Paradise Regained (Part 2 of 2: Moving Forward)

Ohh Jesus! I left the stove on AGAIN!!!

Well, much as I alluded to in part 1, I spent the last week catching back up on life and getting back in my mojo after Augusta. I had plenty of house work (laundry, sigh) and projects (stripping the paint off my CR-1, building a new computer) to keep me busy, so I had a very productive week.

Oh who am I kidding, I loaded up Diablo 3 and grinded my monk to lvl 60 while imbibing in a few too many Bloody Mary's and having french fries or tex mex every night. Hey, we all have our own special way to recuperate... right? Mine just happens to be mindlessly clicking a mouse. R&R at it's finest. 

Mooove over tri training!

The good news is that the break did what it was intended to do. About Friday afternoon I had the urge to get out and get a workout in (not enough urge to get me up and moving though :P ) and re-lighting the fire is really what these breaks are best for, besides letting the body get back to 100% of course. Preemptively fighting "burnout" is probably the only good way to succeed at it, especially after (like me) you've had a bad race. Here I'll try to outline what the future has in store for me.

Diagnose what needs work
Easy first step. My run is in need of an overhaul. 25-30 mile weeks (I was hitting around 100-110mi/months) just isn't enough to get things down into the time range I'd like to be in. The next couple of months I'll be knocking back my bike and swim training to about 2x a week (each) and increase both the number of runs per week and the total amount of time running (albeit not quickly) until I get to the 50ish mpw range. At that point we'll be re-evaluating where things are and how to proceed. I might even try one of those nifty 100 runs 100 days type challenges, just to stay motivated.

Next on the list (and farther down the road) is the swim. I improved a lot last year in this, but there is still plenty of room to work. I had a 6:5x / 500m the last time I tested,  I would really like to get that down closer to under 6:20. I think I have some low hanging fruit still in my form (and a lot in my flip turns) so... with a little help this one should be fixable. Also, it would probably be a boon for me to spend a bit more time practicing in open water.

On the bike, 300w FTP has been something I would love to hit before 2014 rolls around... although it'll probably have to wait. I'd be more excited to be able to hold higher watts (230ish) for my 30+ mile rides though. I also need to continue to adapt to my position... I had some lingering hand numbness and a little shoulder pain after Augusta, which I assume is due to the position.

Continue to work on my projects
As we speak my CR-1 is being Carbo-lifted. I may end up doing a review on the product, and will certainly write something up on my "experience" with it (and the bike) at some point. I will say that SCOTT is very liberal with their paint application. The area's that are painted white are an absolute nightmare to try to get down without sanding, which I have been forced to do sadly.

Trust me, you don't want to see the Scott right now.

I also just bought an older (2004ish) Caad8 to build up for the winter and possibly some crits next year. It's also going to get stripped down, albeit it should be much easier (since it's aluminum) than the Scott. Now the question is what to kit it out with. (on the cheap) I could probably piece together some older 105-Ultegra pretty cheap, but I've been reading some great reviews about this stuff.

At $256 (group buy) it's hard to imagine a better deal for a semi-complete group.

Microshift is what team Exergy uses (Felt has also started speccing bikes with it, and Vision's new component lineup is as well) and it certainly seems to get the job done. The price is right as well, and if you don't mind downstepping to the "White" (confusing since it comes in different colors) group then you can save even more. That's pretty tempting, especially since I've already got a spare crank sitting around. I have been looking for an excuse to try some of this out for a while...looks like I finally got one.

And of course there is this little project. I'm still just getting my feet wet with my blogging, with plenty to learn still ahead of me. The good part is that I really enjoy doing this, so it has a good chance to only get better with time. (Like fine Wine)


So, there we go. I'll be back with some more updates! Stay tuned and feel free to comment away.

-Christopher Morelock

Paradise Lost (Part1 of 2: the race report)

And so Ironman Augusta has came and went, and my showing there was nothing to write home about. No special performance, and no horror story blow up... just a quiet appearance and disappointing, mediocre finish. However, we can learn more from a bad day than we can from a good day (as it requires much more self examination...and in the end growth) so let's get right into it.

