2009 Charlottesville Boys and Girls Club Challenge Ride

Great ride today! Fund raiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Charlottesville. About 300 people started the day. Gang raised something in the neighborhood of $140K - what I remember hearing, please forgive the lack of accuracy.

A group of Challenge Riders - ages 7 to 17 - had spent the better part of the summer getting some coaching from some local road riders and looked like they had a great time. Talked to a 7-year old who had ridden 31 miles. About 20 minutes later he spotted riding around the parking lot popping wheelies! Ah to be 7 an have an endless reservoir of energy!

Here's the scoop on the ride. 2 loops. Total about 60 miles. ~2,300 ft of climbing. Gorgeous country!

Loop 1

Loop 2

Blind Saumrai Race Report Vol 1 - Patriot's International Triathlon

What a great Patriot's weekend! Good beer, good race, more good beer. How can you beat that?

By the numbers:

Swim: 21:16 (2nd out of the water - more on that)

Bike: 1:07:xx

Run: 41:40 (6:45 per mile - I forgot my watch, so I had no idea on my pacing, just went for it)

Total: 2:15:xx (13th overall)

Now, if you like reading, sit back and enjoy.

Swim: 21:16 (2nd out of the water, 3rd swim overall - someone from a later wave smoked me!)

I bought a wetsuit the day before the race. What a difference it makes! I'm speechless. For everyone out there who does not own a wetsuit & has any ambition of improving swim times - GO BUY A WETSUIT. The swim was in the James River - brackish and not too cold. The James at this point is also tidal with a pretty strong current. I set my self up to left of the group and just took off that a solid pace at the gun. I immediately found myself with open water and no one to swim behind. Interesting. Never had this happen before. I passed the first bouy and still have clear water. Well, I knew I wasn't not off course, I could see the orange turn buoy far ahead, so I must be near the front. Made a quick pivot turn at that buoy (pulling out the old water polo skills is fun!). Right after the turn I felt a hand on my feet. Great! Someone's decided to take a ride. Oh well. I'm feeling pretty good, so I carry on. Make the second turn and start heading for home. Pick my head up to sight to shore line and see - glare - that's it - no shore, no buoy - just sunshine! Then I felt those hands on my feet again, I get concerned. I slowed up and took 2 breast strokes trying to find a point to aim for. That guy on my feet goes right by with a quick glance. I call over to him - "don't follow me, I'm lost!" Don't know if he heard me, but he took off. I finally sighted the right part of the shore after several course corrections. As I approach the shore I see my drafter (draftee?) get out of the water. He's about 1 minute ahead. After check the final results later, it turns out my draftee was probably Rudy - not 100% sure. Rudy - do recall going by some goofy dude who was looking lost? That was me. :)

Bike: 1:07:xx (22 mph)

My transition was super slow since I had never practiced getting out of my wetsuit. BTW - if you don't use Bodyglide, you end up with these nasty, painful, hicky-looking welts on your neck. Joanna is still skeptical of my wetsuit explanation. However, I believe the net benefit even with struggling was positive. Jumped on my bike and started pedaling. The goal was to maintain a pace of 22 mph. I only have my cheapo little speedometer, so that's was the target for better or worse. This Patriots bike course was gorgeous. Loved the scenery. However, someone has to explain to me how and out and back ride can but uphill and into the wind both ways! I just don't get it. Nevertheless, jumping off my bike at the end of the 40K ride, I was pleased with my pacing. But my legs were feeling pretty dead. I could tell this 10K would be an adventure. During the ride, I had counted roughly 10 athletes who had passed me - about what I expected. Hopefully I can pass some of them back on the run course.

