Biking in the North West

On a sunny day biking around on the east side of Seattle is just nice. This is North Bend and Mt. Si

Training in January, back to the future

I kept moving the months after Norseman, but it was more to keep moving than to get fitter. Fall is also the busiest time at work for me combined with a diet full of cookies around Christmas, January could not come at a better time. And January has been good.

Since I am my own coach now I have the pleasure to find out how I will work out. Should I be the TSS and threshold king, a Strava master or a boring Norwegian. I will be a boring Norwegian and it is a reason for that, it is science. I am actually going back to the way of training that I did when I was young, had speed and hair. I am going to be polarized.

I will follow the structure of polarized training, easy on easy days and hard on long intervals days, two hard days a week. If you wonder how this model works check out this presentation from Stephen Seiler, you get it http://www.canal-insep.fr/fr/training-periodization-deep-root-cultural-heritage-and-innovative-paradigms-2013/ei_13_10_va_pr_stephen_seiler-mov

Also I will recommend the discussion on Slowtwich http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Polarized_Training_-_Interesting_Lecture_Video__P4931310



Trying to look smart on the treadmill.

With the polarized model it is important to keep the effort down on easy days, and up on hard days. I am now doing 4x8 both on the bike and running. It is hard, but I know it will work. So how did I do in January? Not bad according to this.



I have start using the training diary from Olympiatoppen. It fits this kind of training better than Trainingpeaks.

 

 

Nice surprise in my inbox

You do not need to win the lottery to become happy. Yesterday I got an email from a fellow Norseman participant, Inge Amlien. He sent me a picture of me on one of the last climbs of the bike leg. His support crew had taken the picture and he had found my name, search for my email address and then sent me the picture. That is such a nice gesture. Big thanks to Inge and his support crew.

Norseman equipment: clothing during the bike leg

You never know what kind of conditions you will face during Norseman. Most likely you will face several since you start biking in a fjord landscape, than bike over a tree less mountain area and then you go up and down from valley to mountain in true Tour de France style. If it is warm, the choice will be simple. I will race in my Pearl Izumi two piece tri kit.

 

Helmet

I have taken inspiration from the American Olympic champion in time trail Kristen Armstrong and will race a Catlike Chrono Aero WT. It is comfortable, easy to adjust and not too heavy. The helmet comes with a visor; most likely I will not use it.



Jacket

After this year’s Giro d’Italia the choice for a bad weather jacket/west was easy. The bad weather in Italy made most of the team scrambling to get a hand on Castelli Gabba jackets. The jacket is nice, you can take off the arms and then you will have a nice west.



Warmers

I will use Castelli Nano arm and leg warmers. These are almost water proof easy to use and will make it easy for me to adjust during the race.



Gloves and shoe cover

I easily freeze on my hands and will use gloves during the race. If it is warm I will use a pair of old Specialized gloves. If it is raining I will use special raining cloves from Castelli.



 

Norseman equipment: the wheels

During Norseman I will spend a lot of time on my bike. The bike course is not flat; it goes up, down, twist and turn. Even though Norway is raking in money from its oil and gas business, hardly any goes to making sure the road surfaces are good. So I will ride a challenging course on at time bad asphalt during potential bad weather (remind me why I am paying for this again…..)



Picking out the perfect Norseman wheel is not easy since the wheel has to be able to, climb, break without overheating, aero, tough, reliable and light. No wheel is all of those, so my goal was to find the closest best match. My choice is Mavic Cosmic Carbone 40C.



Mavic is not the first brand to be discussed in triathlon circus. But is you are following professional cycling you know the brand very well. Most likely you have gotten some Mavic training wheels on your bike when you bought it, you have trained on them and if you are honest they did perform excellent. Many triathletes have good experiences with Mavics training wheels, but are not familiar with the racing options. Mavics racing options are bomb proof, well made high performance wheels. Even more important, the wheels perform under all kinds of conditions, not just on a flat , dry course with no turns.



Why the Cosmic Carbone 40C for Norseman? I need a wheel set that first of all is clincher, which can take the beating from the road surface, which can climb and race TT, but on other factor played an important role. Carbone clinchers have not been famous for their ability to break; actually they have become infamous for overheating. Mavic’s 40C is the first carbon clincher with the same stopping power as an aluminum wheel.



Conclusion: For Norseman Mavic’s 40C is the best overall wheel for me.



 

If you bike a mile in my cycling shoes.....

If you bike a mile (or one hundred miles) in my cycling shoes you would be jealous  and I mean really jealous. After using my old shoes for 5 years I finally went and got myself a new pair. Why did it take five years? The old pair just worked, the shoes fit my feet no matter what, socks, no socks, thick, thin, rain, shine.



