One of my favorite local 5k races is the Melbourne Art Festival 5k. A ton of people participate, there is free beer at the end, and afterwards you can stroll through the art vendor booths. The 3.1 mile course for this race is a challenge. It goes over the 192 causeway and back. This is pretty much the only type of elevation change we can get in this area. This year, the art festival fell on Easter weekend.
I ran the Art Festival 5k last year. I wasn't working out regularly at the time so I definitely wasn't in good shape. Like all other races I ran last year I ran three or four times beforehand to prepare. On the day of the 5k I felt the usual level of not ready. Running up the causeway I felt like I was running so slowly. I was breathing really hard and I wasn't even close to the top. Wow, I felt out of shape. When I reached the top of the causeway and started heading back down, I realized the problem wasn't being out of shape (well, my primary problem). The problem was the ridiculous incline! My body was not prepared to handle it at all. I don't think I've ever felt that terrible during a race. I finished in 31:56.9.
My goal this year was to not repeat last year. I've been exercising regularly so I wanted to beat last year's time. The causeway is a beast so I wasn't shooting for a personal record. David and I did a practice run the week before, just to get an idea of what the race would be like. I wanted to get an idea of what my time would be. I tried to do my best. David totally smoked me as expected. He became further and further away until I couldn't see him anymore. The wind on the causeway was ridiculous. I finished the practice run in 28:13. At least I would finish before last year's time. A 9ish minute pace wasn't exactly what I was hoping for after running consistently for 3.5 months.
On race day I was excited to tackle the causeway. Over 1900 people signed up for the race! It was super crowded. We started up the causeway and I felt surprisingly good. Toward the top I was hating my legs, but I didn't feel like I was in slow motion like last year. I don't remember my time at one mile, the second mile mark was on the way back down the causeway on the return trip so I was a little more coherent. It was about 17 minutes. I thought to myself...that's a 8:30 pace. Better than my practice run. I tried to let gravity help and fly me down the causeway. I kept telling myself that I had less than one mile left. Some masochist decided to finish the race on top of a hill. I put my head down and tried to power up the hill. I tried to sprint to the finish, but I didn't have much sprint in me at that point. I made it my goal to not let one particular guy beat me. I think he knew that was my goal because as we got closer to the finish, he sped up. The course narrowed at the finish line causing us to bump elbows as we neared the finish line. I'm pretty sure we crossed at exactly the same time touching elbows. The time, 25:28.5! Seventh in my age division and over 1 minute better than my personal record!
I was so pumped to have beaten my previous time! At the finish line there was free beer, fruit, chicken wings, rice crispy treats, and more. I ate a ton and enjoyed the art at the festival. Overall, a great day.
While I'm glad to have done well at the race I'm confused about why I can't practice at the same level. I NEVER run a 8:12 minute mile in training. The best I can figure is that it's a group think type of mentality. I get around others and a competitive drive kicks in. My mind is distracted by the other runners and not on how tired I am or how much my legs hurt. I just feel like if I could train at that level my race results improve. I've entertained different ideas for bringing my training runs up to speed like wearing a heart rate monitor or speed training. I haven't settled on anything yet. For now, I'm going to be thankful and excited for a great race!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Self Talk Struggle Update
A couple weeks ago I posted about how my brain wasn't cooperating with my goals. Since then I've been working on keeping my thoughts more positive during workouts. I've been trying to focus more on how far I've come rather than how far I want to go. I may be far from an elite athlete, but I've come a long way from running twice a month as my exercise plan. Since I've been focusing on positive self talk my workouts have been a lot more fun and effective.
At the SCEIC Cycle Jam there was a pair of guys on a tandem bicycle. The guy in the rear was blind. This guy had a legitimate excuse to not bike, but he was out there anyway. Rajesh Drupal was born with no bones in his legs and half of one arm. Today he has competed in many triathlons including the Pineapple Man and a FULL IRONMAN. These guys has overcome overwhelming odds to reach their level of fitness. When I keep that in perspective it's hard for me to feel sorry for myself or make any excuses.
