Throwin’ A Brick At You!

>> Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Before I could go on my last long ride before IM New Orleans 70.3 yesterday, I needed to do a few things to my bike. During my virgin ride on Goldilocks on Sunday (see 2 posts down), I realized that the aero bars were tipped a little lower than I would have liked (tipped forward too much), and the aero bar pads were tilted a bit to the outside.

Here are the aero bars once I got one taken care of. The one on the right is good (aero bar pivoted up, and aero pad tilted more to the inside). It’s tough to see, but I thought this was a pretty big difference:



Then I took off my reflectors. I’m trying to think of the nicest way to say this... but reflectors are for pussies. EVERYONE needs to wear a helmet, but the reflectors gotta go. (Right?) Here are my reflectors off my bike:



I also mounted a CO2 pump and tightened both sets of brakes. When I took off my water bottle holder to mount the pump, I was thrilled to see this nice detail:



What does that photo show? The paint job goes over the threads in my frame. Sweet! (This might be pretty standard, but it’s the first I’ve noticed this on my bike, so I thought it was “hot sh*t!!”)

So I got dressed and headed out. It was hazy, moist, and 45 degrees. That’s a little chilly to ride in. But I didn’t need my skull cap or gloves, so it wasn’t TOO bad. After a few miles, I realized that my aero pad was STILL shifting downward, so I figured I’d better stop and take care of it. Here I am about 18 miles into the ride when I hopped off my bike:



Here’s the “snot-rocket” that I had shot a few miles before, but I missed and it hit my leg:


(Notice the Drymax Socks!!...)

I grabbed one last photo of Goldilocks all outfitted for the ride...



...then I looked around, saw no one, peed a little, and hopped back on my bike. I headed towards home. But a few miles from home, I turned around AGAIN, so I could do a sort of double out-and-back ride along the Greenway and the Cedar Lake Trail. I wanted to hit 60 miles!! Here were my averages at my turn-arounds:

- Mile 18: 18.0 mph
- Mile 31: 18.4 mph
- Mile 43: 18.3 mph
- End of trail (mile 58): 18.5 mph
- Home (up 2 big hills, mile 60): 18.4 mph

60 miles in 3:14:40
(And I did the first 56 miles in just under 3:02...)


That’s a DECENT pace for me!! Especially in 17 mph winds! And besides that quick bike repair at mile 18, I was never off my bike until the finish! This ride was the good sort of solid effort that I needed leading into IM NO 70.3!

But it had been a little bit of a chilly day. It started out around 45, and it was around 55 when I finished (and windy the whole time). So I was snotting all over the place. Here’s my left sleeve...



...and my right sleeve:



Here I am, feeling good when I was done:



I WASN’T DONE! I took 9 minutes to quickly slowly change into running shorts and pee. Then I was off on a run.

The bottom of my feet were REALLY numb from the bike shoes, so I thought the first mile or 2 could be rough. But I got through them OK. I ended up running 6 miles in 39:14 (which is 6:32 / mile pace). Oh, and I got REALLY hot on the run, so I ran the last 3 miles topless. Yep, mark your calendar. St. Patty’s Day 2009: Steve’s first topless run of the year:


After the run!
Notice the “vein of approval” in my forehead.

Sorry for my paleness. It IS Minnesota after all...

The good news is that I got through a GREAT brick workout yesterday!! The bad news was that I was “bonking” at the very end of my 6 mile run. I needed to eat more on the bike. Note to self.

I’ll be back tomorrow with 2 new “previously unpublished” stories from the “Tales of a Virgin Athlete” Contest. They’re 2 good ones! In the meantime, please CLICK HERE to read the Top 10 stories and to vote for your favorite story in the “Tales of a Virgin Athlete” Contest! Thanks everyone!



36 comments:

Michelle 6:56 AM, March 18, 2009  

Wow, your training is sounding great! You should place a bet with Stu, too!

Shannon 7:50 AM, March 18, 2009  

Awesome ride!

I especially love the snotty arm photos, thanks! I enjoyed looking at those as I sip my morning smoothie.

Are you sponsored yet, you rock!

Marci 7:51 AM, March 18, 2009  

Sounds like some great training. You will so rock it at NO 70.3 :)

Missy 8:19 AM, March 18, 2009  

Always good for booger shots and your main vein....of approval! Good for you on the brick - pack those calories in on the bike!!

Marcy 8:22 AM, March 18, 2009  

Are you SURE that's snot? :P

Jen Rife 8:24 AM, March 18, 2009  

Great work! You're going to do great in NO!

mthead 8:25 AM, March 18, 2009  

it's mid-march and this is what, your second outdoor ride? Amazing, how did Greg LeMond ever do it?

C 8:27 AM, March 18, 2009  

I usually love your TMI pics, but I think I could have done without seeing your globs of snot. Oy.

Great ride!

Maria 9:04 AM, March 18, 2009  

congrats on the great workout, sounds like you're on your way to a great 70.3 race in April.

