This weekend was awesome!  We got lots done, had some good workouts and most importantly had a lot of fun.

Saturday

I got up early on Saturday and biked downtown to meet my dad.  We headed up to the White Pine Trail and out to Sand Lake.  I had never actually made it all the way to Sand Lake (the end of the paved trail).  Last time, I turned around at the 28 mile mark so that I would end up with a 56 mile ride.  Little did I know that Sand Lake was only about 3 or 4 miles beyond that.

The trail was super busy with lots of people enjoying the great weather and holiday weekend.  At times this slowed us down a bit, but this was supposed to be an easy ride for me any way.  I had 2 hour 45 minutes scheduled as my last long ride before my taper began.  We ended doing 60 miles total in 3:46:44 (whoops!) – not super fast, but easy on the legs.

After the bike ride, Jennie and I had lunch and got some work done around the house.  After that, we took the rest of the day to lay around and relax.  I borrowed “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” from the library per Krista’s recommendation.  So far, it is a great book.  It was originally written in Swedish and translated to English, so there are couple of nuisances to work around (like converting Kronors to dollars), but I still recommend it so far.  It is going to help keep me busy during my taper and (hopefully) keep me from going insane.

Sunday

Sunday started off with a trip to Menards to get supplies for our yard work.  The main purchase was a couple of new fence sections to repair the fence in our backyard.  Whether or not we actually own the fence is still up for debate, but it has become quite evident that our neighbors have no desire to maintain it.  Since it is behind their garage and they never see it, they could care less as to how it looks.  As we have to look at it every time we are in the yard, we decided to just bite the bullet and fix it.

The Neon held up great for transporting the fence sections from the store.
Not as convenient as a pickup truck or a trailer, but I’d like to see a pickup truck get
35 miles to the gallon.

 
The “before” picture.  As you can see, plenty of missing pickets and rotted wood.  The
fence nearly came down just by pulling on it.  The section to the right we had previously
replaced when took down some trees.

  
The “after” picture.  Much better!  It should weather in a year or so
and fit right in with the existing sections.

While I had my tools out, I built a small trellis for our cucumbers to grow up.

Assembling the A-Frame trellis for our cucumbers (ala Lifehacker)

Monday

The storms held off until today.  We woke up to the sound of rain falling and light thunder in the distance.  There is something very relaxing about sleeping in the rain.  As the rain started to let up, we got up and I got ready for my bike ride.  Once the rain stopped and the sun came out, it really got humid.  Other than that, the ride was pleasant enough.  After the ride, I went on a quick run with Jennie before we had lunch.

We had hoped to take the kayaks out right after lunch and got them loaded on the car.  However, as we pulled out of the driveway, we heard thunder in the distance.  A quick check of the radar showed another storm rolling in.  So, it was back to reading and relaxing.

Thankfully, the rain eventually cleared and we headed out for a quick loop around Reeds Lake.  After kayaking, we had a great dinner at the Derby Station in Gaslight Village before heading home for some more relaxing.

What a great weekend.  I hope yours was just as fun filled!

It has been well over a week since my last post, and there is no other way to describe my absence except for blog laziness.  On top of working and training, life has been keeping me busy.  I’ve had plenty of good ideas for blog topics, just no time.  Most of my ideas come to me while I am biking, running or in the pool – none of which are good times to multi-task.

So, here is what you have been missing out on.  (Please excuse the bouncing from topic to topic.)

I started out with an insane peak week of training with 163 miles of training in 13 hours, 12 minutes that included 7800 yards in the pool, 133 miles on the bike and 26 miles on the run.

Jennie was sick for most of the week, which put a damper on things.  She managed to hold off the cold long enough to host the wedding shower she had been planning for weeks, but by the time shower ended, the sickness got the best of her.  She ended up be confined to the couch for 3 days.  I know 3 days on the couch may sound like a good time, but I don’t think she really enjoyed it.  Thankfully, after some rest, she is back to 100%.

My contribution to the wedding shower was building this cupcake
stand inspired by a larger version I found online.

While Jennie was off showering (wedding showering that is), I had the weekend to myself.  On top of getting in a 60 mile bike ride, I got a ton of work done around the house.  I followed that up by indulging in a delicious meat, potatoes and beer dinner.

