September 15th - the release of RS800CX?

According to this Polar site in Netherlands the RS800CX will be released on September 15th. So only little over a month wait. I hope the release in the States will be at about the same time. If so I can even test it out in my last tri race of the season. Hey Polar can I get one, please.

RS800CX mentioned on Polar.fi

This morning the Google search returned this page on Polar.fi that shows more details about the planned models of the RS800CX. Just in case Polar will take down the page here is a copy of it:

According to the text there will be four versions of the RS800CX - basic watch just like RS800, model for cyclists, model for runners and model for multisport athletes. Although the details about sensors are missing for the most part I venture to guess that the cycling model will come with speed and cadence CS sensors, running model with S3 sensor and multisport model with the G3 GPS sensor. I wish the multisport version came with the S3, G3 and cycling sensors, but I guess that would be too expensive package. Interesting is the note next to the base model that indicateS compatibility with all W.I.N.D. sensors - I hope that includes Power. This would make the RS800CX the most complete training system on the market for sure.

In any case these are the options listed on the Polar site:

• RS800CX - At the heart of your training lies the RS800CX wrist unit. With the ability to record a wide range of performance details, the unit works with the WearLink®+ transmitter W.I.N.D. to provide you with the most accurate measurement of your heart rate. This kit at the most basic level is compatible with all W.I.N.D. sensors, so you can create and build on your training system to keep up with all your training challenges - now and in the future.
  
• RS800CX BIKE - Get the most out of your performance with the RS800CX. With its professional training software you can effectively plan and analyze every detail of your ride. See your route profile and total meters climbed with the altitude, ascent and descent features, as well as uphill or downhill steepness in percentages and grades to help you to track your efficiency effort while training.
  
• RS800CX MULTI - No matter the terrain, whatever the sport, the RS800CX is the most accurate way to measure your speed and distance as well as plan, monitor and analyze your body's response to your training sessions. You can also see your route on a map after the training session. Ideal for cross-terrain sports like running, cycling, Nordic skiing, in-line skating, and kayaking, this is an essential addition to your training.
  
• RS800CX RUN - For those who are seriously into their running, the RS800CX helps to plan, monitor and analyze every part of your training. Its range of personal training zones means you can train at the right intensity, and with advanced features, that come along with the s3 stride sensorTM W.I.N.D., you'll be able to track your progress with running index as well as stride length and running cadence.
  

I hope more news will follow as Polar seems to be readying to announce the product soon.

Polar RS800cx at Outdoor Retailer Trade Show

I guess rumors about Polar RS800cx are turning to be true. I did some random searching today and came across the site for Outdoor Retailer Trade Show where Polar will showcase the RS800cx Training System (as they call it). You will need to scroll down their page to see the description or if you are lazy to click, here is a copy of the text from the show catalogue:

The new Polar RS800CX Training Management System- now with GPS route tracking and multisensor compatibility- is the most advanced and flexible training tool for the multisport market. The RS800CX is essential for multi-discipline and endurance athletes looking for an accurate way to measure, plan, monitor and analyze their training. In addition to speed and distance, the RS800CX records positioning information with the G3 GPS sensor(tm) and enables users to download route information into the included ProTrainer 5 Software(tm). Route information can also be easily exported to Google Earth mapping software. The sleek, lightweight RS800CX wrist unit is compatible with the range of Polar W.I.N.D. sensors, including the s3 Stride Sensor(tm) and CS Cadence and Speed Sensors(tm). The multisensor functionality allows users to combine different sport sessions into one training file for an enhanced training experience. Available Fall 2008.

I can't wait for this watch to hit the market. I'll most likely be the first one in the queue. Just like the Apple fans lining-up for the iPhone 3G ;-) (that one actually did not interest me as much as this watch - I know what you think...). So it is to be out in Fall 08 which technically starts in late September. That is just after my last triathlon this season. Just in time for the long runs for marathon training.

Am I Ready?

As I taper for my next A-race this weekend I'm asking question that many athletes face in the final days before the big event. Am I ready for this race? Last night I was reading the RSS feeds and came across this article from Joe Friel discussing the consistency of training. As I use the WKO+ software to track my progress it took me only few clicks to prepare the graphs that Joe reviewed on his website. So let's see how consistent was I this season.

Let's start with an overview of the training time / distance per week - not really on the list off what Joe discusses, but it gives a good view of how many hours each week I trained. The graph includes all swim, bike, run and strength sessions as well as races.

You can see few things from this graph - my training schedule follows the 3 weeks on one week recovery periodization. My top week does not exceed 10 hours of training - this was conscious decision on my part. I did not feel I can squeeze the 10+ weeks into my already busy schedule. I was not 100% consistent mostly due to illness and business travel. But overall it does look fairly consistent even with the crazy B-Fit-B-Day thing I did in May.

