The Most Thankful Training Tool

Hey y'all it's been awhile! So Thanksgiving just passed (All triathletes get on your knees and pray to the anti-weight gain gods) and I got to thinking about things that I'm thankful for. And I came up with one thing that has been one of my most useful training tools ever since I started triathlon!

My Timex Ironman watch.

It was a birthday gift from my wife right after we got engaged and I fell in love with it! A lot of people have tried Ironman watches with varying results (the father-in-law prefers Garmin for its GPS) but I have always loved my entry-level $40 Target watch.

Ironman watches have a lot going for them. For one thing, if you grab one with a water-resistance of 100-meters, they're virtually water-proof. I can vouch, I take mine in the pool every time I swim to time my splits. Which is probably the watches most amazing function. (Quick tip here: Don't submerge the Ironman watch while you press the buttons; most people who encounter watch failures do so because of ignoring this. The watch doesn't have internal gaskets to protect the components from water penetration so make sure your wrist is out of the water before you go mashing buttons!)

Mine is an excellent Blue-Orange coloring that matches my race kit and looks fairly stylish too! So here's everything you need to know in quick-bullet format about the watch, Good and Bad.

1. If you don't press the buttons underwater, it's virtually water-proof. I've taken mine in the pool countless times and timed countless splits in an effort to improve my abilities and it's never failed me. Ever. Never fogged, never sputtered. As a firefighter, I rely on my watch to time pulses and let me know how long I've been in, and this thing has survived extreme temperatures and had thousands of gallons of tank water dumped on it and it's still kicking. I've gotten grease and oil all over it, buttons still function even when a tad grimy. I've dropped it from ridiculous heights. I have yet to break it. Which is a miracle.

2. The screen has decent scratch-resistance. For all I've put it through, I've never scratched the display. Also phenomenal as my last watch scratched on it's first trial run (a generic Wal-Mart brand.)

3. The biggest complaint you hear is that the strap breaks down from chlorine. Knowing this, I rinse my watch after every swim to get off any excess chlorine and I've never had a problem with the strap. It still looks new with no issues.

4. The next thing you hear is that the battery craps out as soon as you buy it. I've had mine almost a year and the battery is just as good as the day I bought it. Maybe I'm a lucky one, but I have a hard time believing that a company like Timex would make a watch that died so quickly after purchase.

5. The watch does have Indiglo (essential for night-runs) and the stopwatch, splits, and recall functions work great. In races like Ironman, where the course is usually lapped, you can time each lap and bring the data back up later for logging and evaluation.

6. The only downside I can personally say is the expense. $40 is a bit steep for a watch, especially for a blog about triathlon budgets, but you pay for what you get. It's more like an investment than a purchase.

If you can't tell, I love my Timex Ironman. Personally, I use it as a backup for my Strava data for those rare occasions when Strava malfunctions and I lose my times for a run or ride. I've never had any problems with it in any condition and I highly recommend it for anyone needing rugged performance out of their equipment without loss of functionality.

Food for Thought

 

So when I started training for the Ironman, I completely retooled my diet and nutrition. I figured it was pretty much essential, without proper carb and protein consumption I wouldn't have any energy and I'd injure myself. So I retooled my diet, lowered my fat intake, upped my carbs, and maxed out my protein. And I've never felt better. I also lowered my caffeine content (I was drinking around 5 Diet Mtn. Dews a day) and I've had way more energy. But here's a few things I've learned about triathlon nutrition throughout my training.

Mistakes:

1. Inadequate fueling during training. 

I'm pretty bad about this. There's been quite a few times (like last time I went to the gym for the treadmills) that I've forgotten either my weak Gatorade mix or forgotten to eat or drink while running or on the bike. These always kill me in the end, I'll bonk after riding through some hard hills or windy conditions and it sounds pathetic, but I run my best 10k while consuming approximately 16 oz. of 50/50 Gatorade and water. Training nutrition is essential, you don't want to drain your muscle glycogen, it takes far too long to replenish to make it worthwhile in training. 

2. No post-workout meal

I was especially bad at this in college. I'm not usually hungry after a hard workout so taking in that 2grams carbs per lbs body weight is especially difficult for me some days. Now I have a pretty standard staple post workout food to help me increase my carbs, chocolate soy milk. Packed full of carbs and protein, this is my go to drink when I'm done with a workout. 

3. Under consuming calories

Confession time. I'm a religious calorie counter. And I over-regulate myself because I have a hard time getting my mind to factor in workouts. That's not bad when I'm trying to drop weight, but it's awful for trying to maintain or even gain.

