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2016-07-18 10:56 AM
in reply to: TonyAbbott

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Deep South, Georgia
Subject: RE: To Buy or not to Buy - Tri vs Road shoes is the question.....

Originally posted by TonyAbbott Hi all, I'm after some advice on my next purchase. I have a budget of around £150 and I'm thinking of getting some cleats and shoes. My road bike is only worth around £200 and I use it for training and racing. I only really use it in the summer. So my questions are - do you think it worth investing in pedals and shoes that would nearly be as expensive as the bike itself? Although I suppose if I ever upgrade then I can reuse the pedals and shoes. Which sort of shoes do you suggest? I've been reading up and I'm thinking road shoes rather than Tri shoes. I don’t think the transaction time will be that much of an effect on me, as I'm a mid-range age grouper. And the last question and it's a bit of a silly one, but if I do buy shoes and pedals, how long do you think I should practice before using in a race? My next race is only three weeks away and I'm nervous that I'd only have a couple of weeks practice. Any tips or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks - Tony.

I'd go with the tri shoe. It';s basically the same as a road shoe but with velcro instead of locking straps. Unless you plan on doing any serious crit racing with your $200 bike, the tri shoe will be fine...best of both worlds. The Pearl Izumi TriFly is a great shoe. I see them the IV for as little as $70 and I think you can get the V for around $100. Its is a high quality shoe. You can get decent Shimano pedals from Nashbar for around $40 with shipping. They should come with a set of cleats.

I'd say get them, even if your bike isn't worth much. You can use them when you upgrade, and you will already have the skill set mastered. It shouldn't take long to get comfortable enough to race with them. All you have to do is get them clipped in and unclipped one time during a race presumably.

Good luck, and here's a link

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_527070_-1___205000



2016-07-18 10:20 PM
in reply to: Dominion

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Subject: RE: To Buy or not to Buy - Tri vs Road shoes is the question.....
Agree.

How has your season been going Tony?
What size shoe do you need?

Nate
2016-07-19 8:53 PM
in reply to: nrpoulin

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Subject: RE: To Buy or not to Buy - Tri vs Road shoes is the question.....
So I finally got my work schedule for the rest of the summer (slight possibility of change) so I planned on the rest of my races

8/6 - Top Notch Triathlon in NH. Just calculated the average grade on the run at 17.3%. This will likely be a bike, swim, hike.
8/27 - Washington NC, Olympic (Maybe)
9/11 - White Lake Fall Sprint (NC triathlon series event)
9/24 - Arlington Olympic (NC triathlon series event)
11/13 - Half Marathon in OBX

A little heavy down the stretch. May drop the race on 8/27
2016-07-20 10:06 AM
in reply to: nrpoulin

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Subject: RE: To Buy or not to Buy - Tri vs Road shoes is the question.....

Busy schedule! Looks good!

It was just announced that one of the tri shops in Fort Worth has put together and got approved for a half and full distance triathlon right here in town! I already signed up for the 140.6 on May 7, 2017. I'm really stoked about this! They invited Ironman to host the race but IM wanted to stay in The Woodland (which is the race I just did). Everyone seems fine with it because local companies can get involved w/o the corporate contracts of Ironman getting in the way. It also cuts the entry fee in half. Which I'm fine with!

2016-07-21 6:54 AM
in reply to: nrpoulin

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Subject: RE: To Buy or not to Buy - Tri vs Road shoes is the question.....
Hi Nate,

Seasons been OK, only had one tri so far, as I've been doing some 10k.

Next Oly in two to three weeks.

What about you?

Tony.
2016-07-22 8:12 AM
in reply to: HelmoAlkou

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Subject: RE: To Buy or not to Buy - Tri vs Road shoes is the question.....

Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

Busy schedule! Looks good!

It was just announced that one of the tri shops in Fort Worth has put together and got approved for a half and full distance triathlon right here in town! I already signed up for the 140.6 on May 7, 2017. I'm really stoked about this! They invited Ironman to host the race but IM wanted to stay in The Woodland (which is the race I just did). Everyone seems fine with it because local companies can get involved w/o the corporate contracts of Ironman getting in the way. It also cuts the entry fee in half. Which I'm fine with!

