Well, my bike fitting didn't go as planned. The sales guy neglected to mention when I stopped in the week before to set up the appointment that there was a $250 charge for the fitting. Yup...TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY dollars. Now, that comes off the price of the bike but still. I had no intention of throwing down any money on Friday. If I'm going to drop over $1000 on a hobby I'm not even sure I'm going to like, I'm going to do my research and make sure I'm getting a good deal. So after the "interview" process the guy says, "ok, now I'll take some measurements and we'll do the fitting. That's $250." Um, what? With a shocked look on my face, I politely informed him that I wasn't ready to make a commitment that day and left the store. I'm bummed because I liked this place and thought they were really knowledgeable. But since they didn't tell me about this upfront, they lost their credibility. I'll be taking my cashola elsewhere...
I had my last 20 miler on Saturday which I used as my final practice for race day. Thankfully it was cold enough to break out the tights and some warmer tops to see what might work. Good thing, too. I looked like I had a dump in my pants and kept having to pull up my tights. Not something I want to deal with on race day. I also practiced my nutrition, which I have pretty much nailed down already. But since I usually start to feel hungry around mile 4 I wanted to see if some more for breakfast would hold me over a little longer. Instead of eating one slice of toast and a banana before the run, I added a second slice of toast this week. The extra toast didn't cause any stomach problems (which is what I was worried about) and I noticed at mile 5 that I wasn't hungry yet. Looks like it worked! Even though I wasn't hungry, I started my bloks and took one every 2.5 miles. Doing this with the bloks works perfectly for me, not too much sugar all at once. The run was going great and flying by but my legs were really tired around mile 13. I thought for sure I'd end up slowing down over the remaining miles but I kept pushing and got my second wind. We ran an awesome progression run with the last few miles in the mid to low 8's. I feel really comfortable at that pace but I'm having some severe doubts and worries about Philly...more on that later when I get my head wrapped around these crazy thoughts.
I celebrated the beginning of taper like any birthday girl would with friends and copious amounts of sushi and champagne. Needless to say, I paid the price for it on Sunday with a painful 5 mile recovery run. Then ate gross amounts of candy to make myself feel better. Lovely, I know. But now it's time to batten down the hatches...no more silliness until after the race.
Here's my schedule for the week:
Mon - 4 mi and cross train (bike)
Tues - 6 mi (2 ladders)
Wed - 4 mi and lift
Thurs - 5 mi (marathon pace)
Fri - 4 mi and cross train
Sat - 15 mi (last few miles at marathon pace)
Sun - cross train and lift
15 comments:
I am pretty sure I live by you and I got a FREE bike fitting at Wright Wheels in Abington. He (Miko) spent a good 1.5 hrs with me fitting me, explaining each measurement he was taking and why it is taken and also showing me bikes there and in catalogs as well. All this even though I told him, I wouldn't be ready to buy a tri-bike until Feb or March. That's insane they'd try and charge you for something like that!
-Kristen
http://www.dailymile.com/people/kristenrf
How lucky are you with your Birthday close to Halloween! :)
Glad you were able to work out your nutrition and try some wardrobe out on the 20-miler!
Denise,
If you don't have an allergy to nuts -- I suggest almonds as a good pre-race food addition. I found an article in Esquire about it, which says "The good fats that nuts contain cause your stomach to suppress ghrelin production (ghrelin is what makes you feel hungry), but it takes about half an hour for them to kick in. Note: Peanuts aren't actually nuts, and they contain a lot of saturated ("bad") fats. Stick with something that grows on a tree." I started eating a handful of almonds before my longer runs and have noticed that I don't feel nearly as hungry as I did before. Here is a link to my blog post on the subject, which has a link to the original article. I hope this is helpful for you.
http://locker29.blogspot.com/2010/03/outsmart-your-brain-article-saturdays.html
P.S. $250 bike fitting, I call B.S. on that one! Icould see maybe $100, but they need to tell you in advance!
$250 is crazy pants!! Enjoy the taper. :oD
That's ridiculous! Definitely go elsewhere, from what I've heard bike fittings are supposed to be FREE! Especially if you're going to buy a bike at their shop!
Bike's in general are expensive - the cost, the fit, the tune-up's. Ughh. Wish they would make it easier on us :-)
Enjoy the taper - and good luck.
PS I'm Brooks ID, too!! Where are you located? I'm in DC
Wow! That is just shaddy! Glad you didn't cave and caugh up the cash!
Glad the 20 miler went good, you're in AWESOME shape for Philly - DON'T LISTEN TO THE NEGATIVE VOICES! I have confidence in you and it will all be just as you planned!
Have a good week!
I'm doing some tri bike shopping myself and I have yet to come across a $250 fitting. EEEEEK The couple shops I spoke with do not charge extra if you buy their bikes...but this is a great pc of info to keep in mind.
Happy Taper :)
$250 for a bike fitting?!? sure, if you bring in your OWN bike to them, but if you buy a bike from them it should be free!!!! That's a rip off, good for you. i wouldn't go back, not trustworthy!
My bike fitting was free with purchase but all the shops near me do charge if you haven't already bought the bike.
ugg that sucks about the bike fit :(
nice job on your last 20 miler!!!! i was thinking the same thing about the extra breakfast the other day... i will have to try it :)
Bummer about the bike fit. That's nuts!
Nice work on the 20 And figuring out the wardrobe issues.
Glad to hear the rest of that run turned out so well! Interested to hear what you decided to do about the race.
I have 3 bikes and have been fitted with each one. A good fitting involves at lest 2 hours of modifying equipment, computerized testing, positioning, bike shoe modificaction if necessary, tweaks, adjustments, new saddles, etc. as well as the expert input of the person doing the fitting.
I've always paid, on top of the price of the bike, and have been happy with the results. To me, $250which is subtracted from the price of the bike sounds like a great deal. My fittings have all been about $150 on top of the bike and to me that's more than reasonable for 2 hours of someone's time and expert input. Look at it as a 2-hour tutoring session with top-notch eqiupment and knowldge -- of course you would expect to pay for that.
Granted, I already know I like to ride and already know I am sold on fittings because they have brought clear improvement to my ride, so maybe that's the difference in how we look at this! The fit of the bike is so important in how you ride, even when you are first starting out, that I think it's worth the price.
Wow, good call with the $250 savings. That's just BS, looks like you got good suggestions from other cyclists to get you on that bike.
And don't worry about stuff like crashing, it's no worse than the bad stuff that can happen when we're running.
Nice 20-miler. Sorry you're having crazy thoughts. Just remind yourself that you're awesome and you can do ANYTHING. You've been pretty consistent in that respect.
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