A tale of eBay woe

I'm forever on a quest for better bike shorts.

Better pad, better waistband, legs that don't ride up or cut off circulation, etc..

But mainly a better pad. I usually wear Mavic shorts, and they're certainly comfortable, but after about 50 miles, I'm in pain and no amount of fresh chamois cream will do anything about it.

So while browsing everyone's favorite online auction site, I found a pair of shorts that looked to have a promisingly thick pad.

So what if they were an off brand and priced at only $30?

All that stuff my grandma always told me about getting what you pay for? 

Straight out the window. I bought the shorts.

They arrived the other day and this morning was my first test ride on them.

I had originally planned to do 80 miles up PCH today, but about 10 miles in, the shorts (or the spirit of my grandmother. I can't tell which) took their vengeance.

The pad, so soft and comfy at first, immediately compressed to the point where it was beyond useless and actually causing chafing, but that wasn't the main problem. The main problem was the seam up the back of the shorts with a very poorly placed tag that was rubbing the skin off the small of my back. It's amazing how the little things get you.

I figured that eventually the lady bits would numb out, but that seam/tag combo - I couldn't ignore it. The more it rubbed, the more it annoyed me, to the point that I started getting really snappish and mean to passers-by and riding buddies.

That, for me, was the signal to pack it in.  It wasn't going to get any better.

So I headed home after riding a grand total of 25 miles. I've got a patch on the small of my back that's rubbed raw, and my lady bits are hamburger.  Hamburger, I tell you.

So, lesson officially learned.

No more discount off-brand bike shorts for me

My Achilles Heel

So the soreness in my left Achilles tendon escalated during Sunday's race, and when I went to the doctor Monday, he gave me the bad news that it's now full-blown tendinitis, and told me very firmly that there is to be no running of any sort in my life for at least the next four weeks. 

Which is fine, there's still biking and swimming - except that Tuesday, when I got in the pool and tried to do a flutter kick, the tendon hurt when it contracted, so now - no kicking, either.

Except that I won't give up swimming. I just won't.  You can't make me.

I figured I'd just use the pull buoy and still manage to get some swim work in - which was fine on Tuesday. Tuesday's workout is very drill-heavy and focused on form, so I really got a chance to pay attention to my catch and pull.

Today, however, was the masters workout with the Sadist (and yet he looks so normal), and true to his reputation, it was 2200 meters of speed work.

All of which I did with the pull buoy.

I can still feel my arms, but I kind of wish I couldn't.

The upside is that after a month of this, I'm going to be super ripped! Yay! 

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.