2010 Tri Thread

[mgsmom]

Richard - Sounds like you had a GREAT race day! Good for you! I'm sure it feels awesome to be improving on your times. I am jealous about the post-race massage... I'm pretty sure we won't have those... Congratulations!!

BigEeyore- I'm with you on finishing under 2 hours! That's what I'm shooting for too!

Doing a long brick again today - 30 min spin bike (heavy resistance) and 3 mile run to follow. Last week I did 20min/2mi and it went really well. Crossing my fingers - it's been raining all day - and I completely HATE running on a treadmill.

 

[Duanerice]

Doing a long brick again today - 30 min spin bike (heavy resistance) and 3 mile run to follow. Last week I did 20min/2mi and it went really well. Crossing my fingers - it's been raining all day - and I completely HATE running on a treadmill.

Oh my gosh, I'd go crazy if I had to do that inside. OK, I do ride a trainer inside but DO NOT follow up with a treadmill run.

Richard, great job. Sprints are so much fun.

enjoy,
Duane

 

[tiberius]

Richard Congrats! Great job! How far was the bike and run?
I did my race course this am minus the swim - 18 mi bike and 5k run - took us about 1:45 total. It was raining on us which wasn't much fun, but I'm glad I got to do the course! I just want to finish under 2 hrs.

It was a 300 yard swim, 15 mile bike and 3 mile run.

I'm glad you got to do the course in spite of the rain, I'd hate to have the whole thing cancelled out from under me.

 

[wtpclc]

Richard - Way to go on the tri! 6:01 instead of the estimated 6:45 is awesome! Great job!

BigEeyore! great job on your trial run!

mgsmom - I'm with Richard. no way oculd I do a trainer to TM brick! Great job!

Mel - I really think the pedals have helped with speed. They really help me on the hills.

Race Report - Lots of lessons learned this race adn I was quite disappointed with everythign but my bike. Been trying ot put it in perspective. I di dhave highlights from each leg, so not too bad. My race highlights don't always tend to do much with my performance, though.

Here's my first draft:

We waivered on doing core the day before. We figured we’d just tone it down a bit and the tri was only really supposed to be a nice practice. Well, they did it differently. I asked a friend if it would be harder and she said no. She apologized in class because she forgot it was so much more intense. Plus, we were partnered with others that we had to keep up with. I had superwoman for the last 10 minutes.

Anyway, starting with sore shoulders and sore abs is not good. Both of us were hurting.

800 m swim:Started the swim and my goggles filled. Emptied those 3 times and tightened. I was so behind when I started again that I tried to go fast. I know better, but could not stop myself. My shoulders were so sore that I had a hard time even doing side stroke. But, I could not find my rhythm on the crawl. I did have a very nice man encouraging me just before half way. Very nice. Never had anyone do that on the swim before.

I did 1000m in the pool super fast Thursday. I am usually so much better in a lake than the pool. So, I was frustrated on top of everything else.

Anyway, I finally told myself (about 1/3 left) that I could do a pool length no problem. Just do 27 straight strokes. (Yeah, I know that’s a lot of strokes for a length) So I am doing it. Get to 24 and *Smack*. Some guy smacks me in the head. Yeah, lost my rhythm again. Grrr… The course was really hard to stay out of the way. There were a lot of very fast people on the outside making it very hard to be anywhere. Plus, it was a weird angle that made it hard to sight. Anyway, so I try to suck it up and start again. Don’t know what happened, but took in a nose full of water on stroke 18. It was pathetic.

12.4 mi bike: On the bright side, I didn’t sulk on the bike and really did well. LAst time i had a bad swim, I just gave up on everything. SO, I was pleased with my ability to snap back a bit. I did relaly well on the bike. WOuld have had a PR pace if the in and out of the transiiton had not been S curves.

5K run: The run was back to not so good. I started ok for the first 50 yd. then, It was straight up a grass hill. Seriously. Killed me. I tried to hang in there, even though I was super slow. Ran with a woman that I had gone back and forth on the bike with for a bit. We run this area regularly, so when they told us where the turn-around was, I knew right where they were talking about. Oh, except it wasn’t there. It was on another wooden bridge. Ugh. Right about the turn-around, my core just said it was done. My back started killing me. It was awful. At one point, and I had not walked at all, I saw I was doing a 15:55. When it didn’t improve, I decided I could walk faster. Never been that slow.

So, this great practice tri that should have had me flying high, has my confidence totally shot. I know that at least 75% of the problem is killing myself in core the day before (and I even soaked in my pool after then bio-freezed then soaked in Epsom salts in a warm tub). My other big problem is that once I lose my swim rhythm, I can’t get it back. I side stroke so hard that I still can’t catch my breath and then I try to crawl too fast. I think I am going to try intervals so that I push myself, get out of breath and then recover and hope it will help.

I htink I am finally over my pity party, though, and ready to put those lessons to good use. After discussions with my perosnal support group, I was feeling much better and actually sign up for the HIM. Now, I feel sick. I know being committed to a big goal will really help my trianing rfforts, though. SOrry about the wordy report.

