kaburns1214 Mentor Group 2012 Part 2 - CLOSED (Page 142)

Was the race poorly organized?  

September totals include taper, A race, 2 weeks of sitting on my a$$, and then another week of barely moving at all.  Good stuff!

How do you like that swim total

Back in the pool this morning for what I would call a maintenance session.  I don't feel like I lost anything in the water, which is comforting.  After the swim I squeezed in a short strength session.  Everyone in my house is sick, so it's going to be a looong day. 

So since no real ride yesterday I have an hour long, balls to the wall ride today.  Sounds like a good lunch/frustration break. 

I really need to figure out where the best starting place is for swims.  I got caught up in such a mess yesterday at the start.  The first 500m was a scrum and then it cleared out okay.  And swim issues continue to plague my existance.  LOL.

So this was going to be my buddy Jason's first Oly.  So it took him 47 minutes on the swim and 1:13 for the run.  He was pleasantly surprised and thinks it will take him right at the whole 8 hours at Oilman to finish. 

There was an article/diagram in Triathlete about where to position yourself in a swim relative to your perceived ability.  Maybe do a search on here.  I always put myself in an aggressive start position (front and center with a nice shot to first buoy) because I am perfectly OK with people swimming over me or pushing me down if needed, and I am starting with best case scenario in mind.  Most of my swims have been women only, and the fish are way ahead of me from the gun, so I've never had issues there.  Worst swim was co-ed in Chicago, where I had a dude on my left and a dude on my right.  Both were kicking me for the first 500m.  Sucked.  I imagine that's what IMMT will be like with the mass start.  I don't care where I start during that, but it won't be at the back.  

How long has your friend been doing triathlons?  It sounds like he needs some big help with his swim.  Have you suggested coached lessons for him?    

Great races Scott & Kelly.

 The Joys of Marathon Training!!

Great races in tough conditions!

My September totals make me laugh because they look like no other month I've ever done.

As long as I have.  So right at 2 years now.  He says he goes to masters classes.  IDK.  What I do know is that there is an 8 hour cut off at Oilman where they just shut it down.  He's going to be cutting it close.

That's pretty funny my wife would have done the same. I wouldn't have been able to leave it home. I would have been so paranoid that the skies would clear just to screw me and I'd be the only one that left it home!

jarvy01 - 2012-10-01 12:06 PM I'm starting to come up with a tentative race schedule for next season.  It's fun

I keep trying but I'm getting frustrated. I just can't figure out a good way to do it. Last year I only did 12 weeks between my HIMs and I want longer. Looking at it I would need to go to FL or LAto get into April or May. There's a few nice races the start of June in MD and VA but why travel all the way down to gain a week over Patriot which is 35 minutes from my house and then have to travel in the fall as well? So I can go later in the fall but to not screw with soccer I'd love to wait until November which means I'd have to go all the way to NC. If there was something Thanksgiving weekend I could talk my wife into a mini vacation around the TRI but there's nothing. I keep hoping some new race will come online by REV3 or another of the reputable companies. I could do REV3 Quassy but I'm not loving how hilly the bike is.

I figure once you put it out there it's done.  Talked to the RD after the race.  He said it takes 6 or so hours to get the bike course set up and it was pouring cats and dogs at that time so he made the call.  I respect that.  Honestly it was just misty enough that you could have done the bike, but there would have been a crazy amount of crashes. 

Hour ride done.  I need a nap now.

Very disorganized.  Stuff that had easy fixes too -- like setting the port a potties up outside of transition so it didn't create massive lines right next to people's racks, having more than 3 shuttles for 1500 racers (it was a split transition), poorly placed bike aid stations (at mile 12, but you had to cross the street and get off of the bike and then not another one until mile 42 and then at mile 50), not having run aid stations every mile, no coke, handing out sports drink on the run in RTD bottles, no port-a-potties on the run, none (I found one in a public park and I think that was the only one on the run course). 

Hooray!

I've got a friend who lives in Fairbanks that makes one-off frames on the side. About a year ago we started talking about doing one for me. Lots of back and forth, what do you want, changing ideas, etc...anyway, the frame showed up today!

