Well, my training is winding down again in anticipation of another 70.3 – my third of the season.  So, rather than bore you with complaining about how much the taper sucks, I thought I would try and give you something useful – some product reviews.  Enjoy!

Standard Product Review Disclaimer: All items were either purchased by myself or received as a gift purchased by a family member (ie. Jennie).  I am not receiving any compensation from any of the listed companies (however, I would be will to accept any sponsorship they may wish to offer).

Michelin Krylion Carbon Tires (700x25c)

Link: http://two-wheels.michelin.com/2w/front/index.jsp?codePage=2092004115340_21032005140627&codeRubrique=2092004115340&lang=EN

List Price: $60

I bought these tires after my first set, Continental UltraRace tires, started to wear out.  I purchased these tires from biketiresdirect.com for about $20 under list price.  I selected them mainly based on the reviews the website offered.  So far, they have been great.  While there has been a lot of talk lately about flatting (here, here and here), I’m going to knock on wood before I say this.  I have not had a single flat with these tires.  There, I said.  Nearly 2,000 miles and no flats.  Because of the lack of flats, I am rating these tires pretty high.  I still don’t know exactly how long they are going to last before they wear out, but so far, so good. 

Rating: (4.5 out of 5 wheels)

Profile Design Aerodrink

Link: http://www.fizik.it/product.aspx?c=ARIONE-TRI2-Wing_Flex

List Price: $20

I got this Aerodrink bottle as a birthday gift from Jennie back in July.  I have now used it in two races (Steelhead 70.3 and Millennium Sprint Tri) as well as a couple of training rides.  When I first got it, I was a little leery of it because it attached to the aerobars using only a couple of rubber bands.  Also, with the configuration of my aerobars, there isn’t a lot of surface area where the bottle is supported by the bars.  Surprisingly, the rubber bands hold the water very securely.

My first ride with the Aerodrink was a mess.  I didn’t use the sponge at all and put the straw in the larger hole (where the black lid is).  Within the first mile I was soaked with sticky Gatorade.  Every bump I hit splashed me with the sticky goodness.

For my second ride (the Steelhead 70.3 race), I added the sponge beneath the black lid and used the secondary straw hole instead.   This really cut down on the splashage.  It also made it really easy to refill the bottle on the go.  Had the straw been in the hole through the black lid, it would have been difficult to open and refill.  I also found that as long as I take a few big sips right away, it lowers the level of the fluid enough that it doesn’t splash as much.  I just have to remember to only drink on the smooth roads.  If the road is too bumpy, you risk the straw digging into the roof of your mouth.

Overall, this has been a great addition to my bike.  I’m giving it 4 out of 5 wheels mainly because there is a bit of splashage regardless of how hard you try to avoid it.  In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a huge deal, but it is a bit annoying.

Rating: (4 out of 5 wheels)

Profile Design: Airstryke Aerobars

Link: http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/products/aerobars/aluminum-aerobars/airstryke.html

List Price: $125

This is my second set of aerobars.  I bought this set of aerobars when I went in for my bike fitting.  My previous set (the Century bars – see below) didn’t adjust on the horizontal plane which made it hard to get a good fit.

The biggest downside to these bars are that the arm rests are spring loaded.  When not in use, the pads flip up.  While this does afford some extra handle bar space when not in use, they are quite noisy when going over rough roads.  The salesman did warn about this when I bought them and it did take some getting used to, but it was still annoying at first.  Had I not been warned, I would have thought my bike was falling apart when I hit the bumpy sections of roads.  Of course, this can al be solved by staying aero as much as possible.

Compared to the Century aerobars, these are much more comfortable.  However, I think this is purely related to the fact that I am fit to these aerobars and in a more comfortable position overall.

If you are in the market for some aerobars, I would recommend this set.  The only thing you will need to consider is the fact that they are single piece and may not fit all handlebars if the stem is too wide.  Some configurations may require aerobars that are separate bars which allow you to customize the width between the bars.

