Bike fitting

I used to be skeptical about bike fitting until I paid up and did one myself; now I am VERY skeptical about bike fitting. I'm not going to mention any names (unless you get in contact with me directly) because bad reviews and complaints have a tendency to reproduce like rabbits on the internet and end up being taken out of context.

The thing is, I'm planning to buy a triathlon (aero) bike not only because I think it will make me go faster - which is always nice - but because I'm hoping to avoid the severe back ache I had for two weeks after doing the Ironman. Bike fitting is about finding the best compromise between aerodynamics, application of power and comfort. With my current bike this compromise is somewhat restrictive. The first part of the bike fitting involved being "fitted" on my current bike so that, not only could I get the best out of it, but the idea was to get recommendations of triathlon bikes that would suit me best and - most importantly - be advised on what size frame to go for. The last thing I want to end up doing is shedding a whole load of cash on yet another bike only to find that I am just as uncomfortable (and just as slow). All the different triathlon frames have different characteristics and vary how forward you are with respect to the cranks (seatpost angle) as well as the length (reach) and height (stack). So if you have relatively short legs with respect to your torso you'll want a bike with a longer reach for example.

First of all I got on my current bike (mounted on a turbo trainer to measure my power output) and some measurements were taken with a kind of protractor in order to determine my optimum seat height. Since I would be buying a triathlon bike it seemed to make sense to set up the road bike for a road position: this resulted in lowering the seatpost by about 3 millimeters (at a cost of about €50 per millimeter being the only adjustment that was made). To be honest I think that I am perfectly capable of sensing where the optimum seat height is but hey, it's nice to have it confirmed by an expert. If I decide to ride with the aerobars on this bike I'll have to raise the seatpost by those 3 millimeters again. There was a screen in front of me spitting out wattage numbers that no-one seemed to give any importance to but it certainly looked impressive and technical.

Well who cares about the old bike anyway? What I was really interested in was choosing the most suitable triathlon bike for my body shape. I expected the fitters to have tables of measurements from all the major manufacturers, all converted into some consistent format. Instead it was a case of me suggesting a brand that I thought was "cool" and the fitter looking on the website at the quoted dimensions and saying that it was too long, too short, too aggressive, too relaxed. What really annoyed me was that, in many cases, I knew more about the bikes in question than the supposed expert. In any case, he was basing my ideal measurements on my road bike with no clever adjustments to account for passing from a road position to an aero position or anything like that. I couldn't shake off the idea that I was being goaded in to buying a custom bike. These bikes (made by Guru) are carbon fiber bikes that are made to measure and are as expensive as that sounds. Don't get me wrong, they look amazing but if there is an off-the-shelf bike out there that fits me, then my money would go much further on the groupset and the wheels, for example. The point is, how can I be sure that the measurements were taken well enough for even a custom bike to be a good fit? I mean, they took a photo with their iPhone of me standing next to a screwdriver (for scale) so that they could supposedly get any measurements they needed, so I wasn't exactly filled with confidence. Bizarrely, the fitter also offered me a second hand Giant Trinity Advanced SL0 that belongs to Virginia Berasategui, a Basque professional triathlete, in size "S" for small! (I'm 6"2).

Anyway, the reason I post this now is because I came across a very interesting article in Triathlon Plus, written by Chris Boardman (British Olympic Gold Medalist in cycling). If bike fitting seems to me a bit like the black art of voodoo then it was refreshing to see someone - and not just anyone, mind - demystifying the whole bike fitting process. There are some very practical suggestions for how you can improve the fit yourself. Here's a link to the article.

When something is too good to be true...

