GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 103)

MANDY -

A Bernese Mountain Dog! I guess I missed some of the bulk and power in the photo, huh? And I have flopped Luna's ears from you; please return the favor to Bailey from me!

You've done enough marathons to know that sometimes lower volume training ends up being a benefit come race day. And in reality (I think), many/most northerners who have spring marathons enter them with lower volume than what might be ideal. My thinking is that if you can get close to 18-20 miles for long runs, and do so without the body going off the tracks, then you can make it through the race in pretty good form --- and quite possibly with a very solid finishing time.

Go, calf, go!

STEVE -

You sandbagger, you! Your splits are awesome, so much better than the humble predictions you made a week or two ago.

I see a great swim split, a half-iron swim time that's better than any of the 15 or so I have produced. The run is fabulous, hardly suggesting that you spent much of the previous week feeling hald and lame. The two transition times are speedy, about a third of the time you were "predicting" for yourself. That leaves the bike as the only one that didn't exceed your predictions dramatically, and if the winds were even close to what you said they were going to be, then that would explain it right there. (My son, on his Phoenix-San Francisco bike trip, spent an extra day around Joshua Tree just becasue the winds were prohibitely powerful on Friday and Saturday.)

So, how are you feeling?????

GREAT job, really and truly! (See? That wasn't so hard, now was it? )

Back to bed. G'night --- again.........

Where's this posted? I'm anxious to see your results SteveA.
Mark

Coming late to this, and I know it's not a statistical thing, but, statistically speaking, you're 7x more likely to go down in a commercial airliner than get eaten by anything in the ocean.  I think the odds are like 1 in 7 million.

Hey all!

Well...that happened.

Good race overall I think.  Of course, the competitive fires are burning now that I look at the official results...but hey, that's me.

Quick notes:
Swim:  35:20.  Felt good!  Water was COLD.  Funny story real quick.  It was an in-water start (jump in off dock) and was warming up in the water.  Announcer says, "5 minutes to start" and I realize, I DON'T HAVE MY TIMING CHIP ON!!!!.  Rush to climb out of the water, run to transition, find the chip, run back, put it on, and jump back in the water as they are announcing, "1 minute".  LOL. Well, it kept my mind off the race at least.  Anyway, swim was much better than I thought it would be - felt very comfortable on the pace and in the water.  I started to get a little frustrated at the end, as I got passed by some "pink caps" from the second wave as I was about 3/4ths the way home.  That got the competitive juices going!  But I did my best to not try and throttle up and just kept doing what I was doing.  I got back to T1 and saw a lot of bikes still there, so I felt good about that.

Bike:  3:21:06 Tough course, and semi-tough conditions on the way out.   The out was a LOT of uphill - nothing nearly as challenging as St. George, but it was a good route to warm up for that, as it was a lot of long, grinding ascents (2-3% stuff) and a few steep pitches.  My friend rides it a lot, and the mantra of "F$#K You HILL" came from this route, as there is one climb through the desert that just seems to keep going, with a few false tops.   Anyway, the rule of the day was PACING so I paced.  Never got the HR too high on the ride, and felt strong the whole way.  I think there was 10-15 minutes on the course for me if this was an "A" race.  That said, it was a GLORIOUS course - winding through the desert, red rock formations, very little road traffic and very smooth road conditions - perfect for racing.  It was AWESOME.  One little observation though - my mind plays to the course - meaning that a 56 mile ride is not a long ride anymore by any means, but for the last 10 miles, I was dying to get off the bike.  I think there is so much that is mental about these races - you  know how far you need to go, and toward the end of each leg, you are looking toward the next one and just want the current leg to be OVER WITH.  Wind was tough on the way out (headwind the whole way), but it was not as much a factor on the way back, and I was able to get aero o a lot of the descents that I was afraid would have had me up on the horns and on the brakes.  Overall, it was pretty good.  Nutrition was great - 4 bottles of water, and 1.5 flasks of hammer gel (about 8 shots).

