Baowolf's Beginner Banquet -Sorry all tables are full no room.. (Page 15)

I have a related question as well about wet suits - is it more water temperature based as to whether you use one or not?  I've heard people mention races where wet suits were mandatory or conversely not allowed - so not sure how to know if one should be used or not.  There is a OWS clinic on thursdays about 45 min. from me that I wanted to go to - but I'm sure that I'd need a wetsuit this early in the season.

Training is still on hold for me - turns out my "allergies" turned into a bit more - so the coughing and wheezing still continue - and I thought it best to bow out of my sprint scheduled for Friday.  However, I'm planning on doing the NJ State Tri at the end of July which gives me about 10 weeks to get back on track, if I can shake this thing!!  Follow up with the doctor tomorrow.  

Ok so you will feel "more comfortable" in less than 12 sessions.... but you probably won't feel "comfortable" in less than 12 swim sessions.  Hopefully that statment makes sense in 3 weeks or so. 

Feel free to do the back to back workouts.  It is "ideal" to rest 4 hours between workouts, but in the real world... we may not always be able to do the ideal thing.  The main thing is to not put too many high intensity workouts on top of each other that use the same muscle groups. 

Wetsuits "can be worn" if the water temperature is below 78F in races.  I am not sure what the "Must be worn" temperature is, but if it says must I would do it (probably sub 50).  The distance of the swim may also affect your choice.  Where I might swim 500 yards in 60F water without a wetsuit, I would certainly put one on for a 2 mile swim.  Air temperature may also affect your decision.  If the Tri is going to be in 65F water, but the air temp for the day is going to be 100F, I would be less worried about the swim than if the air temp was going to be 40F and raining.  I would want to conserve my body heat, knowing I would risk hypothermia if I dropped too low during the day.  At Boise 70.3 we had about 15 or so people drop out due to body temp dropping too low in the rain on the bike after a cold swim.  So when I think about a wetsuit for a short race I am thinking, "will it take me more time to take the thing off than I will gain during the swim" or "is it just that freeking cold that I don't care if I lose time." Oh... new question, What is a wetsuit stipper and does it have anything to do with triathlon?  If you were to actually be at an event that had wetsuit strippers, say in Las Vegas, what is the appropriate way to interact with such a person and is geneder important?

I am able to walk without pain so I can maintain some fitness that way.  I did that last year.  What I am most worried about is the bike.  I need to be able to put in bike miles.  Stay tuned for our next episode..... of "As the Wheel Turns."

Because a wetsuit makes you more buoyant and faster, you pretty much will want a wetsuit legal swim.  Especially if you are not a strong swimmer sine the weaker swimmer benefits more from a wetsuit than a strong one.

The USAT rules regarding wetsuits are as follows

• USAT rules state that competitors may wear wetsuits if the water temperature is 78 degrees or lower.
• USAT rules also state that if the water temperature is between 78.1 - 83.9 degrees, competitors may wear wetsuits but will not be eligible for awards.
• If the water temperature is 84 degrees or above, participants may not wear wetsuits.

Hope that clears everything up.

Last year I was 8 weeks postpartum and back to running, averaging about an 11:30ish pace.  But I was also pushing my then-5yo in the stroller, and added the double jogger (and baby as the other occupant) shortly after that.  Plus, I was still recovering from surgery (repeat c-sec after failed VBAC) and had some issues with the incision not healing properly.  It felt sooooo good to run though.  And other than that, I was nursing and carrying a baby a lot, which, frankly doesn't look all that much different this year.  She's walking now, but still wants to be carried a lot.

A few days ago I took a new picture of the girls in the double jogger to compare it to the one from last year (the one in my avatar).  I'm giving a final right now, but I'll try to post it when I'm home tonight.

It better not have anthing to do w/ Las Vegas since my hubby has a conference there soon, and I and my wetsuit am not going with him!  Seriously, the tri I'm doing on Sunday supposedly has wetsuit strippers, so I should probably pay attention here.  I'm guessing that same gender would be good just in case anything else comes off in the process.  Oh great, a new thing to worry about!  Do they get your wetsuit all the way off for you (free from ankle and foot), or just partway off?  Should I still start unzipping and get it off my shoulders as I get out of the water and head towards the transition, or just let them do the whole thing?  Where exactly do they usually congregate? 