That is awesome. Support those local races. Those IM prices are just something I have a hard time justifying.



2016-07-22 8:13 AM
in reply to: nrpoulin

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Deep South, Georgia
Subject: RE: To Buy or not to Buy - Tri vs Road shoes is the question.....

Originally posted by nrpoulin So I finally got my work schedule for the rest of the summer (slight possibility of change) so I planned on the rest of my races 8/6 - Top Notch Triathlon in NH. Just calculated the average grade on the run at 17.3%. This will likely be a bike, swim, hike. 8/27 - Washington NC, Olympic (Maybe) 9/11 - White Lake Fall Sprint (NC triathlon series event) 9/24 - Arlington Olympic (NC triathlon series event) 11/13 - Half Marathon in OBX A little heavy down the stretch. May drop the race on 8/27

That's a busy two months.  Get better each race and have fun doing it!

2016-07-22 1:30 PM
in reply to: Dominion

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Subject: RE: To Buy or not to Buy - Tri vs Road shoes is the question.....
Tony,

Did 3 races early and haven't had anything for awhile. Training has been in a little of a funk since I didn't have anything on the calendar. Ran 9 last night and don't think I could add another 4 to that for my half marathon. Fortunately I have lots of time.

Work schedule changed again so one of the races is out but I will get the two to finish out the NC series, and as of now I am still in contention for a series award. There are lots of races left.

Nate
2016-07-23 3:19 PM
in reply to: rjchilds8

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North Grafton, Massachusetts
Subject: Back from vacation
Got back from our vacation to Myrtle Beach yesterday and jumped right back into training. I made the executive decision to use the vacation as a mental and physical break from training. After today's bike ride, I'm wondering if that was the best idea.

I have my next race, an Oly, in 2 weeks. I decided to ride the bike course today to get the lay of the land. Whoa! I didn't pick the best day for it as it was pretty hot out by the time I got on my bike at 11:00. This was another course that was harder in person than it looked on the course map. So many hills! There were a couple big downhills, one where I topped out at 44 mph! But there were at least 2 climbs that were seriously hard. Part of that might have just been the layoff, but I was down to my lowest gear more than once. I checked my stats and I had a one mile segment where I averaged 5.2 mph! I know the hardest hill averaged an 8% grade, so that might have something to do with it. ;-)

I made it through the course, but I only averaged 15.16 mph for the entire ride. Looking at last year's race results, I think that would have put me something like 85/103. I'm not sure how much I can improve in 2 weeks, but I'm hoping that I'll shake the rust off and get a little of my conditioning back. I need to shave 5:00 off to reach my goal time which would put me somewhere around 77/103. Not much I can do about that. I haven't done as much hill work this year as I have in the past, so it doesn't completely surprise me. My overall goal/estimated time would put me somewhere around 70/103 based on last year's results. That's actually a slightly better relative finish than the race I just did a couple weeks ago, so I'd be happy with that.
2016-07-24 8:44 PM
in reply to: 0

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Pacific Northwest, Washington
Subject: Race the River Sprint Triathlon - 0.5/15.7/3.2 miles
Time: 1:59:06
S: 19:33
T1: 4:08
B: 58:29
T2: 1:05
R: 35:51


Another race today. I have races the next three weekends in a row, and then I volunteer for Ironman Cd'A, and then off to Burning Man for a couple of weeks. It's a busy summer for me! This race was probably one of my best, although it didn't start well. Some things about the event were not well organized at all, even though they've been doing this one for a while. For starters, there were TWO yellow cap waves, and people were confused about which one to start in. It would have been really easy for someone in the 55+ or Clydesdale/Athena division to start in the earlier wave. No one would have known, and it would have cut about ten minutes or so off the person's time. They had people in the wrong age groups, as well. So, right off, people were starting with the wrong waves, and it delayed the awards ceremony for about a half hour after the race as they tried to fix the issues they knew about.

And then with my wave, I tend to start at the back of the pack because that's where I usually finish, and I don't like people swimming over the top of me. However, people lined up way behind the start line, which left me standing at the front. And then when the horn blew, they all swam over the top of me, which caused some anxiety. I rolled over on my back for about 15 seconds to breathe and regroup, and then rolled back over and I was fine. I think I turned in a pretty respectable time at 19:33 for the half-mile swim.

