Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 16)

This group moves fast!

A few goals. My A race is Racine (July 21). My goals:

1. Have fun
2. Beat last year's time (6:09:08), 2b beat 5:50

3. Stay present, focused & hydrated during the race

4. Post sub-3h bike split

5. Be a supportive teammate to those I train with

Grab ice at aid stations and put it in your sports bra, down your shorts and hold ice in your hands.

I can't offer much in the way of aero, but last year (on my road bike), I used nuun water in a PD bottle between the clip on aero bars and a 20oz sports drink on the downtube. Used a throwaway bottle on the downtube and replaced with Perform. Grabbed water at the aid stations and quickfilled the PD.

I'm not yet sure what I'm doing this year as I have a new tri bike. It has cages on both the seat tube and the down tube.

I group swim 1x a week (swim on my own another 2-3x a week and it's in similar setup). We do a warm up and then our coach talks a bit about whatever this week's lesson is, and then we do some drills related to the lesson and then main set (between 1200-1600m) and then cool down. We average between 2300-2800m, depending on how much my coach talks and what our drills are. We never do a straight swim, even in the main set. I was concerned before that the main set is never as long as the 1900m that a HIM swim is, but it's not an issue and I felt (and feel for this year) fully prepared. Once Lake Michigan opens up I do swim some longer sets (1/2 mile, mile repeats), but that's only bc OWS is so much fun that I just want to keep swimming! My favorite swim set is four 4s: 1x400, 2x200, 4x100, 8x50.

I think you can easily get away with doing 400-500 yards max sets.  Last year the longest swim I did was a 1000yd TT in the pool.  Everything else was smaller sets and I swam 2.4 miles with no problem at a pace I was more than happy with.  I personally think if you are doing 2000yds, 2x a week that would be enough for a half ironman.  Adding more volume or an additional day is just going to help you get faster and better in the pool, so it's definitely worth adding on whatever you can!

I remember your crash at Patriot. A guy went down in the sand behind the Dunkin Donuts detour and if I wasn't alert I would have added to it.

I've done the NYC Olympic. Great race. Few things I would recommend.

I didn't go down until Saturday and everything felt rushed. Go down Friday if you can swing it.

The day I did it the weather was over 90 and humid as could be. There is a 2/3rds mile run from where you exit the water to transition. I came out and pulled the wetsuit to my waist and ran like that. Huge mistake as I was over-heating halfway there. There are showers right where you'll get out of the water. I would run over and strip down while standing under the running shower. The cold water will bring down your core temp. The Hudson was 76 degrees that day and even without sleeves you start over-heating.

The waves the day I did it were close to 2FT high. If you've never swam in those conditions it sucks. If you have it's actually quite easy. The wave are rythmic and what I got used to doing by training in waves like that was being long and thin as the wave would hit me and then taking a stroke and the back side of the wave. I'm an ok swimmer. I usually finish somewhere around the top third. That day I finished 90-something out of 3000+. Most people hadn't dealt with it. I've never seen so many people doing the doggy paddle, breast stroke or just lying on their back letting the current take them.

Be really careful between T1 and getting on Riverside and then West Side Highway. There's a hill that isn't very long but there's a sharp corner leading to it so you come to almost a stand still. It's a bike path to the street and most people struggle climbing that incline coming from such a slow speed. One guy kept on coming into several of us who were screaming hold your line at him.

The turnaround for the bike way up on the Bronx is sharp and can be tricky.

A different hill coming out of T2 is just as steep. Careful not to spike your HR. There's a really steep long hill starting at either mile 2 or 3 in Central Park that sucks too. If it's hot take that slow.

I would do fluids like it's an HIM. It is just always so hot in the city. When I finished the two guys before me and two after all went to the med tent for IVs. I was really close to joining them.  

The course rocks and you'll have lots of fun but those are the pitfalls.

Hi,

I'd like to join a mentor group if possible. I'm really green behind the ears and ask for your forgiveness in advance if I am doing this incorrectly.

Let me know!

Alex

Name: Alex, 27 year old male

Story: I've always been "active": multisport athlete in high school, intramural athlete for past 5 years. I'm honestly the same weigh I was freshman year in high school (155 pounds... I'm skinny).

In 2011 I got the endurance bug when I finished the Philadelphia Half Marathon. In 2012 I completed the San Diego Marathon and the NYC Century Ride. Why not combine the sports, I thought. So I completed the Montauk Point Sprint Triathlon that summer (the swim... nearly killed me).

