Girl Passing on Left (FULL) (Page 118)

Hi everyone.  Congrats to all the racers.  Nice to see Monica is back with us.  Way to go Susie on the weight loss.   

 I am a little behind on reading all the postings.  I got back to Japan on April 1 and on April 3 our daughter in law and 2 grandchildren arrived (almost 4 year old boy and almost 4 months old girl).   They stayed for 5 days and then my wife and I flew back with them to their place.  We will be here through Sunday.   I will be lucky to get in a couple of runs.    All for now..... 

I just noticed your signature line -- that is HILARIOUS!!!  Torture Dan is now famous.   He'll love it!!!

This Saturday there are two running races in the local area:  a 5K and a 10K.  I know it would be better training for me to do the 10K (and Torture Dan will be there!), but the 5K is one of my track club's Grand Prix races and I'm doing really well in the Grandmasters category.  So I'm torn over which race to run.  Which would you choose?

And then there is next Saturday.  I will be traveling all next week for work, but I get back around noon on Friday.  There is a sprint tri (with an OWS) about an hour and a half from me on Saturday.  I haven't registered for it,  haven't rented a wetsuit, and I'm considering skipping it because I think I can get some better training on my own.  However, it's been months since I've done a triathlon, so the refresher would be good.  So what would you do about this one? 

Help!???  (and thanks!)

Dan- great to hear that you had some good time with family! I would never have guessed that you had grandchildren! How much fun is that!

Amy- It is so wonderful to hear that your mom's surgery went well and that she is on the road to recovery. Hope DS has a great meet today!

Julie- Hope that you are enjoying your time with your parents and that your dad is having some good days...what am I saying? Of course he is having great days knowing that his DD is there with him.

YAY....TGIT! Seeing as tomorrow is Good Friday, today is kinda like a Friday!  Hope it's a great one for everyone!

MDHillSlug - 2009-04-09 9:53 AM

run_yc_run - 2009-04-09 10:41 AM

Sledge - 2009-04-09 8:10 AM

Well, I'm exactly one month away from my HIM, and it's consuming my thoughts.  I worry, I plot, I plan, then I worry again when I can't follow through on those plots and plans.  It's hard to keep to a training plan when you have a real life.   So, as Yvonne did, I'm asking for your advice.  I have two races planned between now and May 9th, and I don't know exactly what to do.  Here are the issues:

This Saturday there are two running races in the local area:  a 5K and a 10K.  I know it would be better training for me to do the 10K (and Torture Dan will be there!), but the 5K is one of my track club's Grand Prix races and I'm doing really well in the Grandmasters category.  So I'm torn over which race to run.  Which would you choose?

And then there is next Saturday.  I will be traveling all next week for work, but I get back around noon on Friday.  There is a sprint tri (with an OWS) about an hour and a half from me on Saturday.  I haven't registered for it,  haven't rented a wetsuit, and I'm considering skipping it because I think I can get some better training on my own.  However, it's been months since I've done a triathlon, so the refresher would be good.  So what would you do about this one? 

Help!???  (and thanks!)

While my tri experience is still 'newbie', my thought would be to do the 5K and then put some time on your bike. Your HIM is coming up so I would think that you will begin your taper soon but at the same time get in a long ride/run beforehand. The 5K will allow a faster recovery than the 10K, and leave you with the opportunity to continue to add a bit to your endurance through a long bike ride either the same day or next day. Maybe do a long swim the same day as your race and then the long bike with small run brick on Sunday.

My vote would be to do your own training as the sprint would end up as about 1.5h of intense workout where you could try to put in one last long but easy effort. The only other consideration though would be whether you feel that you need the OWS practice (with wetsuit). The only other bit to be gained would be practice in transition- but that can be simulated at home/ visualized/ and speed in transition won't be as big a factor when it comes to the grand scheme of your HIM.  

Let us know what you decide! Good luck!

My thoughts, too.

Thanks guys.  You said exactly what I was thinking.  I feel a little guilty about bugging out on two races, but sometimes I can use "common sense".  [My Aunt always says "who ever said that sense was common?" ]

MDHillSlug - 2009-04-10 8:40 AM I think I'm going to do a local 5k race next Saturday. I'm feeling a bit bored with the training and could use a little competition to get my juices flowing

That's a great idea.  I find that the longer I go between races, the more trepidation I have as I approach the next race.  It's nice to have goals or gateposts to achieve.

Woo hoo!  First of all, you were there so obviously the fast runners showed up (4th isn't anything to sneeze at).  And I'm surprised that they grouped 50-59 and not 50-54 and 55-59 -- do you know how you would have done in a smaller age group?

Is a "sanctioned" race and a "certified" course the same thing?  It's my understanding (from Torture Dan) that a certified course must be at least the distance published or longer.  And another thought -- GPS isn't always exact, and if you ran some tangents you can also cut off some distance.  But still, nearly .2 of a mile is a lot!

Good luck to Cheri tomorrow! Anyone else racing this weekend?

Remember to go easy on the chocolates! (That reminder was really just for myself- lol!)