 

[jmasgat]

Carrie You got out there and did it. You are wonderful. I, on the other hand, was a total DNS. I was around (no travel plans) and yet, I didn't come out to do it-- or to cheer you on. Why? Because I totally psyched myself out. I fifgured that I "had to" improve on my swim and overall time from last year, and I don't feel like I can, so I just didn't go.

So phooey on me. And yeah for you. You will do the HIM--I know it. I, on the other hand, need a swift kick in the .............


Maura

 

[BigEeyore]

Carrie Sorry the race wasn't what you expected. You should be super proud of yourself for your effort on the bike and for not giving up!

 

[wtpclc]

Thanks. I am moving on to doing what I have to do to be better again.. It is good to have a race that doesn't matter so much to learn these things, as opposed to when I will be racing against tim elimits.

Maura - It was a beautiful day. Perfect weather. You should have come! You know, if someone was a little less hard on themself than you and a bunch more hard on themself than me, they'd be perfect!

Here's something fun:

The Triathlon Song

Thanks to crazy4pooh for the link!

 

[Duanerice]

Carrie - great job, you finished!

Remember, you need the bad days or otherwise you wouldn't know how good the good days are. They all have a purpose. Maybe you would have got hurt if you went too fast. Don't know but you survived to race another day. That is successful in my book.

enjoy,
Duane

 

[mgsmom]

Carrie - I know it was tough - but I'm so proud of you for pushing through and finishing! Even after a tough swim you didn't give up! Good job on the bike! I'm with you on the running being tough, too. At least this race will help you with your training for the big one!

So, my brick went well on Monday - surprisingly well! I even sprinted the last 30 seconds - whoo whoo! I have noticed that there is a three step process to getting into the run:
Step 1: First 30 seconds are awesome because my legs are completely numb
Step 2: Next .75 miles are pure torture because EVERYTHING hurts
Step 3: Hang in there and the rest of the run gets better!

 

[mgsmom]

Correction on above post:

Step 4: If it's 90 degrees and you have no shade in sight and you are going uphill, it's def gonna get worse!

Tough run yesterday...

 

[hoosmi]

Carrie- don't panic over your HIM! Before my very first (and only) Goofy, I decided I needed some longer race experience. I did a half in early December. I went out too hard and had to walk huge chunks from mile 7 on. Tons of people passed me- I just wanted to cry. I called my mom and went into a crazy "if I hadn't signed up for Goofy and paid my money, there's no way I'd go!!!" rant. It was the lowest point in my Goofy training. I ended up loving the Goofy. You'll get past this one and there were some positives to your race- you held it together when you could have held a meltdown and you did great on the bike!

Having said all that, there's a new local duathlon for August- I can't begin to express how happy I am that there's no swim option! Guess I need to break out the bike again soon...

Jen in GA

 

[wtpclc]

Thanks everyone! You are right. I'd be the firs tto tell poeple what you are saying. It's so hard to see when it's yourself, though. I can look logically and know where I went wrong and what I have to work on and that's a good thing.

Reminds me. Mahera gave me a good luck call before my first Oly last year. She said, "Think of all the lesson's you've learned this year." Meaning, of course tha tI have already learned al lthis stuf and woould do great for the race. Of course, being in pre-race stress mode as we were packing to leave, I said "But I don't want to learn any more lessons!" I was very pleased with that race. It's good to learn int eh raes taht don't mean as much. that's why we did this one to begin with.

Duane - How many times have I told people teh good woul dnot be as good without the bad? Thanks for the reminder!

Jen - lol, I know that feeling. It all kind of goes with swearing you'll never doio a nother full after completing your first one, even if it was good.

Pity party over!

mgsmom - OMG, I don't run above ~85. And uphill? Just getting those steps in is awesome!!!! Count it as a huge victory!

 

[tiberius]

Thanks everyone! You are right. I'd be the firs tto tell poeple what you are saying. It's so hard to see when it's yourself, though. I can look logically and know where I went wrong and what I have to work on and that's a good thing.

Now that's the spirit!
If I gave up after my terrible Olympic distance tri last Labor Day weekend--which was a disaster for many reasons!!!--I'd have never had a blast finishing the Longhorn HIM in October!

 

[wtpclc]

Some interesting articles from USAT on nutrition:

Part 1

Part 2

I have used a very similar method and have lost weight. It's a slow way to do it, but you never feel like you're dieting and you eat what you want.

 

[mgsmom]

Okay, guys, can I get some advice on the bike?
I got an awesome Giant road bike that I am using and have practiced riding it a few times now. This last time, I rode almost 9 miles in 33 minutes - I was so excited!
I have two problems maybe you can help me with?
1. My butt hurts sooooo bad - it is a tiny skinny little hard seat!
2. My left hand hurts after about 15 min. The gear shift handle is on the right handlebar, and I was thinking maybe in all my shifting practice that I'm just putting too much weight on my left hand? Any strategies for holding the handlebars differently or something? Will it get better? It's mainly the heel of my hand and wrist and it's pretty painful. It quits pretty quickly after I get done.

TIA!

