Tag Archives: biking

Let’s Spin Again: Like We Did Last Summer

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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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!

How To Survive Your First Triathlon

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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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.

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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.

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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.

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Powerade Duathlon 2: Revenge but not Quite

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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I went to Hong Kong 2 years ago to satiate my thirst for camera gear. We were looking for Tony Leung’s place called New Sankyo. We had a lot of trouble finding it and we came to a point where we almost quit trying to look for it. We eventually found it but upon our arrival, it was closed.

That is how I felt after I crossed the finish line last Sunday as the 2nd Powerade Duathlon. I trained for it. I sweated blood and tears for it. But I still came short. I was targeting a finish below two hours but I was 3 minutes over the mark.

Aside from the fact that I did not reach my target, it sucks even more because my legs hurt and are still sore. I still can’t walk properly even after 3 days. And to top it all off, I am feeling all this all for nothing. My body hurts, my shoulders are sore, when I wake up I don’t feel rested, I am over trained, I can’t walk properly; all for nothing. I put in so much time into this and I still didn’t reach my goal. I did everything right and I still missed the mark.

I hope I have better luck next time.

Never Ending Tweaking

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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I just bling-ed up my bike and I am guessing that the tweaking will never end.

First major tweak is my seat.

Adamo ISM Race

The ISM Adamo seat is really helping me stay in the aero position more and I am loving it. I am more comfortable sitting on it. I see myself spending lots and lots of hours on this thing and I will love it. If I can sleep with it, I will.

Profile Design T1+

I got to score a good deal on Profile Design T1+ aerobars and I am loving them as well. Compared to my old set, I can now bring them closer to each other because they can accommodate oversized handle bars. Even though this is used, I am extremely surprised that the padding on the shoulder rests still feel very soft and comfy. I also upgraded to a bigger bento box and my miscellaneous items are loving the extra real estate. I still need to keep my bike tool in y back pocket though. The last time I stuffed them in the bento box, it disintegrated into a million pieces because of the vibration. Good thing I was a lot better than the king’s men and I was able to put it back together. I also found a way to move my cyclometer to the center of my cockpit. I am proud to say that I Mcgyver-ed it.

New Bar Tape

I am loving the feel of my new handle bar tapes. I was planning on installing them on my aerobars but since they weren’t that old yet, I put them on the handle bars instead. they feel great and soft. I see them enduring tons of my libag’s for a long long time.

Cockpit View

Here’s one last shot of my new set up! I am definitely loving the new cockpit!

Adjustment Period

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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It’s been three days since Tricia left and I’ve been slowly adjusting to the new life style that is facing me right now. I’ve been happily training left and right and I think my body is hating me right now.

Adamo ISM I finally got to use my new ISM Adamo seat for a decent one hour ride and it felt good. There is some pain on the sit bones but I think I’m still in the adjustment period. I am hoping that it behind will get used to it soon. I am happy to report that there is no longer numbing in the family jewels. I don’t get out of the aero position anymore to give the jewels a breather. I am happy I can manage to get down on the aero bars more but that is giving me new problems. Since I am spending more time on the aero bars, after 30 minutes or so, my shoulders and my biceps start to give out. I think I need to do some strength training on those areas.

With Tricia away, I’ve been doing a lot more training and that needs some adjustment as well. I can honestly say that my body is slowly adjusting but I can’t say the same for what I feel about Tricia being away.