It didn't start on a good note. About a week before the race they released swim waves. Wave 20?!? Seriously? M25-29 were starting as the last male wave, over an hour after the pro's went off. Jeez. Last year we weren't first or anything, but last?? Oh well, just more people to pass (cue ominous music for the first time)

My taper was uneventful, and the trip down to Augusta (Aiken actually) was also not worth much mention. My mother and I (how's that for English lessons) drove down in a little under 6 hours and got checked in pretty early. After sign in they exit you out into the Ironman Shop. Ok... well, my mom wanted a shirt and I wanted a poster so what's the harm. As we're walking out a shirt catches my eye so I go to check out whats on the other side of it. Splayed in giant letters is "FINISHER." Holy SH#*(@, I drop it immediately (unceremoniously on the floor) but the damage was done.

- Rule #1 of a race. NEVER, EVER touch, pick up, or even look at anything that says finisher on it until you've already finished it. Even if you've finished it before.

Keep it away!

On Saturday my Grandparents and Dad were driving down. About halfway my dad's car broke down (leave it to him... 30 cars on our car lot and he drives the one with 300k miles on it) and my grandparents had went a different route. After waiting on a wrecker for a few hours he decides he's had enough tom foolery and just packs it in and heads home as opposed to trying to make the drive back on no sleep. It sucks, but he let me know at least he got all the mechanical trouble out of the way for me. Then it's a quick drive of the course and checking the bike in.

UT didn't have a good weekend

I get a short run in, meet up with the grandparents, and we all go out to dinner. Then I turn into bed fairly early... despite being forced to miss "Tombstone" on TV (the sacrifices we make!)

Evidently Mr. Morelock's an educated man. Now I really hate him.

 Race Day arrives as you'd expect... with a blaring alarm.Nothing to shock the nervous system into working like 6 different devices going off like it's Defcon 4. I'm up and start taking in my breakfast. I'd go over it here, but nutrition is so personal that it's somewhat pointless.

The Following is pretty much a copy pasta from my race report on Beginnertriathlete.com (link here, it's a tiny bit different I guess)


When I got to Transition that morning there was quite a bit of dew on the bike. I noticed the tape I had stuck to my trispoke to cover the valve hole was a bit loose, but figured it would stick or just fall off at the worst. All ready to rock and roll. I ended up in my wetsuit pretty early in the morning as it was noticeably cold (I had chills) standing there. We do some joking in the wave, and then it's go time.

The Swim - 27:26 (27:48 last year)

Freezing.

 Well, it's difficult to predict what I "wanted" to do. Last year my swim was pretty close to the same time, but with a stronger current. I had hoped that with similar current I would be closer to 24 minutes with the increase in swim speed I've had. That said, looking at the move in overall placing (almost 200 spots better) I assume that I was quicker, but the current was slower.

The swim itself was fairly uneventful. The beginning was pretty physical, moreso than usual. I never really found a good pair of feet to draft off of, and on a few occasions trying to find some nearly got me hurt... there were lots of different colored caps still floundering around ahead of us, so I would see a kick ahead of me and assume it was somebody in my wave, then have to get out of the way when I realized it was a slower swimmer from the waves before us kicking around. Finally I settled out by myself and the rest of the swim was uneventful. As I came up I saw my watch was at 28 minutes and I kind of had that sinking feeling that it was going to be a hard day at the office.

The Bike - 2:28:24 (2:27:54 last year)

One of the few times I was down in aero for any stretch

 Oh boy. Here is where my day takes a decided turn for the negative.
I come out onto the main highway in Augusta feeling good. There's plenty of people out here, but I expected that coming out of the water... just like last year. About half a mile in I hear an odd noise... kind of like a baseball card stuck in the spokes. I start to panic, thinking I've flatted, or that my derailleur is messed up. Despite the sound, the bike is working fine. Finally I notice that every time my front wheel is spinning around, something is slapping the fork. It takes me a minute until it dawns on me... that friggin tape! How it was not sticky enough to hold onto the side of the wheel, yet sticky enough to get stuck on the tire and slap the fork I will never know. It sounded BAD. Not just bad, but loud as well. I tried to pick it off, but couldn't get it off the tire (even after the race it took me some muscle to peel it off the tire) without risking digits in the spokes. Finally I just accepted the noise and tried to move on.

