SBR "U" (Page 92)

Marc - thanks for that last post.  Gives me lots to think about.

Also, the speed increase you found for the guy at the F1 track.  Think we need to organize an SBR "U" day at the track!!

Anyone see Lionel Sanders recent video blog on how much he plans to drink at Kona?  Seems insane to me, but he's obviously testing it - just can't imagine getting through that many liquids.

http://lsanderstri.com/

I thought Barrie Shepley was his coach?

I agree with you though, I suspect he'll have a tough day with an epic implosion.  

Too bad about the race Marc.    It sucks when you have a mysterious off day like that on race day.

How were the conditions? Nice wind from the north yesterday. Also had seen beach warnings show up. 4-8 ft waves possible which could also mean some rip currents.

I think so too, but wonder how much control of the workouts he has?

He'll be fun to watch as he's such a prospect with this, but ultimately agree with you guys. Just don't think he's figured out Ironman well enough yet. Maybe not very well at all. How good has he really done at one yet? Outside of the non-swim Florida that is.

Would make sense.  But Lionel should also be smarter about this stuff - he just needs to look at Cody Beals and see someone who came up the ranks with him and is more scientifc/smarter about his total approach and how far he's come as a result (less talent/great results - but still not comparable to Lionel).  I've met Barry on a couple of occasions and he's a super guy to talk to, but he's one of those guys who can pull you in and mesmorize you a bit.  I think he really hypes of Lionel to the public, and I can only think he likely does something similar to Lionel as well.  Put a great coach behind Lionel, give him a year, and it would be interesting to see how much more he could close the gap to the Pro's that have been doing this their whole lives.

Wish the swim had gone better for you Marc - obviously sets up what you experienced with a rough day for the rest of it.  Glad you got to at least soak in the atmosphere for some of the race.

Question.  I know you love metrics, since wearing the new Garmin strap has HR data affected how you approach your swim at all?

Who's running shorter cranks in the group?  Starting to think about if I should consider making a move to anything from 155-165mm (currently on 172.5).

So my first questions to you would be: what's your build and are you trying to fix a fit problem?

I ride 172.5 on my tri bike, and I'm 6'2 with long legs.  I had 170s on my road bike for awhile and even that always felt weird to me.  I can't imagine going with less.  It's just engaging the muscles in a smaller range and feels like I'm not getting all the leverage and power that I could have, or at least not as comfortably.

For what it's worth, when I was fitting, I tried out 175s and that put my knees up a little too high for the amount of drop I had on the bars.  So if you're playing around with that, maybe look into the cranks, otherwise personally I would not.

I asked earlier about making power improvements over the winter - the second part of that equation is position improvements.  To answer Mark's question - I'm just under 6'1 with long legs, short torso.  I'm on a Speed Concept, size Large and I don't know that I fit it properly, but have made do with the way it is.  That said, I know my position leaves a lot to be desired.  One of the areas I find is a bit problematic are my hip flexors, and I wonder if they are too closed off.

So, I'm considering the shorter cranks for a couple of reasons:

1)  Open the hip angle
2)  Give me the option to try a lower position

The bars are currently about as low as they'll go (maybe one small spacer left), so I was thinking about buying a cheap adjustable stem so I could play with the position at the same time I tried a shorter crank. 

Goes very much to what you said - section in the article saying this exact thing.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/2015/09/19/sink-or-swim-how-the-ironman-saved-lionel-sanders-from-himself.html

I'll have to measure again.  Off the top of my head I believe it is about 12 cm, but will check tonight. 

Have been really thinking about getting a fit from a local guy who is quite good, but have also emailed Andy F to find out when they are testing in Milton again since they do the Retul fit at the same time - price point may be too high now, but we'll see.

Yep, 12cm drop.

Neil, I am not a Speed Concept rider, but with your build being like mine, a large probably is a bit long on the top tube for you.  You can pull things in with the stem and bars but it's something to be aware of.

I'd check your measurements here, just for general awareness:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/Store/catalog/fitCalculatorBike.jsp

then go to a fitter for more detailed work.  The shorter crank arms may be worth trying, the only hesitation being the expense (esp. if you already have a crank based PM).  I haven't had an issue with my hip flexors though, so I don't know for sure.