Newbz' group is FULL (Page 14)

Thanks, I talked with some other people, did some more research and decided to purchase the bike,,,,actually should be here today! few questions though....

1. Pedals and shoes: New bike comes with I'm assuming road pedals, but I know that if I buy mountain shoes and pedals, i can also use the shoes for spinning....so does it make that much of a difference for me to use mountain pedals and shoes on a road bike, especially for my first race?

2. Spinning: I know this question comes up alot, but given the weather (right now in MD we have about 4 inches of snow) and since I don't have an indoor trainer, on my bike days if mother nature doesn't allow me to venture out, would a spinning class suffice, also considering my first race is 17.5 miles and in May?

3. Number of triathlons: I always get ahead of myself and I remember you suggested before that I could do a sprint and have a 6 week break inbetween, however I saw that there was this smaller sprint (500 yd swim, 10 m bike, 2.5 run) about 4 weeks before my first sprint (500 yds, 17 m bike, 3.2 run)...would this be wise to do?thanks!

Edited by mbeall2 2010-02-01 6:44 AM

mbeall2
I don't see any problem doing the ultra-sprint a month before the sprint. If nothing else you will learn a lot from the experience.

I ran a 30K race on Sunday (excepts from my blog)-

What is hard? As these races have increased in distance, my average heart rate has degreased appropriately. Over the past two months I have made a dramatic shift from running / racing by heart rate to running / racing by pace. In the short distance races I have seen average heart rates that would have had me holding back – scared to blow up. In these longer distance races I am trying to stay at a pre-defined average pace, never looking at my heart rate. For these longer races it is the muscles in the legs that fatigue well before the cardiovascular system is tapped. So, in all of these races over the past 2 months I have walked away from each of them thinking that each one was the hardest race I had ever run. I chalk that up to racing smarter and racing better. My average heart rate for the various distances is as follows:

MILES - PACE - HR AVE
7.45 - 6:39 - 181
13.1 - 6:50 - 178
15.5 - 6:53 - 172
18.6 - 6:55 - 168

This was a hard race but not as hard as the previous races. This makes me think that I could have raced harder – should have racer harder. But, I believe that I was racing the correct pace. I slowed a little bit during the 2nd quarter of the race and that cost me a few seconds. This was, however, running directly into the wind. I think it is becoming easier to race at distance. Maybe I am just better suited for running further.

On to the race report.

I awoke at 3:30 AM and it was in the high 20’s low 30’s. That is damn cold for Mississippi – the spring like temperatures left us on Friday. In fact, I went for a brief walk on Saturday and the wind plus the cold made the outside miserable. I know I am soft when it comes to the weather but I did live in the Midwest for a dozen or so years so I do understand miserable. I had several layers of clothes picked out for the race. The last race that I did in New Orleans was two weeks ago and it was windy but the temperature was a good 10 to 15 degrees warmer. In that race I wore shorts and a short sleeved shirt. At the Mobile half I wore shorts and a short sleeved shirt with a long sleeved shirt on top (with gloves) – that race was 23 degrees. For ‘The Wall’ 30K it felt colder than Mobile. I know that is not possible but we were chilled to the bone. I wore the same outfit that I wore in Mobile and that proved to be about perfect.

..

I had set my ‘virtual nemesis’ for a fast pace. In fact, I was hoping to improve upon my 25k time. I wanted to run somewhere between my half marathon PR (6:50) and my 25K pace (6:53). I set the pace at 6:50. I started out near the front and tried to run an evenly paced race. The first mile clocked in at 6:49 – I really have learned about going out too fast. There were a ton of people in front of me at the start of the race but I knew that they would come back to me. I was cold and I could not feel the asphalt. My feet were like blocks of ice. This was uncomfortable. The wind was also alternating between blowing right in my face or on my left side. The levy that we were running on follows the Mississippi and sways back and forth – causing the wind to have the effect of an oscillating fan. A fan in a deep freeze that is.

During mile 2 I had to speed up a little bit to get out of ‘no man’s land’ There was no wind block and I did not want to be all alone. I sped up some and caught a shoulder of a runner. I think this was much more psychological than physiological. The wind was from my front left and I did not get much of a drafting effect. However, holding this shoulder cost me some time – it is hard to tell whether it was the wind or me just slacking off but mile 4 – 7 were some of the slowest of the race. I passed a couple of people and caught someone running close to my goal pace. I hung with him for the rest of the race. I always say that I am too chatty during these races but the intensity is such that I can maintain most of a conversation. Mike and I talked for the rest of the race. We tried to gain on runners and tried to keep any would be attackers at bay.