A few more miles in (about 10) I started to notice something... the crowds weren't thinning out. I would pass 5 or 6 people and another hundred foot there would be another "pack." Even worse, there was rampant "blocking" going on, so I was often having to attempt a pass 2 or 3 people wide. This was killing my time in Aero... as every time someone would pull out in front of me I'd have to brake and sit up and let them complete their pass before I could finish mine. My voice is cracked today from all the "on your left"s I had to repeat.

Here is where I lost it. My goal was Avg watts around 205, with np close to 215, not going above around 270 on hills. Well, as I would look down at my Joule I noticed I was running low (about 183w avg) and so I thought to myself "I'm fine." Well, yeah... if AV and NP were all that mattered I would have been. Unfortunately, I was spending a lot of time passing on hills, but at 300+ watts. I mean, when you are passing a line of 15 people, all you can really do is get past... but I was not cycling smart.

From mile 1 to mile 56 I was never out of a group, and never spent more than a couple of minutes at a time in aero... it was just too dangerous (for me) especially after seeing ambulances go flying by and a cyclist on the side of the road. I rode in the last few miles knowing that 4:30 wasn't happening.

The Run - 1:56:12 (1:44:33 last year)

Two DeSoto suits in a row. My craptastic form

Just putting down the time it took me was embarrassing. I ran the same course nearly 13 minutes faster last year with a bum hamstring and in the blazing heat. My garmin did a great job of letting me know I was going to slowly every couple of minutes, and I very strongly considered throwing it in the trash... although I restrained myself. I saw my mom on the first loop and she had that "putting on my best face because I know you are getting crushed" look that just made me feel worse. I will say, this was probably the toughest run I've ever gutted out. It's really hard to dig deep when you know your race is already over.

I cruised into the finish line at 4:57:52... over 10 minutes slower than last year in much hotter conditions. To say I felt disappointed would be understatement of the century.

- end of the copy / paste.

So, what went wrong and what went right?

As the swim goes, I don't think anything went wrong. I was faster than last year and the current was considerably less powerful. I'm still not where I want to be in the water, but it was a fine swim for my current abilities.

On the bike... it was just a bad day. Maybe I was too timid, but going down because somebody pulled out in front of me and I couldn't get to the brakes didn't seem like the way to end my season. I'm as happy as I can be with the day... 10 less watts than last year and within a minute of the same time. I did likely blow myself up passing people, but once you start a line long pass, you are somewhat committed.

The run wasn't good. On a good day, a 1:40 would have been possible, but it wasn't a good day. Most of my running weeks have been on 20-30mpw mileage, so I guess there isn't much way to expect a blazing time.

 So that takes us to the end of part 1. In the next update, It'll be less report and more how I'm dealing. I don't have much to report on that now, since basically all I've done is sit on my butt and read / work.

Until Then

- Christopher Morelock

Taper Away

Taper = Smooth sailing? I think not.

Tapering. If ever there was a part of training/racing that I did not enjoy, this would be it. No matter what I'm told or read, I always feel like crap the week or two of my taper. Sure, past experience has taught me that it ends up working well, and of course there really isn't any "form" I can add in the 2 weeks leading up to race day, but still... you go through months not missing 2x workouts a day, and all of a sudden... off days. What the hell am I going to do with an off day? It's not like I have a social life any more... and even if I did, would going out for drinks really work out for taper week? :P I quit playing video games and watching movies so long ago I question whether my PS3 will even turn on any more. Of course I have my old fall backs (my Kindle and trolling BT / ST) but you can only dedicate so many hours to a screen. Sunday I managed to fit 13 hours of sleep in... but, oddly, even that gets a bit boring.

My worst enemy at times like this however, is gluttony.

Holy Crap. Searching "gluttony" in Google images turns up some creepy sh*t.

