Posts Tagged with: "shiv"

6:49. That’s the target time set by Specialized for me to finish Ironman 70.3. If I finish before then, I own the handsomest bike I have ever set my eyes on, the Specialized Shiv, that was loaned to me during the past few months. If I don’t, then I’ll have to purchase the Shiv if I want to keep him.

My thoughts:

1) Holy #@%*#! What did I get myself into?! I am dead!

2) It’s a fair target time. It’s achievable, but it’s not going to be a walk in the park too. I can do this! I will do this! I will own that Shiv!

3) Holy #@%*#! I can’t ride that fast! I’d rather pay for the bike then kill myself on the road! (Wait. I take that back. I think my husband will kill me first if I have to pay for that bike!)

4) I’ve done the work. I am physically and mentally ready for Ironman 70.3. Move over Pete Jacobs!

5) Holy #@%*#! I have to run that fast under intense heat after swimming and biking?!

6) 6:49? Pffft. I’ll finish 10 minutes before then with time to spare to kiss the Shiv, hug my coaches, and high five my teammates.

7) Uhm. Why am I doing this again?

Like many other triathletes signed up for Ironman 70.3 Cebu, I’m experiencing a wild mix of emotions—fear, excitement, anxiety, restlessness, doubt, confidence, and more—in the last two weeks leading up to the race.  In short, I’m going nuts!  (This target time is pushing me even closer to the edge, ya know!)

No one knows how our race will go. All we know now is what we did in the past months to prepare our bodies, our minds, and our hearts to endure whatever is out there in the water and on the road.

Target time or not, I’ll be giving my best come August 5 anyway. We probably all will. So, I’m heading into the race giving everything I’ve got, hoping for the best, and I’ll just swim, ride, and run strong heeding my coach’s last orders: GIVE THEM HELL!

Wish me luck. And, if you have time, please say a short prayer for me.

Where did the past couple of weeks go?! After Laguna Phuket Marathon, a long bout with intestinal flu (yes, when you’re training for a tri 1-week downtime feels like forever), and a couple of milestones in biking and swimming, I’ve realized that I barely had enough time to stop and write this. So, here’s how training went the past couple of weeks:

SWIM

Swam my longest ever distance, 2.9k. Wow. Never did I imagine myself swimming this far. Imagine, when I did my first mini sprint in 2008, I wanted to die when I had to swim 750m.

BIKE

Finally, I ticked my first century ride off my to do list! I wrote about it HERE. Just like the swim, I never thought I could ever bike this far. Nope, not after a handful of stupid bike crashes and having difficulty riding in aero position or dismounting.

How did it feel to bike 100 kilometers?  It felt like crossing the finish line of my first marathon!  It was about achieving what I once thought was impossible.  It was about hard work, not just in those past few hours of that ride, but during all those past months combined since I got my Shiv.  It was about having this fantastic thought cross my mind once again:  If I can do this, then what can’t I NOT do?!

– Jun and I after our 100k ride at NUVALI –

I still have a long way to go with biking, but it’s been a great ride so far.  (No pun intended.)

On another note, Coach Andy conducted another power meter test on me last Friday. And it wasn’t fun at all. It was quite the opposite. It was 1 full hour of Suffering.  Yes, Suffering with a capital S.

The Power Profile Test was conducted using a Computrainer Lab unit, one of the most accurate commercially available ergometers in the market, with CS 1.6 load measurement software and Training Peaks WKO+ analytic software.  The test took roughly an hour including warmup and recovery per test of 3 x 5seconds Neuromuscular, 1 x 1″ Anaerobic, 1 x 5″ VO2 Max, and 20″ Functional Threshold Power.  (But honestly it felt like 4 hours especially since I came from swim training and we did this during lunch.)

– The start: when I could still smile –

– with Coach Andy Leuterio: the King of Suffering (kidding!) and my bf, Specialized Shiv –

– See the laptop? It showed my watts, calories, speed, distance, etc. All photos courtesy of Andy Leuterio-

The results? Coach Andy sent me a Power Profile showing my Power-to-Weight Ratio per specific test: 5 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 20 minutes and Power Based Training Zones based on Hunter Allen and Dr. Andrew Coggan’s book “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, which compares power-to-weight ratios for a vast range of cyclists ranging from untrained individuals to world-class riders.

For now, my rating is: “Fair/Moderate” for 20 minutes max, “Moderate” for 5 minutes max, and “Untrained” for anaerobic and 5sec sprint (hey, that’s pretty accurate! haha) My heart rate of 170bpm is pretty high for my Functional Threshold Heart Rate.  Coach Andy told me to watch my heart rate during the bike portion of Tri United 2 to avoid bonking and to just catch up on the run.  Hey, hey, I like that plan!

RUN

Highlight for the past couple of weeks was my Run United 2 half marathon. I didn’t realize how much I missed running. It was just wonderful to go out there and do the one thing that I love and feel completely comfortable doing. At the back of my mind though, I was thinking: How the hell do I run 21k after swimming 1.9k and biking 90k?!

Wish me luck at Tri United 2 on Sunday, July 1.  It’s going to be one long race: 2k swim-60k bike-15k run! Let’s go!

HOLY SHIV! That’s all I could say—well, okay, something that sounded like that—when I saw the new tri bike that Specialized was going to loan me.

My new bike is a Specialized Shiv Comp Rival.  It’s a tri specific model. 10 speed. Fully adjustable cockpit.  And, as if it was made for me, it has an internal hydration bladder!

The Shiv is the same model that Craig Alexander, seen in the ad above, used to win the Ironman World Championship last year.

There’s only around 10 of these in the Philippines.  When I saw it, I was overwhelmed.  I thought: I’m just a newbie. I’m not worthy.

BUT, man, whenever I take a look at this handsome bike, I just drool.  And smile.  And I wanna train all day and ride fast in it (heehee!)  It’s love at first sight, really.

– Me and my new baby…or boyfriend…whatever label is fine with me –

– with Joey Ramirez of Dan’s Bikeshop, distributor of Specialized –

So, here’s the deal with Specialized. The Shiv will be on loan as I train for Ironman 70.3 Cebu. Specialized will set a target time for me. If I reach it, the bike is mine. If I don’t, they will offer it to me at a discount.

It’s not like I needed an incentive to do my best at Ironman 70.3 Cebu. But, ya know, this sure makes the journey a whole lot sweeter!

– Hey shiv, you’re gonna be mine! –

For inquiries on Specialized bikes, please contact:
Dan’s Bike Shop
Phone: 894-5110
Email: maris_delamerced@yahoo.com
Facebook: search for dan’s bike shop or specialized philippines
Website: www.specialized.com