MarkQuiet's group - FULL (Page 13)

Rules of the Road:  I'll be happy to engage in a discussion about the laws in Texas as they relate to bicycles on the roads (two pursuits near and dear to my heart), and see if we can apply them to your state.  But as for tris - they'll generally arrange to have the intersections controlled by law enforcement and/or volunteers and reserve a lane for the bikes.  Not to say some idiot won't merge in to turn right in front of you (as some old man did to my RB at the Cowtown last weekend).  Generally, even here in bike unfriendly Texas, I've found the drivers respectful during events.  Remember, you'll be on your bike around 8 am on a Saturday or Sunday.  Not too many folks out at that hour, anyway.

I have so much more to say about this part of biking - safety, interaction with cars, rules of the road, etc.  Someone let me know if you want to discuss it.

Ah... the questions about biking during the tri. This is a topic that DOES require some discussions, especially for the newbies.

You ever watch Lance Armstrong winning one of the Tour de France? Or how about some other nationally televised cycling race? See how they are are all bunched up and ride real close? How they discuss "team efforts" and "drafting"? Well pretty much forget all of that. Its illegal in triathlons. Yes illegal. Infact, if you are caught doing something like that you will be fined!!

First rule in tris - no drafting on the bike. Drafting is using another rider to block or break the wind for you. It is very useful in cycling events and having a group drafting together will increase the groups overall speed by at least 3 - 5mph!! Drafting can be dangerous. One small erratic movement can cause a major accident. That is why the use of aero bars are illegal in most cycling events (can't get to the breaks fast enough). In triathlons they just make the draft illegal. A triathlon is an individual sport and guidlines are there to ensure safety and fairness to that goal.

So with that in mind, aero bars are allowed and used often (reduce the body surface facing the wind to reduce oveall draft). Riders must maintain at least 3 bike length separation between themself and the rider in front of them. Passing is done to the left of the rider being overtaken.  Slower riders to the right.  Passing must be completed within a certain time limit (something like 30 seconds). If the pass can not be done in the appropriate time the rider attempting to pass must fall back to 3 lengths before attempting to pass again. Once passed the slower rider must drop to at least 3 lengths behind the faster rider or be penalized.  There are bike martials on the course (most of the time on motorcycles) that will notate violations. Penalities are in the form of minutes added to the overal time.

The thing with passing is a pretty hot topic most of the time. Most of the new people to tris miss this point. I only new about it because I read the USAT Rules and Guidlines. Of course I make sure I do at least one "cycling" event a year so I can partake in the whole drafting concept. Of course I don't use my aero bars when working in a drafting group.

HH100 Doug? Maybe we should look at putting together a riding group for that event this year. It sucked doing all 102 miles last year by myself.

It got me there.  I'll continue to refine as I drill laps.

Congrats.

Sluggo - you need a manhug (((hug))).

Bummer on the conflicting date, but unless you have to travel for Oma's 80th, perhaps you can do the tri in her honor in the AM and then party (triple celebration - your accomplishment, MIL's smoke-free anniversary and, of course Grandma's B-day).

Don't let the naysayers get you down.  You're doing this for yourself and no-one else (except perhaps, wifey).   Try turning their reactions into extra motivation for your training and the event.  Then, challenge them to join you at a future one.

you can do eet, mon.

Tami (or Tami using Mary's name, or whatever),

Usually the race officials will post signs or designate a lane for bikes during a triathlon. There are also law enforcement officers to ensure the safety of the participants. However, my advice - Don't cross the "designated" bike lane.

Suggo - people know I do tris, but I try to avoid telling people new goals I set for myself. I too don't want people to know that I am a failure if I can't do something. My 4-4-B4-40 is a case in point. Injury prevented me from completing it, but I still feel like a failure. Then I realized that I am doing this for me. What I do is more then most people will ever phantom doing. Oh and those people that say a sprint tri is easy - is someone that has never done a tri (or someone that does half iron man distances before breakfast). Yes the distance of a single event may sound easy, but combine them together and add several hundred people doing it together and the story changes. When I find someone that says "Oh that doesn't sound to bad" or something to that effect. My response is "Great!!! Then how about you do it with me!". Amazing the excuses that fly after that.

Everyone here doing their first tri, first half mary, their first anything is doing something more then a lot of people would ever dream of doing. You are setting goals and going for them. You are on the path of getting healthier and taking care of yourself!! A recent report stated that 65% of Texas adults are overweight and 35% of Texas children. That is an outrageous. I like knowing that I am one of the minority in this case!! Good job to everyone and forget what others may say to you. Stick to your goals. You are the only one that is going to take care YOU.

Oops - At first I had no idea what you were talking about when you said (Tami using Mary's name or whatever) and then I realized when I posted that, I had  posted with my husbands (Marty) account.  Must be he left it up on his computer and I got on thinking it was mine.

Sorry for the confusion. 

Jay, that's is the whole idea of doing the mentor group and of this website. I'm glad to hear that it is keeping you motivated.

Tami - sorry for my own typo. I did mean to type Marty. Please, let Mary know that if he wants to join us here, he is more then welcomed. Its up to the two of you.

All - Just wanted to let everyone know that I think that I will be doing my first tri of the season on the 17th of March. It is a local sprint tri. I know the course, so I am hoping that will help with my time. Yesterday I did similar distances in all three to get a feel for my fitness level going into the tri. Based on that, my realistic goal is to finish in under 70 minutes. My target is to finish in less than an hour.

