kenj group - Closed (Page 6)

 Ugh, my response just got eaten!!  To make a long story short...variety is the spice of life andthe  fresher the better with fruits and vegetables.  We need a variety of vitamins and minerals in different quantities so if you have a staple of 5 or 6 meals, try to find another 5 or 6 to integrate (I know in our house it's often eggs for breakfast, veggie burger for lunch and pasta for dinner...but we rotate what kind of veggies we throw in the omelets, what toppings go on the burger, what accompanies the pasta).  

Must be I'm typing too slow because I'm getting weird pop-ups!

 Anywho, I think one eye opener for me has been how people in general drink their calories (outside of training).  So, be sure to read drink labels.  The rule of thumb for myself is I only use sports drinks if I'm training for over an hour.  

 Ken,

Thanks for the help.  I am actually looking at the R28 Aero4s, which is the model above the M28s.  They are about 1600 grams and they have some scratch and dents for right about $220.  I have found several online reviews and they seem to be a very good wheel.  I do agree about the weight thing, I weigh 230 lbs so a pound or two shouldn't matter much.  However, from what I have read and back from my college physics classes, the weight of items that rotate is significant due to rotational inertia.  I also think that a higher quality wheel is going to roll better.  I think I am going to pull the trigger on these wheels but I likely won't bother putting them on until I get the bike off the trainer in the spring.  Maybe then I will do a side by side comparision to see how much, if any, difference they make.  I am hoping to gain about 1 mph from my stock wheels. 

OK, my $.02 worth....

Rotating mass is more important for acceleration than it is for constant velocity - very important for automobiles on a road track with lots of braking and acceleration, not so important for oval track racing where speed is more constant.  For climbing, the overall weight of the wheel is more important. 

The MOST important part of making a bicycle go fast on the flat is aerodynamic drag.  Aerodynamic drag accounts for about 80% of the effort put into flat road cycling, and the rider makes up about 80% of that drag.  The bike and wheels account for the rest.  A good wheel can reduce the bike's drag by about 5% - or about 1% of the overall drag.

So, if you're worried about a race with a lot of climbing and you've lost as much of your own weight as possible, purchased a lightweight frame, stripped off all but the most essential items, then go for the light wheel set. 

If you're basically on flat roads, get yourself in an aerodynamic position, concentrate on the rolling resistance of the wheels and tires, and THEN worry about the drag from the wheels.

http://accel95.mettre-put-idata.over-blog.com/0/02/72/10/Tests-Acheteur/base-de-donnees/aero_english.jpg

I'm going to say that anything less than a high dollar Zipp-type wheel set over a long distance won't make more than a few second's time difference for a rider like me.  I believe I lose more time by mis-managing my speed in the corners than I do by riding low-end wheels. 

That said...if you like 'em, buy 'em.  I'll own a set of Zipps one day, just 'cause.

[edit] When I read this after I posted it I thought it sounded a bit snooty.  I didn't mean for it to.  I'm just passing along the information I read on the subject when I was shopping wheels. [/edit]

That is the smart approach!  And it gives you a good opportunity to focus on your swimming. 

You might also want to search the articles.  There are a few good articles on dealing with PF.

That is an interesting plan.  I guess I need to write down what I eat for a few days as it said that I need about 3300 calories.  I've started taking off some of my off season weight gain by just cutting back. 

I hope it is successful for you.  The sample meal plans look easy enough to follow.

I had my metabolic profile done in a lab last September.  My resting metabolic rate was 1880, and total daily calories with non exercise was 2418.

The online calculator in your link was very close to that.  RMR = 1778.  Total Calories: 2223.  My V02 max is above the normal range so that probably accounts for the higher numbers in the lab.  Sure looks to me like the online calculator is sufficient for what you're trying to do.  Hell, my daily calorie counts were probably off by more than 200.

Don't forget to eat lots of pie.  Bicycles are powered by pie you know. 

Thanks for checking in on the bike.   My husband picked it out and bought it and then I was fitted for it at the bike shop.  I raced on it in September and it was fine, so I'm not sure why I've been uncomfortable with it now.  I've played with the seat placement and it's feeling much better.  I'm going to keep the stock seat through the early spring and I'll decide on whether to switch it out or not when I'm getting ready to do my first century ride. =) Plus, I just upgraded my cycling shorts.

 This causes a predicament... If I have these nice cushy shorts on for my training then how am I going to get used to something much thinner in a race?  