Note: That is one of the two steaks I ate.  Vegetarian I am not.

My 60 mile bike ride was interrupted by a high school regatta at Riverside Park.  My curiosity was piqued when I saw a pontoon plane land on the river.  Upon checking it out, I found dozens of schools lining the river.  It was quite the spectacle.  I sort of wish my high school had a crew team – it looked like a lot of fun.

Later in the week, I tackled some nice hills on the bike.  I started off with a decent hilly ride on Monday, and then on Wednesday in an effort to torture challenge myself, I did the same hills plus some more hills.

Also, on the cycling front, I finally scheduled a bike fit at Grand Rapids Bicycle Co.  This has been on my to do list for way too long.  I know it is getting awfully close to my first race of the season and this may not be the best time to make changes, but I really want to get this done.  The impetus to getting my butt in gear happened on a bike ride when a car pulled up to me at a stop light and asked if I had ever had a bike fit done.  When I said “No”, he went on to give me a few pointers on how to improve my position on the bike and recommended a specific bike fitter.  We’ll see how the bike fit goes, but it could turn out to be the best 30 second stop light conversation I have had.

Today, I had a time trial scheduled for the pool. I ended up finishing the 1.2 miles (2150 yards) in roughly 37:30.  However, it was far from an accurate time trial because we were interrupted by a fire drill halfway through.  While the midway rest stop was nice at the time, it really screwed up my rhythm and I couldn’t quite find a groove when I got back in the pool.  The time was nevertheless encouraging.  My only comparison is my swim split at Steelhead last year (39:25), so I should improve upon that.  And maybe if I follow Krista’s swim “secret”, I can shave off even more time!

On top of training, I have been busy with projects around the house.  Now that the weather has been consistently nice, the responsibilities of home ownership have been calling.

I worked on refinishing both the back deck and front porch.  The back deck was more work and involved flipping the deck boards, washing, and staining.

This is what we started with.  Overly weathered boards that we had tried to stain a couple years ago, but the stain never took and was chipping off.

Once I had pried up and flipped the boards, I had some help nailing them all back down

Looking much improved already with the boards flipped, and washed.

 
The final product, stained and ready for a summer of activities.

Stay tuned! I’m going to do my best to keep on top of my posts so that they aren’t always as long.

With the repairs my bike needed, I had the opportunity to shop at a few different online bike stores and I wanted to share my experiences in case anyone is looking to upgrades or parts.

First, a quick update on my training.  I think I am getting back into a groove after a lack luster start of the week.  Part of the lack lusterness was due to my bike being out of commission and not being able to get in a decent bike ride. 

Monday: 2600 yards in the pool with 7 x 100 (moderate) and 6 x 150 (threshold).  I followed this up with an attempted bike ride, but due to my hurried attempt to replace the parts and get a ride in, I didn’t have time to properly adjust the rear derailleur and my gears were jumping all over the place.

Tuesday: 5.15 miles in 38:47 (7:35 average).  The highlight of this run was knocking out a 7:18 final mile while carrying a package of celery.  Jennie came down with a cold, so it was my job to make some chicken noodle soup and we were lacking celery.  So, I picked it up at the end of my run and sprinted home.

Wednesday: Return to Glory.  2400 yards in the pool with 3 x 400’s and 4 x 50’s.  I followed this up with a bike ride out to Grand Haven.  I had the wind at my back the entire way and averaged 21.8 mph over about 38 miles.  Mentally, I needed an easy bike ride to get me back into the swing of things.

Ok, onto the main topic, bike store reviews.  I shopped at two different online stores and two different brick and mortar (B&M) stores for the various things I needed during my projects and I’ll say a little bit about each.

eDiscountBike.Com

I purchased three things from eDiscountBike, two parts and a tool kit.  The parts I bought, I ended up not using though.  I bought a 10 speed chain (Shimano CN-5600) and 10 speed rear cassette (Shimano CS-5600) without realizing that my shifters required 9-speed components and would not work with the 10 speed parts.  Unfortunately, I didn’t realize my error until I had put the parts on the bike, so I didn’t even try to return them.  I’ll just chalk this up as a learning expense.  Even though, I didn’t use the parts, I was a little disappointed with the chain I ordered.  When it arrived, I noticed it didn’t come with the necessary connecting pin.  I went back and checked the product description to find that it did indeed mention that it DIDN’T come with the connecting pin albeit after it mentioned that it DID come with one.  Oh well.