The leader of the race passed us on the out and back course. The leader had covered 10 miles in about 59 minutes. I was pleased to see the turnaround coming up and hoped for some relief from the wind. My pace crept up by a few seconds per mile even though the wind was not as tough. The cross wind was still brutal but it was not in your face. At the end of the race the next competitor was just out of striking distance but the guy that I was running with put in an attack. He would not even remotely catch the next guy but he did gain the position from me. I did not have much of anything to kick with – I thought I did and for a few seconds I managed a 6:30 pace.

..

I finished the race in 9th place with at 2:09:21 for a 6:56 pace. I wanted to be a couple of seconds per mile faster but this was a tough race. With 4 weeks until the Mardi Gras Marathon my confidence is high. Now time to determine my pacing for the best possible marathon I can run.

Mountain bike shoes and pedals are fine. if you are not worrying about seconds in the race its not really an issue at all (most road ones are a bit faster to get on/off).

spinning is a great workout, and is going to be all the biking i will prob do over the next month or so.
I would start trying to get outside as weather permits closer to the race though to get comfortable on the bike.

and yeah i would race that as well

Ran the Daytona 5K this weekend. It's a great race where we get to run around the track at Daytona International Speedway. Great event except for the fact they only record a gun time and not chip time. It was the same for everyone so I'm not complaining (well I am a little bit) but my Garmin had 21:19 and my official time was a PR 21:56 (my 5K PR last race in October was 23:33 so good improvement). I was running with some of the ladies from my office and started well towards the back so I could help to calm their nerves a bit.

I saw the runners that I wanted to try and race move towards the front and figured no big deal because there would be a chip time. I was wrong. The people that I wanted to try and race started well towards the front and only beat me by less than a minute so it could have been interesting had I ran with them.

Oh well, I had a great time encouraging my co workers and helping them to complete their first races. I went back and ran each one of the through the finish line. They appreciated it and that's what it's all about. I'll race the others next time and be sure to line up with them .

-----------------------------------------------

I ended up runnign a 5k time trial with two friends tonight.

flat course, 34 degrees, and just a tiny bit of wind. opted to warm up in warmer clothes then ditch tem and run in shorts and a tank, gloves and a running hat.

one of the guys i was running with paced me for the first two miles (deff helped from going out too hard).

ended up crossing the line in 16:57, sat down, and then puked all over the place. I am completely thrilled, this is a big PR for me and i never thought i would see 5:27 pace for anything longer than a mile.

Nice time dude. Nothing like puking after a run for a little reassurance.

Smoke'n fast!!!

how is everyone doing? making it through the week alright?

Legs were a little tired last night so I did not do any intervals - I just ran around with some friends for about 8 miles. I have also gotten in 2 swims this week.

Just plugging away and waiting for winter to end here.

And I have another swimming question for you David... 

Do you find that it's easier to have good form when you swim faster than when swimming slower (before you get tired anyway)?  I feel like my stroke is much better when I swim fast(er).  I can't get that same 'balanced' feeling when I swim easier. 

hard yes, all out no.

but i understand what you are saying. the faster you get the less this will be an issue. newer/slower swimmers 9tend to rely more on speed to keep their hips/legs up, and as you go faster this naturally provides lift.

as your speed picks up the slower stuff gets faster and it will feel better.
but in short yes i do experiance the same thing.

That's probably the issue - the lift part.  When I swim fast, the balance feels more like it does when I'm using the pull buoy at slower speeds.  So far, I don't get that same effect at slow speeds without the buoy.  So, I'm going to take your advice and start spending more of my time swimming fast(er), and lest time swimming easy, since I don't feel like I'm making much progress that way.

What's interesting is that one can make good progress running just by putting in enough miles at an easy pace.  That just doesn't seem to work in the pool.  I'm not yet quite sure where the bike fits in terms of proper balance between easy/hard efforts.

in the pool you *can* make progress like that, but it takes a LOT more and a lot longer.

the bike is the middle ground, you want as much intensity as you can without it effecting the next ride or forcing you to drop volumes.

Good stuff, thanks.

I would just like to see the sun for a change.  After 6 days in Oklahoma I would like someone to send a picture of the sun.  I haven't seen it since the day I arrived in Clinton.  The fog is unrelenting!  It is causing our work down here to be a little more dangerous because we can only see about 500 ft away from our work area and there are people working 700-800 feet away and what we do on our end can cause something to happen that far away easily.