I still have some doubts and concerns during workouts, but I'm feeling much more positive. During runs I've been concentrating more on listening to my body and enjoying the feeling of running (hard to believe) rather than time and pace. I've found that when I do this the speed follows. My confidence on the bike is increasing as I spend more time on it. My balance is improving to the point where I can actually stand and pedal at the same time. I've really come a long way.
At the SCEIC Cycle Jam there was a pair of guys on a tandem bicycle. The guy in the rear was blind. This guy had a legitimate excuse to not bike, but he was out there anyway. Rajesh Drupal was born with no bones in his legs and half of one arm. Today he has competed in many triathlons including the Pineapple Man and a FULL IRONMAN. These guys has overcome overwhelming odds to reach their level of fitness. When I keep that in perspective it's hard for me to feel sorry for myself or make any excuses.
I still have some doubts and concerns during workouts, but I'm feeling much more positive. During runs I've been concentrating more on listening to my body and enjoying the feeling of running (hard to believe) rather than time and pace. I've found that when I do this the speed follows. My confidence on the bike is increasing as I spend more time on it. My balance is improving to the point where I can actually stand and pedal at the same time. I've really come a long way.
Monday, April 18, 2011
SCEIC Cycle Jam
Sunday, David and I participated in the 2nd annual Space Coast Early Intervention Center Cycle Jam. For this ride you could sign up for the 100 mile, 66 mile, 33 mile, or 10 mile family ride. Harris sponsors the ride so employees are able to register for a discounted price. I love that Harris does this. It works out well for me because I get to enjoy the races for less, works out for the race charity because they get more entries, and I imagine Harris gets some type of tax write off for it as well.
I was a little nervous about the ride. I didn't know what the environment would be like, how the course would be marked, or how I would do riding 33 miles. I'd never ridden further than about 20 miles before. I had no idea how much water I would need so I wore my monster Camelbak backpack just in case. I easily had the largest Camelbak/backpack of anyone there. According to David someone riding around him said, "Good grief! What does that girl have in that bag?!" When I arrived, the 100 and 66 mile riders were starting. They all looked very serious in their spandex clothes. None of them really bolted off the starting line though. Everyone seemed very content to start at an easy pace while people spaced out. This made me feel a little bit better.
David and I lined up toward the back of the pack for the start. This was a non competitive charity ride so you don't wear a timing chip or anything. Neither one of us were really in it to win it. The start was calm similar to the 100 and 66 mile start. After a couple miles people started to settle into their place and there wasn't much passing going on. I started off following a guy with a skeleton styled jersey. He was going slightly slower than I normally would, but I didn't know how much gas I should leave in the tank for 33 miles. He was an incredibly polite rider. Every time there was something in the road like a branch or a pothole or sand he would point it out as he passed it. When he was stopping he would use a hand gesture. Just overall a pleasure to ride with. I decided to hang behind him for a while to learn some good group riding etiquette and because it really was nice to have such a polite guy leading the pack. At a stop light he introduced himself to David and I as Russel. I like Russel. Him and David rode together the whole ride so they are bros now.
After about a third of the ride I got a little restless with the pace and decided to jump in front and leave our miniature pack. I really liked the group element of riding, but I like to hang by myself sometimes. I can get complacent and just follow the rear in front of me in a pack.
The route for the 33 mile course was really nice. The first section went through city streets (as city as Melbourne is), the second section through less used roads, and the final section up US 1 and side streets with beautiful river views. My cadence sensor on my bike stopped working about at Malabar Road so I was riding blind for the rest of the trip. I've come to be very dependent on that sensor. I try to keep my cadence constant regardless of the speed it's taking me. At a cadence of 85 rpm I might be going really fast or really slow depending on the incline and headwind. I made the best of it and just tried to ride at a comfortable level.
My favorite part was the ride down Old Dixie Highway. It had tall trees on both sides to block the wind so I was able to pick up some pretty good speed. At the turn onto US1 at the 20 mile mark there was a SAG station with snacks and drinks. In keeping with the non competitive nature of the ride I decided not to kill myself and make a pit stop. They had the most delicious M&M trail mix ever! As I was chomping along there goes Russel and David! They were too good to stop at the SAG I guess. All bets on the non competitiveness of the race were off at that point. I hopped back on the bike to make sure they didn't beat me to the finish. I try not to be competitive, but with David it just doesn't work.
