Going the distance.

Two years ago my wife started a master’s degree program. She recognized that my endurance training wasn’t showing signs of abating and that left her by herself for many hours on the weekends. She’s excellent at relaxing, but months went by and there were only so many hobbies and crafts that could be done before she realized she could get a graduate degree with her free time. Her semester classes are done via telepresence and they meet for two weeks in summer for an intense session of in-person learning, collaborating, and collegiate debauchery. (Grad students eschew beer and instead stay up late drinking fine wine and top shelf spirits.) The first time she left for two weeks I let my clients book me 24/7 and worked myself into back to back nasty migraines. The second year she was gone I figured out how to protect my time better, but still used it as an opportunity to work nonstop. This year she admonished me not to let my clients run roughshod over my schedule and to keep my normal business hours. I promised her that I wouldn’t have a choice as Coach Brian picked that first week of flying solo to lay down one of my Ironman training goals: the 300 mile bike week.

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Centenarians

It should be obvious that the second fifty miles of a century ride are harder than the first. However, knowing that intellectually doesn’t prepare you for the magnitude of difference. Eight of us began the ride, two of us did the whole thing. Eight people were kind enough, enthusiastic enough, and energized enough to do 50. Two of us were crazy enough to do the full 100. There was something both gratifying and heartbreaking about pulling into the parking lot after riding 50 miles and seeing my friends cooling off and racking their bikes while I stopped, reloaded water bottles, bumped fists with friends, and then rolled out to do the 50 mile course again.

135 miles, actually. LA2SD

The irony of being anxious – no, terrified – about riding more than double my longest distance is that what I needed most was sleep, and the worry kept me awake much of the night. This happens in the days leading up to races as well, it’s just that I had less time to obsesses over this ride having only agreed to do it a few days prior. I managed to get about 6 hours of fitful rest, but I was still haunted by a whopper of a migraine from Wednesday night. I don’t know if the drugs I take for the migraine exit my system in 24 hours, or more importantly, if the migraine had left my system. Migraines are both neurological and vascular in nature and here I was twiddling both of those functions. Signing up for races, agreeing to insane new distances, these are ways to push myself and my limits on my terms.

Latigo time trial 2, aka TNSTAAFL!

I’m standing at the side of PCH waiting for Brian to ride home, get his car and pick me up. We were riding back from Latigo Canyon after doing two climbs to measure fitness. I was finally recovered from the climbs & the final butt kick of Pepperdine and was picking up my pace when I felt my back tire not just go flat but start clacking badly. I pulled over and saw it was not just a flat but I was screwed:

Latigo Canyon, the time trial.

A time trial is an extraordinarily helpful tool to measure fitness. On foot, on wheels, or even in a pool using a known course or environment and testing on a regular basis gives a real understanding of improvement (if any). Test every month and measure heart rate and time and look to see if you’re doing more with less, or faster with less effort – that’s fitness improvement. Latigo is a favorite cyclist’s climb and many friends had extolled its heinous virtues to me. Coach Brian and Ironman David identified a stretch starting on PCH and ending at the first stop sign – 3 miles of almost solid uphill climbing. Let the puke-fest begin!

The opposite of a recovery ride.

I was so looking forward to getting back on the bike today. My first taste of freedom, away from a screaming dog, and a long ride up PCH on my new bike. I did not expect it to involve ambulances and a trip to the ER. And yet…

Le Boucher is born!

Triathlon bike research wrap-up.

Barring some unknown radical change, it appears that I will be joining the Cervelo Mafia. I got my independent confirmation today from Ian Murray, a well known and respected triathlon coach, bike fitter, bike enthusiast, and generally great guy. I emailed him my summary findings and geometry questions and he unhesitatingly recommended the Cervelo. He had some suggestions on some simple changes/upgrades which I may execute depending on price. They are also things I can do at any point once I own the bike. For those doing their own research, here is a summary of my research and findings:

The Cervelo P3C test ride.

I didn’t want to like it. I’d convinced myself that something that popular, so talked about, insanely hyped, could never live up to that level of expectation. And then Aram from Predator Cycles, that cruel man, called me back to say that the Cervelo’s tube dimensions were significantly better than the Orbea Ordu for my ideal geometry. So there it was; I had to test the Cervelo. I could no longer deny the bike my coach is in a relationship with on Facebook, the clear podium winner of Ironman competitions, and the most recognizable bike in the triathlon world. I went down to Triathlon Lab thinking I would test the P2C, which was the affordable model in my price range. Imagine my shock and awe when they rolled out an ‘08 P3C, 2007 and 2008’s flagship frame, for less than the price of the Orbea Ordu.