MJEWEN Spring 2013 Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 11)

Melissa-  there were nearly 500 riders and only three tri-bikes that I saw.  In my group one woman was in aero for a little while.  Everyone else was too far ahead for me to notice.

Ken- Congrats on the 7 miler and everything that goes along with it... the pace and the "wow, this is amazing feeling" as it's all unfolding...

Terry,

     Sounds like you had a good ride. Nice to hear what you worked out during your ride. I look forward to info like that so I can have some ideas when it happens to me. If you weren't riding in the "B" class at 18 - 20 mph, then how many miles per hour do the "B" class group average? I guess I would be riding in the "D" group. 

Melissa- Yes, I was down on my bars when aero.

Tony- The "B" group was doing about 18-20 mph, although it seemed much faster when they were pulling away- and they had all the police motorcycles that were stopping traffic at the intersections with them.  I was in the LB (left behind) group. We averaged between 15-17 mph (about 12mph in the headwinds). We had to stop for all the traffic lights.  Another important lesson I learned:  If you start at the back, no one can pass you.

I have a 10k St Patrick's day running race on Saturday and on Sunday another 100k charity bike ride for Cystic Fibrosis. The Bike ride is on A-1-A along the beach - I'll post some photos afterwards. It's supposed to be another brilliant weekend for us.

I have a question:

Chamois or Butt Cream..... any suggestions? I use body glide now, but for a 3-5 hour ride I think I need to use more in the chamois part of the tri-short. What are you all using and what experience do you have with it?  I wanted to run after Sunday's ride, but the boys were protesting.....

Tony- If i didn't sign up for these rides, I wouldn't be doing them. I push myself to do these things.

Mike- thanks for the shorts info.

I registered today to volunteer for Ironman Florida on November 2. Last year the registration closed in three minutes. Volunteers get first chance to register for the race, and it's a way for me to drive through and practice portions of the course and experience the event without the corresponding nerves of race day..

KenH - Congrats on the 7 miler! 

Terry - WOW! You have a very busy race schedule.  I've had 70+mile rides and I have never used any cream.  On my longer rides I usually wear DeSota Riviera Tri shorts.  These are by far the best cycling shorts I have ever worn they are much more comfortable then my regular cycling shorts.  Now I do use body glide round my chest and armpits on occasions.

Mike - How do you like running in the 400 mile shorts?  I have thought about trying them but didn't know if the extra padding made running uncomfortable.

Tony - I feel your pain with just getting broken in.  I remember getting my rear end use to riding a bike.  It is amazing how painful riding can be at first.

My 2 cents:  I too have never used any kind of lube.  That said, I have had problems at times and its usually been (a) the short was too big or (b) it had too much padding.  My perfect size is in between the normal sizes - I'm tall but very thin.  When something fits my height, it fits the waist of someone around 165 - I'm 142.  I always err on a short that has less padding but that may be tight in the waist.  For me to find a bib is next to impossible.  

So maybe this can give you a clue.  Do you have too much stuff/padding/material down there that gets in the way and is causing the problem?  I use the squeeze test.  If I can reach behind on a new short and grab a handful of padding, its not going to work.

Another thing to consider is the saddle of course.  Do you have the type with a relief channel down the middle?  Has it been professionally fitted, etc etc.

I wear the Desoto Riviera Tri Short - also have a Louis Garneau pair, but prefer the Desoto. They both fit fine (and pass the pinch test).

I had the bike professionally fitted about a month or so ago. The saddle is a Fizik. I have seen the saddle's with the channel down the middle, but what is the purpose of the channel? How does it feel differently than a standard seat?

Many men suffer chafing, numbness, erectile dysfunction and impotence that is attributed to the standard bike  saddle.  Women have their own set of problems with a standard women's saddle.  The idea is that the channel "removes" the part of the seat that presses on the soft tissue thereby alleviating the problems.  If memory serves, there is a big vein running down there right where the saddle and the body meet.  

You can google the issue and see many discussions & studies.  Most will discuss numbness and many will tout the added airflow and therefore, more cooling.  Maybe this could help you?????  

I mentioned earlier about getting a professional fit.  You've done that.  I also had to tweak my pro  fit.  It's just a different feel when you're on a trainer in the fitter's workshop vs. riding out on the streets.  I tweaked it incrementally.  He nailed the height but I had to play with the tilt and fore/aft placement.  I probably moved it maybe 1 or 2 mm.  And maybe half a degree?

Personally, I first switched to this type of saddle many years ago after reading about the stories of impotence - I just didn't want anything to do with that.  

