The New Bike Is Almost Ready!

Yesterday I hit the gym and did chest, triceps, and legs. On the chest exercises I went with heavy weights for the second week in a row, and my strength is definitely coming back pretty quickly -- on the flat bench I put up 205 lbs four times, and I actually put up 150 lbs five times on the incline bench with dumbells (my previous best was 140 lbs). Today I knocked out another 30 minute treadmill run, with each few minutes at a progressively faster speed after the first 12. I have started to eat really well again, and my weight is down to 177 lbs, which is encouraging. If I can stay under or around 180 lbs until I start serious training again, I will be well ahead of the game.

The more important news is that my new bike build up is nearly complete. I stopped by my local bike shop after work to check it out, and it looks really sweet! They are just waiting on one new part (virtually everything else transferred over just fine from my old frame), and then I will be good to go! Fall weather is quickly settling in here, but hopefully I can get a few rides in this year. I will probably have to take my trainer out of temporary retirement this winter to get used to the new geometry and tweak the fit a bit as well. I will definitely post a picture or two once I pick her up. I already have a nickname for the new bike (dorky I know, but I do not care) -- "The Dark Knight."

Morning Run/New Frame

This morning I headed out for a quick four mile run. I started in Hoboken, ran north to Weehawken, and simply turned around when I hit two miles. My pace was fairly fast (7:09 per mile), but I just did not feel very comfortable or fluid. I guess you cannot have great runs every day. On a completely unrelated note, I ordered my new bicycle frame today. It is a Motobecane Nemesis Pro. I first heard about Motobecane on Slowtwitch, where they have a reputation as being dependable, "poor man's" triathlon bikes. I was actually looking to spend a bit more money and get a frame from a more established brand, but unfortunately when it comes to frames, manufacturers generally only sell them for their more expensive models. The other problem I had is that nearly all of the frames I saw online were carbon -- not only is that way more money, but after what just happened to my current bike, the last thing I want is to buy a frame that is more susceptible to breaking. The frame should get here in a few days -- needless to say, I am really excited to see what my bike looks like when it is all built up! This will also be my first true triathlon frame (i.e., with triathlon-specific geometry), so it will also be interesting to see if that makes any difference to my bike and run splits next season.