CLOSING IT DOWN

This is possibly the last blog post on this site.  Why?  Several reasons:

• Other than race recaps, random training stuff, and a random topic here and there, there isn't much this blog is used for
• I don't have a specific theme.  Not that that is a purpose of every blog, but if you have a blog that is completely random and theme-less, that is sort of a theme in and of itself
• I log all my training on Beginner Triathlete (BT) and put recaps there as well (so its sort of double the work)
• BT has a blog of there site and a blog roll that shows the latest posts by their bloggers/members.  People who log workouts thru BT can elect to activate their 'blog' so that their training or other things they write are viewable to members, friends, or the general public (depending on their settings). 

SOOOOOO, that is what I am going to go with--I am sticking with BT and making my 'blog' there open to general viewing.  With that said, if you want to follow my training updates, race recaps, and anything else I might write in my training log, please click the link below to be redirected to the new SUPER MARIO MULTISPORT at the BeginnerTriathlete dot com.  If you want to check out cool blogs, move your eyes over to the left.  If they weren't cool bloggers, they wouldn't be there (that doesn't mean that blogs that aren't there, aren't cool, though):

CLICK THIS

Last Two Weeks of Training

Last two weeks were pretty sub-par with regards to training. That's ok though. Official 2012 training kicks in on Monday, Jan 2 if all goes well.

12 R: 0.60 Mi 04m 35s  Str:  32m	13 R: 3.75 Mi 30m  Insanity	14 S: 1350 Yd  29m 43s  Insanity	15	16 B: 13.5 Mi  44m 41s  R: 2.00 Mi 15m 02s	17 Insanity	18		S:  1350 Yd 29m 43s B: 13.5 Mi 44m 41s R: 6.35 Mi 49m 37s Str: 32m Insanity 2h 36m 38s
19 B: 14 Mi  46m 36s	20 R: 3.8 Mi 31m 05s	21 S: 1400 Yd  29m 38s	22	23 B: 14 Mi  45m 29s  R: 3.90 Mi 32m 01s	24	25 R: 4.52 Mi 32m 30s	S:   1400 Yd 29m 38s B: 28 Mi 1h 32m 05s R: 12.22 Mi 1h 35m 36s

TOTAL 12/12 - 12/18: 5h 12m 39s
TOTAL 12/19 - 12/25: 3h 37m 19s

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Yeti and Santa!



Best Buy Mom vs. Santa

Gotta love this one:

Bike Weight and Upgrades

I am generally not a weight weenie, but I am going to make some modifications to my tri bike over the winter that may bring the weight down a little bit, but decided to weigh it the way I had it set up for Tri-Star 111 and for IMWI.  Other than just the bike I had:

• an aero-bottle on the front handlebars
• 2 large water bottles in the rear X-Lab Tail Wing (not the light weight carbon one either)
• one large bottle on the down tube
• one regular size bottle on the seat tube
• repair kit with tube, multi-tool, Co2 inflater with 3 Co2's
• Bento Box with one heavy almond butter and jam sandwich in it

Here's my super-scientific method for weighing the bike:  I filled the bottles and put them on the bike.  Then I got something that weighs about as much as the sandwich and stuffed it in the Bento Box. Probably a little light...  Then I hopped on the scale and measured my own weight 3 times.  Then I remained on the scale lifted the bike up, noted the weight, set it down and repeated.  With the bike in hand I weighed 31 lbs more.  THAT MEANS MY BIKE WAS 31 lbs when I took off for the 62 mile Tri-Star bike section and the 112 mile hilly IMWI course.  It lightened up during the ride as I was drinking the bottles then tossing the empties in the drop zones, but still.  31 lbs....?!?!?

   

Vuelta XRP Team SL

I am making some mods to my bike for a couple reasons...   First off when I bought the bike over the 2007/2008 winter to race in 2008, I went for the lowest end bike that got me the most for the price. I didn't care about brand.  I ended up with the Quintana Roo KILO (their lowest model at the time--still might be).  It came as a package deal with several extra's to set you up for tri racing. Right when I got the bike I put some new wheels on it (Vuelta XRP Team SL) as it came with some stock wheels good for training, but not very good for racing. I sold off the stock wheels which helped with the cost of the Vuelta's.  I figured I'd race it for a couple years and if I like the 'tri thing' I'd upgrade.  Well, upgrading is FREAKIN EXPENSIVE so I decided to replace parts, but upgrade the part being replaced.  In 2009 I scored some carbon Vision handlebars from a friend who even installed them too (thanks Joe).  In 2010 I replaced the crappy cranks that the bike came with as the chain rings were on their last leg and it would have cost more to replace one ring than it was to replace the whole crank--and I got a sweet Ultegra set on eBay.  I put them on a few days before the Waseca Sprint--my chain shifted off when I when to go from the little ring just 15 seconds or so after leaving T1.  It didn't affect my bike split (brag alert: I still had the top bike split), but did it affect the overall????    In 2011, this past August, I replace the crappy stock brakes with Shimano Ultegra's that I picked up on eBay (some guy bought brakes, but then realized he need long reach ones so he had to sell'em off).  I finally discovered what its like to slow down when I lightly squeeze the brakes  : )     BTW- Had I not had them I would have probably crashed out on one of the descents in IMWI.  Finally, I know its still 2011, but my replacement part/upgrade for 2012 are the wheels and saddle. Maybe its just me, but I feel like my saddle has been flexing more than usual.  I ride right off the tip so all my weight is right there and it felt really flexible in the last few rides. Can the rails fatigue?  This change isn't to to wanting a new one, but I'm looking at it as a necessity--like replacing a tube with a slow leak.  I got a Selle Italia T1 saddle (photo above).  Finally, after four years of racing on the Vuelta wheels its time for a change. They are still solid and very true , but the cassette loosened up a couple times this year and it caused some nicks/gouges in the some of the splines.  I still raced with them in the Douglas TT's, TriStar, and IMWI, so they're fine, but for how long?  So for the new wheels--they not really new, but new to me. I snagged some HED 3's on, you guessed it, eBay.