why triathlon?

So why triathlon?

That can be a very hard question to answer, especially since I used to be known for my dislike of running, and let's face it; you can't finish a Tri without some kind of run.

As I wrote in a previous post, after reading "Born to Run," I actually enjoy running. Not treadmill running, but running outside, fresh air, cool breeze (even hot breeze!) sunshine, etc... although I enjoy the treadmill.. barefoot...

Maybe because it is multi-disciplinary; swim, bike, run. You can be a strong swimmer (I used to think I was, but I am seriously humbled by the times some of these athletes put up,) and lose your shirt in the bike or run. The majority of your time ends up being spent on the bike (on average,) so if you are a strong biker, you can improve a lot there. Then, strong runners can have an advantage, because by the time you get to the run, you are getting fatigued, and being a good runner really comes into play here.

So it is a host of things. It is an incredible feeling coming down the chute for the finish. 

Sprint Triathlon... 

Distances-- 

750 meter (0.47 mi) swim 

20 kilometer (12 mi) bike 

5 kilometer (3.1 mi) run

Let's face it, you can do this with a minimum of training. People run 5K races all the time; you just need to tack a swim and bike on to the front.

The swim is what gets most people. It is close to a half mile, true. Water is not that familiar a medium to large amounts of the population, and if you were never a swimmer when you were younger, it is intimidating to think of when you get older. I have coached a few of my friends to better swimming, and just generally being more comfortable in the water. 

Intermediate/Standard/Olympic distance--

1.5 kilometer (0.93 mi) swim

40 kilometer (25 mi) bike

10 kilometer (6.2 mi) run

Now we are starting to put up some real numbers. You are basically swimming a mile, a 25 mile bike most people could complete fairly easily, although it would take some time (most people seem to cruise about 10 mph, which would mean 2.5+ hours on the bike course...) and a 10K run is just two 5K runs back to back. Still, going to take some energy, and you'd best be training.

Long Course (1/2 Ironman)

1.2 mile (1.9 km) swim

56 mile (90 km) bike

13.1 mile (21.1 km) run

This is a serious length. Now you need to start planning for your nutrition needs as well. If you are not taking a little bit of salt, getting some energy, and drinking enough, you will have health problems. On average, as an amateur, you will be 'putting out' for a good 7+ hours. 

Ironman Length

2.4 mile (3.9 km) swim

112 miles(180 km) bike

and a full marathon: 26.2 miles (42.2 km) run

The Ironman is a specific race, copyrighted by the organizing body. Non-'branded' events are "Ironman Length" races.

This is a lu-lu. A 2 and 1/2 mile swim, a Century +, and a full marathon. For some people, just running a marathon is the goal that they have. Imagine running a marathon after an up to 2.4 hour swim and biking for 8 hours. Craziness... it's called "Going Long."

Back to our regularly scheduled programming

2 really cool 5K runs coming up. (I am going to do more 5K type stuff... running is my weakest sport (well, ok, I cannot slam dunk, so my basketball skill suck, but...) of the three in the Tri, so I will be doing a lot more running now that I can.

Run the Runway at Chicago O'Hare!

Dig it! Here it is... sign up! --- Run The Runway. (There is also a kids run; Thomas is doing the "Under 4 run... 50 yards. He is already practicing.)-- proceeds benefit the Wounded Warrior Project (great charity.)

The Frank Lloyd Wright 5K/10K Run/Walk. This run takes us past the historic houses in Oak Park (no stopping, though... lol.)

Did my first 3 miles on the treadmill now that I am half-way through my PT.

I've always gotten bored pretty fast on treadmills, and this is no exception. However, I knew I wanted to stick it out... I love running outside (considering I always hated running, that alone is a big deal to me.) So I love running outside, but for my knee I wanted to get things worked out on the treadmill.

My excellent PT, Maria, told me that she wants me to put some miles on my knee so we can assess how my therapy is coming along. She has been loading me up and making things harder, and so far no complaints from the knee.

So I did a little 3.1 mile kick on the treadmill (or... 5K, which is why I went that distance,) and had nary a complaint from my right knee, thank goodness.

So, getting whole again... years of not paying attention to it (because I am not a runner, so I never really felt the pain in my knee, it's a repeatative motion kind of dealio,) and I am back on track.

