GADGET NEWS
My saddle woes continue. Last night, in a fit of insomnia, I plunked down $169 bucks for a "returnable" Cobb V-Flow Max. I'm pretty desperate at this point, but I refuse to purchase another saddle that I can't return... so my options are limited. This one sort of 'looks' like the Adamo, yet different. The trough cut-out is there, but the lines of the saddle flow more smoothly and it's not quite as wide through the nose area. I'm hoping it relieves soft-tissue pressure like my Adamo did but without aggravating my undercarriage sore that the Adamo caused. Looks somewhat promising, but who knows? I wish I could have over-nighted the thing. I need it yesterday!
My seat angle has been moved back and some spacers have been added to Pixie in an attempt to make me more comfortable for these long rides. Is the solution perfect at this point? No. A new bike may be in store. After work yesterday I took some time to look over what's available. The geometry game can get confusing, but I'm always up for a challenge and it was fun reading about how certain brands fit very leggy people (which I'm not), while other brands fit the long torso folks (which I am) and then of course there is the insanity of 650c vs. 700c (which I've been on both).
So, I've weeded out what definitely won't work (long, leggy stuff) and have focused in on what 'might' work. Now, I'm on a mission to test drive. First up on my list... the 50cm Felt B2 with 650 wheels. This bike falls nearly smack-dab between the 48cm P2C that I used to ride and the 51cm P2 that I currently ride. Also on the list is the Argon-18 E-112. Similar long and low geometry like the Felt, but with 700c wheels. The cadillac on the list is the Guru (either Crono or Magis). Very excited about trying out one of these. And the complete outlier (due to very slack geometry which is completely opposite of what I'm riding now) is the Orbea Ordu. Who knows, maybe it will feel like a road bike and I will love it! I should also give QRoo a look, but aside from Sondra's bike (which has custom paint since it used to belong to the Heathernator), I just don't like the looks of their bikes... and if I'm not excited to even take a picture of it, would I truly be excited about getting on it?
Oh yes, and if all of this tri bike shopping isn't killing me, my goal for winter was to get a nice carbon road bike! Hmph! Lottery????
END OF THE YEAR FOCUS
Finally, as Augusta draws closer I find myself wanting the tri season to be over. Unfortunately, MiamiMan is in November and I'm signed up. I'm really not enthusiastic about doing this event. What I want to do is make the Philadelphia Half Marathon a post-Augusta priority and get a new 1/2 marry PR. Scott has told me to go for it; I have yet to talk with Coach Jen about it. MiamiMan is a very nice race and I'll probably have race envy if I don't do it, but I really, REALLY want that half marathon PR. Maybe, just maybe there's a way to do both.
And that's it from my neck of the woods. I'm waaay behind on blog reading and hoping to catch up a bit this morning. Hugs to all of my blogland friends. Hope you are all enjoying the last days of summer (well, not here in FL... but you know what I mean, right?)
11 comments:
Finding the right saddle can be a bitch. Good luck with that. On the bike, stick with comfort, whatever that is. I have been doing some studies for the book I am writing, and the market goes back and forth from aluminum to carbon with not a lot of difference in the riders times.
Arnie has agreed to put a tow line behind his wake for the IMFL swim, which should help me.
Sherry - I bought the Cobb V-Flow Max this spring, and I really like it (this coming from a girl who has on average tried 2 saddles per year, every year, for the past 5 or so years). I hope it works for you. Saddle woes are the worst!
Now get out there and buy yourself a mtb, because I'm thinking about an early season xterra next year - xterra Miami - first one in the eastern US, just for fun. How far from Miami are you? It sounds like an interesting race to do. Not sure about the trails, but the run has a waist deep 'river' crossing! woohoo - gotta love xterra!
take care of yourself!
I bought the flow max about a month ago after encountering bleeding sores after a 40 mile ride. It has been my savior! Not a problem since I started using it. I still stand up every now and then during the ride (like around the 1/2 way point) to lessen compression issues, but no pain and no sores for me. It was worth every penny. I hope it works for you!
Hope this new seat works out for you. Nothing like booty sores.
I have recently been daydreaming about a new bike...however, not in the cards this year.
I hope you get the ok for the Philly half marathon. Good luck!
I have the Blackwell (old version of Cobb's saddles). They rock out! The one thing that is real different is the feeling of pelvis bone sitting on rails. Not to worry, not painful, just different. It doesn't hit my pressure points or arteries or anything. Best of luck. A friend of mine just got that same Cobb saddle and loves it too.
I hope the new saddle helps you out!
As far as the sleep thing...I think you can get so overtired that you have even more trouble sleeping. My solution - new discovery after not being able to sleep 3 nights after Boise 70.3: Advil PM. Those suckers knock me out and I feel like a million bucks after. When I finally wake up. On whatever day it is. Word of warning: don't plan on getting up at 5am.
Oh and I know what it's like to be ready to be done with the big race after all the training weeks go and go and go...I think it's normal to feel that way but I bet you'll get even more excited as Augusta approaches. I bet Jen could find a way to train you for Miami and the 1/2 marathon - you'd probably just have to make the tri a B or C race or something...
I've had my eye on the Felt B2R now for awhile...I love the feel of the Felt. I tested out one that was WAY too big, but I still loved the way it rode. We may be Felt Twin Powers!! :D
Hope the seat works for you. I've had the same one forever and finally got a new one (the leather was worn off in more than 1 spot). The new one is awful. I'm thinking about creating a saddle exchange website where we can all go an swap saddles hoping one will work.
Hey...Maggs may be onto somethingggggg!!!!!!!!!
Good luck with the seat, spin used to kill my "self" but I was getting used to it in the end!!!
Got any little 5k races planned?? Like the Sept 5th MDA???
Bummer abut the seat woes. I hope you can find one that works for you. OTOH, a new bike is always nice :-)
As for MiamiMan and Philly Half, I think a 1/2 PR is doable if you can recover quick after Miami. I've done Miami twice before and the course is quite easy (flat as a pancake) so recovery is pretty easy compared to a hilly race, You'll also likely be able to get a half iron PR there after Augusta without any extra effort. Last year I actually ran a full marathon one week after getting a PR MiamiMan. It wasn't a marathon PR but it was the fastest of the marathons I ran that year (3:51). And Philly is usually really cold (like 20-30 degs). You'll be running fast just to stay warm ;-)
Best of luck with your plans and I too wish we were located closer to one another so we could train together sometime!
Post a Comment