Southwestmba/Andy's excellent adventure group-Full (Page 11)

Happy 4th to everyone!

Today's workout involved riding along with the Tour de France.  At about half the speed, but somehow I always managed to keep with the Peloton...  I always enjoy watching the Tour every year, and it was a good way to spend the morning getting my training in.

Wow - 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes?! Makes my stomach churn - can't (and really don't want to) imagine what that might feel like. Ug.

Although sadly enough it makes some sense that event might pay as well as an ironman winnings... Americans have an appetite for watching short, to the point stuff... like 10 minutes of a bunch of people stuffing themselves with mystery meat. And so advertisers will pay for that of course! Yet things like Tour de France, soccer, Ironman competitions... all very long events and apparently too hard to market to the masses. Especially those who dream of competing in a hot dog eating contest some day! heh

Anyhow.

On my taper week per the plan... next event is another sprint tri this Sunday the 10th. I'm feeling very much ready to finish, yet somehow (maybe as the days get hotter) I don't feel as fast as I did a month ago. My goal is to complete in 1 1/2 hours... I'm pretty sure my swim will be fine and Garmin Connect says my bike speed is slightly increasing week over week. I guess it's the run that feels the same or slower.

I did get more (albeit repetitive... and therefore I assume good) advice on running... keep forward to strike near the ball (or even think toes!). That seems to have increased my cadence from about 82 up to 86. And definitely did speed me up - my first mile has now been at about a 7:28 pace (vs. my previous best training run of about 8:06 - but who's watching). Yet two other things happened... first, my calves are tight tight tight. Even after stretching. And secondly, my next couple miles slow down... and my overall pace drops back to an 8:30 or 9 minute mile. I think it's time for some serious yoga. And more practice... hopefully I'll be able to work into this new form before my last (planned) event in mid August & keep on my toes for the entire 5k!?

I had a great weekend, although from the results of my event you might not think so.

As previously mentioned, I participated in the Ann Arbor Triathlon Sunday. It is a 880 yard swim, 14 mile bike, and 5 mile run, but both the bike and the run are quite hilly and the run is conducted on a trail. I knew this would be a challenging event and one I did not take lightly. My goal was to finish, obviously, but also compete against my efforts in training and the results of the only other outdoor tri I had done. That said I truly did not expect to do so poorly against the field; I finished last in my age group and 249^th out of 258.

I considered posting my race report, but it would be a waste of your time scanning it for info; I’ll provide a synopsis of my event instead.

My strongest suit is the swim, or at least I thought it was; suddenly I’ve lost the ability to swim straight. I do my training in a pool with lanes, but I didn’t realize how dependent I was on the black line at the bottom of it. Between the extra distance I swam due to veering, and the need to constantly sight, I swam very slow; since I’ve started swimming distances over 1000 yards, this is probably the worst swim I have done. I ended up being 18 out of 18 in this leg.

I need to physically practice my transitions. I visualize them some but that is clearly not enough. One thing I didn’t consider is how foggy my mind gets after the swim or bike, does this get better with experience? I forgot to start my watches, I forgot to tighten up my shoes, I wasn’t very efficient at what I needed to do. Even the beginners would comment on what a newb I am.

The bike leg was a beast; I was ready for the volume of the ride, but not the intensity of doing the hill climbs. I had no experience with hills and suffered penalties due to the slow agonizing climb I put myself through because I didn’t know how to climb the hills. By the 5^th mile I learned to attack them and started doing okay, I think. I finished 16^th out of 18 in my age group.

My thighs were toast for the beginning of the run, but as the run went on, they improved. It was when I arrived at the first inclines/declines that I noticed my shoes were loose; I forgot to tighten my speedlaces in transition. It turned out to be a non issue though as I decided I not to ‘race’ through the trail; between the inclines and declines, the sand, rocks, and roots, as well as the fatigue I already felt in my legs, I settled for not stopping or walking the trail portion and live to run –healthy- another day. In many places of the trail my pace wouldn't of been much different had I been racing; several of the inclines were quite challenging and serious effort was needed to maintain a pace resembling a run. I'm not much of a groaner, but the sight of yet another hill in the later miles got me moaning. I completed the run portion in good style though, picking up the pace as I entered the recreation area and running down the hill to the finish. I ran my ‘kick’ at a 5:20 per mile clip over the last 375 yards, I thought that was pretty decent.

