Yes, the jokes are starting... On our group ride yesterday I got comments ranging from “Ah, I see you brought a hand pump” and “Can I loan you some CO2 cartridges?” It’s all in good humour and I definitely deserve it. Hey, if you play with the big boys be prepared to take the jokes that follow.
Actually it is quite funny to have that as your reputation. Being a cautionary tale for making sure you carry all the supplies you need is something I never thought I would be saddled with, but then again, nobody else has paid for that mistake lately. Needless to say I rather enjoy the ribbing, as I am of the mindset that we’re all one big family of athletes and I think we learn from each other’s success and mistakes.
I definitely am paying more attention lately and taking “snippits” of ideas from other triathletes as to how they approach different areas of the sport. Last night, for example, I talked with my coach about clothing for the Ironman, and he suggested that you’re better off changing shorts from swim to bike to run shorts during the race, because it’s more comfortable to start in dryer clothes and also tri-shorts just don’t have the padding that is comfortable for the long ride. I don’t disagree but I had been debating as to the value of wearing the tri-shorts vs. the full bike shorts. I figure, comfort is everything. The extra 30 seconds it might take for me to make the change will cost me when I’m chasing down Chris Lieto for the victory (which, by the way, has a snowballs chance in hell) but, for where I’m looking to go, the extra comfort level might actually help me run a little stronger at the end. Plus, just knowing that my seat won’t be as numb after the bike ride is a wonderful thought!
Last night I did the Cypress Hill Climb for the first time in my life. The climb is 2 sections of about 5km each. Some people go just to the 1st section which is a lookout over the ocean (quite breathtaking, actually). I have gone to the first lookout before but never to the second. Of course, I had no idea where the “2nd” lookout was, so after I lost the one person who was in front of me around one of the corners I just kept going, thinking it was coming up at any point. I tried in vain to catch a cyclist who was about 300 meters up the road, thinking it was one of the guys in our group, and when I got close, I realized that this person wasn’t with the group at all. All in all, I had ridden about 6-7 minutes more up the hill than I needed to before I turned around. Oh well, I guess an add-on for hill climbing never hurt anybody (although I was hurting). I managed to get my heart rate around 180 beats per minute and sustain that for most of the hill climb, which I was pretty excited about, since it just indicates to me that my comfort level is increasing on the bike. All told I rode 36 minutes uphill. And then came the fun part… turning around. When you get going on the downhill of
I’m hoping to get up at the bright bright early hour tomorrow and go for a 3 ½ to 4 hour ride before work… I need to get my longer ride in on Friday as I’ll be away for four days and getting a long ride in will be difficult as I’m going to a lake in the interior. We’ll see how that goes, but I guess it’s not a matter of “if I feel like it” because I clearly won’t… It’s a matter of “get up, get moving and stop complaining.” Ugh, early night tonight! I’d also like to hit
There is no speedwork tonight as my coach, Dean, is racing at Ironman Coeur d’Alene this weekend, so he is out of town. I almost feel like I have a free night, though what it all really means is that I have to get the workouts in regardless… I just get to go on my own time.
I’ll make sure I bring my hand pump tomorrow for my ride, though… And the Cervelo is going to it’s tune-up tomorrow night!! I’m excited to get out on that bike next week.
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