Run:  1:45:26 Came into T2 and could feel the hammy, but figured I'd give it a go.  The run was the toughest part of the day for sure.  It was either up or down, and very little flattish terrain on the course.  First 2 miles were tough and I ended up walking into the first aid station before the big hill going out.  From there, I got my legs, and was up and down to second water and the turn around.  Not going to lie - this was the hardest part of the day, and aside from maybe 4 miles total, I was NEVER comfortable on the run.  The first 3.5 miles was the worst part of the day, as I didn't know where the turnaround was, and that made it take FOREVER to get there.  At the turnaround, my friend Jason, his wife and my Maggie were there cheering me on.  From here, the strategy was pretty simple.  Run to half way up the hills, walk for 1 minute, then keep running.  Walked all the water stations and drank water (the Heed wasn't agreeing with me - wasn't used to it - but got in the final 1/2 flask plus 2 hammer gels from the tables).  Second lap was much easier mentally, as I knew the terrain and could "smell the barn".  Hammy really started to sing though around mile 8.  So, I made a point of adding walk breaks on the steepest of the downhills despite the fact the lungs were good.  That helped. 

Post Race:  Two Promax Protein bars inside of 45 minutes and a half bottle of Fruit A Vie (acai berry juice to boost the immune system), and then all the damage I could do to myself in Vegas that night.  LOL. 

Sunday morning:  hung over (bad) but leg felt very good - almost completely normal.   5.5 hours in the car changed all that and I am limping around again, but for a while there, all was good with the leg.  I think it's fine, just needs to keep loose - need to try to walk a lot in the next day or two while I recover.  I think going out that night and dancing and so forth helped keep the leg loose and was a key part of it feeling good in the morning.  Car ride - killed all that!  Heh.

Closing thoughts:  The race was, in part, a great confidence boost and also a wake-up call.  Felt very good about the swim, and am less concerned about IMSG's swim.  Bike was great - I didn't post a blazing time at all, but was specifically pacing to post a conservative time.  I KNOW the IMSG course will be more challenging but  at this time, the bike is something that I can see completing and not feeling too bad when I climb off the bike. 

The run, frankly, has me nervous - more so from a mental standpoint than a physical one.  I expect that the body will be capable of completing the marathon, and perhaps even doing so at a decent pace, IF the mind allows it.  But that said, I now have some greater insight into how much discomfort there will be on May 1st, and I'll be honest - I'm not looking forward to that part of it.  It's really going to be a mental game to push through the discomfort of the run.    I picture two little "Steves" on my shoulders, one will be saying, "your knee hurts, your feet hurt, your lungs hurt, go ahead and walk, go ahead and take a break".  Hopefully, the other one will be louder saying, "your uncomfortable, but you're not injured, so keep moving."  We'll see.

Today:  more rest.  Tomorrow - swim and bike.  Wednesday, hopefully I am running again - I have 2 more hard weeks and big weekend efforts.  One week where I can either start the 3-week taper or push a bit more if I feel I need it, then 2 weeks of serious taper.  Not a lot of time left - need to stay focused!

Sorry for the long post - I wanted to kind of do a brain dump to get it out of my system.  Thanks again to everyone for allowing me to vent and spew whatever is on my mind during all of this.  It's a great outlet to let off some steam and I really appreciate you letting me do so here. 

STEVE A -

Great race report!  As usual, you inspire!

You ARE a rock star - partying it up in LV after finishing a HIM in < 6hrs!  SWEET.

Thanks for posting what you did for fueling - that is something I am bad at and need to work on, and hearing what others do gives me some ideas.  Sounds like your biggest challenge was that leg...hopefully you can get it strong and healed in good shape for IMSG, although just reading your post, I a pretty sure you have all the mental toughness necessary to push through anything to finish.

Recover well and congrats on a great race!

Cheers,
Mandy

STEVE -

As I said in my previous post, you had a superb race. It's one that makes me hard to believe two things: that this was your first galf-iron, and that you did it "hurt". That you managed to do it in 5:48 is just fabulous -- although it is pretty close to what I predicted for you. I really did think that you your predictions from too weeks ago were way too conservative, and I think you proved that to yourself at "Showdown". And, yeah, it sure should provide a great confidence boost for IMSG! It's not too easy to realistically envision a first half-iron five weeks out from a first iron that could be more of a confidence booster. Overall, you NAILED Sundown!

Secondaries first, it sounds like you did a magnificent job of managing your nutrition; had you had an actual time/food checklist taped to your aerobars, you could hardly have done better. And a second secondary is your mental control -- not getting frazzled by the missing timing chip, and keeping your brain calm in teh face of tough conditions at times on the bike and run. I can almost guarantee that thsoe two little Steves WILL be there at SG and will be behaving just as you describe, but I think you'll pretty easily manage to keep the whiney kvetcher in the background. Just a hunch!

