Thursday - September 26, 2013
BAM Racing AM Group Ride
I met the Blue Ash Multisport guys this morning for the usual 5am bike ride. There were 6 of us, and we ended up going 32.4 miles in 1:47:56 (moving time), with an average moving speed of 18.0 mph.
Here is the Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/381505132
Here is the Strava data:
Does anyone else see a penis in the above map? Anyway, that 85 mile bike ride Sunday kicked my butt. I'm still feeling it today. The ride was great. Several BAM riders (one of which is a frequent Kona qualifier) showed up, and we rode out 52 to a ferry to cross the river to Augusta, Kentucky, then we rode Route 8 home. I was by far the weakest rider, so I drafted near the back most of the time. I did one pull, but for the most part I just hung on for the ride. That's why my average speed for the ride was 19.2 mph. The first half average speed was 21.2 mph! We were flying out 52, which was recently repaved and is a real pleasure to ride.
Since that 85er, my wrists have been hurting. It was a 4.5 hour ride, and I was aero a lot of it. But after a while in the aero position, my neck and upper back/shoulders would get very sore as I'm not used to long rides in this position. So, I would then ride on my hands, switching back and forth. My previous longest ride was 60 miles in 4 hours, so I wasn't used to the distance or time in the saddle. The ride was awesome though. To see the Kona guy "live" was a real treat. He, and actually 2 other guys, were total animals. I get excited to think that could be me after a few years of training.
The geometry of my bike made it so that after the 85 mile ride, I could have run without issue. The full carbon frameset/seat post absorbed road vibrations and saved my lower back. Normally, my back is very sore after 30 miles. This 85er didn't bother me at all. Between the geometry and carbon dampening, I felt fantastic after the ride! Anyone interested in a carbon triathlon bike to save their legs/back, the difference is huge.
I haven't run in 8 or 9 days. Frowny face :(. I hope to go for a run tomorrow morning (Friday). Maybe 7 miles. Saturday morning I'm doing the BioWheels/Fleet Feet BRIC. This is a bike then run bric with the two head guys at BioWheels along for the ride to give you biking feedback. How cool? I want to become a better biker, so having these guys there to make suggestions will be awesome. Should be an easy pace, 16-18 mph for 25-30 miles. Then, there is a short 5K run with them to review the running form too. Very cool that they are doing this, and it's free. Open to all. I'd like to hear them say, "Brandon, your biking form is the best we've ever seen!" But I'm sure they'll have lots to say.
The LMT is right around the corner. I'll take off Sunday, then bike again Tuesday and be done until the race. I'll squeeze in runs as I can. I'm very happy with my bike and my run should be around what it was at the spring LMT. I hope we can finish the LMT canoe in 60 minutes. This could be a challenge, as the river is slow in the fall usually. Then, I'm hoping for a 1.25 minute T1 - which is basically me jogging from the canoe to the road. This is what I did last time. I was surprised the distance from the river to the run start was so long that it took 1:15 to get there while jogging. My LMT partner may pace me for the run. This would be awesome and help push me to run 9:30 to 9:45mm, versus the usual 10:00mm or more. But, he's a faster runner and I'd hate to hold him back from getting a good time. So, 9:30mm for 5 miles is 47.5 minutes. Then comes killer hill, the worst part of the race. I've gone up it in the mid-4 minute range once or twice, but I'm able to comfortably climb it in about 5 minutes by jogging up to the stairs at the start, and then walking up it as fast as I can. Like speed hiking. Running up this might save me a minute, but it would completely kill my energy reserves and my bike would suck.
I'm building a PVC bike rack to hold 4 bikes: My partner Lars' bike, Andy and Shannon's bikes, and mine. This idea started with me not wanting to lay my bike down in T2. I don't want people stepping over it or whatever. Though, I'm sure it'd be fine, I just don't want to lay it down. So, a Cincy Express guy (thanks Mike!) made a PVC bike rack for next to nothing, and it works great. I would feel selfish making a single bike rack, when I can easily make it bigger to hold 4. I'll spray paint it flat black and attach a flag to see from a distance. My T2 times have been anywhere from 2 minutes up to 6 or 7 minutes (that was a huge mistake). I'm planning on 3.5 minutes here, as I might need to use the restroom. If not, 2-2.5 minutes is good.
Then, the last leg of the LMT is the bike. Do you hear the angels singing? Me neither, but I'm hoping to drop some serious time here. The bike leg is only 18 miles! I biked nearly double that today with two very challenging hills and averaged 18 mph. The LMT course is built for speed, like most triathlon bike courses. 19.2 mph for 85 miles. I'm expecting to be jacked up with adrenaline for the first 4 or 5 miles. I should be able to stay aero for 18 miles, which will help with speed and wind hiding. The wind can be wicked on parts of the LMT, so hopefully I can hide from it. This could be completely ridiculous, but I'm going to shoot for 20 mph average for the whole thing. If I creep over this, great. But I do not want to go below 19, and I'll shoot for 20. This would be 54 minutes. My PR for the bike course is 1:02, so I'll be happy with this or less. I could get a flat, or have cramps or something. But this will be the end of the last race of my season, and I want to leave it all on the road here.
So, 60 + 1.25 + 47.5 + 5 + 3.5 + 54 = 171.25, or 2:51:15. Boom! That's a PR by roughly 11 minutes AND it's under the 2:54 my youngest brother had spring 2012, giving him the Bistor Family LMT Best Overall Time. We flip the canoe or zigzag or the river is really slow, and that 60 is gone. I think 9:30 for 5 miles is very possible, but we'll see. Killer Hill is pretty predictable: it's going to suck for 5 minutes. The bike could get a flat, or I could crash again, chain could break, etc. But I'm pumped!
I got the PVC pipes and connectors the other day, and I borrowed a power compound miter saw from a buddy. Once that's done, I'll post photos.
I've been eating pretty clean. I'm giving up diet pop and just drinking water and black coffee at work. I saw Hungry for Change and Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Both great documentaries on diet. I borrowed a juicer from a co-worker, and (inspired by the documentaries) this fall I will try a juice cleanse for a few days. Just trying to clean up the diet.
That's all for now.
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