Portland Marathon approaches

Pre marathon racing activity for me usually constitutes a nice pasta dinner on Friday night and, well, either viewing Prefontaine or Rocky or something. Basically I look at the nights before a marathon as a time to really try to take my mind off the race.

So, tonight I'm trying to figure out which movie to watch. It will be a fairly laid back trip to Portland this weekend, so what do I need???

I'll tell you, this is what I'm watching... Deal or No Deal. Howie Mandel at his finest. The stress of complete luck matched with overdramatized music. It's kind of set up like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" only it has absolutely nothing to do with any knowledge. Just pick numbers and hope you pick the right one... And know when to call it quits!

I know... Mindless t.v. Actually it's something simple like that, with some finality and no real thought required, that makes perfect sense as a pre-race activity. I've had some pasta already and I'm ready to call it a night anyway. So why not a little fun t.v. candy.

I also have finally taken pictures of a new toy I picked up a couple of weeks ago...

That's right, I bought a new bike. It's a Cervelo P3... Nice, silver frame. I'll get the specs out on this. It's got DuraAce components, an Easton Aerobar, Fi'z'ik saddle, and 650c wheels... 650c wheels? Okay, now I have to get a little educated and figure this out. I'm a 5'11" guy and generally we need 700c wheels, but after doing a LOT of reading I discovered some advantages to the 650c wheels. First of all, the less rolling resistance. Second, lighter... Making hill climbing easier... I'm still out on whether this will make things faster, but one thing it would do is make the riding "easier". My profile will be lower and the bike is a whole lot lighter.

I tried to get some specs off the website but it is a slightly older bike so I have to search through some older online reviews to see any info on this. But you can tell that I have a little affinity for the Cervelo company. The Cervelo One that I had the pleasure of riding this year really changed how I rode. I felt that, when I got on that bike, I learned to ride differently, and rode smarter. I rode it with a broken hand, and I rode faster and stronger than ever. Was this a result of more bike fitness? Yes, but combine that with the Cervelo and I just always felt better. I'm hoping this is an opportunity to take my riding to another level. I'll be using the GT during the winter and my hope is that my uncle will be using his bike next year to train on. And this, with new race tires, will make it's racing debut at the Oliver Half Ironman in June.

I have to thank my tri-club teammate Shane for selling me his used bike. It was something I figured I would have to do next year at some point, and now just made sense.

If you look on the top shelf, you'll notice two wheels. I also picked up a pair of race wheels... These are HED race wheels and they are tubulars... So, I have a new learning experience for this year... How do I change a tubular tire???

Well, this goes back to my thoughts in June of last year about how I wanted a new bike and how unnecessary it all seemed. It still seems unnecessary... But getting a new bike does give you a sense of anticipation and thrill about the coming year. Like there's something new out there to explore. I can't wait to ride the Ironman course on this ride and see how it goes.

For now, it's time to focus on the marathon ahead. Paul, Kristina and I are leaving tomorrow at 7am and heading down south. There are some folks from the Denman Running Room heading down tomorrow as well, and we're meeting Rachel and Michael down there tomorrow.

Time to head to bed...