Rating: (4.5 out 5 wheels)

Profile Design: Century Aerobars

Link: http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/products/aerobars/aluminum-aerobars/century.html

List Price: $78

The Century Aerobars were my first set of aerobars.  I selected this set of aerobars simply because they were the cheapest ones I could find.  These worked great for me on my first bike and my newer bike until I had a bike fit.

My first two years of racing involved primary sprints and Olympic distance races, so I didn’t notice any problems with these aerobars.  It wasn’t until I had an actual bike fit that I realized how poorly the aerobars actually worked for me.  The lack of horizontal adjustment is what did these bars in.  However, if you were able to be fit to the bars without needing any horizontal adjustment, then these are a great starter pair of aero bars.

Rating: (3 out of 5 wheels)

Profile Design: RM1 Saddle Mount Water Bottle Cage

Link: http://www.profile-design.com/profile-design/products/hydration/all-hydration/rm1.html

List Price:

I have had the RM1 bottle cages for a little over a year now.  I bought them back in the summer of 2009 in anticipation of my first Steelhead 70.3 race.  At that time, I knew that having only two bottle cages on my bike would not be enough to get me through a 56 mile ride.  In one of the two cages, I usually keep an old water bottle which holds my bike tools (multi-tool, CO2 cartridge, and tire levers) leaving me with one cage for an extra water bottle.  Because of the location of the cages, it really isn’t possible to use both the cages and saddle bag which requires storing the tools in the water bottle.

For the first year or so (about 10 months), these cages worked great.  However, after that, they have rapidly started to deteriorate.  First off, the elasticity of the cages has worn out and water bottles will shoot out of the cages when going over larger bumps like railroad tracks.  This was easily solved by adding extra rubber bands to hold the water bottles in place.  This works well, but it makes it harder to remove the water bottles with only one hand.  The second problem has been more of nuisance.   There is a single screw that allows you to adjust the angle of the cages.  After about 100 miles of riding this screw will loosen enough that the cages will be dangling below the seat.  In one case, the cages actually fell off the big. 

The fact that the main screw needs tightening every once in a while wouldn’t be a huge deal if it wasn’t such a pain in the ass to tighten.  Because of the location of screw in relation to the cages, it is nearly impossible to tighten the screw without removing at least one of the cages.

I contact Profile Design about my problems and they suggested using Loctite on the screw.  I don’t have any Loctite on hand, but I am going to try a locking washer to see if that solves the problem.  Regardless, it has been more of a pain than it has been worth.  Especially now that I have the Aerodrink, this cage has become almost worthless.

Rating: (2 out of 5 wheels)

Fi’zi:k Arione Tri 2 Wing Flex

Link: http://www.fizik.it/product.aspx?c=ARIONE-TRI2-Wing_Flex

List Price: $159

This is my latest purchase for the bike.  I purchased this new saddle earlier this week after noticing that my current saddle was in poor shape.  Below is a picture of the bottom of my previous saddle with the cracks highlighted in red.

I actually noticed the cracks in the saddle shortly before Steelhead this year and they had me worried.  However, at that time, I was leery to swap out saddles that close to race time.

Even though I have two more races this season (a HIM and sprint), I decided that now was the time to invest in a new saddle.  After reading multiple reviews, I settled on the Arione Tri 2.  Now, I realize that it isn’t wise to base choose a saddle based on reviews alone because the fit of a saddle varies from person to person.  With that in mind, I chose a saddle very close (if not identical) in size and shape to my current saddle.

At this time, I have only done one ride with the new saddle.  The first thing I have noticed is that it is much stiffer than my old one (TWSS).  Because my old saddle had a couple of cracks in it, I got used to the fact that it had a bit more give to it.  So, I think it will take a few rides to get used to a new saddle.  Other than that, I have high hopes for this saddle and will hopefully report back with an actual rating at some point.  For now though, I can only give this a “TBD” for a rating.

