MJEWEN Summer 2013 Mentor Group - OPEN (Page 10)

Chrissy have fun on vacation!

I just got back from vacation. I had a great vacation/family reunion and even got in some running while I was gone. I found out while I was gone somebody drowned in our local lake and they haven't recovered the body yet. They think the body should be surfacing any day. This person drown within a mile of where I do my swims and I swim around a windy point where the waves are always bringing stuff in on this point. So it was in the back of my mind the entire swim I might just bump into the body and during the swim I accidently bumped into the buoy marking the swim area and my heart rate shoot through the roof. Hopefully they find the body before next Tuesday when I plan on going back to the lake for my next swim.

Oh Emilie, yikes! What a creepy feeling! I guess it will probably make you want to look up and sight a little more often, huh? Sorry to hear about that. I will say, I have thought about going out to swim by myself, but I would really rather go with a friend. Even just swimming in a lake that is surrounded by huge houses, there is never anyone out in the water with us in the same bay. Which is nice on one hand, because you don't have to worry about anybody being in your way!

Chrissy, Terry is right, you are going to do so awesome at the Papillion Tri! Seriously, just have fun and know it is your first attempt. When I did the Women's Tri a few weeks ago, as much as I wanted to have a "time" to finish in, I kept telling myself to have fun and just keep moving. Don't worry about my time. In fact, I didn't even start my timer at the beginning (by accident), which turned out to be a blessing, as I really just focused on moving ahead and doing my best. It would all be over soon and I would know how I did when I finished. When somebody asked how the Tri went, I usually tell them it was fun, which is the truth. We wouldn't do these crazy races if they weren't fun, right?

Looking forward to a fun weekend with two of my sisters, one brother, my hubby and some in-laws. We are all driving about an hour away, then getting on a 22 mi. trail to another town and will stay overnight at a riverboat Bed and Breakfast and ride back the next day. Yes, my hubby is going! He has been riding and decided to go with the Trek 7.3 FX bike (which is the less expensive one), but we agreed that if in a year or so, if he is still riding, we would put it in the budget to save for a road bike. We haven't gone out too much together, as he knows that right now I am very focused on training, not just going for a ride. After the Tri, I think I will be more willing to "just ride" more often.

Have had some really fun rides going out with friends that are fairly new to riding. I am glad to help them learn the ropes of riding and have even taught a mini lesson on how to change a flat! I had a friend that taught me the ins and outs of riding when I first started riding, so it feels good to give back. A few of us did a 25.5 mi. ride that was trail, then hills, then trail again. So it was a good mix. They said the hills were very hard, but in in a good way. Kinda like when you do interval training or hill repeats in running. You hate to do them, but you love the results! I just told them, now when they see a big hill looming in front of them on the tri, they will know they can do it, because they have already trained on worse!

Chrissy have fun on your vacation and just get out and do some swims when you can, and maybe some running, too. A little time off from hard training might actually be good right before the race.

Denise this sounds awesome! That is a very cool way to spend time with the family I might have to steal your idea and try to put a similar trip together for my family. Another thing you might like to do with your husband is charity rides. I usually do a couple of charity rides a year with my wife and daughter. Sometimes I ride with them and sometimes I ride ahead and met them at the end, but either way we have a lot of fun.

Also, I think you and your husband made a good decision on the bike. I started on a very similar bike when I started riding. I rode it before I started doing tri's. I was a runner so I rode it for cross training or just having fun with the family. After awhile I really started to like biking so I upgraded to a road bike and I gave my flat bar road bike to my dad who was interested in getting started in cycling.

Edited by EKH 2013-06-29 7:02 AM

Denise, that's a really nice way to spend time with family.... my brother recently bought the same Trek. He lives in NYC. He loves it and seems like he is riding every day.....

Emile, welcome back...

I did a nice brick this morning... 31 miles on the bike followed by a one mile run. The legs seem to be responding better off the bike now when I begin the run....

I just got back from a camping trip. I did OK in my tri back on last Sun, 1st in AG but my swim time was very disappointing. I did avg 6:59 miles on the 10K so that's 2 races in a row under the 7:00 mark. I'll get a race report done soon. We left for camping on Tue early afternoon. It's a great trout fishing area but streams were high and muddy so we just hung out. I did get a couple of rides and runs in but no swimming.

Denise - We sell Treks at the bike shop where I work. The FX line is a great all-purpose bike. I hope your husband enjoys his 7.3, Denise.

Crissy - Good to hear your training is going well and you're getting used to OWS.

Emile - Keep us informed about the body in the lake. That would freak me out! The lake where I swim has had some drownings in the past but none recently. I agree charity rides or tours are great ways to get out and ride with less experienced friends and neighbors. They usually have plenty of stops with lots of food and refreshments.