Run: 41:40 (6:45 per mile)

My goal going into this race was to accomplish two things 1) average 22 mph on the bike and 2) throw down a sub 40 minute 10K. After getting off the bike, I felt pretty good that I had accomplished goal #1. But I could tell right away goal #2 was in big trouble. Legs were tight and heavy right from the get go. After just the first mile, I'm wondering how many folks I'll pass. Oh, I had also left my watch at home the day before, so I was flying totally blind. No idea what my pacing is, don't really care, just trying to hold on and finish strong. Beautiful run course, not too many hills. I got passed by a couple more guys and pass one guy. Clearly more work is needed - both bike and run.

Total: 2:15:xx (13th overall)

All in all very happy with my first ever International Distance Triathlon! Lots of fun! Lucky 13!

Bike Madness Part II - The Bike Store

Visited Cville Bike & Tri yesterday to check start to learn more about TT bikes. Love the dudes at Cville Bike and Tri. They are very knowledgable and helpful. Yet somehow, I may have left the shop with more questions than answers. Actually not surprised at all by this. If I'm going drop several $Ks on a bike, I'm want to understand what the deal is pretty well.

So I got to try out two bikes. First up was the Giant TCR Trinity. The one I tried was the basic model with some Easton wheels and Shimano Ultegra components.

Nice bike. Felt cool to ride. Now, the qualifier is that this is the first time I have ever pedaled a TT bike before. So it felt pretty weird being in that type of a position. That's to be expected. I realized that trying to comapre these bikes based on feel is going to be challenging (OK, huge understatement), since the TT position is not supposed to be comfortable. It's supposed to be fast without causing actual pain. So, seemed like a pretty good bike. Very affordable price as well.

The second bike was the Specialized Transition Comp. Also very nice bike, but definitely not the entry model (carbon frame and Ultegra/105 components). Looked a lot like this one:

I liked how I felt on this bike a little better. But I can't say that I know why that is. The frame size might be a slightly better fit (I believe that is what Paul suggested). Maybe the seat was a little bit nicer. Maybe I was just getting used to riding bikes in that type of position.

Many more bikes to try and many questions to answer. Here's what seems to have come up so far:

Frames

What is more important in a frame aerodynamic design or material? What about weight? Many bikes offer bike models with most of the same aerodynamics in either aluminum or carbon options. Of course carbon is quite a bit more expensive, so the question becomes is carbon really worth it? The answer to that really includes what you mean by "worth it". Carbon is clearly better due to improved stiffness, a carbon frame generally will transfer more of the energy you use to pedal directly into forward propulsion instead of into flexing the frame. But how much is that worth to you?

Weight

Then there is weight. In general (though not always), when you make a bike more aerodynamic, you add a little bit more weight. This is because aerodynamic designs that mimic airpalne wings and fuselages tend to have elongated, smoother surfaces. Longer surface area means a little more bike material and thus a little more weight. But this is OK because the purpose of a TT bike is to get aerodynamic. It is all a quesiton of what you are going to use the bike for. TT bikes are designed to go mostly flat and mostly straight a fast as possible. Thus aerodynmics is most important. Weight seems to matter most in two areas - hill climbing and short sprints. In both of these cases the path to success seems maximizing to be power per weight (often measured in Watts/Kg). The higher this ratio is, the better you are at climbing and sprinting. Of course there are two ways to get better - more Watts or fewer Kgs. So for hills and sprints, obsessing over weight makes sense. But I'm not sure this is the case for a TT bike where you want to turn in a fast time over a flattish 50 mile course.

Components and Wheels

Oh yeah and by the way, it turns out that no matter what kind of bike you have, it might be pretty important to have aerodynamic wheels. And oh yeah, more relaible components may actually reduce the incidence of dropped chains and other shifting woes (which I have been dealing with all summer). So, you can buy a sweet ride, but if you go ghetto on the other parts of the bike, you are basically back at square one.

Fit

I've heard lots of folks ask - how does the bike fit? Well, it turns out this is not as easy a question to answer as you might think. Fit in a TT bike does not mean comfy. Comfy is how you describe this bike:

But you won't go fast on this bike. So fit in a TT bike really means - can you make the right adjustments to get into the most aero position possible. Which of course means you need to get the experts out with their tape measures, motion capture gadgets, computers and all the rest. For someone like me who is new to this game, I would not trust this decision on a feel. Not what this bike would be for.

