I just made a lot of weird updates on my bike. It looks so unconventional now but I think it will do the job.

I moved the arms pads a bit closer to me. It feels a lot more comfortable now. I think I can manage a lower more aggressive drop. If I can manage to mount the aerobars under my handle bars, I think I can achieve that. I must slam them some more. My stem can’t be further slammed because it has reached the slam limit.

I butchered my handle bars. I wanted my bike to look like a tri-bike. I think it looks the part. A switch to proper brake levers and bar end shifters is in the horizon for me if I can manage to enjoy this look.

Behind me is an improvised tool kit. The clear bottle holds my tools and an extra inner tube. I also have that canister thing that is used for flats. Haven’t had the chance to use it yet in a race and I am hoping that I never get to. This looks so unorthodox. I should get a seat mounted rear bottle holder instead of this.

Dimsum and Siomai 30 Days of Sweat Challenge Update:
Day 1: 80 Minute Spin at 80 RPM
Day 2: 30 Minute Run in the Morning. 45 Minute Spin and 15 Minute run in the evening.
Day 3: 4 Sets: 13 Bicep/Tricep Curls, 13 Plato Lifts, 40 crunches
Day 4: 60 Minute Spin
Day 5: 30 Minute Run. 80 Minute Spin.
Day 6: 2.5 Hour Fun Ride. Up – Ateneo – Up. 30 Minute Run
Day 7: 90 Minute Spin. 30 Minute Run.
Day 8: 30 Minute Run.
Day 9: 60 Minute Morning Run.
Day 10: 10 Minute Insanity Workout.
Day 11: 4 Kilometer run.
Day 12: Weight training
Day 13: 50 Minute Spin.
Day 14: 30 Minute Interval run. Weight training.
Day 15: 90 Minute Spin.
Day 16: 2500 Meter Swim.
Day 17: 60 Minute Spin.
Day 18: 2500 Meter Swim.

Here I am again trying to make the most of my TV series addiction. I first made amends with myself playing PS3 so much by spinning while playing. It was great. The feeling of guilt for playing all day was nullified because I was training on the bike as well. It limited my playing time to about 2-3 hours too. I made it a point to stop playing when I stop spinning.

Here I am again faced with another opportunity to make the time I spend in front of the idiot box a lot more productive.

I spun for a good two episodes of Doctor Who last night. That was a good two hour spin coupled with a good sense of accomplishment and a sense of entitlement for having progressed in the series that I am so addicted to right now. I am currently wrapping up season 4 and I have three more episodes to go. I cannot wait to see how it ends. A three hour spin tonight will reveal how the Doctor will fare in the end of the season.

I could not help but wonder why I thought of this just now. How much stronger on the bike could I have been if I started spinning when I started watching season 1. I do have 2 more seasons to go and that’s a guaranteed 26 hours of spinning. Good times and heavy legs are up ahead.

I took the liberty of going to MOA this morning to do a test on myself. I wanted to check if I can finally hit below 60 minutes on my 30k. It was quite a chore getting out of bed earlier but I trudged on. The cold weather hasn’t really been kind to my waking up early routine but I had to. The drive to MOA was a little light since it was still very early. I managed to hit MOA a little before 6 am. I parked, set up my bike, and then rode off.

I started off light at first. I was surprised that I managed to get up to around 28 to 30 kph on the small chain ring. I guess those butt numbing hours on the trainer is finally paying off. I would average at around 1:55 – 2:10 per kilometer which was well in target for a sub 60 finish for the 30 kilometers.

The 60 minute finish was well into the horizon up until kilometer 25 but fatigue started to creep in. My legs started to feel heavy and I could spin at a decent rpm anymore. I switched to the big chain ring to compensate for the reduced cadence. Instead of getting a bit faster, it wrecked my thighs a lot more. I had a hard time spinning on the heavy gears. I barely glanced 30kph on the last 5 kilometers.

I pushed on and tried to finish under 70 minutes and I did. I clocked in my 30 kilometers at around 63 minutes. It was a decent effort but I still didn’t hit sub 60. It’s back to the trainer for me tomorrow and Friday and a loooong ride on Saturday. Here’s to hoping that I can hit sub 60 next week. This will surely prepare me for the Sprint Triathlon that I have on June 12.

Spun easy for the next 6 kilometers and then, I called it a morning. Good workout!

I just realized that a 60fps camera is not enough for super slow motion type of videos like those found in Discovery’s Time Warp. After looping around BHS with the team, I hopped off and took out my cameras and started shooting. It was a shame that I didn’t get as much angles and shots as I wanted to because I couldn’t leave my bike alone on the sidewalk. I really need a glide cam for my 5dm2. I will make life much more easier.

I let one of my teammates wear the GoPro. I let it shoot at 60fps and the output was nothing but spectacular. As I’ve said, 60fps isn’t enough to make super slow motion videos but it will do. I found this neat plug in for Final Cut Pro that would convert my 60fps video into 1000fps. Maybe I’ll try that in my next video. Enjoy!

Endure BHS Fun from dimsumandsiomai on Vimeo.

I recently acquired a GoPro HD cam and I am loving it. It will be a great compliment to my 5dm2. I love how you can virtually mount it anywhere.

Bike Time with the GoPro from dimsumandsiomai on Vimeo.

Mounted it under my aerobars and on the left side of my rear tire. Looked ok. Expoure on the shots mounted under the aerobar could use a little work though.

Had a lot of fun editing but I had to export the raw files to MOV first before I could finally get them into FCP.