My Top 5 Foods for the Triathlete:

1. Chocolate Soymilk

My favorite after-workout snack! 140 calories per serving, 23 grams of carbs, and 5 grams of protein. Two cups of this and you'd be golden.

2. 2% Cottage Cheese

90 calories in a 1/2 cup and 14 grams of protein, this is my staple before bed snack. It's packed full of casein, so consuming this is supposed to help prevent your body from breaking down muscle mass during the night to fuel calorie burn.

3. Fruit Leather

45 calories per strip, made from real fruit and jam-packed with 12 grams of carbs, I love these things! They're delicious and they're about 2 mm thick so I can cram 2 or 3 in my duty pants and be fine for snacks.

4. Almonds

I pack these for my morning snack, 160 calories per serving with 14 grams of healthy fats and 6 grams of protein. My primary concern with most snacks is to consume enough protein to prevent muscle breakdown after training.

5. Banana

100 calories and 29 grams of carbs; this is my pre-workout snack. It's great for the GI and it provides enough carbs to sustain long-lasting energy.

So that's the gist of my nutritional experience since starting my training! All foods available at your local Wal-Mart.

The Bad Days

Hey y'all. So one thing I've learned from my Ironman training so far is that you will have bad days. Yesterday was one of those days. I started out on what was supposed to be a 2-3 hour bike but because of missing a workout I was really just pushing for 1 1/2 hours. I had planned everything so that I'd be out the door and riding at noon when the weather was warmest and the forecast had told me there was only supposed to be a very light breeze (like 6 mph).

Murphey's law: The Forecast Always Lies.

I went out on the bike only to discover that the wind was actually blowing at 14 mph with gusts of 20 mph intermittent throughout the day. I also discovered the wind was blowing from the North. Directly. My bike route runs down Highway 50, which turns towards the NE/E for most of my ride. So I battled a crosswind for most of the ride and a headwind for another good portion. Not only that, but about a mile into the ride I discovered that I had forgotten my sunglasses back at home. So I got to turn around and ride the mile back, pause and grab my glasses, and then back out onto the highway. I was livid.

After that, nothing seemed to go right. I averaged 16 mph (my usual in a crosswind) for the first 7 miles. But that last 5 were pure hell. The last 5 I had a strong headwind and no matter what I did I couldn't shake it. I tried pedalling down in the drops, I flattened myself out in to the aero tuck, I did everything I knew to beat the wind, including shifting into a smaller chainring and pedalling at a higher cadence. At that point, the wind started pushing me back so I had to shift back up and mash the gears to fight it off.

And it sucked. Brutally. I made it one hour in the ride before I called it off. And I was depressed. And miserable. And I felt like the worst Ironman candidate ever. But here's the thing.

YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE BAD DAYS! It doesn't mean anything. Your bike will break halfway through your ride, you will lose your favorite water bottles, you will fall off and bang yourself up because that stupid semi wouldn't move over six inches. It will happen. And it will get better.

Sometimes a bad ride is just a hard ride. My ride was something like that. A strong wind is actually one of the greatest simulations you can have for hill workouts in a flat area. It's actually a good thing.

So take the small blessings along with the big ones. And always remember, go out hard...finish harder.

The New Haul

So out on the bike today in 40 degree weather, I realized some gear that I was lacking which will now be used on most of my winter bikes! A quick trip to Wal-Mart (turns out this is a good time for this) and my problem was remedied! So let's look at my haul! 

First thing I realized on the bike was that the 30 degree wind blowing through my helmet was absolutely ridiculously cold. A little googling turned up the answer (my wife later informed me her father already did this but I hadn't noticed) and off to Wal-Mart I rushed for a do-rag! Apparently at Wal-Mart, they now carry safety orange Do-rags which matches my race kit perfectly so now the problems solved! According to some online blogs I follow, it should also help in the summer with keeping sweat from rolling down my face.

Next up was something to protect my ears from wind on my runs. Enter the stocking cap. At Wal-Mart, they're currently on sale for $2.00 so run out and pick one up if you don't have one! I bought a reversible kind to make it match my race kit and work for uniform around the station but they carried a huge selection so you should be able to find something to match your kit. The stocking hat is small enough to fold down and tuck into a jersey pocket but also is warm enough to protect my head while running.

Last up will actually be part of a couple posts! After my ride I happened to glance down and realize I had to do something. You see, I managed to wind-burn my chest. Since nothing looks more stupid than splotchy red patches on your chest, I ran to Google for the solution and discovered what will be the topic of one of my next posts. Homemade Vapor Barriers! Basically, it's a half-vest made out of a garbage bag. (Tutorial coming soon) This keeps the wind from blowing through your lycra cycling clothing and chilling you to the bone. You can also keep your feet warm without thermal covers in a similar manner! (Also coming soon.)