But here's the trick, you need to know what bikes are going to be "in the ball park" so that the experts have the right things to work with in order to dioal everything in. And so, you need to know a little bit about the fit of the bike to know what will work for you. So now what?

Onwards and upwards...

Bike Madness

So it begins. Somehow, I have been sucked into the world of TT bikes. How did it happen? Who knows. I heard someone ones explain that the only difference between men and boys is the cost of their toys. How true.

I find this particularly ironic for me since I spend a solid amount of time being skeptical of all the fancy, expensive gadgets and toys that one can accumulate in the name of trying to get faster. At the end of the day, I'm just another sucker who'll fall for a good marketing campaign. If nothing else, I am a self aware sucker.

My journey began about one week ago with a visit to Ebay. I suppose that is not the normal place to begin a search for a bike, but I never claimed to be normal. I've spent way too many hours trolling E-Bay listings and building a watch list. Right now, I'm just seeing what used bikes go for. The hypothesis being that you should be able to save a bunch of $$ by cutting a good deal on a used bike. Works for cars right? We'll see. I'm not convinced just yet.

The second thing I did was start to understand what new bikes cost and what drives this cost. To this end, I am building a spreadsheet summary of bikes that seem like possible candidates along with data on specs and costs so I see the side-by-side comparison. You would think this comparison would be straight forward. Alas no...

Soon, I'll be visiting the local bike shops to talk with folks and ride some bikes around. Should be fun!

Next step is of course to actu

Run More, Think Less

I love this article. Thanks to Cal for sending this along. I won't claim that I follow this to the letter - I too track mileage - rarely time, but mileage yes. Nor did this occur to me until after I read the article. But this is very compelling.

Think of it - run until you get tired. Stop. Rest. Repeat. Love it. Who needs a stop watch or a heart rate monitor!

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970203550604574358764211082766-lMyQjAxMDA5MDEwOTExNDkyWj.html

Lemmings over the cliff?

The comments from this post on the New York Times blog got me thinking:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/should-running-hurt-a-little/

The article is written by a recreational runner who has done several marathons. He's now being advised by a coach on ways to run "out of your comfort zone". The comments on this article were quite spirited.

In particular this comment:

"The short term effects of this exercise is going to be positive because you’ve been so lazy for so long. The long term effects from excessive running is negative. No one runs 35 miles a week for cardiovascular benefits. They are doing it for the ego. The problem we have in the U.S. is that 95% of us never exercise. Then a certain percentage of the 5% goes gung ho for a few months or few years then quits and become lazy again. Moderate exercise four times a week is what everyone should be doing. Marathon running or marathon training is not healthy."

and this one:

"There is PLENTY of encouragement among runners who will push you achieve these numeric goals regardless of injuries and the wear and tear on your body. They’re not right or wrong…. just obsessed with running. My Dad was a serious runner for many years. Now he’s in his early 60s, and after two knee surgeries and back surgery it’s hard for him to climb one flight of stairs. He’s prematurely crippled because of his running obsession."

Before carrying on, I'll simply acknowledge how unbelievably judgemental both of these posts are. And of course there are simply of lot of incorrect observations in there as well. Some people could quite possibly run 35 miles per week because *gasp* they like to run. As a reference, for a fairly good recreational runner, it takes about 5 to 6 hours per week to reach this 35 miles. But I didn't want to simply debunk some silly people who comment on someone else's blog (btw, I include myself in the label silly).

What does strike a chord with me in this discussion is a set of lingering questions about endurance sports. These questions relate to - 1) Motivation, 2) Lifestyle, 3) Health. I suppose these questions are the true reason I started writing in this space. While I mostly post about recent activities or cool ideas I come across, what I am most interested in are answers to these questions.

