Update!

So I've been getting really slack lately (Not just updating this blog!), I've written about lack of mojo before now, but unfortunately I'm really struggling at the moment, certainly less than ideal exactly a week before I'll be running the Outlaw Half Ironman Distance race. I'm beginning to think its a triathletes true calling to constantly be self analyzing and never being happy about current performance. I've also been finding my actual desire for the final IMUK goal waning, probably mostly down to pure self doubt, and being unhappy with training, rather than not wanting to race.

I'm more than happy with my swim fitness and technique. I even managed 1500m in open water this week to try out the 2xu wetsuit I got at Christmas time. Quite a bit different to my old Orca S4 which went missing at London Tri. Much better fit, and it seemed a lot more bouyant than I remember the S4 being. Could just be a bit of placebo though. I only stayed in for two laps, as it was seriously cold on the face! For sure I'll be going back for some more though as open water is so so much more enjoyably than pool reps! 1500m was done in under 25 mins, so looking at around 1:40/100m which I'd be happy to do at IM, and Outlaw! Faster than my time at London Triathlon last year too which is pleasing.

The root of the worries are still the bike leg unfortunately. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my bike fit, and the improvement that it made. Certainly it was a move in the right direction but I since did a few 60+ mile rides, every time I would get near the end of the ride only for my quads to absolutely give up. Something I've never really had on my road bike, where I'd be comfortable to go 100+ miles and not feel too shabby after. Something which could possibly be conducive to a decent IM performance!

So I decided to try and eliminate the differences in the road bike to the TT bike and bring them a little closer together, my thinking is that this will help things. So the first thing I did was change something completely unrelated, the handlebars!  (Sensible is my middle name!)

In fairness its something which has dogged the bike from day one, while flat extensions do look the dogs danglies, unless you have double jointed wrists they aren't the most comfortable for long distances. So I managed to get a set of Bontrager bars with J bend extensions, which are so much more comfortable, leaving your wrists at a natural angle. Also much lighter than the outgoing bars so a nice weight saving too. Bonus.

So arm comfort improved, another aspect that has varied from road to TT bike has been the chainset. Now I ride a compact 50/34 with 172.5mm arms on the roadie, and can spin circles very nicely, and the reason my quads don't feel smoked after a long ride on the roadie is that I activate my hamstrings  a lot more much more to spin circles, result they pain is shared more equally across all the active muscles. Something which I have since realised just doesn't happen on the TT bike, which has a 54/42 chainset with 175mm arms. Now, I have changed the 42 for a 39, to aid climbing, but it still doesn't allow the best climbing, and I always have to get out of the saddle for steepish climbs, so its something that has always been calling for change really. I've decided to now change this to a compact (50/34) with 172.5mm arms to match the roadie. Hopefully this will improve matters. Although due to delivery problems this will be debuted during Outlaw half. Hmm :/

The third thing I've recently changed is the saddle which was also causing me grief over distance. Now I've dabbled with ISM's before and got on fairly well, but the Prologue I have at the moment is just not working. Initially they always seem great, and work well, but over distance it just chafes the inner thigh way to much. Having worked out that I have narrow sitbones (no idea how as I seem to have plenty of junk in my trunk if you catch my drift) I just don't think I'm compatible. So in further quest for comfort I've gone back to a conventional specialized toupe. Another much lighter component than the outgoing item, Bonus 2.

All these weight savings have however been largely nullified by the addition of the profile design bottle cages I added to my seat however. The speedfil is only big enough for a couple hours riding so I needed another cage for extra, so I've dumped the saddle bag, and have tools in one bottle and drink in the other. Looks snazzy too!

Anyhow, I managed to get out this Saturday to try the new saddle (not the crankset, grrr) and to my delight it was much more comfortable, and whats more enable to me to engage the hamstrings and spin much better circles due to the alteration in position. Something which must have been thrown out due to the ISM saddle. My thoughts are that it just move me much too far forward. So changing to the compact should improve this even more hopefully.

Picture below, looking better than ever in my opinion. (I prefer the new crankset too, so once that's on it'll look even better. Important for it to look good, even if I am dog slow riding it.) Also undecided on what wheels to use for Outlaw, tubulars, or clinchers?!

The ride on Saturday was not my best though, I only managed 50 miles as I just wasn't feeling the full distance I had planned, also due to fiddling with the bike all week I set out without the ability to shift into the big ring (fail). I couldn't be bothered to stop to try and correct as it would take a while, so I spent the whole ride on the inner ring. Not too big a deal as the 54 ring is only really used on the very flat and or downhill but just another mental thing to wear me down.

Ride link: http://app.strava.com/activities/56192756

So I managed 50 miles in just under 2:40 which seems OK, and should see me to an Outlaw bike leg of just over three hours. My legs didn't feel too shabby afterwards either so all the improvements seem to have made a something of a difference, but I haven't had any time to really build confidence so its still a massive unknown.

Running, various life events, weddings, illness, work stress and long hours (Something which is relatively new to me, having recently moved to a new job) have all added up to my run volume being somewhat reduced. Usual Friday sessions have pretty much fallen by the wayside and run pace has been steady to say the least. Having said that I did manage a half marathon one past Sunday recently as a confidence builder. Slow and steady (2hrs) but I felt decent throughout. The subsequent Sunday I didn't run at all though, through just being a sloth and lack of motivation.

This week has been slightly better however, I've hit all the sessions, not the full distance on each that Fink prescribes but I can't expect to build from having done little one week to full again next week. Another reason why Outlaw is going to be a bit of a baptism of fire.

The way I see this at the moment though is that all of this drivel is going to result in two outcomes this time next week.

Option 1 (The preferred): All woes will be forgotten, after a great swim, a top bike leg with minimal fatigue and great average speed, followed by a decent run leg and a finish in sub 6 hours. I'm bolstered by this, my training for the full IM kicks up a gear and I begin to hit all key sessions. 

Option 2: The swim leg goes as expected, I all but blow up on the bike, and I shuffle around 13.2 miles of half marathon in severe pain and a time of a million hours. I'm completely washed out and have no confidence for the full distance, training takes a dive, and I write a blog crying about it!

So, tune in next week where I'll reveal my fate! Oh my days, why didn't I just stick to Olympic distance.

EDIT 28/05/13:

So Sunday had a really decent run, felt good throughout and finished with a strong last 3/4's of a mile, so that made me a bit happy to end the week with.

Also finally got the necessary spacers to fit my new s900 sram compact chainset which I'm pretty happy with. Here is to hoping it does me well, and the crank arms are an improvement. Love the exogram x-glide design too!