After Vineman, I decided to give the working out a bit of a rest. I didn't bike (except to ride the commuter to yoga class), I didn't run and although I still went to swim, I didn't put forth much effort in the pool.
I also ate just about anything I could shove in my face.
It was a lovely vacation, but it must come to an end. I'm racing the Malibu tri in September, the Santa Monica 5000 ( a 10k), in October, and then the Los Angeles Half Marathon in January.
All events are considerably closer to my house than Northern California!
I'm looking forward to seeing how I can do on just the half marathon (with no swim or bike beforehand!), also this gives me a training goal which will see me through the normally fatty-food filled holiday season ("No pie for me, thanks. I've got a race in three weeks").
My run program officially started yesterday, and I'm really shocked at how much fitness I've lost in two weeks. Or maybe I'm not. There's been a lot of butter.
It'll come back - I'm just doing the sprint at Malibu, and the half marathon is five months away.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Time for a replacement, finally.
Here's to shiny new cleats!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Vineman 70.3 Race Report: The Same Old Song and Dance
Warning - super duper long post!
This was my first attempt at a 70.3 triathlon. The venue (California wine country) is gorgeous, relatively close to home, the course isn't super difficult and about a dozen friends were also doing the race, although in a field of 2500 athletes, I didn't see too much of my friends on course.
The race organizers were very nice and efficient. The race was very well run and the volunteers were spectacular!
My plan had been to leave LA around six am the day before the race, drive up, have time to check in and pick up my race packet, maybe have lunch (a regional specialty in this area is BBQ oysters, and they're amazing), poke around, maybe drive the bike course.
Of course, I got stuck in horrible traffic going through the East Bay (on a Saturday!) and then again on the 101 just south of Petaluma and didn't manage to get to the race expo until about three pm.
Once I arrived, found parking and made my way to the expo, I then had to sit through a 20 minute video that consists of the exact information that's on the website. Guess people don't bother to read. The video featured one of the race officials and a chicken puppet - lucky for me I had read the website, because the voice of the chicken puppet really needed to work on his diction. I couldn't understand anything.
Once the video ended, we had to get a hand stamp before we'd be allowed to pick up our race packets.
So, of course, there was a mad rush for the exit while the presenter was still talking because everyone wanted to beat the crowd, but packet pickup wasn't all that crowded, even with the mad rush.
I got my race packet and my shirt and then checked out the expo - lots of WTC branded stuff, lots of clothing (but no really screaming deals like at the bike race expos), shoes, etc.. Oomph! had some super cute running shorts that were just a little too short for my taste (I don't like the feeling that my butt cheeks are going to fall out of my shorts). My one purchase was a Vineman Headsweats visor, even though I was going to do the run in my 'dork of the desert' hat.
Best branded item? Vineman wine glasses:
I then dropped off my run gear in T2 - I got super lucky and found a spot next to a huge Hello Kitty balloon, which I figured would make it a snap to find my gear in the huge transition area:
I then headed back south to Santa Rosa, where I would be staying. I'd estimate that 80% of the guests at the hotel were racing Vineman. We all had the yellow wristbands they put on us at packet pickup, and there were a lot of bikes in the hallways (since no one wanted to leave the bike in the car).
After an early dinner and a hot shower, I managed to get to bed at about 9 pm and really got a good sleep, which isn't normal for me. Guess the road rage wore me out.
I was in the 7:20 am start wave, so I left super early, as I was (correctly, it turns out) anticipating horrible traffic as 2,500 people descended on the tiny town of Guerneville (population about 1,200). I couldn't find the official parking lot, so I parked in a lot a mile away run by the local high school students who were asking for a $5.00 donation to help their sports program. Since they put out neon yellow signs with big arrows all over the town, I suspect more racers parked in their lot than in the free one next to T1.
After a walk down to T1 (in my jammies. Why wear a swimsuit on the drive over?), I found my age group rack (totally, completely full. I had to beg to squeeze in where there wasn't really room), and suited up. There wasn't a good place to warm up, so when we went into the starting corral (it's an in-water start), I ended up doing a few strokes of butterfly just to get the heart rate up, which got me some bemused stares from my fellow athletes.
Swim: 38:07
This was possibly the easiest race swim I've ever done. The current in the river was negligible, the start waves were small enough that although I had a few moments of getting stuck in traffic, it wasn't an issue for me to find open water to swim. Although the river is shallow enough to walk, I didn't. I just swam (even when the water got about 18 inches deep) and managed, once I got out of traffic to hit a nice groove and just cruise. Of course, the river water was gross, and also of course, after the race I developed a mild ear infection.
