Riding Queen K

So I’m in Kona right now.  I actually arrived on Monday afternoon and rode Queen K (well 50 miles of it) on Tuesday morning.  It was definitely a trip to ride a road that I’ve seen so many times on television.  The only thing I could liken it to for me (a baseball fan) would be visiting a historic stadium like Yankee Stadium for the first time; you’ve seen it so many times on television, but somehow it’s just better in person.  

Queen K in and of itself is nothing spectacular; it’s just a road surrounded by lava fields (OK, the lava fields are pretty cool).  What I found most intriguing about the ride were the conditions.  They always talk about the “tricky” winds and the heat that emanates from the lava fields on the NBC Ironman coverage, but until you’ve experienced these things for yourself, the words do not adequately describe what these athletes are battling.

On the 25 miles out, I had a mild to moderate wind that was more a cross wind than a tail wind.  At times, the wind was actually turning into a headwind, so I thought I’d be facing about the same wind after I turned around.  The bushes weren’t moving too much on the way out, so I knew that the wind wasn’t that strong.  All I can say is “oh what a difference a turnaround makes.”  It was almost as if the island knew I was turning around to head back to Kona.  

The bushes that were just slightly blowing swaying in the breeze before now looked like they were about to be uprooted.  I had 25 miles ahead of me and I was going straight into a 20-30 MPH headwind.  Awesome.  I have never been in a wind like that before.  If I stopped pedaling on a downhill, I actually slowed down as though I had just stopped pedaling on an uphill–that’s how strong the wind was.  The uphills, well, let’s not talk about those.  

Overall, the ride was great though.  The heat that comes up from the lava fields is oppressive, but the winds off the coast help cool you down.  The Look 585 I rented is an amazing bike.  It would probably be at at or very close to the top of my list if I decide to buy a road bike (which I might after I start working; i really enjoyed being on a good road bike).  

Tomorrow I’m heading up to ride the upper portion of the Ironman course (i.e. the middle 50 miles).  This is the area where the crosswinds are supposed to howl.  I’m just hoping the scenery is a little more interesting (there’s only so many pictures you can take of lava fields).

Enjoying the sounds of silence

I’ve always been a person who uses an iPod while I’m working out.  Whether it’s a visit to the gym, on a run, or on the bike, I’ve always used an iPod.  Heck, if there was a decent system to use in the pool, I’d probably have one of those too.  I’ve always felt that I needed it to keep myself entertained while I was outside.

Recently, however, I’ve started to have a change of heart.  It started the week of the bar.  After the first day of the bar, I went for a run and wasn’t in the mood to listen to music.  As I was running, I started to realize that I really appreciated the silence and the serenity of being outside.  Yes, there were noises of people talking and traffic, but I can block this out pretty easily.  All I could hear was my feet hitting the ground and my breathing.

When I went on my ride in Napa, I decided to see how cycling without my iPod was.  In part, I wanted to see if I enjoyed it as much, but I also wasn’t familiar with the road and I wanted to be able to hear any big trucks coming.  I realized very, very quickly that I like riding without a iPod WAY more than I like running without one.  There’s something very peaceful about the sound of tires on the road and the chain turning on the crank.  I don’t know how to describe it, but I feel much more in the moment when I ride without music blaring in my ears.

So this has now become my protocol: I don’t ride with an iPod any more.  I’ve done my last two rides without one and have thoroughly enjoyed them both.  I realized that this has the added benefit of increasing my concentration on the bike and getting used to doing time trial efforts without music (which can affect pacing) since I can’t use an iPod in a race.  

Today, I did a 45 mile ride with a 12 mile time trial effort in the middle on the Silver Strand in Coronado.  I managed to beat my previous 30 minute average wattage by 23 watts, so I’m very happy about that.  I’m not sure if this was due to increased concentration from not having an iPod on or the fact that this effort was entirely outside whereas my previous best was done on my Computrainer, but I’m guessing the latter has more to do with it.  

