New gear

Got some new tri gear today. Louis Garneau Tri X Shoes and a transition bag. Still need to buy an aero helmet, bottle carriage holder for back of the seat, and the edge 500 mount for aero bars. Triathlons is indeed an expensive sport. Next year other half of the gear will get old and need replacing. The vicious cycle continues.

Louis Garneau Tri X

TYR transition bag

The TYR transition bag has good volume. It has smaller compartments inside the main large one and also has a separate sleeve for stashing the wetsuit. It's moderately priced at $68 as compared to others from Zoot, DeSoto and Blue Seventy. Surely will be juggling less # of bags around @Wildflower this year.

My first century ride

Since I am focusing on bigger goals later this year, I am tending to overlook intermediate incremental achievements. Like the first century ride I completed yesterday. In hindsight, I realized that finishing the Tierra Bella 100 miler is a big milestone in my biking/triathlon quest, and deserves a mention on this blog.

Registration

I reached Gavilan College shortly before 7 AM and went straight to registration. I got my wrist band, hit the restrooms, and headed back to the car to change. I wanted to start the ride at 7 AM with the ambitious plan of finishing in 7.5 hours, and be back home by ~3:30 PM. It was a cold morning so I had to adorn the whole shebang - arm/leg warmers, head band, two layered jerseys, windcheater, and toe covers. Armed with a CLIF bar, a bunch of GUs and Sportlegs, I started at 7:30 AM.

I started off easy warming up for the first 5 miles or so. After that I tried to remain in my low steady zone (~150-160W), going to tempo (170-180W) on the first hill. The first hill is quite short, roughly 1000 ft of climb. I was passing people left and right, but that didn't mean anything since most riders at Tierra Bella are recreational cyclists. I also passed a woman and a man who were riding tri bikes as well. As if to justify me passing them, the lady said to the man, "Are you still warming up? Yeah, me too." And a few seconds later, "On the ride last weekend, I wanted a bigger chain ring so bad. Bigger gear pleaseee." If she already needed a bigger gear, she will be going backward on Henry Coe. Anyhow, the first rest stop came to me after the first climb. After a quick restroom break, a PBJ sandwich, trail mix, and banana bread I got back on. After some rolling hills, some flats, and battling some head winds, I would reach the next rest stop 25 miles later, at the bottom of the Henry Coe climb. That is if I stayed on the correct path. I took a wrong turn and ended up half way up the first climb again. People who started late were still heading up so I didn't realize soon enough. The landscape and the scenery seemed familiar to me, so I asked a lady if she had already passed the first rest stop. She said she was eagerly looking forward to her first rest stop at the top of the hill. I was like F$@^, I just put in over 2 extra non-flat miles.

Henry Coe felt much longer than it felt 2 years ago. Last time I thought it go over relatively quickly as I was prepared for the worst. That was my frame of reference this time around, which made the climb feel ENORMOUS, but rightly so. I was making sure I was fueling constantly and hydrating. Rest stop at the top was a good respite. Again a restroom break, quick refueling with the delicious race food and on the saddle. The next 25 miles were some downhill and a lot of riding against the wind. Damn wind. It is very typical in that region for winds to blow in excess of 15 mph. I paired up with someone my speed and took turns slipstreaming for a few miles. I made the fourth and the last rest stop at the 6 hr mark. There were still hopes to finish in 7.5 hours. Decision to use the port-a-potty at the rest stop was wise, even though it cost me 10 mins. I filled up the bottle and Camelbak and the jersey pocket with trailmix, and got back on the saddle. Legs were feeling pretty tired by now. Power was down to 130-140W, but with some tailwind I was moving at a decent speed. But not for too long - we hit a hill at mile 91. Are you serious??? After the hill I think I took a wrong turn again and ended up spending ~10 mins finding my way on Google Maps. I had entered a Downtown-like area, so took quite a few traffic light to get out. With ~10 miles to go, I was suddenly feeling energized. Gentle tailwind was definitely helping, even mentally. After a final hilly bump at mile I made it back to Gavilan College after 7 hrs 55 mins.

