I'm excited. It's (almost) my birthday and since I skipped going on vacation at the end of the year I figured I should get myself something nice...and useful. So here's a new addition to the home gym... the VASA Ergo trainer
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| Perfect fit...kinda...sorta... |
I've only had it set up for a day or so, and only got to use it once (for a feeble 500m... this thing is tough) but I'm very stoked about this thing and the (hopeful) benefits for me. Being able to just go into the garage and bust out 500m before my bike ride of the day was/can be huge. My commute to and from the pool from my house/work has always been a "limiter." It can eat up over an hour traveling on a good day, sometimes up to 2 if traffic is bad. That means every time I hit the water it's got to be a "serious" workout... going to swim 1k doesn't make much sense.
This thing changes that. It lets me get some small time in that I can really focus on my pull/push (the parts of my stroke that need the most work anyways) without any more hassle than walking out into the garage.
After I've had it for a while I'll have a review up. Like I said, excited to use this thing. Price is pretty steep, but I nabbed this one used from ebay and put it into the realm of "justifiable," especially if I end up using it a lot... which I plan to.
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Ironman Florida
It seems like it's been a super hot topic. For some reason I just feel like sharing my opinions on it, despite knowing better.
The swim was cancelled due to current. A lot of people were up in arms about this, that Ironman has gone soft...etc..etc. The question then becomes how you balance an "extreme" event with common sense. Despite the call for a damn hard race, using a venue that is obviously unsafe for the competitors is foolish from a business and moral standpoint. Double red flags means the water is off limits to the public in Panama City... as a race director how do you put athletes in the water in those conditions? If your safety personnel can't be where they are supposed to be because they keep drifting out, how do you put athletes in the water? Just hope nothing goes bad? Would I be bummed out if the swim was cancelled at a race... hell yeah. Would I understand in situations like this...yes.
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| Looks can be deceiving |
Whether you call yourself an Ironman or not... it's up to you. I've always thought these discussions were odd. If you do a 140.6 at Rev3 are you an Ironman? What if you do an IM70.3... what if the swim is cancelled and you don't get but 138.2... what if you go off course and go 142.7. The key here is, 99.9% of the people that will ever see your tattoo or hear you say "I did an Ironman" will have any clue what the difference is between any of those. Call yourself what you want. A name won't change what you have done.
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Just a shoutout
I don't usually just sing the praises of a company, but I felt I needed to give a special shoutout to Powertap, who despite having a reputation for some of the best customer service in the industry, went above and beyond to help me out recently. I won't go into details about it, but suffice to say, if you're on the border of deciding which kind of power meter to go with, this is one of those times I'd say go with the company that will stand behind their product and try to do you right.
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| Good product, great service |
So, Friday I turn 31, nothing to do but get a little older I guess :) Fortunately as of so far, I've been getting faster as I've been getting older!
Thanks everyone for sticking around and reading, or at least skimming through. I really appreciate it!
- Christopher Morelock
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It's that time... Application time! Join the 2015 Cobb Mobb team!
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| First year was a success, and only better things to come! |
IMFL was my first IM. I was bummed the swim was canceled but I talked to the person in charge of the swim and I think it was the right call. The rip currents were the problem. The morning of the race some kayaks were been turned over and the safety personal could not get back into the kayaks. The current was pulling the boat anchors around. The guy next to me for the finisher gear did a warm up swim that morning and stated for every 2 feet forward he would go 8 feet to the right. It was the right call for safety. The safety personal would not have been able to do their job if needed.
ReplyDeleteAlso it was SO cold and windy that hypothermia would have been an issue on the bike. Being wet in low 40s F with 30mph winds and on a bike could have been dangerous.
I did not eat or drink for the first hour on the bike. It was crazy windy and scary. I was being blown all over the place (sometimes more than a foot).
That crazy hard wind and cold made up for the lack of a swim but I’m a pretty good swimmer.
Am I am Ironman? I don’t know. I know I could have finished the swim and the race long before the cut off. I put in all the hard work/training and I think that is what counts. I also did the race with a budging inguinal hernia that will require surgery the week after the race (tomorrow). It appeared 5 days before the race.
My first doctor told me NOT to do the race. The surgeon told me I could but if something went wrong I would be in the ER for emergency surgery. I could not stand one the bike for fear I could put too much pressure and cause serious issues/damage. A friend of mine did the race with a broken shoulder. One guy did the race two days after passing a kidney stone. That should count for something!
But I have unfinished business with Ironman. I want that swim!! So last night my wife and I signed up for Ironman TX 2015
Kevin
HalfTRIing.blogspot.com
Hey Kevin, hope the surgery went ok!
ReplyDeleteI think you summed up how a lot of people felt about IMFL. Good luck in TX!