The Dominon - Beginner Focused Group - Closed (Page 16)

Well, apparently my back is starting to improve. I just went out at lunch today and set a new 10K PR! LOL I'm not sure I know how to explain it. Possibly that I've kept my cardio fitness with bike rides, but my legs are fresh due to less volume running? I really didn't set out trying for a PR. After seeing my times for the first 2 miles of 8:40 (which was my slowest mile, but usually is one of my fastest) and 8:20, I started to think about it. When I clocked 8:03 for the 3rd mile, it was game on! LOL I crushed it coming back, going 8:12, 8:12, and 8:09 for the last 3 full miles and then hammering the last 0.2 at a 6:52 pace. I nearly passed out in my front lawn, but it was worth it.

So go figure. I killed a 10K run with no ill effects as far as I can tell. I pushed up the final two hills with zero issues, the last of which was the same hill that a couple nights ago caused a severe, shooting pain. But sitting here in my chair, I can already tell that it is stiffening up.

I do a pretty decent stretching routine almost every night. I have stretches for quads, hammies, calves, and my hip flexors. Sometimes I've done the stretch you're talking about Nate. I particularly do that stretch after I've done core work. One of the ones that seems to have helped with this back injury is lying on your back, keeping my shoulder blades on the floor, but rotating my hips so that my left leg crosses over to the right side of my body and then vice versa. It really seemed to help stretch out the affected area of my back. I've been trying to get myself to get out of my chair every 1-2 hours and going through my stretching routine. There's still some discomfort and dull pain there, but it is clearly getting better!

Glad to hear you're doing better.

Monty sorey to hear you had to drop down to the 70.3. Sounds like it's the best decision in the long run.

I had to cancel my next race since it's the same day as my sons Lax game.

Been thinking about playing with my long run. Going for 12 with the last 3 miles hard every 2 or 3 weeks to simulate tired legs for tri racing. Maybe some weeks do two tempo segments.
Anyone try anything like this?

Did a nice brick yesterday that I plan to mix in now on Thursdays

Initially was gonna drop my long run to 8 miles but think I will keep it 9 to 12 for now

Completed my 3rd Sprint today. Crazy weather and I didn't get my watch in the correct modes....but I cut 14 minutes off the time I posted in this same event 2 years ago and 10 mins off my second sprint that was also in 2015. So that was good. My time was 1:41:50. Once the official results are posted I'll get all the details on times and transitions.

Most embarrassing moment(s) was in the rush in T1....I put my fricking helmet on BACKWARDS, don't ask me how it happened but it did.....didn't take time to change until the halfway point of the ride..... . Rained like heck the entire ride.....actually lucky to get the race in since no lightening was in the area.

So, more to come when I see the official results.....I'll list all the stats such as they are.....

Edited by 2NewKnees 2017-04-30 8:21 PM

It's been two weeks since I got back from my Cape Town holiday. I performed time trials before and after and only lost seconds, so those few runs on the beach were worth it.

I have been practicing with clippess pedals, bubble laceses and no socks over the last week to decide if it use them in my first race next weekend. I had mixed results and now I'm not sure how to proceed. It's only a super sprint so it's a good opportunity to practice.

Clipsless pedals. Seemed to go well fell off a couple of times but that was expected. However my last try I found the cleats a bit loose, then when I tried to unclipp I couldn't so over I went. Problem was the cleat had become loose and I lost one of the screws. Now I need to buy another one and set it all up again. Should I revert back to pedals? I don't think I will but I am having second thoughts.

Sockless. Tired a 5 k was running really well but got blisters around 4k. The race is 3. I've not used my cycle shoes without socks other than on the turbo, and that was about 90mins. Should I take the chance as its a short distance race?

As part of the sockless experiment I also used elastic bubble laceses. I think this is probably a no-brainer. I'll keep with these as it didn't make much difference in comfort and I can also tie them as I would normal laces anyway.

So any and all advice is welcome especially on clueless and sockless issues.

