GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 159)

Anne and Steve -

Wow, I am behind schedule on the OWS!  I think the temp in Wyman is @50 degrees.  I am thinking about going out just to try it this weekend.  Does running in, screaming, and then running out count as my first OWS of the year?

You've got a great attitude.  I think you absolutely deserve to pick an easy 5k next time.  Congrats on both your 5ks.
Denise

Mandy,
Congrats on your race.  I can't believe you did that 100 on the trainer so close to your race.  Actually your time looked pretty good to me.
Denise

SteveB,

I've been checking out your race (Columbia).  Big one.  Looks like you'll have age group competition.  The swim course looks very pretty (from the photos)

I looked at the referee report too.  All my tris have been little ones and I don't think anybody gets penalties for anything in those. Nobody to see a rule infraction.

Since I've recently become a race result stalker, I realize I've been spoiled so far.  All my tris and the ones that I considered doing, list pace for each leg next to the time for each leg.  Now I'm finding a lot of races don't do that - it's a pain to have to calculate.

Denise

Edited by LadyNorth 2010-05-19 7:43 AM

Glad to see you back Steve. I always loved reading your training reports. Looking forward to seeing them again! When is Vineman?

Thanks Mandy, thanks Denise! I'm pretty excited about my PR, even though it's still super slow. I'm also excited that my new friend/training partner I met at the 5k on Sunday is also a slow runner, so we can actually run together. She's been running for 4 years and does tons of road races, so she's a good source to find out about all the good ones.

Tracey

Great job on the PR Tracey

TRACEY -

I don't know which I love more -- the fact that you carved out your own 5km route on which to guage your progress, or that on the first attempt on you beat the goal you had set for yourself. Either way, wonderful determination!

Your attitude is exceptional.........but I'm not sure I'd ever want to "cross" you! It took you about 37 hours of stewing about the Manomartian course, and then you just took matters into your own hands. Let me guess -- you've never been very good at "tolerating fools", right?

So, what you have now is a "time trial" course for a 5km, and pretty much whenever you want you can use that to test your fitness and improvement. Perfect! Just don't go overboard on it, and maybe after a couple of shots at it between now and Escape, save the true TT (time trial) efforts for every 3-4 weeks.

And please don't fret (and definitely don't apologize) for your running pace! We all start somewhere, and for almost all of us who stay in this stuff for a while, those early benchmarks are almost unfathomable after a few years. You now have a time that represents where you are in 2010, which if I'm not mistaken is that year that marks a serious interest in becoming stronger, fitter, and more competitive (with yourself, at the very least). And with that in mind, not lost to me was the fact that at Manomartian, there were 112 people who finished behind you. That's a lot........and I hope it isn't lost to you, either!

TRACEY again -

Further good news is that your training partner shares your running pace. So not only do you have a kindred soul in all of this, but one with whom you can actually train with without one or both of you becoming frustrated. How close is she to South Carver?











Edited by stevebradley 2010-05-19 7:18 AM

TRACEY once more -

Further-further good news is that the Celts won again, and that Papelbon managed to keep it together last night -- although I and the rest of Erd Sox Nation got very nervous very early in the bottom of the ninth! In fact, I started to move to turn it off when NY got guys on 2nd and 3rd with one out, but I decided not to be a sucky-dog and watch it all unfold. Sure gald I did!

DENISE -

Yes, Columbia is a big one, and as you probably know, you have to look far and wide to find a race that is not an Ironman or Ironman 70.3 in which there are 32 M-60-64 registrants. It's not that it's a humungous race in terms of total number, either.....and I can't really explain why the numbers of oldsters is always up there.

Back in the day (and only going back 5-7 years), Columbia was one of the premier triathlons anywhere. I guess it still is, but reecent years have seen the ascension of the irons and half-irons, and they're now the ones creating all of the buzz. Columbia still gets a lot of pros and elites, and many mid-Atlantic people use it as a gut-check build-race for Eagleman, three weeks after it.

The thing with Columbia has been its signature run course, and its almost-signature bike course. The run course used to be advertised as the toughest olymic-distance run anywhere......and in my races I haven't found one tougher. There are several very steep hills that aren't long, just nasty, and it all comes after a bike course that has its own share of hard climbing. It's a very stiff challenge, and even though Columbia is night-and-day different than Eagleman, the connection is that if you can manage the hills at Columbia, you can handle the potential wind/heat/sun of Eagleman. Soemthing like that.

It's funny that you mention the Columbia swim, which definitely looks pretty....but sometimes the lake can seem a bit "sketchy". I'm not sure it gets real consistent inflow/outflow, is the problem. But in the world of swim distances that get mis-measured, I think Columbia is always eact -- it's kind of right there in a bowl, and he almost has to work to squeeze in 1500 meters as it is.

I don't know all of the names in my a.g., but I look to David Adams and Dan Chasey to be big challenges. Dan Chasey is one of those triathletes with a kind of tea-party mentality, I think, which manifests itself in him seldom becoming a USAT member, so it's hard to find his results! (There are a lot of people who staunchly refuse to join USAT because they feel it is a bloated organization that doesn't do much for its members. Sounds tea-partyish to me!)

This is my third Columbia, and my last time in '05 had me dealing with two flats. There are several stupid stories behind that debacle, but I'll leave them untold for now. I am pretty hungry for some atonement......while at the same time terrified that I will flat again! Well, we'll juts have to see what happens!

DENISE again -

But here is one Columbia story.