Ok, it's not all that bad. I mean, I'm not on the verge of gorging myself in biblical proportions or anything... but I do like my calories. You get used to consuming 5-6 solid meals a day plus whatever fuel you get during a workout... and then, bammo... drastic drop in activity level. Oh, and did I mention boredom. Yes, I like to think I can eat my way out of a boring situation.  Now I like to try to keep it on the healthy side, but really, at a certain point you just have to admit that you love salty @ss chips and salsa more than you do carrots and lettuce. I have to keep my mind focused on this kind of stuff, as I feel much better weighing in at under 150lbs than above 150lbs! I'd really prefer to be racing at 140'ish, but this year that's not been in the cards.

Now on to the good things about being restlessly bored during taper. Most importantly, I don't spend my time worrying about race day... which a lot of my friends will do. Heck, the night before a big race I sleep like a baby. I think that comes from being very prepared in the weeks leading up. I had my gear selection / nutrition / plan pretty well settled a few months ago. The last piece of the puzzle was what tire I would end up running on my back wheel and what front wheel I would run.

I settled on the Continental Grand Prix TT over the GP SuperSonic in the end, despite the TT not having any published Data. I'm generally not so paranoid about "race" tires, but this time I've decided that just a little more protection (the vectron breaker strip in the TT) is worth it over the SuSo's seemingly superior RR.

As far as the front wheel goes, I'm 95% sure it will be the Hed3 / Bonty Aerowing combo. Again we have a flimsy (and narrow - 19mm) tire to deal with, and on the front as opposed to the rear (which is a bit less flat prone) but nonetheless, there really isn't much option if you want an "optimal" trispoke. The 5% is for my Jet9. Although wind isn't going to be a deciding factor, if it is raining heavily on race day I'll probably run the Jet, since the Bonty R4 Aero tire is a bit thicker and IMO a safer choice in a deluge.

Hopefully not Augusta this year

So, with me leaving for Augusta on Friday morning, I suppose this will be my last update until after the race. Hopefully I'll be returning "victorious," (sub 4:30, podium, Vegas spot...fame, women, glory) but no matter what I'll return giving the best I possibly could on race day.

Until then, wish me luck.

-Christopher Morelock

Review! My thoughts on the Specialized S-Works Trivents

Before I start the review, just look at these things!

Dorothy would be proud!

Ok, Ok. Let's get the obvious elephant in the room out of the way first thing. Yes, these things are expensive. In fact, they are $225 more expensive than the next step *down* in the tri shoe department, (The Experts) and $40 more than the S-Works road shoe! No matter your financial situation, $400 on a pair of cycling shoes is going to raise an eyebrow. So, hopefully this review can add some insight as to whether the Trivent is worth your hard earned cash or not.

Political websites have their uses too... like supplying me a handy picture of an elephant with cash!

Let me be honest. I don't need this shoe. You don't need this shoe. Macca doesn't need this shoe. Nobody needs this shoe. The same thing of course could be said about plenty of things in life. Just because nobody needs a 550 Maranello doesn't mean that it isn't a beautiful and amazingly designed machine. These shoes strike me in the same way.


The biggest selling point to the S-Works is the rear entry system. (I know...giggle away)

Here you can see the magnet on the heel strap, along with get an idea of the *rear entry*

Open and ready for business

The system looked just a bit clunky to me. I tried the Scott running shoes (from a few years ago) that had a similar kind of design and they just never felt secure. Specialized on the other hand did a marvelous job of solving the issue. If you've never had a shoe with the "BOA" system, you are missing out. It really is just the best way to tighten and secure a cycling shoe. The S-Works take that system to another level, as the BOA system both secures the heel piece and tightens the shoe after you are off and away from transition. Holding the heel tab in place in transition is a built in magnet (one in the heel strap and one in the back of the shoe itself) which, albeit a bit gimmicky looking, actually works pretty well. As a matter of fact, I only had a few very small gripes with the entire design, that being that the BOA nob does take a fair amount of twists to get it firmly secured. It's not a big thing (and is probably necessary due to each person needing different amounts of tightness) but it felt like it was just "thrown on" to an otherwise extremely well thought out shoe.