Rating: TBD

Thanks for reading.  I hope these reviews have helped you if only a little bit.  Are there any products that you couldn’t like without?  Ones that you regret ever buying the first place?

All week I have been struggling on the run.  Actually, more accurately, I have been struggling on the last mile of my runs. I did three runs earlier this week.  8 miles, 6 miles and 5 miles.  The runs have all started out great, but after 7, 5, and 4 miles respectively, I fell apart.  The last mile of each run was over a minute slower than the rest of my miles.  While my average pace on each run was above average for me (7:45, 7:58, and 7:57), I finished each run mentally defeated because the last mile was so much slower than the rest of the run.

Today, however, was different.  I embarked on my weekly long run.  I set out with Jennie on the bike for 12 miles; my longest run since Steelhead.  It was only 80*F, but the humidity was 82% which meant I was dripping with sweat after the first mile.  I started out nice and easy.  The first 8 miles were between 8:30-8:40 min/mile.   After that, I picked it up a bit and finished the last 4 miles between 8:00-8:15.  So, not only did I get in my long run for the week, but I also was able to pick up the pace at the end without falling apart.  Redemption!

I think the biggest difference was having Jennie on the bike carrying water.  I went through about 32oz of water on the run stopping at every 1 or 2 mile mark along the way.  Even so, I was down a couple pounds when I got home so I chugged some more water and chocolate milk to refuel.

But that isn’t even the biggest news of the day.  The biggest news of the day is that Jennie did her first brick workout! After biking along with me for 12 miles, we went on a 1.5 mile run immediately afterwards.  So, now Jennie has felt the feeling in her legs that is a brick workout.  And not only that, but she is looking at getting her own RoadID.  She has a birthday coming up, so well have to see what happens.

 

In my opinion, she looks too good for having just done a brick workout.  At least I’ve never looked this good after a brick workout.  Come to think of it, I don’t look this good on a normal basis.

I generally look like a sweaty mess after my workouts.  In this case, I left a nice swass mark on the deck after I got up.  Yep, these clothes aren’t allowed inside until they have air dried.

Now, we are spending the day vegging out on couch and watching TV.  Jennie is currently engrossed in some Gilmore Girls reruns during which she has seen ice cream sundaes, fresh strawberries, hamburgers/fries, donuts, and baskets of fresh bread; all of which are leaving her with insane cravings.  It is only a matter of time before she starts baking…

I have had some great bike rides this week.  However, before I get into the details, I have to get something off my chest.  It bugs me to no end when I see cyclists deliberately breaking the rules of the road.  Today, for instance, I saw a bike who was stopped behind three cars at a red light.  Rather than waiting in the position he was stopped in, he biked along the left of the cars and pulled out into the front.  Didn’t he learn in kindergarten that cutters go to the back of the line???  I always want to say something to people who are setting a bad example because they just make it worse for the rest of us, but I never do. So, my question to all of you, have you ever corrected someone’s law or etiquette infractions on the bike?  What has been your response from the offender?  Anger? Cockiness? Ignorance?

Any ways, onto my bike rides.  While up in Harbor Springs, I did two bike rides.  If I had to describe the rides in two words, they would be “Holy (bleeping) Hills!!!!” (bleeps don’t count as words right?)

Ride #1 Tunnel of Trees

For my first ride, I headed up M-119 to the Tunnel of Trees.  The Tunnel of Trees is a state designated scenic road along the shore of Lake Michigan and Little Traverse Bay.  It was a gorgeous, but hilly ride.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

The entire stretch of road is essentially a single lane.  It was almost like a bike path that cars were allowed on.  Because the road is so narrow and windy, the speed limit is only 25-35mph.  On top of that, if two cars are going in opposite directions, you really almost have to go off the edge of the road as you pass by each other.  Because of these limitations, the road has very light traffic and is generally only used by tourists and cyclists.