Those pink caps? They're "fish", and I'll bet my bottom dollar that you reeled in over half of them at some point on the bike or run. It's best to just let them do their thing, have their moment in the sun, rather than try to keep up with them -- except to try to catch a quick draft as the go by. The ones who fly by me -- I kust let them go. But the ones who move past me steadily but not speedily, once their knees are about even with my head, I will pick up my pace and draft off the side (which has been proven to be the most advantageous position).....until they opull away.....and then I will spend a few more seconds drafting in their wake......until they're gone and beyond.

As it is with me, when the bike gets to about the 2:00-2:25 mark, i'm ready for it to end. I think much of this is due to my abject worry about flats, but beyond that it's just that I'm ready for a change--- and I know that each mile on the bike will make that incremenatlly more difficult to succeed on the run. What you'll probably find at SG, though, is that you will be able to be realistic about it and wiat until somewhere around mile 90-100 before you start hearing all those voices clamoring to get off the damn bike, already! having accessa to a special needs bag 1 halfway through the SG bike will help a great deal in keeping the negative voices at bay.

Your run? Jeez, man, tyou not only toughed it out but you turned in a superb time! I guess you learned that walking purposefully through an aid station on a long run reaally doesn't add much extra time to your total, and it serves the two great purposes of breaking up the monotony of your stride and allowing you to get a better shot at ALL of the fluid, and not just the part that miraculously manages to slosh its way down your gullet.

Greta news that the leg was fine afterwards, and I'm hoping that the dsetback was indeed due to the 5.5 hour drive back home. How's it doing today? Tomorrow's bike -- easy, i hope? And the next day's run -- easier, i hope? You know, you have my blessing if you want to move each of those back a day!

Great report -- perfectly in keeping with a great race!

MARK -

Just in case you wnat to explore it further, Steve's results are at www.sunsetracing.com. I was SHOCKED that there were no 60-64 guys there! What's this world coming to??

Well, I dragged my weary, sick self out on a 12km run today, and I think it was good for me. At least, I don't think it harmed me any. Or not much. Maybe not great for the body, but wonderful for the soul!

Thanks Mandy. 

More random stuff on nutrition as I try to review it myself:

According to my HRM, I burned 4,300 calories in the race (swim included).  Not as many as I though it would be.  That day, up to the end of the race I ate:
iHop - 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, turkey bacon, coffee
2 hours before race - bottle of gatorade and a promax bar (figure 450 calories)
1 hour before race - half bottle gatorade and promax bar (figure 350 calories)
15 minutes before race - gel pack (100 calories)
During race:  4 bottles of gatorade (400 calories)
2 flasks of gel:  1,200 calories
2 more gel packs:  200 calories
Total race calories consumed:  2,700 calories. 

Thinking I would have been better off hitting the gels harder on the bike, as on the run, they started to really get old really fast.  Water tasted GREAT as it was not sugary.  I am seriously considering putting a toothbrush and toothpaste in my run transition kit and taking a minute or two to do a quick mouth cleaning. 

Other thoughts....
1)  TEST what will be available on race day.  I found out on the run that I HATE HEED liquids.  Too sweet for me - just tasted weird.  Tasted like banana, and I hate banana, so that was quickly not an option.  On the run, I relied on my Hammer Gel and water.  Probably could have used some electrolyte drink, but opted to not try to stomach the HEED stuff.  That said, I really liked the taste of the water!
2)  Drink at the bottom/tops of hills and/or, back off the pace when hydrating.  I find that if I try to hydrate on the bike while breathing hard, I red-line quickly.   So, I made a practice of drinking at the bottom of a downhill when HR was down, or backing off the effort a bit before/after drinking so I could drink and get breath under control again before hammering.  It's amazing how taxing a few sips from the aero-bottle can be if you're already out of breath!  LOL.
3)  I think I'm going back to my favorite (EFS) drink for the bike.  I've been using the Gatorade that will be at IMSG, and it's OK, but I like the EFS more.  I will plan to experiment with the EFS on my next long brick, switching from the EFS on the bike to the Gatorade on the run and make sure that doesn't cause problems.  I can't seem to figure out how to get EFS on the run unless i carry a fuel belt and dry powder - which seems cumbersome. 
4)  Gel after climbs - I tried to get a gel every 20-25 minutes on the bike, but double-dipped at the end of climbs, even if I had just hit a gel on the climb itself.  I found this really helped keep energy levels up - plus, it gave the stomach a chance to digest just a bit on the downhill.
5)  In general (again, wasn't obvious to me until this race) - gel, water bottle switch, etc:  do it on the uphill grades where you don't need both arms to pump the bike.  If you're already down at 9 mph, going 8.5 and fussing with that stuff won't cost as much time wise and it's a lot safer than trying to hammer on a flat and mess with nutrition.  

