Redman 140.6 Bike Race Report

So back to T1 first. No one really told me much about the changing tent and what to expect. So after grabbing my bag and heading to the tent, I walk into see a much of naked guys changing and two old dudes helping them out. Yeah, was kind of weird. Anyways, I found a spot in the corner and dried off and got my biking clothes on, then I bagged everything up in the bag and realized they had bins for us to put those bags in the first place! Lesson learned on that one. I really felt like I was taking my time in T1, but it always seems I was in and out pretty fast. I did not rush, but I also was in no hurry.

T1 Time:  8:49

I grabbed my bike and walked her to the mount/dismount line and then off we went. Ready for 112 miles of bliss. I remember thinking "I am riding in an Ironman!!!" Great feeling! The first part of the bike was around Hefner Lake and it went by pretty fast. The next segment of the course was through some really heavy traffic, but Redman did a great job blocking off lanes and having plenty of police watching out for us (although I did hear about several people wrecking by hitting cones!?)  There was enough going on to keep me looking around and interested in the first portion of the bike that it went by pretty fast. The aid stations were every 10 miles or so, so there was plenty of water/Gatorade, which was great because all I had was my aero bottle. I forgot my other bottle back at the hotel. I was able to stick to my nutrition plan pretty well and never really felt hungry!

The roads at Redman were no joke because they were pretty rough. So rough that in some parts I could not get into aero position for fear of losing control of my bike. The back side of the ride, the last 12 miles before the turnaround seemed like it never ended. Most of the time I do like out and backs on rides, but at least I now knew what to expect. As I got back to the lake, the lady there was yelling out for special needs bags were just ahead, so I stopped and ate something. In hindsight, I should have kept going back to the turnaround and hit my special needs bag at he start of my second lap instead of at the end of my first lap, again a rookie mistake.

BIKE LAP 1: 3:20:53

The second lap was something I was not looking forward too. I took forever to get around the lake this time. At least I knew what was coming up so it did make it a little easier mentally, but I was still dreading it. I felt fairly strong on the bike, but just like in the swim, I was trying to manage the bike and not blow up. Knowing what I knew of the route, I am made sure I was in aero on the smoother parts of the road as much as possible. The second lap was much better than the first it felt like, just because I knew the route now and knew what to expect.

Coming back into the dismount line, I was soo happy to get off my bike!!! My butt was killing me! I was also thrilled to have zero bike issues! No flats, no nothing. Stella did awesome!!!  I knew I was 26 miles away from becoming an Ironman and I really a surge of motivation!

BIKE LAP 2: 3:36:02

TOTAL BIKE TIME: 6:56:55      Average: 16.1 MPH

I was totally thrilled to be under 7 hours for the bike because I projected my ride to be closer to 7:30! Manu people have asked me what I did on the bike for 7 hours? What did I think of? well, here is a short list of what I thought of:

• I wondered what Emily and Jake were doing in OKC
• I wondered about Jared an Jesse were doing at Grannies house
• I wondered how many people were tracking me
• I thought about all the comments I have gotten on my blog posts the last few posts
• I counted how many people were coming back toward me, that had already made the turnaround. I stopped counting at 100.
• I prayed. A lot. I prayed for a lot of people by name, just as their name popped into my head. Some of the names were people I know and some were people I have met from the triathlon world.
• I sang songs.
• I had some very short conversations with other racers. I found that a lot of people were only doing the aqua bike as a warm-up for IM Florida.
• I wrote out blog posts, which I can't remember.

So I had a lot going through my head. I also had some killer ideas that all of mankind would benefit from, but I can't remember a single one. Stay tuned for pictures and the run report. Also as a bonus feature, my bride is going to add a blog piece as her view and thoughts as I ran!

Schwagbox Giveaway!

Yes, back to back to back giveaways on Daily Trainings! I know I do not need to ask, but who doesn't like schwag? Nobody! Everybody loves schwag! I have found one of the coolest product on the Internet and I am bringing it to you.