Transition was another oddity. The swim in, bike out/in, and run out were all on the east end of the transition area. The race organizers placed the people in my wave (M&W 36-54) at the far west end of transition, which meant we had further to run than everyone else, and it reflected in my transition times. This is one area of the race in which I really excel, and for me to post a T1 time in excess of three minutes and a T2 time in excess of 45 seconds is extremely rare. Both transitions went as smoothly as possible; they were just really long because of the amount of time I had to spend running to the last bike rack at the very end of transition!

The bike and run went well. My bike mechanic fixed my shifting issues last week, so my bike once again shifts as smoothly as it did when I purchased it. The bike was longer than other sprints I've done and had two big hills, so my legs were pretty tired by the time I got to the run, but I sucked it up and pushed myself as hard as I could. Final race results were I placed 10th of 21 in my age group, 94/207 for women, and 238/400 overall, which made me happy. Moving from the back of the pack to the middle is a definite improvement!

Edited by burner2 2016-07-24 8:46 PM
2016-07-30 11:01 PM
in reply to: burner2

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212
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Pacific Northwest, Washington
Subject: Bike got hurt :(
After a race this morning (Power of Pasco, 3rd in my AG), I transported another bike along with mine on my bike rack on the back of my truck. During a climb up a steep mountain, the second bike slid on the rack (it was a really heavy beach cruiser) and into mine. Before I had a chance to pull over and separate the bikes again, the beach cruiser's back wheel nut dug into my Quintana Roo's carbon fiber fork (see attached photo). I don't know what to do about it. The damage is 3/4" wide and 1/2" high, and the paint is rubbed off all the way down to the carbon fiber. It looks like a little bit of the carbon fiber might have been dug into, as well, but it doesn't look too deep. Is this something that's fixable? Can it just be repainted? And if so, who would do it? An autobody shop? Or does the carbon fiber surface need to be repaired? If so, who would do that? An autobody shop? Or would I need to find a bike shop that repairs frames? It doesn't look to me like it's more than just cosmetic damage--although I still feel like curling in a fetal position and crying my eyes out--but I want to be sure because I don't know a whole lot about carbon fiber, except that people shudder in fear when it gets damaged.



(QR_CF-Fork_Scratches.jpg)



Attachments
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QR_CF-Fork_Scratches.jpg (356KB - 6 downloads)


2016-07-31 4:33 PM
in reply to: 0

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Deep South, Georgia
Subject: RE: Race the River Sprint Triathlon - 0.5/15.7/3.2 miles

Originally posted by burner2 Time: 1:59:06 S: 19:33 T1: 4:08 B: 58:29 T2: 1:05 R: 35:51 Another race today. I have races the next three weekends in a row, and then I volunteer for Ironman Cd'A, and then off to Burning Man for a couple of weeks. It's a busy summer for me! This race was probably one of my best, although it didn't start well. Some things about the event were not well organized at all, even though they've been doing this one for a while. For starters, there were TWO yellow cap waves, and people were confused about which one to start in. It would have been really easy for someone in the 55+ or Clydesdale/Athena division to start in the earlier wave. No one would have known, and it would have cut about ten minutes or so off the person's time. They had people in the wrong age groups, as well. So, right off, people were starting with the wrong waves, and it delayed the awards ceremony for about a half hour after the race as they tried to fix the issues they knew about. And then with my wave, I tend to start at the back of the pack because that's where I usually finish, and I don't like people swimming over the top of me. However, people lined up way behind the start line, which left me standing at the front. And then when the horn blew, they all swam over the top of me, which caused some anxiety. I rolled over on my back for about 15 seconds to breathe and regroup, and then rolled back over and I was fine. I think I turned in a pretty respectable time at 19:33 for the half-mile swim. Transition was another oddity. The swim in, bike out/in, and run out were all on the east end of the transition area. The race organizers placed the people in my wave (M&W 36-54) at the far west end of transition, which meant we had further to run than everyone else, and it reflected in my transition times. This is one area of the race in which I really excel, and for me to post a T1 time in excess of three minutes and a T2 time in excess of 45 seconds is extremely rare. Both transitions went as smoothly as possible; they were just really long because of the amount of time I had to spend running to the last bike rack at the very end of transition! The bike and run went well. My bike mechanic fixed my shifting issues last week, so my bike once again shifts as smoothly as it did when I purchased it. The bike was longer than other sprints I've done and had two big hills, so my legs were pretty tired by the time I got to the run, but I sucked it up and pushed myself as hard as I could. Final race results were I placed 10th of 21 in my age group, 94/207 for women, and 238/400 overall, which made me happy. Moving from the back of the pack to the middle is a definite improvement!

