Ayerd{dot}com :: Triathlon

Oh, Saturday. The long bike day. Ummmmm, yea! Nothing better. Well, it could have been better. It is beyond cold outside so I traded in the great outdoors for a spin. A three hour spin to be exact. Headed over to Karen's unGodly early to get started and by 5:05AM I was in the saddle turning over the pedals. My legs were bit fried from yesterday's 4,700 swim and then Hot Yoga, but it was just a matter of not stopping.

Tired is for non-Ironman, right?

Near the end of the three hours it got bad. Oh, the spin was still good but the other decided it would be "cool" to fire up the TiVo and watch "American Idol". Just so you know, there is no God. HE wouldn't create a world where you get trapped on your bike watching lame-ass TV. Just to put this in perspective, this was the first (and hopefully last) time I've watched that show or any of it's ilk. How can people stand it? My only regret was I couldn't spork my eyes out before it started.

On the very plus side, when the show came on I was able to drop my head and focus on my heart rate monitor. Since I couldn't see the Spinnervals DVD that well, I aimed for a 5-minute "on" (heart rate at 145+) / 5-minute "off" (easy spin, rate over 110) for the duration. Worked out pretty well, but I was glad to get off the bike at the end.

Off the bike there was wee 30-minute run in the cold. The legs felt pretty good and when the wind let up the run was almost fun. There are a goodly number of beer, wine, and hard liquor bottles on the roads in Skillman. Scary.

After the run it was home for a shower and nap. Long morning, but I'm glad the brick was done early. Frees up time for other stuff.

Ahh, the long run on Sunday. Got to sleep in a little, then it was on with the shoes and off to the canal path for a 2-hour paced run. No rain. No ice. Sunny. Nice day for a run. The canal was a little mushy because the ongoing melting, but plenty firm for running.

Heading out I was a bit overdressed for the cold but I knew when I made the turn-around after an hour the wind would pick up and it would start to get chilly. With ye olde iShuffle in effect the first few miles went by fast.

What do you think about when you run? I kept going over how I'd feel during the transition at White Lake and just kept telling myself, "Run the whole time — no walking!" Since that bit, walking during the run, is the bane of my triathlon I need to keep telling myself that it will be okay. I think I need to stop, but I don't.

The turn around at 1-hour found me at 6.5 miles. Not too bad for me. Not bad at all. As expected the wind kicked up and it got quite breezy. I just kept working the music and watching the heart rate. 150 all the way, baby!

Made it back a little over one minute past 2-hours. That made me smile. Then a cool-down walk the two blocks back to the house and inside for some post-run food and a good stretch. Since with the finish of the run I was now officially in a "recovery" week, it was time to relax. And, by relax I mean help the Loving Wife™ clean the house. Yes, sir! Nothing better. :)

Oh, the weathermen are a funny bunch. Last night I was told the "high" temperature for this afternoon would be "in the 40s". Drawing on my vast expierence of years of past weather, that meant it will be cooler in the morning and then warm up to 40-ish. So, as I got up for my run this morning I was expecting 30s, if that.

Here is the comedic bit: it was 75° at 5:30 this AM. When I busted out of the house loaded up for "nuklear" winter, the joke was on me. I should have had shorts and t-shirt. Hahaha. They got me good. Oh yea, and it was raining.

Never trust a weatherman. You can tell they are lying because their lips are moving. This is also why I normally watch the Spanish channel's (hot) weather chick. Not only is she normally packed in something tight, I can honestly ignore whatever it is she is babbling about. It is a win-win. On the few times I actually want weather, I aim for Stephanie Abrams.

What about Training?

We have, to paraphrase, entered "the long dark tea-time" of the training cycle. Nothing of great interest is going on. Sure the weather is getting better but it is hard to get psyched for 2+ hours on trainer or another 5K in the pool. Ick. If you really must know what is going on, over there on the right is a link to "workouts". That file contains up-to-the-day (or there abouts) of my workouts. As more interesting things start to happen, there will be more updates. Share and enjoy.

Oooooohhhhhh Yea! 100 days to IM-CDA.

I'm pretty psyched for this one. Sure I don't feel I'm getting in enough bike or run or swim at this point, but there are still 100 days to go. I know this came up in getting ready for Florida. At what point should you wake up and say, "I am ready for Ironman." I know that moment never came last year, but I lived through the race. I'm hoping this year will be different. (in that I'll feel ready for the race :->)

Until then, think about the next 100 days. Sweet!

What, you say I'm overlooking something? Well, sort of: 50 days to White Lake. Ummmm, Half-Ironman goodness. 5:30 or better, here I come!

Earlier this year, I finally broke down and got a new car. A Mazda 3 5-door in Strato Blue. The ride is sweet. Lots of room for junk in the back because, let's face it, it is a little station wagon. /sigh

Still after slapping my 140.6 sticker on the back window, it still needed something. A bike rack! No more taking off the tires and lying that baby down on her side. No sir, bolted to roof is the way to go.

Sadly, Mazda USA sucks ass in terms of making it easy to get a rack on the top of a 2006 Mazda 3 5-Door. To start off with, there isn't a factory option. Then, both Thule and Yakima both seem to think the car door/year combination does not exists. They both offer racks that hang off the back... for the 2005 models. No joy there.

Since we all know strapping bikes to the top of the car has to be an option, I decided to see what teh interweb could provide me. After much praying over the keyboard, the all powerful Google did provide. (again) At Mazda3Forums.com there was a most aptly named thead: UK Thule Rapid System Rack installed and bike attached. Hell yea. They even had pictures.

Then it got complicated. It seems all of the Mazda 3s have mount points under the factory rain gutters. But, the bitches at Mazda don't off the rain gutter clips that expose the mount points to the fine citizens of the United States. Instead like an old geezer looking for cheap meds, you need to head north. Mazda of Toronto was able to hook me up. Then you'll find the bitches at Thule or Yak don't sell the rack feet, or Fit Kits that plug into the now exposed mount points. For that, you need to head overseas. RoofRacks-RoofBoxes.Co.UK has the need parts — and don't forget the bars that attach to the Feet. They are also MIA in the USA. What ever you do, do not order directly from the web site. Make the call. (Free when you call from work!) Otherwise you'll get boned for the VAT and shipping will be miscalculated. I spoke with Roland Young and we're hoping my Foot and Fit Kits will be here some time next week.

I can't believe it has been this much work, and don't even get me started on the costs, but I think it will be worth it. More updates once I get the UK parts.