Secret Revealed...

In my regular blog I spilled the news, assuming blogger is working (I've been having some problem with it lately). I hope to write some good coverage on the IM expo, IM swim start, volunteering at bike special needs, IM bike finish and run start, and get plenty of pictures: the event, other athletes, our cheering section, and of course, T2 in action.

JHS and I are looking forward to a nice injection of motivation/enthusiasm. My mental focus has wandered lately. I think after returning I'm going to focus on four things a week: 2 quality bike rides (one of those being a long ride), 1 quality swim, and 1 quality run. Fill in the other days as I can, the time requirement are creeping upwards and it is getting harder to schedule.

But that is for later. Right now, IMAZ here I come! It will be lots of fun. :)

Bike 4/8

45 minutes on the trainer. I'd record wattage and average speed, but due to the tire leak it is off. I'll fix it after I get back from AZ. Cadence should be reliable - I kept it between 80 and 85.

Rest 4/7

Just took it easy. The good news is my foot feels fine - the ball of my left foot isn't sore at all, like it was after before my two previous runs.

Heart Rate Monitor

The battery in my heart rate monitor is weak, so I sent it off for replacement. Technically, it is the receiver (a.k.a. the watch part) battery that is weak, although Polar recommends sending in the transmitter (a.k.a. the chest strap) as well, so they can inspect the entire system. The battery in the transmitter is sealed in with no way to get to it, so if that needs replacement, they just send you a new transmitter.

The lady at the UPS store said she would put the watch and strap in a plastic bag, to protect against water. I laughed and told her that ironically, the whole reason I am sending the item to Polar is because the watch is waterproof - only Polar can change the battery without voiding the warranty, due to the seal. I added, I'd pay extra if after wrapping the watch/strap in a bag, UPS would fill the bag with water - then I could attach a note about how irritating it is to mail off my HRM. ;)

If the watch weren't waterproof, I could just go to any place that sells watch batteries and have them do it. But no, I need to mail off my watch/strap, pre-authorize a $59 charge - to be fair to Polar this is the maximum cost, which includes receiver battery replacement and a new coded transmitter - and be without it all for two weeks of more. Great.

I was thinking of getting the Polar S625X instead, since it has a foot pod which can be used to measure speed and distance. Instead, I might try the Nike SDM Tailwind, which does the same thing (minus the heart rate monitor functions). This would just be a backup for when the Garmin Forerunner doesn't work.

Run 4/6

I've taken over a week off running, and decided to try out a short trail run today. So I drove to the nearby Powerline Trail and did 3.9 miles in 42:30. This trail is wide and has a nice soft gravel surface (by that I mean the ground underneath is soft, as opposed to Green Lake's trail which is gravel but over a harder surface) and even packs some nice hills into a compact area.

I felt pretty good - I mostly kept my heart rate under 70% but let it rise a little on the hills. My foot feels good but the big test will be how it feels tomorrow. ;) Still, I think I'm good to run again, but I will stick to trails for a while.

Bike 4/5

Squeezing it in whenever I can: 45 mins on the trainer, at 100 Watts, cadence between 80 and 85. In the 39x15 this worked out to be roughly 16 mph.

The tire is still going flat, but then I haven't done anything about it. Maybe tonight I'll try to fix it... or maybe I can just put that off and do the "inflate and ride" again and fix it another day. What the heck, this tube is basically shot anyway; patching it will just be an experiment to see if that helps.

Later on, I did 35 more minutes at the same parameters. Basically, the tire won't hold air for very long anymore. I'll need to replace it, and examine the inner tube to try to figure out why I'm getting flats.

Swim 4/5

I didn't have as much time today, so I decided to do 1000 of fist glove drills. I'm getting better - this was the first time I didn't feel like I had to struggle to breathe. My drill/warmup was 5x200 in about 21 minutes.

After that I took the fist gloves off and swam 1x400 in about 7:30. Woot! For me, that is pretty fast. ;) In summary, 1400 yards in 28:30.

When I arrived, all the lanes were taken with one person each. As I looked around, one elderly guy I see regularly waved and moved over to share a lane with another lady swimming slow laps. He typically wears a snorkel mask and a flotation belt, and sculls himself back and forth. Later after we were drying off and changing, I thanked him and said I would have shared the lane, I didn't mean for him to move. He laughed and said he gets claustrophobic (hence the seal mask and snorkel) but most interestingly, he is recovering from hip surgery - when he said that I looked at immediately noticed a large semicurcular scar on his hip - and that aqua jogging and just floating around was really helping him.

I thought wow, that is really great he is determined to get some exercise. Also, doing what you can with the body you have definitely gets an A+ for effort.

Bike 4/4

There was a bit of a sunbreak late afternoon, so I hopped on my bike and rode 22.3 miles in 1:23. Now that we're on daylight time, I'll be able to squeeze longer rides in after leaving work.

