Jenna racing in Europe, Ben training for NYC Tri

Jenna: 
After twenty hours of a rather sordid travel adventure, I arrived in Athlone, Ireland where the European Cup was held on Saturday, July 12. I had never been to Ireland prior to this trip, so I took in as much of the landscape and town as possible. Heading out on bike for my tune-up ride the day before the race, I had to be careful to ride on the correct side of the road — the left. As I am constantly reminded, we do everything “backwards” in the States. Fortunately, the small towns were not too busy, so there were not too many cars to worry about. The weather held out and there was barely any rain in the days leading up to the race and only a brief sprinkle during the bike portion. Otherwise, the 16°C temperature was perfect for racing.

The race was fantastic. I had a terrific swim, leading out the first lap and exiting with two other women at the end. We got on the bikes and headed off on the 40k ride together. What an incredible bike course! There were hills, turns, wind and potholes to contend with. It was the kind of a ride where you can never really get into a rhythm so it just rips your legs apart. By the end of the 40k we had gained over the rest of the race, but my legs were totally destroyed. However, I still managed an amazing run, my best ever, and held on for a fourth place finish! 

Here is the link to my ride from the day before the race. It roughly outlines the bike course for the Athlone, Ireland ETU Cup. If you want to see photos from and read a more detailed account of my travels and race adventures, check out my blog at www.jennashoemaker.blogspot.com.

Ben:
Today I rode a few loops of Central Park. My senior year at Columbia University, my roommate had lent me an old Schwinn road bike and let me kill myself trying to stay on his wheel for three laps around Central Park. That was my first road biking experience, and, once I caught my breath, it planted the seed that has grown into my triathlon career. Now, over three years later, I was able to ride those same three loops, only much faster and with much nicer equipment. Today was my first ride using my Gamin Edge 705 with the Quarq Cinqo power meter.  The two units linked seamlessly, when I paired them before my ride, which was just one of the things that amazed me.

I walked out of the brownstone where I’m staying and turned on the 705. Even on a narrow street with tall buildings all around, the unit was able to find satellites in under ten seconds. During those ten seconds, it also showed two messages: “Heart Rate Detected” and “Power Meter Detected”. Linking the Quarq was that simple!

In the park, I had very little time to watch my power meter because there were so many people recreating on the road that I felt like I was in a high-speed chase, weaving through slower riders, roller bladers,  joggers, walkers, baby strollers, skateboarders, horse-drawn carriages … you get the point. Even with all the people, the road seemed simple enough to navigate. Only a couple times did people swerve unpredictably, and there were no close calls. I did a few accelerations and intervals to prepare for the New York City Triathlon this weekend, and was thrilled to see my power numbers displayed right next to cadence and % grade. I was also thrilled to see that on the smooth Central Park roads, I was able to keep my speed up to over 40 kph fairly comfortably. With a race this weekend, I resisted the temptation to see how high I could get my power numbers, but I played a little with cadence and pedal stroke to see if I could increase power without increasing effort.

All in all, I’m really happy to be back in The Big Apple, but I’m even happier that I’m not riding a 1970’s Schwinn. You can read more about my travel and racing at bencollins.org, and you can track this and more of my Garmin Connect files under my username, trijamin.

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