As for the tool kit, it was immensely helpful in all of my repairs.  Unfortunately, the chain tool broke on the first chain I disassembled.  Thankfully, I had a spare one, so it wasn’t really a big deal.  The rest of the tools seem pretty durable and I don’t foresee any other issues.

Rating: (3.5 out of 5 wheels)

I can’t really complain about the service I received or parts (other than my mistake).  However, the site was a bit cumbersome to navigate; not enough filters and the search function was flaky.  Also, the parts were unused pulls off of bikes so they didn’t come in their original packaging.  Not a huge deal, but something to keep in mind.

Tree Fort Bikes

I ended up purchasing the correct chain and cassette from Tree Fort Bikes.  I ended up going with a different seller for a couple reasons.  First, they are located in Michigan, so I figured that shipping would be faster.  Second, their prices couldn’t be beat.  And third, I can’t argue with a place that has their own beer.  Not only did Tree Fort Bikes have all the parts I needed (Shimano CN-HG73 and Shimano Tiagra HG-50), but the prices were great.  They even have a button for “Price Match Guarantee” where you can submit a different price for an item and the website you saw the price on.  I assume that they will match the lower price once they verify it, but I couldn’t find any lower prices.

I did have one snafu in my order.  After I clicked the “Submit my Order” button, I got an error and then never received a confirmation email.  I contacted them via email about the issue and promptly received an apology and a copy of the order confirmation.  I was very impressed with their responsive customer service.

My order came with a bonus Tree Fort Bikes sticker.  Simple pleasures.

As suspected, the order shipped quickly and I received it in less than the 5 days maximum ship time.  It helps when the package only has to go across the state and not across the country.

Now that I had the correct parts in hand, I quickly got them installed and was one step closer to having a functional bike again.

Rating: (4 out of 5 wheels)

I will definitely be doing business with Tree Fort Bikes again in the future and hopefully, I will actually make it to their brick and mortar store if I am ever in the area.

Loose Spokes and Kentwood Cycling

I really don’t have much to say about either of the B&M stores as I really only made small purchases at them – namely connecting pins and ball bearings.  My main complaint with the B&M stores is the fact that they both seemed unwilling to sell me parts.  Both places wanted to do the work (and ostensibly charge me for the labor).   I’d rather do the work myself and have the learning experience. 

I didn’t actually go to Loose Spokes, but instead called ahead and had the parts put on hold for Jennie.  Not only were the parts exorbitantly expensive ($5 each for a chain connecting pin!!!), but the guys really didn’t want to sell them to Jennie.  It took her showing him a text message from me stating that it was the part I needed.

So, less than pleasant experiences at both B&M bike shops, but I will withhold a formal rating until I have more experience with them.

I hope this helps if you are in the need for any bike parts!

PS: As a side note, Jennie thought the wheels looked like donuts and thus wanted a donut with sprinkles.  Apologies if the wheels have the same affect on you.

So, rewind to a few months ago when I was putting together my training schedule.  For some reason, I chose to do level 5 out of Matt Fitzgerald’s book.  I thought it was a good idea.  I did level 4 last year and I wanted to step it up a bit.  However, level 5 is kicking my butt.  This week, I am already at 9 and a half hours with 3 more hours scheduled for the weekend.  I suppose this is good practice for Ironman training when weekly training hits 20+ hours.

Here is a glimpse at what I have been up to.

Tuesday: Easy 6 mile run around Reeds Lake.  I got a late start which meant that Jennie was able to bike along with me because she was home from work by the time I was able to run.

Wednesday: I started at the pool for 2300 yards with the main set being 4×300 yards.  I had some of my fastest 300’s ever hitting 4:45 and 4:47 for the 2nd and 3rd interval.  The other two were around 4:55 which is closer to the norm.  It was a busy day at the pool and the guy next to me was pretty fast which I think encouraged me to push it on the intervals.  After the pool, I did a ride out to Millennium Park.  The trails out there are incredible and they are still adding to them.  I did 31.63 miles in 1:41:51 and felt pretty good.