That race sounds like a disaster from an organizational standpoint. The transition set up is just plain unfair. And the swim cap issue..was it chip timing? At least with chips it would keep someone from finishing 10 minutes ahead of their wave, at least their real time would be on the chip system. I doubt I would be doing that race again just for the inequitable transition set up.

Congrats on your finish though! Mid-Pack and moving up!!

 



Edited by Dominion 2016-07-31 4:34 PM
2016-07-31 4:39 PM
in reply to: burner2

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Deep South, Georgia
Subject: RE: Bike got hurt :(

Originally posted by burner2 After a race this morning (Power of Pasco, 3rd in my AG), I transported another bike along with mine on my bike rack on the back of my truck. During a climb up a steep mountain, the second bike slid on the rack (it was a really heavy beach cruiser) and into mine. Before I had a chance to pull over and separate the bikes again, the beach cruiser's back wheel nut dug into my Quintana Roo's carbon fiber fork (see attached photo). I don't know what to do about it. The damage is 3/4" wide and 1/2" high, and the paint is rubbed off all the way down to the carbon fiber. It looks like a little bit of the carbon fiber might have been dug into, as well, but it doesn't look too deep. Is this something that's fixable? Can it just be repainted? And if so, who would do it? An autobody shop? Or does the carbon fiber surface need to be repaired? If so, who would do that? An autobody shop? Or would I need to find a bike shop that repairs frames? It doesn't look to me like it's more than just cosmetic damage--although I still feel like curling in a fetal position and crying my eyes out--but I want to be sure because I don't know a whole lot about carbon fiber, except that people shudder in fear when it gets damaged.

Have someone at a local shop look at it and get an expert opinion. My first instinct from the picture is that it is probably cosmetic and still perfectly functional. I'm no carbon fiber expert though, so that is just my guess from looking at a picture. Have it looked at and maybe it can be filled in and/or painted over to minimize the appearance. I know what you mean though, even cosmetic damage would bother me too. Another alternative would be to buy a new fork if it bothers you that much.

2016-08-01 3:46 PM
in reply to: Dominion

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Subject: July Totals
Started really good, but hit a wall at the end of the month. Was in a car accident on 7/22 in our minivan with the kids in the car. One car ran a red, and collided with another car that hit us and a forth car while stopped at the light. Everyone was okay but the van was not driveable. I was schedule to work 24+ hour shifts on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday before leaving for vacation on Friday. The accident and work schedule took all my extra time and I missed my goal volume one week, and almost put up a goose egg the next. We were able to find a rental minivan and made our drive upto NH. Randy they repaved parts of the sprint course for Timberman and surface is nice and smooth for a large portion of the bike. It was pretty potholed up last year.

SWIM 3h 22m 44s - 11600.00 Yd
BIKE 8h 45m 40s - 158.67 Mi
RUN 9h 10m 34s - 61.55 Mi

all volumes down, bike and run only a hair under last week

Went out on a ride on my uncles Mt. Bike that I will use for the race this weekend.
2016-08-02 9:36 AM
in reply to: nrpoulin

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541
50025
North Grafton, Massachusetts
Subject: RE: July Totals
Swim: 2h 49m 42s - 7550.00 M
Bike :8h 28m 31s - 143.08 Mi
Run:5h 46m 08s - 38.17 Mi

My totals for July were actually respectable given that I had a week off from training during our nearly week long family vacation. My swimming probably suffered the most, dropping 3150 meters from my June totals. My bike total actually went up by 24 miles. That was due to the fact that I had my first Oly in July and I have been doing longer rides in anticipation of my next Oly this coming weekend. My running total dropped down a few miles from June, the second straight month of lower totals. That's a trend I want to reverse in August. With the timing of my training schedule and my vacation, I think I went something like 9 straight days without running! I'm already back on track with 19 1/2 miles running in the last 10 days since we got back and I'll look to keep that momentum going.