In terms of competing against myself I will give me good grades in the bike and run, in both cases due to my legs. I put in good effort training my legs with solid bricks at home and I felt it paid off in the event. While I hadn't trained for the intensity of the hills, I thought my legs held up well, and performed well. Actually, it was my upper body that was hurting most in the later miles of the run; my rib cage, shoulder blades, and arms were all aching more than my legs were, I thought that odd considering my legs were doing all the work. The swim was a major disappointment, I never expected the troubles I had; it's back to the drawing board there. I read somewhere that swimming with your eyes closed in the pool may help, anyone have any other suggestions?

I was certain the folks who signed up for this Sprint were not beginners and I knew the course would be challenging but I sorely underestimated both. Despite my disappointment with how it panned out, I am still happy I went. It was a good experience, I learned a lot and I plan to go back to the area and bike the bike route or do bricks on the road; I know this will help me train for future events. I’m going to leave the trails to the hikers and mountain bikers, though.

Congrats on your tri, Phaethon! At the end of the day all that matters is that you did your best and it sounds like you met your expectations?

I haven't posted my results yet either... finished a scuba class immediately after the event, then packed for a trip (which I'm on right now - in Boulder Colorado). Hopefully will find time this weekend to get the report up. In summary my overall goal was 90 minutes - and I hit 88 and 6 seconds - success on that goal. My second goal was to exceed 20mph on the hilly bike course... and was at 20.6mph - goal 2 also a success. However I burned my legs on the bike I think - and my run was very slow. No 5:20 per mile for me at any point!?!

Anyhow - good event, good weather, and very happy with my effort and results. Now off to continue learning how to run. :-)

Excellent report Phae.  From my back of the pack perspective, this was a really great race for you.  You learned about sighting on the swim.  You gained some experience on transitions.  You learned that there are some really tough hills out there.  And mostly, you're thinking about how it relates to your training.  All good info for us to digest.  I'l bet if you put all that into practice, your upcoming races will go a lot better.  And if you go back next year, you'll kick butt on the course.

I was in Nebraska a couple of weeks ago.  Seeing the flooding and all the barriers really brings home how powerful mother nature can be.

I always find traveling really throws my training off.  You get a lot of respect from me how you manage to keep it going.

Thanks hip! Yeah, the experience is invaluable, it's the 'pearl of wisdom' I've learned about in my short 'lifestyle adjustment' to triathlons. Of course there is the expected and immediate sense of accomplishment completing the race, but then follows a less expected sense of improvement mentally and physically. You found out what your weaknesses are and what to work on, you have a better sense of where you are and where you need to be. You know what to expect next time around; all this serves to develop the conviction and confidence that next time you WILL do better. That you are ALREADY better. Even if you didn't meet expectations, you made progress. An obvious example for me is my weight; I've done an indoor tri, a 5k, and two outdoor tri events this year and for each one I failed to meet my goal weight. Thing is, overall, I am losing weight; at the indoor tri back in February I weighed 227 lbs, for the Ann Arbor Tri I was down to 216. Today I'm at 211 so yeah that which does not kill us makes us stronger.

well, after a minor bike-related injury and some scheduling snafus with my training...first HIM of the season is in the bag.  i was disappointed in my performance, as it's my slowest time to date by over 30 minutes.  but i finished, and can only do better from here, right?  

race report:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=261883

Ah some time do something other than work, train, or sleep! After my last tri on the 10th I started an Oly training plan for an event in September and the volume of work has increased greatly. I can't do it in the time suggested but I do it. I get out of work, head to the gym (or in this case gyms, the fitness center is cleaning the pool so we are being sent to the UM-Flint pool to swim) and get home around 9pm. It's been a tiring week. I've managed to lose a little weight, like 3 pounds, and I improved my personal best in the 100 yard swim (1:38) and the mile run (7:48), so I do feel the work is paying off. I have a event on the 31st, the Island Lake of Novi Triathlon which is 880 swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run.

Grats ID for your event; did you sing the national anthem in front of everybody? Nice report!