First ever power test

Last year, I purchased a Computrainer to help with my offseason training (or lack thereof) to avoid trainer boredom. I honestly can not stand pedaling at the same constant resistance that most if not all air, fluid, and magnetic trainers. The biggest benefit for me that the Computrainer provides is the ability to vary the resistance, ride real courses, and the ability to translate GPS data either from a Garmin or from Google maps into a course to train on. This is the only way I can stand trainers... so much so, I spent 3:45 doing a 65 mile ride this past weekend.

Although this is a nice feature, this is only maybe 30-40% of its benefit. The biggest benefit as far as training goes is the ability to create specific training plans. First: I live in New England, where driving is downright scary... and riding on the road is a nightmare. Second: Doing any type of interval/hill training is almost impossible since there is too much traffic and hills are non-existent. The Computrainer gives you the ability to avoid all of that and carefully plan the training. If you need an hill repeat workout, go to the course creator and program in the segment lengths and grade you want... A tempo session, set your wattage based on your FTP... Intervals, use erg mode and set the time of each segment. The final usage is that it allows the rider to track progress through a series of periodic tests that eliminate variables such as wind and most weather. It doesn't take all variables out because heat/humidity play a large role in the human physiology and without constant air conditioning, this just isn't going to happen.

So today I started down my path of "real" cycling training and did my first power test of any kind. The test I did was a 20 minute power (MP) test. This test is effectively a 20 minute time trial on a flat course. The goal of this test is to maintain the maximum amount of constant speed/power that the rider is able to. The final output can then be used as an estimation of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) or the power that a rider can output for 1 hour. The estimation is done by multiplying the 20MP results by .92 - .96. For my non-profession self, I'll use the low number. As long as you use the same number all the time, I don't think it matters. In the end, it only matters when comparing FTP against other riders... and well, unless you are on the same course at the same time, it doesn't matter. The calculated FTP can then be used to set your training zones for your tempo, interval, and active recovery rides.

I hopped on the trainer and gave it a whirl. Here are my results for the beginning of the season:


Not bad results... but not great either. Considering I did a 55 mile portion of a half ironman in 2:43 and then ran a 2 hour half marathon at the end of last year. Basically I've got a long way to go!! Two things I did wrong: didn't wear my heart-rate strap and had a tough day of snow boarding the day before. There is probably more information in there that I can't see, but what I like the best is the straight lines... constant speed, power, and cadence.

Now all I have to look forward to tomorrow is a 4 hour spin class to benefit cancer research taught by a girl that works for me. I can't believe I signed up to let her yell at me for an hour!

Big news... Race list for 2010 all set!

In my last post, I came up with a list of races that I had hoped to do... well, by sheer luck, good timing, and some donations my race list for 2010 is complete. Here is what I'm looking forward to:

• June 6 - Rev 3 Half Ironman at Quassy Park in Middlebury, CT
• July 17 - Narragansett "Save-the-Bay" 1.7 mile fundraising swim
• FIRM Old Colony YMCA Olympic Triathlon (Hopefully on a different day than the swim)
  

And here is the exciting news... my "A" race for next year will be:

• Sept 12 - Rev3 Full ironman at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, OH

There it is. In September of next year, I will attempt to become a true endurance athlete in my attempts to complete a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bicycle ride, and then run a full marathon of 26.2 miles.

The reason this news was on hold was that the registrations to the Rev3 races were made through Ebay charity auctions to raise money to benefit the WarOnALS and the BLAZEMAN Foundation. For those of you that don't know the story of John "BLAZEMAN" Blais... I invite you to watch a short documentary on his journey here.

So now the easy part is done.... time to start training. If you notice I added a training mileage log on the left to track my progress and how far I'll travel in my season. I'll post the cumulative updates along side the weekly mileage.

2009 over... 2010 starting...

