Poor Penny

I'll start by saying my knowledge of bicycle mechanics is limited to cleaning (hate doing it though), changing flats and putting a chain back on. Other then that I know to get on, pedal, and if something gets in my way...swerve.

I mentioned Penny's yelping in Rumpass Relay Report. I lubed up the chain and only heard it a few times during the sprint. None at all during the Virginia Beach ride. Then Tuesday night was the hill workout. First hill, she was yelping like a hurt puppy so I did a quick lube on the chain. Next hill, more yelping and Matt and Ray yelled at me to lube my chain so I did (again). By the end of the third hill I was ready to disown Penny.

A couple of weeks ago Lindsay offered to clean Penny for me so I took her up on the offer. About 1030 PM I get a pop-up message on Facebook. Here's the shortened transcript (filed conveniently named F-in Bonzai):

10:20pmLindsay
So you're going to be pissed at Bonzai...
10:20pmEsther
why
10:21pmLindsay
and, I'm pretty sure the yelp was not from penny's chain...
10:21pmEsther
ur scaring me
10:21pmLindsay
They didn't adjust back of the bottom bracket correctly... soooooo
your tires been rubbing the wheel cutout
10:23pmEsther
how bad is the cutout?
10:24pmLindsay
You've lost paint about halfway up. at the very bottom, it feels a little warn into the carbon..
... you okay?

---end of transcript---

NO! I'm not ok!

So I took Penny in to Bonzai. They removed the back wheel and I saw her injury for the first time. I had to turn away. Seriously, I couldn't look at it. It goes from a little bit of wear down to worn into the carbon by a couple layers.

Long story short (too late), they wanted to send it to Cervelo and I'd be out a bike for 10 days - something I can't afford right now. Bonzai called Cervelo, sent a picture and they determined she's safe for riding through IMS. After IMS I'll take her back and then she'll be sent to Cervelo.

But here's my thing...
Because the damage is not structural or a frame defect fixing/replacing does not fall under the warranty (Cervelo).
The damage is due to the drop outs not being adjusted properly. Since BONZAI assembled her shouldn't they replace the frame?
Will they once they get the rejection from Cervelo?

Positive thought - I have been training with the equivalent of driving with the emergency brake on.
Maybe...
Perhaps...
There could be chance...

I'll be a little faster now that she's not rubbing.

Slowly but surely

A giant Thank You goes out to Jason for running with me last night. Even though he was tired and hurting from running the 16 miles on Sunday, he stuck with me for an hour. And thanks to him, I am feeling better about this whole training thing.

The first mile took a God Awful 14 minutes (and we learned that I can walk as fast as Jason was running) but by the end of the hour we were back to our regular Zone 2 snail pace of a little over 11 minutes.

Legs felt better after the first mile and I was quite comfortable at the end. No pain today - ready for swimming and bike practice tonight.

Back to those positive thoughts!!!!

I'm frustrated...

Bordering on pissed off!! But first the good part...

My long bike ride went exceptionally well this week. Dude and I rode in Virginia Beach on Friday - he did about 50 and I did just over 85. Since we were in VA Bch, the ride was flat - yeah! I nailed the nutrition - it helps to have a timer that goes off every 15 minutes to remind me to eat/drink. I hear things were not so great for my teammates on Sat - toughest ride ever (Culpepper - hills, followed by steeper and longer hills) and a massive heat wave that had them riding in 90+ degrees.

Sunday - the plan was a 16 mile run. First, let's go back to my Excuses for Sale post where I said "have I mentioned that I love running?"

What happened to that girl???? Two weeks in a row that I have not been able to run. Am I injured? Nothing hurts that bad - yes I hurt but not enough for the "injured" label. Was it the heat this week? Possibly - it was fricking hot! I just can't get into a groove while running, which use to come naturally.

