GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 132)

Anne,

Sounds like you had a blast! Glad to have you back.

Kasia

Got the bike fitted yesterday and now it's awesome. The guy wanted to put me in a more aggressive riding position, but what I'm at now is aggressive enough for the time being. I'm still getting used to the road biking position as opposed to a mountain bike. When I come back for a follow-up towards the middle of summer I may go lower like he suggested, but for now I have to get used to this, especially using the drops which is super weird and scary. Part of that is my road handling which needs some help, but I think it'll be easier when I'm more upright.

Oh, and I'm finally using clipless pedals...with really gaudy-looking bike shoes. But they fit great, which is why I got them. I'm only vain when it comes to things I plan to keep around for a while, such as the bike and the shoes. Oh well. I'll get over it. Maybe.

And, I will not jinx myself by talking about my progress on said clipless pedals. Last time I did that was with complimenting Mandy's beautiful snowscape last week...and then it snowed here. In late April. Not cool. So imagine away!

Kasia

Lisa,

Good luck with your decision. It seems like there's a lot to think about. And good luck on your tri this weekend!

Kasia

Tracey,

Congrats on the swim accomplishments! Awesome

I have a question about the saddle, since I'm thinking of getting a new one, too. What's the purpose of the cutout for women? I've Googled this before, and although there's lots of info out there, I don't see it being such a big problem for us, ladies.

*Fair warning: Let me know if I'm being too personal. I figure this is a common biking thread question, so it seems fair game. But I could be wrong.*

For me, I'm trying to solve the problem of soreness/numbness in the soft tissues while riding. The nose of the seat is what seems to cause most of the pain, so I don't think a cutout would help. But pain/numbness comes only after a while of riding, so maybe I just spend too much time in the seat? I also haven't tried riding long after getting the bike fitted properly, so maybe that was the problem. My short ride yesterday was pretty sore, though. Maybe I just need recovery time from the last pre-fitting ride before being able to look at this objectively again.

Ay ay ay! So many variables in this cycling business!

Kasia

SteveB:

As far as I know, the course is swimmable. I'm more familiar with Onset Beach, which is just east of the race area, but I think it's kind of all the same. I'd love to do a practice run with you. I'm hoping to get down there at least once before then to do the course. I have no excuse not to really, it's only about 25 minutes from my house. Given that this will be my first tri, I think the more I practice the course, the better!

Thanks Mark for the clarification. I think I've been focusing so much on increasing my stroke length that I sort of forgot about attempting to increase my stroke rate. So I'm obviously pleased to have such a good result!

STEVE A (and everyone else ofcourse!!)

When I am doing a big race, I like to read what other people are doing...I am a bit of a blog addict when people are writing about a race I am doing so I thought of you on these 3 things.

Did you follow the Fat Cyclist? He is doing the IMSG and he wrote this article went up on Active.com today:
http://www.active.com/triathlon/ironman/Articles/7-Things-You-Should-Know-About-Ironman-St-George.htm

If you want to laugh, check out some of his stories about his training, or lack there of.  His latest is about how he is really nervous about making the swim cut off, so he tried to swim with his wife in the heated pool (he with a wetsuit, she without) and well, it is kind of funny.
http://www.fatcyclist.com/2010/04/27/a-very-scientific-experiment/#comment-489991
This guy is a riot, reading some of his stuff will entertain you at least.

Training Payne is going to be there too - he lost 50lbs when he started training again a few years ago. His blog is good and the latest one has his pre-race stuff.
http://trainingpayne.blogspot.com/

Now, if on the other hand, reading this stuff freaks you out, please ignore me completely.

Cheers!

Mandy

Hey Kasia,
Very cool on the bike.  I remember when I got my road bike converted to a tri position and aerobars - it felt like I was standing on my head when I was riding.  VERY scary to get that low.  I rode on the trainer for a couple of weeks before taking it on the road, and even then, I had a real hard time getting down into the aero bars.  Then took a long time to feel comfortable going downhill.  So, give yourself some time.  If you are like I was, you'll balk at the idea of getting down on the bars when you are first riding outside.  Just pick a nice safe place to ride and take your time.

When I went to the Felt, I figured it'd be no problem...boy was I wrong!  The Felt was even lower and more aggressive, and I had do do the whole adjustment process again - so when you do get adjusted again, take your time.  You'll make the transition for sure!

Have fun!

Thanks Mandy...

Started to freak out on the second link....so I stopped reading.  It's hard to read about other people's training experiences, because we are all different, and have different challenges.  No worries.