In review, 2009 was my first triathlon season, complete with a bunch of new firsts... my first Olympic distance, my first wreck during a race, and completion of my first half ironman. When all said and done, I was proud of what I had done in a short time. To top it all off I had also dropped 11 more pounds from winter highs down to 175lbs. My total weight loss now over 4 years is at 73 lbs!

So, the big question is what will 2010 bring?????

I would like to continue into my second season of triathlon. The results of Dr LAG, who hasn't lost his age group and won 3 overall races, has motivated me to get better. So, after 3 weeks off, I've started training. Training for what you ask... well, the races are still in the planning stages but there are a few local races that I'd like to do:

• Rev 3 Half Ironman at Quassy Park in Middlebury, CT
• FIRM Old Colony YMCA Olympic Triathlon
• Narragansett "Save-the-Bay" 1.7 mile fundraising swim

The "Save-the-Bay" swim, I've lived most of my life near areas that have bay swims like this and always wanted to do one. Well the masters team I practice with tried to talk me into doing it telling me that I could win it. Next years goal will be to raise the $300 to benefit the local bay cleanup effort and to attempt to win the race!

The FIRM Old Colony will be a repeat of an Olympic distance race I did this year. This will be a test event to measure overall improvement year over year and my last measure for my "A" race. Given similar conditions, I hope to beat last years time by 5-7 minutes.

The Rev 3 HIM will be a fitness race. Reports from last year claimed this race was a very challenging bike course with fairly flat run course. It is also a family friendly event which is held at an amusement park and the spectators are able to watch the race from a large projection screen.

Then there is my "A" race. This announcement will be forthcoming.... all I can tell you now is that I've got a lot more training to do! So stay tuned....

Equipment review: Speedfil Hydration System

One of the things that bothers me the most during training and races is hydration. When looking at a bike to buy, one never factors in hydration. Its all about the bike fit. Well in triathlons, hydration can be key in races that can be as short as 1 hour to over 8 hours. Unfortunately, most time trials/triathlon bikes come with a single bottle holder mount. This means that you might have 20-24 oz of fluid. Not very good.

The first improvement in this area is the behind the seat bottle cage mounting system. When I first purchased a tri bike, I got one of these. The benefit of this system was that I could strap CO2 cartridges, inflators, spare tubes, and tire levers to it as well as two water bottle cages. This now increased the fluid capacity to 60-72 oz. All well and good until you no longer have your bottles. In the first year, I spent more time stopping, turning around, and collecting a full bottle that had been launched after hitting a bump in the road. People that use this system know exactly what I'm talking about. I tried multiple types of cages and bottles and nothing seemed to work.

The next system is the behind the seat fluid system by NeverReach. This system looks like a motorcycle gas tank attached behind you. It holds 64 oz of fluid and can be refilled on the fly. A tubing system goes from the rear of the bike to the front and has a bite valve for drinking. While this system looks good, when full the system holds like 3 pounds of fluid. I wouldn't feel safe with a couple small screws hold that much weight over my rear wheel with competitors behind me.

The final system that I found is the Speedfil system by Inviscid Design. The system holds 40 oz of fluid, has a port to refill fluids on the fly, and a port for a tubing/bite valve system to run to the front of the bike. Unfortunately, my current Cervelo P2-SL only has a seat tube bottle cage mount. At the time I was looking at it, the system could not be mounted to a seat tube. One year later and the company came out with a mounting bracket. Perfect! I ordered the system the week before my half ironman. The system provides aerodynamic benefits over a standard wattle bottle, holds more fluid, can be covered with a neoprene sleeve on both the plastic and the tubing, and is a perfect fit into the bottom triangle of the bike. Here is the installed system on my bike:


As you can see, the design fits nicely into the bottom bracket area. It is narrow so it is out of the wind and is a system that is hands free (until you need to refill it) allowing the rider to stay in the aero position while drinking. The tubing runs up the down tube to the aerobars and is comes with a cover with a wire in it that retains a specific position. I didn't like the wiring so I borrow a hair elastic from the wife and it snapped back upon release along the aero bars. There is an optional neoprene cover to allow your liquids to stay cool on those longer rides on hot days. The only drawback to this system for me is I haven't quite learned how best to refill it on the fly. I'm sure this is just practice. For $99, you get an aero hydration system which you never have to stop... don't have to worry about carrying a tank... and don't have to reach behind you for bottles that may or may not be there.