Frank - I actually do have some swimming experience, and my endurance in the pool is adequate (4K in a recent workout). 300 meters in a 50m pool will be fairly easy. I won't break any records, but I should seed pretty decent.

All - thanks for the encouragement on the upcoming Tri. My leg is doing good. I ran a 10K last night at an fairly easy pace (my easy pace). I did okay, but I do realize that my hydrations is still fairly low. Which brings up an interesting point.

[lecture] As we start moving into spring (atleast those of us in the South) you need to start focusing on your hydration. Many "off" days can be attributed to mild cases of dehydration. Typically I can tell if I am dehydrated if during my runs I get cotton mouth, my lips get dry, or if my sweat is unusally salty (stinging my eyes as it drips into them). I also notice that my HR is higher then normal with the amount of preceived exertion (also know as RPE). If I notice these things early I know that I am going to have an off day and I will have to struggle to finish these runs. Unfortanetly hydration does not come with a bottle of water 10 minutes before our workout. Hydration must occur throughout the day - constantly. Also the amount of caffine consumed during the spring and summer must be reduced. Caffine is a diuretic and will quickly dehydrate you. Make it part of your daily routine to drink more and more water or sports drinks. As you do so the impact of the warmer (or in the case of TX - hotter) will be reduced. [/lecture]

I don't know how the rest of you approach this particular issue, but I'm curious to see what develops (if anything) from this post.  As you know, if you browse my blog at all, I'm pretty into playing soccer - sometimes 2x week.  I count those minutes as workout, even though they're not from one of our main three sports.  I also count hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, etc. as workouts (many of which I'll be doing next week in Colorado and Texas).  I'll try to run and swim at altitude, too, but that depends on weather and time.   Moreover, I'm not afraid to skip a workout day if I'm feeling too tired or it just got too late to do it (like last night).

So here's the discussion topic I want to start - how do y'all feel about occassionally skipping a workout?  Does it just chafe you not to be out there?  Do you feel guilty?  Refreshed?  Alternatively, how do you count your other activities?  Do you use them as substitutes for tri workouts? 

Anyway, If we can scam some wireless provider while up in the mountains, I'll check in.  If not, that'll explain my absence for next week.  I still plan on writing a few road cycling tips which I hope will be of some benefit for all the cyclists in our group.

Happy trails.

db

Hello, all.

I mentioned this to Kirk, and he said to go ahead and post this.  In terms of caffeine and dehydration; recent studies have shown that caffeine is not the issue in terms of dehydration that it once was considered.  Generally, it requires 600 mg or more to create a diuretic effect in people, and this effect is lessened in people used to consuming high levels of caffeine (building a tolerance for the stuff).

That being said, he is exactly right in terms of overall issues related to dehydration.  You need to drink water.  Not soda, not sports drink.  Water.  It's best to do it throughout the day. 

http://ific.org/foodinsight/2002/ja/caffdehydnbfi402.cfm
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/columnnn/nn031103.html

Kirk, hope this helps in terms of clearing up some things. 

db-

Here's my opinion on what you were talking about.  Of course take this from a total and complete newbie perspective (in other words, someone who has no idea what their talking about!).

For me personally, skipping workouts is just not a good idea.  Not only does it make me feel guilty, it also tends to start me down a path of not picking it back up again and next thing I know a week has gone by without a workout.  I'm someone who needs the discipline and who follows the program I've uploaded exactly, if not overshoots it. 

As far as other sports go.  I have no clue what I'm talking about here as far as tri's go - but I've been a varsity girls soccer coach for 13 years and I have girls that double sport.  In all honesty, they are very talented in both sports - but never able to really give 110% percent in both sports.  They are often plagued with injuries - especially those girls that double in track and soccer.

 Yet here we are in a tri - 3 sports at the same time.  However, I would think that if you played a game of soccer - that would be enough of a workout for a day.  Personally I have intentions of playing indoor next fall and unless I'm in WAY better shape than I'm in now - I will definatly count a game as enough of a workout for the day.

In my uneducated opinion, the beauty of tri is the balance of the 3 sports.  You work different muscle groups so no one group is over-taxed.  I think the injuries I mentioned above come from the constant pounding of soccer/running, whereas with tri's, your doing different things.

That's just my thoughts coming from an overweight newbie trying to find her way in this new sport!

Scout, thanks for the update on the caffine. I'll be sure to look at the links you posted. Anytime you (or anyone for that matter) has constructive feeback to what I or anyone else posts please feel free to do so. I am by no means an expert on the many aspects of tri training. I don't get offended with being corrected or being introduced to new information. We all should be learning something new everyday.

As for Doug - I think you already no my answer to your inquiry. It does kill me to skip a workout. Look at yesterday. Not much in my log, but at least I did something that I could mark down as a workout. Even if it was just a bike ride to the bank to get some cash (8 miles round trip). Do I feel guilty if I don't do a workout or don't do what I was scheduled to do - hell yeah. Does it really make a difference - not really.

As for the counting of other sports / activities. Oh yeah. I don't play soccer, but I do yoga. I also count the daily walks with the dogs. I have also been known to rack up some hours when I was moving out of my house after the divorce (lots of lifting and carrying - by myself). I look at it this way. If I can't do workouts its best for me to at least show that I was at least active during that time and not sitting (or napping) on the couch eating chips and watching the NASCAR race (as I did a couple of weekends ago).