 

[tiberius]

Okay, guys, can I get some advice on the bike?
I got an awesome Giant road bike that I am using and have practiced riding it a few times now. This last time, I rode almost 9 miles in 33 minutes - I was so excited!
I have two problems maybe you can help me with?
1. My butt hurts sooooo bad - it is a tiny skinny little hard seat!
2. My left hand hurts after about 15 min. The gear shift handle is on the right handlebar, and I was thinking maybe in all my shifting practice that I'm just putting too much weight on my left hand? Any strategies for holding the handlebars differently or something? Will it get better? It's mainly the heel of my hand and wrist and it's pretty painful. It quits pretty quickly after I get done.

TIA!

1. Are you using padded bike shorts? That definitely makes a difference for me! Also you will start getting used to the seat after a while, assuming its a decent fit for you.
2. Are you wearing padded bike gloves? That could help--and no, I don't think padding is the answer to every question. It could just be that you are holding your grip too tight on that side as well.

 

[Duanerice]

Agree - padded shorts but the biggest improvement will come from time on the bike. It does get better.

As for the wrist, might be a bike fit problem. Did you get the bike professionally fit? Might make a difference.

Good luck!
Duane

 

[Duanerice]

Fun race today. Naples Fitness Challenge which is really a reverse sprint. 5k run, 9.5mi bike then 400 meter OWS in the Gulf. It was HOT!

Up at 4 am and got to the race a little before 6. Easy check in at that time. Just piddled around talking to some friends, checked out the swim, etc. Went for a warm up run 30 minutes before the start to get loosened up. I think I ran too far. Normally it would be OK but it was way too humid. 10 minutes might have been more than enough.

Anyway, the run was OK. Did I say it was hot? I was already soaked with sweat before we even started. Sanding at the line we were commenting on how much we were sweating just standing there. The run was through a nice residential area. I ended up at 25:05 about a 1:30 slower than my PR. I did start too far back and spent the first 1/2 mile weaving to pass people.

Transition was pretty fast because I switched my pedals back to my cages so I wouldn't have to change shoes. Used my running shoes for both the bike and run. Throw on my helmet and off we go! Actually I also put my swim goggles around my neck so I wouldn't forget them. The bike was tough because I was so beat! Not a good way to start the second leg of a race. Bike ride was at least short. I did catch myself not giving it my all about half way through the race, just kind of cruising. One of my teammates caught up to me and a passed me. How dare they! That's it, I kicked it up a gear and took off. Actually I think I caught my second wind. Bike average was just at 19mph.

Long run to the swim over blacktop, a street and a path to the beach. I couldn't get my heart rate down. I tried walking just a touch but I felt like a slug walking so I jogged over. Hit the water and boy did it feel good even though the gulf is probably about 85 right now. Swim was OK. I was hoping for better but I was so tired. I stopped a few times to catch my breath just for a second as, and I don't understand this, my arms were tired. I really hadn't used them all day. Hmmmm. I finished in something like 9:30 but I am not sure where the mats were located. I think they were back by the transition area. I was beat at the end. Even 10 minutes after the finish I had to sit down. Did I say it was hot?

Nice after race party. Included the usual, apples, bagels, bananas but also had bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, Danish and assorted drinks. They had a little band playing that was very good. We received a very nice finishers medal which is unusual for a sprint. The goody bag also had 2 water bottles and a race number belt. Nice perks for a sprint.

Anyway, had a great time and I'll probably do it again next year. I like a regular tri though. That swimming when you are tired is for the birds. I'd much rather run when I'm tired and swim when I'm fresh.

Who else raced this weekend? Let's hear the reports. Nothing else for me until July 17 (I think).

enjoy,
Duane

 

[bekkiz]

Just another thought on the bike comfort issue, I added bar ends to my new bike so that I would have more options on where to place my hands. My last ride (my longest thus far at a measly 10 miles) was awesome because my wrist wasn't bothering me as bad--I just kept moving my hands around.

And now for a question of my own: I'm having a warm-up problem, in the sense that I NEED a warm up. I played water polo all through high school and college and I was always the first person in the water by a good 15 minutes because my body needs a loooonnnggg warm up. It didn't occur to me until today when I decided to just jump in a swim the distance as fast as I could with out warming up how crummy I felt. My time was ok, but I just felt like I struggled through it. Does anyone have good dryland warm up techniques I could try?

 

[Duanerice]

In my limited experience any warm up will serve the purpose. What you are trying to do, as explained to me, is get oxygen to the muscles. When we start out fast we are depriving our muscles oxygen that is why the first mile running, first few miles biking and first 100 yards swimming are usually the hardest. After that you get into the flow and it is easier. But I might be completely off base but it made sense to me.

I too have to warm up, especially swimming. My first 300 yards are the hardest. After that I think I slow down and take my time more, plus my body is getting used to it.

My thought is that my body is saying "no, no ,no", at the start then realizes I am not going to quit so it says, "what the heck" and starts to cooperate

So, if I have a swim, I'll warm up swimming, if it is a run I run. Not sure why you wouldn't want to just do a slow swim to warm up if you are swimming first?

enjoy,
Duane