In my last issue of Triathlete Magazine, you might have seen a page about Schwagbox. Schwagbox is a subscription service that delivers a hand picked sampling of gels, bars, drinks, recovery nutrition, body care bike maintenance (lube, cleaners, grease, etc.) and other bits an pieces to your door every month. Every batch is hand picked by the editors at Bikerumor.com, the world's largest and most popular cycling blog, from the coolest things they see each month. You can find them at www.Schwagbox.com

So I reached out to Schwagbox and asked if I could do a review and a giveaway and they graciously agreed! I was able to speak to Evan at Schwagbox and before I knew it, my own Schwagbox was at my door. Now I am a guy that loves race packet pickup cause I always expect there to be some cool things in the packet, but I am usually disappointed and throw most of it away. When my wife told me I got a box today, it was like a kid getting an unexpected Christmas present. So I quickly tore the box open and this is what I found:

We need a closer look!

Clif Shot Blocks and gels!  Chocolate Berry and Citrus!

Zevlin Leg Shaving Creme and Pro Towels!

Now all of this came in the box, and this is something you can expect to be delivered to your door every month! How cool is that. Now there is a cost to this, not everything can be free! It costs $10 a month ( but they require an annual fee) but as you can see, you get more than $10 worth of product! Where else are you going to get delivered to your door the newest products out there? I do not know either!

Now for the giveaway! My new friend Evan at Schwagbox has agreed to send a reader a Schwagbox of their own!!  What will be in it? I have no idea, because they are continually sending out the newest, greatest stuff!! It will be good, trust me on this. So how do you enter? Simple.

Schwagbox has graciously agreed to give one person a Schwag box! So here are the rules to enter!

1. Leave a comment in the comment section of this blog. (1 entry)
2. Become or be a follower of Daily Trainings (1 entry)
3. Like Schwagbox on FaceBook and Twitter (1 entry a piece)

You can leave me a comment stating you have done all these things on one comment. The drawing will last until March 21, 2013. Each entry will be assigned a number and then a random number generator will select the winning entry! You have a chance to have 4 entries!

**Special thanks to Evan and Schwagbox for working with me on this! It is awesome that they are willing to help with the giveaway and I can't say Thank you enough!**

Slow Your Roll Bike Cruiser!

The LAPD recently gave a ticket to a cyclist on a bike path. Thanks to a helmet camera, the whole incident was caught on tape. Here is the story from MSNBC.com




This video was posted after Thanksgiving weekend when a guy in Venice California was ticketed for speeding on a bike path. Basically, the rider complained to the officer that he was blocking the bike path, after he complained, the officer pulled him over and ticketed him! And did you see that speed demon of a machine he was on?

Now I know many of us "cyclists" would be bragging on our blogs if we ever got a speeding ticket on our bikes! And to be fair, the LAPD did cancel out the ticket so there is no fine, but c'mon, in the video he says he is getting a ticket because he is arguing with the officer. As someone who gets to work with law enforcement all the time, I often tell people to be cool with cops when they arrive and to not be a jerk. This cop went too far in my opinion. I wonder if he know about the helmet camera?

Kornheiser, You Idiot!

PTI (Pardon the Interruption) loudmouth, Tony Kornheiser, fresh off having to apologize for remarks made about fellow sportscaster Hannah Storm, has made the news once again for stupid comments made. Take a look at his latest comments about cyclists:

"Someone's going to hate me for this, but am I wrong? They don't share the road, they dominate the road and dare you to run them down. So you just kind of tap them. I'm not saying you kill them, just tap them."

"The last time I looked, the road was made for automobiles. It's as if we are going to be dominated, as if this were Beijing, by hundreds of thousands of bicyclists."

"You see them (cyclists) with their little water bottles and shiny shorts, the same disgusting poseurs who in the middle of a snowstorm are out on the street cross country skiing."

"When three or four of these people start riding abreast, I swear to you, it's all you can do to not run them down! Like Wile E. Coyote! Run 'em over! Get the hell out of my way!"

What kind of idiot with a National stage spouts off crap like this. Run over cyclists if they are in there way. This went out pretty fast and it did catch the attention of Lance Armstrong (and if you are reading my blog, then I am 100% sure you know who he is). What was LA's response you might ask? Well, I am glad you did, cause here is his response via Twitter:

"Listening to Tony Kornheiser's comments/rant on ESPN radio re: cyclists. Disgusting, ignorant, foolish. What a complete f-ing idiot."

****and****

"Tony Kornheiser on cyclists on the road, "run 'em down". Really? Big mistake, Tony."

I understand that not all cyclists obey the rules of the road and I am sure there are some that we all want to have a word with, but to advocate running some down is just stupid. It is obvious Kornholio needs to be in another time out until he can learn his lesson and start using his stage to promote something positive.