RR #2 FAILED: BOOOO
OK, so RR#2, basically going off what I learned in #1, I was doing great through 59 miles on the bike, then my front tire blew. I fixed it, noticing a few rough patches in the tire, and immediately putting pressure on the front tire after fixing, the tube went flat again. I called the girl who was luckily home, and she came and picked me up. I need a new tire as this one had tons of cuts in it, and I don't know if that's from biking through bad weather the past few weeks.
Took it to the bike shop. Any recommendations on tires to use for Arizona? Knowing how big of a pain this one was, I'd prefer something that won't puncture easily. Bike shop recommended some Michelin race tires with sealant or some stronger Victtoria's. Any thoughts? They thought the continental triathlons I was using were too big and therefore getting too close to my bike frame. on bumps, it was easily scraping...
Also, any idea about getting in 3:10 minutes on a 7 hour day will impact my ironman?? My RR#1 was successful and I haven't had any issues in training other than motivation (this is getting to the point of not being enjoyable given my work schedule), so because of the lack of motivation, I didn't push to do a run yesterday or do anything today. It feels weird not working out, and I know I'm prepped given how easy the workout was to that point yesterday, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist and just get nervous skipping anything.
On a quick side, I did experiment peeing on the bike. Damn that's gross. Peed 4x yesterday, and it is much faster, but man, I reaked of piss and my right shoe was pretty damn gross. Is that typical and you just expect that on Ironman day? I don't think I'll do that in training anymore. I did learn it's much better to pee when cruising rather than pedaling 
Thanks again (and in advance) for the help...
Adam
Comments
Don't try to make up the lost workout. Another 7 hour day two+ weeks before the race may hurt as much as help.
I'll repeat what I always say about peeing on the bike. I stopped 3 times on the bike in my last IM for a total of 80 seconds, and had a pretty good outcome
. The "rest" may actually help overall, just like walking on the run. Don't feel you HAVE to pee while rolling to hit your best possible time. I don't like wet socks and/or shoes either, especially knowing why they're wet.
But if you can tolerate it, go for it. Use a water bottle from the aid station to dilute things.
Adam,
I'd like to correct a typo in your Subject line. It says "FAILED", but I completely disagree. All the fitness in the world, and then having a catastrophic mechanical in the middle of your race is "FAILED". Simulating race conditions and discovering flaws in your setup = "GOLD".
You might want to check your rear dropout (where your rear axle touches your frame). Many bike now have a little set screw in there so that you can adjust the distance of your tire from your frame.
I'm with Al - NO makeups on these big rides. The real work has been done - now it's time to start sharpening your focus on execution.
You're going to do great!!
Mike
@paul, thanks for the advice. I will check out those tires. i finally understand the importance of having some separate tires now, or separate wheels. it makes sense! i'll ride these in one of the workouts next weekend, then put on some older wheels for the rest of the workouts!
@al thanks for the advice! i think I may be with you...i've just found that I have to pee a lot in the first 3 hours of the ride. I may be drinking too much, but I feel good. i'll see on race day. you are right - it's not much time and I'm not trying to win this thing or place
@mike you are right! and thanks for pointing that out. imagine if this happened on race day - that is why these race executions exist, and once again, I learned a lot from this one.
And I need to just be confident that the work has been done
I've got 3 sets of clinchers (2 training, 1 race), and all six tires are Conti Gators.
I train on the contiental gatorskins that Scott mentioned and they are great for training. They almost never flat and if they do it is because I hit something that would have flatted any tire period. I highly recomend them for training and if you are more concerned with not flatting then lossing a few minutes off your bike split, they are a great choice.
I personally wont race on them as seconds matter to me and there is a noticable difference (both time and feel) between them and race tires with lower rolling resistance. I personally have been racing on Vittoria Open Corsa CX TT 320TPI clinchers and also the Zipp clinchers. I run a 20 or 21 up front and a 23 in the back. So far I have only flatted in one race and it was because I hit a reflector hard enough to put a hole in the tire and dent the rim... i'm guess my gatorskins would have even flatted in that situation.
Completely agree with Paul that NEW tires are the best but I want to add that tires do have a little breakin period and you want to ride them to ensure everything is mounted correctly. I typically put my race tires on for the last week leading up the race and sometimes the last race simulation but thats it.
I race on Vittoria Open Corsas, too. They may make me faster, but really, I'm after tires that make my bike look good. Red stripes make you ride faster, right?
On stopping. I stopped twice on the bike and and it was brilliant. Unless you are in seconds counting territory, like mancona, stopping with purpose can be helpful. In the last race, I made an effort not to dawdle, but got in some quality stretching, hydration data, and mojo (funny note from sister in BSN bag) that really made for my comfortable, enjoyable, and, thus presumably faster racing.
@Beth i'm starting to think stopping may not be a bad idea! it was just damn disgusting to have a shoe full of piss. and it was rainy/cold out, so not exactly drying quickly.
i guess one more question then - can you just stop and pee anywhere in an ironman on the side of the road or can you get penalized for that?
As one who values precisiona and clarity in the use of language, I'm grateful to be corrected, especially by Coach P. My only excuse is I was "typing" on an iPad, and trying to use as few words as possible.
Just sayin'
Mike
It's only illegal if you get caught.
However, if you simply stop pedaling for a minute and go down your leg you will be fine. Just use good judgement and don't go when next to an offical, passing some else, an aid stations,or by spectators, etc. Down hills work great or long stright sections with no one around.
One porta potty per aid station, ten miles apart. Peeing prophylactically in T1, where there is a surfeit of toilets, is what I do, then I just stop at the first free one I see on the second loop. That usually does it for me, along with a stop to mix fluids at Special needs. Same applies to T2 - better to stop there than wait for a toilet on the run.
If you have to go more than that, you drank too much lake water!
I am with Al on this. The only time I have ever peed on my bike was at LP08 during the monsoon cause I did not think I could get any wetter. Still think I wasted more time trying to figure it out than I would have by stopping for a minute or 2. Lets face it, if you are going to be on the bike for 6 plus hours getting off of it for a minute or 2 might be a good idea. I bet that if I practiced I could figure out how to pee myself effectively. Not sure I realy want to. If you are into it, I won't judge, pee away.
@chris - i actually practiced this last weekend. Was absolutely horrible. I felt disgusting all day. I think you are right - a minute or two isn't going to hurt anything. I was just worried about lines at porta potties so the cost would be more than a minute or two! And I don't recommend practicing this. If you do, make sure the shoes are old - my right shoe is pretty damn disgusting now.
a sidenote, i forget that i will have time to pee in the lake
I would suspect that what you heard was the salt from your pee getting into the bottom bracket bearings and causing friction. As far as peeing goes I am from the school of "better to take 60 seconds off the bike and get a good relief in than to have wet disgusting socks for 5+ hours. You can take advantage of the reset and probably be fresher post pee. But I am a MOP newbie, so take that for whats it's worth.
I do not pee on my bike. The time just does not really matter enough to me. Besides in a half I just wait til the end of the bike anyhow. If you want to pee on yourself I make no judgments. As for the noise, who knows. Sounds really weird. There must be some funky stuff in your pee to ruin the drive train.