Long Distance Saddle for Clydesdales - Selle Anatomica

I'm resurrecting the blog for a single post because I have been fussing over a saddle for my road bike for a long time. I believe I have finally found one.

I weigh around 225 pounds and put a lot of pressure on the saddle. I tried a few different types of Adamo saddles since one of those worked on my tri bike. They didn't work well on my road bike. So, I finally went to the internet for help.

Basically, I Googled: "Long distance saddles for clydesdales." One result was the owner (a brevet rider) of an online bike part company that had tested many saddles. The other was a larger rider who does a lot of endurance riding in the mountains. Both spoke highly of a saddle company called Selle Anatomica. One of them said it was "like a pillow on a stick." The saddles are similar to Brooks leather saddles but less expensive.

I had always been skeptical of saddles without any padding because it didn't make any sense how a saddle without padding could be more comfortable. Then I though about how the leather would flex when you sit on it and provide more comfort than a stiff plastic saddle..maybe this isn't the case but it started to make sense. I figured I had nothing to lose and ordered the X-series.

After a 15 mile road ride and a 70 mile gravel ride, I think it's safe to say this is the best purchase for a bike I've ever made. At no point during the 70 mile ride was I uncomfortable on the saddle...other than getting bounced around and getting hit by the nose of the saddle.

The only two issues I had are: getting the tilt of the saddle correct takes some trial and error because the nose is very hard. I don't think this saddle would be very comfortable in the aero position unless you have a redshift adjustable seat post? Just a guess. The other issue is the uncovered laminated edges of the saddle. If you're not careful, it seems as though you could easily damage the edges.

If you're a bigger guy, or anyone for that matter, spend the extra money and give a leather saddle a shot.

Weight Loss and Pace

About a month ago The Nurse decided she (we) was (were) going to use Myfitnesspal to keep track of calories. I was afraid to do it with her since I'm much bigger than her. I didn't want her to be discouraged since I get a lot more calories than she does. Nevertheless, I started tracking my calories and it's been going great so far. It's amazing how this changes your choices in food if you stick to it. You're also less likely to eat many tiny snacks. If you're not tracking calories, having a bite or two of something several times a day can quickly add up.

I've been planning on losing weight for the Ironman in September so it would be a little bit easier. I know I could finish at 250lbs or so but why make it such a challenge. Losing weight over the winter didn't happen. Some triathletes also seem to think they can eat whatever they want since they train so much. I'd say I half thought that. Most people who found out I weighed 250 never believed me. Even when I was 275 playing football in HS no one ever believed I was 275.

To the point...My starting weight was 250 and now I'm down to 236. I've been quite surprised at how much faster I've been able to run at the same effort. It's probably a combination of eating better and weight loss. Supposedly:

Every 1 pound lost = 3sec/mile faster

So, if you're running 10 minute miles and you lose 5 lbs, theoretically you should be able to run 9:45 miles at the same effort. Granted there are countless variables but bottom line, if you lose weight you should be able to run faster at the same effort. 

Recently I've been able to run training runs at at least 45 seconds - 1 minute faster with the same heart rate. I say training runs because I haven't raced in over a month and I never run as fast in training as I do in a race. The biggest indicator was a 12 mile run I did 2 weeks ago. Normally my long runs would be around an 11min/mile, this run was 10:15/mile at about the same effort. 

I would tend to agree with the 3 seconds per mile theory but it's probably on average. I think the more you weigh the greater the increase would be at first. Then when you start getting to a "normal" weight, you might only see slight increases per pound. Then I would assume your pace would increase if you started to become underweight. I'd like to get down to 220 for the IM. I chose 220 so I can still remain a clydesdale for a little longer. However, like I've said before, if I'm "too fast" (IMO) for the clydesdale category I'll switch to AG. 

In short, lose weight, get faster. Simple enough.

As an aside to this post, given my weight, I once tried to seek out other people with similar paces who weigh 250 pounds. I was trying to figure out if muscle mass (massive legs) played a role in not being able to finish 16-20 mile runs without walking. I'm like Gimli from LOTR, very dangerous over short distances. I even wrote to Runner's World but didn't get a response. I think Ben from Ben Does Life is probably one of the few. However, I think he is a little different since his muscle mass is probably lower and hasn't lifted weights most of his life. This is why I hate indoor triathlons on spin bikes. I can't spin my legs at 130 rpm for too long. 

