Pre-race bike tips

1:20:00 (15.2mi)bike ride followed by a 40:00 (2.4 mi) run yesterday. Not sure on my HR since my monitor is acting up, but done at RPE 3. I hate having to run this slow... It’s driving me bonkers.

I’m working on a spreadsheet for tracking my workouts. I’ve struggled for a long time to keep a log that I feel comfortable with and don’t lose.

I got some great tips from the Get Your Geek On triathlon podcast done by Iron Wil and the Iron Kahuna of Tri Geek dreams. Iron Wil did an interview with Scott from BMC at the Wisconsin Ironman Brick Adventure about a checklist of top 10 bike things to check before your race.

1. Check the condition of your wheels – check that the spokes aren’t loose, make sure it’s true, etc.

2. Check Tire Condition – look for glass, cracks, wear, etc.

3. Check tire pressure, make sure your tire pressure is appropriate for the course, ask an LBS

4. Don’t Change/Adjust Anything on Race Day! Ever!

5. Clean your drive train - a dirty drive train is an inefficient drive train and is only going to be more likely to break down

6. Make sure your Quick Releases are tight after transporting your bike to the transition area.

7. Check your Drive Train for signs of wear.

8. Check your cables to makes sure they’re not worn, too loose or too tight.

9. Check brakes for wear, looseness or tightness.

10. Clean your bike. Clean it with Windex and give it a nice polish. Furniture polish works fine and will repel dust and light dirt. Treat your bike with love and respect and it will love and respect you. Feel fast, be fast.

This was the first Get Your Geek On (GYGO) podcast I listened to and I have to say I fairly enjoyed it. They had some good little segments and a good dynamic between Wil and the Kahuna. They don’t publish very often, which is unfortunate, but what can you do?

One thing I find kind of interesting is that Kahuna mentioned that there is an intimacy to being part of a blog community, even though everyone uses made up names.

What he said reminded me of an element I’ve seen come up in the Marvel Comics universe, specifically with the X-Men. Many characters in that part of the universe, even ones who aren’t heroes or villains, come up with names for themselves relevant to their powers or abilities or aspects of their personalities because, as mutants, they feel themselves set apart from society. As Magneto said in the second movie “What’s your real name, John?” and the actor answers “Pyro”. He sees his true name as being one of his own choice that says something about who he is and how he views himself.

While Iron Wil, Iron Kahuna, Texafornia, Jetpack or Chaserbren are not our real names, they speak to something about who we are in a way that names like Robert, Bret, Tyler, Wil or Brendan can’t. It’s the paths we choose in life which speak most about who we are, so too can the names we choose. They don’t define us, but are instead, defined by us.

And there’s my insightful thought for the week…

I have some planning still to do for my race as well as starting to outline a base building plan for my first IM.