Heat, and bikes, and running OH MY!

Wow!  Ok, so Ohio jumped all over the summer bandwagon and has decided that 80's is its new comfortable. This isn't too bad if you're biking, and definitely not bad if you're swimming, but if you're running....not so much.  I love the heat so I'll definitely get over it and embrace the heat!  I apparently suck at running in the heat so part of the plan this week is to suck it up and guess what?  Run in the heat!  I need to get over it and just do it because it's not going to get any cooler and I have miles to run!

 In other news I HAVE A NEW BIKE!!  Yeah!  My Felt B16W came in last week and by Thursday afternoon I was able to have it fitted, cut down, and ready to ride!  So guess what?  I went for a ride!

Red and I only went 20 miles because I'm a wimp and didn't realize how different a tri bike would be from my road bike.  Wow, I was in for a rude awakening of how much more narrow my new bike felt compared to my old bike.  My old bike is a Felt FW40, if you can't tell I really like Felt, and it felt awesome!  My FW40, aka Allegra, has been my road bike, tri bike, and commuter bike for the past 3 years and has served me well.  She will continue to serve me well but it was time to upgrade to a new bike.  That's where my B16W comes in!

This is me pausing on Allegra towards the middle of our 40 mile ride.  Red and I found a nice shaded spot and decided that it would be a fun photo opportunity.

Me riding my new bike!  

As you can see I am definitely not in aero!  I did end up getting in aero later, that's what those white bars and those little squares are for.  I rest my elbows on the squares and my arms/hands just hang out on the bars, which coincidentally is where my shifters are now.  I looked like a weeble-wobble when we first started out because the steering is so much touchier and it just feels so much more narrow overall.  I have to give it to Felt and West Chester Cyclery though because even on my first ride out I wasn't uncomfortable or feel like I was off on my fit.  I just needed to get used to the tri-bike geometry which is slightly different than my road bike.  

Our 10 mile turn around point = photo op!

I love how much smoother my new bike is compared to my road bike and how much more efficient she seems to be!  I can easily sit at 20mph and not feel like I'm dying pushing after a couple of miles.  I can sit on Allegra and do 20mph as well, but I feel like I have to work more to get there, I can have a happy pace of 17-18mph on Allegra for miles though so she's not slow by any means.  I just think that this new bike is more efficient and the geometry change is to help get the most power out of your legs without roasting them so they can stay fresh for th erun of a triathlon, that's why it's a triathlon specific bike.  I can also easily get up to 25mph on my own, I can't maintain it super long right now, but I can at least get to it on flat ground!  Red and I rode 40 miles on Wednesday and I was on Allegra.  I can stick with Red for a good long way going 25 but I had to be drafting to hit those speeds.  We were going almost 27mph at one point when I was on Allegra, again I was drafting so being sucked along, but I still at least hit it!  This time I was all on my lonesome and hit 25mph at mile 19 of a 20 mile ride!  Woot!  Now I just have to become more confident in my handling abilities so I can come off the trail, which is a straight line, and start turning and doing hills.  Hopefully all of this will happen this week!  If I follow the plan for this week there will be 4 runs, 4 swims, and 2 bike rides between now and Saturday.  Then Saturday is ZOO BABIES! At the Cincinnati Zoo! :D

Happy training!!!