The New Bike

Let me tell you about the 3T Racemax Italia.

Quick trip to Portland to pick it up. That's how I'm describing it to anyone who asks — quick trip, casual errand, just happened to be down there. In reality I drove to another state to collect a carbon aero road bike six weeks before a half Ironman, which is either perfectly reasonable or completely insane depending on your relationship with bicycles.

It's beautiful. That's the first thing. The Italia colorway is not subtle and it is not trying to be.

The week around the Portland trip was, by training standards, a mess. Crazy work stuff consumed most of it — the kind of week where the schedule exists mostly as a reminder of what you intended to do rather than what actually happened. Three training days, 229 TSS, 2.9 hours. Monday was a 14 TSS walk. Tuesday was 50 TSS, barely half an hour. Wednesday and Thursday were rest days by necessity, not design.

Then Saturday in Portland.

Ran along the waterfront while the bike was being sorted. The Willamette on a summer morning is a genuinely good place to run, and something about being in a different city with a new bike waiting apparently activated a different gear entirely. 165 TSS in 1.3 hours. Average HR 131 — highest of any session in weeks. That wasn't the plan. It's what happened.

Six weeks to Ironman 70.3 Washington.

The HRV held steady all five valid days this week — 6.9 to 7.5, consistent and unremarkable in the best way. Sleep averaging 7.5 hours, a couple of genuinely good nights mid-week at 8.4 and 8.5. Weight reading correctly again and trending down: 172 Monday, 169 by Friday. Four weeks sober now. The body continues to respond predictably to not drinking, which at this point feels less like a revelation and more like a confirmed fact.

The ENVE wheel is built. The 3T Racemax Italia is home. The shoulder is being managed. The work chaos will settle.

Six weeks. The training needs to step up this week in a way the last two haven't allowed. The bike doesn't arrive six weeks before a race to sit in the garage.

Magei has already inspected it and found it acceptable.

Onwards.

Weekly metrics: 3 training days · 2.9 hours · 229 TSS · HRV 6.9-7.5 (5 valid days) · Avg sleep 7.5 hrs · Avg HR 115 · Weight 169-172New bike: 3T Racemax Italia · Portland waterfront run: 165 TSS, HR 1314 weeks sober · vs. last week: 3 training days · 5.2 hours · 330 TSS6 weeks to Ironman 70.3 Washington