Thinking ahead and out loud for IMSG:
Bike:  I'll likely use 4 gel bottles on the bike.  Plan is to try and get at least 3 different flavors going - a little variety goes a long way.  Will stash one extra in my special needs bag just in case.  Will spend some time on next two long rides pushing the envelope on gel intake - I think I can likely do at least 25% more than I did on the HIM without stomach problems. 

Run:  Likely to use 4 on this as well - will swap out for 2 at the start and put 2 in my special needs bag.  Will also test on upcoming bricks hitting the gel harder in transition - what they say about getting tired of the taste of this stuff is true - so I'm thinking it might make sense to try to hit at least 2 of them in T2 to stock up and also trying to hit an extra one in the first 1-2 miles.

Fuel Belt - considering getting two sets of fuel belt bottles for the marathon and to fill them with my EFS.  Start out with one set and swap out for fresh ones at second loop special needs bag.  I figure I can just fill the second set with the powder and put water in at the first water station once I swap out.  Still thinking this one through. 

SteveA:

What a great race report!

Total newbie question here, but what are the pink caps? I know the swim caps are different colors depending on your wave... (By the way, are cap colors "standardized" across races depending on the wave?)

The bike course sounds like it was tough! I've personally never biked more than 25 miles so I can only imagine a HIM distance really sapping your energy and stamina (both physical and mental) toward the end.

It's great to hear that you use walking breaks during the runs at your level of competition. For some reason I've gotten into the mindset that you don't really succeed at a race if you don't run the whole distance. As I become "smarter" though, I'm learning that that assumption is incorrect, and that to truly race smart you use the breaks when you need to.

A big huge congratulations to you!!

Tracey

STEVE -

Cerebral, or WHAT?!? Really fine job on keeping track of your intake, and also the very specific thoughts towards the bottom. In time, I will hit all of these, but I can just do some scatter-shot stuff now.

I too get tired on gels very quickly at the long distances; things that are fine for sprint and oly, and sometimes HIM, wear real thin real fast on many HIM and on my two IMs. If you have a place near you that carries Lava Gel, try to get hold of their Kona Mocha flavor, which is not as sweet as virtually all other gels. The story here is that the company is in Hawaii, and about three years ago he (Kelmer Beck, the owner) had to put things on hold and re-organize his operation. Prior to that, his gels were the tastiest ones out there -- strange flavors that sat well with me. The key to it all was Kona Mocha, as it hit a different combination of taste buds, I guess. After the re-organization I managed to find some of the new Kona Mocha, but only a couple and it left me wondering if he had messed with the formula sonme, making it a tad sweeter than the original. ANYHOW, if you can find some, give it a try. His website used to list all the distributors, and most were in California.

One other company (amybe PowerGel?) has a mocha flavor that is similarly less sweet than the average gel. i will search around and try to find out who exactly makes it; not sure it's PowerGel.

As for EFS, have some in a bottle in your T2 bag, and also in your run special needs bag. If it has any protein, however, have two bottles in each bag -- one with the powder, one with water. Take the few seconds to pour the water into the powder right then and there -- otherwise, if it's protein-based it will almost certainly begin to putrify by the time you get to it. Need I say more? (Other than this has happened to me twice on long rides, and it is a ghastly experience taking that big hit of Accelerade (one time) or Sustained Energy (the other time).....and realizing it has gone bad!

So you'd start off with a bottle in your hand, which you can ditch after a mile or two; same thing with a special needs bottle. I did this at my second iron, and only made enough for about half a bottle, figuring that's all I could sensibly drink before I threw away the bottle.

You're the second recent person I know who has disliked HEED! My sis-in-law had a tough time with it at a marathon a week ago, and now you. Hmmm. I love the stuff, finding it the most digestible stuff out there. One mean's meat is another man's poison, eh?

If you think you can handle Gatorade, as that's likely what they'll have on the SG run, practice it now so that at least you don't have any surprises....or can't-drink-it! deficiencies. EFS on the bike, and then a switch to Gatorade on the run, should be okay for you. And if you can somehow get some EFS with you on the run, all the better!

