Jeff's Group - CLOSED (Page 11)

Paul's is my shop. Did you call the 6th Street shop? Rob Clark is the manager there and he fitted my bike. I bought it there and they've been like a sponsor to me. Great place.

I talked with Scott.  He seemed to know what he was talking about.  I think he should be able to do a good job for me, from what he was saying.  If you recommend them, then I'm much more confident.

I was just in there yesterday and Friday and saw Rob and Scott. I know you'll like the place. When are you going to come up?

I'm going to be up there all next weekend, Fri, Sat, Sun, leaving Mon... I'll be getting my bike in there first thing in the morning, 10 am on Saturday.  We are all coming up for the marathon.

Speaking of the Marathon... how do you recommend working that in with my training schedule.  If I remember,  you did it last year before the IMCDA.  I'm thinking I'm not going to do a major tapor before next weekend, but maybe not do all the running my plan calls for and not do the big 5 hour bike ride the day before.  I'm cutting back on the bike ride next Sat mostly because I'm not going to have time for 5 hours on the bike.

I'd like to meet you there to say hi at least. Where are you staying? When were you planning on picking up your race packet?

Well, I did it last year, you're right about that, and I wouldn't reccommend the five hour ride on Saturday. Last year it was important to me to do well in the marathon for confidence, so I did taper off some in all three events. After the marathon my swim and bike training really kicked in and I slowly began running again after marathon recovery. I think you could stick with your training up until you come up here but then I'd think about relaxing some pre-race. Anyway, at least no long ride Saturday. Maybe we could do a little run together like Friday or something.

I'll be getting into Eugene sometime Friday.  We are leaving here after the kids get off of school, at around 3:00 or 3:30.  That should put us up there by 5:30 or 6:00.  We are staying at the Hilton right where all the festivities are.  If we don't get there in time to pick up the packets on Friday, we'll just grab them on Saturday morning.

Hi Jeff...

So, where I'm staying at CDA is a resort across the lake from the venue.  About 18 miles on the road.  What's it like the morning of?  Do I need two hours to drive 18 miles or will it not be that bad?

That's great that you are getting things figured out. Are you doing the Duck Bill? On 5/9 there's an open water swim and bike ride at Fall Creek. Interested?

I came from Post Falls both years and traffic wasn't bad at 5:30. I bet it will be the same for you. I parked in a gravel lot on the north east side of the park. If you get there early enough you can park in the resort lot also.

Good job Stacy. Thanks for sharing.

Jeff thanks for the invite to swim on 5/9 but its a work day for me.  So the PT highly advises no running or pedal mashing until my muscular imblances are sorted out. Swimming is fine.  He says comuting is fine just no real hard efforts.  Once my orthotics are dialed in ( I get them in a week) its walking only until I have no leg pain for several weeks then its gate analysis and walk/ jog for many months and then reanalysis. Basically the summer is all about rehab and then rebuild. In a month or so I can probably start to do harder rides but its spin till then.
I can't do the Duckbill Thrill but at least I can go watch and cheer those participating on.
Bye the bye hope those that did the Eugene Marathon last weekend had a blast.

Well at least you have swimming and commuting. Can you walk uphill with the orthotics? That could help keep your legs in shape until you can run again. I didn't make the swim myself due to a leak in my roof. Hang in there Dirk.

Would the cramp you refer to be in your arch? I've had this issue myself for about three years during swimming and only in my left foot. It usually occurs after about twenty-five laps or more. I can feel when it's about to occur and make a habit to stretch my hamstrings against the pool wall. This seems to stave off the cramp but there have been times when it just hits in the middle of the pool and I have to drag my leg to the wall. Fortunately it hasn't happened in a race or lake swim.

I completed my first sprint tri in about 11 years today. I really had fun, learned some things, built up my confidence a little, and saw where I needed to do more work. Overall, it was a great experience: nice weather, friendly people, lots of volunteers cheering us on, and good food afterward.  Here are my results:
450 yard time trial start swim - 9:28
13 mile bike - 49:28  15.8 mph average
2. 6 mile run - 23:24    a little over 9:00 pace

Basically, I was happy with my swim and run times, transitions were a little slow, and bike was WAY slow! So I will work on that with long rides and tempo rides for the next three weeks until my next sprint race.  Will gladly accept any biking advice, I have no background in that sport!

Stacy

Great job Stacy! For your next race do you know the course already? Is it hilly or mostly flat? Three weeks gives you some time, but not alot of time so if you know what kind of course you're looking at you can focus on that. If you let me know I can give you some help on what specifics to do.

Jeff

The course will be the same, just a little bit longer. Pool swim, 15 miles of flat highway bike course, run is loopy, flat through a neighborhood. Next time I will push it on the swim a little more, I wasn't sure about that time trial start. There was plenty of time that I was touching someone's feet and someone was on my feet with no room to pass. The bike is my major weakness and I think part of it is I ride a $150, 34 pound bike. Hopefully I will get a better bike for Christmas. Until then, I would take any bike training suggestions. Looking back at my logs, I mostly use my bike workouts as active recovery for my runs. So, I need to train a little harder on the bike. The run I was pretty happy with, that is  good pace for me. Thanks for encouragement and any tips! If I never improve, I still loved every minute of it.

Stacy

I have two things for your bike workouts Stacy and you should be able to do both of them a few times before your next race. Since your course is flat we won't worry about hills, and I think you should thnk about doing your bike/run a little diffrently for this race. Ready?

#1= single leg peddling. If you have a trainer great, if not no sweat. The idea is to work each leg seperately to form a more complete pedal motion. If you have a trainer use a stool or box to put your leg on and if no trainer keep your free leg out of the way. After a ten minute warmup you'll pedal with one leg only for one minute and then switch to the other leg for one minute. Repeat five times each side to start. This workout isn't taxing so a strong run after would work well. Yo may find a flat spot or two in your pedal stroke at first, which is normal, and you shuld strive to make a smooth revolution each time you pedal.

#2= Cadence. If you have a cadence monitor it helps but is not necessary. After a ten minute warmup pedal at your usual steady rpm. If you have a cadence monitor check your rpm, if not count your pedal strokes on your right leg for one minute to determine your rpm/cadence. Now shift two gears harder and maintain the same cadence for five minutes then shift back down and spin comfortably for five minutes. Repeat this five times to start with.

Do both of these once a week and add a long ride on a third day. Do your hard run after the single pedal day for a brick, and find another day to run on a day you don't ride. On the second week, if you're able to pedal smoothly with each leg you can add two sets. On the cadence day, if you can hold the harder gear for the full five minutes on the last set you can either shift to the next gear or hold the cadence a minute longer. If you do these up until your race you'd want to maybe cut your cadence workout time in half for a taper and do this early in the week. Since the single leg drill is easier you can do it as outlined.

Let me know how this goes and if you better your time.

Hey Jeff...

Question, Is there a lot of time to get in the water before the start and get used to it?  I usually need about 15 minutes to get settled down.  With the Pro's starting early, do they let us slow old guys get in and splash around before the start?

Thanks.