So hopefully next ride, the new gear will help keep me a tad warmer! Happy cycling!

From Loser to Cruiser

 

Hey everybody! So as you all know, I currently ride a GMC Denali 700c Road Bike, purchased from a local Wal-Mart! (The pink cruiser in the background is the wifey's) And personally, I love my bike! So lately I've been hearing some people talking about how horrid of a bike it is and how it isn't worth upgrading. Enter Sir Flat Broke Ironman to the rescue! Because, you see, I fully intend to ride the Denali into the ground, until it's either totalled or my financial situation improves to the point where I can afford a decent tri-bike! So this is a quick guide to show you through what I intend to do with the Denali in the next few years how to make your own clunker road bike match the space-age bike snobs!

1. Clipless Pedals

If you read my earlier review of the Denali, you know it comes with flats. Which is a MAJOR problem as far as bike speed and power efficiency goes. I understand the logic, most people buying an intro level road bike need to get used to simply riding a road bike and that's much easier to do without wiping out due to clipless issues.  So step one for my bike and hopefully yours, is going to be to install a clipless pedal system to increase overall cycling power. I'm looking at installing these bad boys http://www.amazon.com/Venzo-Shimano-Cycling-Bicycle-Pedals/dp/B00D9B7FOQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1385435762&sr=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=clipless+pedal+venzo. Remember, you need shoes, cleats, and the pedals to make the system go! I'm looking at adding this to my bike around late January or February.

2. Clip-on Aero Bars

This is basically a temp fix until I can get integrated aero bars. These basically just clamp onto your handlebars and adjust to a modified aero position. I intend to install these at the same time as the clipless pedals, all of which should help you (and hopefully me) look closer to the athletes on $6,000 bikes. Quick tip: The same tape you use on baseball bats works great on keeping sweaty hands from slipping on aero bars. And it's cheap.

3. High-pressure Slicks and Presta Tubes with Adaptors

The Denali came standard with 700x32 low-pressure hybrid tires. Not bad for intermediate roads but definitely not race material. I'll be upgrading these before my Ironman to high-pressure (100-120 psi) slick racing tires. I'll probably be shrinking the width slightly too. The Denali also came with Schrader valve tubes to make it more commercially viable to a public used to Schrader valves, so those all have to go to be replaced with Presta. And since the rims are drilled for Schrader, they all need rim adapters ($0.65 on Amazon) to keep the valves from tearing loose. High pressure tires reduce your rolling resistance and will help make your clunker more aerodynamic.

4. Wedge Box Top Tube Bag

This is more of an accessory than an upgrade and I'll probably be doing this one in spring when I start going back out for extremely long rides (they're only $10 at Wal-Mart) Another trick learned by watching the father-in-law, he uses one to store immediate nutrition since reaching behind you in aero bars is fraught with peril.

5. Quill-Stem to Threadless Adaptor

If you own a bike with a quill-stem, you know what a pain in the arse it is to find new handlebars. So to fix that problem, you can install an adapter that then allows you to use threadless handlebars with your bike which greatly opens up the possibilities. Eventually I'll grab one from Amazon and fix my handlebar situation which brings us to...

6. Handlebars and Drop Bar Shifters

The Denali comes with extremely heavy and heavily customized handlebars, which have quite literally been cut in half to have mountain bike shifters installed. So replacing these with carbon-fiber bars would be an extreme improvement. Since I eventually intend to install integrated aero-bars, the adaptor is a necessity and bar-end shifters are going to become a must have. If you have some basic bike tune-up skills, this won't be a major project but we'll see how it goes when I'm trying it out! ;)

7. Deep Dish Wheels

This is a long shot since decent racing wheels would cost me 4x more than the bike did, but if you can ever find a great deal on a set of racing wheels, you can greatly lighten your bike and decrease resistance. For me, a new set of wheels would also be the easiest way to get quick-release skewers on my bike!

8. Adjustable Saddle Post

Also a long shot due to cost, but the straight-bar saddle post on the Denali leaves the available positions somewhat lacking. An adjustable saddle post would indeed fix these problems and allow for greater range of motion but they're also expensive. Although speaking from experience, the saddle post in the Denali weighs an entire pound all by itself so a carbon-fiber post could shave some weight.

9. Drivetrain

The Denali's drivetrain is somewhat lacking as the gear ratios and cassette it uses are the same as for mountain bikes, topping off your gear-based mileage at a sub-par area. When these wear out, I definitely plan to replace the cassette and upgrade to a lighter, more weight-efficient drivetrain. This is an excellent way to both gain gearing power and shave off a few kilos.

