The Evolution of My Bike

As I've gotten more comfortable on my bike, I've been able to get more aggressive in the position:



November 2012: As Purchased

May 2013: Partially Lowered Handlebars

  



June 2013: Fully lowered handlebars



Aug 2013: Flipped Stem, Added Clip-on Aerobars

Sep 2013: Bike Fit (before & after), Replaced seat tube to move saddle forward, raised up handlebars on stem somewhat in order to elongate my back. 

Relearning Bike Handling Skills

Last summer, I wanted to get into triathlons, but I needed to get a bike. Rather daunting was the fact that I hadn't been on a bike in 19 years. Yes, my last bike was a fixie with coaster brakes. It was a little daunting to get a new bike. Is the old adage about riding a bike true? Would I crash a lot? Could I handle a road bike with a much more forward body position? I'm glad to report that I still could ride a bike, but I did forget bike handling skills. The first time I got on a bike again, I was a bit shaky and my hands were glued to the hoods. I remembered saying, "look Mom, no hands", but even several rides later even if I attempted to take a hand off for a split second, I would swerve. I could even ride in the drops. From getting the bike, it took 8 weeks, 8 hours of riding, and about 100 miles to attempt riding in the drops. After about 3-4 rides purposely practing, I was able to reasonably go from the hoods to the drops. I was still shaky taking a hand off, so I had to slide my hand down the side of handlebar. It would be about another 4 weeks, before I could even take a hand off for a quick nose wipe, but I was a long way from being able to grab something from a pocket. I got a Speedplay, so I could drink on the go, so I didn't focus on it exclusively. A month ago, I was able to eat food from my "Bento box" while riding. A week ago, I tried just using a regular bidon in the downtube cage - so pickup, drink, and put back. Today, I successfully grabbed a bidon from my seat tube and refilled my Speedplay, all on the go. It feels great to re-obtain mediocre bike handling skills. I feel like a baby who learned how to walk. So why is this important? For one, safety. At first I couldn't signal or let other riders know of a pothole. Second, if I was on a longer ride, like an Olympic distance triathlon, I'd have to physically stop to refil my Speedplay from another water bottle, which could be a huge time drain. Granted, I am going slow while refilling or drinking (10-12 mph), but this is much better than having to stop. Lastly, I can try out aero bars, something I thought would be impossible for me. It took 80 rides, 77 hours, and 1,100 miles, but I am ready for aerobars!

The Effect of Temperature on Running Pace

Despite 3 more months of training, I have not replicated my PR 5k time of 26:34 at the CB&I triathlon. I think the weather is largely to blame. CB&I was perfect running weather... probably 55 or so by the time I started running. Despite a best effort over the weekend, I only managed 28:58. This was a drop in pace of 0:50/mile. The heat was tough. The weather at run time was 85 F, but it felt like 95 F (that is what the weather report said it felt like, not just me).

How much doesn't the weather impact run time then? My heart rate for the run averaged at my Lactate Threshold of 184, so I don't feel like I was slacking. An online calculator shows a change of 0:19/mile from 60 F to 85 F and only goes up at total 0:27/mile at 95F.

What about real life data? I compared participants in the 30-44 male age groups from CB&I to Bridgeland. Including myself, there were 38 people that did both races. The median differential was 36 seconds per mile, with the 20th percentile at 18.4 seconds and the 80th percentile at 50.6 seconds. As with any statistics, there are outliers on both ends, but you never know the circumstances: e.g., if someone had stomach cramps at CB&I.

So real-world data indicates a higher impact of temperature than the calculator. Is the calculator wrong? Well, maybe the study that produced the data for the calculator only included only professional or elite athletes, who may have higher tolerance to the heat, or a variety of other reasons. My 50 seconds may be higher than the average, but it's not tremendously out of line, and doing this comparison has made me feel better about it.

Race Report: Bridgeland Triathlon

The Bridgeland triathlon was a 600m open water swim, a 12.8 mi bike, and a 5k run. It was originally billed as 550m/13mi/5k, but there was some last minute changes.

Swim: 12:56 (2:09/100m)

This was my first open water swim since CB&I back in May. I was in a later wave, so I didn't start for 32 minutes after the pros went off. Overall, the swim went pretty well. A couple times I found myself significantly off course, but since I sight rather frequently (about 14 strokes - counting both arms), I don't think I added too much distance. I did start to get hot at about 300-400m or so. The water was warm, the sun was coming up, and the swim cap keeps the heat in. I tried drafting once or twice, but it was a failure. The visibility in that lake is about 0.00001mm, at best, so that made it harder. The water was warm, so I started getting hot after about 300m, with the swim cap on. My time was 0:02/100m faster than CB&I and my time was a little outside of the top 3rd for my AG which was very consistent to CB&I.

T1: 2:42

The ground was a bit muddy from rain the night before, so I took a few seconds to wipe off my feet. Overall, though I didn't make any major mistakes. This race had a longer run in transition to my bike, which increased my overall time. GPS data shows that I was at my spot for 1:18, but I barely eeked into the top 75% of my AG. I need to work on this.

Bike: 41.28 (18.5mph)

I was happy with the bike. Per my coaches instruction, I was to not go too fast the first couple of miles. After that I was usually over 19 mph for most of the ride. Sometimes my mind would wander a bit and I would slow down slightly, so perhaps I need to focus more. At Sugar Land, I hammered the bike as hard as I could and average 19.3 mph, but I thought that was a cause of my poor run, so I deliberately spun at a lower gear before the finish for longer. I definitely felt like I could have continued at that pace for longer, so I'm feeling more confident for Galveston. Despite an improvement of 1.7mph over CB&I, I was still one of the slower bike - 100/129, but it was an improvement of 5 percentile.

T2: 1:39

Per my GPS, I only spent 39 seconds at my station, the rest of the time, I was running.

Run: 28:58 (9:19mi)

Chesty Puller said that "Pain is weakness leaving the body." Well, a lot of weakness left today. My run time was 2:24 slower than my PR, but it hurt the entire time. The weather was brutal. My wave was one of the last, so starting a half hour later in Houston in August is the difference of 3-4 degrees. According to the weather report it was about 84 for the run, but it "felt like" 95F, and yes it sure did. I normally run at 5:15 in the morning before work, which is usually the coolest part of the day and is about 76 and no sun. I found heart rate training to be helpful here. I know my LT was 184, and if I could stick to that, then I knew I was actually putting in a good effort and I didn't have to question whether I was "wussing out" over the heat. What to do differently? Carry my own freezer pack? I wonder if I could keep some freezer packs in a small cooler, and then grab them on the run. Twice on the run, there was someone with a hose which was helpful, and at the Mile 2 station, they handed out iced sponges. Both of these were welcome reliefs, but I could have used more. My relative rank in my AG was right at the same, so many must have been impacted by the heat.

Total: 1:27:45 Overall I was pretty happy with my performance - 78/129 - very consistent with CB&I. Despite the heart rate data, I still question whether I could have done better on the run. I'm sure every athlete does. At least for me, it's not like I'm getting 4th and miss the podium by 10 seconds. I'll keep striving for improvement, but it does ease that anxiety knowing that I am just comparing the difference between the 60th and 55th percentile.