Thanks -Tony.

S: 23,025 yards
B: 254.61 miles
R: 68.57 miles

Most of my riding has still been indoors on the trainer because we've had a lot of flooding issues, and it seemed the rain was never going to end. Most of my runs, however, have still been outside as I have the fortune of living near a school track, and I'd rather run in the wind and rain than on a treadmill.

Yesterday, I participated in my fourth Lilac Century Ride. Previously, I've done the 25-mile ride, but this year, I leveled up and did the 50-mile ride. I hated every minute of it. I got there late, so ended up starting a half hour after everyone else, so I rode alone most of the way. The route was well marked, so I didn't have any problems following it, but it was windy. A miserable, cold wind that made the otherwise sunny 65 degree day feel 20 degrees cooler, and most of the time, it was a headwind, no matter which way I was going. Unless it was a side wind, trying to blow me off the road. And, since I was so late starting out, I hadn't bothered to fill my water bottle because I figured I'd do it at the first aid station, which (in previous years) was only five miles away. Well, they changed the shorter routes this year, so the first aid station wasn't until mile 19. It wasn't really a big deal since it wasn't hot, but it added to my discomfort and helped blacken my mood.

The wind was so strong, it blew me over the road. At one point, I had to lean into it to avoid getting blown off the road, which was scary because the late winter meant the roads hadn't been swept yet, so they were still quite sandy. And, at times, I'd be riding downhill in first gear, fighting the wind to go fast enough just to be able to remain upright. But, most of the time, I was climbing, climbing, climbing. I swear most of the ride was spent at well under 10 mph! It was awful.

I finally made it to the first aid station, grabbed some cookies, filled my water bottle, and took a blue room break. It had taken me almost two hours just to go the first 19 miles. I was pretty discouraged. But, I sucked it up, got on my bike, and headed out again. I hit a few spots where I was protected by trees and able to hit 20-22 mph, which was encouraging. And then at about 30 miles, I earned a motorcycle escort by being the very last person on the 50-mile ride. I knew I wasn't really the last person because I did pass a couple of people, and I saw there were other late starters still in the parking lot when I left, but I figured they must have skipped the ten-mile loop in the middle of the ride and just headed back, rather than ride the full 50-mile course. And I can't say as I blame them because I thought about it several times myself!

Well, whatever. My escorts were very nice, and it was comforting to have them there as when I finished the loop, turned on the road to head back to the starting point, and realized I was on top of a very long, steep descent. I knew I'd been climbing a lot, but I hadn't realized how much. It was pretty scary. Because there was a lot of sand on the road, I braked pretty heavily to control my speed, and about half way down, I could smell my brakes burning, so I stopped for a few minutes to let them cool off. I've never ridden on such a long, steep descent. After letting my brakes cool, I finished riding down the hill, and the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. It was still windy, but not as bad. It just felt like the ride was never going to end.

Finally, it did end, and I enjoyed the well-earned baked potato feast and piled on the sour cream without regard to calories. I grabbed a table and ended up chatting with another rider who turned out to be the race director of the Palouse Triathlon. Remember my last tri of 2016 with the strollers-blocking-the-swim-exit fiasco? Yes, that race director! We had a very nice chat, and he said they used to have even worse problems with unsupervised kids in the past, so it's not so bad now. But he said they'd have to do more next time to make sure the kids stay out of the exit areas. He, too, competes in the race, so he's not actually there during the event to keep an eye on things. If I race it again this year, maybe I'll send a little reminder email so he can make sure someone keeps an eye on it.

Anyway, that's my first event of the year. Just a fun ride, although not much fun this time.

51.74 miles, 4:27:37 <--SMH! Look at that time!

Edited by burner2 2017-05-01 12:11 PM

Swim:2h 39m 36s - 7350 M
Bike:9h 21m 37s - 156.79 Mi
Run:9h 08m 57s - 61.65 Mi

My swim total dropped from last month, which is due to the fact that I hurt my back about 10 days ago. I really only missed one workout, but with how I've been increasing my total distance it would have meant a monthly total of 10,000m instead of 7350. Still, I was able to finish 2000m last week in a time that would be acceptable for my HIM, so I'm well on schedule there.

