Birkierunner's (Jim Kelley) General + Long Course Group (OPEN) (Page 13)

Yikes...I have been soooooooo MIA with this thread lately.  This is one of my busiest 2 weeks at work and then I raced the Birkie 50k ski marathon this past Saturday.  On Sunday I had to travel home to catch a plane to a meeting in Nashville but my car broke down 100 miles from home.  Obviously I missed my plane and had to reschedule for this morning and now I'm typing in a hotel room in Nahsville trying to put together the finishing touches on a presenation. 

As for the race on Saturday it was some of the toughest conditions ever for this race.  We got 12+ inches of snow on Thurs/Fri and then the temps plummeted.  We were hovering around zero on race morning with high winds.  The winning time was about 20 minutes slower than last year (those are professional ski racers from Europe usually).  I managed to place about 200 places better this year but my time was 30+ minute slower.   I will be sure to be here mostly on a daily basis from here on out to answer questions, etc.

Power is definitely a pricey deal, especially if you don't already own the more important "luxuries" such as a nice TT bike/set of wheels. When I first started running with a HRM, it was definitely a shock to see my numbers in the highs constantly. I wasn't out of shape, but the hilly trails that I ran would usually ramp me up to the 180/190s. Hills are what I used to use for max HR testing, but my employer offers free monthly metabolic/VO2 max testing, so I just use that. Only downside to that is that their protocol is to cut you off at 200, but they're the professionals and the data is far more useful anyways.

Originally posted by hotalinge

Originally posted by StevenC Let's try to kick start this thread a bit. How was everyone's training this weekend? For me, I did one of my longest rides in a long time on Sat...85 Miles with over 5000 feet of climbing. Then a nice 5 mile run yesterday, 1 mile easy jog, 5K time trial, 1 mile cool down.

I've been swimming 3x per week and running more or less following a marathon plan for my race March 16 and biking when I can fit it in. This weekend i just felt soooo tired. I had a 4100 swim planned for Sat and only got through about 2800 (partly because I am so much slower than the workout plan I use expects and I just couldn't make myself swim for that long). My 20 mile run Sunday basically went OK, but I was so tired Monday that I couldn't think - so I decided an extra rest day was in order. Back to running and swimming today...

Your Marathon is just a week before mine. Hope it'll go well for the both of us! What's your goal for this Marathon?

I tried to play a little bit of catch up from the week, but it wasn't exactly a lot. I worked on my swim on friday, put a few miles on the trainer on saturday, and finished out with an hour on sunday. Yesterday, I laid low again with swimming, but today I'm definitely adding on a good hour on the trainer, and possibly a short run onto the swim I did during lunch.

PS:You're giving me a strong urge to visit some mountains this weekend

My PR is a 5:11 from several years ago and I'm just aiming to be below that and the 5 hour mark. I'll be trying a run/walk strategy this time and will definitely pay a lot more attention to my nutrition. What's your plan for nutrition and recovery (day on and week after?) 

Hey everyone -

Hope training is going well.

Has anyone had any experience with Osymetric chain rings? (See picture below) As you can see, they aren't round. My cycling coach has repeatedly suggested I begin using this chain ring. I know Chris Fromme won the Tour de France last year using them. I also know I haven't seen many people using them on group rides. Seems to me if 'they were all that' everyone would be using them.

That said, it appears there may be some fairly significant benefits to using them.

From the Osymetric website -

The OSYMETRIC ring is not an oval nor an ellipse – it is a twin cam shaped to win. This patented design reduces the gear and the effort needed to get through what is commonly called the “dead spot” in everyone's pedal stroke. Then it increases the usable gear during the power portion of the pedal stroke between the 1 and 5 o’clock positions of the crank so your body can take full advantage of its natural strength. This powerful tool can reduce lactic acid by 10% and increases power by 10% for anyone that uses them.

Just curious if anyone has used them or has any opinion of them; good, bad, or ugly.

Thanks!

(osymetric_black3850.jpg)

Scott, I don't know anything about them so can't really comment.  Curious about their lactic acid and power increase claims - how was that determined and how reliable are the results.  Is your coach a dealer for these things?  Not casting aspersions but one never knows.

Are you planning on using the 5' test as a valid test?  I would consider re-doing it and choose a starting point that will allow you to have a more even effort over the entire test.   I'm not familiar with the virtual power setup but doesn't it calibrate for the trainer you are using?  If so, you should be able to use your gearing to alter the effort during the test so you don't have an interruption like your first attempt.

No, he has no financial interest at all in Osymetric.  That was one of the first things I asked as I like to know any 'hidden agenda.'  I have read a review that questions whether a PM is accurate when not using a round chain ring.  Maybe explains the 10% power increase.  Although, I have talked to two people that use Osymetric rings and they absolutely swear by them.  They both say they feel much fresher coming off the bike and they claim the biggest difference for them is not an improved bike split but a vastly improved run split.  I have the same post I put here on BT out on several other forums so looking forward to all the responses I will get.

Be careful about eating a bar too close to the race start.  You want a breakfast 3-4 hours before the race and then some easily digestible carbs closer to race time but I would not eat a bar within 30 minutes of race start.  Check out the fueling guide link I posted a couple pages back for the sweat test guidelines and general fueling guide.

Well, the answer to that would be very long and detailed and beyond the usual scope of the mentor groups.  The obvious first place to start is to check out the free training plans here on BT and choose the one geared toward your general goal race(s).  As far as more specific training on the bike during winter I would check out the winter training plan that has been in use here on BT for several winters (link here) which has both HR and power based plans.

I know what you mean about how hard it is mentally to stay on the trainer.  In the lead-up to Ironman Arizona (late November) it was pretty cold outside here in northwest WI so I had some 5 and 6 hour rides that were not fun.  There was one long one that I had to quit 30 minutes early because I just couldn't keep the effort at a pace that was very meaningful.  I use movies and playing ironman course videos on the laptop to try to get through it.

Tell us how it went?

Hi Helen, you're more than welcome to join us.  Its a great idea to join a local tri club.  Having veterans close by to ask questions is a nice resource.  Also, there tends to be a "fish" in every club that you can turn to for asking swim questions or have them look at your technique and offer suggestions.  I know it sounds like a broken record but the first place to start out is to check out the free training plans here on BT to get an idea of how to set up a basic training plan.

I logged over 350 minutes of training on average during the past three weeks, and I'm really starting to feel a difference. This weekend felt amazing. I really love interval-training  - I feel as if I can speed on forever

I've been working on my swim religiously as preached by a lot of you and I can definitely feel the difference there. I swam 200m twice today and I beat my old PR at ease by over 40s! Then I went on to time-trial the 750m and broke out a 16:51. The 910 has definitely been a blessing. With the data, I found my treshold pace for the swim and it seems to be at 2:18. Let's see what another three weeks will do, and perhaps I'll be able to reach my goal of hitting an average 1:50 by the end of the season!

Thanks for all the helpful advice so far! And a warm welcome and happy training to you Helen!!

The Lurker