Movement Me

At this week's Runners Roost Run Club run we had few rock star special guests on hand. Jessi Stensland, Pro Triathlete and founder of MovementU, and Benita Willis, one of the best Marathon runners in the world with a clocked 2:22. I finally got to meet Jessi! Her and I have a history of near misses but I've been a fan of hers for years now. She was a schoolmate at George Washington University of one of my former training partner Sarah Scholl who followed in similar foot steps. Whats with GWU grads starting a career as a pro triathlete and then starting their own fitness company? Fellow Blogger Kim Schwabenbauer is another one.

Jessi moved from CA to Boulder CO in 2010 after I did and I feel has been a huge accett to the CO running/fitness community. While out of work when I first moved here we were going to connect on a few rides and runs but then MovementU really started to take off and she was off traveling again.

The club run consisted of your choice between a 5mi or 5k loop. I ran a steller 5mi at 7:07 pace coming off a nasty mancold and achilles injury. Im happy with the run all things considered including colder temps and darkness (I seemed to have misplaced my headlamp). Post run Jessi was kind enough to supply refreshements from her new sponcer Razors Edge Wine.



After some post run libation we were treated with a movement prep session. Jessi brought along her bag of tricks which includes mini bands, and stretch rope from Core Performance; The Grid Foam Roller and the Hip and Lower Back kit from Trigger Point.



We went through a pre-race/workout warm up that touched on applying forces, balance, strength, corrective exercise, skill acquisition, and injury prevention. We got out the min bands and worked some internal and external hip rotaton. Then worked on engaging and expanding our core, hip/knees/ankle alignment with knee hugs. Then it was onto strength, elasticity and mobility with some form drill skips and stretches. Surprisingly got called out on a few things with my alignment. Granted its been a few months since doing those drills (and I really never should have stopped with them) but it was pointed out that I have a tendency to twist to my left side when planting my left foot. This is something I plan to work on during future drills (in front of the mirror if possible).

I like how she took a different point of view as a ES major, saying ok I know this stuff but I dont want to work with hurt people, I want to work from the other side and prevent injury. Time is performance in athletics, and lost time due to injury could very well be loss of potential.

It was a great session and learning experience; its motivating to know that you can always do things better. In this case, less then 20 mins of drills and conciously thinking about body positioning can lead to huge advantages during my activities. Loyal readers of my blog will find that I always strive to be an athlete first before a swimmer, biker, or runner. Stay tuned there may be other outings including Jessi and her gang of fitness misfits on the trails in Boulder sometime soon.

Movement Prep

I got Felt up

Even after going through the professional fitting process and basically being directed to the bikes which would best suit you, it is still a hard commitment to make. Frame sizes are the easy choice at this point, but tri bikes are highly adjustable and compatible with parts modifications. Add in price, color, weight, feel and durability and your head may split in half from the directions its being torn in.

Before the fitting I had been reading about tri bikes in Lava Mag, Slowtwitch, beginner triathlete and other bloggers. I developed a taste which aided in narrowing down my choices for a better decision. A decision is only hard when you don't know the consequences. This purchase also has to be made according to ability. Would it be nice to have a top of the line 5,000$+ bike.. sure but triathlon is not all about the bike. You do spend the most time on it so it should be comfortable and give you some sort of edge but it shouldn't be your main focus as a triathlete. You have 4 events (swim, bike, run, transition) and each phase requires its own focus. Besides do you want to have to worry about that bike walking off on you when you are at your post race massage?

I looked into Felt and Cervelo. Everyone has a Cervelo, you see them line the TA rack and I never knew how people were able to find their correct bike. Cervelo P2 and P3 were on my radar. Felt has a huge number of options in what I call the Vitamin series (B2, B10, B12, B14, B16). I needed a bike that was long and low with an aggresive aero position to accommodate my short legs and long torso. Both brands similarly priced, but due to accessibility, fit (aided by Retul Frame Finder), look and componentry, I was able to narrow my choice down between the B12 and B14. Both of these sexy Felt machines are pretty similar, gaining a frame that was modified from the B2 (all modeled after their high end DA model), and almost identical except for drive train groupo.

This is where I was torn for about a week but it pays to read online reviews, I averaged out the good the bad and the ugly and the SRAM R2C bar end shifters of the B12 did not make the cut. It just seemed as though they weren't as reliable as the Shimano Dura Ace set up of the B14 and being a person that has a history of a DNF due to Mechanical I do not want to be left in the cold because the bike wasn't reliable on race day. Its the same reason you don't go car shopping and buy a lemon. You spend the extra dime for piece of mind. In this case piece of mind actually saves me roughly $500, cant complain about that. After visiting a few LBS and trying out the Shimano 105 shifters I was concerned with how much effort it took too to change gears and I thought It would prove to be hazardous, as I already tend to wobble while in areo position. I was told by friends that it was something I would definitely get used to (I was thinking, well I hope that means sometime before I crash). The upgraded components of the B12 included the SRAM R2C (return to center) bar end shifters and this option initially looked great to me. Less reaching, just a simple click and im through another successful gear change. However, as a consumer we cant be sucked in by gimmicks. The R2C's have more moving parts and with further investigation I find that the internal working parts are made of a lower grade plastic that wear out after a while and may cause other problems and frustration as well.