I liked the first link - pretty accurate of my experience as well. 

Everyone seems concerned about the weather.  Like I said before, I'm not so concerned - except for two things really:
1)  Would the RD cancel the swim if it is particularly cold?  I have this nagging concern that some RD concerned with liability might cancel the swim for fear that coming out of the water onto the bike in sub 50-degree weather could cause too much hypothermia concerns.  If the high on Saturday is really in the mid-60's, then at 8:30 am, it won't be much above 50, if it's even that.
2)  Getting to the store to get a riding jersey!  I have tri jerseys, and I have the jersey I ride in on training rides - but I don't really want to wear my company team jersey for the race.  Just seems weird to do so.  I'm thinking at this point that I am likely wearing my turtleneck, so I want to wear a normal bike jersey for the ride, which means I need to get to the LBS and get something to wear...preferably something black to absorb heat!  LOL.

STEVE -

Liability is a big hot potato in triathlons, and probably RDs have every reason to be concerned. However.....

I thiiiiiiiiink that the biggest concern is what happens in the water, not after people get on the bikes. So, as long as the water is not too cold, I doubt the swim will be cancelled. While hypothermia is a very real problem, of course, it is not necessarily fatal.......is it? I mean, it's not like drowning, right? That's usually pretty darn fatal! (I don't mean to sound overly glib or flippant there; honest!)

I think that with proper warnings about dressing well for the bike, if that's what the weather calls for, then it all becomes the athletes' problem. If people want to tempt fate and dress minimally, then they will have to suffer with the consequences --- which may be hypothermia. And when hyprothermia sets in during a race, is it likely that an early-warning sign might be severe cramping? just tossing out some thoughts here!

If the water is swimmable, then there should be some swim of some distance. I guess the RD could always knock off the second loop and os you'd be 140.6 minus 1.2, um, 139.4.........which doesn't quite have that ring to it, does it?

My guess? If water temp is >65, regardless of air temp the whole 140.6 will be scheduled. If water temp is <65, then depending on the air temp, there might be a shortening of the swim. And really -- those are just wild guesses. Maybe 60 will be the cut-off for that sort of thinking, and heaven knows how atmospheric variables (temp, wind) might play into it.

Obviously, this is a terrible situation for an RD to be in. Here you have 2700 folks who have paid ~$550 each just to register for the race, let alone $???? in associated costs, and countless hours of training, and it's mighty tough to make the call to change the structure of the race! After the death (s?) during the swim of the inaugural Utah IM about 7 or 8 years ago, I believe the swim was truned into a run. What happened was that huge waves came up right at the start, people were born all over the palce, dozens were rescued, and I think one guy drowned. Then there was a big meeting, and the thing went off as a du. (I've got to check that story to see how much of it has anything to do with reality! )

I wrote to Lisa the other day about Lonestar and said how abusive people can be when RDs have to make one of those Unpopular Decisions. If it happens at IMSG, scoot over to the RD and hang around and listen to how some people treat him. Mercy! I also think that was a part of the Utah scene --- ballistic people climbing all over the RD, even in the knowledge that someone had died!

Whatever happens, it will count as a Kona qualifier --- and if I were there and aiming for Kona, hearing that the swim had been down-sized in any wat y would increase my chances of qualifying dramatically. So, not everyone would be entirely displeased with a shortened swim, and of the several hundred (literally) who are heading into Saturday with marginal swim training and experience behind them, they will be praying for a shortened swim!

Do you have toe-warmers -- those lightweight neoprene things that fit over the front of your cleats, and also have a cut-out in the bottom so that part doesn't cover the ACTUAL cleat? Those work quite well to keep the toes toasty. If you're thinking along those lines try to get them before you arive at SG, as they're likely to be hot (ha!) sellers.

Oops! Lynn needs the phone, so I gotta go. Bye for now!

Edited by midlifeinsanity 2010-05-25 8:21 PM

KASIA -

Oh, my. I'm perplexed! Swelling sometimes comes with tendonitis, but usually (I think) it is site-specific. In your case it sounds as if it is removed by several inches.....and offhand that doesn't make sense to me. I just bought a new injury book, and while it is tremendously in-depth, it lacks pictures. Now, I'm pretty good with anatomy at this stage of my own injury-riddled career, but it is still helpful to have diagnostic pictures RIGHT THERE! Anyhow, I will look throught at and see if there is any connection between top-of-foot pain and front-of-ankle swelling. Overall, is the condition getting worse. And also -- when does it bother you the most. (think everything here: walking vs. running, ups vs downs, lateral movement vs straight-ahead movement.)