I have been cleared to do a few 5K races, and if my knees are happy, when she signs me off from therapy I can do a Sprint Tri to see how it works when I am fatigued.

More running in the future for me for sure.... :)

Cheers!

Scott

Follower of the Son of Hitler

So......

I'm riding my bike home from physical therapy, and I stop at the local branch of the library, because they were kind enough to send me an email that the books I requested came in ("The Complete Idiot's Guide To Urban Homesteading," and "Meat Eater, Adventures From The Life of an American Hunter.")

While I am checking out my books, there is an older (mid to late 50s) (older than me, anyways) lady talking with the librarian about unions, and how it all began with Reagan, and yadda yadda yadda.

O.k... I am a very political person, but I keep my thoughts (in general) to myself. I am finding more and more that "Liberal' and "Conservative" have ceased to have any proper meaning, except for calling each other names. Basically, I avoid the topic, especially in public, or where people might get their feelings hurt.

(Just so ya know, my political beliefs are quite well thought out, I've thought on them long and hard, they have stood the test of time... so far... ask me in another 20 years.)

And then we get this---

"Anyone who would vote for that Son of Hitler cannot be an American."

And then she turns to me, and smiles, because we all agree with her, right?

Now, I am in the conversation. Thanks for pulling me in. Surprise!

"Ma'am, I was born in Seattle, and raised in Chicago. I worked for the Democratic Party when I was younger, but I have voted for whomever I thought fit the bill when elections came around every time since I turned 18. I've voted for Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and 1 (one) member of the Green Party (I was quite 'put out' with both parties. I even voted straight Libertarian one year.) So, I am not an American?"

"You are going to vote for that Son of Hitler? Then no, you are not an American."

Really? REALLY? You don't even know me!

This is what drives me bonkers about both political stripes, but particularly about Liberals. People who call themselves Liberal have open minds, are willing to accept those who do not talk or act like themselves, people who eat different foods, worship under different belief systems.

At least, that is the way it is 'supposed' to work.

I've found over many many years, and many conversations, that there are monsterously large numbers of 'liberals' who say that that is the case, right up until someone thinks differently than they do. Heaven Forbid!

So I said....

"So, because I believe that our current President does not have the correct answers for what is wrong with our economy, nor does he have even an infant's concept of what needs to be done in the Mid East, and I am in a position to vote for someone whom I think is the lesser of two evils, that I am a follower of the Son of Hitler?"

"Well, if you are voting for him then yes."

"I am merely choosing the lesser of two evils, I don't think either one is great, for that matter."

"You just don't want to vote for the Black Man."

REALLY?!?!?!  Are you fucking kidding me??
me--

"So if it was Clarence Thomas running for president, you would vote for him because he is black?" 

"No, he is just an Uncle Tom."

Ah, I see it now....
me--

"Actually, I will vote against President Obama because I don't like what is in his mind, not the color of his skin. I don't really care what color someone's skin is."

"You just don't want to vote for a Black Man." 

I also didn't vote for him for Senate; I guess I am a racist. Oh, wait.. he was running against a black man. How do we square that circle!!
me--

"So, let me get this straight; I voted against Gore, I voted against Kerry, but now because there is a black man running for President, on the same ticket, with basically the same platform, if I vote against him I am racist?"

"You are a follower of that Son of Hitler, yes."

Hope you are all (all 4 of you, I guess) having a lovely day, I think it is time for me to go find my Klan Kostume and get my lilly white ass down to the boat; Maybe I can find a rally and we can burn some crosses!!

What a tiny little mind, and what a horrible world she must live in.

Be of good cheer,

Scott

PT

Physical Therapist

Primordeal Torture

Whatever you want to call it, I am in the middle of it.

Knee rehab; my prescription calls for 3 sessions a week of Physical Therapy. So far so good, and the best part, is my PT has narrowed the problem down to my right hip more than anything. I guess I am slightly weaker on that side, and that is causing (eventually) my patella to retract incorrectly.

So I get 60 minutes of pure pleasure. Dynamic stretching, and then.... more work on my legs/knees/hips than I think I would normally get in a week's worth of working out.

The good news there, is that my PT (who is awesome, btw,) has a few former patients who did the IMoo this year... that's the Ironman Madison, and she is pretty sure I will be 100% coming out of therapy.

So... more triathlons in my future, good workouts, and a whole body. Gotta love it.

More to come, of course...

