Todd's Tri Turtles 3 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10K) Basically Closed (Page 16)

Conrats on the new bike!

Thats exactly how you need to look at it, its an investment. Getting the pedals now will also be a benefit. I was using clips ( or cages for regular shoes), and when I went to clipless, what a difference. The bike fit will also be well worth it as well, as you will be fitted right from the start and this will minimize any back and neck soreness, and allow you to generate more power and speed because your using your muscles more efficiently.

Doing this up coming tri, then the tri in August will be night and day with the different bikes. You will definitly see a difference.

Good luck on the tri's and here to enjoying your new ride!

Mike

Laurina,

You have already been given some great answers, here are a few short ones from me.
Swimming, I keep could in my head of the laps I've swam when going distance, and keep track of sets (usually 250) and then add it up at the end. If swimming in the open a Garmin 310 or 910 will track your swim and distance if you want to spend the money on one. I can tell you that you will finding it much easier to count laps as your endurance and swim improve.

You will likely want to buy a pair of tri shorts, usually you can find them on sale for about the cost of a bathing suit. Then pick up a tri top or sports bra type garment and you are good to go. You will swim, ride (much more comfortably) and run in this for the race. You can practice swimming in a normal suit but make sure to do at least a few swims in the tri shorts and top, you will notice very little difference, but it's good to know what those differences are.

Congrats on your purchase and set up you decided to go with. I can tell you that Giant is a great bike manufacture and my first road bike was a Giant Defy 2 and I never regretted my purchase. The bike road great, felt great, and had everything I was looking for in my price point and the time. Again congrats and make sure to post that bike porn when it comes in. Also you have to decide if it is male or female and give it a name.

Well, I guess you can tell by the posts that I am back from Vacation and even got in a 13 mile ride this evening. While the trip was rain filled I can feel that it did me a world of good to get away from things and take a look at how I want to approach some things in the future. I really did a lot of thinking this week about whether or not I want to give Ironman Texas a go this May and have not come to a conclusion but have noticed that I truly am no longer measuring things by distance. I want the the challenge and know I can do it if I put my mind to it, but I am having more of an issue with the training that would be needed, which would take away from family time. I just really don't want to be one of those people that's life revolves around training. So I have decided to take the next month or so catching up a work and getting back into a normal workout routine, and will decide around September where I stand and if I can do it with little lose of family time. I think the other thing for me is that I feel that I did not complete what I set out to do this year, which was all three of the Half Ironman races in Texas, which was not my fault, but still did not happen, so I have that as well. I also have a deferred entry now to Buffalo Springs next year, which I would never do if I did IM Texas because it would only be one month after the full. I know my body takes 2 to 3 weeks to return to normal after just the half. Time will tell!

Edited by Hunting Triathlete 2014-07-18 8:38 PM

I did an organized Mock Tri today. It was shorter than my first tri and much smaller. I had so much fun. Next Saturday is the real race, at the same place, Ft Desoto, FL. The water was calm for the swim and I did freestyle the whole 1/4 mile. My bike slowed me down, but I enjoyed checking out everyone's bike that passed me, and saw several women on Giant's. I'm thinking about renting a road bike for next week, as it makes such a difference. THe run was 3 miles, and I finished it all in 91min. It was a good chance to see the course. I knew no one there, but next week my daughter will be with me. It was nice to get an open water practice, as I usually train alone and it's not safe to do that alone.

THursday, when I test road the Giant, even though my ride was less than 15min, my upper back was sore Friday. Good thing to know to ease into long rides on the new bike.

Keeping track of swimming laps- I have used coins too, and even made a bead bracelet to keep on the deck, and slide a bead every 100 or whatever. I do well counting in my head, then my mind drifts, and I cant remember if I missed a lap, or what number I was on. I've used the lane dividers to count too, if there is enough room to move the discs apart. I've seen a commercial for apple, I think, that shows a swimmer linking some disc thing to her iphone, and I wish I knew what that was.

Question to the veterans- do most people do sprints their first year, and move to olympic tris or longer the next year? Most tris here are sprints, but the first one I did, also had an olympic. THe thought of a half ironman is an awesome dream, that I may never complete, but it's in the back of my head, for maybe in a couple years?

