GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 154)

TRACEY -

CELTICS!!!!!

"Harder gears engaged" is good! It works! And right off the top of my head, I can't think of better phraseology, so "harder gears engaged" it is!

The rings are the big guys up front, the cogs are the little dudes in back. Depending on your bike, you have two or three rings and 8-10 cogs in your "cassette".

The hardest gearing you will get is biggest ring/smallest cog; the easiest gearing will smallest ring/largest cog.

When you are on a downhill, or a flat stretch with the wind at your back, the hardest gearing is fabulous; when you face a demanding climb, the easiest gearing is the best way to avoid pain and punishment.

When Steve did IMSG 13 days ago, he used a cogset with a 28-toother as his biggest, and when I did IMLP, I had a 27-toother as my godsend. These just made it that much easier for both of us to spin out ways up the hills. Normally I use a cassette that ranges from 11-23*, and there really is a huge amount of difference between a 23-tooth cog and a 27-tooth cog.

And after posting that one a couple days ago about alternating standing grinds and seated spins towards the end of the bike leg, i experimented around and realized that when I do the spins, I am in fact NOT in my easiest gearing -- which would be small ring and 21- or 23-tooth cog. What I'm in is still my big ring, so that as I alternate those efforts, I'm just working through the cogs --- the 11 or 12 when I'm grinding, the (usually) 19 when I'm spinning - and keeping it in the big ring. But that's what works for me, and what works for you might be entirely different. So, feel free to play around it!



* 11-23 refers to the range of cogs in the rear cassette. Steve had a 11-28 for IMSG, I used a 12-27 at IMLP. As most cassettes have nine or ten cogs, when you see something like Steve's 11-28, you know that there are some "options" that are missing in the middle range; it will be limiting in some ways. But for the sake of more effortless climbing, it is well worth it to have a 27- or 28-tooth cog in your arsenal.

TRACEY once more -

Even if you can get it only one OWS before Escape, that will be good. All you really need to do is avoid the surprise on race morning of whatever the wetsuit feels like. Usually, the adjustments are in terms of constriction, range-of-motion, and how the suit affects your body-roll, which really is a function of how the specific bouyancy of the suit works with your specific body.

All of that is not to say that you will have to adjust to all three of those, however! I have very long arms in proportion to the rest of my body, so my range-of-motion was somewhat compromised initially. But for people with less simian arms, their range-of-motion is about the same. And, as I said to Kasia the other day, that can be accommodated just by cinching and scrunching the wetsuits up on your torso and arms as much as possible.

And I have had some wetsuits in which I haven't even noticed constriction, and also ones in which my body roll is not affected by the buoyancy. It's kind of like Forrest Gump and his choclolates, where you never know what you're going to get in any given wetsuit.

Another way to think of this is to try a close-to-shore OWS even before the wetsuit arrives --- and then when you do it in the wetsuit, it will seem that much easier. Kind of like warming up in the on-deck circle using a weighted bat, and then when you go to the plate with your regular bat it feels like swinging a toothpick!


CELTICS!!!!!!!!!!

(But can my Bruins avoid elimination and ignominy tonight?)

Tracey- Bummer about the wetsuit!  Best of luck in your race this weekend, you are going to do awesome! 

STEVE B - thanks for the chain cleaning info - I need to do that because my LBS is about 75 minutes away (near the pool).  I want to learn how to do a lot myself so I don't have to drive and drop off my bike.  I usually call ahead so I can get it back the same day in a few hours but still, it is a pain.  I get nervous doing much myself because if I screw something up, it is a long drive and a wait to get my bike back.  The chain thing I can handle though!

STEVE A - hope the knees respond to the ice and Advil.  I am considering approaching Advil for a sponsorship. 

SHAUN - hope the groin cheers up and quits being grumpy.

Everyone - have a spectacular weekend!  I will report how running a marathon on about a month of not running treats you.  It is a very interesting study really, happy to be the guinea pig. 

OH and the pictures from Polar Bear are here (Bib 146) if anyone wants to see. I wish they would take the photos from the waist up!   I think I look like a sausage in one of them, I will let you guess the one. Ha!!!  STEVE B (and anyone who knows anything about this stuff) - check me out on the bike - does that fit look funky to you?  I might play with it now that I see myself.   www.capstonephoto.com

Cheers,

Mandy

Edited by midlifeinsanity 2010-05-25 8:52 PM

MANDY -

You must be the most joyful competitor on the planet. EVERY photo shows your grinning with gleeful abandon. Cool beans!