My bike total took a pretty good jump, adding a little over 32 miles more and almost 2 hours of training above March. Now that I've started to be able to ride outside, I've been able to do some long rides. My longest ride was 35 miles and I had another one in there that was 32. The weather was still bad enough to force me inside for a couple workouts and now it's the damn rain that is keeping me from doing as much as I'd like, but I'm on the right track and ahead of my original schedule in terms of long distance.

My run total also took a decent jump, adding 13 more miles than and 2 hours of training above March. Pretty much all of that was due to adding in long runs as I ramp up for my half marathon on May 7th. Despite missing some time with my back injury, I roared back to life on the run with a new PR at the 10K distance (51:01) and then followed that up with 10 miles at a pace that would set a new half marathon PR by a little over a minute and a half! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have any setbacks and I can make that PR a reality!

Hope everyone else is doing well.

Swim 2h 38m 04s - 8554.46 Yd
BIKE8h 39m 01s - 147.76 Mi
RUN10h 16m 20s - 71.24 Mi

Not bad volume with a Tri and a HM this month. Missed my long run this weekend to fly to NH last minute to visit a sick family member.

Still need to plan out the rest of my races.

Nate

Swim.................9hrs 30mins..............20100 yards
Bike...................5hrs 06mins..............73.93 miles
Run(Walk).........6hrs 02mins..............25.5 miles
Strength............4hrs 40mins

Totals do include the sprint I completed on Sunday.

They say "it's not if, but when". Well, "when" was today. I had just finished a lunch-time ride and was coasting into my drive way to put my bike back in the garage. My right foot was unclipped, while my left remained clipped in. As I came to a stop, I put my right foot on the ground. I think this is where things went wrong. I'm not even sure exactly what happened, but my best guess is that I stepped down more towards the middle of my foot. I think I was anticipating my foot landing flat, but the cleat on the bottom of my shoe must have rocked me back onto my heel and that put me temporarily off balance. That was all it took, the bike started leaning to the left and taking me with it and there was nothing I could do. Both me and the bike crashed to the ground in a heap! My hip took the brunt of the fall. As I landed, the top tube came down and smashed the inside of my left knee.

As I was lying on the ground assessing the damage, I hear "sir, are you OK?". It was the neighbor's daughter. She had been backing out of their drive way and must have witnessed the whole thing! Great, as if my ego wasn't damaged enough! LOL In the end, I'd say no real harm was done to me or the bike. I do have ice on my knee just as a precaution, but it didn't seem serious. I also managed to twist the seat on my bike, so that will have to be fixed. But otherwise, me and my bike are doing fine.

So, do I get some sort of "fell off the bike" membership card or something?

I ran my 2nd half marathon this morning and I minted a new PR! I don't think it is possible for me to have run any better or faster than I ran today. I had initially set a goal for myself of trying for an average pace of about 8:40/mile, which would have brought me in at just a little under 1:55. Somehow, I convinced my body to push through the race to the tune of 1:52:19 (unofficial) for an average pace right around 8:30 (based on my GPS watch measurement of 13.22 miles). Regardless of distance, it was an improvement of nearly 4:00 over my first HM, where I ran 1:56:30.

The weather wasn't as bad as that first HM, which was run literally in the tail end of a hurricane. But it still sucked. Temp at race time was around 48 degrees, it was raining, and the wind was blowing fairly hard. I heard someone say it was expected to gust up to 20 mph. On top of that, something happened to my iPod and I had to run the race without music! The horror! I told myself it was good practice for my half Ironman, since I won't be able to listen to music then, either. I survived both of those conditions and am thrilled with my effort and finishing time.

