2014 Rookies - CLOSED (Page 14)

In my experience, unless you are noticeably dehydrated, cramps have more to do with going beyond your fitness than anything else.

How has your training intensity/volume been over the past few days?  When you were not training, were you on your feet more than normal?

I'd log it!  I log most things I do even if they aren't directly related to my tri training.  It gives you hints when you look back after a race.  Maybe this time you did a ton of Tai Chi and had a great race....and next race you decide to focus specifically on tri training and don't have a great race.  Maybe you needed that balance of things to keep your training fresn and interesting.  Or maybe it's the other way around and you do better when you're not doing Tai Chi because you're fresher for your tri training.

I also keep track of things like getting masssages or doing foam rolling / stretching or the strength training that allows my knee to tolerate running.  All of this is so I can go back and help determine what was helpful and what might have been detrimental to my racing.

Hi Donna,

If you are nervous, I think you should wait.  At the very least wait at the back of your wave as opposed to the last wave.  Stressing over all the other people around you won't help the situation at all.

As for staying on course, practice your sighting technique.  Doing it in the pool doesn't really prepare you all that well but at least it gets you used to the motions of it.  When you swam in the lake last year, did you have a technique you used to sight, how did you find it worked?

Here is what I do.  Depending on the situation, I usually sight every 6 - 10 strokes and always the exact same way.  For me it begins during a right arm pull - just before the point that I would normally rotate my head to take a breath I lift my head slightly to get my eyes just above the waterline and I take a snapshot of what I see.  Immediately I turn my head to the right and take a breath without altering my stroke at all.  I am then processing what I saw in that snapshot, did I see what I expected to see?  For example, if I am aiming at a tall tree, was it there and was it directly in front of me?  If it was left of where you expected you start swimming *slightly* to the left and vice versa.  Re-sight in a couple of strokes and see if you are back on target.  Always make small corrections (unless you are massively off course).  If during your snapshot you don't get a good look, don't stop, just sight again on the next stroke.

There is definitely an art and skill to it but I find the keys are to sight in a motion that doesn't interrupt your stroke and to only make small course corrections.

Awesome, that's a fantastic improvement and to do it with less than optimal footing makes it even better!

I've got a half marathon scheduled for this Sunday.  I'm hoping for good weather and good footing!

Bike tire question - looking at getting new tires for the season as my old ones are getting worn (bought the bike used, then trainer miles). The LBS said I have about 500-700 miles left, but I'm looking ahead.  I've pretty much decided on the Continental 4000S tires.  My question is should I go with the 23mm or 25mm?  What are the pros/cons to each?

In related good news, I also just upgraded my wheels.  The bad news is that this upgrade was required and not expected.  I had a bunch of kids in my basement last week, and when I went for a trainer ride on Saturday, my bike fell off the trainer mid-ride, which caused my rear wheel to look like it had been run over by a truck.  I have moved the trainer to a more isolated area and hope to avoid any more incidents...

 Hi Dan, good choice on the 4000s, they are great tires IMO!  The 23mm tires will almost certainly be the faster choice as it will match up with the wheel's rim better aerodynamically.  The 25mm ones might give a slightly better ride on rough roads.

Sucks about the trainer mishap.  What did you get as a replacement?

Race report is pending, hopefully I can finish it up soon.

tl;dr version.   1:33:40 which is a PB by about 4:30.  The weather was great, a bit windy in places but the roads were dry and it was about +1C.  It was a two loop run and the hills on the second loop punished me pretty bad!

Race report!

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=511509

I also raced this past Sunday.  First time trial of the season.  Went pretty well and a good sign this early in the season.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=511507&posts=6&page=1#M4955309

I have another short time trial again this weekend, and a short road race the weekend after that.  Then it will be a hard block of training before my first major race of the year...a 4.5 mile TT hill climb that is a big benchmark among the local cycling community.

Might want to do a little more than 4 yards when you swim.  

I very rarely do bricks (bike/run back to back) except the odd one shortly before a race.  Most of the time when I bike and run on the same day (which is most of my bike days...) I bike in the morning and run in the afternoon.  That said, if you are crunched for time then it's a great way to get some extra running in.  If you can fit it into your schedule then I would do so.

Like Arend, I tend to bike and run on the same days, but bike in the morning (on the trainer) and run after work.  I usually do one "brick" a week, but it's a short run following my long ride, and is done mostly for the convenience of having to take only one shower.

Do you have a trainer?  If not, would you be willing to invest in one?  Buying a trainer and getting TrainerRoad was the BEST thing I did for my riding.  Riding in a high-traffic area (especially if your options are early in the morning before it's dark out or after work when it's busy) really limits the amount of riding you can do outside....but if you have a trainer, you can get a 60 minute ride in during a ~70 minute time period.  It's almost as simple as throwing on a pair of running shoes and walking out your front door.

I did also want to ask a question about your run plan -- have you used something similar before and how does your body hold up to it?  I'm somewhat run injury prone, so I guarantee that big of mileage in only 3 sessions a week would lead to an injury.  For reference, I'm currently sitting at just over 24mpw, running six days a week.

Donna,

I use a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine for my trainer and have no complaints.  The CycleOps Fluid 2 trainer also gets good reviews, but the KK's power curve is supposedly better defined, and since I wanted to use it with TrainerRoad (before I bought a power meter), I opted for the KK.

If you do buy a trainer, you'll want/need a couple other things -- a mat to catch your sweat and a fan (or more!) to aid in cooling.  I have two fans (remotely controlled, so I can warm up and then turn them on when I need them without getting off the bike). 

Agree with Nicole, I have both.  My wife uses the Cycleops, I use the KK and would recommend both.  If I had to pick one, it would be the KK.