I honestly didn't feel like I was going that fast on the swim, and got out of the water feeling really good. A pleasant surprise, and one that reaffirmed my life choice to concentrate on efficiency of stroke over high cadence. The only problem was the wetsuit. I'd brought the TYR Cat1 (aka the boob smasher) and the pressure of the wetsuit neck on my throat, while less distracting than I'd thought it might be, ended up bruising my throat. No, really. I've got a bruise and even a few days later feel like I've got a lump in my throat right were the wetsuit neck pressure was the worst.
It's official - that wetsuit's got to go. I need something more titty (and throat) friendly.
T1: 16 min
Not a surprise. I elected to do complete clothing changes between each leg instead of wearing a tri-suit. The ground in T1 was super muddy and someone stole my towel, so I had to run to the changing tent to avoid flashing everyone while I lubed up with cream and put on my bike shorts. Next time, I'm bringing a sarong. No one will steal it (hopefully) and I can wrap it around me and not have to pick my way over muddy, rocky ground to the tents. As I was heading out, I chugged a can of iced coffee (I didn't have any caffeine before the swim to help keep my heart rate down), and started biking.
Bike: 3:12
The race description described the bike course as 'rolling hills', so I was anticipating PCH style hills. These hills were much smaller and the roads were much better than I'd anticipated, so that was the second pleasant surprise of the day. Despite the dire warnings about time penalties for drafting and blocking, I saw an awful lot of both on the ride. One guy was sucking wheel so blatantly that I'm shocked he didn't get caught. How do I know he didn't get caught? He was in front of me the entire way - he'd catch a wheel and pull ahead then lose it and drop back. I managed to average a bit over 17 mph on the ride (I think my three splits were 17.3, 17.4 and 17.5). Had I not slacked off on my bike training I could have squeezed out a bit more speed. The course was incredibly beautiful, albeit littered with launched bottles, cliff bars, gels, sunglasses, etc... (the roads, while not as bad as Solvang, weren't terribly good, either). Since I had the grave misfortune to be riding a carbon frame, I was really afraid of getting a filling shaken out of my head. Just as I was staring to get tired and cranky, I rolled into T2. Well timed.
T2: 12 minutes
Again, not a surprise. Swapped bike shorts for loose comfy run shorts, a lightweight sun resistant shirt and my dork hat. No one stole my T2 towel, so didn't have to run to the changing tent. Someone did, however steal the Hello Kitty balloon so I wasted some time wandering around looking for my stuff. Also, I forgot to spray my legs with sunblock, so now I've got a terrible runner's tan.
Run: 2:59
Of course, the run's where it all fell apart, as it always does. As soon as I started trying to run, my glutes and IT bands started to tighten up, and they never relaxed at all. I had to keep stopping and and trying to stretch them out, but it didn't help for more than a few hundred feet, and then they'd tighten again.
To add to the misery, my left sock kept bunching up and giving me a sore spot on the bottom of my foot, so I kept having to stop, take my shoe off and fix my sock. They had aid stations every mile, so I just kept counting the stations and telling myself to keep going. I ended up having to walk most of the uphills, but I wasn't the only one - on just about every hill there were long lines of walkers and people who were trying to run but were going the same speed as the walkers. One lady was racewalking, and although she looked odd, she was going pretty fast. Note to self: Learn to racewalk. It might come in handy some day.
The run had a loop through a vineyard, and although I believe I've mentioned my poisonous hatred for trail running on other occasions, let me just state again that I hate off-road running. Hate it. Dust, bugs, uneven ground. It can all take a long walk off the proverbial short pier.
The rocks on the ground were making the sock-related sore spot even worse, so I walked the entire loop until I got back onto pavement, where I had to stop (again) to sort out my sock and stretch.
I've never wanted wine so badly as I did right then. Or a martini, or performance enhancing drugs, or a car service, or a brick to the head. Anything would have been welcome at that point.
I averaged something like a 14 minute mile, which is really super bad, even for me. The really cruel part of all this is I really thought I had the run handled. On my training runs, I'd been running in the low 10's and feeling good.