Cheers!

Scott

Update on the company, etc...

On a lighter note....

So, the Corporation (AMR) announced that it was closing our LAX crew domicile, and 'farming out' our flying there to SkyWest, and also it had put some flying up for bid out of DFW, and ExpressJet was awarded that.

We've known for some time that the company plan was to do this, it comes as no surprise. I guess what got us off-guard as a work group, is that we thought we would have heard something about it through company sources, or the union, such as 'Our flying in LAX is up for bid, how can we find a way to keep it.'

No, we find out from a quick eye on the news (The Dallas Morning News broke the story,) that one of our senior, and I means senior, domiciles is going to disappear.

Basically, it works like this; The company says they want the existing flying diversified, we compete on the market for that flying, instead of being normally awarded the flying.

I guess they decided it was cheaper to shut down an entire crew base (where we just updated the terminals, etc,) and move the planes to MIA and DFW (so far. They had a vacancy/displacement posted, and we are actually gaining 6 Captain positions, systemwide, although we are losing ALL the position in LAX, obviously.)

If you want to know more about vacancy/displacement, see here.

What frosts me, I guess more than anything, is they are going to be flown under the name "American Eagle."

In the 1990s, American Eagle was a consortium of carriers, kind of like what United has right now in ORD with Shuttle, ExpressJet, SkyWest, and GoJet. You book your fare for your trip, and then you fly whatever airline has those aircraft allocated to them. It is horribly inefficient, in that a SkyWest crew can be sitting on reserve, and a GoJet aircraft could be parked, needing a crew, but the flight cannot go out because you are only 'allowed' (legally and contractually,) to fly for one airline at a time. We all have different Op Specs, rules, contractual obligations and restrictions, so it is quite possible.

Also, you get 'whipsawing.' United can pit SkyWest against GoJet, and say GoJet says they can do the flights for $1.11/seat mile, if you can't match their cost we'll move some airplanes over to them... resulting in playing one airline off against another, work group against work group... a.k.a. 'Whipsawing.'

So they joined all the carriers together (Flagship, Simmons, Executive, and Wing's West,) who had been flying under the American Eagle name, and made them a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines, under the parent company, AMR.

Once they were entirely integrated, a 'Flagship' crew could be sent out on a 'Wings West' aircraft, on a route flown by 'Simmons,' and they were all one seniority, one level of training and maintenance, the works. You can talk to some of the more senior crewmembers, and they can tell you what it was like before integration. In fact, when I was hired (way back in 2000,) at the time you could tell who had hired some of the older guys (and gals!) by where they sat in the old crew lounge at A9 (DFW.) Beach Bums over here, Flagship over there, Metro (talk about old) guys over there, etc... But it had gotten a lot better, and the different employee #s from when they were hired became the only way to tell, and that is not guaranteed. (our Employee #s are 6 digits, mine starts with a "1," (I was hired as a fueler by AA in 1989,) so my FOs who do not know me get to the airplane thinking they are flying with some old bastard.... well, they got half of that right!!

As I said, what frosts me, is that after 20 years of building up the Eagle 'brand,' the other carriers flying contracts for AA will be doing it under the "American Eagle" name. "Our" name. So Chatauqua Airlines, SkyWest, etc, when they fly for us, will be doing it under our logo and name. I know it seems like a little thing, but it is not. We were, and are for now, the last of the wholly owned subsidiaries. United had United Feeder Service, which was closed in 1999 (They flew the APTs, which was quite a monster turboprop,) and Delta had ComAir, who will fly their last flight Sep 29th of this year. Think of that... at one time, they were our ONLY true rivals on the National/Regional Airline playing field, and they are ceasing operations.... Sober thoughts there...

My airline will get a new name, we'll be 'spun off' from the mothership, and we will compete for contracts with everyone else to do the flying that we are doing right now. BUT, we will be able to compete for flying with United and Delta, or Southwest, or Virgin, or Bob's flying service... or we will be free to go it on our own, too.

But we know how well that worked for Independence Air, don't we?

There are lots of arguments for and against, and it will take years to ascertain whether it was a good, or even a brilliant decision... but if it was disaster, we will find out all too soon.

Time will tell.....

Scott

getting (or not) political

So, I promised myself I would try to blog more... because you all just are dying to hear what I am thinking, right? All 4 of you, right?

