One foot in front of the other.
Continued from: 2010 Ironman Louisville: Race Report Part 1 – Before the race
On race day, August 29, 2010, I woke up at 3 o’clock AM. The reason I got up so early was too afford myself the time to follow my usual, daily routine. I know it may seem silly to some, but for me having the time to wake up, eat breakfast, shower and basically just give myself the time to get in gear is imperative.Also, since the transition area opened at 5:30 AM, I wanted plenty of time to get there, park and get to my bike.
I arrived at the transition area at about 5:10 AM. Already there was a huge mass of people waiting to be let in to transition in order to make final adjustments and nutritional additions to their bikes and transition bags. In my past experience, people are always early for these types of pre-race tasks, but due to the nature of the swim start, it was especially important in this race. You see, the swim start for Ironman Louisville is a time trial start. The reason for this is that the swim was taking place in the Ohio River, and the first third of the swim led athletes upstream in between Towhead Island and the shore. Therefore, there was not nearly enough room for the traditional Ironman mass start.
As it turned out, we were allowed into transition a few minutes early. I headed straight to my bike to fill my Speedfil (filled with 3 hours worth of my custom blend from Infinit Nutrition) and to top off my tires. I had done pretty much everything I needed to the day before, so I was all prepared and headed with the a boat-load of other people on the 3/4 mile walk to the swim start. As I walked, there were people literally hauling ass by me to get a decent place in the line to start. The reason for this (and a HUGE complaint for me) is that the line for the swim start had ABSOLUTELY NO RHYME OR REASON. It was entirely first come, first serve. I will go into this more in my review of the parts of the race that I experienced later, but as you can guess, I think the way it starts is crap.
I, like many others, had someone holding a place in line for me. While I imagine that had I not been fortunate enough to have this, I would have been furious at those who did. However there was/is no rule against it and that opportunity presented itself, so I took it. I was placed very close to the front of the line and knew I’d be in the water quickly once the cannon sounded.
As time drew nearer, volunteers were gathering morning clothes bags about 45 minutes before the actual start. This was a problem for many (including me) because it left us standing there, with no water, clothes or anything else we may want for 45 minutes (again, I’ll go into this more in my review later). I did run to the bathroom at one point, which meant going quite a way from where I was standing (many thanks to my line buddy for holding my spot). This was sort of easy, though the bathrooms were situated right beside the line for going in the water so it looked like some sort of spandex-clad M.C. Escher drawing.
I picked my way back to my spot in line, past a throng of not-so-pleased athletes, and waited. The professional start was right at 6:50 AM and we were to go off ten minutes later. In that ten minutes, a very talented trumpeter played the Star-Spangled Banner as well as My Old Kentucky Home. Then things began to get energized.
When the cannon went off, the lines we were in moved super fast. I put on my cap and goggles and watched my fellow competitors jumping off two separate docks. Swimmers were going in two at a time off each dock basically one on top of the other. It was actually quite dangerous looking and you really had to be careful not to jump on the swimmer in front of you.
I walked out on the dock and jumped.
To be continued…
There are so many tips for beginner cyclists floating around the internet that to cover them all could be a complete website unto itself (and probably is!). This list is the top ten things that I think every beginner cyclist should know (assuming you’ve already got a bike). Please leave your own beginner cyclist tips in the comments!
Again, this list is by no means comprehensive. Please leave your tips in the comments!
I headed out my door this morning at 5:30 AM. At that time, it was 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 85% humidity. My run was to be:
Keep heart rate in zones 1-3 on a rolling course. Allow heart rate to gradually rise to zone 3 as pace builds, but don’t force it up. Duration 1:30:00
As I began, I felt decent if a little tired from waking up at 4:30 AM. I started on my favorite route and by the time I got about 1.25 miles into it I noticed that I was literally pouring sweat. This continued until I got about 27 minutes into my run when I decided to turn back. Up to this point, my sweat rate had been epic and this is considering the fact that I am a heavy sweater to begin with. My heart rate had also been jumping far higher than it should. Basically, my effort was far more than it should have been.
Once I turned around, these things were only compounded by my mental state and the fact that I even found myself walking a couple of hills (not sure if the walking was an effort thing or a screw it thing). Once I got home, it took me ten minutes of standing in a cold shower with my clothes on to get my heart rate under 100 and to get me to a point where I didn’t feel like I was going to overheat. This run officially ranks as #2 on my list of all time worst runs (just behind my first marathon) and is certainly my worst ever workout run (that I can remember, I’ve never walked part of a workout).
This brings me to my question. How do you mentally recover from a bad workout? I’m not worried about the physical part, I don’t have time for that. It the mental thing and the fact that I can’t say, “well, I’ve had worse runs”, because I haven’t had worse runs. So what do you do?
This isn’t going to be some long, drawn-out diatribe about what kind of “strike” is best. I just wanted to take a quick second to make an observation.
The buzzword when debating this topic is “footstrike” (see also: foot strike, foot-strike, Fuß strike and mul strejk). At the same time, those doing the debating, or rather stating (of which I too am guilty) speak mainly of the way our feet land on the ground while wearing shoes. That being the case (most of the time) I think that the term “footstrike” is a misnomer.
You see, when wearing just about any shoe (before anyone goes commenting on this, please not that I said JUST ABOUT ANY, which means, not all), the heel is higher that the metatarsal area (of the shoe not the foot). So, essentially, we are running on a wedge. Now, there are varying degrees of “drop” in shoes and there are racing flats which are not flat at all. In all of these shoes, when we try to take pictures and videos and such and analyze the footstrike of the runner, we are limited by several things. One, they are wearing shoes and we cannot see the bottom of their actual foot. Two, the amount of movement that takes place in someone’s footfall in the last couple of millimeters is huge and it is all but impossible to tell how someone’s SHOE will actually land when it is still an inch or so off of the ground. Three, even in high speed video, which Pete from Runblogger.com has done a great job of compiling, you’re largely still looking at feet IN SHOES, and thus we cannot see what the FOOT is doing (though Pete does have some fantastic barefoot videos in slow-mo).
So I propose this, in this eternal debate, full of hard-headed type-A’s (sometimes including yours truly), we try to agree upon something. When the “strike” you happen to be debating is in shoes, call it “shoestrike” (see also: shoe strike, shoe-strike, Schuh-Streik and sko strejk). When speaking of something where you can actually see the FOOT, NOT THE SHOE (yes, this likely means barefoot, which is an entirely different topic), then and only then, should we call it “footstrike”.
What’s wrong with this picture? Well, apparently, the saying on the t-shirt is what’s wrong. Yes Lance is 38 years old, and yes, BFD. However, when this photo was taken, that saying was not on Lance’s shirt. In fact, there was nothing on Lance’s shirt. It was just a plain, blue t-shirt.
Up to now, Lance’s history with Outside Magazine seems to have been a very good one with the seven time Tour de France winner appearing on the cover over ten times. But is this possibly the last time? Yesterday afternoon, Lance addressed the photo on his Twitter with the following:
On top of the falsified photo, perhaps Lance is a little less than thrilled about the blurb on his right: “His Age, New Rival, the Latest Scandal. Is This End For Lance?”