I did pretty well with the aid stations - they had drink in small cups, so I never got the sloshy tummy, never felt hungry and never wanted to puke. I did a swallow of Gatorade every third station (too much of that stuff gives me a horrible headache), water at every station, bananas at every other station, and the occasional gel.
Total time: 7: 19
I don't suppose I can complain. I said I'd be happy with anything under 8 hours, and 7:19, last I checked, was under 8 hours, I just wish I'd had a better run. I'll post race photos when they're up - they've got someone else labelled as me in the bike photos, although there is a pretty hilarious video of my limping to the finish line looking like re-heated death.
Once I finished, I grabbed some food (cold chicken and some pasta salad - I couldn't eat any more fruit), took off those damned shoes and limped over to the shuttle stop to go back to Guerneville and get my car.
The shuttle was a school bus, so there wasn't a lot of leg room, which made the sore legs a lot worse after a 20 minute ride. After getting the car, I headed back to Windsor to get my bike and my T2 stuff (since you can't take bikes on the bus). I picked up the bag of wet soggy swim gear that had come over from T1, threw the whole mess in my car and headed back to the hotel, unloaded my car and then limped down to the pool area where I sat in the hot tub for about 20 minutes until my legs felt better, then ventured back out to a local Italian place and had a delicious dinner of house-made pasta with wild boar and local mushrooms. And wine.
I finally had some wine.
Then, I went back to my room and passed out cold.
Monday, I stopped by the La Crema (named by someone who didn't speak Spanish) winery tasting room, since Vineman participants got a free tasting. The entire tasting room was full of Vineman folks, and we were all talking and not paying much attention to the wine - although in case you were wondering, we tasted a very good white, a not very good white, a good red and a terrible red, and a flavorless rose. That one hurt the most. I love rose.
I then had a sausage and a beer (at 11 am, because it was that kind of day) and then drove to the Vichy hot springs in Ukiah and soaked in the carbonated mineral water (highly recommended if you're in the area).
After a stop for an early dinner (and coffee) in the city of Napa, I headed home and got back around midnight. I left the bike in the car (covered, of course, and with the car backed in so even if someone did break a window they weren't going to be able to get the bike out), and managed to not be able to sleep due to over consumption of coffee.
Aside from the sore throat, ear infection, and sore legs, I feel great, although I never got my BBQ oysters. Dammit.
Guess that's a reason to go back next year.
This was my first attempt at a 70.3 triathlon. The venue (California wine country) is gorgeous, relatively close to home, the course isn't super difficult and about a dozen friends were also doing the race, although in a field of 2500 athletes, I didn't see too much of my friends on course.
The race organizers were very nice and efficient. The race was very well run and the volunteers were spectacular!
My plan had been to leave LA around six am the day before the race, drive up, have time to check in and pick up my race packet, maybe have lunch (a regional specialty in this area is BBQ oysters, and they're amazing), poke around, maybe drive the bike course.
Of course, I got stuck in horrible traffic going through the East Bay (on a Saturday!) and then again on the 101 just south of Petaluma and didn't manage to get to the race expo until about three pm.
 |
| I'm so enraged that my vision is blurred. Or maybe it's the phone. |
 |
| Why is there a traffic jam in the middle of nowhere? These people can't all be going to Vineman. |
Once I arrived, found parking and made my way to the expo, I then had to sit through a 20 minute video that consists of the exact information that's on the website. Guess people don't bother to read. The video featured one of the race officials and a chicken puppet - lucky for me I had read the website, because the voice of the chicken puppet really needed to work on his diction. I couldn't understand anything.
Once the video ended, we had to get a hand stamp before we'd be allowed to pick up our race packets.
So, of course, there was a mad rush for the exit while the presenter was still talking because everyone wanted to beat the crowd, but packet pickup wasn't all that crowded, even with the mad rush.
I got my race packet and my shirt and then checked out the expo - lots of WTC branded stuff, lots of clothing (but no really screaming deals like at the bike race expos), shoes, etc.. Oomph! had some super cute running shorts that were just a little too short for my taste (I don't like the feeling that my butt cheeks are going to fall out of my shorts). My one purchase was a Vineman Headsweats visor, even though I was going to do the run in my 'dork of the desert' hat.
Best branded item? Vineman wine glasses:
 |
| No, I didn't get one, but I probably should have. |
I then dropped off my run gear in T2 - I got super lucky and found a spot next to a huge Hello Kitty balloon, which I figured would make it a snap to find my gear in the huge transition area:
 |
| Hello, Kitty. |
After an early dinner and a hot shower, I managed to get to bed at about 9 pm and really got a good sleep, which isn't normal for me. Guess the road rage wore me out.