So, I guess the moral of the story is that if you currently ride with an iPod, give it a shot without one.  You might find, like I did, that riding becomes all that much more enjoyable.

There’s a reason airlines are failing…

It’s not the fuel prices.  It’s not the ultra-competitive environment.  Sure, these play a factor in the equation, but they are not the end-all and be-all.  There’s a reason airlines like Southwest continue to be profitable while others like United are failing.

The reason is simple: customer service.  I had never had a problem with United until today (which is probably why I’d flown with them so much in the past).  However, today I decided for some reason to look over my itinerary for my trip to Kona at the end of the month.  As I was looking at my reservation I noticed something…I booked my trip into the wrong airport.  I’m not quite sure how this happened, but I made a mistake somehow.

In order to correct this mistake, I called United.  I’m thinking that they can just switch the flight and I might have to pay a nominal difference in the fee for the flight, if anything.  Nope.  First off, I get somebody on the phone who is half a world away in India.  I knew I was in trouble as soon as I heard this because all that will follow is policy, policy, policy.  United wanted $150 just to change the reservation and then I had to pay any difference in airfare, which was $850 because my flight is within two weeks.  WTF???  This conversation ended quickly.

Luckily I was able to book a bookend flight on a local carrier for a total of $150 and although I’m not happy about it, it was my own mistake and I’ll live with it.  What I’m annoyed about is the abysmal ”customer service” that United provided me with.  It’s annoying enough that airlines charge for everything from checking a bag to getting a blanket nowadays, but to try to charge this much just to change from one flight to another is ridiculous.  

What added cost do they have in changing from one flight to another?  None.  That’s the answer.  They aren’t losing any money by me switching from one airport in Hawaii to another 40 minutes away.  I love how everyone always gets up in arms about $200 cancellation fees over their cell phone contracts, but you never see coverage about these fees.  At least the phone cancellation fee can be justified by the fact that your phone was heavily subsidized when you got it (yes, it was…trust me…I sold phones and managed a store for several years before law school).  

So, how does this amount to a reason airlines are failing?  Simple; I’ll never fly United again.  I’ve changed flights so many times with companies like Southwest without incident and although Continental professes to charge the same fee, at least I was able to get somebody who spoke English on the line and who understood the meaning of customer service (I’ve been able to get the fee waived).  

One of these days the airlines will realize that customer service will be their downfall.  All the little fees are ticky-tacky, but whatever.  Most people I know don’t need a blanket on a flight, can bring their own drink onboard, and aren’t going to fuss too much about having to pay to check a bag.  However, when you combine all of these things with a complete disregard for providing exemplary service to your client base, you’re in for big, big trouble.  People won’t stop flying, but they’ll seek out airlines that provide them with the best experiences.  

That’s my rant.

Ironman Here I Come (well, 15 months from now…)

It’s official: I’m registered for my first Ironman.  I’ll be doing Ironman Cozumel next year which falls at about the same time as Arizona in November.  (note: the official international registration is not yet open, but I registered online before I noticed that international registration wasn’t open yet (oops) and after multiple emails, they went ahead and confirmed me.  Official international registration opens on August 19).

I have never been more excited to put myself through 10+ hours of pain.  Quite frankly, I couldn’t have designed a course that was better suited to my cycling strengths: nice and flat.  Granted, I’m sure most people prefer flat courses, but hills absolutely kill me.  At 175 pounds I’m at ~10% body fat, so the absolute lightest I could probably get would be between 165 and 170.  This is a size that is not conducive to climbing.  However, on the flats I can produce a decent speed consistently over long distances.

In addition to the course layout, I decided to go with Cozumel for a couple of other reasons:

1) Easy registration.  No trekking out to Arizona, paying for two nights in a hotel and spending a day off volunteering just to be able to register the next day.  Nope, just pay the money: nice and simple.  The money I’m saving by not having to travel to Arizona this year to volunteer paid for my registration fee to Cozumel.  