September 11, 2012 has come and gone; I wrote my post on my memories of the original 9/11, so to speak, and while that was happening, our Embassy in Libya was attacked, and our Ambassador killed.

I have refrained from making this into just another political blog; which is funny, because I am a very political animal. I read a number of political websites, of both stripes (or more than both,) although I tend to flow along a fairly similar thought stream with only one side of the spectrum. So I have left a bunch of topics untouched, topics that I find timely to address to myself now and then....

Free Speech

The Role Government Plays

The Constitution

Politics in General

I've focused mostly on my non-family passions... flying, certainly as #1; ancestral (paleo-like) health, and now that I am a lost soul, triathlons and training.

Given what this past week has been like, it is hard to hold back, though. I do have a post coming up (I know, I keep saying that) about free speech and what it all means, but I don't want to drag myself that way in this forum. We shall see....

But I will blog more.

Cheers,

Scott

 

 

 

Tuesday, September 11th.

My phone rang early (for me; I was a new line holder, so I finally had a regular schedule. Based in Chicago at ORD, back home, life was good,) and it was my mom.

"A plane just flew into the World Trade Center."

I told my mom she must be watching a preview of a new Jerry Bruckheimer movie, and tried to go back to sleep. I had been up late the night before, I had the day off, and I wanted to sleep in for the first time in ages.

My phone rang again about 10 minutes later.

"Scott, it's Kathy. A plane just flew into the World Trade Center."

"A Cessna, or something? Is there a lost Learjet?"

"I'm looking at the fire on the news, it must have been something bigger."

"Wow, crazy. You would think in this day and age with GPS and LORAN and everything, that wouldn't happen."

We talked for a bit, and she said it looked like someone had caught the crash on camera, they were replaying a plane hitting it.

Then she started screaming into the phone, because it was not a replay, she was watching the second tower get hit.

I scrambled out of my apartment (I had gotten separated from my first wife a few months prior, didn't have a TV, and for the first time in a long time I wished I had a TV.) and ran up the stairs to my neighbor's apartment. I knocked on her door, and she said that she was listening to CDs.

We watched the news together on her TV for a bit, and then she had to run to work; she left me her key, and let me stay in her apartment to watch. Thanks to cell phones, I knew I could get ahold of my friends on the East Coast.

There were reports that the flight that crashed into the Pentagon was an Eagle flight. I called numerous friends to see who knew what. My friend OJ Saxby had just landed at Islip (ISP) NY. They were turning to final, and his FO said

"Wow, OJ, you should see the fire in Manhattan."

When they parked the plane, ATC came on and asked them if they were headed back to Boston. They said yes, and then home. The controller said

"You need to call me on the phone. You're going to be here a while."

A fellow pilot who lives in Memphis was flying a trip from DFW to DAY (I think.) He heard over the radio words that were spoken by ATC the only time since the building of the modern ATC system. Words that were a relic of the Cold War, words that pilots never thought they would hear once the cold war ended...

"SCATANA...SCATANA...SCATANA. All aircraft on my frequency, I will be issuing orders for diversions. If you do not have an airport when I call your flight number, you will be given an airport to divert to. There are no exceptions. This is a National Emergency. SCATANA...SCATANA....SCATANA."

He was about 60 miles or so southwest of Memphis, and was the 2nd flight called by ATC. He said they were diverting to Memphis, and he managed to be home for the next few days.

I know dozens personally, and I am sure I have flown with hundreds, who ended up spending the days after 9/11 away from home. I happened to be off that day. I had OT for Thursday, and then Friday I was flying to Austria for a friend's wedding. In the jumpseat. I did not make it to Vienna, obviously.

That same friend called me about an hour after 9/11 happened. He asked me what should he do? His fiancee had flown to Austria the day before, and he was trapped in Chicago! He made it out on Friday, they drove him straight to the Church, and he made it in time for his wedding.

My friend Kathy who called me that morning was schedule to go down for her physical to be a pilot at American Eagle. She never made it down there, got hired by Chicago Express, made Captain, they closed, got hired by SkyWest, made Captain, and is still there. (Yes, she made Captain at 2 airlines before I upgraded at AE. Funny...)

I called our scheduling people, and told them that I had planned on taking my vacation, but there was no way to get to where I was going. I was available when they needed me. Corey said he would call me when he knew more.

