Foto Friday: Just a Ton of Bike Porn

I'm bored, waiting on long compute times. So my friend google and I went searching for the top of the line tri bikes made by the biggest companies out there.

Q: If you had the funds (and swagger, afterall, its ALL about the swagger), which one would you ride?

Enjoy!

Bloody Toes and Garmins

Had quite the surprise after my interval run this morning:

Gross, right?

No idea where the blood even came from? Looks like just underneath the nail, I think? Strange. Happened once before on another toe, but again, never felt it.

Notice my big toe nail? Let me remind you what it USED to look like:

The nail never fell off!!! It just grew out, even though it took 6+ months.

This is probably the goriest post I have ever written....


In other words....or, ANYWAYS.....

My bike form is starting to come together, finally. Not sure why it took so darn long, but when I notice that my sit bones don't hurt as bad, it just shows that I have finally been putting in ample time in the saddle.

Take for example last night, an interval ride through the mean streets of Greenwich where the probability of getting mugged by a billionaire is pretty high, considering you HAVE to be a billionaire to live in that town.

I did a 15 min WU, then 6 x (6 mins @ 250 watts, 2 mins easy), 15 min CD.

My time trial bike (with the power meter) is in the shop this week, so I used my road bike and went by feel for the 6 min hard intervals. Despite not having power to guide my effort, it was actually liberating! It was the first interval ride this season where I could just hammer it on some curvy and hilly roads alternating between standing and sitting and just having fun.

Sometimes just going by feel is what is needed. I am pretty sure, based upon how my legs were burning and how they felt afterwards, that I was in the range of 250 watts.



I got the Garmin Edge 800 the other week, since my little yellow computer went flying off my bike mid ride back in early March. (I found it, just, I had no way to reattach it and I could no longer change the battery because the battery cover was stripped) The 800 is a piece of magic! It is SO amazing how you can customize 5 training pages to show off every nitty gritty detail of data you could ever need. Right now I have a page for general time and watts, but then I have a page for intervals that shows interval time, interval power avg, interval HR average, etc etc etc.

(source)

 After all, more data is more speed. Its science!

So if you are looking for a new cycling computer that can read power, I HIGHLY recommend the Garmin Edge 800. I have yet to get into its GPS map capabilities (mostly because I always know where I am riding) but I can imagine it is quite good.

Bring Unto Thee Long (And Hilly!) Rides

On Easter Sunday I prayed, and I prayed hard for 4.5 hours, that is, on my bike climbing some notorious hills up in northern Connecticut.

See, riding for three hours is whatever. Riding for 4 hours is, "Ok, this is getting longer." Riding for 4.5 hours is, "Wait, this is pretty long." But 4.5 hours of unrelenting hills is, "Ok, this is serious shit!"

Matty-O, Kevin, Jeff, you know what to say....

What a ride that was! AND!!! My deraileur broke, AGAIN! The bike is back in the shop as we speak getting a full tune up anyways, including new chain, rear cassette and new tires. Poor bike has been getting quite the abuse lately.

Fortunately, it broke again at the right spot, with 30 mins left, where I could just big ring it back.

Here was the loop's elevation, that I did twice, finishing with just over 76 miles for the day.

After the ride it was food time with the family. We had the traditional Campbell meal of Harrington Spiral Ham, Baked Mac & Cheese, Sweet Potato Casserole, Chardonnay (btw, don't ever drink "Good Chardonay" from Italy. It is quite bad), Salad and Rolls (no green beans or asparagus. Someone forgot it....).

My mom made crepes for dessert. SO GOOD!

This ride is just a warm up for what is to come. This weekend is gonna be another doozy, but harder and longer. (anyone? anyone?)

I'll let you guess where this is:

Scotland Run 10K Race Report

On Saturday I ran the Scotland Run 10K down in Central Park. The race didn't go as expected, but was still another success AND! PR. Finished in 41:34, for a 1:47 PR for the distance.

Like I always do for 10K's or shorter, I go out hard and hang on for dear life. Unfortunately my life ended at mile 3.5 when I finally popped and my speed evaporated.