Anyhow - since I'm 99% positive I will not be able to run the full marathon at IMS I've decided to start run/walk training - trying for 12/2 (12 min. run/2 min. walk). That worked for the first 1/2 (oh, by the way, I think I only got 12 miles in - if that). On the return, I reversed the 12/2 and walked for 12, ran 2. Ok, maybe not that bad, but pretty darn close.

Disappointing, frustrating, demoralizing.

Send some positive thoughts my way people - cause I'm fresh out!

Rumpass in the Bumpass Sprint Race Report

Other recommended title - "You Ran a 5K How Slow???????"

Pre - got there in plenty of time especially since I did package pick up on Sat. I ate 1/2 a bagel and a pancake. How cool is the Team Z grill when you can order pancakes?! Got transition set up, into the wet suit (pissed that there's a cut almost all the way through), and took a practice swim. Water wasn't near as bad as Mooseman and I did that in a sleeveless wetsuit.

Swim - 17:08 - 8/26 Age Group - Out to the first buoy was bad. I couldn't get my heart rate down or get into the groove. Once I made the turn I was good to go. Still thought I was creeping along and realized there is a HUGE difference between pool swimming and open water. Note to self: Must spend more time in OW before IMS. It was the straightest I've ever swum though.

T1 - 1:52 - 2/26 Age Group- My best event in triathlon - TRANSITION!

Bike - 42:06 - 9/26 Age Group- Went two minutes slower then the relay on Saturday - proof to Robin and Jason that I really did give it my all on Saturday. Note to self: Must ride lots and lots and lots more hills before IMS.

T1 - 1:39 - 14/26 Age Group- I think it took longer to rack my bike then anything else. I hate when people don't rack their bike correctly. I'm always tempted to take the time and toss it over the fence. (And I know it was racked wrong because I had the end spot and his bike was above my stuff).

Run - I don't even want to type the time - 34:56 (seriously!) - 20/26 Age Group - EVERY STEP HURT. I started with a very slow run and realized I could walk faster then I was running. I also could not catch my breath. Heidi was my hero and got me to start running again while she coached me on breathing. Finally was able to breathe and I ran with her for awhile. Again, EVERY STEP HURT so I decided to walk the hills. With Tim Gretin on my heels, I ran most of the return, running up the hills as far as I could, then walking the crests. Right before getting back to the woods I looked at my watch and it said 32 minutes. I actually said out loud - "are you fricking kidding me"? Pushed myself to run and even made a lame attempt to sprint the finish. Still appalled at the time - that's my marathon pace!!!!

There were 3 distinct times during this race when I asked myself WTF was I thinking for signing up for Ironman. Then I remembered, different race, different strategy.

I am also embarrassed to think that my goal for this was to "smoke a sprint distance". The only smoke there was when I burned out on the run.

As usual, Team Z support before, during, and after the race was incredible. I was sorely disappointed in my race and many team mates pointed out all the positives and helped me get back to my real focus - Ironman! This race was a freebie.

Rumpass in the Bumpass Relay Race Report

Best Shirt EVER! Not only does the shirt say Rumpass in the Bumpass on it, there's two beavers on it. Oh, and I got a beer mug with the same design from the race director. SCORE!!!

Swim by Robin "Phelps" - I don't know the official time but I think it was around 30 minutes. All she said was the water was cold (about 60 degrees - yikes!).

Bike by Es "Armstrong" - Nice rolling hills, sweet flats, and not too much wind. The 1st loop was 40 minutes. I was hoping to negative split but came in spot on for the 2nd loop. Something is wrong with Penny - she was yelping every time I had to go in the low gears for the hills. Hopefully she just needs some lube.

Run by Jason "The Kenyan" - Jason managed about 8 1/2 minute miles. And I managed to miss his finish because a lady walked by with the cutest Dachshund puppy ever!!!

We came in 5th out of 18! It was a GORGEOUS sunny day! All in all, a perfect way to start the race season! I start over again in the morning with the Rumpass in the Bumpass Sprint - and yes, that means I have TWO of the COOLEST SHIRTS EVER!!!!

(I'll post a pic later in the week)