Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed (Page 37)

Hard to believe you had knee surgery and were still able to pull off such a great result. Any issues with the knee post race?

I am calling my ortho today.  Something is going on with my right knee.  Pain toward the inside..medial I think part of the knee.  Been really stiff. Doesn't really bother me while biking or even running but super stiff when just walking around or if seated for awhile.  Super sprint on Saturday so will shoot for an appt next week. Ugh!  

Once again awesome result!  I've done a few HMs and have a lot of respect for the distance and training needed for a full. Well done!

Unfortunately, running is currently on hold for me for the moment.  After running 17 kms on Sunday, a pain in my right heel slowly developed the next day which I'm worried could be plantar fasciitis.  I don't have all of the symptoms - it doesn't immediately hurt when I get out of bed - but the location of the pain is consistent with PF.

Its better today but there is still a bit of discomfort and so I don't want to push it.  I've heard some horror stories of PF lingering for months or years, and so am going to be very cautious over the next little while.

I raced a 5k yesterday morning -- I'm very happy with the progress I'm making, but I'm pretty sure I'd rather run a marathon than a 5k!  Race report: http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=540665&posts=1#M5178616 

Nicole-great report.  Always fun to  get insight into what others are thinking about during their races.  I am 100% with you on the pain of the 5K.

I did a super sprint at Pensacola Beach Saturday morning.  300 yard swim was in the Sound rather than the Gulf.  Have to say it was one of the toughest I have done in recent memory.  Strong north wind had waves heading straight into  shore for the leg out. Then right turn to the next buoy had me breathing into the waves as I breathe left. Pushed it pretty hard on the 10 mile bike leg as I was hoping to compensate for what I expected to be a slower run given my limited running recently.  Ended up with 3rd fastest bike split and decent run...but about 10-15 seconds/mile slower than where I was last year.  Ended up  winning Grandmasters (over 50) and 7th overall.  Knee did pretty well on the run but I am glad  I will  see the ortho tomorrow as I  need to figure out what is going on.

Easy 30 mile group ride yesterday to flush out the residue from the short/painful Saturday race.

Have a good week everyone.

Thanks!  I'm very much in awe that your slowest 5k split as part of a marathon was faster than my stand alone 5k PR!!  But I'm making progress and that's all that matters

Went to the ortho yesterday for a look  at my right knee.   Ortho is a member of the Team I am on so nice to have someone that knows me, my training and racing history as well as upcoming races.  Also got to  visit with him about his recent race at Boston.  Jason, he uses the same Coach you use.  So, he feels that it is a likely muscle imbalance that has caused some issues with the knee.   Not surprising given I have had 2 prior surgeries to the knee and have a decent bit of arthritis in it..  Cortisone shot to help with inflammation and if that doesn't resolve the issue (along with strengthening exercises) we will do an MRI as it could be a meniscus tear.

Knee feels great this morning as compared to the usual "rusty hinge feeling" I have most mornings.  A little elliptical work this morning  and a good bit of single leg work to get started on the process.

With things moving along into Spring does anyone have any races coming up in the near future? 

Randy, isn't getting old a blast! 

My heel was feeling better so tried an easy 6 km treadmill run last night.  First run since the heel pain started last Sunday and felt fairly comfortable.  More importantly didn't feel any pain when I woke up this morning. 

I'm planning my race schedule for the summer and am looking at roughly two races each month starting in June.  Mainly Sprints with an Olympic in August and possibly a HIM to end the season in September.

If I book one more race then the multi race discount bumps from 15% to 25%, and so basically works out to be a free race.  But the only date that works for me would be a Sprint on the Saturday before the HIM.  I usually feel recovered from a Sprint a few days after the race so I think it would be doable.  Last year I raced 3 Sprints on back-to-back-to-back weekends and actually felt stronger for each race.  

Jason N and other mountain bikers-Itching for a mountain bike to mix up my training a bit.  Want to by from my LBS as they are Team sponsors that provide a discount and just an all around great group.  So I will by new where as I would typically be looking at used options...it is worth the extra $$ for the service and support the LBS provides and has provided me over the years.