Calyx Meredith 9:10 AM, March 18, 2009  

Well - I happen to think that reflectors are for people who want a better chance of being seen by dozy drivers - but whatev. :D Maybe if I were as aero or speedy as you are, I'd take them off too. Those are some amazing times! Yay you for getting outside!

Carolina John 9:11 AM, March 18, 2009  

i've never seen so much snot on the rider and it still be called a good ride. still, you sound really ready for that half. kick ass, bro!

Irish Cream 9:18 AM, March 18, 2009  

That is quite an alarming amount of snot, Steve!! :) But nonetheless, I'm glad to hear that the work-out went so well . . . you are totally going to make NO 70.3 your b*tch!

X-Country2 9:32 AM, March 18, 2009  

The arm full of snot is a badge of honor. I almost miss it during the summer.

tfh 9:58 AM, March 18, 2009  

Just reading about your workouts, I internally think "I am not worthy..." Thank goodness for the snot rockets and ghostly pale veiny shots. You ARE human!

t-odd 10:18 AM, March 18, 2009  

I don't know - I think "boogers" are funny, but then I have a 9 and a 7 year old. Nasty feet - not such a big fan, but they are a signature of yours. I just can't seem to brave the streets on the bike right now. NO 70.3 is going to rock for you!

jen 11:08 AM, March 18, 2009  

"reflectors are for pussies" Agreed! Unless, of course, you ride at dawn/dusk/dark.

Great ride!!

Unknown 11:12 AM, March 18, 2009  

Reflectors on a tri bike? You should have kept that to yourself. Now we will be forced to ridicule you.

Nice job with the brick. It looks like you are well prepared for the HIM. In the two that I did, I found that getting enough calories in on the bike while pedaling away at 20MPH was the hardest part.

mthead 11:13 AM, March 18, 2009  

reflective tape is cool, reflectors are for luddites. gotta watch your grams

trimybest 11:29 AM, March 18, 2009  

reflectors? did your bike have training wheels too? good thing you removed them....i wouldnt want you to get your ass kicked by the tri-bullies on the greenway!

Marlene 11:41 AM, March 18, 2009  

Congrats on the sweet long ride AND six mile run. You're going to rock the 70.3.

Nice snot pics...

Gotta Run..... 11:51 AM, March 18, 2009  

That is a rocking brick workout if you ask me.

I am the queen of snot rockets. My husband just doesn't get it. :)

Anonymous,  11:54 AM, March 18, 2009  

Nice brick! Sounds like training is going really well.

Brian 12:00 PM, March 18, 2009  

they make these amazing things called snot rags you can tie around your bike to use instead of your spandex. nice bike

Chic Runner 12:51 PM, March 18, 2009  

nice work out steve, and yes naming your garmin is a must! :) mine always reminds me of pharmie though because it rhymes with garmie. ha ha. which is your wife. weird.

Mel-2nd Chances 1:20 PM, March 18, 2009  

not sure i'd ever take or post pics of snot rockets.... lol. Great job on the brick, you're ready for 70.3!

Eric 3:09 PM, March 18, 2009  

reflectors = pussies. How true. I couldn't tell but I'm hoping there are no reflectors on the wheels either.

Kim 4:42 PM, March 18, 2009  

nice brick!.... do you usually wear your chin strap that loose? If you do, I might consider tightening it a bit so that if you (god forbid) should fall, the helmet will stay in place and do it's job! Good luck at your IM 70.3!!

Jamie 5:03 PM, March 18, 2009  

I definitely agree with you on the reflectors, but do you still have the derailleur/cassette guard thing on?
Give that thing the axe too!

Jennifer Harrison 5:49 PM, March 18, 2009  

NICE RIDE. I hope you warmed up.

Um, did you have that chin strap on your helmet holding up your chin OR your knees?

Ah, just messing with ya. GLAD the training is going well for New Orleans!!!!!

Run For Life 6:29 PM, March 18, 2009  

Sounds like a great workout!

The Boring Runner 12:05 AM, March 19, 2009  

Yeah, I dont' ride bikes and even I think that reflectors are for pussies.

I got my first shirtless run in the other day too - and got FRIED by the sun. Hopefully you had better luck.

Lindsay 11:03 AM, March 19, 2009  

note to self: do not read steve's blog during lunch.

snot rockets not going so well with my turkey 'n cheese lunch... lol

Wes 9:45 PM, March 20, 2009  

Hey Steve. Thumbs up for topless runs in cool weather. I live in NC, but was born and raised in Fla. I usually don't break out short sleeves until nearly 70. I too ran topless theother day in 5o degree weather... only my ride was only 14 miles and I only ran a mile. (I'm still new.) Good luck at the 70.3, cannot wait to read your race report!

forHuntersbyHunters 8:01 PM, September 03, 2010  

Can you tell me where you got those brackets? I have been looking for them for a non biking application (I am not a pussy- HAHAH!)..
Thanks,
Mike

Steve Stenzel 9:00 PM, September 03, 2010  

Mike, I think they just came with the reflectors. Check your bike shop - they might have a bunch just laying around!

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