[stoney]

I have my first triathlon in less than 30-days, and it's a doozey:
Escape from the Rock
http://www.envirosports.com/events/displayevent.php?eventid=1588

Starts on Alcatraz - 1.5 mile open water swim
2.5 mile run to the transition area
13 mile bike in the hilly Presidio
7.5 mile run in the hilly Presidio, including the infamous "Sand Steps"

This is going to rock. However, I'm not too excited about the balance of swim and run to biking, as biking is my strength. Thankfully the course map is posted so I can train on the course for the run and bike, I hate being blind regarding the length of an endurance race.

One thing I am not looking forward to is the "No Headphones" rule. I'm looking at 2.5 hours of hard cardio with no music. Kill me.
My life is training right now though. Morning swims of 1+ every other/third day; Hill repeats on the bike every other day; and minnimum 1 hour runs through the Presidio every other day. The double days are wearing, but I am getting used to them. Plus the bonus that my fitness levels are getting quite exceptional. Downside, I don't have time to climb now... oh well. Tri is fun!

 

[stoney]

9/20: 1 mile open water swim :24.25 1:30/100m split.
Off for my run now.

 

[Heidi]

Sweet - good luck to you. Why is there a no headphone rule?

 

[stoney]

Safety apparently. On the bike section I can see why, it's hilly and high speed, but the run?
I guess they want you to be using internal motivation?

 

[Wumpus]

Why is there a no headphone rule?

Seems that the insurance companies don't like them.

 

[rooftest]

I remember a story on the news that was praising the Ipod because it "saved a woman's life." Seems some girl was jogging in the street in San Francisco with her Ipod on when a car ran her over. She was comatose, but authorities identified her by her Ipod. How about if she wasn't wearing them, she would have stepped out of the way?

I'm tired of Ipod-listening roadies turning into me when I pass them, because they can't hear the "on your left!"

 

[stoney]

Yeah... She died in the hospital, they still have no leads on the driver.
I wear an ipod when I ride/run, but only loud enough to hear the music. I can still hear traffic/people, or I ride one ear bud out.

 

[Heidi]

I'm tired of Ipod-listening roadies turning into me when I pass them, because they can't hear the "on your left!"

I find that with mtb'ers FAR more often. They can't hear on your left and I usually have to pass unsafely and scare the crap outta them. HAHAHAHAHA

 

[stoney]

I'm off to ride the bike leg now. Looking at the course map, the one steep section of the route is directly after a long, windy descent. If I can keep my speed through the bottom turn (ie. not catch anyone in the apex), I should be able to momentum most of the climb. This is good.

 

[rooftest]

I find that with mtb'ers FAR more often. They can't hear on your left and I usually have to pass unsafely and scare the crap outta them. HAHAHAHAHA

On the trails, I mostly ran into joggers in this situation. On the road, it's easier to give these guys a pro-tour style shove!

 

[stoney]

Just rode the bike leg. It's a burner. It's literally an up/down/up/down over the same peak three times. I'm spinning out my 54/12, so I'm going down to an 11 tooth, but I also an dropping my inner ring from a 43 to a 39 so I can spin. It's steep enough that I'm mashing a 43/27.
My top speed on the course (open w/ traffic) was 43mph, which I spun out at.
I'm going to go run the course in a little while, I'm not looking forward to the sand steps.
Speaking of the sand steps, I ran into a few guys from the 49er's while I was riding up the steepest section. I was hammering and they started hollering "Go get it Baby!", "Push it! You got it!". Totally motivational, I hammered up the rest of the climb that loop.

 

[stoney]

Just did the run. 7.5 miles in 1:10. Slow pace, ~9min/mile, but I was lost most of the way. There are two 1/2-3/4 mile beach stretches which suck. It's deep sand and really slows the pace, as well as the steep climb towards the far end of the course. I think I'll be able to get it under an hour next time, I had a strong headwind and being lost didn't help any.
On the bike front, one of my buddy's just *gave* me a new set of wheels for the race. I'm going to do my next ride on the course with those wheels to see what kind of time difference I can expect. They are a full 1.5lbs lighter than the Rolfs I currently have. Once I have set my time with the race wheels, I am going to throw the 39 tooth inner ring and the 11 tooth onto the cassette. The 39 should allow me to keep spinning on the climbs and the 11 will give me that much more before I spin out on the descents.

 

[rooftest]

They are a full 1.5lbs lighter than the Rolfs I currently have.

650 grams lighter? What are you riding now, MTB wheels?

 

[stoney]

650 grams lighter? What are you riding now, MTB wheels?

Rolf Comp's wearing Conti's with flat protection.
ie Heavy.

 

[stoney]

There has been a course change for the run. It's been dropped to a 10k from 7.5 miles. The neighborhood at the farthest point was apparently having a block party as well, so the course would have been blocked. This is good for me, as the run no longer has the deathmarch from sea level to 600+ft over 1 mile. It is now a shorter flatter loop that composes 60% of my normal daily run.
I also am debating my bike setup now. With other people on the course, a full tri setup is probably going to be overkill. I'm thinking I want dropbars, catch being I do not have any sti levers... I'm kicking myself, because I initially had the option to set the bike up as a true road bike, but made the call to go tri.
Training-wise, I am now up to 1.5 miles on my swim. I did 1.5 in 36min into the tide over the weekend. I also cut 7min off a run that normally takes me 45min. I'm starting to get really amped, as I am finally getting into shape. I need to spend more time on the bike though, because I am starting to lose my torque. I think I'm running and swimming too much.