Sara,

This is the advice I was given on saddles and it made a world of difference. 

First, measure the distance between your ischial tuberosity (sit bones).  You can sit on a flat piece of wood and mark where your bones touch the wood with a pencil.  Then, measure the distance between these marks.  I'm told that women have, on average, a wider spread between sit bones than men.  Measure this distance in CM. 

Now, look for saddles that are flat at the top for at least this distance plus five or ten CM.  This will give you a flat saddle to sit on where your sit bones contact the saddle.  I finally purchased a Specialized 155 cm saddle.  While it's not perfect for me, it's SO much better than anything else I've ridden that I'm happy with it for now.  I've put about 3,000 miles on it.

Any LBS that carries Specialized will probably have a memory foam cushion you can sit on which will retain the indention of your sit bones for a measurement.  Remember, more cushion is not always better.

Best of luck!!!!

Hey guys! Sorry I've been non-existant simce page 3, been really crammed for time and all that nonsense..

Glad to see everybody's doing well! Who's ready for spring!?

I'm not sure how much time you have on your bike, but a seat does take some breaking in.  But looking at different seats and seat positions could certainly improve the biking experience.

Also, is your discomfort something new on the trainer or did you experience it outside as well?  If it has only been on your trainer, you may want to try adjusting the front tire up or down with a phone book or with the risers you can buy.  If the front is too low, you may be putting more pressure on the front of your seat than you normally would outside, because you are leaning forward more than normal.  I know it was a factor for me.

I would also suggest that once you get closer to race date, you do some training in what ever shorts you plan on racing, just to get used to them.  56 miles is a long ways in an outfit that rubs you the wrong way. 

Personally I prefer the thinner cushioning of the tri shorts.  Probably due to having too much God given cushioning of my own!

Glad to hear that it is fairly accurate, although I am still somewhat skeptical of the calorie burn chart.  Seems somewhat high to me, but I would think with Carmichael they would have some background with that.

That is funny about the pies.  I live in the Finger Lakes of NY, which is also grape and wine country.  A group I ride with like to ride around Canandaigua Lake  fairly regularly.  It's a nice 45 mile loop with some great climbing.  Anyhow, about half way there is a pie stand and we had always joked about stopping for pies, but never did.  This past fall one of the guys organized a grape tart ride with the goal of stopping for tarts as they would be easier to ride with.  Unfortunately I had a conflict and had to miss it.

Good to hear from you! We certainly understand knowing your school schedule.  You are doing great getting your training in with everything else you have going on!

Hey guys...

So went to the sports massage/PT last night.  Interesting session.  She's a very "basic" person. She does not belive in a lot of tools.  Users her hands for everything.  The only exception was her cupping machine.

I'm sure we've all see the technique where they place a burning object under a glass cup which creates a vacuum on your skin.  Same principle but this uses a vacuum pump.

It's really pretty amazing.  It creates quite a bit of suction on your body.  She puts lotion on the area and slides it around.  It pulls the skin and muscle tissue AWAY from the body relieving inflammation.  When she hit the spot on my glute the pain went away instantly.  Of course it comes back eventually but we cannot expect results in one session.

Also it shows where the "knots" are.  After 30 mins of the cupping you could actually see the ripples in my legs where there were "knots".  She then worked them out (PAINFULLY) with her hands.

I'll be going back weekly for the next few weeks to see if we can get this thing worked out.  She also said she has a few runners who come in to have it done 1-2 days BEFORE a race and they claim they feel better and have less pain after the races because of it.  Might have to give that a shot.

Got in a 45 min swim after the massage while my son took his swim lessons.  Pool was PACKED!

And of course the most important news of the day.

The University of Florida Gators are the National Champs!!!!!

Congrats to al the Gator fans!

That is an interesting treatment.  I had not heard of that before!  I hope it works out.

Thanks for the supportive messages.  I'm glad to say I made it through a full work week and managed to stay on my training plan which fortunately included a glorious day of rest. 

Sounds like you all have tons of bike expertise and could use your advice on a bike purchase.   I am all the way in now and shopping for a reasonable priced bike. Any suggestions? I'm 6'0" with a 32 inseam. Does that equate to a 54 or 56 cm frame?  I have 4 sprints and one olympic tri scheduled and registered from end of March to October.  I did some searching on eBay and Craigs but ???