Terry - Good luck with your brick emphasis. I know it really helps some people. I seldom do bricks when training for shorter distances and didn't even do a lot of them when I trained for IM. I've raced enough to know well the feeling of running off the bike. I prefer to space my bike/run same day workouts apart to allow some recovery in between.

Mike congrats on the your 1st place AG finish! That is a nice run time for an Olympic distant tri.

We had a great time on the bike get away. Aside from a few miles of the trail that were rather rough due to rain washout ruts, it was a really nice trail. I had my road bike, but at times was wishing I would have had a fat tire bike, as I was feeling EVERY bump and just tense throughout ride, b/c was worried about debris, ruts, etc. Maybe next time will take a mtn. bike. Would take more energy, but maybe could double as a training ride?
When we got to the town we were staying at, we quickly checked in to the B&B. It was cool. It was a former riverboat that had offices in it for a riverboat casino. They transformed it into hotel-type rooms, but very classy and luxurious, but not very big. On one side of the boat, the rooms opened out to a deck and the river was right there, where you could sit on Andronack chairs and enjoy the peaceful river. We got back on our bikes and went into town (now mind you, this town is really small!), no grocery store, I didn't even see a gas station, but it did have several little antique shops, ice-cream parlor, restaurant, winery, museums, and a community playhouse. We perused the town and stopped at a few shops and winery. We headed back to boat to do the dinner cruise, which was really nice. We had absolutely the best weather, so that really helped. We enjoyed the winery once more before dark and played cards till late, then the next morning enjoyed a fabulous breakfast and took off for home by 9:15 AM. The wind was now in our face, but not bad. I think my husband enjoyed all but the rough 4 miles of trail!

Today friends and I went out for a swim/run brick. We swam about 1000 meters (with a short break at 500 m), then ran 3.3 mi. I was tired from the weekend, but still did ok. I took a pre-workout drink beforehand, but not sure if I am going to use one for the tri. Seems like they make me a little wired. I don't mind the energy later, but I think I can get by without it for the tri, as it is just a sprint. Just thought I would try it out. Have one other sample to try, that isn't supposed to have so much of whatever it is that makes me feel wired in it.

Take care and have a good week! It is my week off of tutoring, so need to get some stuff done around the house this week!

I was at the family cabin for a long weekend at the lake. In 4 days i ran once and swam twice, also resting today and running tomorrow. If the weather works I am going to try to get to Central Park, again in NYC tomorrow for work.... Hoping to get some more miles on the bike after this week.

I swam twice this weekend once with the wetsuit and once without it. I am not sure how much effect the current and chop made or if it was all me but my wetsuit time came in about 2 minutes faster than the non wetsuit time. I felt like I was dragging my legs the entire time without the wetsuit. i do not know the exact distance but I would say based upon my pool pace and a little guessing that it was between 550-700 yards. Now I know I am comfortable with an open water swim with no wet suit, i would hate to find that out on race day.

Still debating purchasing a tri bike. i did go to gear west and they were very helpful. They do have a deal on the B16 with pedals, computer, bottle cage and flat kit for 1950. I am leaning towards getting carbon just so i dont end up wanting another upgrade next year.

Train safe everyone

Hi there! I am hoping you have room for another!

Name: April

Story: I am 33, married with a son who turns 2 today. I live in north central Maryland.

I started my journey with endurance last year as a runner, completing a half marathon in the fall and another this spring.

Prior to that I was a soccer/basketball/lacrosse player through high school, and competed on the University of Maryland Equestrian team for several years in college. I have continued my love of the equine version of triathlon (3 day eventing) until this past year, supplementing my riding with serious weightlifting, when I turned to running because horses take too much time!
I have always been intrigued by triathlon and I LOVE challenges! I decided in March that I was going to do a triathlon this year, and then decided that I would do an Olympic distance as well.

I bought a nice bike for myself for Xmas (first I have owned since childhood), started taking swimming lessons in March, and haven't looked back since.

I finished my first sprint tri this past Sunday- had an awesome time! Not too shabby- 70th out of 192. Lots of room to improve, though.

I would love to get some advice as this new sport has soooo much to teach me!

Denise - That trip sounds really awesome! Nice brick workout!

Tom - Sounds like you had some nice swims on your long weekend. Sounds like a good deal on the Felt if it fits and you need all the extra stuff they are throwing in.

April - It still says we are open so I'm assuming you can still join. Although Mike is the one that runs the group so he knows all the ins and outs. Although since I'm assuming you can still join. Welcome! Sounds like you did awesome on your first tri!

