Here I am warming up for my Wind Tunnel Session! Pretty Darn COOL
May 19, 2010
Free Speed
On Monday, I headed to the A2 wind tunnel in Charlotte, NC with Chance from Blue Bikes and my Lifesport teammate Magali. It was so awesome! Chance picked us up from the airport in the BlueMobile and we headed straight to the wind tunnel. We worked with Mike Giraud, who was amazing! Never knew there was so much to consider when it comes to aerodynamics. Magali got in the wind tunnel first and she ended up saving 15-25watts, wow! Next it was my turn, so we got set my Triad up on the platform and I did a bit of a spin to warm-up. Before each run we had to "hold still for a zero" which meant no moving...amazing how long 15sec can seem when you are alone in a wind tunnel and told not to move. Then after the zeroing the wind would start coming and I would start pedaling and Mike would get all sorts of measurements. Most of the runs we did at a zero degree yaw angle...but a few were at 10 and 20 degrees...dude the wind was crazy! I knew I was locked in on my bike but still felt like I was gonna get blown off. After each run Mike would analyze the data and then work some magic and make some changes. At the end of the day we found me almost 3min of time over a half IM bike...talk about some FREE SPEED, I love it!
Thanks to Blue for giving me this opportunity and thanks to Chance and Mike for making me faster!
Rhoto IM Florida 70.3
Sweet! Another great race under my belt. 2010 is off to a great start!
The race this weekend was at DisneyWorld, that place is HUGE! There are some many different parks and resorts and things to do. I am amazed at how much of the roads they were able to have closed for the race! Funny thing about the roads is that you can end up driving and driving and the place you want to go is RIGHT THERE, but you just can't seem to get to the place. For example, my hotel was about 8min from the race start but it took me over 30min to get there race morning :) Anyways, on to the race...
The night before the race, I layed down around 8:00pm and felt pretty tired and was hopeful I'd fall right asleep, and I did. However at 10pm, I jolted awake and was up for the rest of the night! I think my body thought it was supposed to be nap time and wasn't ready for a full nights rest. With a 6:20 race start, I wanted to be up a little before 4:00am (yep, 2:00am in Colorado!)...so when I finally fell back asleep at 2:30, it wasn't too long before I heard my alarm. Despite the non-sleepage night, I woke up excited, energized and ready to race: Bring it ON!
I showed up at transition to find my Zipp Disc with a flat (we'd checked our bikes into transition the night before)...fun, fun. I was pretty calm and collected about the whole situation, found the race mechanic, and handed my wheel off to him...he got me all set up and race ready, THANK YOU! Did a bit of a run to loosed up the legs and then headed down to the swim start. We weren't able to do a swim warm-up, so I did a good dry-land warm-up for the swim and was ready to go!
The cannon went off and into the water the women went! I had a super fast start and was able to jump on Sara McLarty's feet for a little bit. I hung on for as long as I could and then settled into my own pace and rhythm. About half-way through the swim, I realized how warm the water was...man, if the water was this warm, it could turn into a hot day! I exited the water about 1min down from Sara and had a good lead on the rest of the girls thanks to my TYR Sayanora SpeedSuit!
I jumped on my Blue Triad and my legs were feeling strong, yeah. Coach Lance and I had a good race plan in place and I knew if I went out and executed then I was going to have a good day. I was patient and consistent on the ride and focused on nutrition and hydration since it was hot and humid. I loved the ride...the best part was the few times we'd pass by huge Welcome signs that said: 'Where Dreams Come True'...those were my reminders to make my dreams come true on the race course :) Leanda caught me around 30miles and then I stayed with her into T2. I had fast transition and was out on the run first!
The run was 3 loops and almost half of it was on a grassy field. I took it out conservative but fast and my legs felt good. Leanda came by me right at the start and I just wanted to keep her in sight and hopefully reel her back in. She extended her lead to about 1:20 on lap one...and then I had it down to about 45sec towards the end of lap 2...and then the heat got to me! My legs felt good and wanted to keep running fast...but my body had a different idea! The last few miles I switched from race mode to survival mode...and boy was I happy to see the finish line! Another 2nd place finish (to another World Champion: Leanda Cave)....I think now its time for me to be on TOP of the podium!
Thanks to Rhoto, Ironman, Race Director Tom Zeibart, all of the wonderful volunteers out there on the course keeping us safe and cool, and everyone else who helped make the weekend a success! Also a huge THANK YOU to my sponsors: TYR, Blue Bikes, Lifesport, Powerbar, Oklahoma Spine Hospital, and Ranch Foods Direct. Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend! See ya at the next one!
Magail and I at the awards...not sure what I'm doing :)
The night before the race, I layed down around 8:00pm and felt pretty tired and was hopeful I'd fall right asleep, and I did. However at 10pm, I jolted awake and was up for the rest of the night! I think my body thought it was supposed to be nap time and wasn't ready for a full nights rest. With a 6:20 race start, I wanted to be up a little before 4:00am (yep, 2:00am in Colorado!)...so when I finally fell back asleep at 2:30, it wasn't too long before I heard my alarm. Despite the non-sleepage night, I woke up excited, energized and ready to race: Bring it ON!
I showed up at transition to find my Zipp Disc with a flat (we'd checked our bikes into transition the night before)...fun, fun. I was pretty calm and collected about the whole situation, found the race mechanic, and handed my wheel off to him...he got me all set up and race ready, THANK YOU! Did a bit of a run to loosed up the legs and then headed down to the swim start. We weren't able to do a swim warm-up, so I did a good dry-land warm-up for the swim and was ready to go!
The cannon went off and into the water the women went! I had a super fast start and was able to jump on Sara McLarty's feet for a little bit. I hung on for as long as I could and then settled into my own pace and rhythm. About half-way through the swim, I realized how warm the water was...man, if the water was this warm, it could turn into a hot day! I exited the water about 1min down from Sara and had a good lead on the rest of the girls thanks to my TYR Sayanora SpeedSuit!
Thanks to Rhoto, Ironman, Race Director Tom Zeibart, all of the wonderful volunteers out there on the course keeping us safe and cool, and everyone else who helped make the weekend a success! Also a huge THANK YOU to my sponsors: TYR, Blue Bikes, Lifesport, Powerbar, Oklahoma Spine Hospital, and Ranch Foods Direct. Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend! See ya at the next one!
Magail and I at the awards...not sure what I'm doing :)
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