The Great Saddle Debate

After a few rides on BAMA II, I quickly realized that the saddle she came with needed to be replaced. Not only was it sort of hard, it made my leg go numb (and some other parts too). I began my internet search immediately after and came up with what I thought would be a great option.

photo credit - Cobb Cycling

Cobb Cycling has some great saddles. I quickly narrowed down my search to two of their offers...the Plus and the Max. Both of these came in my preferred color (white) and both were geared toward some relief on the female anatomy when riding. I called up their office, which I might add they are super friendly and nice, to discuss with them a little more about which saddle would be a better fit. Their head sales rep pointed me in the direction of a very well written article about cycling and the female anatomy. Here's an except (and the part I laughed at) from the article ....

"So after a lot of dancing around, there is the answer, go look at your crotch and make the call. Comfort and happiness are what you stand to gain by looking and making the best choice."

After some more reading, I made my selection ... the Max. The sales rep at Cobb was able to confirm that our local multisport store, Podium, had them in stock. I headed on over that weekend and got the guys there to hook me up with what I had hoped would be my new saddle.

4 rides later and a lot of pain...the Max had to go. Not only was it painful, it left me with a bruise...down there. Not ok! Onto my next saddle of choice...

photo credit- ISM Adamo

My husband, Mike, rides an ISM Adamo Time Trial saddle on his Trek Speed Concept and I thought that it might be next in line for me to try out. While the shape looked like it was going to work for my frame, the 'prongs' and width seemed a bit iffy. Luckily, ISM makes a few versions of their saddles. I rang up Podium again and thankfully they had a few options for me as well. After talking it over with one of the guys there, we picked out the ISM Adamo Prologue saddle for me this time. The Prologue has a bit of a more narrow nose but still offers the cut out relief and a little more cushion and comfort over the Max, well in my opinion anyways. 

I'm 2 rides in on the new ISM saddle and so far so good. I know it takes a bit to get fully comfortable (if you can ever really get comfortable) so fingers crossed we're on the way to that. I'm not sure what saddle to hit up next if this one doesn't work out!

Just Keep Swimming

So it begins. 6 days a week of physical, emotional and mental training, 1 day "off" and lots of early mornings. So far, I haven't missed a workout...well, there's only been a few! Having structure is really helping me. I can already see how I've now got the ability to improve speed, time and power over all three sports. When I used to train on swim days, I would just hop in the pool and swim a few 100s. Now I'm working with fancy pool toys and doing drills to gain strength and speed in the pool. Same goes for running and biking. I can only imagine how I'll improve over the next 11 months.

Speaking of the pool, this is sort of where I'm focused for a bit since I'm trying out Dynamo Masters swimming. Wednesday was Day 1 and boy was it intimidating at first. I'm rarely one to be quiet or stand in the corner alone, but that was me today. I was that kid standing on the side of the pool, arms folded and scared to jump in. This was my first time swimming in a 50 meter pool (versus the 25 meter pool I usually train in at LA Fitness). I wasn't exactly sure how it was going to go but after the workout I am pleased to say I actually prefer the 50m pool to the 25 meter. AH said it simulates a more realistic swim and I think he's right. We cranked out around 2000 meters this morning over a series of drills and distance swims. I couldn't believe how well I did given that was my 3rd time in the pool since September! Having AH there swimming in the same lane helped for sure.

Day 2 in the pool was bright and early this morning. Still feeling the effects of Wednesday's swim and yesterday's ride, I again had doubts on how the workout would go. When I got into the bubble I noticed that the lanes were now 'short course' and set at 25m rather than the 50m lanes we had Wednesday. Shorter lanes = more laps. Drats. I jumped in a lane with the same girl from Wednesday that shared with us, AH was a few lanes over. Comforting to see a familiar face and one who seems so nice! We chatted a bit then it was time to get to business! Lots of drills again today focusing on form...much needed. After an hour and 15 minutes, I was spent. Showered up and headed to work. Sore, tired and hungry is how I'm feeling right now.  I'm always more exhausted after swim workouts...and more hungry for that matter!

So far so good. The pain, exhaustion and hunger will be worth it come November 2. Here's to two more days of training this weekend and then a day off on Monday. I'm going to learn to LOVE Mondays!

2013 Race Schedule

Been working on my race schedule for this year. It's rounding out nicely with my big A+ race in November. I never would have though in my second year of being a triathlete I'd be racking up two 70.3s and an IRONMAN!

May
Gulf Coast 70.3 (Panama City Beach, FL)
Distance: 70.3 Half Ironman
Thankfully this is a pretty similar course to IMFL and I'll get my first taste of an ocean open water swim and Half Ironman distance! Could be brutally hot though!

IronGirl (Atlanta, GA)
Distance: Sprint
This was my first race ever so I'm hoping to make it back to race again. The only downside is it's a week after my 70.3 in Florida

June
My Next Tri (Atlanta, GA)
Distance: Sprint
Easy but fun race on the same course as Irongirl. I got 3rd in my age group last year and would like to do a little better this year if I could! Mike's racing this one too...always fun to see him on the course!

July
Chattanooga Waterfront (Chattanooga, TN)
Distance: Olympic
Brutally hot race in Chattanooga with a pretty good swim! I've spectated at this race for the last 3 years when Mike has raced so it'll be nice to finally compete. My hubby is also racing this one!

September
ESi IRONMAN Augusta 70.3
Distance: 70.3 Half Ironman
Second shot at getting my Half Ironman distance down! Looking for good weather, fast swim and a strong finish. Think Mike will race this as well!

November
IRONMAN Florida (Panama City Beach, FL)
Distance: 140.6 IRONMAN
The big bad wolf of my 2013 season! I am more excited/nervous/scared/antsy about this race than one could imagine!