Oh well. Not the end of the world! I hit mile 3 at 19 flat again, so it was another sub 20 min 5K performance (which is ALWAYS nice!).. But those Harlem hills just did me in. Here are the splits:

Mile 1: 6:01
Mile 2: 6:22
Mile 3: 6:34
Mile 4: 7:10
Mile 5: 6:55
Mile 6: 6:55
Last 0.2: 1:35

After my body gave out at mile 3.5 I realized that sub 40 was out of the question for the day, but at least I could still PR the distance, and PR it well. So I just tempo-ed it in for miles 5 and 6 and actually felt GREAT holding sub 7's. It almost felt effortless even though there was no more sprint left in me. Strange.

Not gonna dwell on the why's of "Why didn't I go sub 40?!? MY LIFE IS OVER!!!" It just wasn't my day.

But! I still PR-ed it!!! That's still a good day!

Ok, I feel better.

Till next time 10K!

Which now I have 3 goals for the Fall, all running related. I want to A) Officially break 20 mins in the 5K (like have an actual official time stamp for the distance). B) Break 1:30 in the half marathon and C) Go sub 40 for the 10K.

I think all three distances will compliment each other in training.

But until then, its time to focus on triathlon only for the next 4.5 months. I have a 70.3 to do in a month!

Commence Race Mode!

Ok folks, Saturday is my last stand alone running race of the season until who knows when. Maybe next fall?

I am doing the NYRR Scotland Run 10K down in Central Park. I don't really ever run 10K's, but this will be my 2nd one of the season. I ran the Joe Kleinerman 10K on Jan 7th, so this will be a great 12 week 10K checkup.

How will it go down? My goal: Get as close to 40 mins or under as possible.

Back in January, I ran a 43:21 for a 7:00 flat pace. Then at the 4 miler in February I ran a 25:06 for a 6:17 pace. Finally, at the National Half almost 3 weeks ago, I ran a 1:32:35 for a 7:04 pace, and in the process hit the 10K mark at roughly 43:41, only 20 seconds off of that January 10K PR time.

I am fairly confident that this will be another PR. Now, just like the National Half, by how much?

That 4 miler 8 weeks ago proved that I have some speed in my legs. A 6:17 pace is more than enough to break the 40 min benchmark. All is needed is a 6:26 or faster pace.

Easy right?

Its gonna hurt. I already know that. But you know what? If I feel like I want to quit half way through the race, that means one thing: I AM DOING IT RIGHT!

Now a couple of factors to consider:

1) Weather. Supposed to be low to mid 40's at race time. PERFECT!!!! Over heating has been taken out of the equation.

2) The course: Central Park is a rolling course, with a few decent hills at the top of the park. The course is going in a clockwise direction, which means you hit two large hills instead of just one if the course were going in a counter clockwise direction. Its strange, I know. I think because of this the course is harder. Regardless, its the same elevation no matter which direction you run it in. I think I am more fearful of the clockwise direction simply because I have not run that way as often as counter clockwise. (I know I know, call me a creature of habit!)

Ok, I think I have over analyzed this race to death. Hey! Its only customary, right?

Now I will let my legs do the rest of the talking!

Accomplishing goals is a bad thing?

I had a revelation the other day. I must have been running or biking at the time and must have been near the end of this run or ride, because something hit me, and it hit me hard.

I, without meaning to, sandbagged the last bit of Ironman Lake Placid.

Yes, SANDBAGGED it!

Now, A) I was sick and could barely run, B) My legs were shot and could barely run, but C) I mentally didn't want it to end.

Let me repeat this:

I mentally did not want it to end.

While! I wanted it to end so badly because A) I was sick and could barely run, and B) My legs were shot and I could barely run.

Am I confusing you yet? I will simplify it a bit further for you:

I built that race, more specifically the Ironman distance, as this holy of all holy things, that once completed, a HUGE life goal was done for. I could never accomplish it for the first time ever again.

(disclaimer - while completing it was a big deal for me personally, it is NOT the end all of things for me. That race does not define me nor does the distance)

Basically I was finding more joy in having the goal of competing in an Ironman and training for an Ironman than actually completing the race. I am more interested in the process rather than the result. Just getting to the start line was my satisfaction. Finishing it was merely a formality. I thank my coach for prepping me properly for that!

