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.

Gear Bag

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.

A few more shots from Death Valley

Panamint Valley Panorama (click image to enlarge)

Rusty wheels, Borax Works

Panamint Valley, with my toes in the sand of a prehistoric lake bed.

Paceline, speeding past me.

Wagon, Furnace Creek Ranch

Rest(less) day

Although I know rest days are vital to any workout plan, they still make me nuts.

I feel like I should be up and doing something - anything - other than sitting around.

I look longingly at the bikes hanging on the wall and think what a lovely day it is for a ride, but I can't because I have to rest.

Dammit. I hate it.

That's weird, isn't it?

Someone saying that they hate the idea of not working out?

It's weird. I know, but I also know that I really need the rest, especially with Death Valley coming up in less than a week.

I've decided that I'll be satisfied with anything over 50 miles, and extremely happy if I can make the 100 miles.

But then again, I might lose my mind and decide that they're going to drag me off the course when my cold, stiff carcass misses the cutoff point.

I'm not bringing Gary - I'm renting a really nice aluminum/carbon road bike from an awesome local bike shop called Zone 3 Multisport.

When I went in to reserve the bike, the guy who works there picked up Gary, looked at me and said "Oh, you're going to fly on our bike".

So, the schedule is: rest today (dammit), run/swim tomorrow, long ride Tuesday, swim Wednesday, yoga or stretch Thursday, Friday I'm off to Death Valley, and Saturday's the ride.

Two weeks from now is the Solvang Century ride (should be cake after Death Valley), and then I'm back to regular training for Vineman 70.3 and commuting on the Cannondale, which as of late's been doing a whole lot of nothing.

Well, maybe not.

The Spring Death Valley Ultra Century is a little under 5 weeks away, and due to my averaging 60 hours of work a week at the moment I'm only getting in one training ride a week - the longest having been 60 miles.

I'm not giving up on the race just yet, but it's looking less likely that I'm going.

I'm scheduled to do the Solvang Century a week after Death Valley, so I may just take the DNS on the latter and focus on the century, which I know I can do.

Also, my car is psychic.

I've been working a lot and as such actually have some money in the bank. So of course, when I took the car to the mechanic to get the brakes done, I was informed that the suspension is shot (Los Angeles has some of the worst roads in the country - you really need a truck here and I have a cheap sedan).

Suspension repair? $400.
Brakes? $200, if  they can resurface the rotors. If not, more.

Guess I know where that extra money's going.

So, I bit off more than I could chew.

A few months ago, I got all fired up and registered for the Spring Death Valley Ultra Century. I figured a mere century wasn't all that much of a challenge, so why not go big?

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

It takes place in early March, which at this point, is a mere six weeks away.

Except that between flying back east for the holidays to overeat and then getting bronchitis, I haven't trained.

Today, I rode 50 miles and my ass is, as they say, grass.

I have no idea how I'm going to get from 50 miles (at an average speed of 12 mph, BTW), to 150 miles in SIX WEEKS.

I think I might be really, really fucked.

I'm trying to keep a sense of perspective in that they won't charge me more if I don't finish, and it'll be a lovely ride no matter how far I get, but my ultra-competitive inner jock is having none of it, no Sir.

I have to complete the ride in 13 hours to officially finish, which at my current fitness level, I'm not sure I can do.

My main problem is my hamstrings tightening up and saddle sores due to the seat rubbing. I try to stretch in the saddle (raising up off the seat, leaning on the handlebars and doing a sort of cat cow). I'm sure the saddle sores will resolve themselves with a bit more callus, but if I can't get a handle on this hamstring crap, I'm going to be hamburger after, well, 50 miles.

We'll see.

Six weeks to go.

Museum Day!

A friend wanted to see the exhibit inspired by Women Hold Up Half the Sky at the Skirball Cultural Center.

The Skirball is at the intersection of Sepulveda and Mullholland in West LA, and I figured since I needed to get a ride in anyways, that I'd bike it (and be thankful that I have the freedom to be able to move around by myself without needing permission from a male relative). The hill's not as steep as one would imagine. It's a solid grade, but not unmanageable.

We were due to meet at two, but I thought since I'd be riding right past it and it's free, I'd stop in at the Getty Museum and check out The Pacific Standard Time exhibit.

In the distance, the Getty

The ride to the Getty's not steep at all ( didn't even have to use my granny gear) and on Sunday, the traffic's light enough that I didn't fear for my life the few times I had to veer way out into the traffic lane to avoid some of the downed trees that the city hasn't gotten around to clearing away after last week's windstorms.

Although parking at the Getty is $15 per auto, it's free for bicycles, so I rolled up, was directed to the bike racks by the super nice staff, and hopped on the tram which took me up to the museum.

I always forget to bring the good camera to the Getty. It's such a gorgeous place with amazing views and cell phone shots just don't do it justice.

View over the dining terrace

Landscape

Fountain in the main courtyard

View from the tram stop

Unfortunately, I didn't leave myself enough time to see the entire exhibit and the grounds, so I guess I need to go back and remember the SLR.

I continued up Sepulveda, and past the Getty it got a bit steeper, but still nothing too terrible. The road's a mess because of the construction. I'm not sure how safe I'd feel doing this ride during the week.

Diesel Hammers

I finally had to break down and use the granny gear on the bike, which dropped my speed to about walking pace, but finally, just as my legs really started to object:

Skirball at last

I guess it doesn't surprise me that the Skirball doesn't have any bike racks. After all, they're at the top of the Sepulveda Pass and this is Los Angeles. Center security told me to chain my bike to the handrails on the stairs.
I managed to find a section that wouldn't impede pedestrian traffic and went into the building to wait for my friend.