2) Location, Location, Location.  No matter where I was headed, I’d probably end up using a few days of vacation time both before and after the race.  Now, let’s see…Tempe, Arizona or Cozumel, Mexico?  Desert and cacti or beaches and palm trees?  Swim in the Tempe river or the Gulf of Mexico?  That’s a close one, but I think I’ll go with Cozumel.  

The only downside will be getting my bike to Mexico on the plane.  I’m probably going to end up buying a large hard travel case specifically for this race, but it will come in handy for any other races I travel to as well.  

On a related note, I’ve decided to procure the services of a coach on this adventure.  I’m thinking that this is something that I should not attempt to self-coach.  I know that I could do it, but I want to do well and I think having a coach will be valuable.  I haven’t decided on a coach yet, but as of now I’m leaning towards Jim Vance.  He’s a professional triathlete based out of San Diego.  I went to one of his swim clinics about a month back and I was very impressed with his level of knowledge.  I’ll post more on this in about a month or so.  I’m not going to start the coaching services until October since I’ll be done with all my events by then.

My first race report

Today I completed my first sprint race.  It went fairly well, but there were some definite hiccups as well.  Here’s a play-by-play:

Pre-Race

Pre-race was pretty uneventful.  I took the bike out for a loop on the bike course.  Oddly enough, this was the first time I had been on my Zipps, so it was kind of fun.  I realized very quickly that it was going to be a very cold bike segment.  My shoes have quite a few vents in them and my feet were freezing (more on this later).  After re-racking my bike and jogging for a bit, I tossed on my wetsuit and walked over to the beach.  I decided to warm up on the swim and headed in.  I think my feet must have already been numb because I remember thinking “hey, it’s not that bad.”  I was wrong.  It was freezing.  Now maybe I’m just a bit spoiled by San Diego water temps, but I was not ready for that.  Absolutely freezing.

The worst start ever

Granted, this was my first triathlon, but I don’t think I’m going out on a limb saying that this was easily the most disorganized race start ever.  All of the athletes were gathered on the beach to explain a few things about the race.  Our “go” horn was a weak little sound that came out of the bull horn.  OK.  Fine.  I don’t need a fog horn.  

The meeting finishes and we all start walking to the point on the beach where we assumed we would start from, with several of the athletes in my age group jumping into the water to try to warm up.  Next thing we know, we hear the weak ass horn sound.  Most of us turned around assuming that it was just another test run…surely they hadn’t started us yet.  Wrong!  Next thing we know we hear people yelling “go!”  WTF?!?!?!  I mean, really!  There was so much confusion that about a dozen athletes in the wave behind mine actually started with us.

Oh well, no time to get angry now, into the water.  Lord all mighty was that water cold.  I actually had difficulty breathing it was so cold and my chest felt very constricted.  Aside from the difficulty breathing and the retarded start, the swim was relatively uneventful.  Up the beach and then about 500 yards on concrete/asphault to the transition area (really, guys?) and I was ready to get started on the bike.

The Bike Leg

Since the swim had gone so poorly, I decided to just let it loose on the bike and have some fun.  I was moving pretty well and passing people left and right on the first loop (I spent the second loop almost entirely in the left lane, but I was passing the waves that started after me so I don’t really count that).  I felt good on the bike and like I was moving pretty well.  I wasn’t as cold as I thought I’d be, but I couldn’t feel my feet at all.  

I ended up with a bike time somewhere between the 31:00 and 31:30 range (I didn’t hit the button on my watch until after I had left T2 and was running) so I was hovering right around 23 miles an hour on average for the course.  I am very happy with my performance on the bike.  The speed might not sound spectacular, but the course had quite a few turns, including one 180 degree turnaround and a couple of other 90 degree turns that required you to slow down quite a bit.  Regardless, for my first race, I’m happy with this time.