The front end of the shoe is where my other gripe is, more precisely, the front strap. I wouldn't call it completely useless, but that wouldn't be a very far stretch of the imagination. It does very little to actually adjust the toe box, so those with an oddly shaped foot may have to either size down or pass on the shoe entirely. I've had two other pair of the older Trivents and the fit all around is one of the things that I loved about them, these are awesome from halfway back, and only ok (for me at least) for the front half. The shoe's upper is also very stiff compared to most bike shoes (although it may break down after more wear) which made my first few rides with my feet on top of them a bit awkward. You will get used to it, but it's a bit *less* stable than a softer shoe upper.

The other "goodie" you get with the S-Works is the rubber band tab on the inside of the shoe.

The rubber band tab (Conrad Stoltz off road version)

After using the tab a few times I've come to think of it as a solution to a question nobody asked. Rubber bands through the heel straps worked great for years, this doesn't really change the dynamics, it just looks cooler and gives you some more options... which I'm 100% totally fine with. 

You can see Macca opted NOT to use the tab and instead did it the old fashioned way

I feel like I've sounded fairly critical (and negative) about the shoe up until this point... and that's ok. I think that for the money you should be aware if anything isn't up to fluff. However, let me make it clear, I LOVE THIS SHOE. Specialized shoes in general are held in high regard by myself and most of my friends, and these meet the standards you would expect for a product with the S-Works moniker. The bottom is FACT 12 carbon (so beautiful you'll regret scratching it) which is plenty stiff enough for anyone. The inside of the shoe was obviously designed for sockless riding, and the liner is smooth and comfortable. The outside of the shoe is both loud and tasteful, although since you only get the fastest color currently (I have to imagine black or white is somewhere in the future lineup) it can cause for some awkward color/kit coordination.

Back to the primary issue... the money. To ease and appease (at least a little) you should consider that you'll likely have a well made pair of cycling shoes (such as these) for a good amount of time. The first Trivents I bought have lasted over 4 years and are still perfectly serviceable (albeit very stinky and a little rough looking) and I put in at least a decent amount of miles in them each year. Figuring you'll keep these at least that long (probably more as these are likely not your everyday shoes) it seems a bit more bearable at $100/year. That's probably less than you spend each year on other things that you enjoy... Beer... Data on your cell phone... running shoes... steak... whatever. It's also worth noting that BOA has a lifetime warranty on their systems, so if you are worried about the potential fragility of the system (you shouldn't, it's pretty bulletproof) you can be at ease that they will replace it. Specialized doesn't offer a lifetime warranty on their shoes, but they have a very good reputation for support, adding a feeling of security that you aren't just screwed if something does go bad on them.

Anyways, the verdict? I think that you can certainly get a quality triathlon shoe for half the price (the Trivent Experts deserve nothing but praise if you want to stick with Specialized) so if the price tag is indeed a limiter, don't feel like the only party is on the S-Works boat. However, it's a very, very nice boat to party on, and if skimming every possible second off of your T1 time is important to you, maybe the Trivent can help. I am just a second or two faster in it than I was in my old shoes, and everyone knows I love going faster without working for it. So, if it appeals to you, it's an awesome shoe that you won't be disappointed in and should last for years to come. (of course, try them on first :P )

2013 "Dorothy" edition.

- Christopher Morelock

The final big weeks to Augusta

I'm a numbers guy. Watts, pace, weight, calories... I love to count it, estimating... always checking my w/kg, what was in that order of Nachos (I love me some chips & salsa... no way around it.) and, most pressing on my mind these last few weeks (really this last year) was...

Who would have thought, triathletes and little league ball players have similar diets

How fast do I have to go to break 4:30 in Augusta?

Well, I crunched some numbers. Considering similar transition times (it was about 5 minutes total last year) I need to have a

- 25min swim (1:10/100yd - current assisted of course)
- 2:22 Bike (23.6 mph)
- 1:38 Run (7:28 min/mi)

which would put me at a 4:29:49 - pffttt... AND an 11 second buffer. :P

So, what has to right? I can use some of my experience from last year at Augusta to map it out.

As far as before the race, the biggest mistake I made last year was just being way too active. I walked from the host hotel to the swim start, from the swim start to the swim exit, back to the host hotel, out into the city to find something to eat... all that walking was a big mistake. I justified it with the logic that with an already hurt hamstring, the walking would replace my *last* run before the race. What it really did was make my calves sore from all that walking around. Not the best idea. This year I'm off my feet unless absolutely necessary.

