22:00 time check 3 (Even)

20K 29:40 time check 4 (Up 00:15 after turnaround)

25K 37:15 time check 5 (Even)

30K 44:45 time check 6 (Even)

35K 52:15 time check 7 (Even)

40K 59:45 Finish

Notes: To compensate for time lost at the start and turnaround the opening 5K is ridden 30 sec ahead of pace. 07:30 (even) splits are ridden the remainder of the race. Allowing for 15 sec lost at the turnaround you finish in 59:45.

5x3 time trial efforts, 2 minutes between

380+ on each 

HR and Calorie Data from 10:30 am until 7:30 pm

Mindful Monday from Dr. Barbara Walker

Mindful Mondays

These Monday posts have been an invitation for you to personally take a pause and explore what is possible when you allow yourself to purposely practice the concept of  mindfulness, and see how can enhance your daily performance, sleep, attention, mood, and overall energy - with consistency.

Reminder About the Goal: "Paying attention in a particular way,  on purpose,  in the present moment,  non-reactively,  non-judgmentally, and  open-heartedly as possible." -Jon Kabat-Zinn

Take in this definition slowly and with care.   As you have learned by now, Mindfulness can be practiced at every turn...while gardening, brushing your teeth, walking on the sidewalk, driving, eating, exercising, and especially when communicating with others.

Suggested Practice for the Week: This week is a simple reminder to go back to observing your breath.  Take just one minute twice each day paying attention to your breath and then allowing yourself to deepen that breath, from as low in your belly as you can and all the way up through your chest; consider a 5 second count as you inhale, following with a 5 second exhale.  Explore being in the present.  Note as to whether this comes easier from practice over the last few months, both physically and mentally. To add to this, put a cue word to it (like peace/love/focus) as you breathe or take it to the next step and consider a meditation on loving kindness - to yourself first and then spreading this to others.

With Intention for Happiness, Health, and Peace, with consistency.