I will be riding mostly in South Alabama where the trails are not too steep but some are technically challenging.  Will likely try to go To Oak Mountain State Park outside of Bham which is supposed to have some awesome more challenging trails.  Potentially may do a mountain bike duathlon or Xterra but also some gravel road riding.

What are the must haves?  I am leaning toward a 1X hardtail setup.  Carbon versus aluminum frame is not a huge deal but would like to keep it relatively light. Decent quality front suspension as well and tubeless or tubeless ready.

The benefit of your expertise and experience would be great.  Looked at the Open brand (Jason N mentioned this brand earlier) hardtail with front suspension but at $2999 for the frame that gets out of my price range.  LBS carries Cannondale, Felt and Scott in mtn bikes but could get Open if I wanted it.  Budget likely $2000-3000.  Here is what I had looked at as a possible candidate. 

http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2016/Bikes/mountain/XC-Hardtail-29-/nine-3.aspx

Thoughts? Thanks

Randy, from what little I have learned thus far in talking with others and doing my own research, it really depends on where you want to ride and what you expect to use the bike for.  Unlike road and triathlon riding...mountain biking, gravel riding, or simply off road can vary by a huge amount.  

I would talk to the local mountain biking and xterra gurus in your area and pick their brains.  Get as many opinions as you can as far as what they prefer for various trails.  Then take a lot of time to do some research online and learn about the various mountain bikes.  Hardtails, full suspension XC, trail bikes, enduro bikes, etc.  They all have different characteristics that fulfill a specific purpose.  There are lots of youtube videos explaining the difference as well as reviews on various bikes.  Unlike road bike reviews, mtb reviews tend to actually have more substance than "it rides great."

The biggest choices you will have to make that can't really be adjusted after the fact is how much travel do you want (front/rear), what size wheels do you want to run (27.5 or 29), and frame material.  A lot of the other stuff can be swapped out or adjusted like drivetrain preference, tire width, tubeless wheels, a seat post dropper, handlebar width, etc.

You can generally get away with a big jump in volume / TSS on the bike more easily than you can on the run.  I've done similar jumps in the past for pretty much the same reason -- I'm happy on the trainer up to 90 minutes, so if I don't have a need to ride longer, I'll wait until it's nice enough outside to do the longer stuff (I am fortunate that I can ride year-round if I choose to).

I have a few different screens on my computer showing various metrics (depending on the goal of the ride).  One of the screens has seven fields (I believe) which includes NP, 10s power, AP, HR, cadence, speed, and distance.  Another screen has lap power, 10s power, lap distance, HR, and cadence (notably missing is speed because there are times when I do NOT want speed).

I can (close enough) calculate IF and VI in my head, so I don't worry about those.  I also do a lot of math on my long rides and runs to keep my mind away from the pain, so one of my hobbies is to try to calculate TSS, so I don't have that metric on my screen.

I took a look at your logs and those three rides were a little less than 5 hours total.  410 TSS in that time frame is pretty massive.  Doable, but it's also possible that you are capable of putting out more power outdoors and thus your FTP number may need to be adjusted.  This might bring your TSS numbers down a bit.  There really isn't anything wrong with riding longer if you feel good.  The main thing is not to impact your other workouts.

As far as what I view on my head unit.  

First page I look at 3s power, speed, heart rate, lap power, lap normalized power, lap time, and total TSS.  I'm on this page 99% of the time.

Second page and third page I have a whole bunch of fields.  Total avg power, total NP, time, time of day, temp, distance, avg speed, avg hr, elevation gain, calories, max power, battery life, GPS signal, etc.

Yeah, the Open bikes are very much a boutique bike and given the extreme talent and experience of the founders, Andy Kessler and Gerard Vroomen, you are going to pay a big premium for their work. 

I'd be shocked if we don't see the major manufacturers copy their lead and come out with their own bikes that can accomodate 700cc and 650b in the next couple of years.  But have something like a complete Shimano 105 build for around $2500 with an aluminum frame.

For your purposes though, you probably at least want a front suspension, if not full suspension...unless you plan to buy another bike on top of that.