The Run

Going into the race I was a bit concerned about having little rocks on my feet when I put on my running shoes.  Once I hit T2, I realized this wouldn’t be a problem because I couldn’t feel my feet.  In fact, I didn’t regain full feeling in my feet until about two miles in.  A side stitch crept up on my within the first half mile and I was not happy about that.  I tried to ignore it and it must have worked because I felt pretty good by the turnaround.

The way back went pretty well.  I was passed by a few people and wasn’t passing too many which is never a good sign.  Oh well.  I knew that running wasn’t my strong suit.  

I was a little surprised though when I was creeping up on the finish line: my time actually wasn’t too horrible.  I managed to pull off a 23:30 run split, or just over 7:30/mile.  Not bad, not great, but I’ll take it.

The Finish

I crossed the finish line with 1:11 and change showing on the clock.  With my other times, this means that I spent about 15 minutes on the swim/transition run to T1/transition in T1.  Overall, I’m happy with my race. Realistically I’d like to shave at least 11 minutes off of this time, but in a normal race I might not need to shave as much (considering the retarded start probably cost me 1-2 minutes on the swim and the cold water definitely slowed me down).  I’d probably need to shave 6-7 minutes or so to break an hour in a normal race.  I’d like to shave at least two minutes off of my run, another two off the swim, about 1-2 off the bike and then speed up my transitions.  

Overall, I had a great time.  For all the training I’ve done it was great to actually see it put to work in a race.  I have another sprint in two weeks though that one is a bit shorter and in warmer water.  After that, all I have left this season are my olympic races.  I need to work on my run a bit, so this is going to be my focus over the next month or so.  Should be fun…

Update: Final Race Results

Well the results have been posted and I came in 6/25 in my age group and 32/148 overall.  My bike leg was the third fastest in my age group and 18th overall.  As I suspected, my swim and my run killed me.  I discussed earlier the various reasons for my horrible swim time, so I’m not too concerned about that.  I’d definitely like to get my run a bit faster before my next race so that will be a point of emphasis for me over the next couple of weeks.

I have just under two weeks until my next sprint race (Imperial Beach) and just under one month until my first olympic race (L.A.).  The competition at these two races will likely be much stiffer than at Santa Cruz, so I’d be thrilled to place anywhere even close to what I placed in this race but I’m not going to be disappointed if I don’t.

Race day has arrived

It’s just past 5:30 in the morning out here on the west coast and two and a half hours from now I’ll be in the water.  The transition area opens up in about an hour and, as luck would have it, it’s right across the street from my hotel.  I knew I was going to be close to everything when I booked my hotel, but I had no idea that T1 and T2 would literally be across the street from my hotel.  At least I don’t have to worry about getting my gear over there.

So I must admit I’m feeling a little pre-race anxiety.  Even though I told myself that this race didn’t matter when I signed up for it, I still want to do well.  In particular, I really want to have a good bike leg since this is the one area where I feel like I should excel.  I have a feeling it’s going to be a pretty cold first 2/3 of the race.  The water is supposedly pretty cold and that, coupled with the fact that the outside temperature will be about 56 degrees, should make for a pretty cold first two legs.  Talk about incentive to go fast!

Should be an interesting race.

My bike in its Sunday’s finest

It just looks fast.  If nothing else, I’m going to have to haul ass on the bike leg tomorrow just to justify having this nice of a bike.

Santa Cruz: The town that time forgot

I’m in Santa Cruz for a sprint triathlon which will be taking place tomorrow morning.  The weather figures to be a bit chilly, but I’m just hoping that the wind dies down a bit.  

The town of Santa Cruz has surprised me.  It’s a town where tourists and wanna-be hippies coexist.  The closer you get to the university, the more of the latter you see.  The funny thing is that although Berkeley holds a national reputation for being a hippy school, I’d say that UC Santa Cruz probably has a stronger claim to that title.  School isn’t even in session yet and these kids looking like they just stepped out of a peace rally are lining the streets playing guitars.  Berkeley maintains some of this feel, but the school has gotten so hard to get into that I think Berkeley’s hippy days are more a function of the city’s reputation and the stragglers drawn to it than a true existing movement.