Personally, I think it’s not cool to make it appear as though Lance approved of the saying on the shirt (his historically colorful language notwithstanding). I’m also not a huge fan of Photoshopping in general in publishing, but I understand that it’s a part of the game.
What do you think about all this?
Since I began this site I have tried out quite a few products. These things range from a cold weather headband with headphones built in to tech clothing and everything in between. You’ve probably actually heard me on my show or in posts on the site mentioning these things and what I think of them. However, every now and then, something has a huge impact on me and then I feel it is incumbent upon me to let you know the circumstances of that impact and how greatly I was affected.
This past Sunday during the Ironman Mooseman 70.3 triathlon in New Hampshire, it rained. In
fact, it started raining just before the start of the race and did not stop until I was driving on my way home about 30 miles away from the race. With the skies falling out the way they were, there was no way to avoid being completely soaked through on every inch of your body (at least not without taking the time to put on rain gear). This meant that my feet, the things which would be receiving the most punishment throughout the event, would be completely soaked for about SIX AND A HALF HOURS (including warm-up swim and standing around after the race).
Now, excuse the details, my feet have come to be able to handle a lot of punishment, but almost all of that comes when they’re dry. Once I hit the bike in this race, I was worried about any callouses becoming soft and the skin on my feet breaking down, which would the destroy my ability to run. This, however, never happened.
In my cycling shoes, which are admittedly not the best you can buy, I have Sole Thin Sport Custom Footbeds. These are custom in that you put them in your oven for a couple of minutes and upon taking them out, place them in the shoes you are using them with. they then conform to YOUR foot. During my race, where any wiggle (by way of looseness or stretching from being wet) of my cycling shoes likely would have resulted in skin being worn off my foot and/or blisters, my feet remained cradled and right where they needed to be.
I don’t wear any footbeds, other than what is already in my shoes, when I run. However, I’ll have these footbed in my cycling shoes for a long time to come.
Not only have I tried and approved of the Sole Thin Sport Custom Footbeds, I heartily recommend them.
Continued from: 2010 Ironman Mooseman 70.3: Race Report Part 2 – Race Morning…
Beach starts in triathlon tend to be a full contact affair. This is especially true just behind the front of the pack. If you’ve placed yourself in that spot, there’s a decent chance that you’ll get kicked in the face by the guy in front of you and/or punched in various parts of your body by the guys on either side of you and/or dunked and swum over by the guy behind you who may be faster than you. All accidents, of course.
Since I expect to be one of the faster swimmer in any race I enter, I always place myself at the front of the pack in both water and beach starts. In triathlons I’ve done that have pool swims it is incredibly frustrating to be relegated to swimming behind people who’ve WAY overestimated their speed, and having to pass them. So, for this race I was at the front of the pack when the horn sounded.
The run into the water was fairly smooth with the bottom dropping off to swimming depth in probably about ten feet. The pack broke up quickly and myself and a few others pulled away off the front. The swim course itself was a rectangle (see picture) and was protected from and waves kicked up by wind by the shoreline to the East. As we reached the first turn, quite a few waves appeared, I have to assume because we had come around from the lee side of a point of land, and the wind was now kicking up a bit.
At about the halfway point, I noticed that another swimmer from my wave (I could tell from his powder blue cap like mine) and I seemed to be staying right with each other. Shortly after I noticed this, my opponent disappeared and I assumed that I had dropped him. By this time, I had been swimming through swimmers from waves that had gone off ahead of me from about the 1/4 mark on. Every now and then, either I would accidentally run into one of these swimmers or they would run into me. This is when I noticed that someone kept hitting my heels. I snuck a peek back and saw that the swimmer with whom I had been dueling had taken a comfortable spot in my wake and was now drafting along and taking it easy. While drafting is illegal in the bike leg of a triathlon, there is nothing wrong with drafting in the swim. I guess I didn’t mind so much and I wouldn’t have even known the difference if it weren’t for the fact that my heels were getting tapped every thirty seconds or so. Annoying.
The concern I had coming into this race with regards to my neck never really came to fruition. To be honest, I was being a bit conservative (which is evident by my less than stellar time) and definitely felt fatigued in my shoulders more than I usually would, but true pain never affected me.
Swim time: 27:17
Swim pace: 1:25 per 100 meters (boo)
Age Group Place: 5th
Overall Place: 28th
Most of us are aware of the potential dizziness that comes with standing up too fast. I have even fallen over several times because of this. In a triathlon, the same thing takes place. You’ve been swimming for however long, thus you’ve been essentially laying down. All of a sudden, you ask your body to stand up! This problem can be compounded by the fact that your upper body is doing most of the work on the swim and so most of your blood is hanging out there to supply your muscles. Further, if you’re wearing a wetsuit, there is a bit of compression being applied to your lower extremities which keeps your blood even more focused in your upper body. So, when you then stand up to run out of the water, all that blood suddenly drops, and sometimes you do along with it!
As I stood, I was ready for the dizziness and I was not disappointed. Upon exiting the water, there was about a 20 yard (if I remember correctly) run to the wetsuit strippers. This is not some weird, wetsuit fetish exotic dancing area but rather, a group of race volunteers whose job it is to get you out of your wetsuit as fast as possible. All you have to do as a racer is flop on your back on the ground and they will grab your wetsuit and peel it off of you in a flash. The problem with this is the dizziness thing. You’ve just come out of the water, gotten dizzy and then after a few seconds, you throw your body back to being flat again for a few seconds (legs in the air, mind you) and then pop up AGAIN. This makes for a rather world-spinning few minutes.
I made my way into the transition area and found my belongings in fairly short order. By this time, it had been raining for about thirty minutes and everything was wet. I removed my socks from their dry sanctuary inside my cycling shoe, inside that grocery bag I spoke about. Now let me paint you a picture of what I was doing. I was trying not balance on one foot at a time, while my head was spinning, putting dry socks onto wet feet (try putting on sock directly out of the shower some time), while desperately trying not to step into the mud and puddles that now surrounded me. All this time, my head refused to stop spinning. Good times. I eventually got my crap together, even having to literally DUMP water out of my helmet, and was on my way out of transition. Slow.
Transition 1 time: 4:14 (Dear LORD, that’s awful)
To be completely honest, a lot of the bike portion of the race is a blur. It rained the entire time, often very hard. For the beginning six or so miles on the bike, I let my legs warm up well, pushing, but not pushing to the point of exhaustion. At about mile seven or so, the climbing began.
Leading up to this race, I had checked elevation charts and was not prepared for what I encountered. The first, largest and longest of the hills that we encountered was awful. First, we were climbing this hill in the rain, which gave you the appearance in spots of riding upstream in a river with an asphalt bottom. Second, this hill went to gradients of 16% for large sections at a time. To give you an idea of what a 16% grade is, the famous Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France has an average gradient of “only” 8.9%. Many people were forced to walk this hill and I must admit that I glanced at them with envy, but I stayed on my steed.
Several of the descents on the course were long and sweeping and gave you time to rest your legs. Other descents were so dangerous even without the rain that the officials had told us the day before that they would be strictly enforcing a 35 mph speed limit.
Apart from the 16% S.O.B. hill, there were a couple other climbs in excess of 10% as well as some deceptively “flat” sections that seemed to sap energy from the legs. The road conditions were only OK. You were forced to stay constantly aware of the pavement in front of you due to the fact that for 99% of the course there was a large crack (hastily patched but still pitted) meandering across both sides of the road.