Thanks for the info on the Timberman course, Nate! I'm not sure how bad it was last year, but I'm pretty used to potholes and rough road conditions. That's pretty typical for New England roads that suffer a lot of damage due to our winters. I really wish they would repave one of the main roads I use during my training. I'm constantly dodging potholes and cracked pavement on my runs and bike rides!

Originally posted by nrpoulin

Randy they repaved parts of the sprint course for Timberman and surface is nice and smooth for a large portion of the bike. It was pretty potholed up last year.

2016-08-06 11:13 PM
in reply to: rjchilds8

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212
100100
Pacific Northwest, Washington
Subject: July Totals
S: 18,853.76 yards
B: 118.13 miles
R: 56.26 miles

My July swim and bike totals are down quite a bit because with four races, I spent most of the month tapering. I race again tomorrow, and then next Saturday, so I'm mostly tapering now, as well. After that, I spend a weekend volunteering at Ironman Cd'A, and then off to Burning Man for two weeks, and then my last triathlon for the year the second weekend in September.

I've done quite a few races this summer, which was great experience. Next summer, however, I'm thinking I'm going to cut back on the number and do a couple of 70.3s, instead. Definitely Cd'A again, because that's in my backyard, and then maybe Calgary, which is almost my backyard. I really need to work on my running over winter, because that's my weakest link. And maybe more swim lessons. A coworker was ranked 7th in the nation back in his younger years; I'm hoping I can convince him to work with me, which will save me thousands of miles of driving.


2016-08-07 1:41 AM
in reply to: burner2

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Cleburne, Texas
Subject: RE: July Totals

Y'all looking good in July!

Personally, I took a little hiatus! I rode my road bike some and did a local bike tour, only 41 miles. Now I've started a training plan for a 70.3 in Nov. but I have a bike ride at the end of this month first. The Hotter than Hell 100. And yes, it is. I did a brick a couple of days ago, 1 hour on the bike with a 40' run after. It was 102*F out and I should have stopped the run after the first 20 minute loop. I didn't feel so good and had a headache later in the evening. Back in the pool this last week as well with some drills and some long, slow stuff. Another year of college about to start for the kiddo's so my wrist is getting a workout writing checks.

Have a great weekend. 

BIKE
 
9h 07m 28s - 143.54 Mi
RUN
 
1h 40m 28s - 9.63 Mi
 
 
2016-08-08 6:59 AM
in reply to: Dominion

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541
50025
North Grafton, Massachusetts
Subject: Blackstone Valley Olympic
Finished my second Olympic triathlon of the season yesterday. I missed my estimated time by 30 seconds, but I gave it everything I had. I may have trained a little too much/too hard after getting back from vacation because my legs felt dead almost from the moment I got on the bike. I ended up right about where I thought I'd be, so I can't be too mad about that.

I had the swim of my life. My previous Olympic PR was 34:12 and I crushed that swim to the tune of 30:36! Makes me wonder if they were a little short when they measured it. Also, announced water temp was 78.5, so no wetsuits! That definitely leveled the playing field since I don't even own one. Maybe that boosted my confidence and helped me do so well. I came out of the water feeling pretty gassed, but thrilled with my time. Overall, that was good enough to be 41/84. Look at that, no wetsuits and I'm in the middle of the pack!

I really took my time during T1, trying to let my HR come back down. Plus, there's a long hill up from the beach to the TA. My time of 4:10 was 73/84. Slow, but on purpose.