The RD, Bob Vigorito, is about my age and he is always considerate of the older age groups. This manifests itself in assigning them the earliest waves, ANd also having a fair bit of separation between them and subsequent waves. In 2003 this meant the very first wave for maybe M50+, then 10 minutes or so until F45+, then maybe 15 minutes until pro and elite.

So, I was about halfway through the bike, having just struggled up the very tough climb on Green Bridge Road, just kind of "soft-pedaling" and collecting myself. I suudenly heard a noise behind me, and FLYING past me went Peter Reid (at the time the best long-distance traithlete in the world) and Travis Kuhl, a very talented young elite. It was staggering how fast they were going, and within a few seconds they were gone -- WHOOSH! It was almost hard to believe that had just done the same climb as I did!

So, if I ever entertained the notion of one day riding like a pro, I was certainly disabused of it right then and there!

Coda: There's a part of the run, just north Of the lake, where you pass runners going the other way. Right after I started on that part, maybe about 1.7, who should pass me heading for home? Peter Reid. And while I was kind of working hard at it, he was moving effortlessly - it was something to see. So there went another illusion, this one having to do with a fantasy of someday running like a pro!

DENISE once more -

And it's a deep women's field this year -- Rebeccah Wassner, her sister Laurel, Margie Shapiro, and three heartthrobs (I'm just sayin'!) -- Natacsha Badmann, Desiree Ficker, Amanda Lovato. The men's field doesn't seem as deep (and almost certainly isn't as throbacious as the women's! ), but is still impressive.

MANDY -

If OWS stands for Open Water Scream, then it counts! And as an added benefit, it will spike your heart rate to levels it hasn't previously visited. Win-win!

ANNE -

Well, your neck of the woods is kind of the banana belt of Ontario, so I guess I'm not surprised that you have generally enjoyed much earlier open water swim plunges.

In previous years I have used a spot in the St.Lawrence near Long Sault, but that always takes longer to warm up -- the St. L is a big body of water! But this year it was into the Rideau near Hog's Back, and that's probably my ticket in the future. It just took me a few years to figure it out!

SHAUN -

My indulgence yesterday was to buy a jug of Interphase when I was at Placid Palnet Bicycles in Lake Placid. I toted around a jug of Carbo-Pro for a while, and then did the quick switch to Interphase and got that instead. Well, it wasn't all that quick, as I spent a fair amount of time studying its contents, which are REALLY loaded! Couldn't resisit! (Even $44.99 USD didn't dissuade me!)

I tried it after a run/ride, and I enjoyed it -- nice taste! Of course, that's the gamble wit one of those big jugs -- one sip and feel like you'll be sick for the next 14 months. AND you'll never use the stuff again. But not with Interphase, no sirree!

The only problem with Interphase is the name, which makes me think of one of the stages in the life cycle of an insect. maybe that's what happened to the guy in Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" -- did a workout, drank some Interpahse, and woke up the next morning as a cockroach. Oh, my!

(You can tell the Interphase users at a triathlon -- they're the ones whose antennae stick out of their bike helmets, and have six legs to run with!)

KASIA -

Really! 62-63 will be fine! (Have I ever lied to you before?)

THIS COMING WEEKEND

Do I have this right? Four of us racing? To wit:

KASIA -- Summer OPEN Sprint Triathlon, Longmont, CO

DENISE and MARK -- Land Between the Lakes Triathlon, Albert Lea, MN

ME -- Columbia Triathlon, Ellicott City, MD

All on Sunday, the 23rd, yes?

Oh, and a?lmost forgot, and totally unrelated to triathlon ... just wanting to brag a bit ... my daughter was just offered a 6 month contract with the national tour ??o?f Mamma Mia!.  She'll be starting rehearsals in August in Duluth and the show opens in September in Winnipeg.  Don't know the rest of the tour schedule ...  so, our Alaskan cruise may have to wait so we can take lots of mini vacations to see her during the year! 

LISA

LISA -

THAT'S pretty cool!

Starting in Winipeg in September is better than starting there in July -- Winnipeg mosquitoes are legendary for their numbers and ferocity! Seriously! But by Septmeber, they'll be gone, so that's good!

I went to the website, but cou;dn't find anything about the fall tour. Rats. Just Toronto and Vienna, VA, were on the list between now and July.

A bunch of mini-tours would be a lot of fun, especially if the shows start in the north and move south as winter progresses. Oh, wait -- you live in the south already! If it comes to Ottawa or Montreal, you'll have to come with it. We're only 35 minutes from Ottawa, and just 90 or so from Montreal. Keep reminding me about this so I can keep checking!

How much will she miss NYC? Does she consider herself a confirmed New Yorker yet? Our Jane does....but i don't think that would stop her from doing a six-month tour like your daughter is going to be embarking on!

Thanks Steve.

I have to keep reminding myself that a few years ago, before I had my son and weighed about 20 pounds less, I could barely run 1 mile. And I think my pace was like 13:00? I'm now 20 pounds heavier, have had a kid, and am 5 years older, but am in much better shape. Back then I couldn't have imagined being able to run 5k at 11:45 pace. And you're right, who knows where I'll be in another 5 years!

Definitely no time trials for me right now! I think yesterday was just a result of wanting to prove to myself that I could make a PR, because going into Manomartian, I REALLY felt I could do it. So I was pretty disappointed when it didn't happen.

Right now, I'm just going to focus on getting to the point where I can run 5k after a 10 mile ride. Then after Escape, the goal will be to run 5k after a 15 mile ride. I have the bricks scheduled in my calendar so I can gradually get there.

Very close. Right around the corner from the Escape course!