Ironman Arizona is still nearly 5 months away but I am getting mentally focused for this day. Having the experience of having just raced Ironman Texas I want to put my lessons to good use and train over the next 20+ weeks with the focus on making AZ a fast race.
With that in mind I have been emailing with Jeff about getting the bike setup so I am not carrying around extra weight, especially since the Arizona course is flat. Having the ability to pound away and not lug unnecessary items is going to be a tremendous benefit. Between emails to Jeff and last night I went searching for a single cage for the rear of my saddle and found an X-Lab one. I sent out a tweet to Kevin, Matt,Jon,and Jeff and they found the Tri Rig for me which is what I’ll be going with. Joe from RockStarTrialso provided his thoughts and all I can say is thank you. Twitter and Facebook and this blog are awesome for connecting with people who are in the know.
Up front I have the clips from Profile Design that will hold a water bottle. I will swap out the Speedfil for a regular cage for another water bottle. The rear saddle cage will hold water from the course. I will have replacement bottles at special needs to swap out at the midway point and keep going.
So I am going from a bike setup like these photos show:
70.3 Ironman California. Didn't Have Torpedo Yet.
Speedfil blocked by bag but it is there.
2 Cages On Saddle, Speedfil and Torpedo Upfront.
To a bike setup like this photo shows:
Sleek Setup........
Yes, I do expect to get at least an hour faster on the bike now that Crowie and I will be sharing the same setup. That is what is supposed to happen isn’t it?
facebook 
twitter 
email 
pinterest 
plusone 
linkedin 
digg 
delicious 
reddit 
tumblr 
posterous 
snailmail 
stumbleupon 
One thing that I didn’t mention regarding Arizona: While I haven’t done IMAZ,. I have done El Tour a few time. One of the biggest surprises that people not from Arizona realize, sometimes painfully, is that since the ambient humidity is so low, sweat is rare. It evaporates off the skin before you realize you are sweating. If you start overheating, your body may start goosebumping trying to cool you off. If not taken care of, you start getting stupid.
This happened to me my first race there. The cure was to chug a 32oz gatorade. Almost instantly I was less stupid and back in the game.
I learned it is very important to hydrate on a schedule in the dessert. You might want to practice this too.
The Rock Star recently posted..Nervousness and beer.
Thank you for the reminder. My training and racing plan calls for sips of liquid every 15 minutes. My watch is setup to beep on the 15s to remind me to drink and I have to since all my calories are in the liquid. No choice.
Joe is right, exactly what happens, different heat then what your use to
BDD recently posted..Flag City Multisport Festival Olympic Triathlon Report
Jeff and I have talked about this in the past and we see things differently, we are age groupers, 2 pounds to save 10 mins isnt worth it for 112 miles on a flat course isnt worth it to me, I get dropping the weight for a hilly olympic or hilly 70.3, law of physics, even a hilly IM. Arizona can still be hot at that time of the year, I lived their for 17 years, the winds in the desert can be brutual too. What is your goal time in Arizona on the bike? I have no doubt that you will get sub 6 in Arizona
BDD recently posted..Flag City Multisport Festival Olympic Triathlon Report
I will still have tons of hydration but I will be using the course more than IMTX. I would like to shave 15-20 minutes from Texas.
ahhhh … so nice to see a clean setup!
At AZ you might be able to put the EFS Liquid Shots on the single saddle bottle and put water in the torpedo. Of course, this would depend on the temps on race day but if you need more hydration it could work just as well.
FYI – on my outdoor rides because of the heat, I changed the Garmin to beep at me every 12mins instead of 15mins and it has been working well as I have not fallen off the bike due to dehydration (-:
On the trainer, which is in the A/C, I keep it at 15mins.
Jeff Irvin recently posted..Things of Interest …
Ohhhh there wasnt anything wrong with the orignal set up
BDD recently posted..Flag City Multisport Festival Olympic Triathlon Report
Nothing wrong at all, but I know I can get through the 112 miles without the extra.
We are trying to be more “Stealth Bomber” and less “Hot-Air Balloon”.
A Speed-Fil is great if you are doing an unsupported ride across the country. If you are racing an Ironman our $700 fee provides us with Bottle hand-ups every 10-15mi. The LARGE amount of drag and extra weight is stupid.
Jeff Irvin recently posted..Things of Interest …
The 12 minutes is a good idea. I will still be using the Speedfil on long outdoor rides b/c of the boiling heat.
Oh dear. More things to worry about with the bike.
Jill recently posted..No Beaching… but a Little Racing
it’s startling, how much you resemble crowie. startling.
katie recently posted..random friday facts
Just wait until I start talking with an Australian accent……haha!
All I had on mine last time was the one that goes between the aerobars and then I’d grab water & gatorade as I rode by and pour half of each into on each of the 3 loops… You are thinking this set up through very well!
Natasha recently posted..It’s finally Friday!
So, you’re going to have the aero bottle up front, a regular bottle on the tube and a bottle at the rear? That’s the set-up I am working towards…
Marlene recently posted..Welland Half Iron Training – Week 6
That is exactly the setup but back will be just a single bottle instead of the double bottle. Just a matter of tying my tube and equipment to the back of the saddle as well.
Dude
Wrong Crowie photo. That was from his “slow” days. But I will still take his slow speed
You look crowie maan! I can hardly tell the difference.
Melanie Reed recently posted..kimkardashiantapenews.com
I am sure you’ll be down in the 4:30s for your bike split, just like Crowie, even if you don’t train. It’s all about the bike, right?
Victoria recently posted..Eagleman AquaVelo: This Time, In Gory Detail