KathyG's 2012 Awesome Mentor Group-Full up (Page 13)

Are both sprint distances? How difficult/easy are the courses? What is the appeal of doing two?

For me - I could do two sprint distance tri's 14 days apart...but I haven't been out with a back injury for a while. If it was any longer than a sprint - I probably would only do one. Any chance of you signing up for the first one, see how you feel after and then sign up for the second if you think you can handle it?

I'd recommend picking 1 race and planning for that one only, especially since you are coming back from what I can only assume are big injuries due to the car crash. Its great that having a plan motivates you, so pick a race, and plan toward that one.

Why is swimming hurting your back? Is this something new due to your injuries, or has it always been that way? Maybe take a few swim lessons to have someone check your stroke. Swimming shouldn't hurt so much it stops you from doing the other aspects of tris (or anything, for that matter).

Be sure to take a minute or two at Disney to celebrate your accomplishment! 17 days should give you time to do so! Good luck!

Folks,

Like some feedback on whether it is worth spending the $$s for a Tri bike.  I have a road bike and love it.  My goal is to finish the IM...but would a Tri bike make that big of a difference for me?

Thanks,

RJ

MikeD-stomach bug is the pits!  Fortunately it usually passes quickly.

I am very interested in the road vs. tri question, too.  I plan to use my 20+ year old Italian racing bike and have no intention to buy a new bike.  Does a tri bike really make an appreciable difference?

It's early here ( yes 7:15am) is very early for me LOL and I am off to the gym to make up for the run that I missed on Monday.

My foot is still quite tired from my run last night so we will see how it goes. Exercising has been going well and I am finally cleared to swim as well.

I had two busy days flying and now I have a busy busy office day ahead of me, followed by another crazy bus day tomorrow. But weekend is coming and I will be home because they moved my Canada-Cuba flight to next month

We have a Swim and Run competition here on Saturday where I will volunteer. I personally think they are crazy to hold this race at this time of the year as the run is OUTSIDE (!) but its part of a much bigger event and they wanted to try it! Well so far 27 crazy people have signed up. Will see how many actually show up.

I hope you all have a great day! I probably won't be able to check back in until Saturday!

Considering the fact that you are coming back from injury I would also probably choose one race in May only for now. Back to back sprints are usually not a problem if you are well in your training and injury free but as you are just starting up again I would avoid it for now.

Maybe choose one in May and then go to Disney and have some fun and once you are back you go back into a routine for another race in July/August!

How does that sound?

Excellent! Feels good to just get out & do it even when you don't feel like it, no? . and a Lab puppy can only be a bit motivator - what other animal can have so much energy (one time lab owner here!).

I'm feeling better (at 80% or so) and hope to get in today's workout this evening. Needed the sleep last night, and it felt good. Didn't eat much yesterday, but feeling more hungry today.

Tri bikes -- I'm probably not much help here. I did my first 2 races on a Trek 7200 street hybrid, but soon there after was given a brand new Tri bike as a Christmas gift, so I never really had a proper street bike. I do have to say the tri bike I have is the most awesome mechanical device I have ever owned, and it goes fast, although the engine still is pretty crappy

Annabanana - great job getting the run done. We have a 5 year old lab and she is a strong motivator for me to get my run in because she loves it SOOOO much.

Mike D - so glad you are feeling better - great news (but take it a little easy, no relapsing)

Tri bike vs. road bike? My first two seasons were with a 15 year old road bike which I loved (and still do). It was completely sufficient for my inexperienced body. I purchased a used tri bike last spring and then was felled by my foot/ankle injury so I don't have a lot of racing experience to back up what I'm about to say - so take it as you will: Once I got the tri bike fit - I was astounded at how much fresher I felt coming off the bike after a long effort (40 miles). That being said - you can work on the engine on any bike. (Hows that for non-committal?) I guess if you have the $$ to get a nice bike, go for it...but be sure to include the price of a bike fit into the budget - it will pay for itself in spades.

I was supposed to do a bike ride last night but life got in the way...I always thought that raising kids would get easier as they got older...was I mistaken...now we've got twelve thousand activities that they need rides to and from. Holy smokes. There should be a logistics training class for parents. Thank goodness my husband is willing to help with the driving or I'd lose my mind (and the kids). Today has a mid-length run and a swim on the calendar. I was going to run outside - but the 5 degree temps have me spooked. I'm good to about 15, but below that I really struggle.

This is a tough question to answer.  I have both.  I use both.  I'm comfortable on both.  I guess it just depends on your budget.  If you have money to spend on a tri bike, then I say go for it.  Another option would be to buy some high end race wheels for your road bike and pay for a proper fitting on the roadie.

Glad to hear you had an enjoyable run!  Just keep plugging away.

Hey all:

Had a great 2000 swim this morning.  A 1000 was a timed trial and I am pleased to see I trimmed almost two minutes of my last time which was measured in late November.  I intended to run but it was -7.  Brr too cold for these old bones!

Two minutes improvement in less than 2 months is awesome!

Congrats~

I'm with Kathy on this one -- amazing progress!!!

Hello All!

I hope everybody has had a great week! Looks like you all are doing some good training! I have ran 2 days this week and biked 1 day.  I can really notice that running is getting easier and I am able to run a little longer! This makes me really happy! I have gotten one of my close friends talked into doing the triathlon with me this summer! She is pretty excited about it! I am about to introduce her to the beginnertriathlete.com

Hope everyone has a great Friday!