I'm feeling ever so glad that my first tri is a pool swim, so I don't have to worry about strippers. 

Seriously, the only thing I know is that the help you get your suit halfway down, and after that it's up to you.  I'd definitely be sticking with someone of the same gender. 

Now, the pics.  Here's last year:

And this year:

Same hat, you should get you a new one just to mix it up a little.

Wet suit stripper, I would assume that they just undo your neck and unzip your suit. 

Now of course I am wrong.  They do a little more than that.  Watch this video to see them in action.  There doesn't seem to be a reason to get a gender-specific stripper.  If something comes off, everybody's going to see it.

So basically as you are coming out of the water you unzip your wetsuit, get your arms out and pull it down to about your waiste.  You walk up to one of the wetsuit strippers (gender really does not matter) and sit down and roll backwards so as to clear the part of the wetsuit you may still be sitting on.  In one yannk thye will pull your wetsuit all the way off and you roll back up grab it and are on your way.  They tend to be pretty good, so if you have the wetsuit down a little past your waiste, they will have it off in like 2 seconds.  Way faster than you could do this yourself.  If you have a trisuit I seriously doubt there will be any issues with losing more than you intended.  I'll check out the vid when I am at home. 

I definately think they need little princess crowns for getting wheeled around everywhere.

It is soo hard to just go out and walk 4 miles without sneaking in some jogging..... Oh well, must be good.

Lisa, beautiful girls....all of you!!! Your kids will no doubt grow up with great memories of being outside with you.  And ha, ha, I say keep the hat.  My favorite visor is from a 2005 Komen race, and good luck getting it away from me!

Steve, is your dog getting to go with you on some of these walks?  I think walking burns roughly the same amout of calories per distance as running, at least that's what I have told myself in the past.

Dennis, the wetsuit stripper video is much easier to watch than the unclip fail video!  Post it notes to self: "take helmet off before heading out on the run", "don't forget to grab wetsuit after they take it off", "DON'T FORGET TO UNCLIP".

Rode w/ a few other peeps this morning and had a great time!  Turns out they have all done triathlons, but mainly ride now.  So made some new friends and got some good tips at the same time.  One gal suggested keeping my head down early in the swim...less likely to get clocked in the face that way....so get out of the fray a little and then start sighting.  Other idea was pickle juice to prevent cramps.  Probably won't try it for this one so as not to violate the nothing new on race day message I seem to be getting in multiple ways, but will give it a try next week. 

Lisa adorable kids! Pretty mom!

Steve: WALK!

Most things like Gu/gels, gatoraide/drinks with stuff in them, have some of the sodium and potasium in them to help you in heat and with electrolyte replacement.  Most of the other things are a bit.... untested.  But if you like to swig pickle juice... enjoy 8).  Things to keep in mind are, does hot pickle juice that has been sitting in a warm bike bottle for 3 hours in the sun taste as good as pickle juice from the fridge and will you ever get that taste out of the plastic....?

No walking with the dog.  I get in my 4 miles at lunch, so no dog here.  He really isn't good for more than 2 or 3 miles anyway.  He is working on his TV dog limp whenever he sees me in running shoes and shorts and making his ears go flat and shaking like a leaf. 

So tempting to just break into a jog for a couple miles.  I will never last the 2 months without adding in some walk jog.   

WALK Steve!

I honestly had no idea that these wetsuit strippers even existed.  I guess I could see how some would want the help but it does seem kind of over the top.  Anyways my last final for my Spring Term is tomorrow!!!  I will finally get my face out of these books and back into training. 

Best of luck on your sprint this weekend Carol!

Marcus

I actually enjoy walking.  Especially at a set cadence.  Instead of just walking, I would walk to a metronome at 75 strides per minute some days, 65 on more relaxed days.  Added a little bit to it to keep it from being so boring.

I keep hearing how delicate tri wetsuits are but after watching those strippers, they're not that delicate.

It is more the fingernail punctures to the wetsuit that are a problem.

Swim workout for today, 3000 yards, WU/CD 300 yards breasttroke at comfortable pace 2:20/100.  Then 200 yard sets at increasing pace 2:15/100, 2:12, 2:10, 2:08, 2:06, 2:04, 2:02, 2:00, then 100 's at 1:59, 1:57, 1:55, 1:53, 1:51, 30 at 2:13. So 1:51/100 is still really fast for me.  I was trying to focus on being efficient in my strokes and remaining streamline. 