I got a response from a former body builder but he wasn't quite as big. He noted that losing muscle mass made him much faster. Another guy on a forum even said "not many people your size do what you do. You're, pretty fast when considering your weight."  

Angry Ocean Triathlon (Marineland Tri)

About a week ago I headed down to Jacksonville, FL with the g/f to visit one of her friends and get in some beach time. Originally this trip was supposed to be for open water swimming, then I found a tri nearby. Since I'm doing the Rev 3 Half in a couple weeks and there is virtually no where near STL to swim in open water before Memorial Day...unless you organize a group and pay a bunch of money (see first open water swim post)...the g/f suggested we go stay with her friend at the beach and I swim in the ocean.

This sounded like a wonderful idea. I figured I might as well look for an Oly near there as well for a warm up and to race the TT bike before the half...and I found one just south of St. Augustine in Marineland, FL. Since they had a sprint the g/f decided to give it a try.  It's a good thing I found this tri as the open water swimming was a bust. The waves looked brutal and the current was extremely strong.

After packing things up early at the Jacksonville beach due to constant winds and clouds making it cold, we headed down to Marineland for packet pick up. It was a small race so we where the only ones there picking our stuff up at the time. We walked over and got our numbers and PINK t-shirts then went to check out the ocean...it did not look good. The sea was angry. The waves were fairly large and only a few seconds apart. We were a bit worried but decided to be optimistic and thought it wouldn't be as rough in the morning. The g/f was worried about swimming without a wetsuit and would probably end up switching to the Duathlon if it was rough in the morning. Did I mention this race had everything? Oly and sprint Tris and Dus. Sadly no aquavelo for the non-runners.

The next morning we got to transition and set our stuff up. Somehow I lost track of time, probably from going to look at the water, and everyone was already at the beach and I was still scrambling to get my wetsuit on. I wanted to get at least a 5 minute swim in before the start, oh well. The sea was still angry but not quite as angry as the day before. We thought the water didn't look rough but the phrase "looks can be deceiving" definitely applied that morning.

Sprint Group

Significantly Smaller Oly Group

The swim course was supposed to be a 750m triangle with the tip at the shore and the Oly was two loops. However, the race director said it was going to be a point to point due to the current. I figured this would be a nice and easy swim. When I finally got to the start I noticed the turn buoys were only 50 meters or so out and right in the middle of the waves. 30 seconds later the horn blew.

I wasn't in any rush to get in the water as I didn't want to get pounded by people and waves...even though there were about 15 of us. Here comes the deceiving part, it was a chore to get past the little waves to swim. I thought the panic factor wasn't in play anymore after my first two races but, I nearly panicked trying to get past the waves. Luckily I managed to remain calm to make it within 5 feet of the first turn buoy, that's as close as I ever came to it. It was impossible to swim against the current. After 30 seconds or so, who knows, I looked around and realized I wasn't the only one as 6 or 7 of us were bobbing in the waves trying to get to the buoy. Finally I said F-it and went with the current, I doubt anyone made it back to the buoy. There wasn't really much swimming going on, it was more like I was moving my arms while the ocean was dragging me. I passed the next buoy like I was slowly jogging and before I got to the last one I could hear the lifeguard telling everyone to just go to shore. Apparently they didn't want to be out their either. Surprisingly there was a pro woman and two guys in college planning to go pro there, all of whom said the water was horrible.

Then I trudged up the hill to get to transition where I met the g/f. I felt bad that she had to swim in that but she said she managed to stay calm. I grabbed the bike and headed out.

Both the bike and the run courses were fairly boring. The bike was a 20k out and back, twice. I think it was about 60 feet up over 6 miles on the way out but the 15-20 mph wind made it feel a bit steeper. I averaged around 19 on the way out and about 21.5 on the way back. A bit slow but, I didn't want to blow up on the run since the sun would be brutal and there wasn't much shade. Oddly enough the wind died down on the run. The only memorable moments from the bike were seeing someone almost get hit by a car while passing, a giant dead snake and a dead possum. I couldn't contain my excitement when I realized I'd get to see them again!