We perused the exhibit, which was education and depressing. I knew there was trafficking here in Los Angeles, but they had an audio presentation with victims and it just felt so wrong to hear someone say they were sold to a home in West LA.

After we finished, we decided that we needed something a bit more uplifting, so we went and got some dinner (lucky for my my friend drove, so we threw my bike in the back of her car) and saw Arthur Christmas, which was very cute and sweet. We were the only ones in the theater:

Just like having my own private screening room

When we got out of the movie it was cold, so I was very grateful for the ride home in the heated car.  When I got home, I had to turn on the heat, which I almost never have to do.

It's still cold today, but there's a gorgeous blue sky so I might bundle up and venture out to enjoy the day.  The really good news is that my heel feels fine this morning! I can't run again until the doc clears me, but this is happy!

What Not to Do

Instead of posting yet another boring race report (good swim, good bike, bad run. Same as ever), I thought I'd share a post-race parking lot photo for your enjoyment:

Yes, that's a very expensive bike and very expensive race wheels left in the bed of a pickup truck - not locked, and no owner anywhere in sight. Plus there's a wetsuit if you care to grab that, too.

I'm stunned that someone would be this, well, trusting in the second largest city in the US, which, by the way, has had a rash of bike thefts in the last few months.

Hell, I wouldn't even leave Gary unlocked in the bed of my pickup, and I'm fairly certain no one in the parking lot of a triathlon would want to steal Gary.

I threw Gary in the back of the car and drove off in search of post-race food after taking this picture, but I sincerely hope that this person - whoever they are - came back from where ever they were to find their bike and wheels still there.

Why I need a step-through frame

My dress gets all bunched up on the bike. Lucky for me, I always wear bike shorts under said dress when I'm riding the bike, so no flashing.

Gary's about to get a lot girlier!

Baby pink handlebar tape for the low, low price of $6, with free shipping. I love you, eBay.

The Laws of Physics

Today was a team ride, doing what's called the Amalfi Loop on the Westside.

It's a great training ride, because it's a steep hill with some switchbacks - one of which is a hairpin turn to the right on a steep hill. Said turn is excessively banked, so when one is riding it, the bike tries to veer to the left, thus requiring the rider to lean right to correct.

When I was halfway through said turn, I chose a spectacularly bad moment to reach - with my left arm - down to grab my water bottle, and, of course, started to fall over. Also of course, since I'm usually accustomed to unclipping the right foot first, that's the foot that I got unclipped first.

Unfortunately, I was falling to the left and turning to the right so not only was the wrong foot unclipped, the combination of my weight, the turn, and the angle of the hill meant that I got up close and personal with the pavement, resulting in a really nice scrape on my left knee and a chainring mark on my right calf. Like so:

Gary bit me

This was taken at the end of the ride after I had washed the blood off my shin

This resulted in high fives from my teammates, and a lecture from the well-meaning sports massage guy (who was there to give promo massages and get us all hooked) about how I should better learn to use my clipless pedals.

He really did mean well, so I just smiled, nodded and refrained from trying to tell him that the reason I fell was because the laws of physics, not because of my ineptitude with the clipless pedals.

Massage guy turned out to be very knowledgeable about vintage bicycles,and may be able to help me locate a stem bolt for Gary, since the one he currently has is stripped, making any height adjustment of the handlebars impossible.

Massage guy also gave me a discount card (and a free sample of BioFreeze), so a sports massage may be in my future.

Wheeeeee!!!!

Today was an hour long ride, concentrating on speed.

Not just maintaining a fast pace, but staying sane while flying along at what seems dangerously fast given how little padding I'm wearing while I ride. Gary, of course, is rock solid - not a shake or shiver no matter how fast I push him, but me? I suck. As soon as I get up above 20 mph, my head starts to mess with me, no matter what I do (look forward, not down, ogle hot bike racer guy riding just ahead of me, etc...)


I'm certain the cure is just more road time, so I headed out to San Vicente Blvd in Santa Monica, aka bike racer central (it has a long stretch with no lights or stop signs, a good bike lane and it's freshly paved), and concentrated on staying around 20 mph, and as fast as i could stand it on the downhills (top speed? about 25 mph, but I almost wet my pants while I was doing it). Upside, 20 mph only seems slightly scary now.

I did about 20k in an hour, which isn't super fast, but it's a good start.

Now, off to stretch before work tonight.

Grocery bag pannier official road test

Yesterday, I rode from my home in West LA to my community garden plot in West Hollywood. It's about 18 miles round trip, and doesn't have any really big hills - although the gentle rolling swells of asphalt on Santa Monica Blvd in Century City are daunting when one's got a headwind.

Since I was bringing my long-handled pruners to cut up my fava bean plants, I chose to take the new grocery bag pannier so I could just drop the pruners in and leave the handles sticking up out of the bag. Also I was bringing a bin of kitchen scraps to dump into the composter that's in the garden plot.

The grocery bag pannier is way easier to get on and off the bike and the open top design makes access easier, but it doesn't feel as stable as the heavier duty compression type panniers, especially on the beat up pavement of Los Angeles' notoriously bad roads. The bag shook a lot as we rolled over potholes and steel plates, and I started to get concerned that the plastic clips holding it to the rack were going to break.

I made it to the garden, did my thing and then stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home. They had five pound bags of pears, but I didn't feel the pannier was sturdy enough to hold them, so I just got a bottle of water and a discounted bottle of tempranillo. Yum.

So, verdict? Good for short trips, but I don't think I'll use it for a cross town haul again.


The ride home was into a strong headwind the entire way, so I spent most of the ride trying to find a gear which would allow me to make some progress but not burn out my quads.

I never managed to find it, so by the time I got home my legs felt like lead, which I guess is good exercise.