What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN! (Page 14)

GREAT!  Oil spill outside Texas City and winds/current are directing it into the gulf and towards Galveston Bay.  Ironman 70.3 Galveston is two weeks from today.  

That's awful!

Profile of the first days course....(26.5 miles)

Profile of day 2 (28.2 miles)

Profile of day 3 (28.2 miles)

So.... My early season race is complete!

I'm back in the US, back in the office and almost back to feeling normal!

The course profiles above were taken from my Garmin 310xt. 

Trying to do a post race report, but it went along the lines of, Day 1 felt great, conserved energy, very high morale level.  Day 2 started out great, by the half way point we'd lost one of the team, I had severe knee pain and knew it was going to be a case of "gut it out" through the rest of the day and try to get to the start of Day 3.

Day 3 started as you can see with some big...big...climbs, by the 6 mile point I told my running buddy, as long as I got to the second check point at mile 14 I was damn well going to finish.  Head entered a very dark place between mile 4 and 14 on day 3.  I just focused on the goal, tried to block out the pain of what were now blisters, under raw skin that had been blisters. As we reached CP2, I knew I had it in the bag, there was no way the last 14 miles of 82 was coming between me and that medal!  It was at that point, the pain vanished, literally, I was not aware of it for the rest of the race. 

I'll create a thorough race report when I get a little more time.  but for now, Jurassic Coast challenge DONE!  and I'm never freaking doing it again! 

now to focus on the Syracuse half.....as soon as these feet heal that is :-)

Physician told me yesterday, the blisters on my feet were now considered wounds, not blisters, I didn't need and medication, but perhaps a trip to the psychiatrist was in order :-)

Those are some pretty serious grades, nice going!

Wow. Just wow. I'm impressed! That's awesome!

Thanks :-)

Was a really tough event, but so worth it...now I sit here looking back at it :-)

The entire course was off road, let me see if I can post some pictures, it was stunning.

Going to Galena on May 17th. (This and Rev3 Knoxville are the only ones I've done this early in the year.) Little tougher logistically and swim is always cold. The rest of the course is a good challenge though, as it is a bit longer than a normal sprint with near 17 mi on the bike and 4 or so on the run. Plus they're hilly. It also seems to draw out some good competition at the front end. They actually have it going all the way into Galena this year. Course seems to change every year. This is the bike from a couple years ago (don't mind the speed, was a bit under the weather that day). First half is the same. Second half is on different roads, but kind of similar elevation profile (a bigger climb & decent in there). Run is all new from then, but looks like a nice big hill very soon out of T2.

Looks like the oil spill isn't going to be an issue.  70.3 Ironman Galveston Texas next Sunday!  

Happy Monday everyone!

I'm currently sat in the office and have done nothing for a week on the exercise front, the feet are heeling up and I'm hopeful I'll get a run in this week.  Frustration due to lack of exercise is building :-) 

Have to start the swim training in earnest now. 

On that side, I'm looking at a new wetsuit, I've used the Orca range before, the S3 and the Equip.  liked them both. 

Here's my requirements, let's see what y'all (I've lived over here in VA for 5 years now, I just like typing y'all) have to recommend:

1. Entry level - ($200 to $300)

2. MUST provide good buoyancy (I have an awesome leg drag style to my swimming)

3. I'm 6ft, medium build (around 175 lbs)

4. Full sleeve suit 

I'm looking at the Equip or the S5 ( I think the S5 is killer for the price from the reviews I've seen)

Broaden my mind on other makes out there please.

Actually, wetsuit advice may be a bit late, saw an advert for the Xterra Vortex for 60% off a brand new one.

$159 for a $400 suit that has good reviews.  Ordered it and I'll try that out when it lands, if it doesn't work out I'll switch to the Orca S5 I think!

I bought a well used Hybrid EFX full sleeved in M2 size a couple of weeks ago on ST for my HIM last week. I'm 5'10" & 180lb with a longish torso and it fit very well.  It had several tears that I fixed and the suit was very buoyant.  I hardly kicked for the first 3/4 of the swim leg and was surprised to be passing some other swimmers after a 1/3 or so into it.  It was my 1st swim in a full sleeved WS I found the suit to be very stretchy, easy to put on, and did not suffer any shoulder fatigue.  Also I was surprised on the amount of leg buoyancy as I don't recall feeling this way in my old ProMotion Powerglide sleeveless but could just have have been the amount of time since I used a wetsuit.

