104 days and $753 to go!

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.
-Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"

Well, I did it. Yesterday, I took the plunge and bought a new triathlon bike. I saved 25% by buying a 2007 closeout - a "Cannondale". The really neat part about it is that for the price of the bike I also got a professional fitting of not only the new bike but also of my old faithful "Specialized" road bike. It took about 2 hours of measuring and fiddling and measuring again; also adding, changing, and trying out different components. When it was done I had two carefully fitted bikes. Unfortunately, the temperature is in single digits yesterday and today and we have about 3-4 inches of new "lake effect" snow on the ground. So I will have to wait until the week after next to try out my new bike. I'm really looking forward to it! Riding with the aerobars will take some getting used to.

It's been pretty cold this week. Starting in the mid 30's and going down to the high 20's by friday. But I was able to ride on 4 of the 5 weekdays. It's always good to get out if the roads are clear.

I also picked up a new pair of running shoes. I have really wierd feet! Short and wide. The right foot is a half size longer and a half size narrower than the left. My left big toe is also shorter than the second toe. I think that's a throwback to our simian ancestors. My feet seem to "average" about an 8-4E. Not something you can find in the usual running shoe store. The only brands I know of that come in that size are Nike and New Balance. I have the best luck with New Balance and I can usually find what I want at J.C. Penny. Go figure!

Yesterday was an eventful day. In addition to buying the new bike I also attended my first "spinning" workout. Pretty brutal. It is done on a stationary bicycle, holding a "cadence" of about 100 to 110 revolutions per minute for an hour. To simulate different types of terrain you increase or decrease the friction on the flywheel making it harder or easier to pedal. To prepare us for the hills at Wildflower we simulated a 9 minute hill climb. Great workout.

Finally, this morning I attended my third swim clinic and practice. Rob, the coach explained his philosophy of training for the swim. Since swimming is all "technique" and "even tempo", he emphasizes drills and intervals of 25, 50, and 100 yards. I really hate the kicking drills! But, I noticed and interesting change. Last year when I started training for my first triathon, I couldn't finish even one 25 yard kick. The instructor at that time actually commented that I seemed to be moving backward when I was doing the kicking drill. Well, I don't think I was actually going backward, but I certainly wasn't moving forward much at all. Now, I can actually do the kicking drills and cover the distance in a reasonable amount of time. But, I still hate the kicking drills.