I don't think it was you who I mentioned the following to, but for the saddle matter try www.slowtwicth.com. Click on "Forums", and then click on the Women's one. At that point you can type in the key words to your question in the search bar, and what will come up is a chronological listing of everything that is pertinent to what you are interested in. That might help.

Beyond that, I have no bright ideas, except...
For numbness, try getting out of the saddle for about 20-30 pedal strokes. Just pop your gears into the big ring and one of your harder cogs (12-, 13-, 14-teeth), stand up, and when you sit down again.......no more numbness?? At least it works that way for me, although the cause of numbeness in men is probably different than in women. But it might be worth trying, anyhow.

Pain is a different matter. Discomfort can be tolerated during the initial bunch o' rides, but if it persists or worsens, a new saddle is likely required. Most people hate doing this, as they feel indignant that the problem with their back comes down to THAT, but take comfort in the fact that scores and scores of riders have had to try twothreemany saddles before they get one that feels right.

Bedtime reading tonight --- the top-of-foot-front-of-ankle continuum!!

KASIA again -

Oh, yeah! Good call on taking the positioning matter gradually. I can only imagine what it must be like going from mtn biking to road biking to a more aggressive tri postioning. I'm sure that is musc more difficult than what I did, which was go from literally not riding any bike at all for 28 years to being put in a fairly steep position. I think that might've been easier just because I had no recent muscle memory, or from-the-cockpit perspective, to mess with my head.

And by all means, enjoy the clipless pedals. Once you master 'em, you'll love 'em!!

Steve,

Thanks for looking into the foot thing for me. I'm very confused, too. Overall it seems like it's a combination of tendonitis and something with the front of the ankle. Maybe some sort of sprain or strained ligament/tendon/muscle? I have no idea.

I don't think it's getting worse, except for the onset of swelling. I hadn't noticed that til last night, so that's a fairly new development. Other than that, the top of the foot hurts when I put on a shoe, whether it's my daily loose shoes, running shoes, or anything in between. But after the initial pain of putting on the shoe either I get used to the pain or it goes away. That's more of a bruise-type pain.

Without shoes when I flex my toes down, the front of my ankle to the top of my foot feels like I'm stretching a muscle, but somewhat painfully, like when you're at the limit of stretching. Today hasn't been bad. I can barely feel it, but other days it's not fun.

With a shoe on and pointing my toes down, I can't even flex all the way. Not only is the front of my ankle very painful (mostly a little above the ankle), but I also can't physically do it. The tighter the shoe, the less I can flex. My other foot is fine and normal. It was the worst yesterday, which probably has something to do with the swelling.

Overall, the pain is bearable, comes and goes depending on the day, and nothing I'm toooooooo concerned about (although now that I've written it out, it sounds like a little more than nothing), but the swelling did catch me off-guard. My only explanation for that is I tried a lot of cycling shoes on yesterday, so buckling and unbuckling could've aggravated whatever was already sensitive.

The link to the saddle forum was very helpful and super informative. Time to get reading...tomorrow.

Ok, off to bed for me,
Kasia

SteveA,

So there's hope for me? I'm trying to get down to the drops more often with every ride but it's still pretty scary and short-lived. 30 seconds tops right now. I can't imagine getting really low on a tri bike. Seems light-years away on the learning curve. I also need to get a bit more flexible for that to happen. Maybe I should indulge in some yoga. The bike fitter even suggested some exercises to get the IT bands looser so as to allow me to be more comfortable in a lower position. It seems like everywhere I go, I get more exercises to do. For the betterment of my performance and comfort, I guess.

Thanks for sending some good vibes

Kasia

SteveA:

I know your race is on the 1st but wasn't sure when you'd be taking off for your trip (not even quite sure where you live...?) Anyway, I wanted to send you good vibes and wish you good luck! Can't wait to hear your race report...

Tracey

Steve A

Forecast for St. George, UT as of 22:21 CDT on 4/27/10 for Saturday, 5/1/10:

This forecast is based on analysis from GFS and ECMWF models.

Early morning lows are still expected to be near 30 while the highs will reach into the mid to upper 50s. Any rain in the area looks to move through by Friday afternoon. Most of even the light showers are still far north enough to not be a threat. Still looks to be pretty nice weather for you overall - including the cool temperatures.

L RICHARDSON

P.S. Blame the late forecast on 2 test tomorrow and orchestra rehearsal until 9:30pm.

Monster Dash is back on

It seems a very little part of the race went into another county and they tried to stop it. Haven't received all the details, just an email saying it is back on.