It's a steel cyclocross frame, built for disc brakes, and I've got a carbon fork for it as well (Whisky brand, if you know it). 

I'm excited to get this painted and then begin the build shortly. 

Wow!  Lots of problems there.  What is your opinion on the split transition?  I've heard nothing but negatives about them.  No port-a-potties on the run?  What are people supposed to do?  

Up early for bike + core work, and then this afternoon I have a short run and some yoga.  I'm trying to work on my flexibility a little bit.  When I had all that fitness testing done last year, my cardio was superior, strength above average, but flexibility was extremely poor.   

Do you all work on flexibility?  If so, how do you go about it?  Do you think it's an important part of training, particularly as you age?

Also, question of the day: what are your off season goals this year?  Some of you still have A races to do, and for you guys, I'm curious as to what you'll be focusing on after you're done with those races?  If you're done racing for the year, what are your goals over the winter? 

Steve - can't wait to see your frame built up. (How do you learn to build a bike - I barely know how to properly clean mine!)

Jen - I think flexibility is very important, and does seem to get worse. I've never been flexible, but it has really gotten bad these last few years. I know I need to do something about it, but it's just no fun.

As far as winter goals - mine is to not gain anymore weight! Seriously! But I have a marathon in a month (although I seriously am thinking of seeing if anyone wants my number), and I told a friend I would do an ultra in December. My body feels so off kilter right now I'm not sure what this winter will bring.

Speaking of off kilter - how does everyone feel about chiropractors? I've never been one to go, but my lower back is so jacked up (causing sciatic pain) that I'm thinking of giving it a try. But they scare me! My husband swears by his, but he's kind of a freak of nature. You can practically look at him and his back will crack. The couple of times I have gone to a chiropractor I was so tense it took them a while to actually do any adjustments. But I'm getting desperate!

An ultra?!!  Wow!  That's a goal for you!  I've never been to a chiropractor so can't comment there.  Why do you feel off kilter?

**edited to add -- how do you go about training for an ultra?

My goals for this fall and winter are to 1) run lots; 2) work on strength and core muscles; 3) flexibility; and 4) run some more.  I don't have any races scheduled until early April, so I have lots and lots of time to focus on all of these things.    

I'd also like to lose 7-8 lbs.  It seems like when I read about weight loss and athletics, the general thought is to work on the loss during the off season.  I think I'm going to try Weight Watchers again before and during the holidays to get things under control.  I had a lot of success with that program after I had each of my babies.  Simple calorie counting isn't doing the job right now.  

Lets see:

Steve- I've always wanted to build a bike from the ground up.  Getting to pick out the paint scheme on top of that will be awesome.  I think the next time I buy a TT bike I'm just going to buy the frame and build it out myself. 

Flexibility is big for me, especially after my ITBS bout a while back.  I like yoga, and sport specific yoga to be exact.  There are a few books/vids out there for endurance athletes.  I just use a few poses, don't ask me the names as I have no clue, that I've found helpful and incorporate it into some of the stuff I picked up in PT from the ITBS.  I find it relaxing now. 

Off season is going to be fairly short for me.  I'm thinking a few weeks off and then back into base building.  We'll see what other people have in mind for me though. 

This morning was a recovery swim for me.  There were some really fast folks I know in the pool this morning so I took a minute to watch.  I'm pretty sure I've been over rotating.  Let it be more natural and I felt much smoother in the water for the last 2/3 of my swim. 

If you only have 7-8 pounds to lose don't focus on it now. Wait till IM training it will come off. if you start your training at your ideal weight you will have nothing to burn off and will start burning muscle.

This is true from what I've seen.  IM training + disciplined food intake = 7-8 lbs no problem.

Goals for offseason:

1. Strong core especially hips with focus on gluteus medias and hip flexors

2. Become a better climber on the bike.

3. Get faster on the run.

4. Better discipline on making my easy days really easy and my hard days harder.

5. More interval training on bike and run.

6. Just maintain a decent swim base. More drills to keep form.

What exercises are you doing to address goal #1?  Just curious, as I am working the same areas in my strength training.