Wow, realrellim!  You lost some weight, great job.  I too have two daughters as well (Hailey is 11, and Hannah is 9).  I had flashbacks of the maternity classes when you said VBAC.  :shake:

I am still having trouble loading pix for my avatar.  Dunno why.  They will get there tho, promise.  The WI Marathon pix should be available today and I am hoping there is a good one that I can post.  PR'd the 13.1 in 1:37:26 :tup:.  73/2076 overall and 8/151 age group. 

did my first Brick last night.  45 min bike (12 miles) and 15 min run (2 miles).  WOW!  My legs felt like tree trunks for the run.  I also cannot believe how much you sweat for the bike.  Average heart rate for the bike was about 120 too.  not high at all.   for the hills I targeted it to get up to 150 tho.

As for ws strippers, I gotta one track mind and I better keep this protege in check .  But I am guessing it is people to help you get out of your ws.

When I was growing up, in the south, I was always told drinking pickle juice will make you grow chest hair.  The main issue I see with pickle juice as a sports drink is there are practically zero calories in it.  So you get sodium and liquid, but no energy.

Had a great bike hour bike ride this morning that complemented a good swim last night.  Even though I wasn't really faster during the swim last night, I did make great progress on keeping my legs straight(er) and when I did kick, I did it from the hips, not the knees.  I could really feel the difference.  I also did a lot better on keeping my face down instead of at a 45 degree angle in the water.

I have a 45 minute swim tonight and then tomorrow is a rest day.  Then to increase the run mileage one last time before I have to run the 10NM race I have a 10-10.5 mile long run on Saturday.  2 weekends from today is another sprint tri.  Then a weeks vacation which is going to screw up training some but at least it's still kinda early in the season for me and I don't feel I am behind in my training.

Now I just have to keep the temptation of attempting the Oly the day after my next sprint at bay.  Only the 1500 meter swim intimidates me but if it's wetsuit legal, I just might have to do two in a row.

Ken - where do you go to swim now?  At our gym we have open classes that are just drop in so I just went to the class one night.  First thing the instructor says is - "800m warm up!" and my jaw dropped since on my first try by myself - I barely made it 50m without drowning!  I was lucky that the Master Swim instructor had pity on me and let me in the class although he did tell me that the class was not meant for beginners - there were 2 other newer swimmers there as well and he gives us different drills than the rest of the class. (usually I end up swimming 1500m while the "real" swimmers do 3000m)  Also, I've been lucky enough that one of the life guards is also a triathlete and he's been able to give me some pointers when I go to swim on my own.   I also found a training buddy at the gym and we do drills, etc.  Even then, I find progress to be really slow! My husband came to my mini-tri and was so impressed watching me swim - even though I thought I did really horribly!

Lisa - love the pics of you and the kids!!  My kids are now pretty autonomous (9 and 12 years old), but I was pretty tired and overwhelmed when my kids were younger.  You rock!!

Carol - Good luck on your race!

Karen - Way to go!!!!!!!

Wow - I just looked at my calendar for last year at this time (getting old - have to look at notes   and I realized that we were about halfway through one of my most stressful times.  Long story short, we had taken in a 12 year old foster child with some real emotional issues and the training doesn't really prepare you for the day in and day out barrage of issues. Since I am always overly ambitious we had signed on as "therapeutic" foster parents meaning that we got some of the tougher cases and we were committed to work on therapy with the kids not just be glorified baby sitters.  Anyhow - needless to say - I gained 20 pounds and thought I was gonna have a nervous breakdown before we finally called it quits just before thanksgiving.  I signed up to join the gym not long after that and one thing has lead to another and here I am now - down 10 lbs from then and hoping for another 30.

Funny thing is I was training for a month before I lost 5 lbs and now that I've been sick and NOT training, I lost another 5lbs!  Go figure.

pix test

edit:  [Doc Emmitt Brown]It works!  Haha![/Doc]

Great HM result.  I sure envy those run times and running in my strongest sport.

And I never answered the question about what I would be doing a year ago.  Probably watching TV and thinking about what's for dinner.

Summer 2010	May 7, 2011

Note: The image on the left has not been distorted.

Interesting bike tip I just learned from reddit about aligning the logo on your bike tire with the valve stem.