Now the time and distance is all nice, but it does not really tell us much about the training stress this put on my body. So next up is the Training Stress Score by week.

The few dips in the training stress are related to two times I felt bad and came down with flu and one is related to business travel and office workload. Now let's see how this translates to the fitness progression.

Compared to the graphs shown on Joe's website my graphs are showing fairly consistent training and build-up to the race. What I do not know is whether should have perhaps gave myself little more rest after A-race half marathon at the end of April. It looks like my fitness build-up slowed at that point. Oh well I definitely put the training in the bank and we will see on Sunday whether I can cash it.

If you wonder which race I'm doing - it is one of the best organized races in my area - the legendary Steelman in the Nockamixon State Park.

Anthracite Olympic distance tri race report

On July 20th I participated in the first Olympic distance triathlon race of this season in Jim Thorpe. The Anthracite Triathlon as the event is called is popular amongst the hill lovers as the course features nice 1 mile climb, nice downhills where you can easily reach 45 mph without even trying and a nice wall climb into the city of Jim Thorpe. And that is only the bike course. On the run you will start with nice easy gradual downhill for few miles followed by the Anthracite Ass-kicker (see below) and then the long gradual climb back to the finish line. Just a great race that I'm sure to do again in the future.

I'll skip the usual - I woke up early to make it there - and just summarize the on-site prep. I'm pretty diligent about preparing for my races. I drove on the bike course the day before to assess where I can hammer it and where I better conserve some energy or where I could easily spill my guts on the road (e.g. tight spots, sharp turns, etc.). On race day I got my transition setup early and made sure to keep only minimum stuff in there. I took my wetsuit back to the car as soon as the race director announced that the lake is as warm as your afternoon Starbucks Latte. So the transition was just - bike, helmet on the bike, bike shoes clipped to the pedals, on the bike I had two bottles (water in front and Hammer Heed in the cage - 200 cal mix.), tissue, salt tablets and Hammer gel in the bento box and my glasses on top of the bento. That sounds like a lot of stuff, but it is all on the bike and I do not need to mess with it in transition. The I had a towel, running shoes, visor, race belt with two gels and race number. That's it. I put my bike in the right gear for easy exit, double checked pressure in the tires and went down to the water to check it out.

Then I walked back to the transition to see where I'll be exiting the water, running up through the parking lot to the transition. Then I walked to my bike and from there to bike exit. Then I located bike return and walked back to my rack and then out to the run exit. I do this at every race venue that I have not done before just to make sure I know what to do when I race. I hate being confused and losing valuable T1 or T2 time. Then it was time to go get in the water and do practice swim.

The water was actually warmer than the outside air so I stayed in the water little longer. The lake was the best I ever swam in during the tri - crystal clear water. You can actually see few meters deep. That was pretty good later during the swim - much better than seeing nothing until that leg kicks your goggles off you head. After the regular pre-race briefing and national anthem we were ready to go.

I approached the swim differently than the Black Bear Tri. I gave the group about 5 seconds before I plunged into the water and swam. I did not want to get too much to the front of the pack and expire like I did few weeks ago. Instead I started later and made my way through the back of the pack swimmers and found my place somewhere in the not so fast swimmer pack. I swam alone from about 300m point until the second turn buoy and then I got passed by few people. But what really counted was that I did freestyle all the way. I kept my own pace, easy breathing. I really needed consistent swim to re-gain some confidence after the meltdown during the Black Bear. I exited the water in not very fast 36:56 (70 out of 100 - yeah I know this is where I will be putting more time next season). I ran up the parking lot, put on my helmet, grabbed my bike and off I went. There is something on no-wetsuit swim I like in T1.

The bike course was quite tough. It started with fairly flat section before we came to the almost mile long steep climb. Many people suffered there and I was glad I could pass most of them on the way up. I caught-up two more riders on the top of the hill and before we turned around the church I passed them. I kept going fast as what followed was a nice steep downhill. I was flying - not even checking my speed. Just making sure to keep control of the bike and focusing on the road ahead. Based on my post-race analysis I did 49.1 mph (79 km/h) on the down hill. I overshot the downhill a bit and had to do a lot of breaking before the sharp turn (almost taking down the volunteer and cop as I hit the pothole that launched my bike a bit). But all turned well and the police force and volunteers were unharmed. As I turned I saw another guy - I have to catch him. So I went for it - passed him some 2 miles later and kept passing people all the way to the wall back to the Jim Thorpe. The wall climb was pretty nasty as the wall had a little turn after which the wall was even steeper (if that is even possible). But all turned well and I caught up with group of four riders. Before we climbed back to the main road that leads back to the park I had them behind me. The rest of the bike were the regular PA rolling hills where you can easily ride between 23 and 35 mph so I did. At that time I had only two goals - not let anyone pass me and keep the average speed above 20 mph for the bike leg. All worked out well - although I almost wiped-out on the way back to the park just before the dismount as I was getting out of my shoes in the curve. But ultimately it worked out.

