enginerd's group - CLOSED (Page 16)

Thanks everyone!  It was very pleasant to ride during my race yesterday.  RR is up!!

Thanks for the reassurance last week!  The race went pretty well.  Report is up. http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=124552

Ok people...... time for a sanity check.

I really (REALLY) want to do my first HIM late this year, because otherwise I'll be waiting until Wildflower. But.... the only one I can find within a reasonable distance is Silverman. The timing is good...... I would have close to 4 months to get ready...... but it's Silverman. Am I crazy? Could I possibly be ready for this?

Some highlights of my current abilities:

My best event is the bike. The longest ride I've been on is 50 miles, I think overall it had about 2000 feet of climbing. The loops I regularly do are about 22-35 miles with about 800-1700 feet of climbing, so not super hilly but not flat. During my oly I placed 16/32 in my age group on the bike, which was much better than the swim or run.

I am a slow runner. My 10k at the end of Saturday's oly took 1:04:XX. I'm training for a half marathon (my 2nd) which is on Sept 13. I'm getting faster, but it's taking some time.

Swimming.....well I'm confident of my ability to swim 1.2 miles without drowning and within the time limit, how well I do it depends on how successful I am at overcoming my laziness and scheduling issues.

So what does everyone think??? Am I crazy for thinking I might be able to do this without being DFL???  Is it too much too soon???  I'm so confused!!

froglegs - 2008-07-25 8:04 AM I just registered.  I'm feeling rather light-headed now. 

Woohoo!! Way to go...that's the first step

Robin, hope your training is going well as well.  

Bryan and I did the SF Marathon this morning!  Plus we heard Jim cheer us on from somewhere in the first half (around mile 9 or 10 I think) which was very cool.
 

wow, it's August already...it's been 3 months since we started this group.  We started out as a big group and lost a few along the way, but we're still here!

Question for the group - so what are you most proud of this race season so far?

This being my first season, I would say that I am simply proud of the fact that I have been consistent in my training. Getting in shape has been my main goal, racing just provides the extra motivation I need to get there. Hopefully someday (when I am finally "in shape" ) competing (as opposed to "just" completing) can be my primary focus.

Anyway, hopefully on Nov 9, I will be able to say that I went from super-flat sprint to super-hilly HIM in 11 months.

rowdypaint - 2008-08-05 7:02 AM Most proud of this season...  Well, I did my first Olympic and my second is on the 17th.  I've also gotten stronger on the bike; some due to hard work, some due to the new bike.  I'm also proud of my husband completing his first tri season, even though he's kicking my azz. 

Pattie, it's very cool that you can train and race with your husband.  kudos on the Oly and good luck on the next!  New gear/bike is always a motivator and if it makes you faster and fitter, all the better

<warning- big brag ahead>

Last night we had the first of the August time trials.  This course is a 19 mile loop with one big steep hill, a 2 mile shallow hill, and a lot of smaller hills (map and profile below).  On my only other attempt at the big hill, I had to walk twice.  I'm simply not good on the hills.  Needless to say, I was not looking forward to this TT series.  I also had no idea how the new bike would perform on the hills.  I should have gotten out and ridden the course before the official event, but life gets in the way. 

As we lined up last night, I was still not sure how it was going to go.  My only goal was to make it up Genoa (the big hill) without walking.  No road kill for me!  They let me start first since they know how slow I am, but by the time I got to the hill, three guys had passed me.  Then my DH passed me on the hill, but I was still pedalling.  I hit my lowest gear about half way up, and then it was just a matter of grinding it out.  It wasn't fast, fun or pretty, but I made it!  All the way to the top of Genoa with no walking! 

Now for the results.  I'm usually the slowest person at these things by at least a minute or so.  Not the case last night.  My time was 1:04:01 which is an average of 17.7 (smoking fast for me).  I was faster than THREE other riders, including two guys.  I'm still kind of amazed.  Now I just have to get faster for next week. 

Hi everyone!  It's Tuesday and you know what that means... Time Trial #2 tonight.  Treadman course again.  My computer spazzed a bit in the first mile, so I wasn't really sure where I was for the whole ride.  My time to the top of the hill was 13:45, 30 seconds faster than last week.  That's huge!  The rest of the ride I tried to keep my cadence high and not rest on the downhills.  I need to get stronger on the small rollers since that's where I'm losing time.  My nutrition today was way off.  No bacon cheesburgers for lunch on TT days.  WTF was I thinking?  Anyway, I took off over 3 minutes from last week.  I'll take that. 

Stats-
Distance- 18.9
Time- 1:00:49
Pace- 18.74

Good job!!!  Can't wait to read about it!

Question for the group...

Tonight's time trial is a 3.36 climb straight uphill.  OK, maybe there are a few short rollers before the monster hill (13% grade at the steepest).  How do I warm up for this thing?  I never know what to do for a warm up.  Help me!