What I gotta know is --- are you always aware of the photographer, or are you always just plain happy? Those a re just terrific photographs!

I didn't see any sausage, either, but noticed that in the photo whose code ends with 1091, you're fully airborne. I LOVE when that happens!

As for the bike, I wouldn't say that your position is "funky", but could maybe be improved. HOWEVER, I am certainly no expert on fitting and optimal position, and at least for me, small adjustments can wreak havoc on something like my S-I joint. That said, though, most people can withstand all sorts of tweaks in poitioning, so....

What I noticed is that you seem to be a bit too far back, and I'm judging that on where your arms are when you're out on your aerobar. I think the ideal is to be in a position where your elbows can be on the pads, and I'm not sure that where you are now can accommodate that, short of being perched right at the tip of your saddle -- which is fine only for very short, isolated periods.

Looking at leg extension, that seems fine, so just raising the seat won't help. Much. I think. That is, you don't want to raise your seat if it will minimize the amount of power you can generate by kind of having to "reach" at the bottom of each pedal stroke.

My quick thought is to look into a "forward" seat post. Profile Design used to carry these, and they aren't all that expensive. I had one years ago when I wanted to upgrade my first road bike, and if I can find it I will get it to you. A "forward" seat post has a crook in it, so it angles upward and forward; it is one way to achieve a more aggressive postion on a bike that has standard road bike geometry. When done correctly, it will move you forward without affecting your leg extension It will change the angle of your legs with respect to your cranks, is all, but for many people this will allow them to use muscle groups that are more conducive to generating power. Mostly, it will move you further forward in the cockpit, and you won't feel so spread out. As I see the photos, you are able to enjoy some of the benefits of being more aero, but you aren't getting any great relief from potential strain on your upper arms, shoulders, and maybe neck. (And by strain, i just mean pressure that can be slightly uncomfortable on longer rides.) When positioned correctly, one can kind of "melt" down into the aero bars -- resting on the elbows and the upper part of the ulna, shoulders nice and relaxed. For the better part of the middle of the Timberman bike (and that would be virtaully everything on Route 106), that might be a good position to be in!

ALL THAT SAID, however, remember -- I am no expert! What you might want to do is photocopy a couple of those photos and take them to a bike shop and ask what they see and recommend. And I've seen this sort of thing done on slowtwitch, where someone has posted a photo of themselves with the title "Critique My Position". (Believe me, this gets all the bike geeks out in full force!)

One final thought, though, is about your comfort level. I suggested that maybe you aren't as comfortable as you could be, but really -- what do I know?!? it might be that your shoulders, arms, and neck are all just fine, and that you could do 5000 miles with your current position and feel fresh as a daisy at the end of it.

What do you think?

TRACEY -

What are the details of your race? Name and place and start time?

I am going to go to the website of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer and rad their post-mortem of the poor Cavs. I have been a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan, and my former coach lives in Ohio and is passionate about every Cleveland team, so I have some serious affinities to Cleveland sports. Even though James was WAY off for much of the series, I shudder to think how that franchise will fare without him. They were so pathetic for so many, many years, and have now had some success, but if he leaves......

Woo hoo Celtics indeed! It's so great that they managed to knock off not just Miami, who were totally hot (no pun intended), but also Lebron's Cavs.

The ring/cog explanation is very helpful. When I ride, the only thing I know is that on the left (which as I now understand represents the rings), shifting toward the right is harder, and on the right (the cogs), shifting toward the left is harder. I've gotten the hang of shifting when I need to (although I don't really use the rings too often). The first time I used the rings actually was yesterday when I did the riding off the saddle thing you suggested. I have to be totally honest though and admit that I have no idea how many teeth are in my cog set!

Sometimes I find when I'm on a really flat road, the only way I can maintain good speed (which right now for me is 17 mph or so), I have to keep the cog set almost all the way to the left (representing the most difficult gearing). Is there a more efficient way to ride on flat roads and go fast? Would it be better if I were to shift to the harder ring, and then play around with the middle range on the cogs? Hope that makes sense...

Thanks!

Mandy:

I love the pics! And I love that you look so happy in all of them as if you're having a great time.