Bike to run transition was ok. The only thing was that I forgot to take off my helmet and had to head back to my rack (about 10 meters). So I guess I lost like 10-15 seconds there. The run was very scenic and I loved the fact that most of it was in the woods under heavy cover of trees and quite cool compared to the sections on open sun. Everything was great until mile about 2.5 where we faced the ass-kicker. Half mile climb - very similar to South Mountain 10 mile run. What I liked were the big boards the race organizer put down. First read (if I recall correctly) "Name this mountain.", second about 200m up the road "Breast of Jim Thorpe", next one read "Anthracite Ass-kicker" and the last just before the turn point read "Now you name it." The down hill was ok and I was able to relax a bit and catch my breath. The return back towards the transition was another 2.5 mile gradual climb. It was quite OK in the woods, but once we got out back to the road it was really hot. But from there it was not far to the finish line and once I figured out where that is I kicked into overdrive and finished strong. I realized the finish line was close too late otherwise I would have kicked into the overdrive more than 400m earlier. But well - that is lesson for next time - check the finish area as well.

I'm quite blurry on that picture, probably just kicked in the gear when photograph snapped it. My support crew was already in the park and we enjoyed nice swim after the race. Then I waited around for a bit to see how I did, but once I realized I did not get into the top three in my AG I left for home. It was an hour drive and we all wanted to go for lunch. I caught up with the rest of the crew in Red Robin and enjoyed a great burger. Nothing beats the good food after a good race.

For the numbers inclined crowd here is the summary: swim 1500m 36:56, T1 1:52, bike 40k 1:12:33, T2 0:51, run 10k 51:00 - overall 2:43:15 which put me to 22nd place overall in this fairly small race of about 100 finishers. I was 9th in my AG - did you notice that the 35-39 AG is very popular. My next race actually has 53 signed-up athletes in the 35-39 AG (it is this weekend). Anthracite tri is a great race, but I would not necessarily recommend it as the first timer race. I'll be back next year to conquer the mountains.

Blog cloud

This is interesting - the site Wordle can generate a word cloud from any text, RSS feed or blog. I did not have success with the direct address, but the RSS feed option worked for me. Here is what this bog looks like in the cloud:

Go generate your own cloud. I wish it would let me navigate from the words to most popular articles. But hey this at least looks cool when it has no real function other than visually please and show the frequency of words used on this blog. Apparently I use 'new' a lot.

Doing it for 2 years today

This morning two years ago was the first day of the new Jan. That morning I laced-up my brand new Nike+ shoes with Nike+ sensor, put on the shiny new iPod Nano and went out for first run. Well now looking back at it it may not have been exactly running, but hey I was moving and doing positive steps. My motivation was to improve my fitness and lose the extra weight that I carried back then (well over 20 kilos to be exact). I was dead after 1.5 miles, but I was happy that I'm doing something to get back into shape. Day later I was back on the road and running another 1.6 miles and I have been doing this since then. Few months later I ran my first 5k - you can see the time on the right side of this page. Then I ran another 5k and my weight loss motivation got a friend - I wanted to get leaner and faster.

Fast forward to January 2007 when I started to feel little bored with just running. I started to think about adding another sport. At the same time I came across book from Joe Friel, read it in two days and was ready to make the plunge to triathlons. I knew I'll stick with it so I went full bore - tri-bike, treadmill (to make the training easier during the winter time and when I can not leave the house), and bunch of other stuff that one needs to get into triathlon. Luckily I already have pool in the backyard otherwise I do not think my wife would be too pleased if I had someone build one for us and justify it with tri-training :-).

And since then I do this swim, bike, run thing and love it. I would not necessarily say that I'm very good at it, but I'm definitely getting better and moving up in the score lists in the races. I got lucky last year when I finished 2nd in my AG in local Half Iron race and two weeks later took 3rd in local sprint race. This year I was 49th in Black Bear sprint (9th in AG) and last weekend 22nd in Anthracite Oly (6th in AG). Definitely an improvement, but here are still few things I need to work on to get better - can you say swimming and running... One thing surprises me though - I never knew I would do so good in biking part of the races. I guess the bike riding as a kid shows in my race results - as kids we usually took bikes to the lake and it was a good 45 minutes bike ride away. On the way to the lake we were descending a steep hill and that is probably helping me with my bike handling skills - I literally have no fear on descends (case in point - in the Anthracite Tri the first steep downhill ended in sharp turn - I still did over 49 mph (80km/h) on the downhill with no fear and made the turn nearly taking the cop that was at the intersection). I also do fairly well on the climbs - I guess it must be related to the rides home from the lake - we needed to climb back up the steep long hill after being pretty tired from all the swimming and running around the lake. Now only if my swimming and running were as good. I guess I still have a lot of laps and miles to do to improve on those two fronts...