Have a great weekend everyone

Kristen, congrats on the mock Tri and I'm sure after next weekend you'll be hooked. To answer your question, there really is no answer because that's an individual decision based off what you want / enjoy. An example of that is my post above about deciding which way to go next year. I can tell you that for me distance was always the goal but that may have been because I was slow, and that just seems less like being slow and more like pacing when going longer. I have noticed thought that doing Halfs is more expensive so I've done less races, which makes it harder to stay at it in training. I guess what I'm saying is that you will decide what is right for you. You don't have to go long to be a triathlete or feel accomplished. Some say that going all out in a sprint is more difficult then pacing a half. As you race and train you will realize what you like and it will work itself out.

Hi Turtles,

I hope you all had a great weekend and managed to complete some training along with all the other activities.

My road to recovery continues to be slow but steady. This week I went on 4 walks averaging over an hour each session and I also managed 25 km on the exercise bike. I'm looking forward to the coming week as I'm now ready to start including some running in my training and getting on the road bike again in preparation for my annual 100 km charity ride in October.

I'm so jealous of those in the northern hemisphere enjoying summer as it's very cold and windy in Melbourne. I keep reminding myself that a lot of you have to deal with snow in your winter so I guess I don't have it too bad.

Well done on the new bike Kris67. Once you are used to riding with clip less pedals you won't want to ride any other way.

Rod

Had a nice day today- I went and watched a sprint tri run at the location I'm doing mine in 3 weeks- by the same group- they do 3 of them across the summer. I got a pretty decent feel for how things go, and it was a good thing to watch- I know I won't be int he front, I'm in the back somewhere, but I also won't be last. While I was there I did another OWS, at a bit more than the tri distance, which was pretty hard- I needed to break out the breast stroke for a good part towards the end; that's my resting stroke. I might be able to do it mostly free, with occasional pauses for site checks. Also, they did staggered starts- so 30-40 people at a time. My friend who was running in it said it made for a much more relaxed and uncrowded start- you were much less likely to run into other people.

I biked home from there; 16 miles, and just over an hour, so I feel like I can do pretty much what I'm shooting for- around 2 hours from the whole thing. Less if things go great, more if I need it.

Now I just need to get a run in; I haven't in a couple days. On the role for tomorrow.

My PT is going well. Last week they massaged the scar tissue that had built up in my lower legs, which resulting in my legs ballooning up for the weekend. Today my legs feel much better, so there is progress.

I've signed up for my next sprint tri in September. I'm not sure when I'll be 100% to start training again, but it's nice to have that goal on the horizon once again.

Sorry ahead of time for the inspire Patrick, I forgot about the issues and forgot you weren't racing this weekend. Great to hear some optimism though and hopefully the recovery comes along quickly.

Life got busy but I'm (hopefully) back into my training plan!

In the last week we did two travel college visits with my older daughter and threw in a weekend with my parents. Yep, this was a nice break! I have to admit that this change was welcome. I had gotten to the point of being tired and feeling "heavy" all the time. It seems like it had been weeks since I had any spring in my step or felt I could double-time it up a flight of stairs.

Tuesday night was was our tri training at a local beach. It was a really hot night (low 90s) and perfect for a swim! This was my 2nd OWS and I really needed a confidence boost since my 1st swim was TERRIBLE! Fortunately the swim was great! We were essentially doing what will be the Syracuse Iron Girl course (600 m) and I was able to swim it twice. I was MUCH more relaxed and literally took it one stroke at a time. My only issue was with my goggles fogging during the 1st lap. I had to turn onto my back and dunk them. And BTW these prescription speedo goggles worked great! Being able to see while out in the water was a HUGE help!

So the other big part of the training (besides the swim) were the practice transitions we did. My lessons began early here... I need to make a list and check it twice! I left home in the morning with everything I needed for the evening's training, but left my helmet in my office :-( The logistics of the day were challenging (I did not want to leave my bike, helmet, etc. in my car during the day) so I had to bring everything with me to work...

Anyway some random thoughts:

- Make a list and check it often. I will be printing out BT's checklist and actually using it!
- Bring a large and small towel. We had to run through sand to get to the bike rack. A small towel to clean up my feet would have been handy.
- Take a few extra seconds to double-knot my sneakers.
- Since I am blind without my glasses, I have to wear my goggles while running to the bike rack. Remember to rinse them out before getting out of the water. They fogged up pretty quickly.
- Use the transition to nourishment and hydration
- Don't rush clipping into pedals. At least make sure I get a positive clip-in on my 1st foot.
- If I even *think* I need to take a leak before things start. Take the time to do it!
- Eat properly the night before.