As soon as I got on the bike, my legs felt dead. That's not a good feeling when you know you've got a tough, hilly 24-mile bike ride ahead of you. Maybe I tried to squeeze in too may hill workouts in the last couple weeks to prep for the race? I tried to give my legs time to warm up and not push too hard early on, but it's a race and it's hard to fight that competitive spirit. It took probably 6 miles for my legs to start to come around, but I'm not sure my lungs ever did. The hardest climbs came on the 2nd half with the longest at Mile 13 and the steepest between Miles 19 and 20. Around Mile 22, I found out I had pushed too hard because my right quad started to cramp! I nursed it through the last 2 miles. My bike time of 1:27:34 was 2 1/2 minutes faster than my estimate and put me at 60/84.

Again, I took my time in T2. I gobbled down all of the nutrition and drinks left on my bike and tried to knead the knot out of my quad. I (thankfully) changed my socks, threw on my running shoes and headed for the course. I stopped to briefly stretch my calves and headed out. T2 was done in 2:22, slow enough to be 71/84. LOL

It didn't take long for the cramps to kick in. I was trying to get through the beginning, hoping the nutrition I took in while in T2 would take effect. At 1/4 mile, I tried to stretch my quads, but that just caused my hammies to cramp. At 1/2 mile, I actually stopped walking and sat on a guard rail along the side of the road. I tried stretching things out, tried kneading the muscles in my leg, and wondered if this might be my first DNF. After getting passed my a few more people, I got up and started walking. I jogged a little, then walked a little, then jogged, etc. At close to the 1 mile mark, a passing runner gave me a Shot Blok. I took it, but not much to be expected from a single chew. I jog/walked to the first aid station where I took on a bunch of Gatorade. By then, I was starting to be able to maintain a steady run. By Mile 3, I had caught back up to and passed someone that passed me earlier and had a few more runners in my sights.

I caught up to 2 of them at the aid station at 3.5 miles. Not sure why, but that aid station didn't have any Gatorade. I took some water, squeezed a sponge over my head, and pressed on. I left one behind at the aid station and the second one and I started walking up the 5% grade hill just after that. I jogged up that hill a little, but mostly walked. Once I reach the top, it was back into jogging. I maintained a pretty steady 9:30 pace for the last 4.2 miles except for that hill. I really focused on just maintaining my pace. I didn't want to let my competitive side force my pace when I saw another runner. I just reminded myself that I was gaining on them with my current pace and there was no need to speed up. I grabbed some more Gatorade at the 4.5 mile aid station, took one more short walk break around Mile 5, and then headed for the finish line.

It was a hard 6.2 miles, but I survived. My time of 1:02:51 was well below my expectations, but I was proud of myself for not giving up. A little surprisingly, my time was "good" enough for 70/84 on the run. Other than the one hill, the run course wasn't all that difficult. But the cramps doomed my run. If I did this race again, I would have taken it a little easier on the bike and saved more for the run.
2016-08-08 6:31 PM
in reply to: rjchilds8

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Cleburne, Texas
Subject: RE: Blackstone Valley Olympic

Good job sticking with it! I feel your pain, been there! I haven't had issues with cramping since I added Base Salts to my nutrition plan. I know there's lots of controversy regarding salt intake but it works for me. Even on hilly "mashing" courses.

2016-08-08 8:59 PM
in reply to: HelmoAlkou

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541
50025
North Grafton, Massachusetts
Subject: RE: Blackstone Valley Olympic
Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

Good job sticking with it! I feel your pain, been there! I haven't had issues with cramping since I added Base Salts to my nutrition plan. I know there's lots of controversy regarding salt intake but it works for me. Even on hilly "mashing" courses.



How does the salt work, Monty? I hadn't read any articles about controversy with salt intake. Do you have any links to articles that you can share? I'd love to learn more, both about the use of extra salt and the pros/cons of doing so.

I did mix Nuun electrolyte tablets with some water in one of my water bottles. I had one large bottle with the electrolyte mix plus another bottle of the full carb version of Gatorade. I also keep Shot Bloks chomps and a couple Gu gels in my bento box. I think, because the course was so hilly, I felt like I had fewer opportunities to take in nutrition. My bottles were fuller than they should have been for a ride that was nearly 90 minutes long. It's definitely something I'll have to keep my eye on for my next Olympic.
2016-08-09 1:32 AM
in reply to: rjchilds8

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Cleburne, Texas
Subject: RE: Blackstone Valley Olympic

"My bottles were fuller than they should have been for a ride that was nearly 90 minutes long"

You probably hit on something there! Usually after some reflection of your performance you can put your finger on it. Or have a good guess.