My 5k on Sunday is this one:

www.manomartian.com

It's in Plymouth, start time 10:00.

So... if I want to beat my best 5k pace so far of 11:58, then when I cross the finish line my time would need to be less than 37 minutes (if I've done my math correctly...)

Well now that I know your soft spot for Cleveland, I won't run in the loss too much...

MANDY again -

IDEAL forecast! I'm seeing sunny and low of 41, high of 64. Wow! Beautiful weather on arguably the most beautiful marathon course anywhere.

May the Calf Gods smile on you as have the Weather Gods (same corporation, different branches)!

Thanks guys-

Steve, I just always have that goofy smile on my face.  I can't control it. I have no idea where the cameras are most of the time.  I did see the one as I was coming out of the pool.

I think I need to do what you suggest - or something like it anyway.  I know it is tough to tell from a few pictures, I have been bothered by my bike fit for a while now - since getting the aerobars outside.  On the trainer, the bike is on a block so the front is higher...Riding outside, I feel kind of low in the aerobars - so I really feel strain on my neck and shoulders when I look up to see the road...SO I wasn't sure what I needed to do to fix that.  I also wasn't sure if it was just something I was supposed to get used to. I certainly can't melt into them. 

I might try the slowtwitch idea - I like it a lot.  I could also go get a real fit, but I would have to go somewhere far far away to do that.  To never never land, Portland ME.  My LBS doesn't really do fitting - I mean, sort of they do, but not really.

Thanks again!

Mandy

TRACEY -

Thank you for the details!

As for the Cavs, no real love lost. Lots of empathy for the city, is all. But igo back to the glory days of the Celts, when they were to basketball what the damn Yankess were to baseball. Lordy, the hours I spent listening to the wonderful Johnny Most on the radio, reaglling me with the exploits of Cousy, Russell, Sharman, Ramsey, Jones (both K.C. and Sam), Heinshon, Havlicek, Louscitoff, and so on. THAT'S where my heart is!!

But PLEASE go easy on me with the Browns -- even if their current coach is that weasel, Eric Mangini!

YEAH I saw that! Psyched!  BONUS - I get to sleep in my own bed for this race! That doesn't happen before a big race very often!

This course is nice, I don't know if I like this course or MDI better.  MDI is much hillier (just the first 25 miles) and has gotten raves from Runners World, Cool Running, and other notables.  The race director, Gary Allen, is pretty into promoting his race, is a super nice guy (I don't know him really, but have talked to him numerous times - very down to earth guy), and has run sub 3hr marathons like, 15 times or something crazy like that, so he gets attention anyway.  Draws big names to the pasta dinner (Dick Beardsley, Joanie, can't remember who else).  It is a great one with big community support. 

Where Sugarloaf has stayed pretty low-key (~ 300 +- marathoners in this one I think), has gone through numerous race directors, but has stayed well organized despite that fact.  It is kind of a more lonely one - there is community support, but no one really lives where you are running so you don't have people outside their houses in lawn chairs cheering you on.  Just the mighty Carrabasset river and the Bigelow mountains until you hit Kingfield... But they have the better race sticker, hands down, which is really why we run these things, right? For the sticker. 

Cheers,

Mandy

MANDY once more -

So Portland is never-never land, is it? Hmmm.

Well if you ever feel like going to never-never land AND beyond the rainbow, then see when Fit Werx is going to be doing fittings in Massachusetts. i ahd mu ultimate fitting from them in '03, at heir home base in Waitsfield, VT. Since then, though, they have brought a road unit to MA, and maybe even have a satellite store there now. They might also be doing fittings in Manchester, NH; that rings a bell for me. I think all their info is on www.fitwerx.com., but short of that many bike shops do very good fittings.

And your smile is not the least bit "goofy" -- not even close!

MANDY, quatrieme -

Eustis............Stratton.............CarrVall...............Kingfield. If it gets lonely, just count pine trees!

MDI is a hilly bugger, isn't it? Like, lots of short, intense hills?

Sleeping in one's own bed has great benefits, and even more so are the benefits that come from a short return drive, thus preventing the odds that your lower body will seize up entirely by the time you make it home!

How is the calf today, 48+/- hours out from it? Still fractious, but generally tolerable?