Somewhere around halfway through the bike, my Garmin 305 went haywire. I went to take a peek at my heart rate and the screen was flashing from display to display, and not making any sense. I tried to turn it off and couldn’t. So I took it off and put it in my jersey. Now, for the rest of the race, I would have no idea where my pace of my heart rate were. I would be running purely on feel and perceived effort.
The toughest part of this bike course was grinding through it the first time and knowing you had to come back and hit it again. 16%’er and all. My nutrition, which if you know me, you know I have struggled in the past with this, was perfect. I had three hours worth of my “blend” from Infinit Nutrition in my Speedfil and rotated water bottles from aid stations in my one bottle cage. I finished my Infinit blend with about six miles to go on the bike, so, just to be safe, I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade Endurance Formula and dropped a bottle of water into my Speedfil. I also grabbed a banana at some point during the bike (can’t remember when) just because I knew it wouldn’t affect me adversely and it just looked good.
I didn’t do exactly what I wanted to do on the bike, in terms of speed, but I was consistent and I think that is just as important. I also learned a lot of what I need to do moving forward.
Bike time: 2:57:16
Bike pace: 19 mph
Age Group Place: 44th
Overall Place: 217th
By the time I hit T2, my feet had been soaked for over three and a half hours, but were holding up fine (I actually have a lot to say about my Sole insoles on the bike that I’ll write about later). However, I though it would behoove me to put on dry socks. This was frickin’ stupid. It was still raining and I was still surrounded by mud and puddles. I have no idea why I thought that changing my socks would make a single bit of difference, bu I did anyway, and again, I had a terribly slow transition.
I grabbed all my gear, which wasn’t that much after I got my shoes and dry (dumb, dumb, dumb) socks on. This included my new Fuel Belt H2O, which was holding two bottles of my Infinit blend, each with an hours worth of nutrition. As I ran out of transition, my shoes were wet and muddy within thirty seconds.
Transition 2 time: 3:26 (Oy to the vey)
I was really looking forward to this run. I have been running really well off the bike and I planned to make no exceptions on this run. The course itself was quite beautiful, albeit seen under cloudy skies that were still ridding themselves of any moisture they held, much to our detriment. It was fairly flat to rolling. The biggest obstacle(s) came in the form of a nasty little hill that was about 1/3 of a mile long at about mile 2 or so and again at about mile 8.5.
Because my nutrition and hydration had been so good on the bike, I had to pee almost as soon as I began to run. I waited until the first aid station at mile one and stopped to answer nature’s call. I actually ended up having to pee twice, and it bears mentioning that it went well (it bears mentioning due to my previous experiences during races when I’ve stopped to pee).
The course was two loops of an out and back that had as it’s outside turn around point, about a half mile of dirt (read: mud) road that ended in a cul-de-sac. On this stretch of “road” there were some incredibly nice and supportive volunteers and even a barbershop quartet in one of the driveways serenading the runners as we went by.
I felt great on this run. I did struggle a bit with not being able to tell my pace of heart rate. Because of this, I laid off a little on the third quarter of the run, before picking it back up a bit on the home stretch. I didn’t want to wind up completely gassed for the run in. I passed a lot of people wh had passed me on the bike and that was quite good for my morale. The rain never really let up, but I felt solid nonetheless. I truly think I would have been able to do more on the run had I known where I was in terms of pace.
Run time: 1:35:08 (1/2 marathon PR by 12 seconds)
Run pace: 7:15 per mile
Age Group Place: 22nd
Overall Place: 104th
(more detailed splits to come once they are available)
Overall Time: 5:07:21
Age Group Place: 34th
Overall Place: 132nd
This past Sunday, June 6, 2010 was the Ironman Mooseman 70.3 triathlon in Newfound Lake, New Hampshire. Beginning from my arrival in New Hampshire on the day before the race, this is my report.
My original plan was to drive directly from my in-laws home in Hingham, MA, straight to my hotel (located a short drive away from the race site in Campton, NH), check in and then head over to the race site to sign in. Just to make sure I would be able to check in, I called ahead to the hotel and was told that check in time was 3 o’clock PM and since I would likely arrive at about noon, that was not going to happen. So, I reset my GPS to take me right to the race site.
The staging area for the race itself was to take place in Wellington State Park, which lies on the Western shore of Newfound Lake. As I got close to the race area, there was a mass of people heading toward what was the parking area for the weekends festivities. These people were the racers and spectators from that day’s Mooseman International Distance Triathlon, and they were wrapping up their day and heading home. As I mentioned, cars were being funneled into a parking area that was essentially a huge field, and I do mean huge. The problem, which became increasingly clear as I drove deeper and deeper into the grassy expanse of this “parking lot” was that the rain which had rolled through the area that morning with such severity that race organizers were forced to cancel the swim portion of that day’s race, was that this field was rapidly turning into a huge mud pit. To be fair, I’m not sure if the park itself had the parking necessary to fit all the cars attending the races but, as I soon found out, this parking area was (depending on how far back you had to park) about 3/4 of a mile away from the race area.
Once I had made the trek from my car to the park entrance and race staging area, I found my way to the “expo” and began the fun of waiting in line. At this event, like other Ironman (WTC) owned events, you have to go through a series of check-in’s. The first of these is to check in with USA Triathlon (USAT), the sport’s governing body in the United States. At this area, you must present your USAT license or, as was the case with my friend Jay at Ironman Wisconsin, you can present a picture I.D. and the USAT representatives there are able to look up the validity of your license. Now, you are not required to have an annual license to compete and you are permitted to buy a one day license for $10 if you so choose. My license, which was set to expire on 5/31/10 but which I had renewed on 5/23/10, had not yet come in the mail when I left town (of course, it was in the mail when I came home). Based on what I had seen in Wisconsin, I thought I would still be fine and my information would be able to be looked up by the USAT at the race since my license number and everything was still the same AND since I had my (expired) license. I was wrong.
The USAT representatives were not working from a computer where they could just look up a racers’ information, rather, they had an old-school list of names printed out, with a column beside each name saying whether they were good to go or whether they needed to buy a one day license. My name, since the physical license I had with me was expired, fell into the latter category. I was pissed. Realizing that I would have to fight this battle later via email with USAT (I emailed them as soon as I got into my hotel room asking for my $10 back), I asked if they took credit or debit cards. Cash only, and I lacked any cash. So, now it seemed my only option was to walk the 34 of a mile back to my car, drive to find an ATM somewhere in rural New Hampshire, or borrow money from a kindhearted stranger. I then remembered that a woman who also coaches with Jeff, whom I was going be meeting up with later that day, might be at the race site. So I called her (Maria) and she and her husband were indeed on their way to the race site at that moment, and she was so kind as to lend me the necessary $10 to get things going.
The next step in the check-in process is signing in with the event itself. So, yet again, I waited in another line, and in pretty short order got into the tent. This part was very quick and well organized. Soon enough, I was done with the sign-in process and made my way to the “expo”.