...it's often simply NOT. A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this advert

As you can see, it's a pretty good deal €1,650 for about €5,000 of ex-demo bike. I was so excited that I didn't even notice until much later the laughably bad Spanish in the advert (Giant Trinity Advanced was translated literally as "Gigante Avancado de Trinidad"). I was sure it must have sold already at that price and I was kicking myself for not having googled "giant advanced trinity madrid" or "gigante avancado de trinidad" for that matter. You can imagine my delight when I got an email to say that it was still on offer but he didn't answer my question about whether the seat post had already been cut, instead saying it had only ever been used on asphalt roads... This got me very suspicious - who would ride such a beauty on anything but an asphalted road? So I googled his email address (joseluisjimenez1974@hotmail.com) and a number of forum topics popped up in everything from saxophones to mountain bikes, all of which were warning of a con. Amazingly he hadn't bothered to change his email address. It's actually just possible that he is really called José Luis Jiménez and was born in 1974 although I would expect his Spanish to be much better.

So then I got this reply, which was identical to the ones that had appeared on the forums:

hola, mi novia es inglesa y vivimos aqui en inglaterra. quiero vender la bicicleta en espana porque la tengo desde alli, fue comprada en espana y tengo los documentos y la garantia desde alli. si quieres comprar yo te la puedo enviar con una mensajeria pero no voy a hacer contrembolso porque hace unas semanas antes, un comprador me dijo que me va a comprar la bicicleta y que solo va a usar contrembolso, yo acepte porque soy una persona de palabra, he enviado la bicicleta a el pero cuando la empresa fue en su direccion para entregarlo, sorpresa, nadie abrio la puerta y su telefono fue siempre cerrado, la empresa ha intentado durante varios dias pero nada. y asi yo he pagado los gastos de envio para mandar la bicicleta y tambien para recibirla devuelta. yo soy un hombre serio, tengo 37 anos, un hermoso restaurante aqui en londres y creame que para mi el tiempo es muy precioso. te digo del principio que la bicicleta no tiene ningun defecto ocultado ( se puede ver en las fotos del anuncio), lo compre nueva, fue usado solo varias veces, tengo factura de compra, creame que la vendo solo porque no la uso mas, trabajo mucho y no tengo tiempo. si quieres comprarla vamos a utilizar una empresa de envios que yo he utilizado antes y creo que es bastante buena para envios internationales porque tienen gastos de envio muy aceptable. ellos tienen un servicio muy practico para las compra-ventas por internet que yo he usado antes y fue muy satisfecho. ellos trabajan asi:
- yo te voy a enviar la bicicleta como usted quieres, envios normal (7-10 dias) o envios express (3-4 dias) cuando usted estas listo para comprarla;
- despues la paqueteria se pondra en contacto con usted con los detalles sobre envio y sobre como debes hacer el pago;
- usted vas a hacer el pago a la empresa de envio;
- despues, usted vas a recibir la bicicleta y tienes 3 dias para comprobarla y decidir si vas a guardarla;
- si estas contento y quieres guardarla entonces usted vas a mandar la confimacion la empresa, yo voy a recibir el pago y todo esta hecho.
- en en caso que por algun razon no quieres guardar la bicicleta, no te gusta o por cualquier otro razon, usted vas a recibir el pago devuelta inmediatamente y yo tambien la bicicleta, pero yo conosco mi bici y estoy seguro vas a guardarla.
asi mi companero, si estas deacuerdo con todo por favor mandame los datos para el envio, nombre, direccion, ciudad, codigo postal, numero de telefono y si estas preparado manana mismo voy a preparar la bicicleta para el envio. tambien necesito saber como quieres el envio, por express o envios normal. si prefieres el envio normal, yo voy a pagar los gastos de envio. lo siento que te escribo tanto, pero necesito un cliente serio para vender la bicicleta. espero requesta. gracias