But why didn't this ever happen with other races leading up to Lake Placid? Because those races were merely stepping stones to completing my first Ironman.

Call me a headcase if you want, but holy shit I am glad I am recognizing this now. I am looking at other parts of my life and it totally makes sense. Take for example my apartment. There is always something in my apartment that is cluttered and needs to be cleaned. I could totally spend one single day and actually finish it off. Instead I have slowly been plugging away at it for 5.5 years. Why am I stringing it along for so long? Because what the fuck am I going to do once it is finally cleaned, decluttered, and organized? It's become this sick sick game of dangling a carrot in front of me.

Am I afraid of running out of goals?

I am a VERY goal oriented person. Without one in front of me I go flat, get bored, and start to get VERY antsy. This is true with life, triathlon, and work. For some reason my brain is hard wired in such a way that once one major major thing in my life is done and over with, it either can't be repeated or bested without this HUGE sense of dread.

I recall one summer in Provence where I did this AMAZING 4 hour ride through the countryside where I was seeing mountains, abbeys, lavender fields, and these crazy looking fountains and streams all in ONE ride! I went into this funk later that day because to top that would require something...dare I say...epic? (I did climb Mt Ventoux that summer, so I DID in fact top it. Literally! 6K feet anyone?)

I think I decided I took in too much at once and just overwhelmed myself. Its kind of like devouring an amazing steak in 3-4 bites rather than savoring its flavor.

I guess this is why I am happy that I waited until my 4th season to finally tackle the Ironman distance. My curve of exposure to the sport didn't spike so quickly that the falloff of interest was just as fast.

Now that I have "been there done that" with all distances of this sport (again, any tri longer than an Ironman is OUT of the question!) I guess its refocusing on my goals. GET FASTER!... and this is probably why I am happy I made that bet with myself to PR every distance I enter this season. Its another goal built upon other goals.

Moving forward - I don't see Mont Tremblant as this big huge deal in comparison to Placid. Yes, its my triathlon season ender and A+++ race of the year, but all I want do is better my Placid time. I think doing that will give me a greater satisfaction (and motivation) than finishing Placid.

Am I crazy? Weeeelllllll, depends on how you view me ;)

I also can't get Lake Placid out of my head. Maybe I am just looking forward to my coach's training camp in June. 2013 anyone?

It Was A "Character Building" Ride

Here is a new euphemism for you: "Character Building Ride"

Just like a garbage man can be now described as a "waste and refuse removal technician," so can a "way too cold and wet why the fuck did I just ride for 4 hours in the pouring rain until it was pitch black and almost 40 degrees that I was questioning life and why I do this to myself and am I really alive and is this what hell is like? ride" now be described as a "Character Building Ride."

Well, the first 90 mins was dry, but then it just got grosser and grosser and grosser. I had to get in 4 hours and I did! Wound up with 73 miles. But man oh man was that miserable! I thought it was like 52 degrees, turns out it was a LOT colder out:

So, uh, the temp was 50 at the start, but then PLUMMETED!

When I finally finished the ride, my hands and fingers were so numb that I had to use my teeth to A) unzip the gloves and B) to bit down on the glove to remove it. I am not sure I have ever been that cold in my life!

The good news is that my legs felt awesome by the end. I could have done another 2 hours and easily done 112 if I had to. I had a gigantic waffle breakfast with my friends before the ride, then went back afterwards and they served me up some hot and hearty veggie stew. Thank you B & V!!! Hit the spot perfectly.

The last few times I rode in conditions similar to this most recently was the first loop of Lake Placid at my coach's training camp, but then before that in pouring rain and 47 degrees for 3.5 hours when I got bit by that dog.

Hey, at least I didn't get bit by a dog! Oh wait, I did get bit by a dog, well, more like had a soft mouthing on my forearm saying, "Hey! I didn't say you could stop petting me!!!"

Furry explosion!

His name is Bjorn, and unfortunately I couldn't steal him. But he is a gigantic 105 pound softy. I thought he was a bear the first time I saw him! Funny that Bjorn means bear in Norwegian.