Nuts & Bolts Of The Moment

Get it?

I feel like doing a post, but I don't feel like coming up with some long winded narrative about something or other.  Perhaps some of you are relieved by that, I dunno.  Instead, there a few things that have been going on and/or running through my head the last few days.

New Shoes - I've been needing a new pair of running shoes.  Concurrently to this, I'd been thinking that dropping $175 for a new pair is a little bit crazy if at all avoidable.  I've been training in Newtons for two years straight and though expensive, they've been very good to me.  That said, there are two particular truths that come to mind when I now think about running shoes.  First, there are plenty of runners who log tons of injury free miles that don't wear Newtons.  Secondly, I'm a different runner than I was two years ago both in terms of improved fitness and form.  And because of that, how can I know for sure that Newtons are the best shoe for me without trying other pairs?  I can't.  So I did.

Zoot Energy 3.0

After some research, my choice came down to two choices - the Saucony Kinvara, which is Saucony's minimalist shoe, and the Zoot Energy 3.0, which not quite as "minimalist" as the Kinvara, but pretty close.  I went to Roadrunner Sports today to try them both on.  In the end, it was an easy decision - I chose the Zoots.  I've used Zoot racing flats since 2009, and I usually wear them without socks.  Despite the distance of the race or how how wet or sandy my feet have been when I've pulled the shoes on, I've never had any trouble with blisters or hot-spots.  This is because the inner lining of the Zoot flats are essentially seamless, and the 3.0's are no different.  I'll be trying them out tomorrow.  Roadrunner is cool because you can try shoes for up to 60 days, and if they aren't working out you can bring them back for an exchange.  So the absolute worst thing that can happen is that I don't like the Zoots, cough up another $75 and hope the Newtons will take me back.

Ridley Noah

New Bike? - I can't believe I'm writing this, but I might be putting my beloved Bianchi up for sale.  My friends at Outspoke-n Cycles are now Ridley dealers, and as part of the team sponsorship, they are offering Craig and I bikes at a ridiculously good price.  Ridley is a Belgian Bike manufacturer.  I figure that since Belgians seem to be born with a genetic predisposition to be hard-as-nails cyclists, Ridley is making hard-as-nails bikes.  I'm looking at Noah RS model - Ridley's aero-road offering.  It features a high modulus carbon fork and frame, internal cable routing, SRAM Rival gruppo and a full Deda cockpit.  All I need to do is throw on my Fizik saddle and this will be one heck of a bike.  Plus you have to admit it looks sexy as hell.

Kind of mad at you at the moment...

Speaking Of Bikes... - Today was not a happy day on the Specialized Transition.  First off, I put a SRAM 12/27 climbing cassette on my training wheels last week.  And though it works fine on the Bianchi (where I am running a compact crankset), I have standard cranks on the Specialized.  I know this may sound a bit Princess and the Pea, but I couldn't find the right gear for any situation all morning.  Or maybe it was just me.  Either way, It was really annoying.

Also, there was something going on with my seat-post - I couldn't keep my seat clamped on tightly.  It didn't matter how tight I cranked it, it kept loosening up.  Plus, it's a carbon post, so you have to be careful with how much torque you apply lest you may damage it.  And since I don't carry a torque wrench in my pocket, I was guessing anyway.  This too was annoying.

So your saying there's a chance?

Sub One Hour Sprint Triathlon? -  I love the Solana Beach Sprint Triathlon.  For starters, it was my first ever race.  Also, my mom comes out from Boston to visit the week of the race, so we turn it into a weekend trip.

The Solana Beach race is on the short side of sprint triathlons with a 1/4 mile swim, 9 mile bike and 3 mile run.  Two years ago, I did it in 1:20.  Last year I turned in a slightly more respectable time of 1:07.  Can I shave off another 7 minutes this year?  Maybe, and here's how.

Let's start with the "easy" part, which is the bike.  With the exception of 4 fairly wide u-turns, the course is entirely on straight multi-lane roads that are essentially flat and extremely well paved.  As long as there is little wind (which is a reasonable assumption for an early morning in the summer), I should be able to knock this out in 24 minutes.

Moving on to the run.  If I'm motivated enough, I can maintain a 7:00/mile pace or slightly better for 3 miles.  And all the motivation I'll need will be to look at my watch coming out of T2 and see that I'm 39 minutes or less into the race.  Enough said.

This only leaves the swim, which I'm addressing last because it's the wild card.  I figure I've got 11 minutes to get this done, since I need to allocate 4 minutes for both T1 and T2.  To many of you, 11 minutes is a lifetime to swim a 1/4 mile (440 Yards).  But remember, I suck at swimming.  I'm working at it though - hard, and this time I'm not kidding.  My 70.3 training plan is getting me to the pool.  Lately, I've been lucky with finding times to swim when the pool is relatively quiet.  And I've been enjoying it.  For me, that last sentence is huge.

I need to get my pace up to 2 minutes per 100 yards (which would make the swim just under 9 minutes), because I need 2 minutes to get from the beach to the transition area.  I'm swimming 2:10/2:15 per 100 yards in the pool now and I have about 7 weeks to improve.  This is doable.

So let's add the pieces together:

Swim - 9:00
Run to T1 - 2:00
T1 - 2:00
Bike - 24:00
T2 - 2:00
Run - 21:00

TOTAL - 1:00

I just need to find a few seconds somewhere....

Have a good rest of your weekend.

Saddle Swap

I was supposed to swim tonight, but my wife ended up having to work late.  So Ian was in my charge and we had time on our hands.  First we went to the park so he could have some fun with the neighborhood kids.  Then it was my turn to have fun, so we headed over to Surf City Cyclery.

 Specialized Romin

I've been meaning to do a saddle swap between my bikes for awhile.  I've been using a Specialized Romin saddle on my Bianchi road bike, which I love.  But it's a little long (270mm) and quite stiff, so I wanted to switch it over to my Specialized TT bike, which still has the standard factory saddle on it.  I figure that since my position on the saddle is more forward in the aero position, the extra length would be a benefit.  On the Bianchi, I wanted a saddle with more padding.  So I did some research and decided to go with the Fizik Aliante K:ium.

The Aliante is the same width as the Romin - 142mm (The Romin is actually 143mm), but it's also a little shorter (265mm).  The reason I like the Romin so much is because the width is perfect for me and the cut out down the center-line makes a huge difference in terms of comfort and pressure on my backside.  Instead of a cut out, the Fizik has a 4 or 5mm deep center channel.  It is also quite a bit more plush, though not that much heavier - 238 grams to 208 grams for the Romin.

Fizik Aliante K:ium

I just finished installing it and will give it a whirl in the morning.  The Fizik makes sense on paper (and felt good when I rode a mile or two around the neighborhood), but just in case, I wrapped electric tape around the rails so they don't get scratched up by the clamp.  That way I can return it if I need to.

We shall see....