Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Back in the Saddle

Yesterday I got on my bike for the first time in over a month, and rode outside for an hour in gorgeous weather. It was about 75 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and breezy. Since April I've had my bike fit tweaked--Jim Miller, the PT who does most of the TriGirl bike fits, raised my seat by what felt like 5" (I think it was closer to 3cm). I have to unclip and almost jump off the seat to get my feet on the ground. Have you ever seen bikers stopped at an intersection, one shoe unclipped, but still w/ butt on seat, waiting to push off? Well, that won't be me. I forsee a couple of falls at a dead stop in my future. Did the revised fit help my power? Hard to tell...I think the bike portion is my weakest discipline and I always wish I had more mass in my thighs. I know I'm going to catch hell for that, but it's true. Jim said I have longer than average femurs, so my power on the bike will need to come from more than just my quads. My first ride outdoors always makes me think "what the hell am I doing?! I don't need to do xyz race..." I felt slow, like I was riding a tricycle, but I wasn't. Isn't it a law in triathlon that swanky equipment makes you fast? (I know the answer to that one!) Average pace: about 17 mph. Ideal pace: about 19 mph. Jen, consider this a goal.
Later that afternoon, Maddy and I went for another run. She averaged a 12 minute mile pace--3 miles in 34 minutes and that included just two short walks. Joe brought home our race packets today--one of the sponsors of the race is our local Ukrops grocery store chain. Instead of plastic race bags, they gave us pink reusable grocery bags. How smart is that?! I think Maddy's ready, bring on the Komen 5k!

7 comments:

Marit C-L said...

GREAT ride! It must have felt AWESOME to be outside - wish I could have been there! Sounds like the run training is going great for the two of you! You guys will ROCK the race!

Anonymous said...

Oh, that race is going to be so great, Kate! GOOD for Maddy! And, that 19mph was duly noted. :) Jen H.

TriGirl 40 said...

Yeah, yeah, poor you with the skinny thighs.

Was that good? :)

Seriously, you are a pretty awesome bicyclist, even with those amazing looking thighs.

Kate said...

Sorry you won't be joining us this week-end for the Cp2 Cap. Have a great race on Saturday.

Jennifer Cunnane said...

Awesome getting out on the bike! thanks for stopping by to visit me. I would LOVE it if you want to join me at a race next year. I am all about the celebrating, uh, even if there is not anything to celebrate other than finishing, which is just as important! I see you are doing IMFL this year, what do you think next year?

kerrie said...

nice feeling to be back on the bike! i'm glad you made some adjustments cause i don't think you should be able to sit on your seat with your feet on the ground unless you're on a cruiser, lol!
i too am working on building my thighs....i will have to take pics to track my progress i think.

Mel said...

Ha, I had to laugh about stopping on the bike...I am so with you..it scares me to death.... when I go on group rides I have the guys go ahead of me and shout if a car is coming or not and if not YEAH I pedal like a crazy woman just so I don't have to stop:)
I want to THANK YOU for your awesome comment on my blog during the time I really needed it...it really helps me to just get over it and be ready for the next race...so thank you :)
GOOD LUCK at your race this weekend..can't wait to hear about it!!!!!

Mel