Thursday, May 29, 2008

Details

Stu was fond of saying, "Don't sweat the small [stuff]. And then you'll realize it's all just small [stuff]" But I can't help myself. Unfortunately, I've seen small details derail someone's race.

I know I'm not fast, so winning isn't really the point. I just want to keep Devin within a reasonable amount of time. More than anything, I want to keep my suffering limited to the type of suffering that always comes with endurance events. So I'm sweating the details of how to avoid the other types of suffering.

First and foremost is the dreaded bonk. I've never trained with the stuff they have on course, so I'm trying something new for me: I'm bringing my own. The plan is Carbo Rocket concentrate in a bottle on the frame. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I bought what has to be the single geekest piece of equipment available:
Man, that thing is ugly. What's worse, I actually put that thing on my bike.
Next, my aerobar setup has got me in a lather. I can't seem to get them to stick and they always twist. They did this to me in Hawaii and I ended up torquing one of them so tightly it collapsed. So, I've got a new pair of extensions coming as well as a torque wrench and some assembly compound. Here's to hoping.
Sunscreen. Last year in Hawaii I sweated off my sunscreen and got a sunchar so bad that the marks are still on my arms. The problem with sunscreen is that once I sweat it off, it's next to impossible to get it back into my skin. I'm hoping a quick towel off after the bike and spray sunscreen will keep the blisters away this year.
The rest of the stuff doesn't have me as worried, which means it's inevitably going to be one of those things that goes wrong. Hey, I can't just admit that I'm fat and slow, now can I? It's got to be something else that made me have a crappy day, right?

4 comments:

Sabrosa Cycles said...

Aero Drink. Wow. That is some mighty creativity. Sorry, but every time I see those things, they remind me of the plastic, portable urinals that one would use if they were stuck in a hospital bed. Stay away from lemon/lime gatorade. Bad idea for sure.

Fish said...

FYI, JRuss, I found 1) a 410 mm Thomson seatpost in the 27.2 straight variety as well as a 120mm Ibis blue/grey anodized stem. I'll get them to Nails to take down there.

Mr. Flynn said...

I have that Aero bottle. I also have been planning to have another bottle besides, possibly two other bottles on the frame.I have my mesh bento box thing too. I like the Clif Electrolyte stuff and so I think I will use that. I almost ordered the Carbo Rocket, but I won't have time to test it out. I have found that GU sucks and Cytomax is alright also. But the high sodium content of the Clif stuff has been good, plus I don't burp the stuff up. I do need the pick up some Carbo Rocket stuff though for the future.

However, I don't think I will be sporting the aero helmet. I don't feel like spending the money. on that. The aerobottle was only 10 bucks so even if it is geeky, the cheapness makes me feel better about it.

I have been thinking that I am going to do the bike with a jersey on over my tri-geek-suit. I don't feel like getting burned either. Plus it will be cool still after the swim so the extra layer won't be bad. At most it will take me an extra 20-30 seconds to take it on and off. I plan on taking it off after the bike. I am planning on having the spray sunscreen at both the bike transition and the run. I have two bottles of the stuff sitting here so I might as well reapply at T2.

I am a little worried about not having enough lubrication on the chamois after the swim. I don't think it will come off, but you never know. It needs to work with the minimal tri short chamois for a good length of time, both bike and run. Don't want to get chaffed during either part.

Sabrosa Cycles said...

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