Walking around Santa Cruz got me thinking: Are the kids who come here already like this before they came to the school or is it something about the school/town that transforms otherwise normal kids into grungy, non-showering hippies that play guitar and smoke weed all day?  If I had to guess, I’d lean towards the latter.  I know I was pretty impressionable during my early years in college so I can see how kids would adapt to the culture of the school/town in order to fit in with everyone.

The beach area in the town is beautiful.  The drive down the coast I did yesterday from San Francisco was quite possibly the most gorgeous drive I’ve ever done.  I’m guessing that most people that live here do so for the beauty of the beaches and the laid back lifestyle and simply commute to either San Jose or Palo Alto for work.  Other than the University, there really isn’t any industry here outside of the services (food, auto, etc.) that serve the local community so I can’t imagine anyone is affording a house overlooking the water on local salaries.  

I’m looking forward to my first race.  I feel good and my new position on the bike feels great.  I took a ride on the course today and I felt great on the bike and was easily producing the wattage to match my feeling.  My main goal for the race tomorrow is to do well on the swim and the bike, especially on the bike.  If I can put up good times here I’ll have a chance of finishing fairly well, but I know my run isn’t quite where I’d like it to be right now (but who knows…competition does tend to bring out the best in me).  

I’ll post an update after the race….I know you’ll be waiting with bated breath….ha ha.

Riding Napa and my psychic intuition

When I planned this trip, I hadn’t planned to go see Napa.  I had planned on riding across the Golden Gate today and then riding around the Marin area.  However, when I woke up and looked outside I noticed that the fog was thick and there was a mist coming down.  The weather in Napa on the other hand was 80 and sunny.  A road trip to Napa was in order.

I decided to take the scenic route up so I crossed the Golden Gate and then took the highways up to Napa.  It was slower than the way back (mostly freeway), but it was a much more pleasant drive.  Once I got to Napa I found a place to park and started to get ready.  My plan was to ride up the Silverado Trail up to Calistoga and back.  Although this was my plan, there was something inside my head telling me that this wasn’t going to happen.

As I was getting ready, I told myself to double-check that I had a flat kit with me.  I never remember to check for a flat kit.  I remember thinking that, knowing my luck, I would get a flat today even though I haven’t had a flat this entire season.  Despite this thought, I proceeded forward.

Less than 1/4 mile into the ride, I should have known this wasn’t going to be my day.  I had a bike fitting done yesterday in San Francisco using the Retul 3D bike fitting system (more on this later) and part of this involved adjusting my cleat position.  I use Speedplay pedals and if you tighten the screws too much, the clamps don’t work.  Well, my left cleat didn’t work completely (only half clicked) and I didn’t have any tools with me.  Still…I soldiered on.

About two miles into the ride I hit a bump and my seat post dropped about two inches.  Apparently we didn’t tighten this up quite as good as it could have been when we adjusted it the day before.  Still…I soldiered on.  I drove an hour to get to Napa and I was determined to get in a good ride before I went back.  

Nine miles into the ride, my premonition came true: I flatted.  I wasn’t surprised.  There was a ton of loose gravel and little rocks in the bike lane and it was impossible to avoid them all.  The road conditions combined with my current lucky streak of not flatting and my premonition made it inevitable that I would flat today.  

The flat itself was no problem.  Five minutes and a little CO2 and we were good to go.  However, I had to make a decision: I was only 9 miles in to a 25 mile out on an out and back, I didn’t have another tube or a CO2, and I was basically in the middle of nowhere.  Although there was the occasional cyclist out there, unless I planned on trying to hitch a ride with a car or hope somebody at a winery had a flat kit, I’d be screwed if I flatted again so I made the decision to cut my ride short and turn back.  I’d rather have my ride cut short than end up having to walk 15 miles back to my car in bike shoes.