I rode from my house, around 60 acres park, and the north on the SRT. I briefly thought of climbing Hollywood Hill, but I could see lots of cars backed up on 145th, and decided against it - too much traffic for me, because it was rush hour. In the future, if I get out earlier, then I would consider it. Anyway, I continued along to stoplight in Bothell (73rd Ave?) and turned around. Clouds rolled in on the way back and I was sprinkled on just a little, but it didn't rain any heavier.

I've also decided the Endurox recovery drink tastes way too much like Pepto Bismol - it is pink and sweet, but not as thick. The Powerbar Recovery drink is far more palatable. When I finish off the canister I have (that I found when cleaning out my pantry), I'm going back to the Powerbar drink.

Misc Bike Updates

I went to Sammamish Valley Cycles and talked to CP for a bit.

• Trainer flats
  She suggests examining the tube for the puncture. She suspects either a spoke is poking through, or perhaps something I picked up last time the bike was outside, has finally worked its way through the tire. If I can't find anything I'll try buying a new tire - maybe all the rides on the trainer has flattened/cracked it and it is now rubbing. Or perhaps patching will work well - the extra padding should help resist future punctures.
  
  
• New Saddle
  I bought the Specialized Alias saddle, which is a step-up from the Avatar which I bought for the Trek. I really like the Avatar now that I've broken it in. The Alias features memory foam, and I hope it is a comfy as it sounds. This Alias will replace the Selle San Marco Aspide TriGel saddle I currently have on the Cervelo.
  
  
• Bike Fit
  I have an appointment next Wednesday for a bike fit. I explained to CP that my previous bike fit went well, but I still feel stretched out. Erik Moen moved the saddle forward but preferred changing the stem length. I am now ready to replace the handlebars/aerobars if needed, in order to get a comfy aero fit.
  
  
• Bike
  I asked CP about her bike - she rides a Litespeed Blade, and absolutely loves it. She said the Saber would be good for me... I told her I bought my Cervelo used from somebody, and while that worked out OK, I think in the future, buying from a store is better for me, so I can mix/match components and the fit right there. I have hopes next week's bike fit will make the Cervelo a lot more comfy. CP mentioned a bike trade in service, where I could trade in my Cervelo towards a Litespeed... how evil, tempting me like that. :D
  
  While it is fun to think of a new bike, I know what I really need is a ginormous "motivation" pill. After so many months of thinking of IM, my mind is wandering. Spectating and volunteering at IMAZ will really inject some enthusiasm, as JHS noted.
  
  
• Reasonably affordable (as far as non-entry level) carbon fiber bikes to drool over, plus one titanium bike
  
  
  
  • Felt F55, Felt F65
    
  • Giant TCR Composite 2
    
  • Kestrel Talon, Kestrel Talon Aero
    
  • Litespeed Saber
    
  
  
  Wow, the Felt bikes are a major bargain - they aren't much more than the cost of the Shimano components!
  
  

Week 13

Mar 28 - Apr 3

	Time
Swim	1:25
Bike	4:34
Run	0
Strength	0:00
Weight	140.8 lb
Body Fat	15.9 %

Well, the week was fairly unimpressive. I will say I took it easy as preventative maintenance; towards the end of the week I was feeling groggy as though I were catching a cold. My left foot does feel better, so it is time to try a trail run again.

Bike 4/3

I only managed to do 54 minutes on the trainer, in 39x15 at 80 Watts. The speed worked out to be around 17.5 mph.

I really planned to do more, but the day just got away from me. I slept in, ran some errands, stopped by Smith Tower, did more cleaning in the garage since my volleyball game was cancelled (if I would have heard earlier I would have ridden outside for a few hours), and suddenly it was late. As I was setting up the trainer I noticed the rear tire was flat again. Argh! I was lazy and just inflated it, stopping after 30 minutes to re-inflate it. Tomorrow I'll have to take the wheel off and figure out what happened. If it is flat in the same place then I'll have to examine the inside of the tube to see if there is some rough spot. This is weird, after so many months of no flats, two in less than a week.

Bike 4/2

• Part 1
  
  I met T2 and SO at T2's house, and we geared up for a cool and possibly rainy ride. About a quarter mile out, T2's rear tire went flat so T2 fixed it up with some CO2. Since we were so close to T2's, we went back to get more CO2 canisters. I took the opportunity to get my booties since I could tell my toes would get cold otherwise. For the duration of the ride, we were blessed with good weather (i.e. it didn't rain on us).
  
  Sometimes a group bike ride can feel like a solo bike ride. This is nobody's fault of course - when riding in the street it is best to go single file. That plus the fact it was windy, which makes it hard for me to hear, means I wasn't very conversational during the ride itself. Oh well, maybe next year I'll buy some headsets like the pros have. ;)
  
  Still, it was fun and nice to get outside - I have been inside on the trainer for quite a while, and will probably be inside on the trainer for several more days since the forecast looks a bit rainy.
  
  Total ride was 23 miles in 1:28.
  
  
• Part 2
  
  52 minutes in the 39x15 at 80 Watts, keeping cadence above 85 for a speed around 17.5 mph.