 

So when I was going to buy a new pair the most important thing and what was on the top of my list was looks. I am 42 and not looking like a Calvin Kline model anymore so I need to have great looking shoes....... Well, I just did not want something to 2013, since it will be 2014 next year and I will use the shoes then :-)

 

I wanted quality, good adjustments and quite light. I ended up with Specialized new top model S-Works. You can find more information here

The shoes look great



 

Over to performance, the shoes are great, really great. A lot better than the rider (me). I love the BOA system, the lining is really good and the stiffness is what you expect from a top of the line shoe. And they look good in a suit, even after six o'clock.....

The wheels of fire….(or on my bike)

I have decided on my bike frame, Scott Plasma 3. Now I have to find out what kind of wheels I want. Picking wheels is like picking my first suit for confirmation at age 15 back in Norway. I really hope my wheel choice will be better than the suit I was wearing in 1986. Luckily I do not have any picture to share but here you have Knut Knudsen looking good.



If you ever read the forum at Slowtwitch you will find an endless discussion about wheels, often a heated one. Sometimes it looks like picking wheels is like picking a sports team. But I think it is great. Equipment is fun, stuff is fun and different views are ok (as long as they agree with me ;-)



So what do I want to get out of my wheels? Well, first of all they have to work with my choice of frame, second they have to work on my main race this year Norseman, third they have to work on other races after Norseman and last they have to not be too expensive.



Even though I will have support at Norseman, I want to go with clincher wheels. If I get a flat at Norseman or any other races it will be easy to just change the tube. I have done that before and can be quite fast.



When you climb you usually also have to go downhill also. At Norseman I will have some long and at time challenging hills. The wheels have to be stiff enough to survive a big guy standing, but also be able to take the heat of all the breaking. If a wheel has been used in some of the mountain stages in cycling I am sure they can take the beating from me.



My friend Jack has made me believe that aero always trumps weight. A light wheel set maybe feels faster, especially on the climb, but if you look at the numbers a aero set will be faster even at Norseman.



So what will I chose? Where I stand today I will go with something well proven and safe, something that can give what I want from a wheel set for Norseman, but also be useful over several seasons. Currently my choice is Zipp 808.

I have made my choice: Scott Plasma

When you are doing triathlon, nothing and I mean nothing is more important than equipment, and especially your bike and wheels. Of course someone say you have to train, put in the hours and get lean, but those people are just jealous of people with nice bikes. The truth is that speed can be bought and cover up for any flaws in swimming, biking and running. The correct wetsuite, bike and shoes will automatically turn you into a good triathlete.

 

I wish it was that simple. Equipment is important, but so is your fitness. But it is more fun to talk about equipment than to talk about all the workouts you should have done. Also, most triathletes love stuff, just take a look at transition zone, you will find more stuff and gadgets than you have ever seen on a technology conference.

 

I have not pushed any boundaries when it comes to equipment and stuff. Last season was done on my roadbike with aero bar, swimming in an entry level wetsuit from 2008 and running in non triathlon shoes, and the interesting thing – it worked. Now it is my turn to get into the cool club, I am getting a new bike. I will get a SCOTT PLASMA

 

I know the frame, now I need to match my wallet with how I want it to be build, and trust me, that is not easy. I will write more about that later.

Training week of April 15 – 21, best work out was a data night with my wife

I training for a reason, currently the main reason is Norseman August 3. But I also train because I like to be in shape, I like the pain, I am over 40 so I need to stay healthy and because training is helping me stay happy. Picture under is my brother finishing a half marathon at the peak of Gaustatoppen.

 

Last week I managed to put in 11.20 hours of training over just five days. I lost one day to work issues and the second day was not lost, it was date night with my wife, the best work out of the week. We went to Jersey Boys and had a lot of fun. Great musical, great songs and we had fabulous seats. I have had the son “My eyes adored you” stuck in my head for days.

 

I swam one, biked three times and ran twice. On Saturday I biked twice, three hours in the morning and two hours in the evening. It was good to get a long day in. On Sunday’s long run I pushed a little for half an hour, and I ran some really steep hills. The legs reacted nicely so I know I am building my endurance.

 

Overall I had a good week, few days, enough hours and a killing data night.

Time to think about equipment upgrade for Norseman

A fun part of my old sport cross country skiing and my newer sport (I actually had my debut in triathlon in 1988) triathlon is equipment. Just take a look at all the questions, openings, debate and agreement/disagreements on any triathlon forum and you understand that “stuff” is part of the charm.

 

Until now I have not been an equipment geek. Last season I usually had one of the oldest bike on the rack in T1, my good all Felt road bike with regular training wheels. My goal was to train for speed before I bought some speed. Not to say that good equipment is not important, it was no fun getting past going downhill by people with better wheels. So yes I am looking at a bike and an aero helmet.

 

I will not buy any power meter since I struggling to get enough time to bike, I do not have time to look at graphs and files for hours after biking. Can a power meter be helpful, yes, but both me and my wallet will pass this time.

 

After five years in my old beginning wetsuit I need to upgrade. After I start swimming more (and training more), my tummy is smaller but my shoulders are broader. I am looking for something to help my poor form and of course something comfortable to swim in.



Let the hunt begin……