Hello All,

Well its been 10 days since my HIM and took the following week off for some R&R and family Spring Break trip.  Now I'm back into it for 60 days leading up to my A-race sprint on June 1st.  The HIM race was fun, it was more of an early season event for me as to a race to get myself back into training and was not expecting a solid result.  Had a nice swim with the used & repaired wetsuit but was still pretty slow.  Time worked out to a 1:46 pace but I think the course was short.  I still need to verify with the 3 guys I did it with that had Garmin 910's on to see what they had for distance.  The bike was tough, besides lots of rollers that we don't have on the coast, the triangular out and back course layout had a slight tailwind for the 1st 30 miles. I was feeling really good and decided to go for a solid bike 10 miles into it (MISTAKE!).  The wind was building and was a solid head wind on the return and there were several false flats.  The 2nd water stop was being replenished with a new U-haul truck that got there just when I did and had no water out yet, so I ran out of water ~5 miles before the 3 water stop which at the top of a short but steep climb (10-12% incline). Miles 36-41 were horrible and near the top of the climb my eyes were burning so bad from what moisture I had left for sweating I could hardly see.  At the water stop I stopped and guzzled 1 whole water bottle, filled up my bar bottle, and rinsed off my face to get the crusty sweat off of it.  After that I ate my final bar and brought it into T2 with a solid finish, ended up 46/175 on the ride with a 19.4mph average.  Damage for the hard bike was done though as I ended up walking 10 miles of the HM for a whopping 3:23 time!  I could have run more but it was the hottest day so far this spring (upper 80's) and could tell I was dehydrated and didn't want to push it. Never had flat coke before, sure hits the spot when needed.  Ended up with a 7:06 time and no lingering issues from the event so as I stated, I am ready to go all out for the sprint training.

Oh, one thing, this was only the 2nd time I rode with a disk cover and first time where I experienced winds from all directions and rode this long with it.  I was amazed how much more stable the ride is with a disk on the back than without it. Crosswinds would hit me and I cold feel the stabilizer affect with the disk, gave me confidence one the country roads with cars passing at 50-60mph and the really fast downhills.

This is now my favorite race photo to date!

Nicely done, paying on the run for going too hard on the bike seems to be a common issue in HIM and IM, have to watch out for that in Syracuse.

Sounds like there was a screw up somewhere with the station not having anything (being re-supplied) when you arrived. 

19.4 is a nice average pace for the ride, just shy of 3 hours?  damn respectable I'd say!

Good job, stop slouching and get back at it......

Originally posted by Superstar34 NAME: Lisa (Superstar34) STORY: I am a 36 yo physical therapist, NCAA women's basketball official, and a huge P90x fan. I moved from Tucson, AZ to St. Petersburg, FL. I mountain bike, road bike, paddleboard, and have always said "I hate running." However, I am a goal setter (that darn physical therapist in me) and decided to sign up for my first 5K (March 23rd). I had a blast and even ranked 2nd in my age bracket. Now, I am hooked. I just signed up for my first Tri June 1. I may be a little late for this mentor program, but I can't do much until March madness is over. FAMILY STATUS: single CURRENT TRAINING: P90x3, running, biking, and about to start swimming. WHAT I LOOK TO LEARN: Anything and everything! I would love any tips on swimming especially, but any other tips on running or biking is greatly appreciated. Also, I would like any tips regarding gear and secrets with transitions, etc. Thank you in advance!

I'll bet you've been busy lately!

Swim Meet

Long Version

Short Version

Friday
1000 Free: 13:37.92

Saturday
100 Fly: 1:14.21
200 Free: 2:19.57

Sunday
500 Free: 6:29.63
Mixed 200 Free Relay: 28.93
50 Fly: 32.38
100 Free: 1:02.45
Men 200 Medley Relay (Free): 28.03

How was it?

Sorry, just checking back.

I had a upper repository infection set in a couple of days before the race and really felt like crap the morning of.  The waves were high and choppy during the swim but the rain and T-storms held off all of the day.  I had a flat tire cornering at mile 53 and wrecked my bike.  It's fine, btw.  With all of that I have to say it was a fantastic race!  My nutrition was spot on so I finished strong.

Here's my race report if anyone is bored:  http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=513983&posts=3&page=1

Now I'm researching tegaderm film and burn cream trying to heal up this road rash.  There's a run & ride in two weeks on a new section of highway opening up later this spring and I really want to show up.  A half mary at 07:00 and a 48 mile ride at 10:00.