Well worth it!

Race Wheels - Are they worth it??

In the triathlon/cycling world, carbon bling is everywhere from the Quintana Roo CD0.1 frameset to the newest Zipp Vuma Chrono cranks. In the interest of speed, athletes can spend more money on a wheelset than on the frames they ride. Venture to any local time trial or triathlon and you'll see a variety of age groupers with the latest and greatest. Is this money well spent?

In short, unless you are dealing with placing on the podium or qualifying for Kona, the answer is no. Yes, they do have an advantage and they will save you time. But a better use of your funds would be to hire a coach.

But what fun would that be? None. There is something psychologically in all of us age groupers that gives us that extra "umph" when using slick technology. It makes us try just a little harder... makes us feel a little faster. I took the plunge and purchased a set of Reynolds SDV66 wheels. My only reason for selecting these over the countless other brands was the reputation of Reynolds carbon products and the fact that I found a deal for the $2249 tubular wheelsets new in box for under $1000. Here they are:


I outfitted the wheels with a pair of Continental GP4000 tires and a SRAM RED 11-26 cassette. While the tires aren't the lightest of tubulars like the cassette, they were purchased for durability. I traded weight for a little flat protection. Then, taking a queue from the mountain biking community a small amount of Stan's Tire Sealant was injected through the valve core.

These wheels have DT Swiss 240 hubs which are some of the best non-ceramic bearing hubs available. The wheelset weighs in at a whopping 1358g! Its strange picking up these wheels because you expect them to be heavier.

After spending the money on the wheels, tires, cassette, and having them glued up I couldn't wait to give them a shot. This season, I had 4 opportunities to ride them totaling 120 miles. My first opinion is that for my first time on carbon tubulars, I felt next to no difference while riding them. The following is a list of supposed advantages of tubulars vs clinchers:

1. Better rolling resistance when properly glued
2. Less likely to pinch flat
3. Better cornering
4. Less rolling weight on the outside of wheel

Of the above, I really only noticed number four. Using these wheels, I can tell a huge difference in going from a relative standstill to full speed using these wheels. The problem is, unless you have a very technical course involving a lot of turns, you don't feel this often.

When using wheels that cost this much, obviously the worst thing would be to spend a lot of money and then have the wheels damaged in a crash. In one of the four races I had the priveleges to test the strength of these wheels. I hit a sewer drain going about 20 mph which pulled my wheel to the right causing me to flip over the front. In my prior two crashes, my front wheels have not survived very well. Maybe it was the type of crash, maybe it wasn't... but these weren't even out of true.

So in summary, the carbon wheels are strong, lightning quick to accelerate, and have an estimated savings of between 30-70 seconds over the course of 40 kilometers. Are they worth the money? As stated, for the average athlete, no. But they sure do make you "feel" fast.

Half Ironman Completed...

After the unfortunate events in the last race where I launched myself over my handlebars at 20 mph, it was really up in the air whether I'd be able to continue training and complete my first half-ironman.

Well, the road rash kept me out of the pool for a week and the slight leg bruise kept me from running for a few days. Nothing was going to stop me!!! So I increased my training, started back up with the running... And 3 weeks later I was standing on the beach at 7am staring at the waves preparing to race 70.3 miles.