I recently switched/upgraded to another saddle of this type when my prostate decided it didn't like its original size.  I can safely say that the saddle has allowed me to ride without experiencing the problems that I had with a standard saddle.  You should see the saddles that I use on my city bike and my mountain bike - the noseless designs.  They look real funny but are wonderful!  For some reason though, I've never seen one at a triathlon

I know this doesn't directly affect your chafing issue but maybe some piece of info somewhere will help you.

Terry - You have good shorts so as long as they fit and they sound like they do you should be fine.  I'm no expert so take my advice with a grain of salt.  If you are experiencing just chafing issues on longer rides then I would try the creams and see if that solves your problems and if it doesn't I would have a fitter look and maybe moving your saddle position a little bit to see if that helps.  Although if you are having chafing with severe numbness than I would look at getting a different saddle.

On your questions about the saddle's with channel's down the middle I think KenH did a good job on explaining it.

Thanks guys.... no numbness, I'll try some creams. The information was quite informative as always and quite insightful. It led me many other areas of  inquiry that I hadn't considered before.   

Completely different Q......Has anyone ever tried racing briefs instead of the full length tri short?           Any thoughts on the matter?   pros/cons

It's another cool morning for us down here.... 46 deg. 

I posted a photo showing the differences in 50 degree weather.

Terry - I'm not sure if they are considered racing briefs but I have a pair of Sugoi Turbo's which are shorter than my DeSoto's.  Not only are they shorter but the way they are designed they ride up your legs a little bit so their natural resting placing are half way up my legs.  (I'm wearing these shorts in my avatar)  They are ok I really like running in them but not so much for biking.  But if I had the option of 1 pair of DeSoto's or 5 pairs of the Sugoi's I would go with the DeSoto's everytime.

I did a short brick this morning.  30min on the bike followed by a 15min run.  I'm using Fink's Be Iron Fit plan and he has these short bricks built into his plan every week.  Last year when doing his plan I kind of thought they were a waste at first but I've come to think they are very useful.  I think they really help with getting good at making a quick transition.  Also, they help with teaching me how to get my heart rate under control at the start of the run.

I hope everybody's training is going well this week!

Thanks for that Emile. Bricks are something I need to do more of. I think the shorter ones you describe are worth putting the time into for the heartrate transition. 

There was some discussion about swimming a while back. I found a site I used a long time ago... it is very simple and may help someone as it helped me http://www.ruthkazez.com/www/swimming/50swimworkouts.html

It's chilly here, too! It was only 40 this a.m., almost worth it to get my coat out of the closet.

Yesterday was our Walk and Bike to School Day for my kids' elementary school. I was glad to see that so many came out despite the cold. It is a pretty stressful morning for me, because I organize it and so of course I worry about anything going wrong that day. We had a couple of kids fall down at various spots on the ride, but nothing serious. The town police department comes out to stop traffic at a spot where we have to cross a highway, but it is still scary being out there with all the kids, holding them back at the intersection, etc. I really wish we had a safer way to do this, like a dedicated bike path. Still, the kids had a blast and no one got hurt, and that is what counts the most.

I had a great swim workout on Monday, a decent run yesterday with some speed work. Today is biking on the trainer.

Terry - I love the photo!  It is so true.  I was born and raised in Fl and all my relatives are still there.  They are just in awe of the snow photos that I take and just can't understand living somewhere other that Fl.  

Only 22° this morning.  But - it will be around 50° by this afternoon with little wind!  Great afternoon for a run.

This week has been hard for me to train.  My legs and one foot have been achy.  So - I listened and backed off.  Headed out to swim for an hour this morning.  Looking forward to the water!

True!! We are like that down here, too. So funny! But there is practically no season here that someone isn't wearing flip-flops on their feet, no matter what temperature. I think it's the one article of clothing that everyone has to have in this state.

Terry - I couldn't get the link to work.  Is it the 0-1650 program?  If it is I used it last year to get started and I'm using it again this year to just get back in the swing of swimming. 

KenH - Good job on listening to your body when you need rest.  I wish I was better at that.  I usually work through pains and have ended up paying for it.  Hope your legs and foot start feeling better.

Melissa - Sounds like an awesome program!  Congrats on organizing it and having it turn into a success!  LOL! on the flip flops.  That is the way it is in Oklahoma as well.

Emile- Try to cut and paste the address in the browser... I had a problem linking to it just now also.

yes- there is a 0-1650 program in the site.... there are also many other workouts...

here is another swim workout site I currently use for ideas.... they usually have three workouts with different distances.

http://mastersswimworkoutsbysaramclarty.blogspot.com/2013_03_03_archive.html

((if there is a problem with the link- cut and paste it in the browser))