MightyMojoMentorGroup -- (Full House!) (Page 169)

ANNE -

Great photos, and yet another memorable trip for you two!

Still haven't sent what I was going to send....and might just wait until you're here in a couple of weeks.

That weekend, by the by, will have me gone all day Saturday, and maybe all day Sunday, too.  (Fronhofer sprint on Sat, and then an ocean-swim sprint on the Jersey shore Sunday morning.  At Fronhofer, I'm about 45% of the way there, so.........)

Anyhow, hoping to catch you two on Friday evening; dinner, maybe?  Where are you staying?  (Hope it's not Kanata!)

Thanks.   Darn.   I guess that means we won't be riding/swimming with you on the Sunday.      That was the day Ken was supposed to get a long ride in.   I understand though.   You have been waiting a long time to get some races under your belt. 

Unfortunately, we are staying in Kanata on the Friday night and have booked a campground closer to where you live for the Saturday night, thinking it would be closer to where you thought might be a good spot for Ken to bike.    Plus the hotels costs are starting to kill us. 

Finally going to let a long(ish) bike in tomorrow.   First one this year.   Haven't been doing much cycling really with the focus on the sprint distance.   Longest one so far is 48km.   

You are CRAZY, man!     I'm such a wuss compared to you.  

Anne, you are completely right about the untrainability of the vo2max. That does always leave me with a "meh" feeling when dealing with those numbers. I wish I had some LT data also because that would have been more helpful, and as you said, trainable as opposed to the max. 

Steve, yes that's 510 watts but  I weigh about 95kg or 210 pounds so it is easier for me to push those watts. Outside on a bike I have to move that weight so it doesn't necessarily translate into speed Some of the other testsubjects were more "true" cyclists with fancy bikes and their 70kg bodies :p

Good luck today!!! Sounds like a plan indeed, but waking up at 2:45am? Yikes! 

STEVE,

In my consternation about you getting up at 2:45, I totally forgot to wish you luck on today's race!   By luck, I mean no flats, or other issues beyond your control.  Beyond that it sure isn't luck that gets the results you do.    Have an awesome race.

Anne

Hey all, vicariously experiencing everyone's racing and trying to grind away the miles and hours till Redman 140.6. I did a 68 mile bike rally in Paris (Texas) this morning-Race Report here.

Here is the Strava link

Next up, besides my date with a chain saw coming soon, is The Melon dash, a 5k in McKinney, The Kiwanis Red River Rally 100miler, The Hotter N Hell Hundred, the Labor Day Triathlon (Sprint) in Plano and then Redman.

Trying to work a Wheelbuilders Disk Cover into the budget

ANNE -

I woke earlier -- as in 2:10 -- than planned.  Left the house a bit later -- 3:20 -- than planned.  Ran into awful construction in idiotic Montreal, where not only are "detour coming" signs sparse, but only en Francais.  At times like this I feel strongly about cutting the whole province adrift.

As for the whole province, today was the start of the reknowned "construction holiday"....which explains why the lines were very long at the border at 5:30 a.m.!!!!!!!  I got in a lucky lane, sort of, and was able to sidle over to a newly-opened lane ---- making my toatl wait time "just " 26 minutes.  Otherwise, it might've been closer to 40.  GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

I got home about 4:20, making the total door-to-door 13 hours -- all for 1:22:18 of racing.  DOH?????

As I will say shortly to all assembled here, this was my first-ever multisport event without timing chips!  Yes, truly old-school.....and to give the devil its due, their finish time for me was exactly what I had on my watch.  HOWEVER --- and you can imagine how much this irks me --- transition times were again factored into actual racing times:  swim+T1, T2+run; bike was "pure".  

I am very glad I didn't go there last night and spend money on a motel and meals.  On the other hand --- it was $50, so bare-bones is a good way to describe it.  He even asked people to remove their bikes to the side fences as soon as possible, and to lug empty racks to the rack-truck.  I didn't mind that part at all, and it seems to be another perq of the old-school approach of the race.........which is not without its curious charms, if I could just stop being such a snob!

Tomorrow it's up at 4:40 and off to Syracuse all day -- as in until about 9:30 p.m. when I begin the three-hour drive back home.  No rest for the wicked, eh?

And Monday it's up early to get my bike to the shop for some emergency work on the shifters --- which stopped shifting with about 1.5 miles to go.  Fortunately I was in my big ring and maybe my 15-teether, so while I wasn't truly efficient, at least it wasn't a disaster.  Maybe cost me 30 seconds, tops?

