Mike Schubert

Laying out my Transition Bags and Gear
Originally uploaded by Iron Mike Schubert

Lack of change is certainly not my problem these days. Every day is almost as different as it is the same. I'm walking around with open eyes, an open heart, and asking myself "Self, what do YOU want to do today?"

Last Tuesday, I brought my new bike home. It's the Scott Plasma I talked about a couple of weeks ago. It's a dream to ride. For its maiden voyage I rode with a new friend, who also had recently acquired a new road bike, out at Stone Mountain Park. Something just seemed right about this particular ride around the rock I grew up so close to.

Tonight, I'm headed to a "Grind" class. I've been told it's unlike any "spin" class I have ever taken. I'm looking to hire a coach and these Tuesday / Thursday classes might just put this group over the edge. The classes are periodized and executed on your own bike. That means I get to use my power meter during a spin class! They also have an indoor "Current" pool that is like swimming in the ocean. They have "Grind Bricks" which allow you to do a swim before class or a run immediately after. I'm really pumped about the possibilities this change will bring.

So I have my bags laid out before me, ready to be packed for the adventure. My gear is clean and lubricated (where necessary). My mind and body are clear and primed.

I am ready for a change.

2010 Scott Plasma 20
Originally uploaded by Iron Mike Schubert

After a year and a half of shopping for a triathlon / time trial bike, I have decided on the Scott Plasma 2 frameset with a full Shimano Dura Ace gruppo. Looking at the specs, you'll say "Oh, he's getting the Scott Plasma 10" - but my paint job will actually say "Scott Plasma 20". Do I care? No. But I have talked about the bike both ways, so now you know.

What went into this decision?

First, I had to meet all of my personal objectives. Frankly, I'm knocking them out of the park and these were pretty tough measures that I set for myself. Second, I had to research what type of bike best fit me as a rider. You see, I have a 34" inseam and I am 5' 10" standing on pedals (6' 0" in real life). This means that I need a bunch of seat post, but a shorter top tube. Bikes like the Cervelo P3 (my first choice), Felt B2, etc. are all made for people who are longer in the torso than I am. Those bikes are polar opposites to what I needed. So this pushed me over into the line of Scott Plasmas and Blue Triads. This is discussed further up on Slow Twitch, but essentially (Emphasis mine):

Who might best use a bike geometrically built like this? Two cases immediately come to mind. One involves a relatively fit, trim, experienced triathlete, who's probably going to ride with his or her seat angle at least moderately steep. If this person is short-waisted—that is, short in the torso, long-legged—that person is going to need a bike like this: short in length, taller in height. The height is required because that short torso means that rider's height is in his legs. Those taller legs prop the saddle higher, and that means the head tube has to be higher as well, to keep pace with that tall saddle height.

For whatever reason, I simply wasn't a fan of the Blue Triad. Not sure why. Add to the equation that I have had great success and enjoyment on my Scott road bike and things started coming together. I knew I wanted the Plasma 2 frameset which comes on the Plasma 10 and 20, and I wanted all Dura Ace which was pushing me to the 10. But the production run on the Plasma 10 was done and there were no remaining frames in stock. The sweet thing was that I could get a Plasma 2 frame with the 20 paint scheme, throw a Shimano Dura Ace gruppo on it and the only noticeable difference would be the color scheme. And I just happen to be a fan of the color green. So there you have it. It's like it was meant to be.

So why do I say it's "Mostly" a done deal?

I've plopped down a huge down payment, the bike is being built, and I am awaiting my fit appointment. I doubt any new information will come up during the fitting but you never know. And yes, having to cut the seat post is scaring the crap out of me. I'm not the one doing it mind you, but it's just one of those things that you can't undo. If the seat is too low you lose power. Ok - I'm done stressing for now.

So August 3rd is the day that I'll pick up my new ride and have the final fitting done. I will have almost 2 full months to train on it prior to the 70.3 in Augusta. I may even take it to ride on the IM Louisville course, but I'm still leaning toward using my road bike for that adventure. I'll post pics and maybe video from the fitting, as well as the full details of my new ride once it is in my possession.

Get back to work. Happy Monday.

I raced my last triathlon as a 36 year old this past Sunday out in Carrollton, Ga. It was a low-key event, not even USAT sanctioned, that had somewhere around 250 participants. I'm sometimes weary of non-sanctioned events, but this one turned out to be a lot of fun. It was an interesting contrast to some of the higher profile races I have run. The day started out extremely eventful with my Xterra's battery dying. I had to procure a car from a friend in order to get out to the race. This stress was quickly relieved once I had my bike racked and headphones on. 

Swim 1/4 Mile

My swim was pretty good, turning in an 8:25 time. The start wave I was in was extremely crowded and it reminded me of the Ironman start where it's like you are in a washing machine. Sighting on the course was easy and before I knew it I was done. 8 minutes go by pretty fast.