The ride up US1 was tough. There was a good wind and the effort that previously was taking me up to 19 mph was now pushing me to a measly 13. I had to crank it up. My legs felt ok, but my left knee was starting the ache and my butt was about done riding on the saddle. In hindsight I should have just been ok with the lower speed and nursed my knee a little bit. I should have gone down to an easy gear and just spun through to the end. Of course, I didn't do that at all. My knee is now yelling at me as punishment. I'm more convinced than ever that I have quadriceps tendonitis in the left knee. Hopefully it will feel better in a couple days.
After the ride I felt surprisingly good. I wasn't feeling refreshed by any stretch, but I didn't feel like I was going to need a wheelchair to get to the car either. Much better than I expected. David and I stopped and chatted with Russel for a little bit after the ride and he invited us to join his Saturday ride group that leaves from the Palm Bay Hospital on Saturday mornings. If they are all as considerate as Russel, it would be a lot of fun to join them every now and then.
There were free snacks and lunch afterwards so David and I probably more than replenished the calories we burned. Each rider got a lunch voucher that we could use for food from Jason's Deli, Olive Garden, Long Doggers, and Broken Barrel catering tents. There was live music and a bounce house for the kids. Overall, this was a really well done event. Maybe next year I'll be tough enough to do the 66 miler!
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| 100 and 66 Miler's Start |
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| Pre-ride |
After about a third of the ride I got a little restless with the pace and decided to jump in front and leave our miniature pack. I really liked the group element of riding, but I like to hang by myself sometimes. I can get complacent and just follow the rear in front of me in a pack.
The route for the 33 mile course was really nice. The first section went through city streets (as city as Melbourne is), the second section through less used roads, and the final section up US 1 and side streets with beautiful river views. My cadence sensor on my bike stopped working about at Malabar Road so I was riding blind for the rest of the trip. I've come to be very dependent on that sensor. I try to keep my cadence constant regardless of the speed it's taking me. At a cadence of 85 rpm I might be going really fast or really slow depending on the incline and headwind. I made the best of it and just tried to ride at a comfortable level.
My favorite part was the ride down Old Dixie Highway. It had tall trees on both sides to block the wind so I was able to pick up some pretty good speed. At the turn onto US1 at the 20 mile mark there was a SAG station with snacks and drinks. In keeping with the non competitive nature of the ride I decided not to kill myself and make a pit stop. They had the most delicious M&M trail mix ever! As I was chomping along there goes Russel and David! They were too good to stop at the SAG I guess. All bets on the non competitiveness of the race were off at that point. I hopped back on the bike to make sure they didn't beat me to the finish. I try not to be competitive, but with David it just doesn't work.
The ride up US1 was tough. There was a good wind and the effort that previously was taking me up to 19 mph was now pushing me to a measly 13. I had to crank it up. My legs felt ok, but my left knee was starting the ache and my butt was about done riding on the saddle. In hindsight I should have just been ok with the lower speed and nursed my knee a little bit. I should have gone down to an easy gear and just spun through to the end. Of course, I didn't do that at all. My knee is now yelling at me as punishment. I'm more convinced than ever that I have quadriceps tendonitis in the left knee. Hopefully it will feel better in a couple days.
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| Post Ride |
After the ride I felt surprisingly good. I wasn't feeling refreshed by any stretch, but I didn't feel like I was going to need a wheelchair to get to the car either. Much better than I expected. David and I stopped and chatted with Russel for a little bit after the ride and he invited us to join his Saturday ride group that leaves from the Palm Bay Hospital on Saturday mornings. If they are all as considerate as Russel, it would be a lot of fun to join them every now and then.
