Catfish Tri

bike and run - yes. 
the swim........eh so so, i guess.  i hope to not freak out like i did in the OW like i did at pinchot.  no hyperventilating this time!!!!!!!!

yes, i hope to not panic on the swim like i did in my first OWS.  Just need to go out slower and work into a faster pace if things feel good.

Spectating this race (injured).  Good luck everyone!  It's a fun and fast course.

Looking forward. I hear a number of my former middle school students will be participating, for some this will be their first tri. Need to show them that the old man can hold his own. Some training mates from the pool will be their also. Debating on whether to use the wetsuit. Can't believe that I'm even considering a wetsuit in late July, but am hoping the temp. will cooperate. Yes, the river might be low since we didn't have a lot of rain lately. If so, we all might be doing a du. I took in a good mouthful of river last month in the Harrisburg Tri, but I survived without the need for antibiotics. Hope the current is the same as it was for the Harrisburg Tri. For those who post that I don't already know, ask for Nick Mistishen when you register, get my number and come say hello.

I did the race last year in August and it was very low, but still swam...more like dragged my arms for half of it.  The current was no where near as good as last month.

I am in. Water looks low.

Race website states "wetsuits optional"

email from the race says water temp is 75.  I'm still trying to decide if i'm going to wear mine.


Edited by MikesGonnaTri 2009-07-16 1:05 PM

Can't wait. Definately nervious for the swim after my freak out at Pinchot.

Also debating the wetsuit, but part of my thinking is that having it on will add a layer of protection again the river

Good luck to all,

Stratman I was bummed not to see your name on the registry, good luck healing.

guess you're going to be giving me another pants down spankin!  killer time you posted at pinchot!  im in your AG.

Yeah, i will probably end up wearing mine as well.  It's a full suit so i'm a little worried about being too warm in it.  But it definitly cuts some time off, as long as i don't freak out.

The Shrewsbury YMCA Tri bike course is rather hilly.  I especially like the 90 degree turn and then straight up.

Hi guys.

I'm doing my first tri this year at Pinchot.  I'll be doing the OLY in Sept.  I'm undecided on buying or renting a wetsuit for the event but do you guys recommend a full or John?  I was thinking that some of the Sprints are pretty early so in order to do any OWS training, a full may be best?

I live in Dover, PA so Pinchot is in my backyard.  I bike the hills between there and Camp Hill a couple times a week so I'm hoping that by Sept. the bike portion will be a non-issue.  I'm worried more about improving my running.  If all goes well, I'll drop a few pounds to make that easier.

I'll be in the 35-39 age group.  I don't think Tricats has a Clydesdale class but if they did, I would be in it.  I'm 219 now and should be competing at 210 or less.

Lots of spanking and up-skirting. Where is this thread going?

Also debating on the wetsuit for Sunday. The water temp. for the Harrisburg tri in June was probably not that much different, and I wasn't too warm in the suit, though I like cold water, which lower 70's is kinda warm for me, so I could have done without. But I'm going to scope things out on Sunday. If most everyone else is wearing one, might as well take advantage of the buoyancy.

As to wearing one in Pinchot in August...this is a weird summer, but I would think that a full suit would be too much for that time of year. The temp. should be hopefully closer to normal by then. Probably a shorty, if anything, would be appropriate.

Reports say there might be unsettled weather on Sat. and possibly early Sun. I want it cold, but too much rain might make things slick for the bike leg, and make the 'crystal clear' Susquehanna even more cloudy. Visibility for the Harrisburg Tri was about 5-6 inches.

Otherswise, the river should be low, so nobody should have to 'freak.' If there's a problem, stop and stand up, or squat; the river should be that low. The Susquehanna was my first tri swim and my first OWS and I survived. I was 6th or so from the last getting out of the water, but I did it. I like to think that I've since improved a little.

Thank you!  I'll go with the john suit.  I tend to get hot and sweat a lot as it is. 

Will anyone from here be doing the Pinchot OLY this year?  It would be nice to meet some folks.

I hauled my bike out to see how well I could do at the Pinchot route today.  Oh boy.. I have some work left.  I did the 3 laps and other than on a couple spots, I was able to keep my heart rate under control but I'm ssssslooooow!  Hopefully I can speed things up a bit by September.  I'm just not sure what to expect in terms of progress.

Just curious, which is more valuable, weight loss or more conditioning?  I'm currently at 220lbs and I read that you add a couple mph to your average for every 10lbs you lose.  Is that true? 

At this point, I am at least confident that simply "finishing" is not really an issue.  Now it's a matter of moving up the bar and trying to finish a little more with the pack. 

Pector, last October I was 225 when I started training. I did the Pinchot Sprint, and doing the Catfish tomorrow, and I'll be attempting the Pinchot Oly in September. I am currently down to 155. As far as weight vs. conditioning, they go hand in hand. The better in shape you are (conditioning) the less you will likely weight. If you want to know which you should really focus on, I'd ay conditioning, as a simple diet can help you loss weight but won't mean a thing come the triathlon.

The biggest thing you should do right now is swim IMO. You can already bike well (finshing 3 loops at Pinchot is not easy), and you can always walk the 6.2 run. Completely 1 mile in a lake is a much bigger challenge (at least for me).

Good luck in Sept.

Wow Goisles, congrats on the weight loss.  My goal is to get down to around 190 eventually. I'm hoping to be down to around 205 for the OLY in Sept. 

Thanks for the input on the weight vs conditioning too. I have been wanting to drop the weight but just as you mentioned, I am focused on trying to retain muscle and strength so it has not come off very quickly despite being steady with the training.

I have been doing tether swims in my pool for the past few weeks but I just joined a facility with a swim only membership. I should be able to start logging my time/distance now.  Up to this point, I have simply been going by time.  I determined distance by a worst case scenario of 1 mile = 1 hour so I'm sure my distances are much further than recorded.  I'm a pretty decent swimmer.

results are up http://www.runhigh.com/2009%20WEB%20RESULTS/R071909DA.html