David Gillen's Group - FULL (Page 13)

First OWS tri this weekend (hopefully, after the last one was cancelled) 800m, 27k, 5k in Dallas, TX.  It should be pretty warm but hopefully not too bad in the AM, I think the high will be in the Mid 90's. 

Got out yesterday for 4th OWS with Dave and some other BTers and got to meet Dave's wife also who same with us.  Did not manage to swim as far as previous attempts but we had some pretty big waves to deal with.  I feel pretty confident going into my race Sunday since I actually got to swim with some people around me since we have a few more people and the waves to deal with.  My goal is to finish around 1:30ish or top 1/3 of field.

Got new tires on my bike yesterday also.  The ones that came with my bike were crap and wore out in about 1K miles and finally blew on Tuesday so I replaced them yesterday and too my surprise the new ones are much easier to install.  I got the folding tires which seem to stetch more.  I have a couple hour ride tomorrow so I will see how they work.

Dave,

Had fun hearing about your race and meeting your wife.  We definately need to get together like yesterday once and awhile.  Also, we need to do some cycling so you can show me some of the routes you ride.  The trail is getting pretty boring.

Ken

You'll like this race too, Ken. I did it in 2005. The bike course is really flat so it will be like the Campion trails your train on. The can be some winds especially when you cross over the lake, but if it's calm, there will be some really fast bike splits. I think it was pretty calm in 05, and I had my faster ever pace on this course (23.1 mph). I don't even know if I could do that today!

Even though you've only done 4 OWS, I think you're more than ready for the swim. 800m is not all that far. You'll be out of the water in less than 15 minutes!

I'd love to come cheer you on, but I'm driving to Austin this weekend to play in a volleyball tournament and visit my parents. But, I'll be checking the results, and waiting for a good race report!

Great. New tires are NICE, and yes the folding ones are much easier to install.

Yeah, like I mentioned, I rode on Campion a fair amount when I lived near it, and it definitely got boring quick. Sometime soon, I'll show you some of the nice, country roads I ride on in Flower Mound. We could even start from Rockledge and do a nice swim-bike brick and even throw in a trail run if we wanted!

Also, I'm probably going to do the Tour d'Italia bike rally next weekend if you wanted to join me for that.

Ken

Pene, good luck in your race this weekend.  I'm really glad to hear you're feeling better in open water.  If you just swam 800 yards or so in practice, and your race is only 400, then you're going to kick butt!  No worries!  

Save some gas for the run and you'll be fine.  I'm glad you were able to run the course today and it was nice and scenic!  So much the better! 

I can't wait to hear all about it.  I'll be spying on your race report draft! 

BTW, it's really windy here today too.  35mph gusts.  I wanted to ride tonight, but we'll have to see.

Good luck at your race, you will do fine, just have fun.  Don't panic or get self conciense.  Remember the only people that would be staring are people who ARE NOT competing.

Is your speed sensor and magnet on your front wheel? If so, when you move back on the bars, your 301 might be too far from the sensor to pick up a reading. This exact same thing happens with my Polar wrist watch and it's speed sensor. When I sit up high and stretch or something, it'll read 0, but then when I move closer it'll come back.

Go for it Mike. I've been reading your logs, and I bet you could do this race tomorrow! You wouldn't be the fastest in the water, but you'd get through. So with 7 weeks to prepare, you could do this race easy. I checked the website and it's a pool swim, so you wouldn't have to worry about open water. 400m is not that far! Shoot, you swam 1000 meters yesterday.

And do go thinking that "racing is out", your bike pace isn't slow and your run pace is great. So I think you could "race well". 

Everyone here knows I like and emphasis Z2 base building, and while I think that should still be a key element in your training, I think it makes sense for you to add a little "speed work" (i.e, above Z2 training).  You might try a track workout with 400 or 800m repeats once a week or once every other week.  You could also try some bike intervals to improve your speed.  But be careful with these workouts and be sure to rest a little before and recover well after them. 

Race specific bricks are an excellent idea.  Is the race site close enough where you could practice on the actual course?  Regardless, I'd recommend trying to get 2-3 good bricks before your race.   I wouldn't bike more than 20K or run more than 4-5K in these bricks however.  Save your maximum effort for race day. 

Let me know if you want some more specific workouts.  

I'm excited for you and I'm glad you're going to TRI!

Ken and Pene,

CONGRATULATIONS on having fun at your first outdoor triathlons!  That's awesome.  Please write up a race report soon.  I can't wait to hear more details.   I'll write more soon, but I walked in the door from being in Austin this weekend w/o a computer, so I wanted to congratulate you both.

Well done,

David 

Johnny, Congrats to you too for posting a good time at Metroplex Sprint.  Please take the time to write a race report.