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| 32 miles, 2:01 moving time, 15.9 mph moving avg, 22.6 mph max |
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Cocoa Beach Triathlon: A Learning Experience
Last Sunday was the Cocoa Beach Triathlon. I found out about it just a couple months ago. Long after I committed to the Pineapple Man. I didn't really have any interest in competing, but I wanted to go just to see how a triathlon operates. I didn't want to be learning the ropes during my first competition. So by some small miracle I convinced my roommate, Heidi, to tag along with me. Getting up at 5:30 am on a Sunday to go watch a triathlon that you don't have any personal investment in is a true expression of friendship. Once we got there we found out that our buddy Gabe was competing. It was nice to know someone in the race.
There were competitors there of every level. Some people were obviously very serious. They were riding bikes that cost as much as my car and had those wind speed looking helmets. Others were just there for fun. I saw one person competing on a beach cruiser with a basket on the front! There were lots of people that fell somewhere in between like I will.
Although getting up early on a Sunday was painful, I'm glad I went. I learned a lot about triathlons and took away a lot of things that will improve my experience in June.
I wasn't able to get a very good look at the swim start because there were people crowded around the start. From what I could see it didn't look as savage as I expected. I'm still sticking with the approach of starting on the side rear of the pack.
In the transition area everyone had their stations organized and laid out. I need to think about the best approach for this. You don't want to waste a bunch of time in the transition area changing clothes, looking for things, picking your nose. I didn't notice many people changing clothes. Most people wore what they swam in on the bike. I still have to decide what I'm going to be wearing. I can't bike without some type of padded shorts. I'm not sure if I can wear tri shorts over my swimsuit. I don't really want to buy a whole new outfit. I've been thinking about changing out my bike saddle per Clyde's recommendation so I might make the decision after that depending on how padded my shorts need to be for comfort. I noticed one woman with a bucket of water at her station to rinse her feet after running from the swim to the transition area. Very smart. I might do that.
A decent amount of people had their bike shoes already clipped into their pedals. They ran out of the transition area in their bare feet and slipped into the shoes while they were on the bike. While this sounded like a good idea in theory, I saw it backfire for a lot of people. It pretty much guarantees a slow start while you are trying to get your shoes on. I saw one guy's shoe fall off before he got his foot in it so he had to dismount and go pick it up. Another guy was looking down trying to get his shoe on when the person in front of him stopped. He didn't see her, clipped her bike and went tumbling over the handlebars. I'm not going to kid myself and think I'm coordinated enough to pull off the shoes already in the clips. I will be putting on the shoes separately.
I also noticed that the bike mounting area was a major cluster. People were running into each other, fixing bike chains, starting off at all different speeds, and trying to get their shoes on. Everyone just stopped right outside of the transition area. Based on this observation, I'm going to walk my bike off to the side and then go. I don't want to be the person being run into or the person causing the accident.
Many competitors did not wear socks for the race. I can see the time advantage of not having to put on socks after the swim. For me, however, I'd rather take an extra 15 seconds and be comfortable for the rest of the race than finish with blistered feet. I want to be as efficient as possible in the transition area, but I'm not going to kill myself for a few seconds.
My favorite part of any race is watching the finish. I love to see people really gunning it for the finish line. Some people kept pace and just looked happy to finish. Others gave it everything they had left and sprinted to the finish line.
The Cocoa Beach Triathlon was a great race. I learned a lot that I'll be able to use in the Pineapple Man. Seeing other people racing really got me excited to participate. I can't wait!
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| Aero Helmet: Very Serious Looking |
Although getting up early on a Sunday was painful, I'm glad I went. I learned a lot about triathlons and took away a lot of things that will improve my experience in June.
I wasn't able to get a very good look at the swim start because there were people crowded around the start. From what I could see it didn't look as savage as I expected. I'm still sticking with the approach of starting on the side rear of the pack.
 |
| Transition Area |
In the transition area everyone had their stations organized and laid out. I need to think about the best approach for this. You don't want to waste a bunch of time in the transition area changing clothes, looking for things, picking your nose. I didn't notice many people changing clothes. Most people wore what they swam in on the bike. I still have to decide what I'm going to be wearing. I can't bike without some type of padded shorts. I'm not sure if I can wear tri shorts over my swimsuit. I don't really want to buy a whole new outfit. I've been thinking about changing out my bike saddle per Clyde's recommendation so I might make the decision after that depending on how padded my shorts need to be for comfort. I noticed one woman with a bucket of water at her station to rinse her feet after running from the swim to the transition area. Very smart. I might do that.