I suppose the swim is where we next stop to examine. I need to cut around 3 minutes from last years time. Augusta does a good job of making even the most "ho hum" of swimmers look like a studly fish due to it's very rapid current. I'm in one of the last waves to go off (why??? 25-29m should be closer to the front than most waves IMO) so, although I'll get a small benefit from an even swifter current, I'll have to be considerably more careful due to the likelyhood of physical contact coming throughout the swim as opposed to just the beginning (passing slower swimmers in other waves) I think my goal here is the most likely, as 6 months of fairly focused swim training has helped tune my speed towards FoP. That and the possibility of being eaten of course...

Well, it should be gators I suppose, but then the joke isn't nearly so witty.

Then we get into the bike (I'll spare you transitions - if I can keep them similar to last year I'll be happy) which is where my possibly biggest obstacle will come. Pacing. Last year my 2:27 was a good time considering I wasn't very careful with my pacing... I ended up riding about 12-15 watts lower (avg) than I had intended to, mainly because my old LYC wouldn't show avg. and current watts at the same time... fortunately my Joule2.0 solves that issue, so I should have a better guage of where I am at all times. Adding a more aerodynamic position and strength gains over a year (well, part of a year) means I'm sure I can ride a 2:22 bike split, and I'm also sure I can ride a sub 2:20 bike split... the question at that point is, can I do that and still run the 1/2 marathon I need to run. I think this will be the highwire I have to cross to be successful. A little too much "uhmph" on this ride and I'll be dying on the side of the road. Too little and I'll still miss my ultimate goal. (as no amount of freshness is going to make me run a 1:30 1/2 this year...sadly) Luckily, the bike is where I feel most at home, so I feel good about this.

And then of course... the run.
I won't try to lie to you or myself, this is where it's going to hurt. Starting later in the day means it's going to be hotter when the run starts. I know pacing the run has never been my strong suite (I have a bad habit of starting at a fast pace and then fading into mediocrity) and hell, running itself never has been either. That said, Augusta is a flat course. The time I'm looking at (1:38... keep up) isn't far off my last half mary (over a year ago in Knoxville, a decidedly hilly course) pace, and I plan to be a LOT smarter about my nutrition/hydration during the run this year. Last year I just slogged through (and, considering it hurt to run, I thought a 1:49 was acceptable) and really went to some bad places mentally, even taking a minute or two just to stop and stand and wonder...why the hell am I doing this. This year I plan to be ready to fight the battle on all fronts. Extra "rations" of coke and red bull in my fuel belt pods, sport drink and coke at aid stations, ice and sponges everywhere I can fit them to keep me from overheating. My garmin set to let me know when I am going too fast (or too slow) and finally some good old fashioned hard headedness to keep my mind from falling apart.

Still look a lot less runner and a lot more weightlifter I'm afraid

If all that goes to plan... and the day is favoring me, then... I'll have what I trained so hard for.

Of course, I'm a realist as well. Things can go bad, and they can go bad fast. I am fully aware I'm going to be racing on a razor's edge... one that something as simple as a missed bottle handup or kick to the face can quickly end. Nonetheless, of the things I can control, I will do my best to make them "perfect." To the rest, I'll leave lady luck in charge... maybe she'll be smiling on me!

Good luck to all of you other guys racing Augusta, I hope all of your goals are met and exceeded!

-Christopher Morelock

From those who like to tinker, for those who don't like to waste money!

I've always been a bit of a tinkerer. My cars, my computers, my bikes... I like to "personalize" them. I like to "upgrade" and attempt to fix all those problems that don't really exist. Do I need to overclock my video card to get one extra frame per second? Does my car really need bored out heads for a few more horsies? No... However it's fun as hell to work on it and see those tiny gains from blood sweat and curses.

My Bike(s) are no exception to this rule. If anything, they have given me a huge media to explore... and let's be honest, if there is anything triathletes love, it's new toys. Some have been great, some not so great, a couple of big wastes of time and money, and just a few that are downright dangerous. I'm going to go over some of them here, with my thoughts on how it all turned out. We'll start with the easy stuff first!