More later! (Hammy okay? Overall muscles?)

SteveB:

I just signed up for another 5k on May 16th. I think my husband and my sister in law will be doing it too. They will be standing at the finish line when I cross, tapping their feet and looking at their watches (not really, but they both run much faster than me!)

I'm wondering if there's any chance I can get down to a 10 minute mile by then...

What are my chances (realistically) of getting to a 10 minute mile in 7 weeks if I'm now doing 11:45 to 12:00? How much training would this involve?

Any thoughts on a training plan? My ultimate goal really is to be able to sustain a faster run in general, not just for this particular race. I'm also doing a 5-miler in July. And of course it would be really nice to finish the run portion of my sprint races in 30 minutes or less!

I'm continuing to read the Chi Running book so hopefully incorporating those techniques will help as well.

Thanks!

Tracey

TRACEY -

Caps are not standardized, menaing that over the course of a season you get a chance at many different flavors, depending on how often you race.

And as for what Steve was referring to, those were the caps of the wave that started behind his. Depending on the spacing between waves, and the length of the swim, a mediocre or slower swimmer might have many wave reps pass him; I think my record is three. What I mean is that if my cap was green, and the next three waves behind me were yellow, orange, and blue.....then some people in those waves passed me. (Can you say "grrrr!"? I can!) But in that same race, I probably passed some of the people in the two waves ahead of me -- not many, but some. And as a fairly dtrong cyclist and runner, I can usually console myself in the realization that of those who passed me on the swim.......I'll catch 'em later on! (Still, it's annoooooyyyyying!)

Some race directors think they are cute. At Diamondman half-iron in '03, the executive decision was made to outfit the M40+ wave in pink caps. This gave the announcer at the swim start ample opportunity to point out how fetching we all looked in our pink caps, and how he's seen many women's waves in pink, but none of them looked as cute as a group as we did that day. Hardy-ha-ha.

And another race only a couple of years ago, my wave was assigned hot pink caps --- but at least it was done without fanfare.

May you always get the swim cap color of your choice, Tracey!

Edited by midlifeinsanity 2010-05-25 7:34 PM

TRACEY again -

One the one hand, going from ~11;45 pace now to sub-10:00 is a pretty big leap. One the other hand.......how hard are you pushing things now? If you are finishing your 3-mile runs feeling pretty fresh, then you likely have a fair bit of gas left in the tank. Also, how much are you willing to suffer? By that I mean how willing are you to red-line your effort so that at some point you feel like you will either explode or implode? Some people (make that most people) don't want to dig that deep......but it is one approach to shaving off significant chunks of time.

And then there are the actual training considerations, which you wisely ask about. Up until now, have you done any speedwork -- intervals, tempos, fartleks? If not, then that is a good way to build your speed -- get those old fasttwitch muscles activated! Some people think of speedwork as torturous sessions on a track involving a sadistic coach armed with a lethal stopwatch, but that is not necessary. Fartleks are a good way to play with speed on your own terms, and tempo runs add a bit of officiousness to the effort, but it's still mostly within the parameters you set for the run.

A recent issue of one of the running magazines had an article of improving one's 5km performance, and I will try to find that in one of my 43 piles of books/mags/newspapers/etc. And yes -- some of the Chi running aspects should help, just in terms of improving your efficiency.

If you're really new to the concept of speedwork and don't have a clue as to what tempo and fartlek and interval mean, just let me know and I will explain them better.

May 16 is 7 weeks away, yes? That is a fairly good-sized chunk of time to play with, so depending on how you answer some of the questions above, it might be possible. One caution I will raise here is that messing with speed can often lead to injuries; this is the case with me. I am very cautious with speedwork, at least with serious intervals. My speedwork is more along the lines of tempo runs, and some carefully-monitored fartleks. Ironically, however, i think that speedwork might actually help with your neuroma. I think I siad this before, but increasing your cadence will effectively reduce the amount of time your foot is in contact with the ground. There will be less "rolling" of the foot, which I suspect is one of the main culprits in neuroma pain. Just a thought!

Edited by midlifeinsanity 2010-05-25 7:35 PM

M -

"Foreign country time" is right! It's a Swedish word that translates into "speed play", which is quite appropriate for what it involves. I have read descriptions of fartleks that are quite well-defined and rigid, but mostly it has come to refer to workouts of intermeidate length where there is variable intensity -- usually steady running, but interspersed with harder, shorter efforts.