A decent amount of people had their bike shoes already clipped into their pedals. They ran out of the transition area in their bare feet and slipped into the shoes while they were on the bike. While this sounded like a good idea in theory, I saw it backfire for a lot of people. It pretty much guarantees a slow start while you are trying to get your shoes on. I saw one guy's shoe fall off before he got his foot in it so he had to dismount and go pick it up. Another guy was looking down trying to get his shoe on when the person in front of him stopped. He didn't see her, clipped her bike and went tumbling over the handlebars. I'm not going to kid myself and think I'm coordinated enough to pull off the shoes already in the clips. I will be putting on the shoes separately.
I also noticed that the bike mounting area was a major cluster. People were running into each other, fixing bike chains, starting off at all different speeds, and trying to get their shoes on. Everyone just stopped right outside of the transition area. Based on this observation, I'm going to walk my bike off to the side and then go. I don't want to be the person being run into or the person causing the accident.
Many competitors did not wear socks for the race. I can see the time advantage of not having to put on socks after the swim. For me, however, I'd rather take an extra 15 seconds and be comfortable for the rest of the race than finish with blistered feet. I want to be as efficient as possible in the transition area, but I'm not going to kill myself for a few seconds.
My favorite part of any race is watching the finish. I love to see people really gunning it for the finish line. Some people kept pace and just looked happy to finish. Others gave it everything they had left and sprinted to the finish line.
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| Overall First Place: Ed Donner |
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| Ed Donner 54:44 |
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| Female First Place: Nicole Brown 1:03:58 |
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| Gabe Sprints for the Finish |
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Bike Fitting: Worth It
I used to think biking meant finding a bike, raising up the seat and riding away. Finding a good road bike is totally different from picking a bike up from the closest Walmart. First you choose the frame size, then you have seatpost position, saddle angle and position, reach, etc. It's very overwhelming. That said, I became a Google certified expert on bike fitting, bought my bike and fit it myself. Slight bend in the knee, check! Knees over my mid-foot, check! I must be good to go!
I've been having periodic knee pain after cycling and recently I had shoulder pain from cycling that lasted about half a week. I told myself that my body was just getting used to cycling. I can put off spending money on services forever. I did not want to pay for a bike fitting. After all, I had researched this on Google! I must be close. Over time the chronic knee pain really started to bother me and I decided to suck it up and put my long term health over my pride.
I scheduled a bike fitting with Clyde at Palm Bay Bicycles. Clyde runs a small shop in town and was recommended to me by a friend. I came into his store with my bike, bike shorts, and bike shoes ready for my fitting.
The first thing Clyde noticed was my saddle. Admittedly, the saddle is a little sad. I stole it off my mountain bike when the road saddle was abusing my body. He told me 3-4 times while I was there that the seat desperately needed to be replaced. As you can see, it is kind of falling apart. It has cushion that compresses which is a no-no for road saddles. He also said that the rails that mount to the seat post are slightly bent. I'll have to start looking for a new seat, but for now old faithful lives on! The fitting started with my bike hooked to bike trainer and pedaling for a while to loosen up and relax into my natural riding stance.
Adjustments:
Clyde adjusted the cleats on my shoes first. Turns out I had them WAY too far forward. You really need to have the cleat directly under the ball of your foot. He explained that by having them too far forward I was losing a lot of pedal power. If you look closely at the picture of the cleat you can see indentations from where the cleat was previously. For some perspective, the metal cleat is about the same size as a silver dollar. Once he moved them back it was instantly easier to clip into the pedals. I also noticed that the discomfort on the outside of my left foot was gone.
Next, he adjusted my saddle height. I always though the saddle height should be such that there was a slight bend in your knee. That is true, but I wasn't interpreting slight very well. Clyde made sure I had a very slight bend my setting the saddle height so my leg was completely straight when my heel was on the pedal at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Then, when I am clipped into the pedals there is a slight bend in my knee. Turns out my left leg is slightly shorter than my right. Nice. I marked the previous seatpost height. The adjustment is about a centimeter higher than the original position.
