Ironman Florida : Official Thread (Page 13)

I don't mind the treadmill and have done 3 hours on treadmill...sick I know.

Hope you get your ride in outside will it be sauna like after the rain in MS?

Im all better today haha. Well.... enough to consider riding again today.

I wasn't riding because i was in the UK for few weeks, and then Georgia had a spat of Northern cold as we entered 2010. But we had a mild week so out I go again. Yes, Ga is pretty dang good weather to ride in year round so I can't really complain.

Having said  that, I am not at all against trainer rides of up to 3 hours or treadmill runs of up to 20 miles. The key, I've learned, is to set yourself a spot that has all the amenities to make it a bearable experience (e.g., surround sound, fan, etc). Being from Philly, I know cold weather, and once you come down here you never want to leave for that factor alone.

There really is a very active tri-friendly community in Athens and the locale lends itself well to training. I was surprised we didn't get a mention on the best places to live and train in the tri mag. I suppose part of the problem is the economy/lack of industry other than the UGA.

NIce tread. I'm in IMFL as well. It will be my 3rd IM. I've done IMLP twice, in 07, and the moonsoon of 08. I'm looking forward to IMFL. I have lots of goals for this race but main goal is to PR the race by quite a lot. ( best was 14:31) I'm working with Endurance Nation which have a such an awesome training program. Especially their out season which really increased my FTP and VO2max last year. My watts will go through the roof and definitely be in the mid 200 ( right now 195) by early spring. I will also work on my run increasing my VO2 max this year. I've joined the Y which have a nice track. It's so much easier to be able to do intervals on it then the treadmill. I can't wait to test again and do a 5k. My swim have been steady. I'm a fairly good swimmer so thankfully it's one area I should be ok in. I still will join Master's again in February to increase speed. A 1:10 swim would be cool. Best time was 1:15 in IM's.

So i'm for some smack talk. Good motivation right ??


MY goals:

FTP: above 230
VO2max: 40 ( under 25 min in a 5k )
weight: lose 15pds

C'mon ladies ...LEt's have great training in 2010 and go beyond our wildest dreams !!!

First post on the list, I too am in IMFL, it will be my first so have no real clue what I've let myself in for. Did a 50 mile ride this morning in the wet, 3 degrees celsius with 25MPH winds - the joys of British weather  . As I nearly got blown off the bike for the fifth time I remember thinking at least it will be warm in Florida. My arse has now returned to normal and feeling quite good.

Smack talk sounds interesting, just wondering what it is?

Edited by alynm 2010-01-17 1:39 PM

112 wet and windy miles sounds miserable. Here I was feeling sorry for myself with a 3 hour trainer ride.

Good luck at the tour.

woo hoo - another Brit

Where abouts are you? I'm near Liverpool.

This weather sucks doesn't it? Haven't been out for ages for one reason or another. Hopefully will get a chance this weekend.

I'm not aware of any that I am planning on doing. the Philly tri coming up in June will probably be the closest, but that's a swim in the river. I am not that freaked out about it, more of just general concern. As mentioned, there will primarily be 4 people to worry about at any given time - in front, behind, and on either side of me.

I'm considering a short-distance event during the Texas Half Ironman in April, but realize the swim is in the bay, and not in the gulf. I was hoping that would be a good precursor to know what to expect with the beach start in the gulf. Oh well, it's not like I'm gonna back out! I'll be there!

Thanks for the input all,
Dave

Mass start is really okay.

As others have said you are really only around 10 people at the most folks to left, right, in front and behind you, all the rest don't matter or effect you.

Odd thing is start as you go and then have to sort of wait and that repeats a number of times.

Corners are challenging if you get to close to the turn buoys.  I swim right next to them as I'm a slow swimmer and not many folks are near me and I'm out of the main pack of folks.

Seeding yourself is key but IMFL the start is huge so folks can spread out wide unlike say IMLP.