I need to make some DIY mountings so I can put the cam anywhere.

Go Pro Helmet Hero
Final Cut Pro

Bike Sessions With Endure from dimsumandsiomai on Vimeo.

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Went by Bikezilla the other day to get myself a pair of two strap bike shoes. I was fortunate enough to see a couple and with my size as well!

These are the Carnac Ultra yakitiyakyak whatever shoes. They are light. They only have two straps. And they look more than half cooler compared to my old Exustar bike shoes. No road test yet for the shoes because I just got them but the first thing I noticed about them were that they were certainly lighter.

I did some slow pedaling with them and noticed that my feet felt lighter too. They feel airier as well because there were some air ducts in the bottom. Even though this is my right size already, the shoe feels big to me. When I wore them without socks, it felt like my feet had a lot of space to move in. It felt like my feet were bouncing around in the shoe. I guess I needed to strap it on tighter. We shall see.

I am loving that my new pair only has two straps now. This will surely lower my transition time in multisport because they will be faster to put on. The only thing that’s missing now is my yet to be found bike skills.

I installed the cleats myself last night and when I tried them on the bike it felt alright. The bottom part of the cleat should be aligned to the ball of your foot but with the shoes, I couldn’t bring the cleats up more. Had to make do with how they are now. They felt fine but we’ll see as I ride more with them.

Walking up to transition area to set up and get body marked. As always, feelings of hurling my guts out were present. I was a good thing Tricia was there to calm my nerves.

Yoda and I at the finish line just before the race. Yoda is the Endure Mascot.

With the team and our patented Triangle Formation. Ellen, Pio, Rj, Me, and Tiff. I was glad they were there.

Me and my ugleh swim form. Bent knees and all.

Coming out of the pool for the first time. I look like a sea monster. I wish it was more than just looks and that I also swam like one. :( Getting out of the pool was the hardest. Had to do that a total of three times.

It was quite a run from the pool to transition area. I was lucky enough to bring a pair good fitting slippers.

I was out of T1 in a couple of minutes. I made sure I had my shades on so that I’ll look like a PRO. Oh yeah. That my friends is how you properly mount up to a bicycle.

I look happy. I finished the 20k bike at around 51 minutes. I am still slow. Thanks to the humps though, I have a reason for being slow.

Oh yeah. My second Triathlon is complete and here’s to hoping that I do more.

Thank you Tricia for coming! I love you! With out your support, I wouldn’t have finished the race.

I am far from calling myself an experienced triathlete and I believe it would still take countless hours in the pool, on the bike and on the pavement for me to really come close to the level of experience that elite triathletes have but here are some things to keep in mind when on race day to make sure that your first race will be fun and that you will live to race another day.

Prepare your gear before you go to sleep. This includes race kits, goggles, swim cap, the clothes the you will wear. This even includes your bike. Make sure everything is rolling OK. Pump up your tires to 100 PSI. Don’t forget your water bottles. Don’t forget your bike tools. Don’t forget your shades and your helmet. Put them in a transition bag (I keep mine in a transition bag. Its a bag where I keep my shoes, bike shoes, some clothes, and everything else. I got mine at Secondwind. Cheap too!) or a basket.

The blue bag there is my transition bag. I always keep everything in that bag so there’s no chance of me leaving something at home.

Set up well at transition. As soon as you get body marked, head on over to transition and hook up your bike to the bike rack. Take out your shoes and open them up. That way, it will be a snap to put them on later in the race. Put a little powder as well around the ankle area so that your foot will just slide in even if they are wet. Set up everything in a way that once you get there you won’t forget anything. Put your helmet on top of the bike to make sure that it will be the first thing you’ll grab! Safety first!

Take it easy in the swim. Nobody wins a triathlon by blazing through everybody in the swim. Take it easy and slow. Don’t get too caught up in the crowd because all you’ll get are lungs full of water. Be prepared to get kicked but don’t let that put you out of your groove. Zone out and just swim! An average of 2.5 – 3 minutes per 100 meters is good enough and you’ll still be able to get a good and decent finish.

T1: Top to bottom. In transition 1, coming from swim to bike, wear everything from top to bottom. Helmet, Shades, race belt, shoes. Make it systematic so you won’t forget anything. Make sure you wear you’re helmet the right way and not the other way around.

Attack with your strengths. If you’re strong on the bike, give them hell on the road. If you’re a good runner, give them hell on the pavement.A lot of my friends have finished this way. Gingerbreadman Luis on his first duathlon blazed through his run to overtake and finish ahead of most of the guys.

T2: Drop everything and run like hell. I heard of many horror stories of people crashing in the run portion of at triathlon. Make sure you still have some energy left and that you can still run easy. Spin easy on your last kilometer on the bike to give you legs some sort of breathing space. Don’t go out running with your helmet on!

Dance to the finish. It’s your first triathlon so you might as well make your finish memorable. Do a cartwheel. Scream out loud like a Spartan. Crawl to the finish. Do anything. Just make sure you finish the race happy and enraged and fueled to join your next triathlon.

I upgraded my old Heavy Profile Design Fast Forward Seat Post to a Carbon Profile Design Fast Forward Seat Post. Haven’t been able to take it out on the road since I got it so I can’t really tell the difference. I don’t think I’ll really be able to tell the difference with the little weight I shaved off but less is always better on the bike. There was a substantial weight difference when I was holding both seat posts. This Upgrade cost me 3000 pesos. Ouch.

Maybe I could just try losing more weight. I am back to 140 pounds. I am heavy and fat again.