The reason I keep putting quotes around the word expo is because this was an expo in theory only. The vendors at the expo were: MC Cycle & Sport (a local multisport retailer) and then Ironman itself. That’s it. MC had a small tent where they sold a few race day necessities and, to be fair, they had a small but well thought out selection. They were also providing last minute bike tweaking services (for a fee, of course) for those that wanted a quick tune up or something. The Ironman tent, as at all Ironman events, was selling Ironman branded everything, from wine glasses to onesies. Note: I don’t have a problem with this at all, I just wanted to be clear that this was the extent of the vendors. All that said, this was not an “expo” in term of what I would expect from a WTC event. Oh well.
Maria, John and I planned to head back to our respective lodgings for the next couple of hours and then meet up at 4 PM to ride a short bit of the course and then head to the 4:30 PM athlete meeting. I headed to my hotel, still an hour ahead of normal check in, and the desk clerk was kind enough to let me check in early. I went to a local grocery store to pick up some much needed sustenance, and then went back to my hotel to relax for a minute before heading out once again.
At 4 we all met as planned and began our short ride. I noticed a problem with both of my wheels that has happened before. I was running clincher type tires and the bead of the tire was not seating properly in the channel in the rim itself that it is supposed to. This is not really a make-or-break problem, but it is one that you really want to fix as it would likely result in a very sore ass after a long ride (it feels like there is about a 3 inch flat spot on the wheel that has this issue).
The meeting was short and sweet. The race directors and officials presenting were very well prepared and ran over their points quickly, answering any questions that arose along the way. After the meeting we headed over to check out the transition area. Uh oh.
At Ironman Wisconsin, the transition consisted of a separate bag for each transition and a clean, carpeted of concrete surface and chairs to sit in. This was not the case at Mooseman. The transition was to be like any other triathlon on a local level. Bikes were racked according to number and your transition area was to be set up beside your front wheel. My particular rack was set behind a tree that, when you cam around said tree, you were looking at two rack rather than just one. The largest problem that was already shaping up in the transition area was the ground. After that morning’s rain, the ground had become soft and was already turning to mud in the aisles from the foot traffic. Oy.
Maria, John and I bid each other a good night’s rest and went our separate ways. My evening was spent working on my tires and packing my race bag to be set up quickly in the morning. I got to bed at about 10 o’clock PM with my alarm(s) set for 4 AM and 4:15 AM, just to be safe.
Part 2 (coming soon)
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My daughter Sydney came home from the hospital on Friday, April 2, 2010. The following day was the Santa Anita Derby which was being broadcast on NBC. My dad and stepmother were in town to see Sydney for the weekend and we were all sitting around watching Sydney with rapt attention only taking brief glimpses at the television (it’s amazing how a sleeping baby can grab your attention).
The coverage of the horse race on TV began to give the background of the horses, jockeys, trainers and the usual commentary leading up to the start of a major race (the Santa Anita Derby is a major run-up race to the Triple Crown). As it happened, one of the horses was named “Sidney’s Candy“, and he was going off at 7-2 odds. We all got so excited at the happy coincidence and my dad decided to place a bet (online) on Sidney’s Candy to win. At this point, he was not the favorite in the race, but was still in good standing. So, we placed a $20 bet and got ready for the race.
I’ll save you my novice commentary on the race, but suffice it to say that Sidney’s Candy went wire to wire to win the 2010 Santa Anita Derby! On top of that, my dad turned his $20 bet in $98.60 (some odd bonus thing)!
Tomorrow will be the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby. As of this writing, Sidney’s Candy is one of the favorites at 6-1. The race is expected to be quite the mud-fest with torrential rains coming in tomorrow and we have placed all $98.60 on our horse to win! So here’s hoping!!
I began this website in February of 2008. I began it purely as a way to keep myself honest about being healthy and working toward larger goals (at the time, the NYC Marathon (which still has yet to happen thanks to the lottery)). On this site, just as in any individual’s book, newspaper article, magazine article, radio or television show, I talk about the things that interest me and that I hope will interest my readers and listeners as well. Sometimes I will ask for validation of my opinions, but most of the time I will simply tell you what I think.
The beauty of the internet and blogging is that it gives every single person, with a modicum of know-how, the ability to start their own blog or website. Some of us start these sites simply as journals, sometimes even blocking their visibility from search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Others of us use them as tools to communicate with the communities of which we see ourselves. Such is the case with my site as well as many of my friends.
On these sites there is often a stated goal or an “About” section that gives the purpose and the aim of the site. Other times, the aim or purpose isn’t stated outright, but can be easily gleaned from the writings of the sites author.
I am so thankful for every single person who visits my site and listens to my show. I have made a point to ask what people want me to speak about and I’ve tried to bring the best and latest in news as well as some really amazing gear and gadgets that I find cool, and that hopefully you will too.
On episodes 87 of my show, I addressed some unpleasantness that was going on in the local (NYC) blogoshpere. It was more of a soapbox type of speech that I felt compelled to give because I felt that the running community at large was threatened by such drivel.
On episode 88 of my show, I went a step further and spent the bulk of the episode doing something that is completely antithetical to the principles of my show and site. I spent the time allowing someone’s written words to speak for them to backup the previous weeks points. This was pointless and a complete exercise in futility. You see, there are people whose minds will never be able to comprehend anything but that which they deem necessary. Episode 88 of my show, for instance, could well have seemed boring to some, as it was following more of an arc from the previous week than anything else.
If you’re not a regular listener of my show, know that I don’t usually spend my time addressing such wastes of time thus making for a boring show. In fact, I think it very sad and disturbing when people go out of their way to seek out and tear down those that are truly caring individuals. I have to assume that some sort of odd jealousy plays a role in this kind of unwarranted animosity, or perhaps it’s just low self esteem that craves company. Sad.
In any event, the triathlon/running community of which I’ve become a part is a great one. The blogs that reside in my blogroll are not there to some sort of all-inclusive list. They are there because I read them and I like them. I suggest you check them out! If you like them, read them. If you don’t, or if you don’t like my site or show, don’t read or listen to them. It’s as simple as that. I think it’s kind of like voting with your wallet.
Labeled, “The World’s Fastest Tire” on the Bontrager website, the R4 Aero brings ultra-low rolling resistance and their “aero wing” technology to a clincher. The price is pretty much on par with most higher end tires, and they’re far cheaper than any tubulars out there. With a claimed 37 second advantage over their closest rival in a 40K time trial, I cannot help but drool a little and really want to get my hands on some of these beauties.
A lot of aerobars offer adjustment only in the way of moving the actual extensions in and out if they offer any adjustment at all. With the Black Dog, HED brings a ton of adjustment to the table with 3 different base bars, 3 extension bars and 3 way axis adjustment just to name a few . I find this important because of the changes we may go through as athletes in terms of finding the most accurate fit. On top of that, these carbon beauties have fully integrated brake levers and internal cable routing. While they are a bit pricey, if you’re going for weight and customizable fit(and have an extra roll of cash laying around), these are where it’s at.
I’ve been eying Tanita’s scales for longer than I’d like to admit. These aesthetically fantastic scales not only do the usual weight thing, they give you an insight into your body’s intricate details that often go overlooked. The BC-1000 monitors weight, body fat percentage, and hydration levels but it goes a step further and provides measurements on muscle mass, overall physique rating, daily caloric intake, metabolic age rating, bone mass, and visceral fat! The BC-1000 can also wirelessly link up with your Garmin 310XT and your computer for tangible data. I REALLY want one of these…just saying.
