Crono!
This morning I finally took the Crono for a ride outside! And… it was great. The fit is not exactly perfect yet, but it’s really close and man, is that an awesome bike to ride. I’ve never ridden a triathlon bike before and I’m making the switch from my aluminum Felt to this all carbon bike, and this one rides like a dream. How psyched am I right now?! It was smooth and comfortable and responsive and light and fast. I felt great riding it. Thankfully, the Park wasn’t too crowded this morning because I kept thinking about how sweet my bike is and looking down to check it out – had there been a lot of bike traffic, I certainly would have gotten in an accident. Getting out there on it and having a good ride is such a relief. Getting used the the aerobars and brake placement took a little getting used to, but after one more ride I bet I’ll be fine. Now it’s time to start kitting it out – most importantly, I need new pedals (I’ve taken Elizabeth’s for now, but she’ll need them back soon) and I need to install my bike computer. Riding without the computer today was no problem because I know the distances to and from the Park (~5 miles) and the distance around the Park (~6 miles), so it wasn’t hard to calculate, but for other rides, I’ll certainly want it hooked up. I also want to get an aerobar drink set-up. Finally, I’ll probably get some race wheels before the season starts. I mean if I’ve gone this far, how can I not? After a relatively easy ride, I dropped the bike off at home, took off some layers and went for a short run. I didn’t waste time between the bike and the run, but I wasn’t in a hurry either. Also, the last mile or so of the ride from the West Side Highway to home is pretty slow. With those factors, I can’t consider today a true test of how the bike-run transition feels. I’m not too worried, I’ve never had too much trouble with the transitions in the past and still have plenty of time to get them down pat.
When I was walking home from work last night, I stopped into Jackrabbit. Of course Chris was there and while we were chatting, he asked about my hip. I told him that things were better and while I was describing the pain, he said that it sounded to him like it could be my psoas muscle. I’d sure never heard of a psoas muscle before, but when he described where it was and had me to a stretch to see if it pulled the psoas, it was spot on. Here’s the Wikipedia entry (the most interesting fact there is that when it comes to meat, the psoas is the same thing as the tenderloin). I came home and did a little on-line research and that seems like it could be it – as I’ve written, the pain wasn’t/isn’t isolated to my hip, groin or back and seems to move around a bit. I found a couple recommended stretches and I’m going to try doing them each day. I also think I need to strengthen that muscle to avoid future injuries. Figuring out how to do that is one of my projects for tomorrow.
Bike – March 10
Time: 1:18
Distance: 21.5
Average heart rate: 125
Course: West Side Highway to Central Park, 2 loops
Conditions: Overcast, cool, but much warmer than a few weeks ago
Run – March 10
Time: 32 minutes
Distance: 3.75
Average heart rate: 144
Course: Zigzag around the West Village and West Side Highway
Conditions: Overcast, warmed up (mid to high 40’s), comfortable