Tami's Group - CLOSED - FULL (Page 14)

Mel- Is your ankle buggin' cause of the volunteer work this weekend when you were standing a lot?  Give us an update on how you are!

Tonight was my Tri Club meeting.  Did any of you see the NBC broadcast of this years race?  Well, the guest speaker tonight was Steve Moore---he was the very last swimmer to make the time cut-off at Kona....thanks to a volunteer pushing him over the timing mat!  (He did ultimatley finish the race, pacing over 175 racers on the bike and run).  NBC did a quick shot of him on the broadcast===swim exit and then the finish line.  His life has a few twists this past several years.  I am very happy he was able to complete Kona---helped him see the light and get his life back in order.

The meeting also helped scare me back into doing hill workouts. The first race of the year--a duatholon---is on a killer hill course.....ok, killer hill for the midwest.  Check out the elevation:

http://www.galena.org/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5button=94&categoryID=0&subcategoryID=0&articleID=149

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/il/apple-river/478130510642

(make sure you check the elevation box on the right side with the Michellan man).

Mel- Try  running/rubbing a golf ball under your foot.  Last year, when I was increasing my mileage, I also had foot/achilles issues.  The golf ball (while it killed) really helped to break up some of the fascia(?) and loosen up the muscles.  Not sure if you know this--but the achilles, soleus and other calf muscles actually attach at the heel.  So it you work on stretching the bottom of the foot and loosening up the soleus/achilles, it may help with the heel.

I hope that helps.  Don't get discouraged.....remember, we are triathletes!  When when part of our body breaks down, work the other.....swim!

Mel-I hope the foot is feeling better after some rest. It is good it doesn't hurt to run, but probably still needs to rest.

So when I picked up my bike from the bike shop last night I started looking at new seats. First, I asked the guy if they had a way to measure me for a seat. He looked very puzzled (and probably thought I was a moron) so I figured they dont have that butt measuring thing you all talked about. Then he looked at my bike and told me a have a boys seat. Interesting, since thats the one that came with the bike, which I thought was a women's bike. No wonder its never been all that comfortable. So what seats do people have cause I think it will be my next purchase?

P- Why do you need a new seat?  Does the one that came with the bike feel uncomfortable?  (Whether man or woman does not matter....whether it hurts does!)

The bike seat measurement tool is by Specialized.  You'll need to go to a shop that sells Specialized, or else the fitters/bike shop workers will look at you like you are crazy (they are just uniformed)

Ok- So not sure where you bought your bike, but if you really do need a seat....I suggest going to Machinery Row.  It looks to be the only multi-sport/cycle store in Madison that has good selection of bikes and triathlon equipment.  (601 Williamson Street).

Tell them you need a new seat....bring your bike in.  They should let you throw your bike on a trainer and test ride a few different seats.  (You may want to call them first to make sure it is ok---not too busy with other fitting appointments).  They should also allow you to buy the seat, then if any issues, return it/exchange it for another within a reasonable time period.  That being said, a lot of shops don't do this.

Take it from me, you can do lots of research on what people say are best seats, what manufacturers say, and try to buy direct/return from manufacturer, look on internet for best price. But it is better off to find a bike shop that has a good selection and just jump on and try.  You'll know within 10 seconds to 10 minutes whether a seat will work or not.  Then comes the next threshold...over 30 miles.  That's a whole new ball game!  Good luck!

Just for kicks....My bike seat history: Felt stock seat, Terry Butterfly, Trek cheapo, Profile Design Stryke, **Specialized Jett**, Adamo ISDM, Felt stock tri saddle, now back to Specialized Jett. 

Congratulations!  Pictures?  Have fun trying out the aerobars.  Once I built my time up...30 seconds..2 minutes....10 minutes....I focused on working on being able to ride with 1 arm in the aero while shifting/braking/drinking with the other.  Once you get it down, you/ll love it. Plus, one a roadie, you now have 4 positions to ride in!

I need to decide if I am going to mount a computer on the new ride.  Right now, I am leaning against it.  Can't wait till it gets warm out to get out again.  We expect snow tomorrow......

Very nice! Let me know if the pop-up action is annoying when you are switching in/out of the bars.  I've always wondered.  In a sense, it is great cause you still can access that part of the handlebars.

P- Don't think twice about going to a different shop for accesories, etc......they realize that we are all not well informed on the best multi-sport shops when we join the sport.  I am sure you will find MotorWorks friendly and helpful depite buying your bike at Budget. Afterall, they want to win you over for tune-ups, etc.

On the bike seat---if you can last 20 minutes, you are probably ok.  It will take 200-300 miles to break in a set to where you no longer have bike butt.

Mel- I can not count in the pool either!  I recently tried to use names (so to do 4 laps for a 100, I would count each lap as a letter of my name--l-y-n-n, thinking this would help. Nope!  And my watch that I use to swim with blitzed out last year.  At least I no longer count 1-2-3, breathe the entire time!!

Ok ladies, I did not getup and run this am.  I was wide awake, even woke before my alarm went off at 5:15.  Just the thought in running in 33F/0C was not going to happen.  So the 5th time in 2 weeks, I hit snooze and felt worse an hour later.  Maybe Thursday will be my first morning workout! 

LOL. On my drive back from swim practice, I was thinking I should give Mel my phone number so she could call me a push me out of bed 

Gotta get going. I will try again tomorrow.  If I bail because of coldness, I will (try to) force myself to ride the bike trainer indoors.  (I feel I need to make up the missed workout).

Funny, the one thing I can always do with tired legs is swim. Guess I barely kick and avoid most of the kick drills Yesterday I biked 30 miles of hills by myself in 80 degree midday sun. Blew through 2 water bottles and stopped at a place to get a third fill up. I was groaning audibly up the last couple of "bunny hills". The kids wanted to go to our local swim pool that opened, so I printed my swim workout and away we went. I'll admit, my feet dangled in the icy water for quite some time before I jumped in. It was cold. More like open swim cold than pool cold. It was meters too instead of yards. I thought about shaving some of the sets off, to compensate for the meters, but I started to feel pretty good and polished them off. I didn't have a stopwatch and the pool didn't have the clock out.

Today I paid the price and took it easy. I helped my daughter clear a garden in our backyard. Took a catnap between gardening tasks. Will be meeting a friend for a run tomorrow morning, bright and early at 7am. So need to keep to one glass of therapy wine tonight. May squeeze in some strength.

Tri training would be easy if I could have a daily nap.