The sheer length of it would have been enough to ring a few warning bells. As I can't be bothered to translate it myself and it is Googlespanish anyway, here it is Google translated back into English:

hello, my girlfriend is English and live here in England. I want to sell the bike in spain because I have from there, was purchased in Spain and I have the documents and the guarantee from there. if you buy me I can send you the courier with but I will not do because it contrembolso few weeks ago, a buyer told me that I will buy the bike and will only use contrembolso, I accepted because I am a man of my word I sent the bike to him but when the company was in the delivery address, surprise, no one opened the door and his phone was always closed, the company has tried for several days but nothing. and so I paid the cost of shipping the bike and also to receive back. I am a serious man, I have 37 years, a fine restaurant here in London and believe me that my time is very precious. I say the principle that the bike has no hidden defect (seen in photos of the ad), buy it new, it was used only several times, I have proof of purchase, believe that the band just because they use it more, work and I have much time. if you want to buy we will use a shipping company I have used before and I think it's good enough for shipping internationales shipping because they are very acceptable. they have a very practical service for buying and selling online that I've used before and was very satisfied. They work like this:- I'm going to send the bike as you want, normal delivery (7-10 days) or express shipping (3-4 days) when you're ready to buy;- After the parcel will contact you with details on shipping and how you make the payment;- You're going to make payment to the shipping company;- Then you're going to get the bike and you have 3 days to check and decide whether to keep it;- If you are happy and want to save then you'll send the confimacion the company, I'm going to get paid and everything is done.- On if for some reason do not want to put your bike, you do not like or any other reason, you'll get paid immediately and I also returned the bike, but I conosco my bike and I'm sure you save it.so my companion, if they agree with all please send me the data for shipping, name, address, city, zip code, telephone number and your readiness tomorrow I'm going to prepare the bike for shipping. also need to know how you want the shipment by express or regular delivery. if you prefer the normal shipping, I'll pay the shipping. I'm sorry I write so much, but I need a serious customer to sell the bike. I hope request. thanks

If you can't be bothered to read that either - and I don't blame you - the point is that the bike isn't in Madrid after all. If you stop and think for a minute, you would probably never have responded to a second hand advert in another country (unless it was via some website of international repute like ebay). Here's the rub: you pay a (what turns out to be bogus) shipping company to ship the bike to you and then you can track your delivery on a (bogus) website... What I'm not clear about is whether you get conned for just the shipping charge or for the price of the bike (plus the shipping). I guess he has two versions of the con, one for really desperate and gullible people and another for the more wary. Even if he just gets €75 a pop, it's not bad business considering he has very low overheads. Also it's too small an amount for anyone to really bother about trying to claw back - I expect most people would be too embarrassed even to try. 

I gave him the following address but evidently his Spanish was better than I had been expecting because I didn't hear from him again...

          Calle Atomarporculo, 34

          Gilipollasdemierda 28667

          Madrid

          Spain 

In his message he says that he is a very busy man and that his time is very precious - it's a shame that he has no respect for anyone else's time (or money). Being a good upstanding citizen and all that, I sent an email to the website which had published the advert to warn them that it was a con and that there were likely many others by the same person. Of course I didn't hear anything back from them.

The peak/end rule

I was reading "The Moral Landscape" by Sam Harris last night when I came across an interesting finding. To give you some background, the book (which is well worth reading whether you agree with his premises or not) argues that morality should not be the exclusive domain of religion but that science actually has things to say about it. The book revolves around the concept of well being.

In a study it was found that patients undergoing a colonoscopy (in the days before anesthetics were used), the patients suffered less and were therefore more likely to come back for a routine checkup if the colonoscopy tube was left inserted a few minutes longer than was strictly necessary, artificially prolonging the procedure at a low level of discomfort. The conclusion of this study (and other similar studies) is that our perceived suffering depends much more on the peak suffering and the suffering experienced at the end, than on the duration.

I thought that there might be a way to translate this to training and racing. In the case of a race, it is clear that our memory of those races which we have either won or completed in a personal best time was that we hardly suffered, compared to those races which were a disappointment and we remember as being a living hell. It's hard to say which is the cause and which is the effect: perhaps we won those races because we were in the "zone" and so focused on performing that we didn't notice the pain and were therefore somehow able to push harder. Still, I think it is more interesting to apply the principle to training. A direct analogy with the colonoscopy would imply that we should run for a few minutes at low intensity after completing a series of high intensity workouts, for example. Of course, we should do this anyway, to "cool down" or - more specifically - stimulate the aerobic metabolism to oxidize the lactic acid circulating in our bloodstream.