The ride consisted of lots of ups and downs.  The ups sucked, but the downs were a ton of fun.  I was hitting 40-45mph on some of the down hills.  It was good practice for descending hills without riding the brakes.

I stopped to snap this picture, but didn’t stay long for fear of running into any wandering spirits.  This sign was at one of the hair pin curves along the course.  It was quite an adrenalin rush to ride down the hill and around the curve at 30mph.

The tunnel would occasionally open up with gorgeous views of the lake.  It was a serious drop off down to the water though, so you really couldn’t get to the beach from the road.

Unfortunately, the weather was a bit overcast on the day I chose to ride.  In fact, when I got to the turn around point in Cross Village, it had started to rain.  Despite not raining in Harbor Springs, I ended up getting drenched through and through at the halfway point.

This is the elevation chart from the first half of the ride.  I did an out and back for a total of about 56 miles, so the second half the elevation chart is the reverse of the above.  As you can see, lots of ups and downs with very little flat stretches.

I had multiple technical difficulties on this ride which was a big pain in the butt.  First off, my Garmin wasn’t fully charged.  I figured I would use it as long as the battery held off, but then forgot to start it on the way out.  So, I was just going to rely on my Cateye bike computer.  However, when I got to the halfway point, I accidentally reset it when I tried to cycle through the functions.  And then to add to the mix, my stupid Profile Design saddle mounted bottle cage fell off just short of the halfway point.  I really need to email Profile Design to see if they will replace it because no matter how much I tighten it, it loosens up after about 100 miles of riding.

Because of the problems with the Garmin and bike computer, I don’t know my exact time, but I am estimating the ride was about 3 hours and 15 minutes which put me at just over a 17mph average.  It was a great relaxing ride and a cool way to explore the area.

Ride #2 Breakwater Course Preview

My second ride was on a portion of the Breakwater Half IM course.  I wanted to ride part of the course in case I decide to do the race at the end of the month.  Yep, that’s right, not only am I thinking of doing another HIM, but I am procrastinating about making the decision.

This was less than a mile into the ride and already a good sized climb.  I have a bad feeling about this…

It didn’t get any better.  This course was even hillier than the Tunnel of Trees route.  And after the first ride, my legs were already tired which didn’t help.

After I got out of downtown Petoskey, the road was more or less a country road with a good sized shoulder.  The road wasn’t particularly smooth, but I’ve ridden on worse.  It was primarily a chip and sealed road that was worn down over time.

I ended up riding 17 miles out and then turning around.  I was only going to do 15 out, but at the 15 mile mark, I saw another hill in the distance.  At that point, I turning into a hill-slayer and wanted to slay every hill in sight.  No hill was too big.  So, I charged off for another climb before turning around.

Finally a down hill! YAY!! The ride back into downtown Petoskey was much more downhill than the way out. There were still a couple of climbs, but nothing like the way out.

Again, I did an out and back course.  Above is the first half of the course with the second half being the reverse.

I ended up finishing in just under 2 hours for a 17.2mph average over the 34 miles.  This was another great ride and was really took a lot out of me.

Breakwater Petoskey Half IM Course

After my test ride of the Petoskey HIM course, I went back and looked at the actual course map.  I realized that I didn’t quite ride the course correctly and that the actual course would be a bit easier than what I rode.  That was a semi-relief.  It will still be a very tough bike course with lots of good climbs though.  Probably not a PR course with all of the hills, but it will be a challenge.

On the plus side, the run course is almost entirely flat.  It is a 6.5 mile out and back along the waterfront so there should be any hills.  I like the prospect of doing a simple out and back course versus the loops I have had to do at my previous HIMs.  I would think that an out and back would be mentally easier than the loops.

Now, I just have to make the decision.  To do the race or not to do the race.  I’m really not looking forward to another 4 hour drive (each way) to Petoskey, but I really want to get a 3rd HIM in this season.  I guess it is time to head on over to Priceline and see if Will Shatner can find us a hotel.