This is not a review of Sugoi R+R socks per se, rather it is a giant THANK YOU to the folks at Sugoi for helping my wife tolerate some of the annoyances of being pregnant.
If you’ve ever been pregnant, or near someone during the course of their pregnancy, you are probably more aware than you’d like to be of the swelling that can occur in the feet and legs during this time. My wife is no different. What began with her ankle area quickly began to vacillate between there and her feet, if not both places at once.
The first thing that I did upon noticing this was to run to my sock drawer and grab two pairs of socks. The first was just for her feet and it was the Sugoi R+R Compression Ped Sock. Almost immediately, this little gem of a low-cut sock began to improve the circulation in her feet and reduce swelling.
The second pair of socks I grabbed was what most of us 
recognize as a compression sock, the Sugoi R+R Knee High Compression Sock. This took care of any ankle and lower legs swelling in short order!
So, to sum up, even if you’re not killing on your feet or on two wheels, these sock do what they say they do. Ladies, if you need some help with swollen ankles and such during pregnancy, or any day for that matter, check these out!
From the New York Post
By LACHLAN CARTWRIGHT and BILL SANDERSON
A helmet may not be enough to protect cyclists from Google Maps’ latest feature.
The search engine rolled out a “bicycling directions” option yesterday that is filled with potentially fatal flaws, including routes that cut across Central Park’s treacherous tranverse roads and steer cyclists to truck-riddled thoroughfares.
A Post reporter rented a bike on the Hudson River Greenway at 42nd Street and plotted a course to Hunter College — and quickly discovered the hard way that Google has a lot to learn about the streets of New York.
After a traffic-snarled ride up Eighth Avenue, our intrepid cyclist was sent on a semi-circle around Columbus Circle, and soon found himself holding up a line of 15 angry motorists — many leaning on their horns — on the narrow and frightening 65th Street Transverse, which does not have a bike lane.
Google overlooked the far safer Park Drive that loops through the park.
In Brooklyn, Google steers cyclists into the path of anti-bike Hasidic Jews by designating Bedford Avenue between Division and Flushing avenues in Williamsburg as a legitimate bike route. The city sandblasted away that street’s bike lane last year after protests.
Google mappers owned up to the woes. “The team does know about some of the problems in New York,” said spokeswoman Elaine Filadelfo.
There were more problems with the parks.
Inside Central Park, Google shows The Mall and some footpaths south of 72nd Street as bike paths — although park rules make them definitely off-limits.
“The parks are one of the things we need to work on,” Filadelfo admitted. “We don’t have great data for them.”
Among the other problems: Google directs New Jersey-bound cyclists over the north path of the George Washington Bridge, even though the bridge’s official bike path is on the south side.
From Midtown to Yankee Stadium, Google Maps sends cyclists up Central Park West and then on a hazardous 30-block stretch of Frederick Douglass Boulevard to the Macombs Dam Bridge.
A safer pick would have been up St. Nicholas Avenue and eventually over the Madison Avenue Bridge.
Bike advocates like Google’s effort, and say it will help recreational cyclists find safe paths.
“The fact that Google is taking it on brings it to millions of mobile devices and computers,” said Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives. “We’re enthusiastic.”
For me, there are three types of “ists”. They are: realists, optimists and pessimists. I know that there are probably many other “ists” that you may be able to come up with, but in general and for the sake of this article, these are the main three. Of course, there are many derivations of these “ists” such as, optimistic realists, realistic pessimists and pessimistic realists.
I do realize that those last two seem to just have the words flipped around and at first glance that may not make such a difference to you. However, look at it like this; in an example where a first time marathoner says to someone, “I plan to run a 3:20 marathon”, the difference in reactions might be something like:
Realistic pessimist: “That’s a pretty ambitious time. You’d be better off just getting across the finish line.”
Pessimistic realist: “Yeah right. Maybe you should just focus on finishing strong.”
You still may not see much of a difference in those two, but to me, the message that is sent with those subtle differences means a lot. First though, I would like to give my definitions of the three main categories.
Realist: Someone who see things as very black and white. This can sometimes be mistaken for pessimism, but I believe that the intent is not to cut down, but rather just to not build unacceptable expectations.
Optimist: Someone who always looks at only the bright side of things. In it’s purest form I think that optimism often even ignores the true details of things so as to not let in anything negative to their own detriment.
Pessimist: Someone who is always trying to find the worst case scenario and point it out constantly to themselves and others. AKA “Debbie Downer”.
There have been some things that I have seen and read recently in the running/triathlon blogosphere that have brought me to the point of writing this article. In particular, there are a few people who are extremely accomplished and studious athletes, but their attitude, while I’m sure is founded in realism, has crossed the line into outright pessimism. From what I have seen this reaction comes as a direct result of other peoples unbridled optimism. What makes this incredibly frustrating to the point of making me angry, is that there seems to be an inability of our pessimistic friends to let others be happy.
But what separates the pessimists from the realists? The line between the two is often very hazy and I think changes depending upon perception. I have a very hard time distinguishing between the two myself and as as result, I have had to force myself to step back and try to place myself inside the head of some so that I can see that they truly are not trying to bring me or others down, but rather are just trying not to let us fly too high only to be brought crashing back down to reality.
I understand being in a realist mindset and in fact, I would actually define myself as an optimistic realist. I believe that the first thing someone should do is encourage others. After that, I feel it is very important to make sure that people know that they should not be disappointed if the outcome of whatever training or race they’re preparing for is less than they expected. I feel like people should have goals that are beyond their current selves, but not so far out that they’re constantly met with disappointment.
Then there are our buddies the optimists. I think it is so wonderful to see the world in all sunshine and rainbows but I just think that if that’s the case, when disappointment does in fact rear it’s head, the appearance the world crashing down is that much greater. There’s not too much I can say about unabashed optimism that wouldn’t take me back to talking about being realistic, so I’ll just leave this alone and move on.
I believe that most people are a mixture of two or all of these things. But, what is the use in being pessimistic? As I said before, I think pessimists believe they are being realistic and that they know better due to their experience or erudite view of others. I think this group should really exercise the on saying, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” far more often.
Every now and then I’ll get an email from a listener that gets me so excited for them. Usually it is from someone who is about to go run their first marathon or something and they have an extremely lofty goal time. The first thing I do I to say, “that’s awesome!”. I say that not out of some obligation to be nice or polite, but I say it because I really do think it’s wonderful. As soon as I am done saying that though, I will usually let them know to make sure they have a contingency plan laid out in their mind. I refuse to be negative to any of my listeners/readers like that because I know from first hand experience that when you get into a race and something goes wrong, your mind is capable of throwing more negativity at you than you can handle. I believe that any goal, no matter how high, is one worth going after.
So, now that I have rambled along about my “ists”, what kind of “ist” are you?
“If you shoot for the stars and hit the moon, it’s OK… A lot of people don’t even shoot.”
Some people warm up by stretching while sitting in one place. Some people warm up by doing short sprints. Some people warm up by doing short, relaxed runs.
Personally, I warm up best by running for somewhere in between on to two miles. My body, on the other hand, sometimes has different things in mind. Yesterday, for instance, it took me about five miles to get warm and into a comfortable place. Part of it was that odd dizziness I was dealing with, but a lot of it was that my body just was simply not feeling it.