Here were my goals:

• Swim: 25 minutes
• Bike: 3 hours
• Run: 2 hours
• Transitions: 5 minutes
• Total: 5:30 hours

Most of the goals were achievable, the biggest challenge would be the 2 hour half marathon. Now on to the race:

Swim:

The swim was a lot of fun. The race had 400+ entries which were broken into 6 waves which made it much safer to start. The first buoy was also farther out so people weren't climbing over top of each other. The course was a "J" course where you ran out from the beach through the break, headed to a buoy, made a right turn, swam 1 mile, then made a sharp right turn back into the beach. It was great to head out through the break. It made the less confident swimmers start back further. I didn't even sprint and found myself rounding the first buoy near the lead. My internal GPS must have been working because without seeing the smaller buoys, I ended up swimming right over them. I was just working on pacing and remaining calm when I kept seeing all of the different color caps in the water. All of the sudden I hit the last buoy and headed in. I didn't quite hit the timing right on the waves and I went to stand up and had a wave land on top of me and put me under. Remained calm and collected and continued on. Finally got to where I could run up the shore and there were 2 other caps of the same color with me. Turns out I lost my age group swim by :08!! Final time: 25 minutes. How is that for hitting your goal.

T1:

I had walked the transitions as I had done in previous races to make sure I knew which rack to head to. Well, they changed the swim entrance after we left the transition for the swim start. So when I entered, I ran down the wrong rack. Not a big deal. Wiped some sand off my feet, ate a half banana, downed some water, threw on my shoes and helmet and headed out. All done in 1:33 minutes. Cool, 1 minute ahead of pace.

Bike:

Was way too excited here. When I got going, I noticed my cadence sensor wasn't working. It's a shame because for the first time, I wore a heartrate strap during the swim so I could have it for later in the race and having both sets of info would be great. So I tried to spin to warm up my legs but they wouldn't cooperate. This might be a long bike ride. 5 miles into the race my legs started feeling better. Unfortunately, I made a huge mistake and started pushing bigger gears. I looked down and my heartrate was hitting consistent 160-170 bpm and I was averaging 22.7 mph for the first 15 miles. Either their was a huge tailwind or I was just a bit excited. Based on the heartrate and how I felt later, I pushed too hard to fast. My wife and I had driven the course the day before and even she was commenting on how hilly one section felt. It was constant up and down. Nothing real steep and nothing too long, just up and down over and over for 15 miles. I worked through the hills hit the first aid station. Grabbed a bottle of Hammer Heed and some pretzels and kept going. A mile later, a semi-truck decided he needed to make a delivery to a local farm and back into a driveway completely blocking the road. It force me and 5 of my closest friends at the moment to completely stop and have a nice chat. There went the minute I earned during T1. As I left the hilly section, I literally ran into friends Sarah and Jeff who road out to support me in my efforts. They have been great friends coming to two of my races this year. As paybacks, I decided that they deserved some free SWAG from the race. Here is a photo of me coming down the hill re-entering the highway and catching Sarah out of the corner of my eye:


After the hills my average was now down to 20.4 mph. And I was feeling really strong. I had 8 miles till the turnaround point signifying 18 miles to go on the bike. Time to pick the average back up and see how my legs respond. Boy did they ever. 8 miles later my average was at 21 mph. Unfortunately, 40 miles was my limit, especially with a decent amount of climbing. My legs were now heavy and starting to hurt. At this point I started to doubt myself. So I made a tactical decision to back off and not race the people I was around. It took an hour for me to complete the last 18 miles, but when I looked at my watch, it said 3:11 minutes. Given that my watch time was around 24 minutes exiting the water, that put my bike split around 2:46! Now the question becomes whether or not I pushed too hard. Ahead of my goal time by 15 minutes!

T2:

Relaxed as it was time for my moment of truth. Grabbed my shades, hat, race belt, slipped on my shoes, and grabbed some food. Spent a fair amount of time in the transition area unfortunately but still was just another 1:30 minutes. I'm now 16 minutes under my goal time.

Run:

Anyone that has done endurance sports knows there is a fine line between maximum effort and hitting a wall. I hoped I had not hit the wall. I came out of transition all smiles as I saw my wife cheering for me. It gave me hope and inspiration to finish.