I pulled in after about 1:13 on the bike and headed out for the run. After a slight detour of about 5 feet to get some water and getting yelled at by a volunteer since she thought I was going the wrong way, I was off and running. The plan was to keep about a 9:45 pace given my massive stature and how well I don't do in the sun. I hit the first two miles at about 9:40 and then slowed to about 9:50 for the third. I also managed to pass someone. Something I didn't think I would do. I got back to the run start and had someone waving me to the finish, the exchange went like this:

Me: (holding up one finger and joking) I wish I were that fast but I got one more lap...don't tease me bro...ha...ha.

Him: hahaha, sorry didn't mean to tease you. I'll see you in what, 10 minutes?

Me: Yeah, I'll skip the last 2 miles.

After that running was a bit difficult. I was baking in the sun, I could feel how hot I was getting and my heart rate was extremely high for an 11 min pace. I got some water and walked for a bit on the way out and then again on the way back...three cups on the way back. Then slowly made my way to the finish.

When I could see the clock it was 2:29:55 and I was pissed that I was about 15 seconds away from it. Oh well, I'll settle for a 2:30:09 Oly any day. Just don't tell anyone the swim was 800m...ssshhhhh.

As it was a small race, everyone got an award! The g/f, whom I am very proud of, was third in her age group (out of 4). I was 2nd in my age group (out of 2) and 1st in the Clydesdales (out of 2). Although the other guy got a DNF since he only did 1 loop on the bike and run. An award is still an award, just can't get used to them :-)

Grant's Trail Riding

Two weekends ago I took a trip to Boston and did Zero swimming, biking and running. It's been difficult getting back on track especially when I decided to do a ~4 mile race on Saturday that was about 45 minutes away. The race was too interesting to pass up since it was completely underground in a Sand Mine. More on that later when I stop being lazy and edit the video I took.

I'm trying not to complain but I don't understand what some people are thinking.

Yesterday, I decided I needed to do a 2 hour bike ride and ride at least 30 miles. Since I'm still fairly new to the area and have no idea what a safe bike route would be around here (STLBiking has a thread devoted to biking accidents with cars), I didn't feel like waking up at 6 for a group ride and I haven't put new pedals on my road bike, I decided I would just ride on a trail even though it would be crowded since it was in the 60s.

Grant's Trail is about an 8 mile trail through St. Louis. It's a nice trail but the only problem is there are 6-7 major streets one has to stop at. I figured this would be good since I haven't been riding outside much and to give my butt a break from my seat. Grant's Trail get it's name from Grant's Farm (I think). The trail runs right by Grant's Farm. For those of you that have never been on a tour of the Budweiser plant in St. Louis, Grant's Farm is where the Budweiser Clydesdales are kept.

The other problem with this trail is there are so many people with out helmets, people that like the ride side-by -side and seem like they're not paying attention by riding on the wrong side of the line and look as if they're going to veer into you. There is always one a-hole on the trail and this one seemed to hang around me the whole time.

If there is something I'm missing about trail riding etiquette someone please tell me. Is it common for someone you've passed to get right in front of you at a stop light so you have to pass them again multiple times? Is it okay to block both sides of the trail when you stop to talk to someone? How about drafting on a trail? I was a bit surprised that this older guy kept up when I hit 30 trying to lose him. (I suppose when I've been riding for more than a few years I'll have no problem doing this.) When I saw his shadow after about a minute I slammed on brakes and he finally went around and I didn't see him again. I don't understand why people ride like a-holes on a busy trail. Considering he was wearing a full kit you'd think he should know better. Or maybe because he was wearing a kit and riding on the trail I should have known he would be a dick...I swear he cut off the trail at one point and then took main roads back to where I started and waited for me.

Some of the other interesting things I saw...

A tandem bike attached to a baby trailer with high and low rear pedals attached to a vertical chain so this guys kid could ride.
A guy wearing a kit with no helmet.
A woman riding fast and weaving in and out of people with no helmet.
Lots of rollerbladers.
People WALKING on the wrong side of the trail...really? You'd think they would figure it out when bikes are constantly coming at them.

And one interesting creepy thing the g/f saw back in the fall on this trail...a guy with a baby trailer that had dolls in it.

On the bright side I got in my 30 miles in about 1:55 including all the stops...I need to remember the auto-pause. I'd say about 10-12 miles were actually on the aerobars and man was it windy.