Carbon Crank Cover

So what happens when you want all the "cool kids" look of a Zipp Vuma / FSA Chrono TT ring, but don't want to just stretch packing tape over the holes in your crank? You buy some sheets of carbon fiber and make your own!

This was a fairly easy one, it cost about $60 give or take (depending on what you already have in the garage) and it looks great installed. You'll need the sheets of carbon fiber (I suppose fiberglass would also work) which are available on ebay, some epoxy (for composites) and some plastic wrap. Take the crank you want a cover for, cover it with the plastic wrap, and lay the carbon (carbon, epoxy, carbon, epoxy) and allow it to cure. Then cut away the extra carbon and drill/dremel holes for the crank bolts.  You can skip the holes if you don't mind glueing / epoxying the edges of the cover to your chainrings. I was personally a bit worried that I'd get reprimanded at a race for a "fairing" so I never epoxied mine. It's now sitting in the corner of my garage. It's also kind of a toss up as to whether or not this "mod" would actually DO anything (in terms of actual performance gains) as there has been some debate as to whether covering the crank is helpful. Nonetheless, it looks really cool.

Chopped straps

 This one takes a few seconds and won't cost you anything, but could save you a few seconds over your next bike split. Most tri shoes have an excess of strap length that ends up hanging off the side of your foot (in the wind!) during your ride. Chopping those bad boys down will clean up your profile just a bit (as will trimming all that excess chin strap off your helmet!!) and if one thing can be said for me, I love to make the little things add up. As always when it comes to cutting... measure twice, (and mark it) cut once! Just don't cut them so short that you cut off the "tab" that holds them in place.

"Oversized" 13t/15t wheels

You probably saw these once upon a time in the Tour (2010 I think). David Millar, Fabian, Contador, Schleck and even Lance were riding on these odd derailleurs.

David Millar's setup

A company called Berner made the one's you saw in the tour. They were certainly interesting, and claimed a much more efficient drivetrain. Building my own (you don't want to know what the Berner kits cost...) was not a cheap undertaking. The problem becomes the cage you need to accept the wheels, along with the wheels themselves (15t is a bit of an odd thing to be looking for) pretty much being custom jobs. You would think a Long cage derailleur would be acceptable, but it isn't (the 15 won't work) so you need something custom built. (It's possible a Mtn bike long cage would work... possibly a shimano shadow derailleur?) Enter Fiber-Lyte. They custom made the 13t/15t wheels, along with the outside carbon cage. That left the inner cage...

I sourced one on ebay (from a foreign seller) and when it arrived I met problem #1... that is, Shimano does not want you taking their beloved derailleurs apart. Oh sure, you can unscrew the cage, and then "BAM" the loaded spring shoots parts everywhere! Finding everything is the easy part, now you have to put it back together. Let me say, it's going to take some seriously manly hands to get the tension back on the spring AND get the screw set in the back of the cage. It took me 3 hours spread across two days, a couple of beers and an extremely sore hand before I finally got it.

Then there's the other problem... the chain. If you look at Millar's setup you can see the stretch that the derailleur is under. Trying this for yourself, you are going to run into a no-win situation. On the one hand, you lengthen the chain... at which point you are going to have too much slack in certain (bigger) gears. On the other, you shorten the chain, and completely lose the ability to shift into your top 4 or so cogs in the big ring. (Not that you should be in them anyways.) Which is not ideal. Also, the custom plate I bought had just a little space in the "nob" that keeps the chain from skipping off... when I would go from big to small ring it would sometimes *catch* for just a second. It never did any damage, but it always worried me, and eventually I took it off and returned to the good old fashioned way. As far as performance goes... I never noticed anything, but there were never any claims that it would make some huge jump anyways... I'd skip this one unless you just love the look (it did look cool)

DT Shifters

I get asked about these more than anything else on my bike at races. "Where did you get those shifters??"
Well, from ebay actually... but I digress. There are 7800 Dura Ace downtube shifters (they still make em!) mounted to the plugs from regular 7800 bar end shifters. (You will need to cannibalize some bar end shifters to make this work btw) These guys give you a lot more leverage to shift in aero (or they do me at least) and they look really cool. They are a bit longer than regular bar ends, so you may need to trim your bar length to make up for it. I still use these and love them.