A friend of mine flew the CARE Team from ORD to BOS. She said she had never had an emotional flight like that. They gave them Position and Hold on the runway, and an amended clearance (we usually fly 'canned' routes, planned routes that thread us through and around other flights.)

"American Airlines, you are cleared Direct Boston Logan, climb and maintain FL 350, you take our prayers with you, cleared for takeoff, and Godspeed."

(... at least, that is what I remember her telling me later that day... )

I got called on Thursday afternoon, they had gotten permission to fly limited flights, and if I was available, they could use me.

I flew to Peoria and back, and Charlotte and back, landing back in Chicago about 11pm. We were the 4th or 5th flight by Eagle out of ORD, I think. We had zero passengers to PIA, 1 coming back, zero passengers (but about 10 employees) to CLT, and 3 pax back.

There are as many stories of 9/11 as there are people who were alive that day. Stories of heroism, stories of panic, terror, heartache. Friends and loved one were lost, dreams were shattered, our world changed forever.

I will never forget.....

I want to lose weight... (Part 1)

"So, I want to lose weight..."

My first, instinctive, sarcastic response to this is "Well, ok, we could saw off an arm..."

Let's face it, then you would weigh less, right?

So, weight is not usually the issue. I am sure if we magically transformed 20 lbs of fat into 20 lbs of muscle tissue on the average person, they would be happy with it, even though they do not 'weigh less.'

So we need to get the words correct. Words do have meaning, after all.

You want to lose fat.

Specifically, you want to lose excess white adipose tissue. And why would you want to do that?

There are numerous studies that show that increased weight (beyond a certain point) is an indicator of decreased health, and shorter and less healthy life spans. (see here, here, here, and here.) (That last one is a lu-lu. Framingham... so much data!!)

Most people who have fought the battle with increased weight tell all too familiar stories.

"I get winded just going up a flight of stairs."

"I have problems sleeping."

"My knees hurt; I can barely walk to the end of the block sometimes."

"I run out of energy so fast. I try to stop eating, but then I am lethargic, and angry." (I would be too, if I had to eat less!)

There are so many questions involved, so much information, and so much mis- or even mal-guidance; some people come and go off of diets and end up in tears.

We want to be healthy.
We want to live long lives, and disease free.
We want to enjoy life, our families, our children, our friends.

So, I am going to try to do some 'splainin' (Hey, Luuuuucy!)
All (or nearly so) of this will be from an evolutionary/ancestral point of view. I want to cover a number of topics;

What exactly is fat? (There has to be a reason we have it in the first place, right?)
Why do we get fat? (How does it get stored, what is the physical processes, etc...)
What are some myths about fat?
How can we 'lose' fat? (We get it, people lose it, how does that work?)
What is good health, and how can I be healthy?

 

 I think that last one is the most important. Generally, if you ask your doctor to get blood work done, you are looking for a 'baseline,' In other words, what are the normal scales for individuals, and where do I fall on those scales? For instance, I am 5'8" tall, and yesterday at the gym I weighed 166 lbs, giving me a BMI of about 25.2%. Am I healthy? Am I overweight? 25.2% (according to that nifty calculator provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services,) means I am overweight. O.k., all 3 of you who read my posting know me fairly well, and I am not overweight. There must be more to that story!

So you can see, just like "I want to lose weight," there is more information needed. Simply taking height and weight does not give you nearly enough information about health. (Which is a serious bone I have to pick with Michelle Obama. The original interview on Yahoo is gone, but there are references to it all over the place (like here) where she encourages BMI screening for kids.) BMI is a number, it does not tell you jack shit about health.
All it will do is make you fear the scale. Specifically, BMI is calculated this way, using the equation at the right. Honestly, does it tell you anything??? (other than a mathematical ratio, that is.)

So you ask your doctor for a blood screening, and you find all your numbers are in the 'green,' but you still have a high BMI. What to do.. what to do.

What can we do about our own health? I cross-posted on Facebook a picture with a quote superimposed upon it "People are fed by the FOOD Industry, which pays no attention to health... and are treated by the HEALTH industry, which pays no attention to food."

Are there people who do not get sick? There is a good question. Are there people who do not get cavities? Who do not get overweight? Who do not suffer from hypertension, gout, diabetes, cancer? Who live long lives?

