bcagle25's Endurance Ninja's - Closed (Ninja school is in session) (Page 15)

11 minute PR, negative split, with a strong finish? Congrats on a solid performance!

Matt-That's awesome you did so well in your HM, and without really training!!! I'm glad it was a good experience, and that's a lot of time to take off!

Justin-I'm so glad your back on a good training schedule! And you're excited about it.  We all go through stages where we lack motivation, but if we look back on it, we aren't happy, but once we  get active again it's amazing how your attitude improves.

I've always wondered about Master's classes too, but I already pay for 2 pools (gym and cc) and I can't really justify a 3rd! Swim lessons are going well, my instructor was at the pool the other day with her coach and they were watching me (I didn't know). At my next lesson, she said they both thought my freestyle form was great.  I said, "so why am I so slow?" Her, "because you have no kick". So there you have it.  At least I know why and what to work on!!

Ben-Is your strength training getting better? I know it's a good thing to do, but sometimes I struggle with getting my hour in a week.

So those of you that asked about the stair run.  This is the 3rd year I've done it and it's great.  It's such a different aminal, because it is so difficult to train for (really running real stairs is the only way), and even then, you go up and down, which gives your muscles a little break.  The real kicker is not being able to breathe and your lungs burning!! The 1st year, I trained and was 21st overall, this year and last not so good, but still top 3rd overall and top 6th age group.  I'm thinking next year, I might actually put in some effort and really see how well I can do.  It is only 870 stairs though.  Tom, that one you mentioned that had 2,579...wow, that would hurt.  I'm all about mixing it up though and love to do different kinds of races to keep it interesting.

Masters is a great source to improve on your swimming. Deck coaching and swimming with faster swimmers is a great way to learn and motivate yourself to improve. Most masters classes divided up talent by lanes (decided on your avg 100/yd time) and go from their. In any case it is best to underestimate yourself and start maybe in a slower lane then you need to, and adjust accordingly. There is no better feeling then moving up a lane.

Swimmers and coaches are generally very friendly in masters and love to teach the sport to others as well. Ask as many questions as you want, and never feel stupid asking questions, it is the only way you can learn and you have to start somewhere, right? If you feel at all nervous or anxious I would show up a bit early and address any concerns or problems to the coach beforehand.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Ben--I noticed you have an Orbea bike.  I was wondering if you like it and if you have had any problems/issues with it?  I'm looking at an Orbea Onix, but don't have any experience with the brand.

Thanks, Ali

I am split 50/50 on the Orbea so below is what I like and don't like

Pro's

- Great first bike for the price I bought at $1800

- Very easy to maintain and keep clean, this is not a fully integrated bike and so everything is right at your fingertips and not hidden away

- Handles well...for a TT bike

Con's

- For TT's bikes the seat angle is a bit slack (Orbea is known for this) at 74 degrees, so I have to push everything forward and it still is a slack angle

- Had some small debris get inside my frame or fall off from the inside of the frame. Taken the frame to numerous shops and they all say the integrity of the frame is great, but it is just annoying to hear the banging around while on the road (Maybe if I contact Orbea I could get something out of this...meh)

- The wheel shaped downtube negates one spot to hold a water bottle, if that is an issue

I have never spoken or used customer service with Orbea, but have dealt with mechanics only. They seem split on Orbea, some love the, others are iffy. 

I was planning on selling my bike this year, but I will have to wait another year for the finances to allow. In the meantime this is a bike that gets the job done and I have had very few problems, really if any, that have been caused by Orbea. It is not an amazing bike, but it is not a low end bike either. It performs well for the price listed and you can get a lot of value out of it. Personally if you are not going for a high end bike and want something a little less, Orbea's seem to be a good option with pricing. However, if your are looking for a more competitiveness out of your bike and want to ride aggressively I would stay away from Orbea. 

I have probably logged about 5-6k in miles on this bike and beaten it down well and it is still holding its own very well.

Hope this helps

I spent a year living in Kirkland Lake... beautiful place.

Have a great race!!!!