Anyway, it's been a short 15 hr day and had a few minutes before hitting the pillow.  I don't think I will be home for another full week yet.  Way to much stuff laying on the ground to send anyone away.  There are probably 2000 lineman in Oklahoma right now trying to clean this thing up.

I missed my daughter's divisional swim meet tonight and that sucked. I hate missing my girls athletic events.  My daughter has been pretty sick and didn't perform well at all tonight.  She only swam relays and skipped her individual events.  She had pnuemonia a week ago and still is suffering from it residual effects.

Hope everyone continues to train hard and be safe. 

Cool picture.

It is 45 degrees here in Mississippi and I am getting ready for a long run. I hope to follow this up with a fun group ride (not too fast). I am going to run again tomorrow and then start the wind down taper for for my marathon at the end of the month.

i'm buried under so far 25 inches of snow, more coming down.......

I decided to start swimming harder and shorter intervals at the pool beginning yesterday. After I finished today, one of the local swimming coaches told me my stroke was noticeably improved relative to last week. I swear it's because my form improves the faster I swim (up to a point). In any case, it was nice to get some positive feedback on my stroke for a change.Hope you're enjoying the snow David. We're scheduled for 3-5" tonight. Not quite as bad as the two feet+ you guys got!

we got 28in between fri night and sat night!!!! and now we are getting another 18 starting tonight. cant wait (i hate snow).


very nice job on the swimming.

Let me just say that my weight fluctuates – a lot. I hit my race weight over the weekend – and then I did the Super Bowl thing. I have come to the conclusion; everyone says that they eat pretty good most of the time. What does this mean? I’ll tell you, I know the answer because I eat REALLY, REALLY good most of the time – it means that sometimes I eat like crap. I mean that sometimes I REALLY, REALLY eat like crap. So that being said, I went from my race day goal weight (I weighed in at 154.8 this weekend) to a Monday morning weight of 163.0. Yes, that is right an overnight weight gain of 8.2 pounds. That is about a 5 percent change in weight over night. Now I am not in the weight range of the biggest losers’ – I am pretty lean (meaning I have some body fat to lose) – 5+ % overnight. I do realize that it is mostly water weight (I am down 2 pounds today) but I am still amazed at how my body fluctuates. It did this last summer on long training days and it still does it today.


Anyway, my upper body is sore from the P90X from Sunday morning – a little tender. It was especially noticeable in the pool at lunch on Monday. I could really fell my arms and back from all of the pushups and chin-ups. Speaking of the pool – it is coming around. I did an easy warm up and then for some intensity I did 10 x 100 yards with 30 seconds rest. I know that is a lot of rest but … I was pushing semi-tough and my times were a few seconds lower than last week. I was about 5 seconds per 100 quicker than my last years 500 and 1000 averages. And then it happened. It has happened before and I am always awe struck. I decided to slow down my stroke and really stick the arm out there. Stick it out and hold it out there for a long pause. I was holding it out there long enough for my other arm to start entering the water. Total Immersion calls this ‘front quadrant’ swimming. I have such a difficult time with this whole counter-intuitive swimming thing. Slow down to go faster. For the last 3 100’s my times were 2 – 3 seconds faster and I was swimming easier. I know that I am not a speed demon in the water but I’ll take these little victories.

Strangely, my legs were tired on Tuesday morning. I did no running on Sunday or Monday. Why were they tired? I don’t know (accumulated fatigue – probably ready for a taper or maybe I am just being a wuss). I jumped on the trainer for more intervals and the legs came around. It was comfortably hard. I did not get off the trainer and need to lie down or anything – just a solid
session. I am doing speed work tonight after work – not too much just 10 quarters.

Chance of snow this weekend in Mississippi!

we are about to get a lot more snow, not thrilled.

but my swimming is slowly coming around as well.

did a 500 warm up before my swim last night and ave 1:22 for it, so things are slowly getting back to where they should be. will deff take some time to see the times i want, but on the right track at least and two months before the first tri, so its all good right now.

have a mid length speed set in the pool tonight (prob 15x50 or so), hopping to get all of them in the 35sec range.

biking is coming back very quickly, most work is on the spin bike at the moment but i did a mock threshold test a few days ago (the 30 min one) and was able to hold a solid pace (ave 172 HR for 30 min). no idea on power levels/speed since it was a spin bike but its a good mental/workout test for me.

Nice workouts David. What kind of interval/rest do you use for your 15x50 set? Off on the minute?

got the workout in,

main set was 15x50 on :55, coming in 33-34 for all of them so happy with that.

normally depending on the goal of the workout its either on 50, 55, or the min.