My dad died when he was 54 years old. Cancer got him. He lived his life like he was trying to end it. Alcoholic. 2 to 3 pack a day smoker. I guess we were lucky he made it to 54.

Who are the people who do not get sick? Better yet, what do they eat? How do they live? What do they do, what don't they do?

Because, you know, we are the most 'overexercised' people on the planet. We have more health clubs, more gym memberships, more people running, than any other country in the world. People were sweating to the oldies for years, and yet....

We're still dying off.

We have obese children (Really, that is sad... except for the obvious genetic mutations that cause it, where can that problem originate?)

What on earth are we doing wrong?

Anyway, I hope to shed a little light with what I have learned along my own journey. In February of 2008, all they wanted to do was keep me alive. Today? I've completed my first triathlon, and I am looking for more. I want long life and good health, and I want you to have it, too.

This might be a strange journey... but why should this be any different?

Cheers!

Scott

The Knee

Well, those of you who remember my story from last year, knee problems stopped me from finishing my first triathlon, so I had to try again this year.

Only, now, I love it. The prep work, the working out, the biking, swimming... all of it.

This year again, knee problems bothered me, but I forged on through and finished.

The problem, is that if my knees keep having problems, I won't be able to do more triathlons. Mostly, it is as the knee loads up; It does not happen while I bike, but it happens on the run. I don't have any pain when I am not running, and have no problems going up and down stairs, although if it is tender, I am cautious going down stairs.

A good friend of mine who is doing his clinicals to become an MD checked out my knee, and told me of a common overtraining type of injury where the thigh normally kind of helps the patella (kneecap) retract straight back so that the knee can bend, instead let's it move at a very slight angle. Considering that my knees stay slightly bent on the bike, that would explain how it doesn't hurt normally biking, but it starts to hurt on the run. It is a fairly easy fix, but to still go see a specialist.

So I went to see Dr. Daley, at Hinsdale Orthopedics. He is a long long time family friend, but he is most famous for being the doctor who replaced Bo Jackson's hip when he (Bo) played for the Chicago White Sox.

Some x-rays, some manipulation, and the good Doctor said "If this is any indication of the kind of doctor your friend will be, then he will be very good indeed; he described exactly what is going on in your knee."

He showed my on the x-rays how the kneecap was very slightly off when my knee was flexed, and then described how we take care of the problem.

Good physical therapy, maybe modify the way you run a little bit, and a brace for support for your kneecap when you are exercising. Simple, or as I heard a second person say in 2 days, "Easy Peasey."

So, here is my leg in its brace... kind of bionic man-looking, but the advantage is that for the most part, I can continue exercising, although long distances are out for a little bit. Plus, I don't need surgery as of yet...  (and should not...) that is always a big plus!!!

So far so good!!!!

Cheers!

Scott

Bike mods

Hey there!

So, did a little bit of work on the bike; I added a set of Profile Design GT Aerobars. Thanks to a coupon for participating in the Chicago Triathlon, I picked them up at a deeeep discount from an online site. Basically Amazon has them for around $79, I got them for about $39. Gotta love combining clearance and discounts and coupons.

So the idea behind using Aerobars (they came out in the 1986 Tour De France, and are pretty much de rigueur in triathlons now,) is that instead of keeping your hands up 'on the horns,' (the black 'horn looking' part of the handlebars,) or staying low 'in the drop' (the downward curved part on road bikes,) you can rest your upper body weight on the elbow pads, grip the forward part of the bars, and accomplish 2 things: Rest your body, and achieve a more aerodynamic position.

Now, on a road bike, this gets a little dicey. The seat post is slightly aft of where you would want to sit to get proper leverage in the forward 'aero' position, and your body would still be elevated, as opposed to the slightly head down profile you get on a dedicated tri bike.

You can reduce this a bit by removing a spacer or two from the gooseneck of the road bike, and on the Trek 1.2, the seat post is designed to be reversed 180 degrees, allowing you to have that more forward, aggressive, tri-bike type of position on the aerobars.

So after installing the aerobars, I reversed the seat post, rebalanced the seat, and started doing quick bikes to adjust the aerobars to my body size.

I found a pretty comfortable position, but there will be lots of small adjustments. The idea is that you spend the majority of your time once you are in the aerobar position, so that you can rest your body and have a less dragg-y position.

More to come on this as I experiment with it....

Cheers!

Scott