The Single T Double B

Not as hardcore as the Triple T but a good build-phase weekend workout.

Friday was the T (tri) day which started with a 2500 meter swim with a 2000 meter straight time trial. The tt went well and I posted my fastest 2000 meter split since the SC Half IM last year where I was 19th overall / 2nd in my AG out of the water with a 31:xx swim. That was a wetsuit legal swim which really speeds me up, so I'm feeling pretty good about this 31 minute 2000 meter swim in the pool.

After the swim I went by Harrell's for a quick fitting, grab some HEED to try out, and got some really great news. The great news also was a huge mental fuel for the weekend workout! I left there and made one of the biggest mistakes of the day when I stopped for a value meal a BK just a few miles and minutes from the ride. I hastily scarffed it down on my way to the ride.

Once out on the bike I realized that the food just wasn't digesting at the pace I was pushing. I had to back off a bit and see if I could get some blood flowing to my stomach. Regardless, when I got the end of Wash Lever Road which is mile 10 I was averaging over 20 mph which was pretty good and feeling a bit better. The next four and a half miles are mainly descending and a lot of fun to ride, especially as it culminates with a swervey downhill into the small town of Peak and ends with a sharp, almost 90 degree turn near the Pharmacy and Fire Station (which is basically the whole town). Once through Peak I was averaging 21.38. This is about the time I realized that I hadn't been drinking much of anything except the half of a Diet Coke I had with the value meal before the ride. The next 10 miles have a number of small chain ring - large cog, out of the saddle, sustained climbs that knock your averages back down some but provide great hill work. The last part of the loop is fast and rolling on fresh blacktop and a lot of fun to ride. From there I had 32 miles at a pace over 20mph and I stopped at the truck to grab a fresh bottle of water and went for a shorted 20 mile loop at an easier pace which finished it up for 52 miles at a 19.5 pace. I'd estimate that it was no less than 2000 ft of climbing if not more. Not stellar, but solid for this stage of the year.

After the ride I headed down to Riverfront Park and ran 5 miles, which is about all I had in me. I ran it at a slow 8:00 min pace, which again is all I had in me. This run really was a struggle. I was cramping a dehydrated from not drinking enough on the bike.

The next day was the first B (brick) with an hour on the trainer in the garage while the kids played Play-Dough then a 5.4 mile run at a 6:46 pace while my father-in-law watched the kids. This was my longest run in the new Zoots and I ended up with a raw spot just below left ankle. I hope that turns into a callus soon.

Sunday was the second B. After church I went for a ride in my neck of the woods. It was supposed to be a recovery ride but the wind was howling something crazy and the hills where taking their toll. Eventually I gave in and decided to fight back a little. In the end I had a solid ride at a 19.5 mph pace with 95% of the time spent on the drops because it was just too windy to be up on the aerobars. I followed that up with a short 2.7 mile intense run near a 6 minute mile pace.

All in all it was a good build-phase weekend but I realize that I have a long way to go if I want to post a time at the IM later that would give me hope for a KQ in 09.

Mid / Forefoot or Heel?

Which are you? I was actually told by an employee at Strictly Running that I should be running with a heel strike. I politely disagreed but decided that there's no use arguing the point with an "expert". I don't know about y'all, but I'd never want to the have the form of the dude in black.

Animals everywhere

Last week was Spring Break for my son so the kids were together for the whole week. There were a few fevers and cases of strep, but they (and Mom) survived and had a lot fun together as usual. They spent one day at the zoo and Jen took some great pictures of the animals.

Watch out for that eel Hannah!

And we're all in love with our new 5 month old Shih Tzu Bailey that found us this weekend.

His previous owner went back to China leaving him with some relatives that live in our neighborhood and work long hours at their Chinese restaurant. They aren't home enough to give him the TLC he needs so after some negotiation$, he's come home to live with us.

I’m joining the aliens

And yes, that alien is made of veggies.

Here's the news flash: I was able to successfully secure an extremely rare (at least until September) white Rudy Project Syton helmet. The blue ones abound but wouldn’t match my bike at all. Amazingly, trisports.com had 10 white ones in stock in the S/M size of the SuperComp variety. Originally I had ordered the Syton Open from E-Rudy but was later informed that the next shipment from the manufacturer wasn’t due until September. Everyone else on the planet seems to be out of the white ones with the exception of some guy in Italy with a used one listed on eBay. There are a couple of things I simply won’t buy used and helmets are one of them. Some others are underwear and car seats for my kids.

