Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 13)

Welcome Tim

Had to skip a long bike yesterday, and possibly the workout today.

Kids activities have officially taken over my life.

I'll run in the dark, but no way will I ride in the dark. I may have to bag my tri dreams this year. Or maybe just bust it down to sprint/oly distances. Oh well, at least I'll be the most physically fit T-Ball coach this week. 

I also use Bricks to add that extra run during the week.  I think the bricks helped me this past weekend.  It was pretty chilly and I could not feel my legs once I got off the bike, and I mentally used "just like we practiced" to slosh through the first mile. Which was significantly slower than the last 2.  One mistake I made the week before my Sprint was to see how fast I could go for that 8 minutes after a pretty hard ride, I will save that for race day. 

So was that just a function of warming the legs up? 8:30/7:51/7:50

Is that fairly normal? Anything I could have done to even them up?

Last year for my final Half, I also used the strategy of going easy on the bike.  And my splits were pretty similar for each half of the 13.1.  Not fast, but I did not slow down which I was happy about.

You sound like a bad, bad man!  I know your type because I have a few in my group ride and I curse them regularly.

But seriously everyone needs that good push forward and last year I had some of my best bike fitness because of guys like you in my group.  So, keep up the good work  

As far as bricks, I don't do a ton of them but I agree that combo'ing two sports in any fashion is a good idea.  I think it helps break up the monotony of doing just one sport for the whole workout.  Last year I did a short but intense swim (in a pool - 30') and then went out and did a longer run (90').  Not traditional, but a very good way to minimize the stress on the body versus doing one one 120' run.  I really enjoyed that workout for some reason. 

Very individual for sure.  I ride a Cobb saddle, my wife uses an Adamo.  Neither of us can stand the other's choice.  

Hey guys I am getting ready to walk out the door and drive to Philadelphia to start my week long Police Unity Tour Ride!!! super excited to ride in honor of my friend who died in September and spend some time in DC at Police Week. Longest 4 rides ever so it should be loads of fun. I wanted to let everyone know that I will check in when I can but I am not sure what access to a computer or internet I will have over the next week so I don't want anyone to think I dropped out of the group or anything like that. Looking forward to posting a RR with some pics when I come back. Great thread on the brick info because I was wondering if I should do any during the ride or not. Good luck to anyone who is racing this week and happy training to everyone else!

Have fun, be safe!

X3! Pictures or it didn't happen

Sounds like a great time :=)

enders_shadow - 2013-05-08 10:51 AM Multitude of questions that occurred to me during my run this morning..... 1) I know what they will be serving at the aid stations during the run of my HIM. I assume I should practice eating some of the stuff on a long run to see how it works out - (water, HEED, ice, flat Coke, Chex mix, orange quarters, Hammer Gel, and E-Caps). I was planning on carrying my own drink (see next question) - so I figured I'd try out the chex mix and orange quarters - I prefer to go natural over chemical. Any benefit I'm not thinking of with respect to the Hammer Gel and E-caps? 2) I have had cramping issues in the past, so I did my last 2 half-marys with nuun (my electrolyte of choice) in my camelback. I'm planning on doing this during the HIM - I'm not out to set any speed records - any huge negatives for me throwing my camelback on in T2 for the run leg? For the half marys, I was able to use the camelback + the water at aid stations to hydrate fine. 3) KT Tape. I've had ITB issues in the past, but they seem to be in the past. However, when going for a run of > 1 hour, I generally tape up my knees as a precaution. I could a) wean myself off the KT tape or b) plan on wearing it for the race - I assume I put it on before the race...does it stay on in water as well as they claim or will it just be a hassle for me? 4) Calf sleeves - based on my cramping issues before, I usually run my half marys (and runs > 10 miles) with calf sleeves. What do you do about these in races (or is this something else I need to wean myself off of)? 5) Watches & wetsuits. I have a heck of a time getting my wetsuit on and off as it is - how do I deal with that and my watch (Garmin 305)? Sorry if any of these are silly, but I need something other than my lousy swim to occupy my panic zone.

Not an expert, but here is my N=1 experience with 3 and 5.

3. KT tape- I am a believer that it works, whether it is psychosomatic or real does not matter to me, if it helps get me from A to B.  I am currently always working on any muscle imbalances that cause the nagging injuries so I am being active.  I highly recommend Rock tape over the KT tape for its ability to stay on for days even when wet, as long as you cut round edges.  Even get a little waxing affect when you try to take it off. 

5.  This weekend, getting my full sleeve wetsuit over the ginormous 910xt was a challenge.  I practiced and found it easier to take off the watch before I took off my left sleeve. That was done all during the brief run to T1.  There might be an easier way, but I could not figure it out.