I was in the 7:20 am start wave, so I left super early, as I was (correctly, it turns out) anticipating horrible traffic as 2,500 people descended on the tiny town of Guerneville (population about 1,200). I couldn't find the official parking lot, so I parked in a lot a mile away run by the local high school students who were asking for a $5.00 donation to help their sports program. Since they put out neon yellow signs with big arrows all over the town, I suspect more racers parked in their lot than in the free one next to T1.
After a walk down to T1 (in my jammies. Why wear a swimsuit on the drive over?), I found my age group rack (totally, completely full. I had to beg to squeeze in where there wasn't really room), and suited up. There wasn't a good place to warm up, so when we went into the starting corral (it's an in-water start), I ended up doing a few strokes of butterfly just to get the heart rate up, which got me some bemused stares from my fellow athletes.
Swim: 38:07
This was possibly the easiest race swim I've ever done. The current in the river was negligible, the start waves were small enough that although I had a few moments of getting stuck in traffic, it wasn't an issue for me to find open water to swim. Although the river is shallow enough to walk, I didn't. I just swam (even when the water got about 18 inches deep) and managed, once I got out of traffic to hit a nice groove and just cruise. Of course, the river water was gross, and also of course, after the race I developed a mild ear infection.
I honestly didn't feel like I was going that fast on the swim, and got out of the water feeling really good. A pleasant surprise, and one that reaffirmed my life choice to concentrate on efficiency of stroke over high cadence. The only problem was the wetsuit. I'd brought the TYR Cat1 (aka the boob smasher) and the pressure of the wetsuit neck on my throat, while less distracting than I'd thought it might be, ended up bruising my throat. No, really. I've got a bruise and even a few days later feel like I've got a lump in my throat right were the wetsuit neck pressure was the worst.
It's official - that wetsuit's got to go. I need something more titty (and throat) friendly.
T1: 16 min
Not a surprise. I elected to do complete clothing changes between each leg instead of wearing a tri-suit. The ground in T1 was super muddy and someone stole my towel, so I had to run to the changing tent to avoid flashing everyone while I lubed up with cream and put on my bike shorts. Next time, I'm bringing a sarong. No one will steal it (hopefully) and I can wrap it around me and not have to pick my way over muddy, rocky ground to the tents. As I was heading out, I chugged a can of iced coffee (I didn't have any caffeine before the swim to help keep my heart rate down), and started biking.
Bike: 3:12
The race description described the bike course as 'rolling hills', so I was anticipating PCH style hills. These hills were much smaller and the roads were much better than I'd anticipated, so that was the second pleasant surprise of the day. Despite the dire warnings about time penalties for drafting and blocking, I saw an awful lot of both on the ride. One guy was sucking wheel so blatantly that I'm shocked he didn't get caught. How do I know he didn't get caught? He was in front of me the entire way - he'd catch a wheel and pull ahead then lose it and drop back. I managed to average a bit over 17 mph on the ride (I think my three splits were 17.3, 17.4 and 17.5). Had I not slacked off on my bike training I could have squeezed out a bit more speed. The course was incredibly beautiful, albeit littered with launched bottles, cliff bars, gels, sunglasses, etc... (the roads, while not as bad as Solvang, weren't terribly good, either). Since I had the grave misfortune to be riding a carbon frame, I was really afraid of getting a filling shaken out of my head. Just as I was staring to get tired and cranky, I rolled into T2. Well timed.
T2: 12 minutes
Again, not a surprise. Swapped bike shorts for loose comfy run shorts, a lightweight sun resistant shirt and my dork hat. No one stole my T2 towel, so didn't have to run to the changing tent. Someone did, however steal the Hello Kitty balloon so I wasted some time wandering around looking for my stuff. Also, I forgot to spray my legs with sunblock, so now I've got a terrible runner's tan.
Run: 2:59
Of course, the run's where it all fell apart, as it always does. As soon as I started trying to run, my glutes and IT bands started to tighten up, and they never relaxed at all. I had to keep stopping and and trying to stretch them out, but it didn't help for more than a few hundred feet, and then they'd tighten again.
