High Anxiety

These posts have been few and far between, but not from loss of interest. On the contrary, my training volume has increased, and so to have other obligations, which have left me really challenged to make sure I am hitting the marks in all areas of life – personal, family, training, and business. All things seem to be heating up at once, and I am trying my best not to let any of it fall off. Unfortunately, this means writing about my experience has to take a back seat until the heat is turned down a bit. But I do at least want to take some time to check in and give a few words of encouragement to those who may be going through similar situations.

On top of everything going on in my life, with Ironman Cabo less than two months away I am really starting to feel the pressure of the impending race. In fact, as I am writing this, the song of Carmina Burana is running through my head as a soundtrack to the run up to the race (look it up). However, I have been reminding myself that one of the main purposes of this is to find serenity and spiritual peace through triathlon. Regardless of the outcome of the race, I’m successful because I have improved myself spiritually, mentally, and physically. The race itself is a celebration. As I remind myself of that, the fearful anticipation turns into excited and joyful anticipation. As for the rest of the anxieties, it’s best to let them go. Ask God to relieve them from me. Then I can focus on what I can control. This has worked wonders for me.

Where am I at with my training now? It is certainly time consuming. However, there are really only a handful of weeks out of the year where the training peaks and it becomes really intense. For me that is right now, and for about the next five weeks. At this point I am swimming up to about 10K a week, running over 40 miles per week, and biking over 150 miles. Combined with a couple days of weight training this comes out to over 20 hours a week. But it makes me really look forward to the taper (oh, the taper!).

On a separate note, I built a bike over the past few weeks. It turns out a frame of the same make I “totaled” was on sale for half price. Figuring I had all of the components already, I decided to rebuild it with the idea that I could keep it on the trainer for indoor rides (so that it wouldn’t fall apart on me during a fast descent, and I would only look foolish and not injure myself in a stationary crash), as well as learn all of the parts and workings of a bike up close and personal-like. If you’re not interested in the mechanics of rebuilding a bike, by all means stop here. It was nice of you to visit, and I look forward to having you for the next post! However, if you’re a nerd like me, then carry on…

This is the Orbea Ordu SSJ frame, right out of the package.

These are all the parts I removed from the old damaged frame. I was sure to keep everything that I could attached so that any “fit” issues would be addressed once the pieces were put back in place.

Bottom bracket installation. These are a pain to remove, but easy to install after you determine the correct thread direction. Grease is necessary on the threaded areas as well as inside for the installation of the crank set.

Installing the crank set.

Crank set fully installed.

Fork and headset installation was pretty straightforward, but a little tricky with only two hands. It was important to make sure all bearings and spacers were replaced exactly how they were removed, so that the fit and function would be sound.

Rear derailleur installed. Fine tuning the front and rear derailleurs is one of the more formidable tasks associated with bike maintenance. But thanks to YouTube and practice, it can become very easy to accomplish.

Fully assembled bike (except for front wheel of course – that would have been a colossal fail). Oddly enough, the bike chain was the most difficult part to attach. Making sure that the length was just right and the pins were installed correctly was rather difficult and frustrating. Otherwise, cabling the bike was much easier than I had originally thought.