Beginner 1/2 Ironman Plan Group (Page 127)

I wondered about the motorbike lane.  Is there always that much traffic when you ride the bridge?  Are they patient with you and give you plenty of room going up?  Seems like that would be unnerving?  Do the exhaust fumes bother you?  Just curious as it's an unusual place to ride.  What a difference between that and Oregon. 

At the hour of the morning that I ride, traffic is generally lighter than shown in the picture, though it does tend to go in "clumps", and pick up as it gets later. I was counting motorbikes last week and on an average crossing I got passed by about 30 (in a 2 km span). They are usually pretty good about giving cyclists room; occasionally I have to yell at them. The picture shows pretty normal traffic, NOT rush-hour levels LOL. So for cyclists here it's imperative to get an early start--if riding solo, I try to get out at first light; if with a buddy, fifteen or thirty minutes before dawn. Yes, the exhaust fumes do bother me. I carry my inhaler on the bike. Usually my asthma issues are delayed until the night after a ride....I take a hit on preventative meds before going to bed.

REALLY looking forward to Oregon!

So could I be more nervous - unlikely!  I'm excited too but nervous more than anything.  tonight and tomorrow is all about packing and running through the race in my head and with the competitor booklet in hand.

Forecast is 29 degrees (84 F) and humid chance of some showers - yucky!  Start hydrating today/tomorrow and nutrition from today is all carbs and healthy veggies and fruit.  OMG can't believe I'm doing this.....

You need the weather we've got here.  Forcast for my spint tri Saturday is 72 F and mostly sunny.  Glad we don't have last weekend's weather of 95 with it in the 80's in the early morning.

Good luck!

Macca on Twitter yesterday said it was wet and windy so I'm praying that the wind drops.  Forecast is for afternoon rain - don't mind on the run!  Wind I hate, it's makes the water choppy and the bike a fight.

Go after it Jo!   Your going to surpass your goals and perform beautifully!

I've just been kicking up the bike, getting back into the swing after marathon.  By kicking it up, I man 2 15, and 2 22 mile rides the last 4 days.  I have developed this strange tendon like sharp pain on the inside of my right ankle on the inside of the knobb of the ankle.  Never experienced this before.  I'm wondering if any of you have from increased volume on a bike?  I iced and took ibuprofen earlier and will repeat tonight.  I've got a 6 mile run/swim workout tomorrow, and saturday, followed by a 2.5 hour bike on Sunday.

I just ordered a set of T1+ aero bars for old aluminum framed Cannondale 10 speed.  I'm hoping to go to LBS and get a few pointers on what to do to beef up said 10 speed.  May sink a few dollars into gears and shifters.  also, I'm still riding with the cages and would like to switch to clip on style riding shoe set up.

Still pretty dang new here.  Now I have 15 or so rides under my belt, and sore quads to boot.  But I am now officially a 15-16mph guy and no longer a 14-15 mph guy!  Hoping to make the same improvements of 1 mph next week!

Omahabritt - 2012-05-31 8:57 PM

jobaxas - 2012-05-30 6:13 PM

So could I be more nervous - unlikely!  I'm excited too but nervous more than anything.  tonight and tomorrow is all about packing and running through the race in my head and with the competitor booklet in hand.

Forecast is 29 degrees (84 F) and humid chance of some showers - yucky!  Start hydrating today/tomorrow and nutrition from today is all carbs and healthy veggies and fruit.  OMG can't believe I'm doing this.....

GOOD LUCK!!! if it's hot, just take it a little slower on the run. You can always speed up later if you feel good. You will do GREAT!!! Have a fantastic time!

ha I thought that said shower!  Wouldn't that be nice....

Omahabritt - 2012-05-31 8:57 PM

jobaxas - 2012-05-30 6:13 PM

So could I be more nervous - unlikely!  I'm excited too but nervous more than anything.  tonight and tomorrow is all about packing and running through the race in my head and with the competitor booklet in hand.

Forecast is 29 degrees (84 F) and humid chance of some showers - yucky!  Start hydrating today/tomorrow and nutrition from today is all carbs and healthy veggies and fruit.  OMG can't believe I'm doing this.....

GOOD LUCK!!! if it's hot, just take it a little slower on the run. You can always speed up later if you feel good. You will do GREAT!!! Have a fantastic time!

ha I thought that said shower!  Wouldn't that be nice....

The T1's came on my tri bike.  Couldn't stand them.  The armrests flexed and I always felt like my arms would slip off.  Replaced them this year and stuck them on my spin bike.  If you switch to clip on pedals I recommend speedplays.  They're not cheap, but they're incredibly easy to get in and out of and are comfortable.  Don't mess around with cheapo pedals and shoes as you'll just end up replacing them after they drive you nuts the first season.  You can often find the cromoly speedplay X-5 on ebay/craigslist pretty cheap.  I think I got one of my sets for $40.  They pair I paid retail for was $120 I think.  Triathlon gets expensive quick, mostly due to the bike.

Good luck, Jo! Trying to kick myself out the door here to do a tempo run. Anyone else falling apart? Just feel like I have no energy lately, and I'm forcing myself thru workouts; lots more effort to go slower. Haven't really felt good since last Sunday.  Not sick, just tired. I took yesterday off and felt better by the end of the day, but legs hurt all night and woke up feeling like I already did the tempo run. (Pretty sure I didn't, though.) Having a nightmare that the bike leg was changed to full IM distance definitely didn't help! Biking along in my dream on those mountain roads thinking, "Just because it's a few miles longer is no reason to quit, is it?" and having horrible thoughts that maybe the run was going to be a full marathon, too!

Must be in the air.  My back and shoulders have been really tight and sore all day, super tired, bagged a bike this evening.  No nightmares here though--still too far out from my HIM I guess

The run actually went fine. My body just has a "mind" of its own. When I started, what hurt was the opposite of what hurt when I was sleeping/got up, and it went away in five minutes. I think the main problem is that my sleep quality has suffered lately from a combo of stress and allergies, and that's hurting recovery. I was taking mid-day naps after my long weekend workouts, but have had to work the past two weekends and upstairs neighbors have been doing very noisy renovation all day, so I can't lately. I've been trying to cut down on caffeine and not take allergy meds as those seem to dehydrate me, but allergies (sinuses, wheezing) are keeping me from getting comfortable at night and, oddly, cutting back on caffeine hasn't helped my sleep. It's probably just a matter of what you've gotten used to.

Something tells me that taper is going to be loads of fun, esp. combined with jet lag!

Sending positive thoughts and good wishes Jo's way--guessing she's out there now. Hope you got a chance to pinch Macca's butt!

Kevin,

Check your messages when you get a chance... I just sent you a PM.

Ron

Went to the race site and I think Jo's race is today (Sunday), not yesterday. Hope it's going well for her! Last monster brick in Saigon DONE! 91 km including four over and backs of the infamous bridge, 53 minute run. There apparently was a horrific crash at the far end of the bridge overnight involving a semi and the concrete barrier, sand spread on road to absorb oil/blood/etc. and police were picking pieces of something out of the nearby ditch. Could only hope it was pieces of the truck or its cargo, and not the driver, but from the looks of the cab I'm pretty sure the driver didn't make it. Having to pass this scene four times......added a new element to HTFU. On the plus side, I seem to have gotten over the vertigo.

I don't think my body can take any more bridges at present, either--the hills are starting to bother my knees. Just another week of training till taper--trying to hang on. Might have to take a day or two off. Another night of crap sleep--this time dreamed the run had been changed to parcours (urban adventure running) through a city, and I was telling another runner that I should have worn rock climbing gloves! OMG I am losing it, physically and mentally!