Hashers And Mashers - Part 3 - Open (Page 15)

Great pics mike! I'd much rather be running in the second than the first though .

I went for my 100k charity ride today, longest distance I've ever tackled. It was a morning of dense, dense fog here which didn't lift until around 10 am which is just about unheard of here. The course was a winding one with many, many hills; over the 108km course we climbed 1020m and boy, I was feeling it by the 70km mark. The middle of the ride was the hilliest section with a particularly long and steep hill that went up, up, up...then turn a bend and discover the damn hill just kept going up and up...Well, at that stage I admitted defeat, pulled over and got off, walked up the worst of it. I felt a little better to see others doing the same. Eventually made it back to the start/finish with a time of 4:48 plus rest stops, which I was pretty happy with. If I can manage that pace for the HIM I should have enough time up my sleeve to finish the run leg within the cutoff time.

So now I'm sitting with a glass of wine, having spent most of the afternoon eating, and looking forward to an early bedtime .

Hey all, it's been a few months since I logged on here, I kind of dropped off the face of the earth, but can I jump in?

Name: Joe

I had signed up for Vineman 70.3 this year, and then had to cancel because work relocated me to Chicago in May.  I intended to sign up for the Chicago Triatlon in August, but frankly the stress of the move and trying to keep things as stable as possible for the kids meant I had little to no time/motivation to work out and I was eating fast food or something similar many meals.  Our move did not go smoothly and we have had to handle some major issues with  our new house, but things are just starting to stabilize and I'm getting back into it.

I don't think I'll be doing any races this year, but I'm wanting to work smart and hard to make sure I am in top shape going into next season.  If there's any fun run only races around here towards the end of the year, maybe I'll do that, we'll see.  Like a turkey trot or something.  But I really want to be back in the full swing for next season, that's my focus.

The biggest obstacle will be the swim, I'm going to be more or less foregoing swim training for now because there are really no convenient pools around here. Also need to save money.  Luckily my office has a great (pool-less) gym so I can run and bike year round without worry, which will be a significant help here in Chicago come winter.

I've been running and doing some other working out over the course of the last month, but very haphazardly.  Last week I know I ran 13.5 miles.  This week I'll be doing 15, probably do that for a couple more weeks, and then start to build it up.  Slowly but surely I'm going to get it back over 25 mi/week. I've always wanted to get to 30 mi/week, so I'm going to make that the goal.

I'm up over 20lbs from where I want to be, so that's another big goal.

In lieu of swimming, I'll be trying to hit the rowing machine hard.  I like it, it's good hard work, and it gives me something to focus on other than just the run and bike.

Anyways, I hope everyone else is doing well!  I'm looking forward to getting back into it and seeing how everyone else is training.

doctor was a big waste of time.

it's not a fracture, so that's nice, but only direction i have is continue to do activity as long as it doesn't hurt and come back for an MRI and i'll follow up in 2 weeks and do what?  tell you to rest?

is there ANY REASON on earth i should waste my time and money on the MRI/followup appt if all 3 possible outcomes just mean i have to rest?

and in the meantime how do i not go BAT POOP CRAZY not being able to do anything i like?  

Me too... except I didn't take a training hiatus.

Welcome back! Glad things are settling down for you!

Hi Joe, good to have you back again!

I must admit, I'd be inclined to go and ask for the follow up scan if time and money allowed. I know it may not change the doc's advice, but I like to know what's happening and (for me) knowing makes it a little easier to bear the forced rest and get an idea of how it should all be going.

the MRI alone will take over an hour and who knows how much it will cost me.  i can't believe how nonchalant people are with just throwing away that time and money for no reason!!  i've skipped them before.  i like data and info as much as the next guy (i'm an engineer) but an inconclusive picture with a diagnosis of rest isn't really data...

Hi All, We just got home a couple hours ago and have unloaded everything and now just getting ready to relax.  The race went quite well except I wilted in the heat on the run.  My swim and bike were fairly good but the heat hit at the same time I was running out of T2.  I was stronger on the run this year than last year but I was still quite slow.

I got a bit fried in the sun and had some pretty good fun with some of the other athletes.  I felt great crossing the finish line and was still in decent shape so I was pleased with that.

I haven't seen the stats yet and I want to see if I can't come up with some photos to include in my race report but I'll try and write it up tomorrow.  We stayed an extra day at our campsite and just lazed around sleeping and eating whatever we wanted and I think it made the drive home today much easier.

I can see that I still need to focus on my running and running off the bike for next year.

I'll get caught up on the posts while I was away tomorrow.

Originally posted by PsyTri I have found the answer to all cross-training and rehab questions, as well as relief for those suffering discouragement due to injuries. It's simply called bog snorkeling! You've got to check this out! Just google "World Bog Snorkeling Championships" or look it up on YouTube! It's not in the list of BT races, surprisingly. It might well be worth a trip to the U.K. Bring your tutu! Enjoy!

Wow, that is not in the least bit tempting! You always have great ideas.

Hi All - I just finished my race report.  It took me quite a while to write it as I've been distracted by family matters (nothing too bad).

Ironman 70.3 Calgary

I hope that will work.  I'm hoping to add a photo of my medal.  It's a huge (cowboy) belt buckle.  I didn't include in the race report that my friend Greg was second in his age group (out of 4) so he won a place at the Mont Tremblant World 70.3 championship and then I got a place on the trickle down.  Pretty embarrassing as I was 16th/18 so I got it just because I was the only one there.  I wasn't keen to go but Greg was really excited but I knew my wife had an event of her own on the date (Sept 7th, 2014) and after she supports me I want support her equally well.  As soon as he realized it was this year and not next he realized it wasn't practical.  Quick calculations figured it would cost about $5000 for a HIM.  I'd rather do the Challenge St. Andrews in New Brunswick if I'm going to go that far.

QUESTION - I'd appreciate your opinions - As I finished at Calgary I was certain I never wanted to do another triathlon except Cultus Lake Oly (because I think I can beat 3hrs there).  So I am now struggling with whether or not I should do the Challenge Penticton half distance.  I really want to support the event but this soon after Calgary I'm not sure it is a wise idea.  I know I could swim and do the bike although the bike would be slow due to a lot of climbing but my run in Calgary was mediocre at best and I'm not likely to get any stronger between now and Aug 24th.  Any thoughts on "Should I or shouldn't I?"

Great race report George, your stoicism is inspiring . Congrats on the finish and the perseverance through a tough run!

Re: another HIM in 3 weeks time...can your body take another big effort so soon? Could you support the event by volunteering (or similar) instead? I'm sure you'll come to the right decision over the next few days/week or so. 

Carlo, good to see you back here, and I'm hearin' ya on the mental toughness collapse. I had that feeling for the half marathon a month back. Have to take it and learn from it but it looks like you're doing that already with the comeback sprint and Oly. Emjoy!