Pre-report on my sprint in VT today:

I just spilled many beans to ANNE, just above here, so any interested parties can check there for whining, moaning, and carping.  I'll get an "official" report up soon (enough), but for now (and in no special order of importance):

• Race was 500y-15.8m-3.1m
• There were no timing chips, so I knew I had to be real smart about clicking my wtach at the right places
• Official results have swim+T1 and T2+run
• My watch-recorded times were 10:39 - 1:28 - 45:29 - 1:34 - 23:07. 
• Vermont-hilly, especially on the bike, but the second loop made much more strategic sense
• Bike pace was 20.8mph, run pace was 7:27/mile
• Bike woulda been slightly better, but my shifters stopped shifting with about 1.5 miles to go.  No big deal, but more later
• 1/3 in a.g.
• VERY old-school, but cute in its antiquated ways.  Price was right at $50....but would I do it again??

So, between this one and the one above to ANNE, that covers most of the preliminaries.  It was a long day -- up at 2:10, out of house at 3:20, at the race site by 6:55, back home at 4:20.  Sometimes I don't seem to have the good sense god gave gravel, eh?

Onwards (to a nap, that is....)

JEFF -

Yo!  You're back!

I just referred to myself as one who sometimes doesn't have the good sense god gave gravel.............and then I see your upcoming race sched and know I'm in good (?) company!  However, thinking about it some it seems to have evolved from last year, when you did a total of, what -- 37 races?!?   So maybe the gravitas of Redman iron has you dialing things back to a figure that is more doable --- while also not bustin' the bank?

I will look at your report later; right now I need a nap!

Yes it is lighter-a little. Mid summer around here sees a lighter race schedule overall for all sports, it's hot. Mostly it is a financial concern, I bought an expensive bike, and time-training for an Iron Distance race and keeping my house standing-have a good nap

JEFF -

I just checked the entry fees fro Redman full --- what a bargain!  Some of those damnable 70.3 races are the cost of Redman full, and I cannot believe that WTC could treat you any better than the Redman folks do.  Of course, you'll be the judge of that, won't you?  At this point you have two 70.3 races under your belt......so Redman will have some valid comparisons to deal with.

No nap yet; I guess I'm waiting to see if I faint first.......

BIG CONGRATULATIONS on doing a great race after getting up at 'the crack of stupid' (I think I have heard that phrase before, ) and then a LONG drive as well.    That is just nutty taking 26minutes to get across the border.  

I sort of can't believe that you actually did a race with no timing chips.   I think that is quite impressive for you. 

Glad the shifting problem didn't happen till near the end.   I need to get my bike in before the 4th.   Shifts up somewhat OK; down is brutal.   This is the 12-23 - the 12-27 works OK.    I think I have to be careful to really shift properly (no crossover) because of the small crank? 

Keep me posted on the 5th and whether your will be racing or can ride with us.    You can always e-mail me the route you were thinking we might do.  

Thanks Johanne.   This was my first non-wetsuit swim in a race that counted.    My only other was my first tri-a-tri (375 meter swim) back when I learned to swim in 2005 and it took me 14 minutes I think!    I do swim alot on my own in OW w/o a wetsuit and don't feel nervous, but not straying too far.    The wetsuit definitely does provide some sense of security.

I've been biking since 2005.   Had a 25 year old 10 speed that I used the first 2 years and was actually pretty fast on it.   At the time though, I was big on strength (power) training, heavier and had extremely strong legs.   Plus I think I was doing spin classes at the gym in the winters.   Over the years I switched to 'functional' strength training - (not pushing heavy weights or using machines) but stopped doing any of that from 08-11 when I put more focus on triathlon and that is when the injuries started.    I am a firm believer in strength training, especially for women.     Read a really good BT article on that recently and it verifies what I believe.    However, you will find alot of disagreement in the triathlon 'community' on that topic.

I think I am getting faster on the bike due to a combination of things - as STEVE says, it takes about 5 years of cycling to really get your cycling legs; plus I really work on technique - pedalling small circles, pedalling large circles; taking the time to learn the skills required to shift efficiently (this has a REALLY big impact on your speed) and making sure I had the right fit on the bike.  

London isn't until September 2013.   We will make a big 2-3 month vacation of it and also do a few other tri's in the UK.   I don't like to pin all my hopes on one race.  