I went out to do an ows this afternoon. When I arrived a small boat was anchored about 500 yards from where I swim with a dive buoy floating. I wasn't sure if it was somebody just out diving or if it was somebody looking for the body. When I stopped swimming I looked back towards the boat and now there was a big game rangers boat about 200 yards away from the furthest buoy I swim to and it looked like they were trying to pull something up. I thought about sticking around to see if they pulled anything up or not but I really needed to get back to the house. On the way back to the house a police car was heading down the road to where I swim. I'm really thinking they found the body right where I swim!

Ken I've been meaning to ask how is the swimming going?

OMG! I can not even fathom how I would be feeling knowing they probably just recovered a dead body so close to where I was swimming! Yikes!

April, Welcome! Sounds like you are off to an amazing start to Tri training. I am a major newbie, so I am still learning. I admire your determination to do a Olympic distance. I just did one sprint in June and will do another next week. I don't know if I could do the Oly distance on the swim and run. Maybe someday, huh?

I've been getting in some good ows and am feeling better about the next tri! I just need to remember not to go out too fast, as that is when I start to really get messed up on my breathing. When I go out at a comfortable pace, then I find I can pick it up a little further into the swim and do ok.

We are doing some remodeling in our house, so my week of vacation has been very busy and exhausting! Gotta get back to the project!

Yes, me too, Ken, I have been thinking about you and we haven't heard much from you. Hope you are just too busy training and that's why we haven't seen you post for awhile. Remember we have to line up a time and place to meet up next weekend at the Tri, and Chrissy, too!

Swimming has been going ok, still on the Mon/Wed/Friday schedule. My old house has taken a tremendous amount of my time the last few weeks but we're about done with the improvements to it and should be just about back to normal now.

Looking to get one or two OWS in before the Papio tri.

I realized I've been swimming way too much with the buoy so today I tried to just swim without it. With it, I was up to being able to do about 10x100. Without it, I was able to do about 16x50. My focus now is on working on seeing how slow I can swim and still maintain decent form. I think I'm basically swimming faster than I should be... like sprinting the first 100 meters of a marathon. I'm also practicing the back stroke.. I'm pretty sure its not possible for me to get to 500 all in one chunk freestyle in two weeks. Hopefully I can do something like 5x100 with short backstroke breaks.

Denise - If you guys meet up you have to get a picture of all three of you together and post it. I think it would be very cool to see a pic of you guys together.

April - If there was no way possible for me to get some open water swims in before your Olympic distance tri I would at least start working on your sighting in the pool. Sighting is always my biggest issue with ows. I normally sight two different ways if the sun is not in my face I will take 8 breaths and on the 9th breath I will swing my head so I can get a really quick glance without breaking stride. Although if the sun is in my eyes I usually have to take a couple of strokes Tarzan swimming with my head up out of the water. If it was me I would practice sighting at least 1 day a week at the pool by putting a cone at each end of your lane and then practice sighting all the different ways you sight each time halfway down the lane.

Ken - Glad to hear that your swim is progressing. Something you might try is go to the pool and see how far you can actually swim without taking a break. I would go into this with the mind set of I'm going to swim really really slow and try and see how far I can swim. Because you stated you think you are going to hard in the pool. I do the exact same thing if I'm planning on swimming 50's or 100's I always swim way harder without even trying to, but if I know I'm going to swim a very long set I always have to go into with the mindset of I'm going to swim ridiculously slow.

Emile.... I'll give that a try, should probably do it at least once just to see how close I can get to actually going 500. At the start of my swimming learning I was watching videos on youtube about how to swim freestyle with good form, etc. Last night, I was watching videos such as "how to be buoyant in the water" and "survival floating", and "how to not drown". LOL

One thing I noticed is that the slower I swim, the more difficult it is to maintain good form because my legs tend to sink more. I usually end up having to kick extra hard as a result and quickly start using a ton of energy which then leads to being completely gassed quickly. This is also where I realized I'm overusing the buoy... it has kept me from working on my kick. I was rationalizing it based on reading that triathletes should get 85% or more propulsion from the arms and to minimize the kick. Still important to kick with good efficiency though...

Welcome April!

I never officially closed the group but we for sure have room for more. Katie is looking to join too.

You had a great 1st tri, I admire you for jumping up to Oly distance so quickly. As the races get longer, pacing on the bike becomes more critical. It;s hard to know how hard to push especially as you do your first few races at a new distance. You probably don't have a heart rate monitor yet but that can help keep your effort in check. Speed is dependent on too many variables to be a real good indicator. My recommendation is to go hard and see what you have left for the run. Better to blow up going too hard than feeling you left too much in reserve. Live and learn.

I hope everybody had a great 4th of July!

We went over to a friends house for a cookout and then had a firework show that evening for the kids.

On the training front I've had my highest week total of the year this week!

