Biking like Dave
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
I feel like a god today. I found myself thinking that if the marathon was today, I would have had a pretty good race.
But let me back up a bit. I've found new running buddies! A girl named Laura sent out an e-mail via the triteam list looking for a running partner last week, and was willing to do whatever distance. Since the marathon schedule Mom and I use called for a 10-12 miles that day, her e-mail very serendipitously gave me a partner for the long run. We've continued to run this week, and she introduced me to another running friend of hers, Lauren (don't get confused. There's a LaurA and a LaurEN in this story. If you are bad with names, take a deep breath and relax).
Yesterday, the three of us went for a nice hill climb up Tunnel Road, normally a cycling route. We had a great 90-minute, low-intensity jog, and stopped to stretch at a little lookout point on the hill.
As usual, I asked for an action pose, and Lauren (newest friend) heartily complied:
Be careful lads, she's a fake-crier. (Just kidding, just kidding!)
Laura thought me odd for snapping this while she was stretching, but I find candid stretching shots to be most definitive of the running spirit, don't you?
Anyway, as I began telling you earlier, I've been feeling terriffic. Heads up for those of you who appreciate nutritional advice. I think it's because of how my eating schedule has been changing. We always hear that the best thing to do is not have three big meals a day, but rather to eat all the time in small quantities. People rarely do that in practice, because it means giving up that big lunch or that big dinner that's so much a part of our routine.
But with so many different things to do, and workouts popping up at unpredictible times of day, it's been much easier to just grab a small bite here and there (a Clif bar between shifts of moving boxes and all that). I end up eating about six times during the day, and always between 200-400 calories at each "meal." It seems strange when your lunch is two pieces of dry bread with some turkey, but it's been awesome, because I'm still eating a good 1800-2000 calories each day, yet I can work out just about any time, and I'm not getting any headrushes due to low blood sugar. For those of you who have asked for my nutritional advice in the past, I really recommend that you try this out. It might be weird to have such small meals, but you'll adjust quickly, and feel terriffic.
Yesterday, Leif and the Martins arrived. They had a fun trip, and are in town for a couple more days before they ship off. They've been playing with Merlin when they're in, which has been very sweet. Sorry, no pics of that. I'll snap one later if I can.
Today, the marathon schedule called for a quick four miles, so I decided to make some adjustments to my TT bike with the extra time. I've been wanting to do this for a while, because it's felt like I can go significantly lower with my handlebars (becoming more aerodynamic). I dropped them by about 15mm, dropped my saddle by about 2mm, and pushed the saddle forward by 5mm. That sounds like nothing to the non-cyclist, but the difference is HUGE. The lower position means my back is flatter (like Dave Zabriskie, hence the post's title), and I'm actually much more comfortable. Look how low the stem is on the steerer tube:
Are you getting sick of seeing this bike? Probably. Am I going to stop posting pictures of it? Absolutely not.
Check out that drop! (For non-cyclists, "drop" is the difference between the height of your saddle compared the height of your handlebars. Casual bikes have little to no drop, meaning that the seat and handlebars are at the same height. Some bikes even have negative drop, meaning the bars are higher than the saddle. However, racing bikes always have enormous drop. Hurts your balls more, but you go a lot faster. Worth the pain? Well actually, I felt less pain today than I did before making this change today.)
Allrighty dear readers, I'm off to the Law School Picnic to meet my future classmates. Orientation is this Friday, and then off to class on Monday! Someone in Berkeley loves you all :-)
But let me back up a bit. I've found new running buddies! A girl named Laura sent out an e-mail via the triteam list looking for a running partner last week, and was willing to do whatever distance. Since the marathon schedule Mom and I use called for a 10-12 miles that day, her e-mail very serendipitously gave me a partner for the long run. We've continued to run this week, and she introduced me to another running friend of hers, Lauren (don't get confused. There's a LaurA and a LaurEN in this story. If you are bad with names, take a deep breath and relax).
Yesterday, the three of us went for a nice hill climb up Tunnel Road, normally a cycling route. We had a great 90-minute, low-intensity jog, and stopped to stretch at a little lookout point on the hill.
As usual, I asked for an action pose, and Lauren (newest friend) heartily complied:
Be careful lads, she's a fake-crier. (Just kidding, just kidding!)
Laura thought me odd for snapping this while she was stretching, but I find candid stretching shots to be most definitive of the running spirit, don't you?
Anyway, as I began telling you earlier, I've been feeling terriffic. Heads up for those of you who appreciate nutritional advice. I think it's because of how my eating schedule has been changing. We always hear that the best thing to do is not have three big meals a day, but rather to eat all the time in small quantities. People rarely do that in practice, because it means giving up that big lunch or that big dinner that's so much a part of our routine.
But with so many different things to do, and workouts popping up at unpredictible times of day, it's been much easier to just grab a small bite here and there (a Clif bar between shifts of moving boxes and all that). I end up eating about six times during the day, and always between 200-400 calories at each "meal." It seems strange when your lunch is two pieces of dry bread with some turkey, but it's been awesome, because I'm still eating a good 1800-2000 calories each day, yet I can work out just about any time, and I'm not getting any headrushes due to low blood sugar. For those of you who have asked for my nutritional advice in the past, I really recommend that you try this out. It might be weird to have such small meals, but you'll adjust quickly, and feel terriffic.
Yesterday, Leif and the Martins arrived. They had a fun trip, and are in town for a couple more days before they ship off. They've been playing with Merlin when they're in, which has been very sweet. Sorry, no pics of that. I'll snap one later if I can.
Today, the marathon schedule called for a quick four miles, so I decided to make some adjustments to my TT bike with the extra time. I've been wanting to do this for a while, because it's felt like I can go significantly lower with my handlebars (becoming more aerodynamic). I dropped them by about 15mm, dropped my saddle by about 2mm, and pushed the saddle forward by 5mm. That sounds like nothing to the non-cyclist, but the difference is HUGE. The lower position means my back is flatter (like Dave Zabriskie, hence the post's title), and I'm actually much more comfortable. Look how low the stem is on the steerer tube:
Are you getting sick of seeing this bike? Probably. Am I going to stop posting pictures of it? Absolutely not.
Check out that drop! (For non-cyclists, "drop" is the difference between the height of your saddle compared the height of your handlebars. Casual bikes have little to no drop, meaning that the seat and handlebars are at the same height. Some bikes even have negative drop, meaning the bars are higher than the saddle. However, racing bikes always have enormous drop. Hurts your balls more, but you go a lot faster. Worth the pain? Well actually, I felt less pain today than I did before making this change today.)
Allrighty dear readers, I'm off to the Law School Picnic to meet my future classmates. Orientation is this Friday, and then off to class on Monday! Someone in Berkeley loves you all :-)
posted by Nick at 1:50 PM
2 Comments:
I feel sorry for your balls
Mom's doing a 70-mile ride this weekend?? Your running partners look like great girls - maybe I will steal them to be MY running partners. Miss you, love you lots!!
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