It's an interesting idea and it may be possible to get further insights on how to better tolerate workouts or, to be more precise, to have a more agreeable memory of them so that we are more motivated to repeat them.

Tattoo envy

I was just perusing a triathlon forum when I came across a post by someone showing off their latest tattoo with lots of very complementary replies. I was amazed to see that it was the tattoo that I had designed for myself by the awesome artist Steven Barrett but then bottled out of having inked. I feel a bit strange to think that it could have been my leg in the photo below because it does look pretty cool, but also I suppose it would have pissed me off if I had had it done to see that someone else had copied it (actually, the final design had a cap on the runner - I didn't like to be reminded of my encroaching hair loss)... On the other hand, I'm happy that it has gone to a good home, so to speak!

Ceci n'est pas ma jambe

 At the weekend we went to a park with water slides and I couldn't help noticing just how many people had tattoos. I'm convinced that about two out of every three adults had one, and that was only counting those that were in visible places. There were some striking ones, of course, but mostly they just seemed to be random drawings that were unlikely to have a life changing significance for their bearers; I almost found myself respecting more the old school "Mum" or "Wife's name here" tattoos which at least mean something. I don't want to come across all snooty and elitist - and maybe that's just what I am being - but I have to say, I was quite glad that I wasn't wearing a tattoo myself.

Training camp in Morocco!

I've decided to join Jonathan (my coach) in Morocco for a training camp at altitude. It's in October so it should fit perfectly into my preparations for the Marathon in Valencia and it also happens to be one of those Spanish bank holidays (called a "puente" or bridge) where you get 5 days off for the price of two day's holiday. One of the star athletes that Jonathan coaches, Youness (1:03 in hallf marathon!!) is from Morocco and will give us the inside track.

I have a special place in my heart for Morocco. When I was 18 years old my rich great Aunt gave me a fantastic present: a holiday anywhere I wanted to go in the world. This is something so much grander than a holiday in any particular place and so I was reluctant to bring it down to earth by choosing my destination. My mum, on the other hand, was worried that things were getting booked up and, one day after school, I came back to find that she had made my decision for me and had booked a trip to Morocco. The irritation I felt was short lived because it was an amazing trip: I went on my own with a group of people in an army truck all over the country, sleeping in tents or, for many mild nights, directly under the stars. It was straight after the Junior World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, where I won a bronze medal in the coxed fours, so I was probably in the best form I have ever been in my life. I was keen to at least maintain some semblance of fitness so I remember seeking out people to go running with and I happened upon a local guy, who also had a bike he lent me. I remember setting off with him - I had my relatively flashy Nike Air trainers and he was running with some plimsolls or similar - and then being struck immediately by the inability to breathe, as if I was sucking in the air through a straw. Where we were in the Atlas mountains the air was much thinner. He was very patient and kept slowing down to let me catch up but it was quite a humbling experience!

I had an amazing holiday, getting to see all the contrasts Morocco has to offer. We would prepare food ourselves, washing the vegetables in potassium permanganate but on the last day, I threw caution to the wind and ate a salad in Jemaa al-Fnaa, the main square in Marrakesh. In those days (20 years ago) you had no idea how many flies had laid their eggs on the salad leaves, nor how many faeces they had rubbed their legs in previously. I remember that there were some foods that I was really looking forward to eating when I got back home - for some reason, polo mints were among them - but the diarrhea started more or less as soon as I walked through the front door. I've no idea what kind of awful virus I picked up but it took several months for me to be able to go back to eating normally. I started my first term at Oxford as a good bet for the Blue Boat that year and was immediately put in a coxed pair with Pete Bridge (at the time a junior gold medalist who went on to compete in the Olympic Games in Atlanta). That first (and only outing) was a disaster with Pete asking me why we were going round in circles (which is what happens if one person is pulling much harder than the other). I was told to come when I was feeling better which was some weeks later.