To add to the misery, my left sock kept bunching up and giving me a sore spot on the bottom of my foot, so I kept having to stop, take my shoe off and fix my sock. They had aid stations every mile, so I just kept counting the stations and telling myself to keep going. I ended up having to walk most of the uphills, but I wasn't the only one - on just about every hill there were long lines of walkers and people who were trying to run but were going the same speed as the walkers. One lady was racewalking, and although she looked odd, she was going pretty fast. Note to self: Learn to racewalk. It might come in handy some day.
The run had a loop through a vineyard, and although I believe I've mentioned my poisonous hatred for trail running on other occasions, let me just state again that I hate off-road running. Hate it. Dust, bugs, uneven ground. It can all take a long walk off the proverbial short pier.
The rocks on the ground were making the sock-related sore spot even worse, so I walked the entire loop until I got back onto pavement, where I had to stop (again) to sort out my sock and stretch.
I've never wanted wine so badly as I did right then. Or a martini, or performance enhancing drugs, or a car service, or a brick to the head. Anything would have been welcome at that point.
I averaged something like a 14 minute mile, which is really super bad, even for me. The really cruel part of all this is I really thought I had the run handled. On my training runs, I'd been running in the low 10's and feeling good.
I did pretty well with the aid stations - they had drink in small cups, so I never got the sloshy tummy, never felt hungry and never wanted to puke. I did a swallow of Gatorade every third station (too much of that stuff gives me a horrible headache), water at every station, bananas at every other station, and the occasional gel.
Total time: 7: 19
I don't suppose I can complain. I said I'd be happy with anything under 8 hours, and 7:19, last I checked, was under 8 hours, I just wish I'd had a better run. I'll post race photos when they're up - they've got someone else labelled as me in the bike photos, although there is a pretty hilarious video of my limping to the finish line looking like re-heated death.
 | ||
| Super tiny thumbnail, but you can still see the pain. And the dork hat. |
 |
| I earned this one. |
Once I finished, I grabbed some food (cold chicken and some pasta salad - I couldn't eat any more fruit), took off those damned shoes and limped over to the shuttle stop to go back to Guerneville and get my car.
The shuttle was a school bus, so there wasn't a lot of leg room, which made the sore legs a lot worse after a 20 minute ride. After getting the car, I headed back to Windsor to get my bike and my T2 stuff (since you can't take bikes on the bus). I picked up the bag of wet soggy swim gear that had come over from T1, threw the whole mess in my car and headed back to the hotel, unloaded my car and then limped down to the pool area where I sat in the hot tub for about 20 minutes until my legs felt better, then ventured back out to a local Italian place and had a delicious dinner of house-made pasta with wild boar and local mushrooms. And wine.
I finally had some wine.
Then, I went back to my room and passed out cold.
Monday, I stopped by the La Crema (named by someone who didn't speak Spanish) winery tasting room, since Vineman participants got a free tasting. The entire tasting room was full of Vineman folks, and we were all talking and not paying much attention to the wine - although in case you were wondering, we tasted a very good white, a not very good white, a good red and a terrible red, and a flavorless rose. That one hurt the most. I love rose.
I then had a sausage and a beer (at 11 am, because it was that kind of day) and then drove to the Vichy hot springs in Ukiah and soaked in the carbonated mineral water (highly recommended if you're in the area).
 |
| These dogs are barkin' |
Aside from the sore throat, ear infection, and sore legs, I feel great, although I never got my BBQ oysters. Dammit.
Guess that's a reason to go back next year.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Vineman - The Short Version
Just got back from Vineman, and of course now I can't sleep, even though I'm completely exhausted.
Short version: Good swim, good bike, bad run, sub-8 hour.
More tomorrow, if I can get my desktop working (cut the power to save energy and now the motherboard battery's dead. Awesome. Let's see if leaving it alone with plenty of juice solves the problem).
Also, wine.
Short version: Good swim, good bike, bad run, sub-8 hour.
More tomorrow, if I can get my desktop working (cut the power to save energy and now the motherboard battery's dead. Awesome. Let's see if leaving it alone with plenty of juice solves the problem).
Also, wine.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The Race Bag
One of the things I do before a race is to put a bag in the living room, and then just throw in random stuff that I may or may not need as I think of it (or find it, in the case of stuff I don't use very often, like my race belt).
For me, this helps to avoid that 'day before' panic as I scramble around, wondering where the hell I left the Bodyglide.
Obviously, I probably don't need and won't use everything in the bag, but for some reason just having it makes me feel less panic-y about possibly forgetting something.
