konichiwa's mentor group - Are we having fun yet? - FULL (Page 9)

Hey Keri, great pics!   thanks for the invite, but until I get feeling back in the....uhum....underworld, I'll pass.  Been to Conroe a few times though, and Galveston was fun!

Thanks for the kudos on my race.  made me smile

Glad to hear the party was fabulous.  Great pics!

Thanks Guys!  

It's funny this triathlon stuff.  First you look to finish, then you start thinking....I can do better.  As for the Eagleman 70.3, I was looking to finish, then I was thinking I can best my buddies times at Eagleman last year (they were around 6:15). I ran a 5:52.  Now, two days later, and I'm all about a 5:30 next year! 

You'll be happy with the Aevero stuff.  It'll wear out a little more quickly, but hey, at that price just buy another.

Tim, bike frames last basically forever with proper maintenance and no accidents.  I donated my 1983 Bridgestone a few years back (which I'm bummed about now) and still have my 1988 GT Road bike.  You basically have steel, aluminum and carbon fiber frames (or some mix thereof).  Your components wear out before the frame (brakes, shifters, chain, crank etc.)

For under $2K, you can get a nice setup.  Last year, I bought a new '07 Felt F4 (Carbon Fiber) Road bike with Shimano Dura ace/Ultegra components for about 1800.   It's a road bike, but I do a lot of recreational riding too.  (Charity rides, centuries, etc.).

So, tell the Mrs. "Forever".  IMHO!

Many big time manufacturers will have a limited warranty on their frames for life.  I know Trek and Specialized both do.  Generally speaking, I wouldn't consider the frame a "wear item".  Similar to cars, most ppl will upgrade before the condition of the item requires one to do so.

One thing my local LBS said to be is to buy the nicest frame you can afford now, and then upgrade the components (wheels, crank, gruppo etc.) over the next couple of years.  Then for the next bike you can just buy a new frame instead of a whole new bike.

On the $1000 side, you are looking at an entry level aluminum road bike.  For $2000 you can get a alum frame with a nicer gruppo (e.g. Ultegra) or a carbon fiber frame with a basic gruppo/wheelset.  At least this is my general evaluation of the larger manufacturers...trek, specialized, felt, cannondale, etc.  There are certainly cheaper bikes out there for other brands, but those I am less familiar with.

-Tim

Tim,

How do I go about defining what is limiting my bike performance?   I know a good bike fit is probably a start, but should I begin more weight training, less endurance training etc.?   Is this even possible?  

Charlie2

For the rest of this week, hell!!!  2 hour bike ride on Wednesday (hopefully not in the rain)  Thursday 75 minute bike ride Friday day off or maybe swim, Saturday 20min run, 30min bike, 20 min run, 30 min bike, 20 min run. 

For those who have done IM's these numbers don't seem high, but I have never ran or biked (except as a kid) these distances.  I just jogged for an hour on Monday and got in 6miles.  While finishing I thought back to when I started and had to walk part of the way just to make it a mile.  70.3 here I come. 

Thanks everyone for the info on the bike.  I'm sure it will make my wife feel better.

I guess it depends on what type of race you are trying to maximize your performance in.  For sprints or oly you can get away with rides never exceed two hrs.  For a HIM you probably want a ton of rides at or longer than your anticipated HIM bike split.  In either case the two things I think would help anyone are (1) riding more/longer, and (2) riding smarter.

Taking a look at riding more....I try to ride 4x per week.  I do one long ride on the wknd, one group ride (i.e. lots of short hard intervals) that's typically 1.5hrs, and the other 2 rides are a combination of tempo/LT/VO2max intervals or an easier ride.  Clearly, work, family, life, etc. make it hard to get them in ever single week, but you get the general idea.

As far as riding longer, I've been doing a 3hr ride (or longer) each weekend (excluding cutback weeks) since mid-March for a mid-July HIM.  Currently the rides are 4-4.5hrs and I've increased the intensity of the rides along the way.  Rides in March were mostly z2 pace, and now I'll throw in 2x1hr tempo into the ride and even some z4.

The riding smarter piece is simply put, "not always riding at the same pace".  I didn't look at your workouts specifically to know how you trained for EM, but this is one of the easier changes as it doesn't take any more time.  Depending on your fitness, you may take a weekday 1.5hr ride and throw in 4x10' z3/tempo with (2') rest in between.  Eventually you work that up to longer intervals...3x15 (3').....2x30 (5').  Once you are comfortable at the z3/tempo intervals then I start working in some z4.  Again starting at fewer minutes and building it up.  You can use RPE if you don't follow HR or use power.  Basically, you want to make sure you pace yourself so you are not fading over the last cpl intervals.

Beyond that, if the course is hilly, then losing weight will help.  I wouldn't worry about weight training as multiple studies have show little or no correlation b/t strength training and cycling performance.  I'd take that 1hr a week or so that you weight train and throw in another bike ride with some intervals if you can.

Fit and equipment can certainly help.

If you have the time, then ride more.  Regardless though, make sure you vary the effort on your rides.

Also, don't worry too much about your EM time.  I was reading on another forum and pretty much most had slower than expected bike splits b/c of the wind.  one coach even said that his 2:30 athletes road 2:40 and the 2:45 athletes road 3:00.  We all like to say I want a x:xx bike split, but you never know what the conditions will be on that day.

Let me know if anything isn't clear or if you have any other questions.

-Tim

Hi guys! Regarding the rest of the week, Tim and I are doing a half marathon with a coworker of mine on Saturday. Then, its off to meet our friends in Frederick, MD, for a medium-distance ride before going to a summer solstice party. Sunday will be our long ride -- one of the last ones before Mussleman! Looking forward to next week already, as its our taper and then the Philly tri (OLY) on the 28th!!!

It woulda been cool to meet up.  Next time.  We meet our friends a cpl times a year somewhere b/t Frederick, MD and Gettysburg, PA to do some riding. 

Will definitely look up Coxey Brown Rd.  Have you ever done Harp Hill Rd or the climbs in Catoctin Park?  Those are some of the regulars we do in your neck of the woods.

-Tim