After Lake Placid, I decided to head in a slightly different direction, dictated by a slightly different coach. In preperation for a November Ironman, the new boss gave me a list of things to work on. JD is bound and determined to turn me into a professional kind of professional. Oh sure, I was coached for years by Simon Lessing, possibly the most business-minded professional out there, but I was too busy trying not to die in workouts to accomplish much else. So now, I am working on my “professionalism,” starting with a list.
1. You will run in running attire.
I have been known to run in yoga pants, boxing shorts, golf knickers, I even did Ironman Canada in basketball shorts. Not to mention the race I did in a cape

This first task took me a long time to conquer, but I adapted to little shorts…unfortunately, I have also decided to rock old man socks with my little shorts- I like to call it “business casual.” So…on to the next task.
2. You will get a bike fit.
I have never had a bike fit. Something about it scared me. But, I am here to tell you- if I (girl who runs in cape) can get a bike fit, ANYONE can benefit from a bike fit. I met with Mat Steinmetz from Retul. Dwayne (my orange trek) and I were in for a fixing. I never pass up an opportunity to interview anyone. As Mat set up, I asked him a few questions.
LT: Are these the nastiest bike shoes you have ever smelled?
MS: YES
LT: Should I be riding 172.5 cranks?
MS: NO
LT: In my old position, am I more aerodynamic riding on the hoods, or my aerobars?
MS: For you, even money
*Attention blog readers- if you are just as aero on your hoods as you are on your aerobars, SOMETHING. IS. WRONG.
So, Mat went to work on aerodynmasizing (?!) me. He put sensors all over my body, and then I started pedaling my bike which was on a saris trainer with a built in powertap. Sweet. I rode at 100 watts, 150 watts, and 200 watts while Mat was able to see all of my body angles. The sensors made it possible to watch myself on a projector as I pedaled. From there, Mat lowered my aerobars, moved my elbow pads farther apart, moved my seat forward, and then gave me a talk about how to ride my bike more aggresively. He was also able to watch the path my knee travels in relation to my frame. My knees tend to point in, so he put inserts in my bike shoes (after putting on rubber gloves, hahaha) which corrected my knees. Brilliant!
After the fit, Mat waved a magic wand (I am not making this up) around my bike, and all of the measurements were saved in a pdf file, so the next time I get a bike, it will be easy to recreate my new, aerodynamic postion.
All in all, being retul-ed was a success.
Next on the list is learning how to descend in the mountains. I always told JD that I am a GREAT descender, then I let it slip that my bike could have been without front brake pads for the last 5 years and I wouldnt know. Task #3 may hurt more than the bike fit. Like, a lot more.

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