OH... and i think i am going to go get some new running shoes this weekend and have my gait analyzed Im really excited about that!

Mike_D - 2012-01-19 2:14 PM Question for the experienced folks here -- how does one work out race nutrition? What/when/how much? Is this largely a hit-or-miss experience during training or are there some guidelines regarding what amounts of what to ingest? Any help on figuring this out would be greatly appreciated. I'm a real noob to this part of the sport, and assume I know nothing about it (which I don't) .  Thanks!!

I have a set nutrition plan based on my sweat rate.  I'm not saying its the only thing that works but it definitely works for me (I haven't had GI issues when racing since I started using it but I also practice it in training all the time).  For a full race here's what I do:

Pre Race

3.5 hours pre-race - 3 cups apple sauce, banana, 1 scoop whey protein & 24 oz Perform

1 hour pre-race - Power Bar

15 minutes pre-race - Gel

Race (Total Time)

Bike

1:15 - 1/2 Power Bar

1:45 - 1/2 Power Bar

2:15 - Power Gel

2:45 - Power Gel

3:15 - Power Gel

3:45 - Power Gel

4:15 - 1/2 Power Bar

4:45 - 1/2 Power Bar

5:15 - Power Gel (with Caffeine)

5:45 - Power Gel (with Caffeine)

6:15 - Power Gel (with Caffeine)

6:45 - Power Gel (with Caffeine)

Over the course of the bike about 1.5 bottles of Perform per Hour. 

T2

Banana as I run out of T2

Run

7:45 (about mile 6 or 7 of the run) - Power Gel

9:15 (about mile 18 or 19 of the run) - Power Gel

1 Clif Blok every other mile (caffeinated Shot Bloks for the second half of the run)

Perform at every aid station

Coke as I need it after mile 20

Mike_D - 2012-01-19 2:14 PM Question for the experienced folks here -- how does one work out race nutrition? What/when/how much? Is this largely a hit-or-miss experience during training or are there some guidelines regarding what amounts of what to ingest? Any help on figuring this out would be greatly appreciated. I'm a real noob to this part of the sport, and assume I know nothing about it (which I don't) .  Thanks!!

Is Patriot your A race?

If so you should try training with what will be on the course and see how it works for you. If they are using hammer nutrition, they tend to mix the drink a little weak or they have in the past. I have some if you'd like to try some, I can give you.

Bike last year they had water, hammer and gels.

Run they have more including cola but every aid station does not have exactly the same thing of extra stuff...they will have water, drink and gels, but other things vary.

I'd suggest starting in the 250 calories/hour range on the bike and try to stay under 300. Run dial it back a bit. As Fred stated it takes trial in error during training to see what works for you.

I set my watch to beep every 25' on the bike and ingest around 100 calories and I have about 3-4 things proven that I can take in. I don't like Perform or Hammer drinks similar to Gatorade so I take water and add Nuuns to it which is electrolytes....little tablet size of quarter but thicker, I drop in my aerobottle just before aid station where I'll pick up water.

You need 3 things.....water, electrolytes and calories. It takes a bit of calculating to see what works for you.

Track what you do in training and how well it works. I like to record weather conditions as 90 and sunny I need more fluid than if it is 55 and cloudy.

Mike_D - 2012-01-19 2:14 PM Question for the experienced folks here -- how does one work out race nutrition? What/when/how much? Is this largely a hit-or-miss experience during training or are there some guidelines regarding what amounts of what to ingest? Any help on figuring this out would be greatly appreciated. I'm a real noob to this part of the sport, and assume I know nothing about it (which I don't) .  Thanks!!

Hey Mike - Great advice on intake from Fred and and a super example from Kelly on the kind of plan you are trying to work out. The plan that you devise has to be as simple as possible and easy to execute. I found that one of the best places to work out your nutritional needs is during your long bricks. You should start by finding out what the race you are targeting will be providing on the course. Start training as soon as possible with these items to see if they work for you. Only use something else if you find through experimentation that the race-provided provisions won't work. The more you can live off the course, the better off you are. Start with about 300 or so calories on your next long run, ride, or brick (when you start to integrate them into your training). It is important that these workouts are performed at a similar effort as your planned race. Keep close track on what you consume: number of packages, numbers of bottles, etc. From there you can begin to ratchet down or up the calories based on the feedback your body is giving you: bloated, upset stomach, nausea, etc? Probably too many calories. Losing focus, legs won't turn over? You probably need a little more. The goal is to get your intake as low as possible and still be effective.

For me I have found I perform best with right at 300 calories per hour on the bike, and about 200 on the run. I think the slightly higher effort of the run along with the jostling make it a little tougher for me to process the fuel. I will take in a little bit of solid food here and there along the bike ( a bite of powerbar, a piece of banana), but not on the run. All of my calories come from gels (2 per hour on the bike and run) and a little bit of perform on the bike. Water only on the run.

Hi ALL,

I just have a minuted but I needed to tell someone about my weigh-in results as I am so proud of myself right now Lost 4.8lbs this week and I am finally in the 170s (for all your metric people in the group I am so close to the 70s (kg) that I can smell it )

I am off work today and I have a swim and short run scheduled. I was going to go swimming now but it is snow storming outside....whats the big deal you would ask....well almost all our pools are OUTSIDE and we swim outside all year long...I don't really have time to drive to an indoor one so I guess I either switch and run now and hope that the weather has changed later or I suck it up.... Need to decide within the next 5 minutes.

And then its weekend soon and I will find some time to answer some of you and of course give some inspires

Happy Friday to you all