My Christmas Wish List
Everyone, especially all of the wonderful women in my life, knows that Thanksgiving is just a good meal and a speed bump on the way to the main event that is Christmas. Now that we have passed that minor inconvenience, I thought I would take a page out of every content playbook ever used and share my offseason Christmas wish list with my 5 readers. Now you have it in case you want to buy me any of these items: A blender:
Don’t buy this one for me, I bought it myself! I normally hate the guy who “blends” all his meals. One of my friends practically swears by his, and pretty much only takes his food in liquefied form at this point. However, the allure of having a pre AND post workout shake ready for me when I wake up in the morning is simply too much to pass up. That and it will undoubtedly save me money on breakfast, snacks, etc. And as a triathlete, shaving pennies here and there is akin to shaving seconds off my bike and run times.
New Aerobars:
I’ve kicked around the idea of getting an entirely new bike. But realistically, I’m not ready for that yet. I am definitely ready for new aerobars, though. Mine are old profile T2’s, and at this point they are not only dated (design advancements have been substantial), but also uncomfortable. One of the pads is missing, making my bike uncharacteristically sleek and awesome looking, but the metal gets hot in the sun.
Adidas Adios Boost 2.0 shoes (two pairs):
These are the shoes I swear by. I bought a pair of Saucony track shoes for interval days, and they don’t feel nearly as good.
When I first started paying attention to shoes, and I asked my local running store rep which pair was best. “Do your feet hurt in your current pair?” He asked knowing I had already logged a years’ worth of miles in them. When I said no he responded with, just stick with what works. Simple enough. Now, I always buy them two pairs at a time.
Specialized S-Works Evade Aero Helmet:
During my 56 miles on the bike in Miami, an unusual phenomenon occurred, my neck started to hurt. It’s the kind of pain that makes me remember I’m working on a 5 year plan to become an elite athlete and not a 5 month plan. I like to drop my head on the bike in order to relax my shoulders, but with my tailed aero helmet that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. The solution? A compromise. The evade probably lacks the aero awesomeness of a Rudy Project helmet (I’ll look at the actual testing data another time), but by relaxing my shoulders and not being concerned about countering the intended effects of the helmet, I’ll be focused on making my legs hurt, not mitigating the pain in other parts of my body.
Cadence/Speed Computer for my TT Bike:
I prefer to race by feel, I don’t like using power, speed, or cadence data during racing. It’s distracting, and you’re supposed to be racing, not putting another data point on the excel spreadsheet for a model. That being said, those things have value in practice, and I spend a lot of my TT bike time on the trainer, so it might be good for me to have those things handy when I do a workout on my Kickr or the occasional tempo effort in Prospect Park.
New Power Wheel(s) and Ultegra Di2 6780:
Here’s the coup de grace on my wallet. My power wheel is about three years old, which is fine. It still works great, whatever. BUT! Shimano has discontinued by 10 speed Ultegra Di2 6770 rear derailleur and it will not recognize 11 speed commands. So I need a new Ultegra 6780 one. Simple fix? NOT SO FAST! My power tap free hub IS STUCK AT 10 SPEED!!! Sweet, so my options are to change the freehub so that it is 11 speed compatible (more feasible), or to buy a new power wheel set entirely (more expensive). Since it’s a Christmas wish list, the choice is easy. Also, a new wheelset eliminates the problem of my front wheel sucking entirely. Two of the spokes have broken, and one more is clearly hanging by a thread. So I have chosen to eliminate the need for another option on this list.
The triathlete in your life is the easiest person to shop for that you’ve ever met. All of this stuff is big, expensive, and impractical. But the small stuff: speedos, goggles, nutrition, and more, is just as helpful and even more important. I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday season and that your stocking is stuffed with all sorts of goodies to help you PR next season.