I used salt tabs for a while: SaltStick. But I found out that a good percentage of the salt is lost in your stomach and digestive system and it's not a true electrolyte replacement. So now I've been using BASE salt: HERE. You can spend some time reading reviews. Also BASE website is good with info, usage, and testimony: HERE 

The way BASE works is it comes with a few small bottles with snap lids. You lick your thumb, pop open the lid, place thumb on the opening, shake, lick the salt off your thumb, close lid.

You can do a sweat test to get a rough estimate of your hydration needs: HERE

I got this advise from some long course guys who use 50/50 water and Gatorade Endurance for their hydration. I LOVE it!! Gatorade End also gives you some calories to meet your nutrition needs. My schedule: Two 28 oz bottles, one water and one Gatorade End. I take three large swigs every 15 minutes. 0 & 30 are water. 15 & 45 are G.E. That puts me right at two hours of riding time, 28 oz per hour. NOTE: With temps in the 90+ range take four swigs and carry an extra bottle. Plus I'll hit the salt a little more often. Reason: I lose salt. Even when I was just running my shirt would have salt marks on it from my sweat. It's been a trial and error process. Too much can reduce performance and it's not good for your health.

I eat gels and/or clif bars with the Gatorade End to make up my 230 cal per hour nutrition. Usually a gel or half a clif bar every 30 minutes. Clif bars on the bike give me some solid food in my stomach then gels, blocks, ect. only for the run works for me.

I apply this formula for EVERY bike or run workout! When you find your sweet spot you'll see a difference in our workouts, recovery, and races.

Lastly find a recovery drink. I use Recoverite immediately after EVERY hour or longer workout, any workout! 

Here's good trouble shooting issues info from Hammer Nutrition: Solutions. Also click on the PC Knowledge tab for lots of info. Of course they want you to buy their stuff, lol.

If you have a Tri Shop near you I would recommend checking out what they have. There's a lot of new stuff on the market. I went with Gatorade Endurance off a recommendation but also because they sponsor Ironman this year and were handing it up on my last race. I don't see changing anytime soon. I used Hammer's Perpetuem through training and a 70.3 once and in the end it didn't work well for me. But it works for some.

Hope this helps. Sorry it's just thrown together and I hope the links work. Sitting here at 1:30 am on night shift. Let me know if you have any questions.



2016-08-09 4:01 AM
in reply to: HelmoAlkou

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New user
60
2525
Watford
Subject: London Tri - Race Report
I took part in the London Tri this weekend, in which will be my only Olympic distance of the year. Oly size races are not that easy to find around London unfortunately.

The roads around the Excel centre in the middle of London are always very congested and last year was a bit of a rush, so we left plenty of time. Meaning we ended up arriving about three hours before my wave was due to start.
So for once I had my pick of racking spots, and I was able to choose one very near the end of the row where I had plenty of space to set my gear out.
The other surprise advantage was that we were in time to see the elites finish. The Australian Charlotte McShane was first followed by other notable names such as Jess Learmonth, Lucy Hall (my daughters favorite), the men's race was one my David Bishop who ran a sub 30min 10k!

The weather was very hot around 26C I'd guess. In the past I've struggled with the swim but as the water was warm and I'm more experienced I actually managed to keep up with the pack and other than the washing machine at the buoys was a very pleasant swim finishing in 33mins which is 3 mins of my pb.

On to the bike, which consisted of two laps of 20k. As it's through London it does take into some steep climbs over some large bridges. The first lap was OK and I was on time for a 1hr 20min bike.
Then on the beginning of the second lap the wind began to increase and it was a real struggle to keep the bike on track due to the cross winds on some parts and the head wind on others which took a huge effort to keep up the pace.