10. Frame

Eventually, if I have invested all this money already in the bike, I will want to replace the frame with a lighter one to shave off the last few possible kilos! Just remember, although the components may change the bike itself keeps on living!

So that's essentially my master plan to help you take the old clunker and match it with the space-age bikes of the new cycling generation. Always remember, in Ironman especially, it's your heart that makes the difference. The best equipment in the world won't save you if you're heart isn't strong enough to say "dammit I won't quit," whether it's mile 1 or 115!  Now let's get back to racing!

Flat Broke Ironman's Healing Hints!

So with my calf strain and other miscellaneous aches and pains finally cleared up, I've compiled a list of what I learned from my injured experience. There's a few items I recommend nobody go without if they want to get back on their feet as quickly as possible!

1: Get yourself a stiff stress ball. Make sure it has some give but is hard to depress. This was my substitute for a foam roller and it worked wonders! It's also much easier to roll under your feet to relieve plantar fasciitis.

2. Run out and get some new ice packs. No, the old packs you used for college hangovers will not work. The kind you want come in a sleeve and have a velcro strap. The sleeve keeps you from directly icing an injury and the strap means you can strap the pack to your knee, thigh, leg, or whatever else ails you. Look for something like this http://www.walmart.com/ip/PhysiciansCare-Ice-Pack-Strap/15815745.

3. Save a few bucks and make yourself a hot pack. Instructions here http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Rice-Sock  ! Basically you fill a sock with uncooked rice and whip stitch the cuff shut.

4. Kinesiology tape is highly recommended if you have the extra dollars to spare! It's primary purpose is to stabilize the muscles and remind your body of the injury all while stimulating blood flow which improves healing.

5. I'm also a huge fan of plain old athletic tape for joint injures. Let's face it, when you injure something that can't be rested, like an ankle, taping it will give you the support you need to keep moving.

6. Ibuprofen is also a must! Anti-inflammatories are one of the best ways you can help injuries, as let's face it, almost all running injuries are caused by inflammation and irritation.

7. Remember, the best tool for your arsenal is PRICE (Protect, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) Follow those guidelines and most minor injuries will figure themselves out. 

So next time you get injured, this is a highly cost-effective way to help you heal as quickly as possible!

The Dead Rat in the House, Or How I Shaved My Legs

So today I woke up and realized, I looked like an idiot. My one shaved calf patch was practical but was also looked like I didn't know how to groom properly. So when my wife, who actually dislikes men with shaved legs, mentioned that I might want to shave mine, I knew I had to do something. So time to shave up!

Step One: I took those same clippers my wife uses on my hair and buzzed my calves and thighs down with the 1/8" guard, managed to cut myself once, and found out how extremely furry I apparently was before. My wife thought this was hilarious and asked me if I had killed a rat.

Step Two: And here is where men should take note, you need to buy a pack of NEW disposable razors and you need to get the kind meant for women shaving their legs. You also need some quality shaving cream, which thanks to my sensitive skin I already had, to prevent razor bumps. Don't worry about what people will think, just spend the $5 and get some quality supplies. I had the annoyance of my life trying to shave with the same dull razors I use daily for my chest. So lather up and shave down.

Step Three: Go back over again, you missed some obvious patches. Trust me. If you're shaving up to the swimsuit line (which you should if you're a triathlete) make sure to check your hamstrings and the backs of your knees. These will require some contortions to get into place.

Step Four: Accept that shaving your legs if you never have before is a multi-day process. It will take more than one attempt to get them perfectly shaved and smooth.

Step Five: Prepare for massive amounts of ridicule from men who don't understand why you did it. Especially if you're a firefighter!

Now let's discuss the reasons why shaving your legs is actually a good idea.

One: Swimmer's do it. You're a swimmer. And they don't do it for no reason. It allows you to feel the water better. I didn't believe this was true until I put my pants on after shaving and realized how much more sensitive everything is. And that translates to the pool. Trust me.

Two: Road rash. You probably spend a decent amount of time cycling (especially if you're training for an Ironman) and sooner or later, you will wipe out. And you will get road rash. And it is much less painful to apply and remove bandages from shaved skin than from hairy legs. Trust me on this one. It hurts.

Three: Massage. Whether it's a sports massage or your foam roller, shaving your legs lets you get deeper into the muscle and improves the massage experience.

So now that I have shaved legs, I appreciate all these little things. We'll see if I keep it up but for now I don't mind. It certainly makes the KT tape easier to remove!