So, my ride was cut short, but Napa was beautiful.  I’d love to go back there one day with a significant other and do a weekend of wine tasting.  I didn’t stop to do any wine tasting because I was by myself and was stinky/sweaty from the ride.  Oh well…at least I’ve seen it.

As far as the fit goes, if you’re not familiar with the Retul system just google it.  Basically it involves using 3D sensors to analyze your range of motion and your fit on the bike.  I came to one conclusion: the joker that fit me before didn’t know dick about fitting.  I had always felt I was a bit low, but I didn’t realize how low I was.  My fitter yesterday moved my seat post up about three inches and I was instantly more comfortable on the bike.  Additionally, we raised the bars a bit and reduced the degree of drop.  

Overall, I think the system is great because it utilizes science to reduce fitter error.  If you combine this with a good fitter, you’re golden.  I thought I had a good fitter when I bought my bike.  I wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but recently I found that I was having to contort my position on the bike to maximize power and/or feel comfortable.  Basically, if you KNOW you have a good fitter, this system isn’t going to do anything for you that the fitter won’t be able to do.  The only problem is that it’s tough to know whether or not your fitter is good.

My first race is three days away.  I’ll post an update on Sunday.

Lessons learned in San Francisco

I’ve been to San Francisco about a dozen times over the past three years.  Over these trips, I’ve learned a few things about the city, but some of these were forgotten until this most recent trip.  Without further ado: 

Lesson #1: Just because it’s “summer” doesn’t mean it’s summer in San Francisco.

It’s August 5th.  I just left 80+ degree temperatures in San Diego and had my air conditioner on almost the entire way up here.  San Francisco, however, has greeted me with ~ 60 degree temps.  WTF?  I knew this could happen.  I don’t know why I didn’t think about it.  Mark Twain once said “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”  Oh well…let’s just say I came woefully underprepared (no jacket, only sandals aside from my running shoes…ughh).  I might be going shopping.

Lesson #2:  Nice hotels charge more for everything.

Even if you get a great price on a great hotel room like I did, remember that nice hotels charge more for everything.  Granted, I’m not too concerned about the $50/day for parking considering I got a room at one of the nicest historic hotels in SF for $100/day, but that price is ridiculous!  Frankly, I was a little shocked that the internet was free.  Everything else is overpriced.  Oh well.  

Lesson #3: Nob Hill is close to everything but easily accessible to nothing.

If you’re unfamiliar with Nob Hill, take a look at the picture above.  Now, add one more hill about that size.  The picture is actually towards Nob Hill from the Fisherman’s Wharf area, but when you get up this first hill, there’s actually a flat portion and then another hill which isn’t visible from this vantage point (trust me, I ran up them both today).  This is the second time I’ve stayed on Nob Hill, but for some reason I didn’t remember that everything is downhill from it.  Nob Hill lords over San Francisco and its peasants (restaurants, bars, shops, etc.) all bow loyally at the bottom of it.  Unless you plan on taking cabs everywhere or have some sick perversion for hills, stay in another area.

 

Granted, I may just be a bit tired and therefore a bit pissy.  Or maybe it’s the fact that I just walked about a mile downhill in the freezing wind to eat some Thai food.  Granted, the Thai food was well worth it, but still.  I do love San Francisco, don’t get me wrong.  The city’s views are amazing and the food is great.  When the weather is nice in San Francisco, I have no reservations in claiming that it is probably the most beautiful city in the world (and yes, I’ve been to Paris and Rome…the two other contenders for this title).  

On a side note, I do find it distressing that in every big city you tend to find a great deal of trash on the streets when you get out of the tourist areas and nicer parts of the city.  I can only guess that this is a combination of less street cleaning funds being diverted to these areas and more litter from residents.  I’ve experienced this phenomenon every single major city I’ve ever been to (NY, London, Rome, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, LA, SF).  I’m sure most tourists don’t see these areas so it probably never becomes an issue, but as a person who likes to explore all areas of every city he visits, I really hate the truth sometimes.