Jackjack's group - closed (Page 15)

Way to go, Cynthia! 

Heidi - good luck with the hills.  Dee and Jackie, thanks for the advice... good to know, because sooner or later I too am going to have to tackle the bike section of the triathlon.

I think I have to re-evaluate the June 20th tri.  I've been out on the bike quite a bit over the past two weeks doing errands, since I don't have a car.  However, I am truly out of shape!!  Biking in the gym does not remotely compare to biking outside, especially here because I live in a pretty hilly area.  I also realized that I start my summer job that week - which is in SF.  I will be working 8 hours and commuting for 3, and I'm not sure I'll be awake at the end of the week!  Anyway, after re-evaluating the situation, I think it would be best to focus on the half marathon for now, take a week break, and then possibly start a bike-focused plan.  I'll have to actually buy a bike when I go back to school!!! 

Hope everyone is enjoying their Friday!  I'm planning on a (sort of) rest day - taking my dog for a long hike, and then rock climbing for an hour or two!

After flipping through a few of the BT training plans - is it usual/important to take a day or two off a week?  And by 'off' does that mean 'no exercise' or does it mean 'do something other than swim, bike or run'?

My race is tonight!
I need some advice on how to swim in rough water. The forecast is calling for winds of 11 mph, 71% cloud cover, and 20% chance of thunderstorms.
I had a really bad experience in rough open water last year and ever since then, I mentally freak out if the waves are really big or there are whitecaps.
Thanks!

Cynthia - great job on your run!

Days off question: yes, take at least one day completely off from any kind of workout. If you are extra tired, take off two days. Your body needs this rest time to recover and rebuild muscles from the workouts you have been doing.

Dee- I have no advise- I just wanted you to know that I'll be thinking of you. Good luck. Stay calm and safe and have fun!
Heidi

Diana - yes a day off a week is usual.  And every 3rd week or so lower volume is usual too (called a recovery week).  Doesn't mean you can't go about normal life though or do something completely different.  I usually take dog for a longer walk - poor thing must get fed up with running with me.

Dee - first of all calm down.  Deep breathing.  If it is unsafe they will cancel the swim.  I love waves.  Think of them as fun.  Usually the breaking waves are near the shoreline. If they are big enough to knock you back a bit, then to get through them go UNDER them - underwater that is.  Once you are out it should be just swell/chop with maybe some whitecaps.  You will be less likely to be get into a rhythm to normal which will be frustrating but keep focusing on where you are and time your breathing and sighting for when you won't get a mouthful of water.   Remember everyone else will be in the same situation. Get in before hand if you can to see what this is like.  Sighting usually at top of wave, breathing depends how choppy it is.  What was your bad experience?  Think (not for too long, don't want negative thoughts) how you could have overcome this with hindsight.
Don't fight the water unless you have to get a certain place. It is stronger than you.  Let the waves take you up and down.
I grew up by the sea and all our swimming badges and races were done in the sea.   Just telling you this so you know I do understand what waves and chop are all about.    If it's choppy then believe in your training and know you have an advantage because you are not scared and you know you can cope and others will be worrying more than you!

argh!  It's raining.  They might cancel Muddy Buddy if there is too much rain.  I know, seems odd that I fear rain, but if it rains too much, the trail will be mud and we can't race :-(  they only want man-made mud.

Di-  Come race in June.  The bike portion is really flat with one blip of a hill about 2/3 the way through.  You can do it!  You'll want a dip in the lake after a week of work!  It'll feel good to get some proper exercise.  You can cheer me across the finish while resting in the shade. (I'm in an old lady heat.)

After procuring a new helmet for myself I realized my kids' brains needed larger buckets to protect them too, so 3 new helmets in the house within a week.  Crazy.  Well, 1 is on order, but still.

Dee, I'll be thinking of you - hope the OWS isn't too "open"  heh.  Keep your mental game together and kow you can float when needed.

Heidi, looks like you've got your biking days to plan for!  You're gonna have some nice looking legs when you're done racing (not to say you don't have them now!  I dunno!  :-)). 

...That is a nice benefit I like from training, though my weight hasn't changed anything ... my shape has changed.  It's nice to feel some muscles.  I was thinking about getting the fat caliper test again at the gym, but that cuts into training time

Off to corral the chill'n and get one to nap. 

-Cynthia

FINALLY!
I'm jumping out of my seat with excitement and there's no one here to share it with! I finally found the right road bike for me!! It's a Fuji Bordeaux- Less than 325 miles on it- awesome condition! I picked it up tonight! It rides great, fits me right, and is light! NOw I'm psyched to go tackle some hills tomorrow!