I managed to keep to around a 90rpm, but even with this my final bike time was down on the 1hr 30min mark. Worse than this I was totally spent going into the run. Within the first 10meters I knew I was going to struggle I had absolutely no energy and was beginning to cramp up.
The run was completely without shade, for the first time ever I had to walk part of the run, not very far just a few meters before each drink station but that and my general lack of energy and speed meant a disappointing 1:03 min on the run a good 10 mins worse than any 10k on a tri and 15mins slower than a normal 10k time.
So a mixed bag. The event was really good, I was pleased with my swim and the fact that I managed to finish within 3hr 15min, which at the 5k point of the run was looking a tough ask.

Next I'm going to buy clipless pedals and shoes and practice over the winter. I’ve also got a couple of 10k and my first half marathon in November.
2016-08-09 12:36 PM
in reply to: HelmoAlkou

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541
50025
North Grafton, Massachusetts
Subject: RE: Blackstone Valley Olympic
Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

"My bottles were fuller than they should have been for a ride that was nearly 90 minutes long"

You probably hit on something there! Usually after some reflection of your performance you can put your finger on it. Or have a good guess.



I kinda knew once I got into the transition area. That's when I took in every bit of nutrition I had left on the bike. Obviously, it was too late at that point and the damage was done. I took in enough to get me through it, but not before I had totally killed my run time. I'm sure there were multiple factors, that but that had to have been part of the problem.

Thanks for the info. I'll check out some of the links you sent. When I did my first Oly this year, I didn't have any problems with cramping. That was an easier course It was 2 miles shorter and had about 400 feet less climbing. Even then, the climbs were not nearly as steep as this last one. Anyway, I had used the approach I explained of one bottle of full carb Gatorade and on bottle of water/Nuun tabs. One thing about that race was that it was a very cool day and completely overcast with no sun. This last race was warmer and sunny out. I probably sweated more than the first race and should have anticipated needing to adjust my nutritional plan. Next time I'll know better (I hope)!
2016-08-09 1:52 PM
in reply to: rjchilds8

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Veteran
604
500100
Cleburne, Texas
Subject: RE: Blackstone Valley Olympic

Originally posted by rjchilds8
Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

"My bottles were fuller than they should have been for a ride that was nearly 90 minutes long"

You probably hit on something there! Usually after some reflection of your performance you can put your finger on it. Or have a good guess.

I kinda knew once I got into the transition area... Next time I'll know better (I hope)!

I learned the hard way on my first 70.3. The water was cold and I came out a little nauseous feeling (I wear ear plugs in cold water now). I sipped a little on the bike and ate a couple of gels but didn't feel like it. The feeling soon passed and I was having a great ride. Then around mile 50 my quads started cramping and with a bottle and half of water still left I realized what I had done. Didn't stick to my nutrition plan. I could barley get off my bike and through T2 when I started my 30 minute walk drinking and eating. But I was able to walk/run to the finish. Then paid for it for multiple days afterwards. Nothing like throwing 4-5 months of time, money, and training out the window, lesson learned!

2016-08-09 7:20 PM
in reply to: HelmoAlkou

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541
50025
North Grafton, Massachusetts
Subject: RE: Blackstone Valley Olympic
Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

I learned the hard way on my first 70.3. The water was cold and I came out a little nauseous feeling (I wear ear plugs in cold water now). I sipped a little on the bike and ate a couple of gels but didn't feel like it. The feeling soon passed and I was having a great ride. Then around mile 50 my quads started cramping and with a bottle and half of water still left I realized what I had done. Didn't stick to my nutrition plan. I could barley get off my bike and through T2 when I started my 30 minute walk drinking and eating. But I was able to walk/run to the finish. Then paid for it for multiple days afterwards. Nothing like throwing 4-5 months of time, money, and training out the window, lesson learned!



That's a big reason why I didn't attempt 70.3 this year. I wanted a couple more Olympics under my belt before moving up. My first one went great, no cramping issues at all. Maybe that lulled me into a false sense of security? I don' know. I followed the same plan for this race, but I should have known better. However, after the race, I was surprised to find dried salt on my skin. I tend to sweat a lot, but even during my training sessions in the hottest weather this year that didn't happen. I'm sure my electrolytes were depleted and I wasn't prepared for that to happen like it did. Even if I had finished that water bottle on the bike, I'm not sure it would have been enough. Something else to work on for next year! Because I will be making my first 70.3 attempt in 2017!
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