Sunday Afternoon Ride in the Southbay

Cruising in El Segundo Beach during sunset.  I love riding at the beach!  Beautiful scenery, fresh air, ocean smell, beautiful houses, beautiful runners..

 

Scanttante vs Look 

Training Log 8/16 to 8/27

14 weeks left:
Mon: Run 11 miles
Tues: Swim 70 min
Wed: Run 7 miles
Thurs:  Recovery; 4 sets of push-up
Fri: Run 6 miles
Sat: Drill weekend, rest
Sun: Played soccer during my drill weekend
Total hrs of training:  5.5 hrs + soccer 

13 weeks left:
Mon: 5 sets of Pull ups, trying to recover from yesterday's soccer game.
Tues: Swim 1.2 mile + 800 meter = 1 hr 13 min
Wed: 2 sets of Push ups, stretching exercises.
Thur: Bike 20 miles to work; Run 3 miles; Bike home 14 miles.
Fri: Recover, a few sets of push ups.
Sat: Bike 3.5 hrs.
Sun: Run 10 min, Bike 1.5 hrs
Total hrs of training: 9.25 hrs.

I am dogging it for the past 2 weeks..  Obviously, I need to increase my training time.  These hardcore Ironman out there spend 30 hrs a week of training.

Choosing a Bike

I bought my first road bike for my 30th birthday last year.  It's the blue Scattante R-560 from Performance.  It's an aluminum bike with a carbon fork, but it's a 105 groupo, triple crank, about 21 lbs with pedals.  That was the bike I took it to my first tri, and yes I was able to keep up with some of the big boys with carbon bikes.

Unfortunately, I wanted a tri bike, something with a high resell value.   So I decided to sell my road bike on CL.  Within 3-weeks, I sold it to a happy beginner.  So, now what?? no bike.. can't train until I get a new bike.  So for the whole month, I worked on my swimming techniques in the evening and would run during the mornings.

Fuji Aloha 2.0 - This was on sale for $1099 at Performance.  I was super close of getting one of these.  I like the color, but wasn't too happy with the amount of what I am paying for.

So, for the past 3-4 weeks, I checked eBay, CL and slowwitch almost everyday and night.  I got beat repeatably every time I bidded on a Cervelo P2C.  And then...  I found this Look 576.. did extensive of research on it.. and they listed a brand new one on eBay for $2300 (online stores for $2500).  I offered $1900, unbelievably, he accepted.  Look bikes (not pedals) are not very popular, but they are high-end bikes.

 

I bidded on a used P2C, but got the brand new 576 instead.

After weeks of waiting..  finally got it, but I encountered a few problems.  I need to cut the seat post, so I took it to John at Triathlon Zombies, and he happily did it for a low price.  John is an extremely cool gentleman who loves to help instead of overcharging customers.
http://triathletezombies.com/

I rode the bike to work last Thursday, 20 miles one way via the beach route (Carson-El Segundo), and I cannot express enough how smoothly the bike goes.  The bike shifts instantly like an electronic button, cut through the crosswind like a bullet, going fast on straight away like a cycling pro, but only one downside, when climbing uphill, it requires more effort, since I got used to the triple ring on my blue Scattante R-560.  Overall, the transition from my Scanttane to a Look, I had gain at least 3 mph on an average.  Also, I get less fatigue on long rides.



 



 

2010 Los Angeles Marathon

I ran a full marathon for the first time in my life.  Painfully, I finished the LA Marathon with a time of 5:01. My original plan of running without breaks didn't go well, I smashed hard on the wall at mile 21 (by the VA hospital for those who ran it), and nearly could not recover.  I think what a conscience, collapsing next to a VA hospital, perfect for a veteran.  For the next 30 minutes, I was pretty much done(ski) at mile 22 taking small steps like a living zombie.   Luckily, the oranges, OJ, snacks and the cheering from the volunteers got me going and finally completed the last 5k in zoom-zoom mode.  I could not believe it.. sprinting the last 2 miles in a 6:30 min/mi pace.  Nevertheless, I am proud to finish the race, and told myself to better prepare for a 4-hr marathon next time.

Lesson learned:
1) Take restroom break instead of trying to hold it during the run.
2) Eat something during the run, stack on some nutrition or calories.
3) Take walk breaks while crossing some of the water stations.

This is the beginning of my Ironman journey

Originally, I didn't think I am ready for an Ironman (still not totally ready yet). I have only done a Turkey Tri which is only a .5-mile swim, a 14-mile bike and then a 4.5-mile run.  My plan was to do the LA Marathon in March, then the LA Triathlon in Oct, then a half Iron 70.3 California in April 2011, and finally a full Ironman in Tempe, AZ in Nov 2011.  I begin telling myself, I may not want to wait that long, especially next year is another year.  I may not have time to train next year, especially a wedding, a new home, grad school and even starting a family were on my "to-do" list for 2011.   So I decided to do a shotgun approach.  Do the full Ironman this year and forget the rest.