We are staying in Waikiki Friday and Saturday because we decide to combine the Triathlon event with our house tenting to kill of those asset killing white ants.
So for those of you who read the last post on the Waterfront Tri you know that I'm looking at the numbers and making changes to beat the guy in front of me. As previously stated my swim was pretty much as expected, my bike was a good for a first tri but my run was down right slow. My weakest link..
Lets start off with a thank you to my (Sponsors)
- My wife Grace who looks the other way when I really cannot justify the purchase of a new part. But want it anyway.
- Mom and Dad. Yes at my age I'm still getting $$ Support for fun stuff.
- My Brother Eric who provide Debit relief from a previous camera purchase. Thanks Helen for asking I never would have.
- My Tri Bro Matt who pretty much open up his parts bin to me and just stated "Use what you can to go faster".
What is all the fuse about tires... Rubber is Rubber (Right) Wrong.... There is a ton of research out there on rolling resistance and tire compounds. I was able to find all the data I need to make the switch to better tires. I recently upgrade my old tires from Specialized All weather to Continental Triathlon. There are faster tires out there but I'm not what you would call the most observant rider. I needed something that could handle some glass and other road hazards. These slicks are designed to take a few road hits. The tires arrived as promised on Wednesday so it was back to my private TT course for the test and I really believe they are faster. I know that I can get the "I'm faster now" placebo affect going so that could be some of it but I clocked the fastest time to date on the loop. They also look pretty cool as well.
Picked up a set of Aero bars that retailed for $140 from a friend for $30. After a week of adjustment they feel pretty good. Found out that they can increase your wreakablity... A Norm Word. Almost dumped my bike on a (U) turn on the last ride before the tri...
Now that I'm riding in the Aero position my ball are going numb on longer rides. After a discussion with Matt on the subject he appeared from his toy box with 4 different seats to try. All with a history (Crashed on this one) ( This one came on my first cool bike) (Needed this one but didn't like it.) Where to start... Well I'm a numbers guy so I put them all on the scale and started from the lightest. First one was good for about 6 miles and then no matter how I adjusted it I could not get comfortable. Second one and current one San Marcos was pretty comfortable but I needed to adjust it a centimeter each ride until I could get the angle just right. To much angle and I would slide down the seat, not enough and no balls after the ride.
Keeping in mind what a bike shop tech told me. "Work on the places where you meet the bike first"
Peddles and shoes were next on the list. I've been running the same shoe and peddle for the last 6 years. Move them from my mountain bike were I beat them to death during our stay in Micronesia. It was just time to move up to road bike petals and shoes and I didn't want to make a number of steps getting this figured out. I researched peddles for weeks. Studies, Recommendation, Pro, Cons. I really wanted to get this right and felt that this was a major factor in being able to put power to the road. Once the research was done I dug deep into the wallet and put the money down. Shimano Ultegra peddles and Shimano Tri shoes. Both are solid. I think I got this one right.
Now for the run. What part of the run is not all me. Shoes.. I didn't know a good shoe from a bad shoe. All the research I could find would state if you find a good running shoe marry it for life... How do you find this shoe was always subjective. Trips to Walmart and Kmart always left me wondering if I knew more about shoes than the one helping me. I need solid help and I need it now. Not from someone that need a part time job but some who runs and knows runners. I'm looking on the Internet for a running store and came across Runners HI in Aiea. On my way home one day I stopped in for a visit. Not to purchase just a visit like Walmart. Right from the start the (Guy) forget his name started the interview. What are you doing, How much do you run every week, What do you like about your current shoes, what do you not like. Can you walk for me so I can watch you. Now can you run for me. I have 4 sets of shoes you should try on and run around the shop in. After 20 min I was down to 2 pair and settled on the Brooks Defyance 3. He also recommended speed laces because I'm doing Triathlons. Out of all the equipment I have ever purchased I love this one the most. These are the first shoes that I don't think about. I love these shoes. Light and very comfortable. I think the speed laces have a great deal to do with this because I always seemed to have pain on the top of my foot because the laces never seemed to be just right. With speed laces they adjust to your foot.
Running form was the next area of focus. Chi Running tapes and guidance from Matt was the core of my workout. As Matt would say " Form first speed later" I'm not a person who likes to go slow and working on form was not my kind of fun but I needed to improve. I slowed down and focus on form, Head up, Focus on my column, Foot strike, Hands, ....Focus Focus Focus... one at a time focus....Watch the CD.... Run focus Watch the CD. It started to work. Pain in my knee's start to go away, Pain in my hip started to go way.. Pain in my muscles increased. My form was different my body need to change to muscles up for form change.. I started running longer distance, 4 mile runs, 6 Miles runs 8 miles runs... Each with less pain and faster. I started doing the Tuesday 5:30 Runners HI group run around Fort Island. Now the question is. Can I pace myself during the Swim and the Bike to have some legs for the Run. Sunday will tell the story. Here we go.... (All Smiles this is a blast.)
