My crotch thanked me

Got my new bike seat last week from Cobb Cycling.  After talking with John Cobb directly, he recommended the V-Flow Plus for my build and based on the description of my riding pains.  I was having some slight numbness in my left foot after 25 miles or so.

John spent some time on the phone with me and also gave me a few good suggestions (like lowering my seat a bit more).  The seat came with great instructions and an installation kit with a tape measure.  I ended up moving my seat backwards further than my fit and dropping my seat post a half-inch or so.  Did a 30 mile ride Sunday and felt 100x better than my stock Specialized seat.  Now my only concern is whether my 54" frame may be too small for my 6' body.  I feel compressed on the bike a bit, but the fitter says it looks okay, so at this point it is about feel.  I'm thinking for a 112 mile ride I need to stretch out a bit more for comfort, and the Cervelo 56" frame may be a better fit.  Need to do some fall hunting on eBay now.

 

I'm also starting to wonder if my training plan will be enough come race day, but I think it is something we all start to second guess at one point or another.  Since I'm techinically in "off-season" mode, I'm trying to build strength and get my body up to the rigors of full IM training come November.  In any case, I've certainly made some progress as I was down to 191.4 lbs this weekend (up to 193 by the afternoon though) which is 10 lbs less than last month (and 25 lbs less than last year), and I feel fantastic.  Goal is to get down to 175 by spring which I'm pretty confident of with proper diet and all this training.

I've also developed this addiction to reading everything and anything tri-related.  I lurk on several forums (Slowtwitch, Beginnertriathlete) since I don't have much to contribute, but learn a TON from other experienced people.  The best thing I've learned is that 20 great athletes do things 20 different ways, so I really need to develop what works for ME.  This ranges from nutrution, how to carry my mix, should I change clothes or keep on the Tri shorts, what size cassette to use for the Lake Placid hills, etc...  I read an entire thread last night about Chamois Butt'r and to date have had no need for it, but thinking this may be something that creeps up in longer rides.  I guess we all start and end off with diaper rash... Who knew?

And the journey begins!

So I started my first week into my Triathlon Dominator training this week and am two weeks into a new diet.  Well, I'm not on the full Dominator package quite yet, but rather on the off-season plan I had mentioned previously.  That is supposed to get me in shape and used to the full plan.

Well, I have a sneaky suspicion it is going to work.  Monday's workout consisted of an hour of interval training on the treadmill (just over 5 miles).  Tuesday was circuit training using weights and balance (tougher than I expected).  Today was an hour of interval training on the bike.

Word of advice - never look at the guy next to you to see what he is doing for speed and difficulty.  I was about 40 minutes into a pretty solid bike interval at level 8 and had to fire up the "hills" at the end (and drop my RPMs down to 50-60 range).  I got up to level 12 and my legs were burning.  I glanced next to me at the man who was easily 8-10 years my senior and he was cranking away at level 12 with much higher RPMs.  Must have either been a different bike or a side effect of his cialis, but he cranked away pretty well at that high level.

More interval training tomorrow followed by "yoga" on Friday.  I have no idea what Yoga is.  My gym offers classes which I can take for free, but unfortunately didn't plan the week out well.  Yvonne tells me there is Yoga on demand at home via cable.  That should be fun.  Nothing like trying to do yoga in my living room with multiple dog noses up my butt.

I guess it is supposed to help with strength and flexibility, so I'm sticking to the plan.  I haven't been on a scale this week, but everybody is telling me I'm looking slimmer, so that is a good thing.  11 more weeks of off-season training, trip to Disney with the family (coinciding with a business conference), and then a week break before I hit the real training 9 months out.  Holy crap that seems to be coming up fast.  My legs are burning after a one hour workout.  I certainly have my training cut out for me.

Well, at least I've registered and have a place to stay in Lake Placid...

Bike fast.  Take chances.

July 24, 2011. What the heck am I thinking???

Well, it's official.  I am putting it out there or the world to see to hold me to the grinder.  I am now a registered participant in Ironman Lake Placid for July 24th, 2011.  It has taken me two weeks to drum up the nerve to even start filling out the form, but then I REALLY started to question myself when asked questions about my medical history and whether it was okay to share my info with the medical staff on premises.

I think my biggest problem is that I read too much.  There are too many people posting reasons NOT to do it... that one should never advance more than two "levels" in a year, or that one should prepare for TWO years before registering.  Thankfully I'm stubborn and, quite possibly, stupid.  The general entry was sold out the day after the 2010 race, so all that was left were Ironman Foundation slots.  Hmmm... business expense and charitable donation?  Maybe I can pin my company name to my shirt underneath the resuscitation order.

The application otherwise was pretty straightforward, though there were several questions asking for my background, reason why I was entering, interesting facts about myself (for which I could not find many that were fit to print), and local media outlets (newspaper and TV).  The only question I felt prepared to answer (besides NAME) was about my training plan.  I researched a lot of plans and decided on the Triathlon Dominator by Ben Greenfield.  I researched as much as I could and simply could not find a bad review of the plan.  Plus, I needed something that had a heavy emphasis on nutrition as well as training.  The plan is based on HIT (High Intensity Training) and diet and goes back 9 months from the date of the event.  After an email to Ben as to what I should be doing prior to the training, he recommended the off-season plan he offers (and discounted that plan from $129 down to $29).  I've exchanged a few emails with him and am surprised as to how responsive he is personally.  It gives me great confidence knowing that he seems really interested in you succeeding, with the goal of not stumbling across the finish line, but finishing confidently since the training and nutrition has led to that point.

In any case, I am nervous as hell today, and I'm almost a year out!!!  I will be taking the next three months to revise my diet, build my "base" to the point I feel comfortable starting the plan (expectations are being able to run 5 miles, swim 1500-2000m, and bike for an  hour).  My run is still my weakest link, but that will also be my focus.

Also, last Friday I got a professional bike fitting done at Fast Splits in Newton, MA.  We made a bunch of adjustments that put me in a much better position on the bike and saddle and I feel more confident in avoiding overuse injuries by being set up in this manner.  Tilted the seat back and moved it rearward slightly, dropped the handlebars, and moved the cleats on my shoes around.  Also added some spacers on my forearm rests.  Now that I'm down 20 lbs it feels a bit more comfortable leaning over further.