HA Portland is never never land as in I never never go there unless I have to for John's family or if there is a race. LOL  I looked up Fit Werx before - so funny you mentioned it.  I really would like to get a fitting done by them...a lot!  I considered making the drive to VT to get a fitting and see some friends in the process.  I also have a friend in Bow, NH, right near Manchester....hmmmmm (fingers twiddling, mind reeling).  But I am scared of driving in MA - I only go there if I am flying somewhere really cool, and then I take the bus to the airport from Portland.  Or I would go there to see the Red Sox, then I take the train from Portland, dumps at Fenway.  You see a pattern of me avoiding driving in heavy, fast moving traffic like the plague? ha ha

After this marathon is done, I will take some time and figure out the best route for me to take - so many options!   

Cheers,
Mandy

Mandy

X however many on great pics and smile 

Have you done MDI?  I always say it is only the first 25 miles that are up hill, that last mile is a breeze! ha.  I might do it this fall again, but not sure yet.  Ask me Monday.

Calf is ok, I am going for a short ~ 2 mile jaunt this PM around the hood to see how it is feeling.  If I dig in really deep with my thumb I can get a good pressure point that makes me almost want to cry it hurts so good.  RELEASE! PLEASE RELEASE!

Mandy,

I haven't heard the term "race sticker" before - what is it?

Denise

The Sugarloaf Race sticker/logo looks like this:


and I want one really badly.



Mandy

Edited by manfarr1974 2010-05-14 10:23 AM

MANDY -

In a previous life, I spent about 18 months on and off driving a cab in Boston -- first for Checker, then for McCann (alas, no longer with us). This was between, um, '69 and '71, maybe; something like that. I actually got to the point where I was a very efficient cabbie, as I am great with directions, don't mind traffic, and can be fairly yakky. (That's by way of saying that driving in MA doesn't faze me too much!)

The McCann gig was especially sweet, as their garage was on Gainsborough (?), in the residential district known as the Fenway. It was maybe a five minute walk to fenway park, and that was back in the day when at least half of any team's games were during the day. So, on many, many days I would start my shift at 5am and finish at 1pm, and then amble over to Fenway and buy a bleacher seat for a dollar. That was all it was then -- $1. I would sit right against the wall that was the continuation of the Green Monster, about 8-12 rows up. This was the perfect place to watch balls arc up and into, or over, or off of, the G.M. Those were just great afternoons, me and about 10,000 other lucky souls who can structure their days to accommodate going to see the Red Sox play!

How come life is no longer simple like that?

MANDY again -

No, I never did either MDI or Sugarloaf, although I gazed longingly at Sugarloaf on several occasions.

My marathon career was sort of spotty, and now is mostly lapsed. It was:
Ocean State (RI) - Nov. '98
B&A Trail* (MD) - March '99
Quebec City - Aug. '99
Columbus (OH) - Nov. '99

then two months later my tibial stress fracture that led me into triathlon (That was my "best bad injury"!)

North Central Trail* (MD) - Nov. '03
Boston - April '04

and then two marathons as part of iron-distance races:
IM Lake Placid - July '04
The Canadian - Sept '05

And I had great training for Kiawah Marathon this past December 12 -- right until my last long run on Nov. 29, after which my ITB got inflammed and I bailed on it. And that might've drawn down the curtain on stand-alone marathoning for me. Snif.



*For both of these, that's trail in the sense of rail-to-trail courses -- not over hill and dale and tripping over tree roots trails!

MANDY once more -

Oo la la on that sticker........and IT'S GONNA BE YOURS!!!!




And I just clicked on the "really bad" part of your post and got to "I just really want the sticker" --- and am so glad I did so. That connecetion is at the bottom of every single one of your posts, and I just never think to go there. I used to surf all over everywhere on the internet, but I re-trained myself a few years ago and now just stick to a few same olds same olds; it's like I have blinders on.

ANYHOW, that is a very fine piece of writing, capturing all sorts of nuances of you and your training and your motivations (I'm including the Milano cookies here! ). I've got to start including that in my standard daily internet travels!




Edited by stevebradley 2010-05-14 11:40 AM

Steve,

My 1st long-term relationship was with a cab driver.  He had just graduated with a Philosophy degree, which is, of course, ideally suited for cab-driving.  We mostly just went out for eggs and hashbrowns at 3AM.  He later became a dispatcher.  Wonder what he's doing now?

Denise

So, does sticker mean logo? - is there an actual sticker involved? - that you peel off and stick on something?