I know I am late in getting a race report up when the official races photos are posted before I post.  Anyways, here goes!

Race Morning

I did packet pickup the morning of the race to save a trip downtown on Friday.  I was pretty comfortable with the race and area having done the race once before and packet pickup twice before (last year’s race was cancelled due to weather the morning of the race), so I didn’t envision any problems.

I love doing these small races because they are so much easier to plan for.  Can you believe that all of my transition gear is in that small backpack?  Not having a wetsuit makes for much lighter traveling.  Technically, it was a wetsuit legal swim and there were a few people in wetsuits.  But for a 500m swim, I didn’t think it would add enough of a benefit to be worth it.

I quickly got my gear setup and got out of the transition area.  There was a one cocky d-bag on my rack and I wanted to spend as little time near him as possible.  Despite talking shit and acting like he should have been racked with the pros, I still beat his ass.  Take that!

The yellow bike is the cocky d-bag’s.  See all that rack space to the right of his bike?  He claimed that someone else was already racked there and kept anyone else from using the space.  I never did see another bike there – before, during, or after the race.

There was another guy on my rack doing his first triathlon.  He had a pair of Vibrams on and someone asked if he was going to run in them.  He said that he was and that he was going to bike in them too.  The person then jokingly said that he should swim in them too to save time.  Apparently, he had actually tried swimming in them but they absorbed too much water and were too heavy!  How great would that be, wear the same foot wear go all three disciples.  haha.

Swim

I headed down to the beach and did a bit of a swim warm up.  This is the first year that I have started to get in the water before the race actually starts.  The past two years, I have waited until the last possible minute to get in the water.  The swim warm up does make me colder as I wait to start the race, but I feel more relaxed and ready to go when the gun goes off.

I also met up with Rob down at the beach.  This was Rob’s first big triathlon.  He seemed a little nervous, but he was going to do great.

And off we go.  This was by far the most violent swim I have been in.  There was a group of guys who (in my opinion) started way too far in the front.  They were in the front left corner, the most aggressive positioning, and were doing the breast stroke before they got to the first turn buoy.  Needless to say, there was a lot of contact and fighting for position.  I feel that I did pretty well establishing my position and not shying away from the contact. 

The added contact did slow me down a bit and I didn’t make my 8:00 minute goal I had hope for, but overall I am happy with my swim.  My official time on the swim was 9:38 which included the run to transition.  My shore to shore time was closer to 8:45 though.

Rob (on the left) had a great swim and beat me out of the water by about 20 seconds.  When I talked to him afterwards, he didn’t have as much contact in the water as I did and stayed more towards the outer perimeter.

I was out of the water shortly thereafter and cruised up to the transition area.  It was so nice to be able to get out of the water and just run and not have to worry about a wetsuit.

T1

The first transition went pretty well. The only snafu was that I put a spare tube in my back pocket and as I was running out of transition it fell out of my pocket so I had to run back to get it.

Bike

Just like Steelhead, I had a great bike ride.  My goal for this race as to push as hard as possible on the bike no matter how much it hurt.  I wanted to destroy my legs so that I would have practice running on tired legs.  Going into the race, I wanted to try and average 23-24 mph on the bike.  It was only a 14.8 mile ride, so I knew that I could push the pace, but keeping up a 23-24 mph average was going to be hard.  I ended up finishing in 38:49 for a 22.9mph pace.  So close! I’ll take it though.

I love the start and finish to the bike portion of this race.  It is hard to tell in the pictures, but you start and finish by going around a roundabout that is lined with cheering fans.  It feels like the Tour de France because you are so close to the crowd as you fly past them.

The bike course is fairly flat with a couple of rolling hills.  I was able to stay in the big gear for the entire ride and only had to come out of aero for a climb at mile 1 and a second climb at mile 13.  Other than that, it was head down and pedal to the metal.  I used my AeroDrink for the 2nd time in a race and it worked great (I’ll eventually do a product review with some pros/cons).  Between that and a Goo halfway through the bike, that was all the nutrition I needed to get me through the race.