I will let the experts chime in on the others.  I am a firm believer of trying the stuff they serve if you want to live off the course.  They used the natural stuff for years before all the fancy stuff came out.  The Chex mix should give you a bunch of sodium and the orange halves are just plain tasty!

Good luck and let us know what you plan on doing.

enders_shadow - 2013-05-08 9:51 AM Multitude of questions that occurred to me during my run this morning..... 1) I know what they will be serving at the aid stations during the run of my HIM. I assume I should practice eating some of the stuff on a long run to see how it works out - (water, HEED, ice, flat Coke, Chex mix, orange quarters, Hammer Gel, and E-Caps). I was planning on carrying my own drink (see next question) - so I figured I'd try out the chex mix and orange quarters - I prefer to go natural over chemical. Any benefit I'm not thinking of with respect to the Hammer Gel and E-caps? 2) I have had cramping issues in the past, so I did my last 2 half-marys with nuun (my electrolyte of choice) in my camelback. I'm planning on doing this during the HIM - I'm not out to set any speed records - any huge negatives for me throwing my camelback on in T2 for the run leg? For the half marys, I was able to use the camelback + the water at aid stations to hydrate fine. 3) KT Tape. I've had ITB issues in the past, but they seem to be in the past. However, when going for a run of > 1 hour, I generally tape up my knees as a precaution. I could a) wean myself off the KT tape or b) plan on wearing it for the race - I assume I put it on before the race...does it stay on in water as well as they claim or will it just be a hassle for me? 4) Calf sleeves - based on my cramping issues before, I usually run my half marys (and runs > 10 miles) with calf sleeves. What do you do about these in races (or is this something else I need to wean myself off of)? 5) Watches & wetsuits. I have a heck of a time getting my wetsuit on and off as it is - how do I deal with that and my watch (Garmin 305)? Sorry if any of these are silly, but I need something other than my lousy swim to occupy my panic zone.

I can't answer a lot of your questions but my thoughts on the race nutrition is use what you know works for you. I carry my gels with me because my stomach doesn't accept the Vanilla Gu that is the standard gel at most of the races I've done. I do fine with Gu chocolate outrage, mocha or Cliff shots chocolate but the vanilla doesn't sit. I have eaten some pretzels and orange slices towards the end of a marathon but don't really train with those.

I've used my camelback on long runs and had planned to use it on the Boulder marathon last fall but forgot to pack it when I headed out. I've ran with a Nathan bottle but it isn't my first choice. Depending on the weather I may use the Camelback in a couple of weeks at the Colfax marathon. I don't see anything wrong with you using it on the run, especially since you've trained with it.

I've never used tape, calf sleeves or tried on my wetsuit so I can't help with those.

enders_shadow - 2013-05-08 10:51 AM Multitude of questions that occurred to me during my run this morning..... 1) I know what they will be serving at the aid stations during the run of my HIM. I assume I should practice eating some of the stuff on a long run to see how it works out - (water, HEED, ice, flat Coke, Chex mix, orange quarters, Hammer Gel, and E-Caps). I was planning on carrying my own drink (see next question) - so I figured I'd try out the chex mix and orange quarters - I prefer to go natural over chemical. Any benefit I'm not thinking of with respect to the Hammer Gel and E-caps? 2) I have had cramping issues in the past, so I did my last 2 half-marys with nuun (my electrolyte of choice) in my camelback. I'm planning on doing this during the HIM - I'm not out to set any speed records - any huge negatives for me throwing my camelback on in T2 for the run leg? For the half marys, I was able to use the camelback + the water at aid stations to hydrate fine. 3) KT Tape. I've had ITB issues in the past, but they seem to be in the past. However, when going for a run of > 1 hour, I generally tape up my knees as a precaution. I could a) wean myself off the KT tape or b) plan on wearing it for the race - I assume I put it on before the race...does it stay on in water as well as they claim or will it just be a hassle for me? 4) Calf sleeves - based on my cramping issues before, I usually run my half marys (and runs > 10 miles) with calf sleeves. What do you do about these in races (or is this something else I need to wean myself off of)? 5) Watches & wetsuits. I have a heck of a time getting my wetsuit on and off as it is - how do I deal with that and my watch (Garmin 305)? Sorry if any of these are silly, but I need something other than my lousy swim to occupy my panic zone.

2. I don't use a CamelBak, so can't really speak on why you shouldn't, but my gut reaction is that it would be heavy and I don't know if *I* would want that weight & heat on my back when I'm already tired from swimming and biking. If you are looking for an easy way to use Nuun (which I also use), I just pop a tab in my mouth and let it fizzle and dissolve, chase with water at an aid station. If you go that route, definitely try it beforehand!

3. I have never head luck with KT tape in a tri. Always comes off/gets loose in the swim.

4. If you want to wear calf sleeves, you can put them on before the race, under your wet suit.