It was at this point I remembered when I was an Engineering student, "keep it simple stupid" rang in my ears. I wanted to come up with grand designs but in the end the ones with the least moving parts, least friction, least fighting gravity ideas work the best. Since the bikes are otherwise identical I went with the cheaper model (but by no means lesser) and will have the option of upgrades if required in the future. So I welcome a new member to my team....


2011 Felt B14

On that high note, im flooded by good news lately which was kicked off by becoming a wear tester and now since im buying my bike through Retul they want to make a promo video of my final fitting when the bike comes in. More on that later...stay tuned. Questions/comments, leave em at the bottom.

Time to Hit the Ground Running

2/10
35 mins in spin class (Runners Roost team meeting cut my cycling short).
Btw this is going to be the color of our running uniforms and I have ordered the classic black-white-red tri gear and some warm up sleevs. I also wanted to link you to the Runners Roost Race Team Blog. Ill be making reference to it from time to time.

Lastly I wanted to annouce a new partnership that has developed. I am to be one of the future voices of Colorado's own Competitor Magazine since I've been selected as a wear tester for them. They are going to set me up with some shoes, which will be a great opportunity for them to get a fresh opinion of someone with a normal gait and also give me the opporunity to try some different brands. Its the beginning of a great partnership.

2/9
Lift:
Squat 5,5,5,3: 185,205,225,245
Squat jump 8,8: 185,135
Dead lift 6,6: 225, 275
Back Hyper 3x8: 8lb med ball
Leg Extention L/R/B x2: 80,80,100,90,90,100

I took last week off from lifting due to gym availibility and extreme negative temperatures, so this week I was eager to go after it. Sort of go out with a bang and conclude my final aggressive lifting cycle. Next up, im going to start pounding the pavement and tallying large weekly milage in prep for my season opener races.

2/8
24 hour fitness cycle class

Still had saddle soreness from testing out tri bike set ups. Its the misfit setups that will get ya.

Bike Fitting

As previously mentioned, when I signed up for the Rocky Mountain Tri Club we ended up having a deal with Retul for a bike fitting and I jumped on it! I just got done with a very informative and thorough fitting session of almost 2 hours with Mat over at Retul in Boulder. This is the same studio that fit Carfrae, Dibbins, Reed and Deboom before some of their major wins in 2010.


Since im in the market for, and have not yet acquired a TT/Tri bike I had my fitting on the adjustable fit bike made by Exit, but first we went through a history and goals interview. I consider myself a power runner, I bring my knees up, I open up my hips. I have strong hamstrings, quads and calfs which have a better then average flexibility and are incredibly balanced (this is key for a smooth peddle stroke, or a great runway run up in pole vault). Right off the bat we had a problem. My inexperience, lack of bike knowledge...I didn't even know some of the answers to what I was riding, and what brands I like. I guess gone are the days when you just get on your bike and ride. A TT bike is not a bike, its a masterpiece of carbon technology! It ended up that I had old style Look cleats and we had to change those out (mud still on my Pearl Tri Fly III's from my last race in Sept.) because they didn't even have those pedals. No biggy.

I mounted the Exit bike and we got to work. First starting out on seat positioning. This is where we almost immediately changed out the stock Felt seat (Felt SL Tri/TT Saddle). What can I say? I guess im just a little too tender in my undercarriage region. We changed that seat out for an Adamo saddle and it was like night and day (it will be an additional cost to my big purchase but a very important one). Comfortable, I could now attempt some very aggressive aero positioning. I couldn't believe how different this position was from the one I set myself up with on the road bike. After spinning some varying intensity for 20 mins with adjustments along the way I was surprised that my quads weren't burning, and my calfs weren't ready to go into lock down mode. The goal of a TT bike and optimal aero position is for better running off the bike. I didn't know the exact definition of this until this point. I now know why so many have passed me on the bike... my domination it seems is soon to come.


Retul Fitting
Mat took a few recordings of me spinning which then made a 2D computer model of yours truly and was complete with a readout of positions, and angle data. When we were sure we had the sweet spot I dismounted and various coordinates of seat, bar, and frame were surveyed to form the Zin.

The Zin coordinates were then uploaded to a frame finder software that Retul is in the process of completing (ya that's how cutting edge this place is, they give you access to their software before its even finished). It turned out that my best fit bike will be in the ball park of a Felt size 56 or Cervelo size 54 both bikes I've had on my list since they are for short legged, long torso-ed individuals like myself. I got a lot of questions answered. Sorry for not having any pictures but I wanted to keep Mat and myself focused on the task at hand..its pretty important to get it right.

Let the bike search begin...


Felt