T2

Transition was uneventful.  I was shocked to only see a handful of bikes back on the racks.  I was probably in the top 10 back to the transition area. I quickly threw on my shoes and headed out.

Run

Remember that bike tube I shoved in my back pocket in T1? Well, I forgot to drop it at T2 and I didn’t want to run with it the entire way.  So, I tossed it to Jennie when I saw her as a I started the run.  Check out here amazing action shots.  Tube in hand, tube in mid area, and off I go!

  

I’m happy to say that despite pushing my legs as hard as they could go, the run went great.  I only got passed by one guy on the run and he went flying by me.  He ended up finishing 10th overall and logged 6 minute miles on the run.  There was another guy on the run that I chased the entire time.  He left transition shortly before I did and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t make up the distance.  I found out afterward that he was in my age group and finished about 15 seconds ahead of me. Looking back at the results, I actually made pretty good progress on catching him.  He started the run about 45 seconds ahead of me and only finished 15 seconds ahead of me, so I made up nearly 30 seconds on the run – just not enough to beat him in the end.

A great mid-air, thumbs-up shot as I head towards the finish.

My official time was 1:12:11, over 3 minutes faster than 2 years ago!  This earned me 32 out of 592 overall and 6 out of 53 in my age group!

Post Race

After I crossed the finish line, I chatted briefly with the guy I had been trying to catch on the run.  He’s got that telltale arm tan line of a dedicated triathlete.  Love it.  We ended up taking 5 and 6 out of 53 in our age group.  At first I was bummed about this because I though awards went 5 deep.  I found out later they only went 3 deep, so Whew! I didn’t miss out on placing by 15 seconds.

Shortly after I crossed the finish line, Rob was charging in.  I missed getting a shot of him crossing the line because he was too speedy, but he finished in 1:16:11 taking 52 out of 592 overall and 12 out of 53 in our age group!  Talk about a great first race!

After chatting with Rob, I went back to watch for my coworker David and his son.  David had an awesome race and is showing great improvement at each race this year.  David was too fast for the camera as well and I didn’t get a picture until he was already passed me.

It wasn’t long after David went by that his son Connor came cruising in.  This was Connor’s first triathlon ever and it sounds like it won’t be his last. 

Here is Connor running to the finish with his mom cheering him on. 

Overall

Overall, another great race.  The weather was great and each event came together nicely for me.  The races are even more fun as I start to meet people and see them at different races.

Thanks again to my pit crew and photographer!  These short races really keep her on her toes.  I looked at the time stamps on the pictures she took and the most “down time” she had was about 30 minutes while I was on the bike.

Official Results

Total Time:	1:12:11
Overall Place:	32/592
Gender Place:	27/332
Age Group Place:	6/53
Swim Rank:	85
Swim Time:	9:38
T1 Time:	1:21
Bike Rank:	29
Bike Time:	38:49
Bike Pace:	22.9mph
T2 Time:	1:00
Run Rank:	32
Run Time:	21:20
Run Pace:	6:53 min/mile

Ok, you probably didn’t even know I was gone.  That’s OK.  My feelings aren’t hurt (that much). 

Anyways, Jennie and I just returned from a short vacation in Harbor Springs.  After a sprint triathlon on Saturday, we headed up to Harbor Springs for a few days of rest and relaxation.  My Google Reader has a backlog of nearly 75 posts to go through and I look forward to seeing how every one else’s training and races went this past weekend.

Details of our weekend are forth coming, but here is a quick preview:

I finished the tri with a 3+ minute PR from two years ago and took 32nd overall (out of 592).   I had an awesome race and was really in a groove.  Not only that, but my coworker David had an amazing race while his son rocked his first tri ever.  Rob also knocked his first big tri out of the park.

Then, it was up to Harbor Springs for a little of this

a little of this

 

a lot of this

and way too many of these

Stay tuned for more details and pictures!