Am I too late to join? I could certainly use a mentor. :)

NAME: My name is Don.

STORY: .I guess I’m considered to be middle aged at 42. I live in Erie, Pennsylvania. I quit smoking about three months ago. I have been training for a tough mudder this summer and am making significant progress. For years I have been roller blading, hiking, biking and kayaking. My origional long term goal was an adventure race that is no longer held.

FAMILY STATUS: I am married to a wonderful woman and we have with two teenage children.

CURRENT TRAINING: I just completed week ten of a thirteen week couch to 10K program. I have also been doing a fair amount of cross training. I spend at least a couple of days on the bik and two or three days in the gym.

THIS YEARS RACES: I finished my first 5K in June (Run for Shelter) and will be completing my second at the end of July (The Chase). In August I will complete my first 10K (Hamot Mayors Cup) and in September I will complete the Beast on the Bay.

WEIGHT LOSS: I could certainly astand to lose a few pounds but don't think it is not an immediate priority.

GOALS: My long term goal is to complete an IM. I think the earliest that could happen is 2015.

I am really starting from scratch. I am still riding a mountain bike. I haven't swam any considerable distance since I was on the swim team in high school. My run is weak at best and is going to require a lot of time to get me running marathons.

Ken: Yeah! Glad to hear you are still there! I so get what you mean about swimming too fast. I read the book Total Immersion, and it really helped me to learn how to swim more efficiently and not take up so much energy and burn out. Some of the things I always have to remind myself is to think about my chest area as being my flotation device. it is the area of my body with the most air in it, so it will help me the most to say buoyant. Maintaining that bouancy is critical. It talked about keeping your head down and how that forces your chest up and therefor your legs will rise as well. It also had a lot of drills for working on moving through the water and maintaining that "float." Another drill was to work on taking less strokes in the water. They referred to the drill as "swim golf." You basically count how many strokes you take during the length of the pool, then you try to lower that stroke count each time. In essence, lower the stroke count helps you to work on gliding in the water and taking less strokes also means working on propulsion to the best of your ability and to take up less energy all at the same time.

Welcome to April, Don (and maybe Katie?)!

Emile great job on the training this week! I, on the other hand, didn't get too much in this week! I will totally try to get Chrissy and Ken to pose for a picture and will post it.

I am doing a group OWS tomorrow night and am actually kinda looking forward to it! I hope to just get even more comfortable with having some people around me and learning to deal with people going faster than me and some going slower than me. I have been feeling so much better about owe lately, and I hope the ows times will pay off.

April, I know it is hard to find places to do ows, but really you have to be creative. Look online for any triathlon groups in your area that might offer some ows sessions. I follow a few triathlon groups on Facebook and they offer some ows during the summer months. Also, one of the race organizations also offered sessions as well. Even some fitness clubs will offer them. Ask anybody that you know that lives on a lake or has access to a lake that you might be able to take advantage of swimming near their house or cabin or whatever. I have been swimming at a lake that a parent from our school lives on, and we usually try to go early morning, so we are not there during their family time or high boat traffic time. It is about 1/2 hour away, so it takes some organizing, but I do feel it helps tremendously to help with getting used to the race conditions.

One week till my next tri! I am so darn excited!

Don - Welcome! What is this you calling 42 middle aged! I'm 41 and I'm still just a young pup

April - Denise has some great advice on finding places to ows. There is usually places close by you just sometimes really have to search.

I got in an 8mile run this morning before it got to stinkin' hot. They are calling for triple digits this week in Oklahoma. We've had a very mild summer so far but I think that is all about to change.

Back from vacation. Rather disappointed we did not get to take the bikes with us. I was really looking forward to a couple of 1-2 hour long rides. I managed to squeeze in one short 3 mile run, and one open water swim with the wetsuit. The OWS went well, mostly because the water was quite clear and I had a wetsuit on. Love mountain lakes! I could only swim in a 50M wide swim area, so several back and forths in shallow water and interruptions by the kids.

Happy I didn't have to swim with a dead body worry! OMG Emile! That is crazy!

Don - I LOVE adventure races. You should do one! If you can do a sprint tri you can do a sprint Adventure Race. You already have the mtb, so you're practically ready. I prefer riding my mtb over my cx bike. Much more comfortable.

April - Love your gung ho attitude. I'm still so freaked out by the ows I have no desire right now to try for a longer distance than a sprint.

Ken- Where do you do swims at currently? Are you by chance swimming at the Cooper Y at 6AM ish?

Denise - where should Ken & I meet you for a photo op on Sunday? I'm going to go through the course Saturday (probably in my car) after packet pick up to see what kind of hills & turns I'm going to be up against. Ugh.

Edited by crissy_jo 2013-07-08 3:58 PM