Normally, I do my final sort-through the night before the race, when I've got a better idea about conditions (maybe I won't need the toe covers, or the knee warmers), but since Vineman's got a split transition area and I'll have to drop off my T2 stuff on Saturday, I'll have to do a sort through tomorrow and figure it out a bit early.
I'll probably bring more than I need to the gear drop, and then pull what I don't need out - but I'm not wearing a tri suit this time. I'm going to wear bike shorts and then change into my nice, comfy lightweight Brooks running shorts for the run.
So right now I've got a shaker, some Recoverite and coconut water, baby wipes (post bike - get that chamois cream off), toe covers, knee warmers, a rash guard in case the swim's not wetsuit legal (sunburn), hat, socks (I have to wear socks on the bike and the run or I'm miserable and blistery), body glide, suit juice, cliff bars, deodorant, Endurolytes, race belt, goggles (main pair and a spare), sunblock, etc...
Yes, I know I'm overpacking, and I really won't take all this stuff with me to the race, but it makes me feel more prepared to have it stacked in a pile, waiting for me to choose it.
For me, this helps to avoid that 'day before' panic as I scramble around, wondering where the hell I left the Bodyglide.
 |
| Gear Bag |
Normally, I do my final sort-through the night before the race, when I've got a better idea about conditions (maybe I won't need the toe covers, or the knee warmers), but since Vineman's got a split transition area and I'll have to drop off my T2 stuff on Saturday, I'll have to do a sort through tomorrow and figure it out a bit early.
I'll probably bring more than I need to the gear drop, and then pull what I don't need out - but I'm not wearing a tri suit this time. I'm going to wear bike shorts and then change into my nice, comfy lightweight Brooks running shorts for the run.
So right now I've got a shaker, some Recoverite and coconut water, baby wipes (post bike - get that chamois cream off), toe covers, knee warmers, a rash guard in case the swim's not wetsuit legal (sunburn), hat, socks (I have to wear socks on the bike and the run or I'm miserable and blistery), body glide, suit juice, cliff bars, deodorant, Endurolytes, race belt, goggles (main pair and a spare), sunblock, etc...
Yes, I know I'm overpacking, and I really won't take all this stuff with me to the race, but it makes me feel more prepared to have it stacked in a pile, waiting for me to choose it.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Sometimes the Mountain Wins
When I had my Solvang-related broken spoke fixed, the bike shop guy looked at my wheels, shook his head and said "Your wheels are really old, and you're probably going to need new ones pretty soon."
They then warned me that if a spoke broke again it would be time for new wheels. I hoped and prayed that the old ones would hold.
Saturday was my last long ride before Vineman, and sure enough, on mile 40, the back wheel popped a spoke and the back tire started coming apart - you know, just for good measure.
Of course, I'm also cash poor at the moment. How could this not happen when I'm sort of funds? Thanks, Murphy's Law. Thanks a lot.
So I slunk back into the bike shop, admitted I'd been a fool to not buy wheels when they told me I needed them and the sales guy cheerfully showed me a really sick pair of Reynolds carbon race wheels - such a deal! Normally $1200, now marked down to $850!
Except I don't have $850 right now. Can't beg, borrow or steal it, either.
I asked to see something more within my budget range, and they went in the back and came out with a pair of Shimano A500 wheels that were $200. Still painful, but manageable.
Of course, there goes my plan to have a really nice lunch and wine while in Napa Valley (I'll be on a PBJ that I brought from home diet), but at least I've got new wheels.
I just wish they hadn't shown me the Reynolds wheels first. Makes the ones they sold me look super cheap.
On the bright side, at least it happened here and not on course at Vineman!
It was a beautiful day to ride - enjoy some photos:
They then warned me that if a spoke broke again it would be time for new wheels. I hoped and prayed that the old ones would hold.
Saturday was my last long ride before Vineman, and sure enough, on mile 40, the back wheel popped a spoke and the back tire started coming apart - you know, just for good measure.
Of course, I'm also cash poor at the moment. How could this not happen when I'm sort of funds? Thanks, Murphy's Law. Thanks a lot.
So I slunk back into the bike shop, admitted I'd been a fool to not buy wheels when they told me I needed them and the sales guy cheerfully showed me a really sick pair of Reynolds carbon race wheels - such a deal! Normally $1200, now marked down to $850!