Can't wait to get my Fred Flintstone Water Buffalo Hat 

STEVEA,

Was thinking the same thing this morning, that I wanted to get a note to you before you left. Sending major mojo your way hoping for the best for you!!!

Hoping that hammy of yours shows up ready to sprint and not bother you one bit!

Looking forward to hopefully being able to track online Saturday and to reading your race report.

Best of luck and I'll be cheering from a far.

Shaun

DWAYNE -

WE can't wait for you to post photos of yourself in the Fred Flintstone Water Buffalo Hat!!

KASIA -

Thanks for the detailed account of your foot/ankle condition. However, I haven't yet found anything that fits it. It still sounds to me like two very different things that have sort of melded together, but also there is so much truth to the old dopey song of shin bone connected to knee bone connected to thigh bone etc, that something aggravated in one spot can easily take its act to another spot. It's just that there is nothing obvious about a foot problem moving up to the ankle. In fact, aside from ankle sprains, the ankle seems to be a fairly resilient piece of equipment for us. Fairly. Anyhow, i'm still on the case!

As for shoes, I find that trying on shoes can be very trying for my feet. That is, it doesn't take much to get something triggered. Cycling cleats are tight-enough (and weird enough) so as to maybe exacerbate some pre-existing problems. At any rate, stay away from any five-inch stilletoes or big, thick platform thingies!!

KASIA again -

Ain't it the truth what you said: "It seems like everywhere I go, I get more exercises to do."

Come to think of it, I REALLY want that on my gravestone!

(I guess depending on one's attitude, and eternity of exercising could define whether they are in heaven, hell, or purgatory!)

http://cbs11tv.com/local/warrior.dash.reinstated.2.1660535.html

Dwayne - Is the above story about your race???

Denise

ps - can someone tell me how to make that a clickable link?
Nevermind - I figured it out in next post

Edited by LadyNorth 2010-04-28 7:25 AM

http://cbs11tv.com/local/warrior.dash.reinstated.2.1660535.html

Edited by LadyNorth 2010-04-28 7:22 AM

KASIA/STEVEA,

There is definitely hope!

Congrats on the fitting and good call on not going to aggressive just yet. Yet another luxury of buying new from a good shop!

Saddles are an incredibly personal thing. I obviously can't comment about comfortable female saddles, but my mountain bike came with a Bontrager saddle (which I am sure your Trek came with as Trek seems to spec Bontrager parts on most of their bikes) and I was pretty uncomfortable on it. So like SteveB said, do some research, you would probably even be able to find opinions on BT on female specific saddles. Then I decided what I thought a better fit saddle would be and looked for a used one (new can be quite pricey). So far this year I've been pretty impressed with and am able to ride for much longer before I become uncomfortable. (Not that it matters, but I went with a Fizik saddle as they design the sides and back of the saddles to flex. I'm already scouting out some Fizik Arione's on E-Bay as potential for my Cervelo.)

Also, another thought is that road/tri saddles from some companies come in different lengths and widths for the same model. Some shops have a special setup that allows them to measure you up for width and maybe length of saddle. Next time you are at the LBS, mention your discomfort and see what they can do to try and fit you more specifically to a saddle. Or, I am sure there is a shop or two or four in Denver that can do this. There would potentially also be a cost especially if you don't buy the saddle right away they recommend.

While on the bike it helps to move around a bit. Slide forward or backwards for a little while and adjust how your sit bones are hitting the saddle. SteveB mentions getting off the saddle regularly which is a huge help as well.

I must be a bit crazy or have a couple nuts loose! (I am in no way arguing I am sane or not, or closely based to it or not.)  The test ride of my Cervelo had me in the tucked in aero position almost right from the get go. First real ride had me in it for quites some time. Like SteveA said, going downhill can be a bit sketchy as well, luckily I live in the flat lands so no real downhills to worry about. The sketchyness for me comes from lifting from aero to grab the bull horns or whatever you call them and I put to much weight to one side and end up veering off a bit. I still have not reached for a water bottle that is mounted on the seat tube though. That is a long ways back compared to the mountain bike.

To me, going to the drops on road bars is a bit more nerve racking than the aero bars. Maybe its because I have not ridden a road bike for any great distances. Not sure if you get VS or not but on some Sunday nights they show road racing. Recently I caught some of the Paris to Roubiax race and two things really stuck out, a) holy moly rough course (dirt roads on road race bikes) and b) pro level riders were spending a lot of time on the brake hoods and not on the drops.