Motivation

What is the real motivation behind endurance sports? Are we all just a bunch of ego maniacs? Do we invest all this energy in early morning runs on long weekend bike rides simply for some twisted ego boost that we get from standing around the water cooler with coworkers on Monday morning boasting about the 5 hour bike ride or the 20 mile run we did that weekend? What is the difference between pride in an accomplishment like completing the longest run you've ever done versus embraking on some ego trip? Is there something inherently wrong with that ego trip if it is indeed the case? I suppose I should now go back and reread Catcher in the Rye - should I abandon an activity because it is filled with suspect motives and phonies?

Lifestyle

As most folks who have done a marathon or triathlon know, preparing for and completing an event involves a pretty solid time commitment - actually this is likely true of most 5K, 10K and half marathon runners and many others as well. Often times, this time commitment also requires you to make trade-offs or sacrifices in other areas of your life. If you are part of a running group that has a long run early on Saturday morning, your are less likely to be out boozing until 2 AM on Friday night - with a few notable and remarkable exceptions.

Then, for those who stick with their sport beyond a single event, these decisions about how to spend your time begin to evolve into a lifestyle. For example, instead of catching the latest Daily Show late at night as I used to, I now find myself conking out by 10 PM on most nights even if there is no planned workout the next morning (God bless TiVo). Then, when we do go out with the gang, I find myself making different choices about what I eat and drink, where we go and what we do. All the decisions are simply based on my own changing preferences which seem to have become tied up with this changing lifestyle.

Does this changing lifestyle make me an obsessed freak? What am I obsessed with? Is it some unobtainable body image that I allowed society to convince me I need to chase? Do I have a destructive urge to shave just a few more seconds off some best time in some arbitrary race? Am I simply becoming boring and one-dimensional? And if any of these are true, so what? Is obsession necessarily a bad thing?

Health

Everyone knows about the supposed health benefits of a little excerise. Good for the heart, good for the brain, good to release stress, and on and on. And I think it is intuitive that there is a point of diminishing returns to this exercise. So there should logically be some optimal point where the benefits to your health and life are balanced against the time and energy invested in this activity. But where is that point really? And how do we know? One commenter my link above mentions moderate exercise four times a week. How do we really know this and how do we measure all the benefits? Isn't there a social aspect to this that is not being captured? Isn't social interaction actually an important part of overall health?

Returning to the time aspect, is there a point at which more exercise becomes harmful to your health? I will submit the answer to this question is a resounding yes. Could that point be different for individuals? Again, I will submit the answer is yes. But is there also a point where no matter who you are and how genetically gifted, how well trained, how perfect your technique and how careful you are, you are simply driving yourself over a cliff of injuries? Are you envitably headed for the nightmare of blown out knees, arthritic backs, and all the rest? That cliff might be years away in the future and completely out of sight, but it might be there nevertheless. Are we all being driven toward this cliff by our fellow athletes, coaches, trainers, doctors, equipment and nutrition vendors and everyone else encouraging us and helping us along in what seem like worthwhile activities. We all recieve much needed support, advice and encouragement, not to mention cool gadets and other equipment from all these folks. And this is all given with the very best of intentions and recieved with deep gratidue. But what are the real consequnces here? Have we all undertaken in an activity that will inevitably lead to long term debilitating injuries and years of painful old age?

Are we all just lemmings lining up one by one rushing headlong toward some as yet unseen precipice?

Eagleman 2010 - I should have my head examined

It finally happened. I knew it would eventually. I signed up for Eagleman this weekend. Just made it in as one of the last few folks to register. I think the race sold out in less than 1 week. Crazy. Hard to believe so many people are lining up to put themselves through such torture.

The Eagleman is a triathlon in Cambridge, MD. The race "only" a half ironman distance. That's only 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of cycling and a half marathon - 13.1 miles of running. Crap! I feel tired just thinking about it. Here's the website: http://www.tricolumbia.org/Eagleman/

How exactly did I let myself get talked into this one?