stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL (Page 14)

Ah, sorry guys I posted the same thing twice, so I just deleted this one

Edited by gracetaBitha 2009-02-06 9:36 PM

THATGIRL -

Nice job scoring that Blue Seventy Reaction for $125!!!

As you try it out, remember to use BodyGlide around the neck! Neck chafing is very painful - not to mention unsightly. DO NOT use petroleum-based products, such as Vaseline, as these will break down neoprene quite rapidly. And, as BodyGlide is slightly expensive, for a lubricant to use to make the suit easier to get on and take off, try PAM. (Just make sure it's the "original", and not one of the flavored ones - the crawfish and crabs like the flavor and will come nibbling at your toes. JUST KIDDING!) So, for any chafing, use BodyGlide; for ease of in-and-out, use PAM.

Wetsuits do a great job of keeping your body warm in practically any temperature of water. (The tighter a suit is, the more quickly and effectively it will help warm up the thin layer of water that forms between your skin and the suit.) The exposed parts of you will get chilly at some point, but for most people that isn't until it drops down to the low 60s and below. Usually, though, the activity of swimming will get your extremities warm, so that's a plus. Where I run into trouble up here is when the air temp is about equal to or colder than the early- and late-season water temp, so that each time my hand is in the recovery phase of the stroke, it is moving through cold air. Not pleasant.

As for the "completely open water free-for-all", remember that you are in control of that! That means, you can control where you start in the pack, and for people who are at all nervous about this, then to the back or off to the sides is the best place to position yourself. If it's an in-water start, the main cluster of people will be within fifteen feet of the start line, usually an imaginary line between two buoys. So, if you start 20 feet back from that line, with only a handful of peole around you, you'll be free of the mob. And, realistically, how much time will you lose in swimming that extra 20 feet? Or even 25 feet? Not much, and the stress-reduced factor will be worth it.

One more thing about the wetsuit is not to let any feeling of constriction bother you. A perfectly-fitting wetsuit will be VERY tight, and it's the combination of a high (on some) neck and a tightness across the chest that make some people feel very uncomfortable initially. But this is where practice is a great idea, just to get used to that feeling of constriction.

If you can be brave (brave, because you will be dressed, um, "oddly") enough to do this, give it some test runs in your pool. Why? Well, two reasons. The first is that you have lanes and walls RIGHT THERE if you feel any sense of panic and need to catch your breath or regain some sense of equilibrium. The second is because you will get very warm in your wetsuit in the pool, and if you can adjust to this level of not-altogether-unpleasant "discomfort", then the suit will actually feel nice when you get it into nature's own cooler water. I have tried-out wetsuits in a pool, and it is a unique feeling. (So are some of stares I got from people who had no idea what I was wearing, and why!)

Finally -- Yeah, just to be safe maybe rinse the wetsuit first, for the reason Lisa gave. It took me much, much longer than my third time in mine to get to the point that Lisa suggested.....but after that the practice can become habit-forming! I mean, there are those loooooong lines at the porta-potties before the race......and then there is all that big old open water.......and it becomes a no-brainer!

(Hey! Don't blame me for that comment. Lisa started it!!)

MINDY -

Oops! I just discovered this back on page 13, and I'm off to the pool in a few minutes, so this will be quick.
For any chafing problems, try BodyGlide - great stuff for this problem! It will also work quite-effectively for blisters, but not after they have formed.
As for garments, see what is at www.roadrunnersports.com. I think their 60-day return policy applies to clothing as well as shoes, and I'm sure I've seen mention of non-chafing in their catalogues. Their selection is extensive. (NOT that I regularly look at those pages, mind you! )

Hahaha - actually we discussed this! I mentioned that I had been planning on renting, and she said that she had too, but when she went to TriBonzai and tried on one of the rental suits, she almost gagged because the suit smelled like urine! And that was why she ended up purchasing instead of renting.  She seemed pretty adamant that she hadn't peed in it, but I'll rinse out just to be on the safe side  

 ...to steve's point, practice AND triathlon port-a-johns make perfect.  If all you have to do is #1, i find it is safer to pee on yourself than brave the john.  i'm just sayin'.

Edited by hooslisa 2009-02-07 1:28 PM

Steve - awesome new profile pic!

