Saturday, March 15, 2008
Time to join the TT mob...!
I’m really enjoying the off season now. It’s satisfying to have no structure to training, to make up ad hoc sessions, go at an easy pace, or just have a total rest day. Heck, when Simon offered to write up a training block leading up to next month’s Keen Adventure Race. I flatly refused. It’s not that I don’t trust him to ease me back into “the game”… I need a mental rest, if not a physical one, from his Jarasport training programs. Langkawi was a peak for me, but now it is time to savour the trough that follows.
Instead, it’s that time of the year where major adjustments to technique and biomechanics can be made. Of these, one chief concern of mine is to SERIOUSLY consider a time trial (TT) bike for the big trip to Hawaii. I can almost hear someone in the background going: “At long last!” Well, Simon, I think I ought to tell you also that up till now, I still don’t own a heart rate monitor.
Of course, there is still the hard work ahead: getting the body used to the bike is just one aspect; and good, old fashioned effort in training. As Simon points out, any TT bike frame just provides the angles – the rest is up to the engine (aka the rider). I have to admit I’ve had my share of satisfaction time trailing on a roadie with clip-on bars – it’s that “one bike does it all” sense of achievement. Yup, it has been a lot of fun riding those many kilometers on the ol’ Argon18… and hopefully many more kilometers are yet to come.
And so we come to THE TT BIKE FRAME. Choonwei from The Bike Boutique has been extolling the virtues of the Cervelo P2C ever since I caught up with him, post-Langkawi. I’m really looking forward to having my first go at “the TT experience” that I see many other triathletes enjoying. It was indeed a question of wants versus needs, but when the coach says it’s time to get a TT frame, I know for sure that there will be work cut out for us to get me up to speed and shape the potential of my new riding position.
Convinced that TT is the way to go? I just hope my running legs will be convinced - maybe even thank me for the decision - when I start the final 42 kilometres of the next Ironman I do!
Post-script: I did some research and found out that current Ironman World Champion Champion Chrissie Wellington rode to victory on a roadie-spec’ed Cervelo Soloist SLC (with clip-on aerobars) in 2007’s IM Korea, securing her pro slot to Hawaii in the process. Of course, come the big day in October, she hit the Queen ‘K on a P2C (her first TT bike), and the rest is history!
