Day 126: Clip On…Clip Off

Calli: It was easier to clip on and off from the pedals today. I still have some work to do with it though. The work out was good, and I am feeling a lot stronger on the spinning bikes. However, I am a bit worried that we don’t have a lot of experience on road bikes. I wish that there was a place here where we could rent bikes. Let me know if you know of any. It’s so important that we practice with road bikes. Have a good day!

Jose: The biking was good today. I’m getting the hang of it again. For a few weeks I was having trouble liking the bike, but maybe it was because I was very tired. Having the opportunity to practice with the biking shoes also motivates me a whole lot. For today I made sure that the clips were very tight and it was completely different and easier to clip off the bike. We biked for an hour alternating movements every 15 minutes. No more bike until next weekend. So let’s focus on running and swimming a lot.

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.  ~Pablo Picasso

Day 125: Practicing Transition

Calli: This day was a very productive one. After the gym this morning we ran all sorts of errands. I feel happy that we made the best of our day, and it feels even better that we are getting more accustomed to the bike. The shoes were awesome with the bike today. However, we realized quick that the clips need to be tighter, and it’s going to take us time to get used to getting in and out of the pedals. It’s harder than it looks, and I am glad we are getting started now.  Think about what you need to do to prepare for the triathlon in your future!

Jose: Today we got to use our brand new Pearl Izumi Tri Fly III bike shoes. We actually bought them a few days ago, but we were looking for the clips that would fit the spinning pedals at the gym. I can say I’m very glad that we are starting to use the pedals with a stationary bike, because I’m sure I would have fallen on my face if I would have tried on a regular bike. Releasing the shoes is an art by itself! After that, we quickly moved to the treadmill. I’m getting used to putting my running shoes on quickly with my race laces, and then run comfortably. Since I had the chance to use the treadmill I went all the way up to a speed of 16.1 km/hr. I managed to keep that speed on 2 minute intervals until the 20 running minutes were gone. It’s good, but I need that speed continually for the whole 20 minutes.

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Day 119: Conforming to the form

It’s always good to have on your mind all the necessary tips for a good form. It’s not always about learning new things, but also to make sure that the basic becomes part of your daily training.

Even though we have been paying attention to the basic form, being reminded of all the details, makes you examine your everyday form and make the necessary changes to not only improve but also to be injury free for the longest time possible.

We found a well written article by Ben Greenfield at Training Peaks with Five Tips on Proper Cycling Form that we want to remind you today so that you can examine yourself too. A little bit of auto-criticism can help you gain a lot once you hit the road next time.

Remember: 1- Pedal in squares (make sure to pull as hard as you push), 2- Keep your knees straight during the whole cycle (try not to bring them in or out), 3- Watch you aero position (push the butt back, rotate the hips forward, and don’t let the spine “slouch” in the saddle) 4- Relax your arms and hands (do not grab the handlebars using a lot of pressure), 5- FOCUS! if you don’t loose concentration you will have all these details in mind and will work to make sure you are developing a good form.

“Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can
immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a
single area of our lives.” – Tony Robbins

Day 118: Every single tip counts

As we explore more and more the triathlon world we keep finding little details that can make a difference once you are out there racing. This time, Active.com is offering Cornering Tips for Cyclists.

How can this make a difference? Well, to start, cornering gives you the opportunity of saving valuable seconds during the race by being more efficient when turning without having to reduce the speed too much. Also this can keep you safer when you are riding in populated and busy areas.

It might sound easy to do, but as a matter of fact, it has its own trick and you need to practice to be able to do it naturally. Find the time to practice these little details and you will realize how mastering one tip after the other will save you a lot of time.

“Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.”
- Lao Tzu

Day 112: Pedals, Pedals, Pedals…

There are still a lot of things we haven´t explored about triathlons. Of course the least explored field is the bike field. We have good experience with the running and the swimming parts, but the bikes are for the most part unknown. For this reason we have to be extra careful on what we do, what we buy and even what we write because we don’t want to mislead anybody.

We have been covering a lot of the gadgets that are necessary for the swim and run part, and now it´s time (or maybe it was about time) to cover a few of the bike gadgets. Since we bought bike shoes last Friday we are now trying to figure out about the type of pedals and clips that we need.