MINDY -

Hmmm. I tried, but I figured I had failed -- what is up on my screen is the same one. Is the one you're seeing of me running, white hat, orange/blue/white top? That's what I was trying for.....but why is my "old" one on my screen? Cyber-mugged, yet again!!

Yes, the new you is running a race in orange and blue.  Strange that you don't see it.  Maybe one of the cyber geeks can offer help.

LISA!!!!!!!!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What have I done right and wrong??? I tried to post a tri-related picture of myself, and I guess I succeeded --- except not on my own computer. I figured I had failed and was planning to ask you what I did wrong, but Mindy sees it (sort of spooky, like "I see dead people....."), yet here it is just the same old same old. I even shut down the computer for a while, figuring it might do something like regenerate, but no go. Any advice on why the pic is "out there", but not "in here"????

HELP!!!!!!!

I think I finally have my season planned...here goes, tell me what you think.  IM trng will commence officially on 6/22

 

Date	Race			Planned	Completed
01/25/09	Carlsbad Marathon
03/22/09	Pasadena Half Marathon			X
04/04/09	Ford Ironman California 70.3			X
04/26/09	L.A. Triathlon Championship Series, #1 (Sprint)			X
05/17/09	L.A. Triathlon Championship Series #2 (Sprint)			X
05/25/09	Los Angeles Marathon			X
06/07/09	L.A. Triathlon Championship Series #3 (Sprint)			X
07/19/09	Strawberry Fields Triathlon (Olympic)			X
08/01/09	Vineman AquaBike			X
09/19/09	Nautica Malibu Triathlon (Olympic)			X
11/22/09	Ironman Arizona			X

Edited by sax 2009-02-08 1:41 AM

Okay, this is making me crazy - or more crazy than I already am.

I shut down the computer. I logged myself off. I logged on again. Still the orange jacket Barcelona photo.

I then went back to the control panel page, where at the bottom was the same old photo. I deleted it. I tried to reinsert the new one ---- and what came up there is the old photo, which of course is the one that's on my screen next to each of my posts.

Why, why, WHY????

SAX -

That's a nice-looking schedule you have there! Are you looking to fiill in some of the space between Vineman and IMAZ with anything more than Malibu, or is your focus just in pure training for IMAZ?

I'll be interested to hear how you find the aquabike. In '06, when I was recovering from my torn meniscus, I was limited to doing aquabikes - either "official" ones, or ones in which I just stopped racing after the bike. I didn't find these very satisfying, and my pattern was to finish the bike and then disappear asap - no food, no awards - as it bugged me too much to watch people doing the run.

HOWEVER!! It did something to keep my competitive juices flowing and, most importantly, it taught me how to RACE the bike protion more effectively. What I mean by this is that in every previous race I had done, I had always held something back on the bike so I wouldn't blow up on the run. So, I never really knew what it felt like to ride HARD. But, with aquabikes --- hey! it's amazing how fast one can ride when one doesn't have to worry about saving anything for a run! So, my aquabike bike times were strong, and I had a new appreciation of what riding hard felt like.

Then, the trick became one of learning the new middle ground of riding hard and still being able to run strong. Surprisingly, that didn't take too long, maybe just three races into my long (17 multisport races!!) '07 season. The effect of this also was to elevate the bike to the best of my three disciplines; previously it had been the run.

As you contemplate Vineman, give some thought about letting it all hang out on the bike leg -- ride as if there is no tomorrow. You probably can't hurt yourself doing this, and you might be able to discover some inner riding reserves that you had not previously accessed. It might also be that this won't happen in just one aquabike, however.

OOPS! WAIT!!
Is that the FULL Vineman on August 1? If so, you might want to scrap the idea in the above paragraph! Yeah, definitely -- you don't want to ride your tokhis off for 112 miles! My suggestion in the above paragragh would work well for an oly or a half, but might not be the best course to follow for an iron-ride. Never mind!

WORK WITH ME, GANG?

Okay, what's there now - the old one, or the running one?
I keep tinkering, and edging closer and closer to certifiable madness in the process.
Until I hear back from any of you, I'm just going to curl up in the fetal psition......

the running one is up now

....and take your thumb out of your mouth.

Steve-

I received a post card in the mail for this race in NH:

http://www.longhorntri.com/blackfly/index.html

Not sure if it fits in your schedule, but since the Timberman was full, thought I would mention it.

-Eric