Thursday: Time for a brick workout.  The bike portion was 27.81 miles in 1:28:36.  I did a lap out to Cascade and then around Reeds Lake and Calvin a few times.  Riding out to Cascade includes a big downhill followed by a gradual 4 mile climb.  By the end of 4 miles, my legs always feel like rubber.  When I got done with bike ride, Jennie was just getting home from work.  So, while she got changed, I grabbed a granola bar and some water.  Then we were off for 5.5 miles in just under 45 minutes.  Despite just getting off the bike, I still averaged 7:52 min/mile on the run.

Friday (today): Back at the pool again.  This time was 2400 yards straight up.  I ended up doing 2500 yards because why stop at 96 lengths when you can do an even 100.  I finished in 44:06 which averages out 1:45 /100 yards.  I will be very happy if I can keep that pace in open water.  After the the pool, I had to do a 55 minute run.  I decided to do my favorite out and back 8 mile run.  I finished in almost exactly a 8:00 min/mile pace.  I felt great for the first 6 miles, but started to fall apart on the last 2 miles.

This weekend: I have a 2 hour bike ride and 1 hour run scheduled for Saturday with an off day on Sunday.  We are supposed to have crappy, rainy, cold, weather, so I may end up breaking up the workouts and doing one on Saturday and one on Sunday.  That way, I don’t have to go out twice in the same day and I stand a better chance of the weather improving on Sunday.  I was thinking of doing a duathlon on Sunday, but with the crappy weather forecasted, I don’t want to chance losing out on $60 if the race gets cancelled.  Instead, I might go out to Cannonsburg for my first trail run.

Lead

I’ve slowly been getting back into training mode after my marathon on Saturday.  I took Sunday completely off to rest the legs.  On Monday, I got in a swim and a short bike ride.  My legs felt very heavy – like lead.  The swim actually felt great on my legs though.  I was going to do 2000 yards, but ended with only 1850.  I was scheduled to do 200 yards of kick drills but only made it through 50 yards.  They were too much for the legs.  After my swim, I spent some time on the bike.  I took it easy and did 13.5 miles in 48 minutes.

Today, my legs were feeling much better when I woke up.  They still weren’t up for running, so I did another bike ride.  I did laps around Reeds Lake and kept it nice and easy.  It was awfully windy today with a constant 13mph wind out of the east.  I did 29.5 miles in 1:41 and felt awesome afterwards.  I think my legs will be ready for a run tomorrow, but I will play it by ear.

Carbon

As for getting the carbon out, I am referring to carbon emissions – and this isn’t really by choice.  My beloved Neon, the Red Bullet, is most likely being put out to pasture.  I took the car in for what I thought was going to be a quick repair only to find out that it (along with some other issues I didn’t know about) are going to run about $700.  It is kind of hard to justify putting that kind of money into a 15 year old car that is worth less than $1000.

I’ve had the Red Bullet for over 5 years.  I bought it to replace my previous Neon that was totaled after getting rear ended.  I loved this car.  I put about 75,000 miles on it – many of which were miles spent traveling back and forth across the state when Jennie and I were still dating.  Since getting married though, the Red Bullet has seen less and less action.  Because I work from home and rarely need to drive anywhere, it spent most of its time in the garage. 

We’ll probably look into donating it rather than going through the hassle of selling.  Probably wouldn’t get much, if anything, for it if we sold it anyways with the amount of work it needs.

I don’t think we are going to replace it, at least not immediately.  Now that it is summer time and we can bike pretty much everywhere we need, there isn’t a pressing need to have two cars.  However, I was wondering what kind of vehicles my fellow triathletes have?  The Red Bullet did a great job hauling my bike around and gear around, but obviously isn’t big enough to just toss a bike in the trunk.  I figure that when we finally do replace it, I’d like to get something with a bit more room.  I have my eye on a Honda Element – I just have to convince Jennie that they aren’t ugly .  So, what do you drive?  And how does it work well for hauling bikes, kayaks, or other outdoors gear?