So I think we have one more week of Fleet Feet tri training. Next week will be our concluding "mini tri". My 1st real race (Cazenovia, NY sprint tri) is about 2 1/2 weeks away so the timing of this break is probably just about right. I should be able to get back into a good routine before by goal race!

That's all for now (and sorry for a long post...) . I hope everyone is having a great summer :-)

- Matt


Edited by mbcoulter 2014-07-23 8:12 AM

1.5 + hour softball practice tonight which ended up being a good workout and had a great time.

Hey Matt,

Great list of tips for a tri. I find running these kinds of lists through my mind over and over again helps me to feel more calm and confident leading up to the race. I don't like surprises.

My new bike came in and I was able to do my bike fit today, which means tomorrow I get to do my tri with my new bike. I know that's not ideal, but there's no way I'm not riding it. Clip less pedals, and all! I changed out the saddle and handle bars during the fit. And it's a new 2015, liv Avail 2 (giant's women's brand). I thought I was getting a 2014 but they say they don't have anymore. The fit was fun and informative.
Bad news is, while they changed out my parts, I drove home for lunch and was rear ended. I'm thankful I'm not really hurt( mild sore neck) but very thankful I didn't have the bike on the back of my car. I eventually got back to the bike shop and rode my new baby home. Looking forward to tomorrow. I'm not sure how to name a bike- will have to think about it, but I'll try to post a pic





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Kristen, that is one great looking bike and I totally understand your desire to ride the bike tomorrow. My thought when I read it was that I would like to see someone try to stop me from riding my new bike after I knew I was fit for it. Sorry to hear about the accident but glad that you're alright. I know that you are going to do great tomorrow. Remember to smile and have a great time. There is not pay check at the finish line, so take the day for what it is and give it what you've got.

For an example, my bike's name is "Lucille". Don't know why, I just said it, and it stuck. Most guys have female names for theirs and vice versa. I laugh because my daughter has told me before to stop talking about Lucille, when she heard me talking about it with my wife. Lucille is like one of the family

Sweeeeeet!!!

Great looking bike!!

GREAT training day today- I went to the lake. Did a shorter version of the tri swim- 450 yards maybe instead of 600, then hopped on my bike road the bike leg (it's a loop, I want to check it out), then ran a short half mile to check out the legs after all that. And did it in my new tri-suit, which I found at TJMaxx, and it was comfortable to swim, bike and run in. Race is in 2 weeks, and I'm feeling confident that I will do well. Meaning, not crash out, or not be able to finish. And less than double the winners times- I may even finish before the olympic racers. depending on how they start everyone.

Nancy that is a great day of workouts and excellent prep for 2 weeks from now. I think you're under estimating yourself. You will do great and surprise yourself

I had a really productive work and workout day today. I rode 25 miles this morning, then got in 7 hours at work (extra hours), and then got home and knocked out a 16 mile ride. I can tell that my cycling fitness is starting to come back now. The Tour de France always gets me off my butt and riding.

Now I'm sitting here wandering how Kristen's day went, I'm sure she did great but can't wait to hear it from her.

Hi Turtles

Great to read about all the training going on and Kristen's new bike.

I started to add some running to my walks this week and pulled up OK so I'll continue with the walk/run combo.

Did 10km at the outdoor velodrome in 27 mins 27 secs and I'll be using that as a baseline. My goal is to complete 10kms in 20 mins so I've got some work to do.

I also started the 5BX exercise program this week. This program has been around since 1960 (nearly as old as me ) and was designed by the Canadian Air Force. The program takes 11 minutes a day and gets harder each day as you advance through the program. It's very good if you're time poor and there's no excuse if you can't squeeze 11 minutes in your day. I was able to download a PDF of the program for free.

I've also started to look at my diet. I'm using software to track my intake of Carbs, fat, protein, fibre & calories. It also adjust daily totals based on exercise. I've certainly modified my diet and was quite surprised at the fat content of some "healthy" foods.

My challenge this coming week will be a return to the pool.

Enjoy your week.

Rod