I've been back to Morocco twice since then. The first time was about ten years ago when we went down from Madrid all the way in a bus to spend New Year's Eve in Marrakesh. That was really something, to see how the landscape and the culture gradually changed and then not so gradually in those 30 kilometers separating Tarifa and Tangier. The second time was more recently, when the kids were about 1 and 3 years old. It was one of the best holidays we have had with the kids, they were absolutely mesmerized by the colours, the smells, the hullabaloo, and they would sleep like they never slept at home. I clearly remember having to change one of the boy's nappies in that same square where I had eaten that salad years before. He had done one of those explosive shits that had squirted all the way up his back to his neck. With the soiled baby in one hand and the soiled nappy in the other, I tried to communicate to the amused locals in my rusty french that it would be great if they could get me a plastic bag...

So I am really looking forward to going back. This time I know what to expect from running in the mountains. I won't be able to help wondering whether my anonymous running companion is still out there running somewhere.

By the way, if you are in Madrid and interested (I have nothing to gain from this) then here are the details of the training camp. It is open to anyone.

Compact arm swing

I was thinking about my arms while I was running yesterday. After having watched, "Indulgence", a film about ultrarunning featuring Anton Kupricka, I couldn't help noticing that he runs with very relaxed arms, almost hanging down by his sides.

I tried running like this for a while but it felt so unnatural. In fact it reminded me of how I hold my glass when I am in a disco, something that my wife relentlessly takes the piss out of me for. I hold my glass up against my chest, I suppose because (a) it is less likely to get knocked (although if it does spill, I'm going to get soaked) and (b) there is less distance to travel to my mouth. My wife thinks it is due to my Englishness; Spanish people, on the other hand, hold their glasses at full arm extension, down by their hips.

A compact arm swing should be more efficient because, like a pendulum, it requires less force to swing the shorter the radius. On the other hand, when standing still it is definitely more relaxing to hold your arms as the Spanish hold their drinks. I wonder whether it is better to run like Krupicka does for the sort of ulltralong distances that he covers, or whether this is just his idiosyncratic style.

A few months ago, after putting up this photo of me running in Asturias

a friend of mine compared my running style to that of the President of Spain, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, here seen jogging with the British Prime Minister, David Cameron

I have to admit, it does look weird but once you realize that the arms have to pass each other at the same height at some point however you run, you see that it is just a question of timing...

Please sir, I want some more...

I think that having done the training for the Ironman has made it much easier, both physically and mentally, to tolerate the training load of my preparations for the Marathon. That seems like an obvious thing to say but it isn't really. Doing bursts of high speed running is quite different to plodding along for hours on end, even if both are assigned the same number of TRIMPs (TRaining IMPulses, or a way to equate duration and intensity across sports). Even so, I'm doing far fewer TRIMPs a week than I was doing in the build up to the Ironman - last week I knocked out about half as many as I was doing a week during the month of April, for example. To be fair, running is a high impact activity which employs a very high percentage of muscle mass and so it would be infeasible for me to try to match workload TRIMP for TRIMP; in Triathlon training, riding gives you a break from running and swimming from riding to some extent To give you some idea, the equivalent number of kilometers a week in running (at low intensity) would be 240, which would put me up there with élite Marathon runners! In terms of time, I'm doing 8 hours of training a week compared to up to 25 for the Ironman - that's the advantage of including more high intensity work, which counts for more TRIMPs.

I'm currently in week 9

Having said all this, I told my coach that I was finding the training load quite comfortable and so he has upped the ante. He told me that the new programme is what other athletes that he trains and who have better times than me are following. He also told me not to do any funny business...