In the end, it turned out to be a decent day for running. I had on a couple thinner compression shirts under a tech t-shirt and then a shell jacket over the top of that. Before I had reached mile 2, I had already taken off my jacket. Before the midway point, I was wishing I could take off one of the compression shirts too! I saw my wife and kids and my mom around mile 8, so I untied the jacket from my waist and tossed it to them. By that point, the temp was in the low- to mid-50s and the sun was actually shining through a little.

I'm still waiting for official results to be posted, but my Garmin had me at 1:52:19. It has to be pretty close because I started near the middle of the pack (of maybe 500 or so runners) and the race clock said something like 1:52:40 when I crossed the finish line. Like I said, super stoked about my effort and my time. Bonus that I didn't suffer any cramps like my first HM!

Congrats on your fall and your new PR! Well done!

Nate

We will have to send you a sticker so you know which side is which! LOL My son his constantly putting his bike helmet on backwards. Some of them are difficult to tell

Nate

Sorry Tony I don't even attempt sockless. I would guess the trick is toughening up your feet. Good luck

Nate

Hi all,

I took part in my first race of the season this weekend (Sunday) it was a Super Sprint with an indoor pool, on road with traffic bike and field run.

The breakdown of times is:
Swim 400m (pool): 7:51
T1 : 3:23
Bike 17k : 34:23
T2: 2:23
Run 3k 14:45

Total 1:02:46

Overall 22nd out of 106.

I rode without socks, but didn't perform a flying mount, so I saved some time in T1 by just putting on shoes, but then lost it as I had to run about 200m with the bike, same applied when dismounting the bike and going into T2.

The Bike was OK, but I did have to stop at one set of traffic lights which cost be about a minute.

I decided against running without socks, which probably cost about minute - something for me to work on. Any tips?

The run was fine, difficult to get into a rhythm due to the undulating nature of the field, but all in all not bad.

I checked and my position for each leg seemed to be about the same, so I don't know if I should focus on any particular area or just continue to try and balance my training around all three.
I think I wil try and work towards sockless runs at least for Sprint and below. That with stopping on the bike probably cost me the under an hour time, which will be my aim next year.

Any thoughts or comments on how to improve the above will be gratefully received.

Thanks and keep racing.

Tony.

Nice race, Tony!

I don't bike or run without socks. But somewhere in my online travels I found this tip for quickly putting on your socks. It's really quick. In fact, in longer races I will actually change socks in T2 so that I'm running in dry socks.

When I'm setting up my transition area, I do the following. Put your socks on and start rolling them down from the top by folding over a bit of the material and continue folding over or rolling the sock until just about your toes (see picture attached). The extra little bit at the end that isn't rolled gives you an easy starting point. Now, to put the socks back in literally takes only 1-2 seconds per sock. You just stick your toes into the opening and then roll them right back up onto your foot/leg. This works great, even when your feet are wet, because you aren't trying to pull the sock over wet skin.

Try it a couple times and see how quickly you can get your socks on. I found this to be a great tip for someone like me that will never do the bike or run segment without socks.

Randy




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Seems like a ghost town around here these days! Hope that means everyone is training hard!

We have been hit with a heat wave here in New England. It was in the 50s a couple days ago and today reached something like 94! Tomorrow is supposed to have a similar high, dropping to low 80s on Friday, and then high 60s to low 70s for the weekend. I had to cut my bike ride short today because of a calf cramp that wouldn't go away. I'm not sure if it was the high heat or the fact that it was my 6th straight day without a day off. I'll do a shorter run tomorrow and then take Friday off to give my legs a break. I'll attempt a long ride on Saturday.

Anyone have races this time of year? I have another month before my first race, a sprint.

We were on the road last week....got some "training" in.....still digesting my performance in the sprint on 4/30; hope to register for another one soon; weather here yesterday was bad....fierce winds....dust storm due to plowed fields; many accidents out on interstates south of us; was back in the pool Tuesday and again yesterday, with my best swim yesterday since the race;........windy here again today; so won't attempt a ride.....