Ho do you war m up before a workout? Is it different than before a race? Is your warm up for cycling or swimming different than for running?
If you’re a regular reader of this site, or of Me and the Road, then you know that for the past few days I have been fighting a rather nasty cold. I usually pride myself on my ability to somehow avoid getting sick but I guess you can’t win ‘em all.
When I first began to feel like I might be coming down with something, I tried to play the mental game to overcome the illness. We’ve all done it, the thing where we tell ourselves, sometimes out loud, that we’re not getting sick but just having a bad day for some other reason. I tried that, and it didn’t work.
Once I said, “I’m getting sick”, to my wife, I felt the bottom drop out of my health. I woke up the following morning feeling like I’d been run over by a truck. I made it into work for a bit, but could hardly stay upright and left to come home early. Once home, I did my best to get some work done in between drinking as much water as I could handle (I would have had orange juice but I didn’t have the energy to go to the store), sleeping and feeling sorry for myself.
When it came time to get in my run that evening, I was honestly not sure what would happen. I had to take a moment to TELL myself to get dressed and get it done. Even then, it took tons of effort. Once I made it outside and began to move my feet, I quickly discovered that my muscles were super sore. I have to figure that this was a result of partial dehydration and it did not go away as the run progressed. Run done, I ate dinner and went to bed. At about 4:30 AM, I awoke, unable to breathe with a headache the size of the planet and shivering. I took two Tylenol (1000 mg), a shot of Afrin in each nostril (something I NEVER do) and called my dog Annie up onto the bed to help get me warm (Danielle couldn’t do much as her baby bump was in the way).
The next morning, I felt marginally better than I had during the night, but still bad enough to stay home and not add my personal touch to the petri dish that is the New York City Subway. I did some work, once again, in between naps and dog walks and fluids.
Since I seem to be making a long story longer, I’ll skip ahead to today. I feel better. Not good, just better. My run last night was fantastic (considering the circumstances) and I am about to go and try a swim. So this is what I have learned.
No matter how hard headed you are or how hard-core you think you are, you cannot fight your body. Looking back, I wish I would have gotten a stock pot full of water and a big straw to put beside me so I could be more hydrated. I think I’ll have a bit more to say about this after my swim today and my planned outdoor ride tomorrow. All I know for now is that when I feel myself getting sick, I need to give in to it and begin treating my body as sick sooner, rather than going with the “out of sight, out of mind” theory of sickness management.
What do you do when you’re sick?
Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong
For two years now, three time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and Trek Bicycles have been locked in what has been a public and, at times, a rather bitter battle.
Trek began a licensing partnership in 1995 with LeMond that was terminated on January 30, 2010 thus giving LeMond the rights to the bicycle brand bearing his name. The original dispute began when Trek sued to end their partnership with LeMond after he made comments pointing directly at the brand in relation to doping in the sport of cycling. For his part, LeMond was displeased with Trek due to his belief that Trek was not promoting the LeMond brand.
The settlement comes in the form of two payments of $100,000 by Trek to a charity Lemond is involved with, 1in6.org.
Barefoot running was clearly one of the most talked about trends in the running industry last year. From the bestselling book Born To Run, to the explosive growth of the Vibram Five Fingers, runners everywhere seem to be talking about barefoot running.
Well, the buzz about barefoot running is about to hit a fever pitch. As we’ve talked about in previous posts, Harvard anthropologist Dan Lieberman has been studying the evolution of human running for several years. Dr. Lieberman has just published the results of his study in the journal Nature and the mainstream media is running (cough) with the story. For those of you who listen to NPR on the drive home, you might have heard this story on “All Things Considered” today. The story is also available on NPR.org and features a pretty interesting video:
Not surprisingly, Vibram Five Fingers are also getting a lot of attention from the media (Vibram sponsored Lieberman’s study). The Five Fingers clearly help people to try barefoot running, while providing some protection from rocks, glass, etc. As we talked about in the previous post, Newton’s are built for Natural Running but some of you may be wondering how Newtons compare to Vibrams. Amanda Brooks asked just that on her blog, Run to the Finish, and Newton Running’s Director of Education and Research, Ian Adamson, had this response:
Running Newton Shoes and Vibram Five Fingers have many similarities, at least from a form perspective. The primary difference is the cushioning and energy return provided by Newtons, which is largely absent in Vibrams.
Both Newton Performance Racers and Vibrams have a 2 mm heel lift, or toe drop depending on how you look at it. This translates into a 1.3% down grade in the shoe, also referred to as ramp angle or drop. Newton Performance Trainers have a 2% gradient, which although very small, can be felt by aware runners. Regular running shoes have a much steeper angle, up to 15% depending on the shoe.
Barefoot running forces you to run efficiently and preventatively with respect to injury. Vibram’s allow people to experience barefoot running with an added layer of protection from harsh surfaces, while Newton’s go one step further, adding forefoot cushioning and a significant energy return component.
Newton shoes are much kinder to the body’s structure and musculature when transitioning from a traditional running shoe to barefoot, and allow you to perfect a natural (barefoot) form while providing protection and cushioning. Newton’s active membrane technology has been carefully designed to facilitate afferent feedback, which means the nerves in your forefoot feel the ground very quickly through the shoe. This is achieved through the outer lugs and internal semi-rigid chamber that is connected to the bio-mechanical top plate adjacent to your foot inside the shoe.
Traditional shoe cushioning mechanisms dampens afferent feedback, hampering proprioception and thus hindering your ability to self-regulate the impact of your foot strike. Studies show that runners strike much harder in shoes that dampen afferent feedback, one of the causes of injury. Barefoot runners and runners in shoes that allow you to sense the ground encourage you to run protectively, as if barefoot.
Bottom line is that both Vibrams and Newtons encourage a barefoot or natural running style, but Newtons make it much easier for runners to transition from typical running shoes.
For the past several days Southern California has been engulfed in what seems to be a constant deluge. Rain in amounts of more than a foot has been pouring over the region causing mudslides, road closures and mandatory evacuations.
For Triathlon Lab in Santa Monica, the rain has caused them to close their doors because of something not normally associated with rain; fire. Thursday afternoon water was able to get into the building’s electrical meter, which in turn caused a small explosion and lead to the fire.
The meter and consequent fire is located in a small annex to the building, which was completely destroyed. No injuries were reported as all employees and customers were immediately evacuated from the building. After a cursory estimate the damages could be in the neighborhood of $10,000, but the stores owner, Lloyd Taylor, says he cannot confirm that number until their insurance company can make their assessment.
This branch of Triathlon Lab which has been open only for about 7 months, is located at 3328 Pico Boulevard and will likely remain closed for the next 48-72 hours due to the fact that they have no power.
Racers Against Childhood Cancer
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
For the past week or so, much of the United States has been in a deep freeze. Even places that are not accustomed to cold temperatures are feeling the bite. Here in New York, it’s been pretty bad, and it has been especially cold by the time I do my daily run. This requires a good bit of gearing up to keep from freezing to death. So, partly inspired by Ari’s post on his winter gear, and partly inspired by the fact that it takes me about ten minutes to get dressed, I thought I’d list my favorite winter running gear.