Except I don't have $850 right now. Can't beg, borrow or steal it, either.
I asked to see something more within my budget range, and they went in the back and came out with a pair of Shimano A500 wheels that were $200. Still painful, but manageable.
Of course, there goes my plan to have a really nice lunch and wine while in Napa Valley (I'll be on a PBJ that I brought from home diet), but at least I've got new wheels.
I just wish they hadn't shown me the Reynolds wheels first. Makes the ones they sold me look super cheap.
On the bright side, at least it happened here and not on course at Vineman!
It was a beautiful day to ride - enjoy some photos:
 |
| Looking inland at Malibu |
 |
| Ah, ocean. |
 |
| Latigo Canyon Road |
 |
| View from Latigo, about two miles up the hill. I didn't go all the way to the top. |
Friday, July 6, 2012
Last build weekend!
Yesterday, I rode my race distance on the bike - between the hills on PCH, the fact that I'm way undertrained on the bike, and the winds, I did 53.3 miles in 3:21:24, with a 15.8 mph average speed.
That's a bit slower than I should be able to do it, but I made my choice to concentrate on the run, so I've got to live with what I have. I've gained almost 2 minutes per mile on the run - a sustained low 10 (with a high 8 on the downhills) up from a 12 (although if it's really going to be 95 degrees, I'm going to hand back some of that speed), so hopefully it'll balance out.
Today, I swim my race distance (after having the masters' coach make me do 200 butterfly yesterday!),sit in the sauna (again), and run, then do a long bike again on Saturday, do a long run on Sunday and then it's the final taper week.
That's a bit slower than I should be able to do it, but I made my choice to concentrate on the run, so I've got to live with what I have. I've gained almost 2 minutes per mile on the run - a sustained low 10 (with a high 8 on the downhills) up from a 12 (although if it's really going to be 95 degrees, I'm going to hand back some of that speed), so hopefully it'll balance out.
Today, I swim my race distance (after having the masters' coach make me do 200 butterfly yesterday!),sit in the sauna (again), and run, then do a long bike again on Saturday, do a long run on Sunday and then it's the final taper week.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The heat, the heat
Historically, the highs during the run at Vineman have been in the low to mid 80s, so that was my heat acclimation target. I've been doing all my runs and most of my bike rides in the mid-afternoon, during what is (for my area) the hottest part of the day.
Since I live near the coast, that's generally in the 78 - 80 degree range, and I've gotten so where low 80s, which usually really bother me, don't make me feel like I want to die.
So, of course, since nothing can ever go the way I plan, the predicted high for Vineman is 95.
NINETY FIVE freakin' degrees. Holy God.
I'm projecting the better part of an hour for the swim, and probably three and change for the bike, so that's going to put me on the run course right when the oven finishes pre-heating.
Since shaking my fist at the sky and cursing Mother Nature isn't producing the cooling effect I wanted, I'm going to have to make an attempt to acclimate to a hotter temperature by sitting in the sauna every day for the next week and a half.
This probably isn't enough time - normally, the 'sauna method' takes at least a month, but I've got the time I've got and every little bit helps.
I go back to the cardiologist Tuesday for my treadmill test, and then the week after Vineman they're going to get an ultrasound of my heart. I don't understand why they can't do both the same day, but oh well.
I can't have any caffeine for 24 hours before the treadmill test. I'm not sure if I'm going to survive that.
Since I live near the coast, that's generally in the 78 - 80 degree range, and I've gotten so where low 80s, which usually really bother me, don't make me feel like I want to die.
So, of course, since nothing can ever go the way I plan, the predicted high for Vineman is 95.
NINETY FIVE freakin' degrees. Holy God.
I'm projecting the better part of an hour for the swim, and probably three and change for the bike, so that's going to put me on the run course right when the oven finishes pre-heating.
Since shaking my fist at the sky and cursing Mother Nature isn't producing the cooling effect I wanted, I'm going to have to make an attempt to acclimate to a hotter temperature by sitting in the sauna every day for the next week and a half.
This probably isn't enough time - normally, the 'sauna method' takes at least a month, but I've got the time I've got and every little bit helps.
I go back to the cardiologist Tuesday for my treadmill test, and then the week after Vineman they're going to get an ultrasound of my heart. I don't understand why they can't do both the same day, but oh well.
I can't have any caffeine for 24 hours before the treadmill test. I'm not sure if I'm going to survive that.
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