Then, my saddle fore-aft position was adjusted. A plumb line from the bottom of your kneecap should rest right in line with the pedal spindle on your front foot with your feet at 3 and 9 o'clock on the pedals. I thought I was pretty close just by judging on the bike, but I wasn't. One of the cleats had to be moved slightly to make up for yet another area where I'm not symmetric.
The most exciting adjustment was the stem. As you can see from the picture, the stem now points slightly upwards. Before, it was flipped so it pointed slightly down (blue line). You wouldn't think this subtle change would make a difference, but it made a dramatic difference in the comfort of my upper body. Clyde also swapped out my stem for a slightly shorter one. The combination of the rise and shorter stem significantly improved my reach. Before, my elbows were locked and my shoulders were taking a lot of the impact that my elbows were supposed to absorb.
Feel the difference:
I decided to get a bike fitting for the sake of comfort. I didn't want to permanently damage my knees. On my first ride after my fitting I immediately noticed a difference. It was much easier to clip in and out of the pedals. My shoulders didn't hurt. I didn't feel like I had to adjust my hands every couple of minutes. I didn't feel like I was going to fall off the bike every time I stood to pedal. The difference was night and day. The new fit is so much more comfortable. What I didn't expect was that the comfort would translate directly into higher speed. My average speeds increased somewhere between one a two mph! This is an added bonus that I didn't expect.
I was very pleased with Clyde's work on my bike fitting. He was less expensive than the competing shops in town and he spent a full two hours helping me get the right fit. I'm pretty sure any other store would have charged me for the new stem but he was nice enough to do an even exchange with mine since the replacement was used. I can't believe I waited so long to get fitted. If I could do it again I would have gone to get a fitting immediately after buying my bike. I would recommend it to anyone. Now that I have my fit I can go through and do my measurements so I can apply them to any other road bike I may ride in the future.
I've been having periodic knee pain after cycling and recently I had shoulder pain from cycling that lasted about half a week. I told myself that my body was just getting used to cycling. I can put off spending money on services forever. I did not want to pay for a bike fitting. After all, I had researched this on Google! I must be close. Over time the chronic knee pain really started to bother me and I decided to suck it up and put my long term health over my pride.
I scheduled a bike fitting with Clyde at Palm Bay Bicycles. Clyde runs a small shop in town and was recommended to me by a friend. I came into his store with my bike, bike shorts, and bike shoes ready for my fitting.
 | |
| Crumbling, Tearing, Lovely Bike Seat |
The first thing Clyde noticed was my saddle. Admittedly, the saddle is a little sad. I stole it off my mountain bike when the road saddle was abusing my body. He told me 3-4 times while I was there that the seat desperately needed to be replaced. As you can see, it is kind of falling apart. It has cushion that compresses which is a no-no for road saddles. He also said that the rails that mount to the seat post are slightly bent. I'll have to start looking for a new seat, but for now old faithful lives on! The fitting started with my bike hooked to bike trainer and pedaling for a while to loosen up and relax into my natural riding stance.
Adjustments:
 |
| Cleat Adjustment |
Clyde adjusted the cleats on my shoes first. Turns out I had them WAY too far forward. You really need to have the cleat directly under the ball of your foot. He explained that by having them too far forward I was losing a lot of pedal power. If you look closely at the picture of the cleat you can see indentations from where the cleat was previously. For some perspective, the metal cleat is about the same size as a silver dollar. Once he moved them back it was instantly easier to clip into the pedals. I also noticed that the discomfort on the outside of my left foot was gone.
Next, he adjusted my saddle height. I always though the saddle height should be such that there was a slight bend in your knee. That is true, but I wasn't interpreting slight very well. Clyde made sure I had a very slight bend my setting the saddle height so my leg was completely straight when my heel was on the pedal at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Then, when I am clipped into the pedals there is a slight bend in my knee. Turns out my left leg is slightly shorter than my right. Nice. I marked the previous seatpost height. The adjustment is about a centimeter higher than the original position.