So I start running... well in my case, jogging at a leisurely pace. My legs aren't on fire, but they feel aweful. I don't know the muscle, but the lower part of the quad heading to the inside of the knee is borderline cramping. But I finish my first mile in 8:30. Look at my watch and do a double take. Distance is wrong, has to be. Next thing to hit me is cramping in my ribs. Fight through it. I'm not walking this. Next thing I know, I hit 4 miles... 36 minutes and change. Not bad, right on 2 hour pace. As the miles go by, my pace starts slowing down. Soon I'm hitting 10 minute miles. My cadence is too slow I say to myself. Its now half way and I'm still running.... AND PASSING EEOPLE!! That never happens. Too many people had blown gaskets on the bike or were not prepared. More motivation. So I focused on slightly increasing the cadence and eliminating heel striking. Mile 7 - 9 minutes and change; Mile 8 - same; Mile 9 - same. Four more miles... total run time was sitting at 1:23 hours. I was really close to 2 hours. The bad part was at mile 10.5 where the race course had a sizeable hill. I almost walked up it. But no I pushed on. I now was ignoring my watch and thinking of the finish line. Actually I wasn't, I was thinking of the 1/3 of a mile run that was designed to torture competitors at the end of the race. The course took you onto the beach to run in the soft sand. As if running 13 miles after swimming 1.2 and biking 56 wasn't enough.

So I reached the beach!!! And then the pains hit. It was brutal. But I ignored the pain and tried to run. I entered the finishing shoot alone and had my wife there cheering and actually getting others watching to urge me on. I felt so bad but so good. I stepped onto pavement, rounded the corner and through the finish line. I made it!

Final Official Splits:

• Swim: 25:00
• T1: 1:33
• Bike: 2:45:34
• T2: 1:30
• Run: 2:01:33
• Final: 5:15:12

Beat my goal time by 15 minutes and was only slower in 1 of the 3 disciplines. I placed 2 age group and 20 overall in the swim (without a wetsuit) and 16 age group and 117 overall out of 375 entries.

In a few days some posts will be showing up about the new equipment I've used this year: Reynolds SDV66 wheels, LAS Chrono TT helmet, Newton Running Shoes, 2XU Endurance TriSuit, and Inviscid Design SpeedFil Hydration system...

Sprint triathlon goes horribly wrong

Of the races that I had put on my schedule this year, this race was the one I was really looking forward to this one. Its a sprint distance of .5 mile / 12 mile / 3 mile. Due to the town its held at, Barrington, RI.. the competition is actually really, really good. One of the local teams, Fuel Belt, races this as the owner and most of its members are local area residents. Note that one of the guys on the team is Todd Kenyon of TTBikeFit.com who did my tri fitting. They have a few 9 and 10 hour ironmen (and women) on the team.

I had a goal coming in of breaking 70 minutes provided the course was the same. My time last year at the event was 74 minutes breaking down to 10:49-1:47-34:10-1:17-25:55.

This year I had more races under my belt, more training, and supposedly faster equipment... so 4 minutes is nothing right??? Right!!!

I got the race site and registered, finding that the race number had grown to something around 300 entries. 300 entries, 3 waves... going to be a crowded swim start. I find my transition area and thing are a little depressing. I got stuck on one of the very inside slots meaning I had to run all the way down the row of bikes, grab mine, and run all the way back out, then head to the exit. Not a bike deal, but probably another 10-20 seconds of transition time. It would be great if the organizers put the racks in the middle and had an option to go around one side or the other.

So on to the race. I warmed up on the bike first. Actually felt really good. Maybe its the new pointy helmet! Warmed up in the water and felt awful. It was a little choppy, not much, but still enough to make a difference. I knew that I wasn't going to have a great swim.

The swim was as expected. The first buoy was about 35 yards from shore so it was an all out sprint. I placed myself better this time and had an easier time of managing the crowd. I knew based on the registration list that there would be some faster swimmers than myself (especially with no wetsuit). I saw the lead group get out in front of me and I just didn't want (and couldn't) keep up with them. I just don't have the speed anymore. Right now I'm about 5-10 seconds per hundred meters slower than the "really" fast swimmers. My overall time for the swim was 10:31, 18 seconds faster than last year in rougher water and a course which I felt was not strait. Not bad, but I'll have to go back and look at the results. My cheering section said I entered the first transition in 7th place. Considering 2 people passed me on the beach run (time included in the swim) not bad.