Under Armour HeatGear Sleeveless T (compression layer to prevent chaffing)
Zensah Seamless Long Sleeve Compression Shirt
Lower Body Layers:
CW-X Insulator Stabilyx Tights
Nike Lightweight Running Gloves
SmartWool PhD Running Ultra Light Mini with WOW
Head:
I also wear a hat which is an off brand
(Pictures to follow)
So, what do you wear when it’s SUPER cold out?
Article I wrote for the Just Finish newsletter this month:
It’s funny the way New Years resolutions get in your head. In fact, what is it about a new year that is any different than the one just passed? Like most things in life, we like to be given some sort of guidance on what to do and when to do it. In this way, a new cycle of the calendar gives a definitive point in time that we can point to as a new beginning.
For me 2009 marked a year of so many new beginnings and of so many firsts. It was my first marathon (Shamrock Marathon), my first Olympic distance triathlon (NYC Triathlon) and the crown jewel, my first Ironman (Ironman Wisconsin). The thing about all these events is that they had been a long time in coming. My marathon for instance; the Shamrock was my third fallback after not getting into the New York City Marathon and not being able to run in the Richmond Marathon due to a death in our family. So, to say that the Shamrock was part of a resolution wasn’t entirely true, I had originally decided to run a marathon sometime in February of 2008…it just took thirteen months to come around.
2009 also makes me think rather fondly of inspiration and the vital role that it plays in our live as athletes. You see, each and every aspect of whats going on in our lives, good, bad and ugly, affects us physically. The catch to this is that we all have bad days and this can bring us down both mentally and physically. The REALLY vicious cycle is when something goes wrong in your life, so you find yourself in a bad mood, this makes you not want to workout. Being an athlete, this bad mood and consequent lack of working out depletes your body of the endorphins and good feelings that exercise elicits in your body and so you sink even deeper into a funk.
So, where does inspiration play into this? One overarching “good thought” that I like to keep in mind is that I am alive. I know that sounds cheesy and cliche, but think about it. You just got the gift of being able to wake up and take a breath of air knowing that you are alive! On top of that, you’re an athlete! Every day, you get the honor of pushing your body to it’s limits and using our most basic human abilities!
In 2009, I began to take my show, Brandon’s Marathon Podcast, more seriously. I made a point to record my shows on a weekly basis and in somewhat of a regular time frame. When I was unable, I made it a point to get the word out to my listeners explaining why. In those shows, I try to be as positive and uplifting, yet honest, as I am able. This is not so hard, because I have so much fun doing it!
From the letters and comments I get on my show, I have come to learn that I inspire many people from around the world. The incredibly ironic and wonderful part of this is that it is ME who gets the real inspiration. I get the privilege of hearing from people who have done so many “firsts” and who have done things that they never would have ventured to even imagine before! I get to hear how people have lost literally HALF of their body weight and have given themselves the wonderful honor of taking that first breath each morning by changing their diet and exercise habits. I could go on forever about how I have been inspired by those who say that I have inspired them, and THAT is an amazing cycle to be in!
This is what I have to say about resolutions: Of course, you can and should do the traditional goal type resolution. But, think bigger than that. Think to next year and resolve to be inspired by inspiring others. Let your goals and training and PR’s and other achievements be the catalyst for someone else to get moving and make their own impact.
As for me, here are a couple of my resolutions:
-Run at least one mile every day of 2010 (meandtheroad.com)
-Gain control over my nutrition in long distance races (half-iron and up)
-Get an elite time in the New York City Triathlon (2:15:00 for my age group)
-My biggest and most challenging resolution that will go on forever; in March, when my baby girl gets here, I am going to be the best father and husband that I can possibly be
The reason I mentioned that a new year is not that different from the old one, is because I think we should make resolutions constantly. Constantly inspire and be inspired and be persistent of new goals throughout the year, not just once every 365 days!
Angelo Zomegnan, the race director of Italy’s famed Giro d’Italia is going out on a limb. He and his well know marketing prowess want to bring the first two stages of the famed 2,000 mile race to Washington, D.C. in 2012.
Even Zomegnan himself is quoted as saying, “Is it crazy? Oh sure, yes, I’ve heard that…But I think it is good to take chances. I don’t say, why. I say, why not?”. The main reason for the speculation is the riders’ ability to deal with the physical aspects of jet lag and the toll it takes on our bodies. Not to mention the logistics of taking 198 riders, their crews, their bikes (multiple for each rider), their gear and all the requisite accoutrement across the Atlantic…TWICE.
Not everyone is against the plan, which would cost an estimated $5 million. Some think it is not only feasible, but Garmin-Transitions team leader Christian Vande Velde went so far as to say, “I think if you are intelligent about the whole matter and are civil to the riders, it would be beautiful and really cool, and it would bring a lot of recognition for our sport.”
What do you think? Its one thing for everyday athletes like most of us to travel and then race, but what about athletes who’s every breath is monitored?
Today is my 32nd birthday. It seems that many people get depressed upon finding themselves older, but I’ve always wondered why. Did their birthdays somehow sneak up on them? So, today I am taking to writing about the future, and how I have learned from my past.
This year I will become a father. That is so exciting to me that I can hardly wait until my baby girl is here. But, this tiny little baby will drop a bomb on my life like nothing ever has before. Over the past year, I have made it a goal to step back and take an objective look at my actions and how they have or will determine my decisions. On or about March 26, 2010, those decisions will affect the course of anothers’ life. I can’t wait!
This year I will compete in my second Ironman. I learned so much from my experience at Ironman Wisconsin this past September and I can’t wait to test my mettle against Ironman Louisville. Yet again, objectivity is shaping the way I am approaching this event and the events surrounding it, both other races and the training required. This time however, I have someone helping me to navigate the stormy waters of endurance and fitness.
This year is one where balancing the above mentioned things must not take precedence over my constant pursuit of my musical career. This is even more important now because of so many arts organizations canceling or postponing gigs and auditions. But, practicing and refining must go on.
The reason I titled this post ‘Another Year Older and Younger’ is because it’s truly the way I feel. I have worked hard on my fitness and health over the past year and as a result have lost twenty-five pounds and have gone farther and faster than I ever thought possible. I have taken the parts of my life that bring me down and put them to the side, no matter how important. I am not shirking adversity, and I am dealing with it as it comes, but I am not dwelling on it either. Why would I? An analogy I like to use is; worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do for a while, but when you stand up you’re still in the same place.
As I continue to do all these thing, as well as being married to my best friend, I feel younger every day. I am sure that eventually I will hit a tipping point in terms of feeling my age, but hopefully, my mind will begin to go before then so I won’t even notice! I’ll be the 100 year old guy swimming, biking and running his way aimlessly around the country. Just pass me some water if you see me.
As cheesy as it may sound, I’d like to conjure up a phrase from Maestro Bobby McFerrin:
Don’t worry, be happy!
Here I am, 5 days, 20 hours and 40, 39, 38, 37…seconds away from my third marathon this year, the Philadelphia Marathon. Scratch that, from my third marathon EVER!
It really is hard to believe that a year ago I had never run a race longer than four miles and now I am an Ironman. I don’t want to do too much reflecting on this year yet, because it’s A) not over, and B) I will do that around Christmas.