Mine are usually 35-45 minutes long, and after ten minutes or so of easy running, I will pick up the pace to something just under what I can comfortably hold for the rest of the run. Overlain on this will be the harder efforts, maybe 30-60 seconds at 5km race-pace or slightly faster. I will do one of thse faster efforts every two minutes or so, or whenever I feel like it.

That last part is how a lot of people approach fartleks -- going fast whenever they feel like it. It's almost a thought-pattern of "Okay, I've been loping along for a while now, it's time to pick it up again", and there'll be the harder effort for a minute or so, and then it'll be backed down.

Some people do it with lampposts -- every 10th post they'll go hard for two posts. Or one post. Or one-and-a-half posts. I have done it with cars out here in the sticks, picking it up whenever a car passes me. People who run in groups will use that same approach whenever another runner passes them -- that'll be their cue to pick up the pace.

Speed play. It may sound almost like just goofin' around, but those faster efforts really do change things with the stride and the entire body posture. It's easy on longish steady runs to just fall into a comfortable stride pattern that isn't optimal for speed (or general efficiency). Cadence will be a bit low, and the arms will drop some, and overall you just aren't "compact". But in the speed bursts, usually that changes, and the effect this will have on the rest of the run is noticeable - after the first speed burst, more attention gets paid to form and efficiency (hopefully) will improve. That's the goal for me, anyhow.

TRACEY -

Fartlek thoughts above, to M.

It's back to bed with me. It's about 3:15am, and I've been awake for an hour; I think it was post-nasal drip that did me in. I awoke and looked at my watch, figuring it was maybe 5:30 ---- and it was 2:21. Argh!

I hope all of you are sleeping the sleep of royalty!

Thanks Steve.

Admittedly, at the moment, I'm not running tons. I'm following the BT 20-week sprint training program (which I just officially started), so the running sessions are pretty short at the moment (there are 3 runs, 3 swims and 3 bikes per week). I think all told I'm doing about 45 to 60 minutes of running per week, which for me translates into about 4 to 5 miles. The mileage does increase a bit over the weeks though. (But not tons, since we're talking only sprint distance).

I've played around with speed work, but not a lot. About a month ago I went out for a 3 mile run and did some intervals, running hard for as long as I felt I could, then recovering with walking intervals. My right knee thanked me for about 4 days afterwards... And it still hasn't totally recovered and does bother me from time to time whenever I run. So I hear what you're saying about injuries.

I ran 1-3/4 miles yesterday at 11:45 and finished feeling pretty well. (Although it was on the treadmill due to the return of the torrential rain here, so there were no hills). (That's one of the benefits of the area around my house. It's not extensively hilly but has just a few little pitches here and there to keep things interesting).

Given my knee issue from my interval experiment before, I'm wondering if there isn't some kind of training I could do where I very gradually decrease my minutes per mile with each run (say, by as little as 5 or 10 seconds each time, or even each week). This sounds like it could do more for my endurance versus actual "speed", but then again, when we're talking 10 minute miles, does the term "speed" even really apply??

It would just be nice to finish a run as a back/middle packer instead of a total back of the packer, behind the power walkers!

Funny you should mention the neuroma. It hasn't been bothering me at all the last couple of weeks! This seems to be coinciding with the placement of my metatarsal lift back where the podiatrist put it originally, where I thought it wasn't doing any good (centered directly below the ball of the foot; I had been under the impression that it needed to be right UNDER the ball of the foot to properly separate the tarsal bones but when I positioned it there I still had pain and always felt like I had something in my shoe). Knock on wood, hopefully this will continue!

Thanks!

Tracey

Ah, okay.

Note to self to notice the color of the caps of the waves that start behind me. Although in my first couple of races I'm sure I'll be too nervous to really be thinking about who's passing me!

Tracey

Steve A-

Love the nutrition report. 

I find I get sick of sugary stuff and look forward to just plain water, but this is  based on marathon and Oly dist tris.  We will see how I feel on HIM.  HEED works for me, Gatoraide seems too sweet for me and tends to be super concentrated at races.  I like Hammer Gels better than GU for sure, but I haven't found anything that makes me want to wag my tail. 

TRACEY - Congrats on the 5K sign-up!

Mandy

Bummer - colds will do that to you, won't they?

I'm fighting one off myself. Right now it's just a slight cough and a little congestion, but it feels like one of those things that could blossom into a full-blown cold any day now...

Hope you can get some rest!

Tracey