Yahoo, a new bike.  That is so exciting.  Enjoy your first ride and don't forget to name her! (or him I suppose)

CONGRATS!!!  new wheels!  let's see your mileage report tomorrow

I wanted to check in real quick before I go pass out for the night.
I DID IT!!!
My first sprint of the season was a blast! Nice calm water, a rockin' bike course, and a strong run.
I am wiped out and my legs are still shaking 2 hours after finishing.

I am going relax and bbq tomorrow and play catch with my boys

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Have fun at Muddy Buddy- I hope the race happens for you.
Have fun on your new bike!
Have great workouts and great time with your families!

Once my brain is functioning, I will work on my race report.
Time to go wash off the lake water.

Dee

Yay Dee!! I'm so glad the swim was calm for you! Do you mean the water was calm-or you were calm?

Yahoo!

So glad it went well for you.  Can't wait to hear all about it.

Wow!  Great job, Dee!

And congrats on your new bike, Heidi.

Cynthia - I'm thinking about it.  We'll see.

I have biking questions: When do Iride in the drop posItion? when should I be on the hoods? and do I ever ride on the flat bar portion?

Heidi, unfortunately I can't contribute an answer to any of those questions, but I do have one of my own:  What do you wear when you compete triathlon anyway?

Diana- Last year I wore tri shorts, a really good sports bra. By that I mean, fast wicking, and supportive enough for the run. Then I also wore a tank top over the bra.

I wore the tank for the whole tri, but I think some people do just the bra for the swim. I wasn't comfortable wiht that. I felt like...well, like I was walking around in a bra

I think a race belt seems to make sense.

Going cheap: Some women will wear a racing bathing suit, with sports bra over/underneath, and do the whole race that way.  or will pull on shorts/skirt over suit after swim.  pulling clothes onto a wet body is hard to do so think about starting the swim in whatever you want to bike in.

I went to www.sportsbasement.com (4 locations; 2 SF, walnut creek, sunnyvale) and picked up a tritop at $30ish and got a good deal on a TYR online sale for tri shorts.  Some BTrs swear by www.swimoutlet.com and ebay for deals too, you gotta know your size.  REI is carrying some tri gear these days too.

-Cynthia

Morning everyone

I'm up early to stuff some breakfast down before my race today. 
I'll answer my take on your questions later cos got to go get ready and then race

Have a good day

Jackie

GO JACKIE! Have fun!!

My Buddy and I got Muddy... and beat our 2008 race time by ~12 mins!!  more later...

Hi everybody.  I had an awesome race.  Swings and roundabouts (hope you americans know what that means!) on my target times but overall beat it so I am happy - and some hardware to boot!

Cynthia 12 minutes faster is amazing.  Congratulations.  Let us know all about it.

Heidi - with my road bike I tend to ride on the hoods most of the time cos i find it more comfortable.  Sometimes I squash myself down in more of an aero position while riding there (you can get clip on aerobars which I have on my road bike).  I never ride on the flat bit - partly cos my aerobars are there and partly cos I don't find it comfortable but this is personal preference I guess.   Hoods allow access to brakes too.  If I am trying to really push it (with no aerobars on) I will drop down to drops and also on any significant downhills I go down into drops so my hands are really close to brakes at speed.

Diana - clothing.  Ultimately with this sport once you are hooked and building up your collection of tri clothes are the best. Tri shorts are like thin, slightly padded cycle shorts that don't absorb too much water.  My tri top has inbuilt boob support so that is all I wear.  I'm not big there anyway.  There are  loads of tri tops around that don't have that though so people wear sports bras underneath them (which all the colours nowadays people use as training tops now anyway - check out champion sports to see the look of them).

Ok but don't get too hung up on it to start with.  My first couple of seasons I wore my swimsuit and pulled on shorts/leggings and a T shirt in T1.  Does it really matter if it takes a few more seconds if you're not aiming at a place is my philosophy and what I tell my beginner trainees?  I have seen some people do the whole race in swim suit but I couldn't show my thighs off like that.  In fact I have seen one person do this with a sports bra underneath for extra support.

All I'd say is make sure you have tried it before the race.  Race day is not the time to discover that the edge of your swim suit rubs when you are cycling etc.

Got to go and help hubby with cementing a new front step in now

Jackie

Jackie and Cynthia - awesome job on your races! I can't wait to hear all about the events.
I'll try to answer a few ?s and I'll post my race report on separate post.

Drops/aerobars: I really like to ride in my aerobars whenever I can - when I know I can maintain a good pace for a long stretch without stoplights or huge climbs. I ride down in my drops when going downhill so I am closer to my brakes and have better control at a higher speed.

Clothing: my first season I wore a swimsuit under my wetsuit and then threw on biking/running clothes in the TA. What I do now, which I love, is wear a pair of triathlon-specific bike shorts and a tri top. I wear them for the entire race and put my wetsuit on on top of the clothes. Then all I have to do is put on my helmet and shoes and I am good to go. I don't need much up top either, so support has never been an issue for me.