I've been training sporadically up to this point, but am kicking it into high gear. I mapped out a training plan back in January and didn't follow through on the training -- but I did follow through on the races I had signed up for (I ran the NYC Half Marathon hungover... ouch; I completed the Prospect Park Olympic Distance Duathlon without enough training... serious, serious doubleouch).

This year, I am training to complete the New York Toughman (same distance as a half ironman). My ultimate goal is to complete an Ironman next year.

It's also worth noting: I'm extremely goal oriented. I carry around the saying "DON'T GIVE UP WHAT YOU WANT MORE, FOR WHAT YOU WANT NOW" in my wallet, and I've mapped my daily routine to the minute. But apathy is my biggest fear. It is just so easy to stay in bed and not work out on a cold day. Or skip a run to get some beers with my friends. Or stay up just a few hours later finishing that action movie. Or prioritize the big work presentation and skip the swim workout.

The quest to finish a half ironman this year (and ultimately an ironman next year) is just as much about training myself to be a more disciplined person as it is about fitness.

(long term goal: I hope the kind of planning, discipline and motivation it takes to succeed in triathlon endurance will be transferable to my work life to find the drive to jump off the deep end and start a new business)

Family Status: Dating and living with a beautiful girlfriend (who also happens to have the running bug)

Current Training: Recently moved into a building with a swimming pool in the basement, and 3 avenues from Central Park in NYC. So I have easy access to run/bike/swim. Past 3 weeks I've been training almost daily... (though I admit half the time I have no idea what I'm doing holistically).

2012 Races: San Diego Marathon, NYC Century Ride

Planned 2013 Races:  Prospect Park Duathlon in May, The Hempstead Harbor Tri in June, Stissing Sprint Triathlon in July, volunteering at NYC Triathlon in July, Montauk Lighthouse Sprint Tri in July, NY Toughman (HIM) in Sept

Scott

Thats the exact spot I crashed. The sand grabbed me and I was toast.

Thanks for the NYC tips as well. I'm getting there on Friday and hope to have a relaxed time getting ready. Should be fun raciing in Manhattan.

Welcome to all the new members.

I have one of the profile design hand down between the aero bars systems that i put water in and a bottle on the case that i use for gatorade or the like.  I also have cages off the seat and haven't had any issues with bottles launching.  however, i do find them to be a bit of a pain, so i don't tend to use them other than to hold an extra bottle from the bottle swap if i'm not quite ready to change out when i reach the swap spot.

Anyone seen this new system?  Looks interesting.

Aerodynamic, re-fillable front mounted bottle strategically positions hydration between the rider's arms for a hidden, sleek aerodynamic profile. 

• Flip cap for quick and easy refill and no splash
• Aerodynamic shrouded straw mount
• Aerodynamic removable nose aids in the cleaning process
• Bracket attaches to the aerobar extensions and offers width adjustment as well as length adjustment
• Cage and computer mount are independently length adjustable on the bracket
• Independent computer mount integrates with the bracket and hides the computer behind the bottle for an additional aerodynamic advantage
• Aero HC Bottle is also compatible with Profile Design Basebar Bracket, allowing for independent positioning of extensions
• Construction: BPA-Free, Foodsafe HDPE Bottle, injected Nylon/GF bracket and computer mount
• Capacity:  28oz (828ml)

 

IN THE NEWS

"The Aero HC System is a really smart offering that is going to WOW a lot of people...it's refined, elegant and checks all the right boxes. I love it." - Click here to check out the full 4.5 star review at TriRig.Com

 

Views

That new PD system looks like they made some advancements over the old PD aerodrink.  I'm not a real big fan of the straw sticking out, and I prefer my computer way up front, so I don't think this system is ideal for me.

One of the things that used to irritate me about the old PD aero drink was that the mount didn't always keep the bottle vertically straight.  Sometimes if you hit a bump, the bottle would shift slightly left or right.  This system seems a lot more stable and I like the idea of a flip cap for the refil spout.

Dcrainmaker did a review, he wasn't a big fan - I think the computer mount placement and angle were a big issue for him.  It caused an increase in drag for him - tested at that new velodrome aero testing center.

Have to post this up.

Did a 5.75 miler with Kim (better half) at her HM race pace (well, she might have pushed closer to a tempo run - she's like that) this morning.  Terrific start to the day.

However, as much as I LOVE to run with her (fave workout), I think tonight's workout might have taken the cake for the best workout of the day.  Just finished an OWS at Walden Pond.  First OWS of the season.  First OWS at Walden - ever for me, despite living right flippin' here.  

Sun showers and pure awesomeness!  

That is all.

Matt