The Syton Open is simply a scaled-down version of the SuperComp without the ear covers and visor thingy. The only drawback for me is paying extra dough for the SuperComp with the possibility that I may not be using the ear covers and visor thingy unless 1) they don’t get in my way 2) they’re comfortable.

I decided to race with an aero helmet after reading some fantastic claims that wearing one can save you up to two minutes on a 40k time trial. I’m not sure if I believe this or not, but if it’s true, it’s one of the most economical things you can do to improve your bike split. Most pro triathletes wear them and it seems that all pro cyclists wear them for time trials. There must be something to them I suppose, so as long as I don't look too goofy ~ think of the cover girl from the last Triathlon Life issue ~ I'll give 'em a try.

I always liked the look of the Syton because it’s the least dorky looking aero-helmet in my opinion (and apparently many others’ opinion judging from the supply shortage) but two things really sealed the deal for me on this helmet. The first was the last year’s Bike Sport review of this helmet in comparison to a few others. The absolute kicker for me was this statement, “Ventilation is better than any aero helmet we tried making the Syton Open ideal for extremely hot conditions”. Anyone who’s raced in South Carolina knows the heat is always a BIG factor.

It may seem like a trivial thing, but the other reason was aesthetics. The shape of the helmet perfectly mimics the shape of the white paint that begins on the head tube of my bike and separates into two flanges that taper down either side of the top tube.

If you look at the Syton from the top, you’ll see that this is the same shape of the helmet, where the crown part of the helmet separates into two aero flanges that taper toward the back.

Cool huh? Another aspect of the aesthetics that I like is the fact that the crown part of the helmet looks more like a regular cycling helmet in that it has ridges in it and is not shaped like a dome ~ and everyone knows that all aliens have dome shaped heads.

I’m joining the aliens but I don’t really want to look like one if I can help it.

The season begins

And I missed the first race! By the time I decided to register it was full. I’m talking about the Paris Island Sprint Triathlon. I wasn’t really keen on doing this one in the first place because it’s really more like a Super-Sprint with just a 500 meter indoor pool swim (Lame-O!!) but then thought that any tri is better than no tri. By that time the thing was full.

Anyway, I was a little surprised to see that Stephen Shenal won our age group. I lost to him at my first tri ever (Langley Pond Sprint) last year by less than a minute but then was able to beat him at the Festival of Flowers and SC Half and although he race the Sprint at Hickory Knob and I raced the International, I think I outpaced him still on the longer distances. This is another testament to how screwed up the Setup Events “Series” scoring is because here’s another case where I was clearly the faster triathlete in 2007 but ended up scoring less series points because of the races I chose to race. Don’t get me started!

I have to give Stephen props because he’s obviously done a good bit of work in the off-season and it showed in his times at PI compared to last year. He shaved almost a minute off a 500 meter swim, about a minute off his 5k time and he was 5 minutes faster on the bike!! I don’t know if this was a fluke or what, but he even beat Radek Parnica who absolutely kills it in the Open (formerly Elite) division. I’m guessing that Radek’s 34 minute bike time was because of a flat, penalty, injury or something because the guy finished 4th in the Elite division last year.

Last year Stephen was someone I kept my eye on but didn’t worry about too much, but it looks like this year may be a different story … Stephen may be the one to beat in the 30-34 AG. However, I'm sure there’s more lurkers like me that haven’t shown their face yet. Another one to watch out for that came out strong at PI that I routinely beat last year is Matt Barker; he’s looking stronger this year than last. And of course there’s David; always a strong competitor who I know is not in a peak period right now (I follow his training here). He’s just started getting back in the pool after his off-season and his high intensity cycling and running has just begun as well. He’ll be coming on really strong in the coming races.

Hopefully everyone in the 30-34 AG comes out for Langley and races the International with their “A game” so we can see how things stack up for 2008. I’m already looking forward to 2009 when I don’t have the IM looming with all it’s zone 2 training and can focus on speed for these short course (with exception of the HIM) series races. For this year, I’ll just have to take it as it comes and hope for the best … but I still intend to be the one to beat in the 30-34 AG, so bring it!