What is on the agenda this week?
I have 5 weeks until my olympic triathlon, my first A-race of the season. I am going to do a solid 3 week of high-quality training sessions, then do 1 week of decreased volume and a 1 week taper (we'll be visiting family during the decreased volume week, so I should come back rested and ready to rock!).
Here is what I have this week:

Monday- rest day!
Tuesday- bike 1 hr 15 minutes
Wednesday- morning: 4 mile tempo run / evening: 45 minute endurance swim workout
Thursday: bike 2 hours with 2x10 minutes at race pace followed by easy 10 minute run
Friday- morning: swim 45 minutes speed intervals/ evening: 45 minute run on trails

Weekend option 1:
Saturday: run 1 hour 15 minutes
Sunday: bike 2 hours 30 minutes plus 30 minute recovery swim

or
Option 2:
Saturday: bike 2 hours 30 minutes
Sunday: hike 14er plus 30 minute recovery swim

Have a great week!
Dee

Dee's TriathlON Friday race report

My first triathlon of the season was the TriathlON Friday sprint race at Cherry Creek State Park.
Friday, June 5th 6:00 pm

880 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run

I was a little nervous about a few things going into the race, the first being the weather. Having had such finicky weather

the last few weeks, it was hard to predict if we would have clear skies and calm water or stormy clouds and rough water.

The second thing was the water temperature - this was my first open water swim of the season.

Race prep: We drove up to the venue and arrived around 4:30 pm, which gave me plenty of time to set up my transition area,

check in, get my race numbers, etc.
Warm up: I put on my wetsuit at 5:30 and proceeded down to the lake. The rangers claimed the water temp was 62-64 but the lake

website said 68. I would put the temp at about 68. I got wet and swam around for about 10 minutes to warm up. The water was really

nice and cool.

Swim: I am so glad that I did tons and tons of open water practice the last 2 seasons. I think that once you truly get used to swimming in open

water, that it becomes so much easier on race day to just swim. The course was a triangle shaped 880 meter course. I felt good swimming and

was able to stay on course and keep a steady pace. Swim time including the time to run up the beach to the TA was 22:59.

I could have pushed my swim pace a little harder but I wanted to come out feeling fresh for the bike.

T1: 1:46 - I was able to squirm out of my wetsuit in a decent amount of time and get my bike gear on and head out.

Bike: 12 mile course through the park. A few mild climbs, but no major uphills that I remember. Same course as the 8/24 hour event, but with an extra mile added in. I felt really strong on the bike. I was able to stay in my aerobars for 90% of the ride, which is a really nice feeling. I feel like I can push harder on the bike while in my aeros. My average bike speed was 17.1 mph.

T2: A pretty fast :59

Run: 3 mile course. A few rolling hills, but basically flat. My legs felt like bricks for the first mile, but I was able to pull off the run in 29:36, a pace of 9:52. Anytime I can go sub 10:00 after a bike, I am happy.

Finish time: 1:37:24
29/53 overall female
age group division 7/13

Overall: well-organized event, small number of athletes, nice course. I had fun at the race. It gave me a good feel for what I need to focus on to get ready for the Boulder Peak olympic distance in 5 weeks.

- continue 3x / week training plan
- 2 shorter interval swim sessions in the pool to work on speed/form and 1 longer endurance swim
- keep biking: get those miles in as I am feeling stronger on the hills due to the endurance I have gained. Add some speedwork on the bike in the next 3 weeks.

- run: 3 solid sessions per week - keep working on increasing the mileage while maintaining a solid race pace. Do some runs in the heat to get ready for the Boulder Peak furnace

Dee, Cynthia and Jackie- It sounds like you all had great races! Congrats!

Cynthia- 12 minutes off last years time  is awesome!!

As for me, I rode my new bike yesterday for the first time, and it was great! I did an out and back course that I last did on 5/15. I had 3 major accomplishments on yesterdays ride! I cut 4 minutes off the time, I managed to get up the first long hill with out ever hitting the Granny gear, and on the return trip, I made it up the super steep shorter hill, without stopping!!

My husband seems to think this route is fairly similar to the sprint tri I'm considering (hill-wise), which is good!

I ran today for the first time in over a week.

My goals this week are: 3 runs- NO MATTER WHAT! That means I have 2 more to go.
       3 bikes- including to repeat yesterdays ride next Saturday, or to get to the course that the tri follows.
       2 swims-but if something has to give, it'll be the swim this week.

Hello everyone
I'm having a day off today and thinking about my 2009 season and what my goals should be.
My race report is up via my blog
Dee, Cynthia are you going to do race reports?  Apart from inspiring and interesting to us, they are great to look back on.

My plan by the end of this week is to have planned out the rest of my 2009 season - including training plan.