Bike 12 Miles (Map Below)

The bike course was rolling, with the first half containing a number of short inclines. I was able to stay aero most of the time and turned in a 36:06 split. I had slightly higher expectations when I hit mile 7 on what I think was Hwy 61 - immediately upon turning I was hit with a strong headwind that stayed in my face the next 4.5 miles. My wattage was steady as was my form, so I'm really happy with my performance on this leg despite the wind.

Run 3.4 Miles (Map Below)

The run started fairly innocuously with a gentle negative grade. Unfortunately, what goes down must come up, and a series of inclines began around mile 1. I was pretty steady just under a 9 minute pace the whole way, with only 1 walking incident at the water stop. The finish was uphill and I was challenged at the end by some guy who decided to sprint by me about 1/10 of a mile from the line. I accelerated a bit too soon, allowing him to respond and barely beat me to the line. Oh well - I'm not a sprinter. My run split was 30:04. Below is a picture of me at the line - you can tell I was after this guy since both of my feet are off the ground.

Overall time was 1 hour 19 minutes. T1 was probably 3:30 including the run up to transition. I can't imagine T2 being over a minute. I met or beat all of my objectives. Next up - tri bike shopping. I have narrowed it down to 2, so it's just a matter of taking them both for a ride for the final decision. The funds have been set aside and my personal goals have been met. Time to "put the bow" on it and bring it home!

Update: Here are the course maps for the bike and run course.

Threatening skies over the transition area
at the Macon Rock & Rollman triathlon
Originally uploaded by Iron Mike Schubert

Today was a great day for racing, unlike yesterday when the attached photograph was taken. The water was a warm 81 degrees, the skies were partly cloudy, and I felt prepared to race. My pre-race routine was uneventful, and I arrived at the race site with plenty of time to lube my chain, air up my tires, and make a couple of trips to the port a johns.

I wasn't doing the half iron distance for a change this year, so I had plenty of time after transition closed to get to the water and warm up. During this time, two small things happened. First, the race start was delayed by about 20 minutes for some unexplained reason. I think this hurt me a little early on the bike because I had timed out my nutrition needs based on the published schedule. Second, I was bit by a fish twice. It's nit uncommon to feel smaller fish bumping into you in the water trying to figure out whether you are food, but this was a bigger fish that could actually grab onto my calf. No big deal in the grand scheme of things, but an interesting side story.

Swim 750 meters. I completed the swim in 13:09. I'm very happy with my execution in the water. My sighting was almost perfect and straight. I passed a bunch of folks and although my wave was big I never felt crowded. My water position was close to textbook. Again, water temp was 81 degrees so that meant everything was up to me, there was no wetsuit helping my form out today. This leg was over before I knew it and I had my cap and goggles off in one motion and ran up to T1.

Bike 15 miles. My ride time was just over 45 minutes, with an average speed of 19.6 mph. I'm very happy with my execution on the bike. I had to eat a little earlier than planned (18 minutes in instead of 30 minutes) but that probably worked out for the best. It just came on an uphill where I lost some momentum that would have otherwise kept me at a 20 mph pace. I was aero somewhere around 70% of the time, probably due to tight hamstrings. I need to work on those over the coming months. Before I knew it, I was back at transition and flew through in just over a minute - another well executed segment of my race.

Run 5 kilometers. By the time the run started, the temperature had reached the 80's and the sun was starting to beat down. I don't think it had much effect on me based on miles 2 and 3, but the first mile really stunk. I had to run / walk to try to find a good rhythm and could feel my race slipping away. Fortunately, by the time I reached the turnaround point I had found my stride and was able to turn in a 29:40 run segment. It wasn't the best executed run I've ever done, but it did the trick.

My overall time was 1 hour 32 minutes. The best case scenario I had in my head was 1 hour 35 minutes so I'm very pleased to have beaten that. This was the first triathlon of my 2010 race season and I don't think it could have been any better. I'm really looking forward to getting back into my summertime swim, bike, run pattern that has shown so much success over the past few years. There are at least 3 more tris on the calendar, with 1 or 2 at the half iron distance, so it will be great to measure my progress at the end of the season off today's baseline.

My focus this year is on nutrition and quality events. For the first time since 2007, there is no full distance Ironman triathlon on my race calendar. I am hoping this will allow me to focus on shedding more weight and building my capacity rather than focusing on getting ready to "get through" a 140.6 mile race. I have picked a handful of triathlons including 2 half-iron distance endeavors. I have also set my sights on 4 or 5 marathons with the goal of going under the 4 hour mark for the first time.

On the work front, my responsibilities are slowly increasing. I have a small portfolio of projects that I'm slated to deliver by the end of March and it is giving me a good taste of the rigors of resource, risk, and plan management at that level. The budget and scope are smaller than the largest project I managed, but has been a good way to get my feet wet in this arena that I hope to fully move into one day. During the 2nd half of 2010, I will likely be involved with revamping either our dot com or intranet platform (or both!). I'm looking forward to the opportunity to continue to grow. I'll yap more about this in March when I look back on my tenure at McKesson.