I don't think any other race really prepared you for an IM swim start as most do waves but break it down and look how it will be for you.

Jane,

I'm in Leeds so had pretty bad weather for the last few weeks. Not too bad yesterday so finally got out on the bike.

Also a bit concerned about the mass start so have entered the London tri which I believe is a bit of a scrum as well

me and shanks are also doing the philly tri, but thats nothing like a mass start. thats waves. i did one in medford nj on about july 4th last year that was mass start and kind of whacked with the sun right in your eyes. it wasnt sanctioned. i wonder if they are doing it this year.

I was just thinking about the ocean swim at IMFL.  It's real handy to be able to breath on either side.  There was a short period durning the IMFL 08 swim when the wind was catching the waves and blowing them in my face on the left side, causing me to catch water every time. 

I was real glad that I can breath on the right just as well.  If you cannot breath easily on either side, I'd recommend you practice it.  Sometimes there is a person there  as well and it's handy to be able to breath on the other side.

Just my luck...I get this year off to a good start w/ training and wham...I get sick!  So, last week about midway through went bust...I tried to get back out yesterday and felt like someone was holding me back on my run.  I felt like a$$...then I road the trainer this morning...more of the same.  Why is it you get such a set back after being sick...doesn't my body know I don't have time for this?  I got the GC 70.3 in May...the body better listen...this can't happen again. 

Glad to see everyone is doing well and I will get going again...

smack talk might not have a British equivalent? its kind of like -taking but more aggressive, like "you might beat me at IMFL, but I'm gonna kick your butt after". or "your bike is friggin cheap".

So, my biggest worry about the ocean swim is how badly I chafe in salt water.  No matter how much vaseline/body glide I lube up with....I chafe like CRAZY and salt water + chafe = OUCHIE!  I can't figure it out...JUST happens in salt water...the saltier the water, the worse it is.  And since this is the gulf it will be salty.  Waves and current are no problem.  Chafing...that's a problem!

I guess I just plan to go completely overboard with the lube before this thing.

Good point, I've never chafed before but did when I swam at IMFL in November.

Good thing you are fast swimmer so less chaffing than us slow swimmers

I never chaffed before either, but did when I swam the loop in November. Guess I'll have to try the body glide/lube at Lonestar to see if that helps. Hopefully going to look at new wetsuits this weekend. Don't know if that will help or not.

at IMAZ i saw some guy with medical tape on his chafing areas as a preventative measure. i thought about trying that more than just glide this year.

nice! Glad to see some others here will be doingthe Philly event also. That's become my home turf event the past two years. But I've only done the sprint distance before. I just signed up for the Olympic distance a couple days ago - it's already sold out as of yesterday!
I like that the Oly swim is all the same direction, going with the river current. The sprint has you do a rectangle course, starting off against the current, then across it, then with it, then across it again to reach dry land.
Bike course will be fun, with some nice little climbs in it. And the run is all flat. Hopefully will see you guys there amongst the crowd.

Try using some moleskin or a waterproof bandaid in the area(s) where you chafe

It's mostly my neck.  That's a lot of moleskin.

whats everyone doing regarding weight training/body work on a weekly basis?

I just added 1.5-2 hrs a week weight training back into my training week and am looking into a masage a month at minimum, not to mention my usual stick and triggerpoint rolling. I lost about 1/2 my strength after dropping it cold turkey 6 mos ago in the final build ups to Augusta and IMAZ 09.

then the tag along question relates to supplementation. I take a bunch, but wondering what you all take.

Edited by phatknot 2010-01-23 3:42 PM

I also lost a lot of strength and muscle mass (for me) going into IMFL in 08.  My plan was to build it back in 09...  so much for plans.

I'm incorporating weight training now and will continue until the workouts get to be just too many hours.  I think I'll try to keep some, but pare the weight training down to just a few exercises to maintain strenght without taking too much time.

Not many supplements - just a multi vitamin and occasional calcium/magnesium and glucosomine.

What are you taking?