Then, my saddle fore-aft position was adjusted. A plumb line from the bottom of your kneecap should rest right in line with the pedal spindle on your front foot with your feet at 3 and 9 o'clock on the pedals. I thought I was pretty close just by judging on the bike, but I wasn't. One of the cleats had to be moved slightly to make up for yet another area where I'm not symmetric.
 |
| Stem Adjustment |
The most exciting adjustment was the stem. As you can see from the picture, the stem now points slightly upwards. Before, it was flipped so it pointed slightly down (blue line). You wouldn't think this subtle change would make a difference, but it made a dramatic difference in the comfort of my upper body. Clyde also swapped out my stem for a slightly shorter one. The combination of the rise and shorter stem significantly improved my reach. Before, my elbows were locked and my shoulders were taking a lot of the impact that my elbows were supposed to absorb.
Feel the difference:
I decided to get a bike fitting for the sake of comfort. I didn't want to permanently damage my knees. On my first ride after my fitting I immediately noticed a difference. It was much easier to clip in and out of the pedals. My shoulders didn't hurt. I didn't feel like I had to adjust my hands every couple of minutes. I didn't feel like I was going to fall off the bike every time I stood to pedal. The difference was night and day. The new fit is so much more comfortable. What I didn't expect was that the comfort would translate directly into higher speed. My average speeds increased somewhere between one a two mph! This is an added bonus that I didn't expect.
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| Finished Product! |
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Self Talk Struggle
When I first started getting ready for the Pineapple Man I was really excited and positive. I had over four months to get ready, I had a plan, and I had a goal. As I get closer to the triathlon I struggle more and more with positivity in my workouts. Don't get me wrong, I'm still super pumped for the race. I just feel less and less ready.
I don't use headphones while I work out. It's not because I don't like to listen to music, I just like the fact that I can't distract myself with noise. I exercise because I want to enjoy it not so I can zone out until it's over. I realize most people are exactly the opposite. It's just a preference thing. While I get the advantage of working out in peace without distracting noise I also get another side effect. I'm alone with my thoughts however good or bad they may be.
With over four months of training time ahead of me I felt really good about the possibilities and my potential. As I get closer to race time negative thoughts start to creep in. "Did you really think you could be a triathlete?" "Your knees can't handle this." "You're never going to be able to run over three miles after biking for an hour." "There is no wall to hang on to in the river, you might drown." "Just cut the workout short, this can be an easy day."
It's difficult to battle those ideas. I have to look back at my progress. I've cut 20 seconds off my swim time. I don't feel like I'm going to drown any more at the pool. I'm getting more comfortable on the bike. I wouldn't say runs are great, but they are less painful than they've ever been. I know I put too much pressure on myself to do well. I just feel like I have a lot to prove to myself.
This week is focused on bike, run, and positive self talk. If I don't start replacing the negative ideas with positive ones it won't be my physical fitness that holds me back from doing my best. Of course I'm not going to finish first, but I'm going to finish with a big smile on my face.
I don't use headphones while I work out. It's not because I don't like to listen to music, I just like the fact that I can't distract myself with noise. I exercise because I want to enjoy it not so I can zone out until it's over. I realize most people are exactly the opposite. It's just a preference thing. While I get the advantage of working out in peace without distracting noise I also get another side effect. I'm alone with my thoughts however good or bad they may be.
With over four months of training time ahead of me I felt really good about the possibilities and my potential. As I get closer to race time negative thoughts start to creep in. "Did you really think you could be a triathlete?" "Your knees can't handle this." "You're never going to be able to run over three miles after biking for an hour." "There is no wall to hang on to in the river, you might drown." "Just cut the workout short, this can be an easy day."
It's difficult to battle those ideas. I have to look back at my progress. I've cut 20 seconds off my swim time. I don't feel like I'm going to drown any more at the pool. I'm getting more comfortable on the bike. I wouldn't say runs are great, but they are less painful than they've ever been. I know I put too much pressure on myself to do well. I just feel like I have a lot to prove to myself.
This week is focused on bike, run, and positive self talk. If I don't start replacing the negative ideas with positive ones it won't be my physical fitness that holds me back from doing my best. Of course I'm not going to finish first, but I'm going to finish with a big smile on my face.
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