I headed straight for the food and hogged down 2 full plates of pasta, veggies and garlic bread. Stretched a bit, took a leak, hopped back in the car and headed home. I really wanted to do a transition run, but I had already exceeded my time quota for the day. My goal going in to this ride was to benchmark myself for Full Vineman, so in spite of a very fun and satisfying experience, but I was still a bit disappointed by my time. Great day overall at an amazingly organized cycling tour.

Battling injuries

Getting injured is the worst thing that can happen as the race is closing in. All the hard work and hours of training put in, can go wasted. I have had my share of sports injuries and still it is endless. I'd give anything to know the secret of injury-free training. The obvious thing to do is to not go too fast too soon. I tried that, but it didn't work. Some would say I still ramped up my volume too quickly, or I went too fast too soon, but I'd like to hear something else. Anyhow, I have been battling a handful of minor injuries recently. Luckily, none have been too bad to significantly affect my training, but they have gotten me worried and cautious. Here's the list of injuries in chronological order:

Injury: Nerve pain in left arm
Date of infliction: Early February
Cause: Unknown
Status: Ongoing but improving
Past treatment: Gabapentin, Ibuprofen, EMG tests
Current treatment: None - wait and see

Injury: Left hip pain
Date of infliction: Early March
Cause: Change in bike fit, increased biking intensity
Status: Resolved
Treatment: PT, Strengthening glutes
Preventive measure: Foam rolling, Icing, stretching

Injury: Right knee pain - microtrauma
Date of infliction: Mid March
Cause: Increased biking intensity, tight right quad
Status: Resolved
Treatment: Reduced intensity on bike, foam rolling right quad
Preventive measure: Foam rolling quad, Icing, stretching, less riding in big ring

Injury: Right heel pain
Date of infliction: Early April
Cause: Long weekend ride with low fuel
Status: Ongoing
Treatment: Eccentric heel drops, foam rolling right calf, icing, rest

Gah! So annoying.

No sugar, Low carb, high protein until Wildflower

I am currently hovering around 132 lbs and it is getting increasingly difficult to shed those last pounds around the waist. Frankly I never thought I'd come down to 132, so I am happy, but if I have come this far, why not go the last mile. An what's better than to declare your resolution on the Internet? So here it goes - I will be going dry starting tomorrow. Since I don't drink, for me, going dry is basically cutting sugar and lowering carbs. That's pretty difficult for me since I have a sweet tooth. The 4 weeks Dry April challenge starts now! 

Am I ready for WF?

Today I was comparing my recent bike rides with the rides I did around the same time last year. I could not do a direct comparison since some rides were missing HR data, and some power, but overall they looked pretty similar to me, which is a bit worrisome. The only upsides this year are that I have been training through the winter, my running is much better, and I have lost significant weight. In addition to being fitter, I want to plan my nutrition much better this time around. After yesterday's bonk ride, I wouldn't say I am doing a good job with that, but I will try. Having a good pre-race routine and a good night's sleep the previous night are critical. Here are a few new things I will be trying this year:

• Gluten free early dinner the previous night
• Hit the sack early - use some of coach's techniques
• Wear warm clothing pre-race and stay comfy
• Listen to music to get pumped up and stay calm at the same time
• Get a new kit bag
• Sip on IM perform on race morning
• Possibly use a new 910XT
• Use salt tabs
• Use IM perform on the bike
• Aero wheels on the bike
• New aero bars
• Aero helmet
• Have my own bottle of coke for the run
• Be at race weight for WF - target 132 lbs on race morning

After enumerating all things new gives me a bit more confidence that WF this year might go much better than last year. Still, I am not shooting for anything too outrageous. I will be happy if I comfortably beat the 6 hours mark. So, am I ready for WF? Heck yes, I am.