Caius's Group - CLOSED (Page 16)

Hi everyone,

After a good workout yesterday I seem to have come down with the flu, I hate being sick when I'd rather be training.

Good luck Terry in your race, I am sure you will do great !

Feel better soon kid.

Good question. First off, congrats on the improvements. That is fantastic. It's amazing to see how our bodies are able to adapt and improve over time. There is so much potential in each of us it really is quite amazing. With that said, know that there will come a time where the level of improvement that you will see will start to slow down.

When you are out of shape (not saying that you were, just making a general comment) you will see improvements fairly quickly and they will be large. As you get fitter and fitter, improvements not only come at a slower pace but they are also smaller. All of this is to say that the training/performance graph is not a constant 45º line.

So you've got 4 weeks until your next event and about 2 rides planned per week -  8 rides in total over which you want to see some improvements. Any reality check alarms going off yet?   Okay well, all kidding aside, you can improve over that time but don't expect huge leaps; be realistic in your expectations.

Given the limited schedule, what I would do is to focus on rides that are 1.5-2x your race distance and just bump up the intensity to race pace or above. In addition, if possible, do your training rides on terrain that is as similar as possible to your next race and add a short 15-20min brick run to one of your rides.

This is race specific training as opposed to the general base training that one would normally do. What it will accomplish is to get your legs aclimitized to race-like terrain and race-like pace. In addition, the overdistance will build some good buffer into your reserves so that come race day you will have lots left in your legs when your actual bike is less than whan you had trained with.

Best of luck and of course let us know how you make out!

One thing I want to practice over the next month or so is having my shoes already clipped into my pedals.  I can't do that at the XTERRA next weekend, due to the terrain.  But I have an A-race Oly in September that I'd like to practice the T1 heavily.  Soaking wet, walk my bike from the backyard to the front yard w/shoes clipped in, throw a leg over and start riding barefoot with my feet on top of my shoes and work my feet into my shoes as I ride.

Caius - Do you do that in your competitions and if so, how far do you usually go before you eventually get your feet into your shoes?  Or I presume it depends on how flat or hilly the course is.

Squishy, if you can squeeze in one more ride great! Even so, stick to the race specific training I was suggesting as opposed to adding a long ride. You've already got the distance (endurance) part down so now it's time to focus on speed.

Terry, nope, I still get off my bike first before I take off my shoes. Just haven't spent time practicing those move yet. To be honest, I'm afraid of falling off But when it's done right and at speed, damn does it ever look awesome!

Thanks,  I do feel better tonight, took the day off from work and rested.  Ready to get back to training now 

I will be taking a ride this weekend on the same course as my tri will be at next month. There is an 11% hill , 6 miles up and back down again. I have to admit I do not feel prepared for the race. I have mainly trained on flat ground and the decent at a higher speed has me nervous. Any advise , I could use it,  you guys are great..thanks !

An 11% hill that lasts for 6 miles? Seriously? That sounds crazy. Are you sure it's not an 11% hill that's at the 6 mile point? That sounds more realistic. Even the steepest climb at Lake Placid is 8% and it's not even a half a mile long. Double check that as I think you may be scaring yourself for nothing.

Squishy is right on on his comments about riding right, sitting up with your hands on the brakes. The only other thing to add to that is that when going downhill more weight is put on the front wheel which unweights the rear making it squirly. Move your butt as far back as possible to shift the weight rearward making the bike more stable when braking. Also, remember to gently squeeze the brakes, don't squeeze them all hurky jerky like.

Go for it! Remember we're all doing this for fun so if going out on long rides is what makes you happy, absolutely do that. Working some intervals in there is a good idea though. Enjoy!

thanks for the suggestions, I will check it the hill and let you know how  steep it is or isn't on Saturday. 

Have a good start to your weekend everyone !

Anyone have a favorite brand of goggles?  I never thought about keeping an extra pair in my race bag - would hate to break a strap on a race morning! 

I've seen Barracuda brand advertised by Michellie Jones in Triathlete magazine and I'll check out their website.  They are supposed to be leakproof.  My Speedo brand leaks a lot if they aren't fitted just perfectly.

I've tried Speedo and Nike (can't remember the model type) but never found them to my liking. I've been using TYR Racetech Metallized (http://www.tyr.com/shop/racetechr-metallized-p-187-c-68_70_72.html) for the past 3 years and have no complaints. Leakproof and long lasting. What wears out before the strap gives is the anti-fog (usually lasts about a year) but that's pretty normal.

Recently, I picked up a pair of Sable 101's (http://www.sablewateroptics.com/) after reading a glowing review on Slowtwich (http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Seeing_Clearly_Sable_WaterOptics_Goggles_397.html) and hey, it's on the O list so you know... Yes, they are quite nice and the field of view and clarity really is noticeably better than regular goggles, but they're pricey. I guess we'll see how long they last. I mean if they last at least a year then that's pretty good considering the amount of times you use them.

Just wanted to say 'hi' and hope everyone feels better!  It's probably the heat outside combined with air conditioning...

I signed up for a tri in July and it is in 2 weeks!  I succombed to the mass e-mail I received this morning advertising a tri in a lake in a subdivision of Calgary that is not too far away.  So I signed up for the try-a-tri portion 375m swim, 10k bike, 2.5k run just to give me the chance to actually swim in a lake and cycle on the roads.  

We are going to some lakes for our holidays in August but they are glacial lakes and I'm not sure anyone swims in them (Waterton in Alberta, Lake Macdonald in Montana). 

Have a great weekend.

Tracy 

Hey Caius and Squish, thanks for the info.  There is a local swim shop that sells TYR (I've heard awesome things about their wetsuits!) and I may just order the $20 Barracudas with some extra anti-fog to go with it.  Thanks again!

go tracy!  Go Tracy!  GO TRACY!!   GO    TRACY!!!!!

So sorry I tried to keep my bug to myself but it must have slipped through the spaces between the keys and found you . Take tomorrow off and you will feel better.

I was back training today for another OWS. I got brave enough to put my head under the water and practice my stroke.  It went much better this time; I am going 2 more times next week too.

Go Tracy , that is cool you have another race, my next one is in 2 weeks also.

Ok.. all you sick people get better and have a good start to your weekend

Aack!  A race in two weeks - what was I thinking!!  Normally I am a long term planning type of person.  Any suggestions on what type of wetsuit to rent or buy?  There are a couple of stores here that let you rent and then buy if you like it.  It will probably take me as long to get out of the suit as my swim takes.

Anyway, any suggestions for wetsuits are appreciated. 

PS - I see Terry recommends Tyr.  I was so mesmerized by my own name that I initially missed that!

The crank is not a compact, it's a 53/39. What I did is switch my rear cassette from 11-23 to 12-27. I've only had two short 1hr rides on it so far. Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow and I'll have a chance to test it out on a good long ride.

From the limited riding I did, my feeling so far is meh. I really liked the feel of the 11-23 much better. The 12-27, while giving me some extra gears to spin up the hill on just doesn't feel as smooth.

With that said, I did it for IMLP and nothing else. The Lake Placid bike course has a total of 7800 feet of climbing and while I did ride the course 4 times on the 11-23 it sure would have been nice to have some extra gears. Anything I can do to save the legs a bit for the run is a good thing. So, even though I don't really like the gearing, I'm sure come race day I will be very greatful for it. Once IMLP and Muskoka 70.3 are done, I'm putting the 11-23 back.