The Philadelphia Marathon was almost kind of an afterthought for me at first. I knew that I wanted to do a fall marathon and I didn’t get in to the New York City Marathon. It is also an opportunity to run with someone I have wanted to run with for a very long time (well, a long time in terms of my running life), Allan Gyorke, one half of the Running With the Pack Podcast. We began podcasting at about the same time and share a lot of the same audience (if you’re reading this and have NOT checked out RWTP, please do!).
Our plan thus far is to find the 3:50:00 pace group and get in front of them. At that point we will just run at what feels comfortable to us. We will, however, have an alarm set on our Garmin’s to let us know if we go BELOW a certain per mile pace. This is to keep us in check and not let our excitement get the best of us.
I have also been coaching with Jeff Kline (PRS Fitness) and I have to tell you, he has me running in ways I didn’t think possible six months ago. I am so much faster and more efficient that it truly will be a challenge to not let my brain get ahead of my body. I want to finish this race strong, not limping!
In any event, if you’re in the Philly area for the race, give me a shout! I’m sure I will be writing more on this over the next five days, so stay tuned!!
A while ago, I wrote a post following the saga of “Finman” aka, professional douche-bag, Frank Cardia. Frank is a cheater because he used fins to complete the swim leg of an Ironman. The article I wrote got quite a few comments discussing what difference cheating makes, as well as what exactly defines cheating.
One of the things that came up several times was the practice of drafting during the bike leg of a triathlon. Drafting is the practice where a cyclist rides close behind a fellow cyclist in an effort to save energy by allowing the leading cyclist to create a “hole” in air resistance. This gives the cyclist in the drafting zone an energy savings of approximately 33%, and thus, a huge advantage. USAT defines the drafting zone as follows:
Definition of Drafting Zone. The term “drafting zone” shall refer to a rectangular area ten (10) meters long and two (2) meters wide surrounding each bicycle. The longer sides of the zone begin at the leading edge of the front wheel and run backward parallel to the bicycle; the front wheel divides the short side of the zone into two equal parts.. With respect to a moving motor vehicle, the “drafting zone” is a rectangular area extending one meter to each side of the vehicle and fifteen (15) meters behind the vehicle.
There are such things as “draft legal” races where professional athletes are allowed to draft in a peloton style of racing, much as you may see in a race like the Tour de France. However, an Ironman does not allow drafting in any form.
All that being said, the following video was taken during this past weekend’s, Ironman Florida. To be fair, I do believe that the person doing the filming would probably have been penalized under the rules as well, but this is about the drafting.
I commented on this video asking what could be done to prevent drafting and got the following response.
You can set it up so it’s certainly more difficult t draft: (a) Time trial start (they do it at IM Lou, so possible) on flat courses or (b) Wave starts; (c) more marshalls; (d) as noted by someone on ST, forget the time penalty. Have a “penalty loop” out of T2 where drafters run 1 extra mile out-and-back to T2 for 1st offense and 3 miles for 2nd offense. That alone would make most folks think hard about drafting.
While I don’t want to discount this persons opinion, I think that the idea of a “penalty loop” is patently absurd. Any added distance, in any type of triathlon, would negate the prescribed distance of the event and therefore render it pointless. As for wave starts, as I noted in my race report from this year’s NYC Triathlon, drafting was rampant! This also created the additional problem or ridiculous traffic issues due to the fact that after the professionals went, the waves then went with the older (and no offense at all, but mostly slower) racers working backward to the younger racers.
I think the best solution would be a few more and more strategically placed officials. However, it will still happen. This is not to say that, with the right traffic jam we don’t ALL get stuck in some accidental drafting from time to time, but this is just blatant!
What do you think?
I came across an article today that brought up the subject of bicycle insurance and I found my interest piqued. Before I began reading the article, I did what most of us do in such a case, and attempted to divine what “bicycle insurance” is, just based on the headline.
My first thought was that it works like car insurance; your bike is damaged in an accident or some other ill befalls your carbon fiber darling and the insurance company takes care of the repair (with the obligatory deductible coming from your pocket, of course). Then I read the article.
Firstly, while the headline says “bicycle insurance”, it become clear in the first paragraph that this “insurace” is in fact, “bicycle assistance insurance”. So, my hopes and dreams of a cover-all policy for my bike went out the window. So, now knowing that this was just roadside assistance, I visited the site linked in the article and was taken to Better World Club.
After about two seconds of reading the information page, it seems that this is little more than a glorified cab ride. The details are (from Better World Club site):
Bicycle Roadside Assistance Services
Bicycle assistance is available up to 30 miles in total (per covered member) for annual membership programs.
Bicycle membership covers only one individual, however you can upgrade to cover your entire family (up to 4 cyclists total) for only $17. As with our auto assistance, associates may be: spouse or domestic partner, dependent children living at home or at school between the ages of 16 and 24.
Bicycle Plus memberships are eligible for four service calls, and single Bicycle memberships are eligible for two service calls, per year. If you have a combined Auto/Bicycle membership, you are entitled to a total of 4 services calls per year that can be split between your car and/or bicycle.
If you’re in need of emergency assistance on your bicycle, simply call the emergency roadside assistance number provided with your membership materials. A service provider from our network will be dispatched to transport you and your bicycle to your desired destination.
Due to the variations between car and bicycle ownership, we cannot guarantee ownership of the bike before a lock out would be performed. Therefore, if you’re bicycle is rendered immobile by lock, we will not dispatch service to free it. However, if you have organized service to free a locked bike, you may submit a claim for reimbursement up to a limit of $50.
If your vehicle is rendered immobile due to a flat, we will not deliver new equipment. We will, however, dispatch a service provider with commonly available tools upon request.
Now, let’s say I am on a typical ride of 50 miles (+/-) and I need roadside assistance. First, the majority of the cycling community is gracious and well-equipped enough to help get me rolling again. Second, this policy on covers thirty miles a year, so do I get dropped off somewhere in Englewood, NJ on Route 9W? On the FAQ page for Better World, there is no mention of bicycles, specifically, at all. So, I have to assume that the miles beyond your allotted thirty per year are at the same rate as towing miles for a car, which are (according to BW, typically $2-$3/mile up to as much as $8-$12/mile).
I encourage you to click on the links I’ve provided and see if you can figure out something that I can’t (which, believe me, is more than possible!). I must say, that it seems as though I would be paying $39.95 a year for a taxi.
I did put in a call to both Geico and to Progressive to see whether their renter’s insurance (I am a renter in NYC) covered a mishap with my bicycle outside the home (cracked frame or broken component). With Geico, they do not cover any incidents that take place outside the home without a special rider (didn’t get the price on that). As for Progressive, the gentleman I spoke to didn’t quite know how to answer. What I did get out of it was that, should my bike be stolen, it was covered (with deductible, of course), but he was not sure about damage to the bicycle itself.
What are your thoughts on bicycle insurance?
Thanks so much for visiting my site! My name is Brandon Wood and I am an opera singer living and trying to make it in New York City. This site and podcast follow my adventures on the way to competing in and training for all kinds of endurance events, especially triathlon and running. Click the "About Me" tab for more info!
Who: This contest is open to anyone and everyone in the U.S. and Canada (also APO)! Tell your friends!
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Good luck!
