swbkrun mentor group 6 years running closed (Page 149)

Wow, you're easy!!

Alright, I'm going with a full at Florida also. Done!

Tiana

For those of you who have used Tri Bike Transport, Did you like it? Trying to decide how to get my bike to Florida.

Linda, I would love to do Napa but I'm doing St. George 70.3 in May and I think they would be too close. I'm tempted to do a Aqua Bike.

Tiana

LOVE IT.  Used it for 3 IMs- Canada, Moo and CdA.  Drop off your bike at your LBS, all you need to do is take off the pedals, and they actually did that for me.  Pick it up on Thursday at your event.  When you're done racing.....walk it back over to their tent, and leave it.  They get it back to your LBS 7-10 days later.  They also will take a bag ($15 extra?) and I stuffed it with food, CO2, helmets, extra clothes, etc.

AquaBike would be good!!!  MG meetup!!!!

ANY FLOTATION DEVICE IS GOOD.  Full?  Oh, yeah.  Noodles? bring 'em.  Water wings?  in a pinch!!

thats what she said said....

is that old now?

might as well get a snorkel while you are at it too.

As Suzy is off enjoying a well earned hiatus, I have been given the honor of asking this week's Wednesday question. So let's hear it!

Who's racing this weekend!?!? What are your goals and race strategies? For everyone not racing, Brent has brought up a great topic. What are some strategies you all have used to get through muscle cramps while racing or during training?

Deb!!! Great to have you back!

I'm racing - a 10k.  And, um, I haven't actually run more then 6km (3.7mi) since my 70.3 in July.

My goal is to get though it without dying...

Actually, my real goal is to have fun with it.  I have never really done a race just for fun.  I've always been trying for a PR.  I'm not actually that worried about running 10k.  I don't think I could do another HIM at the moment, but I'm sure residual fitness, and short runs, can carry me through 10km. 

No racing for me.  Enjoying a fabulous fall day in VA.  Bought my Miami ticket yesterday so it looks I'm into Ragnar for sure.

As far as the muscle cramps, I'd love to hear some suggestions other than cursing, stretching and slowing down b/c in my experience once the muscles start cramping the horse has already left the barn.  Very hard to undo it. 

Although I will through this out there from my last distance running experience that cramps come from 2 reasons - undertraining then racing too fast or salt/fluid imbalance.  So race the way you trained and take some form of fluid or salt pills that will keep your body balanced.

Charm City Cyclocross race in Baltimore, MD, doing both days.  It's the only UCI race in the area, doesn't mean much other than they do get a few pro's to show up for the later in the day races.

My plan is to see if I can keep my back going for the whole race.  It will be a full 125 person field both days and it's the 1/2/3/4 35+ race so there will be some ultra fast dudes in there.

Since Tony is talking cross i've gotta momma brag.  My oldest is serious about racing cross this year and took 2nd in her first junior's race last weekend.  And she was the only girl thank you very much!!!   

(For clarification the girls switched jerseys for the race. 

(LIlly cross barriers.jpg)

(girls in studio 7 gear.jpg)

Woo Hoo - awesome Tracy.  Drew can't wait for next year when he is old enough to give it a go.  He is trying to get some practice in with the jr. team.

No racing for me but the hubby is doing a 60mile mnt bike race sunday.  Super ugh!!

For cramping I use 2 products:   salk capsules by SaltStick and Anti-Fatigue by Hammer.   I'll take the salt pre-race and post on extreme days (and I mean hard workouts not just hot days) and in regular intervals with my nutrition during.  I found the SaltStick brand works better than Hammer's Electrolytes but the Anti-Fatigue seems to work well with flushing the lactic acid during long events.  Here is their product blurb:

Reduce ammonia & reduce fatigue 

From a dietary stance sweet pototoes have  greater potassium levels than bananas but don't forget about the other ions  (calium, magnesium etc).  I think that's why I like Saltstick better.  It was a more complete dose of ions and not just sodium and potassium. 

DId you use compression gear?  I find that really helps as well.  It keeps the blood from settling in your lower extremities and supports your bodies natural filtering systems.  

Good luck racing peeps!  Hope to see some good pics of beer drinking during these cycloross races.  nada here.

awesome pics tracy! congrats!

welcome back deb!

luckily i don't get cramps much. so i got nothing for you there.

speaking of cramps... HAPPY BIRTHDAY SLACKER~!!!!

Hey long time no chat with anyone.

Thought I would drop by and just say hello. I have pretty much missed this whole season with a knee injury after being hit by a car while running.

Good old Canada and Free healthcare just finally had my MRI on Monday night after waiting since June.

Now I am told my specialist can't see me until Feb 6th. I will be a bit more assertive and look for someone else.

I hope everyone has had a great race season. Hope to see you more through the fall and next spring while rehabbing after surgery.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MOST AWESOME SLACKER EVER!!!!!!!  Wait, what!!!????

Love you, Kyla!  Hope it is wonderful! 

Tracy, great pics of the kids. Awesome!

Deb, welcome back.  It's good to hear from you, and good luck this weekend.  I love running just for fun.

Spanky,  Sorry to hear about the injury and the waiting.  But, congrats on tipping the scale under the 200 mark.  You are going to be better than ever next season.  Keep your eye on the prize and stay motivated.

I am racing this weekend.  It's a sprint triathlon with a trail run.  I did this race last year, and it's a great way to close out the season.  I'm just hoping the weather holds out for a few more days.  Last year it was very cold and rainy.  Only goal is to put in a solid effort all the way through.  

Good luck to all the other racers, triathlon, cross, runners, etc.  Let's represent!

Oh, cramps.  I've had issues myself, and have yet to figure it all out. 

No racing here.  I think the best strategy for muscle cramps is to a) train sufficiently for the race and run at a pace you know you can sustain  b) if it is a triathlon, don't overpace the bike leg  c) don't try to maintain the same pace on the hills that you are using on the flats

Sorry to hear about the injury, you should have posted earlier about it and we could all have whined about dangerous drivers and near miss incidents!

That's a LONG wait for a scan, the radiology companies around here will do one for $150 at the moment with only a few days wait.

Can you swim? Might be a good opportunity to do some strength work too?

No racing for me, I'm nursing my legs back to full health before I risk anything.

I rarely get cramps but when I have it's either been after swimming in fins after a break from swimming or running hard after a hard hilly bike ride.

I always like to run at least the race distance plus 40% in training as a peak long run but obviously for the marathon that's not an easy option. Galloway gets people to do a long run on at least the marathon distance 3 weeks before the actual marathon but at a slow pace with regular walk breaks so I'm thinking of doing this next time I run a marathon.