Custom Mount

This is another easy one that doesn't require much. I took my Virtue bottle (the best bottle for this kind of mod since it has a non-round shape and sits at the bottom of its cage flush) and drilled new, lower holes for it to mount in. This brings it all the way into the bottom of the triangle of my frame (the same way the virtue sits in a transition/shiv stock) and both adds a small bit of stability to the bottle (its actually sitting on the downtube) as well as closing in the "gap" it had stock. (which *should* be superior aerodynamically) Sometimes it's the little things that count.

"Cobb Hack" front Brake

David Millar's 1/2 Hack

This is the dangerous one. Let me put this one out there up front... the cobb hack WILL NOT stop you reliably! Do this mod at your own risk! (Seriously, I'm warning you, don't come crying to me when it fails at the worst possible moment) That said...

... So you want an aero brake, but don't have the cash to drop on an Omega / Simkins / Hooker / whatever. Well, this is an old trick from Mr. Cobb. You are only going to be out the cost of your brake if (when?) you screw it up. The first step is to cut the top arm (as in David Millars pic above) and drill a new hole for the cable to run through. On mine I started with a wider hole (enough for housing to sit in) and then made it shallower out the other end. (just wide enough for the cable itself)

-------If you stop at this point-------
You can still stop the bike  reliably. What you're essentially doing here (that you care about) is making it a little easier to route your front brake cable housing "cleanly." (like a center pull aero brake would basically) Besides having to replace the cable a bit more often, you shouldn't have any negative side effects.

-------If you keep going-------
You will cut the other arm off as well (right past the point that holds the cable) and then drill and tap a new hole through the side of what's left of the arm. Now, obviously you need to make SURE you tap it right. Then, find the right screw and shave just a tiny nub into it (where the cable will fit when it's secured) and then red loctite the crap out of it. shave another nub into the brake arm (very slight, you want the cable to sit there, not fly out) and say a prayer to whatever god you see fit to ask mercy from.

I used the full mod for one Time Trial.  That was enough for me. I'd rate stopping power somewhere around that of a poorly adjusted Modolo Kronos / Delta Brake (that is, nonexistent)  Afterwards, on a training ride, the cable stripped the threads out of the tapped hole (not sure why to this day)

Those are just a few of the more *interesting* things I've played around with. I'm currently playing with creating my own carbon parts, which is a bit more expensive (and time consuming) than most of these things. Updates will come at some point, if I ever craft anything worth showing off!

Until then, keep tuning!

- Christopher Morelock 

Slowly smoothing out (and things to watch for)

It's no secret, this year has been a bit rocky for me.

It's always this picture...

The good news is, things are starting to look up, or upper that is. Some little "achievements" that I have made this year.

- 500m TT swim in under 7:00 - Done at 6:53
- Higher FTP than last year - Now hovering around 270's.
- Ran a Sub 20' 5k - 19:32 in the middle of a long run.

It's always good to have smaller goals mixed in with the bigger ones. My long term goals are to push my FTP into the 300+ range, get my 5k down to low 18's (and, more importantly, to lower my long run pace to low 7min/miles) , and swim a sub 6' 500TT. All those are a ways off, but hopefully at least in sight on the horizon.

I've also started this nice blog (you may have noticed, since you are reading it) to sort of occupy my downtime (well, to procrastinate from work and house chores) and while I'm still feeling out the way it works and what mix of tidbits / jokes / and nonsense people are willing to sift through, I must say I thoroughly enjoy it.

Even Spider Man has writers block occasionally

 I plan to attempt to continue the reviews (the DSW Speedpack being the first, but I'm already working on drafts for the S-Works Trivents, the Zoot Ultra Kiawe's, and my trip to the wind tunnel) and update the blog at least once a week (hopefully a little more as time allows and things happen) but of course, posting just to post really isn't helpful to anyone... so bear with me. 

Look There! You can see my swim times not being embarrassing! Here, take the telescope!

Have a happy and safe Labor Day! 

-Christopher Morelock