The first transition I tried the old saying "slow is smooth, smooth is fast". I had been practicing the day before.... so I expected a descent time. Ended up finding my bike, rinsing feet, slipping on shoes, through on my helmet, and running out in 1:05! A full 42 seconds quicker. I'm already ahead of last year's time after the event I expected the least gain from by a full minute.

As I headed out on the bike, I spun for the first mile or so as it was slightly uphill. I had a few people within sight of me and considering my placing on the swim, I thought it would be great if I could "hang" with some of these riders. Now maybe some were relay teams, I don't know. But in that first mile of me spinning, I passed two people. Here is were all of the good this go bad.....

You know that instant in time where you make a split decision and are either rewarded greatly or suffer dire consequences. This could be in anything... from driving a car to sporting events. Well I had one of those moments:

As I passed the second person and continued increasing my rhythm, I hear the familiar sound of a riding coming up next to me. As he does, I head to the right to not block. As I do I take a quick glance over to see who it was. It wasn't even a head turn, just an eye shift. Well that's all it took. BAD DECISION! In the blink of an eye, I feel my whole front end drop like a rock. I can't control it: 1) because I'm in the aero bars 2) because I wasn't looking forward 3) because I had caught the side of a sewer manhole cover. If the manhole road gradient would have been sloped, I would have been fine. Because I was moving right, I effectively turned right into it, causing my front tire to effectively drop off the side of the road. Next thing I know I'm hurdling through the air at over 20 mph! As I now laid on the road, I wonder what the heck just happened. I take a look and everything is in one piece. Then I start feeling the burning. Ahh, lots of road rash. Somehow, I managed to walk away from it.

So here is my decision, call it a day and end the race right there... or finish the 10 mile bike and 3 mile run? I'm not injured, the bike looked like it still worked... I'm finishing! While I was laying on the ground, a mechanic pulled up from the race organizers and asked if I was alright. He gave my bike a quick check, then before he handed it to me, he started with the medical questioning. Good call on his part. My helmet (which was basically brand new) didn't even have a scratch. He checked this, I didn't. So he finally cleared me and off I went.

So I went from trying to race to trying to finish. I spent the next 8 miles just kind of working some kinks out waiting for my body to tighten in one place or another. Well it did. My lower leg between my calf and ankle. Must have injured it (tear or bruise) in the crash because that part of my leg was in the front triangle of my bike. It tightened... and tightened... but gosh darn it, I'm finishing.

I finished the bike cruising along ending with a whopping time of 46 minutes! A full 12 minutes slower than last year. Oh well. Into the transition I went. No reason to hurry. From off the bike I knew I was going to have problems. My leg was real sore. I struggled to walk to my area. It's all your head... push through it. I casually switched shoes. and took off jogging.

I tried to use the 3 mile run to focus on running form. I tried to focus on forefoot running vs heel striking. Focus on form was what I kept telling myself. I didn't really push the pace because 1) I was injured and didn't want it to get worse and 2) no real need to as beating my time was no longer possible. I ended up being a rabbit for a few other people out attempting their own personal bests. For the first time in a race, I did not get passed on a run! It wasn't because I was blazing out there either. My run split was 23 minutes! A full 2 minutes faster than last year. Could have been that I was fresher, could have been more training... I don't know, but I like it! Still not fast, but a 2 minute improvement over 1 year on the same course in 3 miles is excellent.!

I came around the corner and the clock read 1:24 and change. Disappointing time... yes. Disappointing finish... absolutely not!

When I look back on this race, sure I'll be upset. But I will always have with me the fact that I pushed myself mentally over the hump to finish the race when battered and bruised. So in the next race I do when hitting that wall, I'll have something mentally to push me over that hump...