My next race is August 4th in Ottawa and is my 2nd Olympic.    I did my first in 2009, I think, in 3:18 and would like to think I can shave a few minutes off of that.    Time will tell. 

We have a BIG training day planned this Saturday with a triathlon training group - 2200 m swim in quarry, 90km bike and 19.6 km run (I will do a walk/run).    Ken will be doing a longer distance to train for his IM.    Just plan to take it slow and get it done, and maybe the big focus will be nutrition.    Any suggestions you have would be appreciated.    I have done several HIM distance aqua/bikes, but never the run portion.  

When's your next event?

NICE ride.   That was still a good speed but I hear what you are saying about wanting something a bit faster.   I think we will always want something faster than we do.   Kind of sad, actually.   

Hope your ankle is mending up. 

Quick glance back at training hours for May/June/July - average 5-7 hours per week with exception of one 12hr week in mid May and last week my first 13hr week. Verifies that you don't need huge volumes of training to perform well at sprint level - strength training (although I know you don't agree on that) and consistency are the key to success and injury prevention.  Read a really good BT article today that verifies this - 'Triathlon = Strength' Is strength training critical for a triathlete? (YES) How can strength training help an athlete improve performance? What are the downsides?

You need to remember I am not talking power lifting. 

Going back to Jan-April still only 7-10 hours per week plus 2 hrs strength training - mostly walking (marathon walking program), strength and a bit of swimming, minimal biking.

Going forward - only 1 big volume week (18hr) this week; 12 next, 16.6, 13.2, 13.2, 5.1 and HIM race day.

So you are thinking about a HIM.   Hope you are able to work that in.   Although 175.00 still doesn't sound like a bargain to me.    

I mentioned to Johanne that we have a big training day this Saturday with Barrie Shepley/Sean Bechtel's C3 group.    Kind of looking forward to it.    Seem to have survived the past week quite well with 2 consecutive 3+hr days Sat and Sun.  

Did you get the well-deserved NAP you wanted?   

GEORGE,

Not sure what you are up to, but wanted to say I totally forgot about your big ride on July 8th (guess I was too self centred on my race, ), and haven't read your report yet.   Plan to do that later today.   Hope you are keeping well.

ANNE -

Quick one, as the "Severe Thunderstrom Warning" is about to deliver.  The garden desperately needs the water....but not the big hail that might accompany the rain.  Hmmmm.

Had i known it wouldn't be electronically timed, I probably wopuldn't've done it.  However, it was enough of an oddball event that I might do another of his - same venue, same course - later this summer.  i need to digest it all, but so far it is actaully sitting favorbaly with me.

I've had the cold sweats, trying to imagine how IMLP would've/could've gone with that problem.  It happened about 14 miles into my race....which would've put it at about the flats between Keene and Wilmington of the IMLP  course.  That would've been fine, for about 5 more miles....and then troubles would've begun.  I honestly think I'd have to DNF, rather than face the remaining 90 or so miles of IMLP, stuck in big ring and my 15 cog.  There but for the grace of........

More later!

ANNE (again) -

Few hours later, and many connected storms seem to have run their course.  NO HAIL, and LOTS OF RAIN = PERFECT!!!

Strength training is good, and I missed it this past off-season -- enough so that I might forego Yoga next off-season and be a gym rat again.  Where I personally draw the line is lower body, and that is to prevent myself from injuring myself.  Period.  Back in the day before my torn meniscus, I managed to compromise my lower body several times in the gym.....and that's good for keeping me from both riding and running.  (At least if I mess up the upper body, that's just a hiatus from the pool -- no real biggie, that.)

I rationalize staying away from lower body struff by figuring I work that hard enough running and cycling.  I know i could probably fine-tune things by adding some strength training, but the fear of injury is just too real for me.  I mean, it's almost akin to a few months ago when Craig Anderson, the Senators' goalie, badly cut the fingers of his glove hand when slicing a chicken at home, and missed close to a month.  I guess I don't mind (?!?!?!?) injuring myself as a result of running or cycling.....but I sure get agitated when it happens through something not directly to triathlon activities!

No, $175 isn't a big bargain, but compared to those damnable WTC 70.3 races, it is.  I think Muskoka 70.3 is $300US, and many/most of that series is in the $250/$275 range.  But as for it happening for me..........I'm not counting on it yet.  I'm still not sure the hip can handle 2.5-2.75 hours of riding, and quite frankly I'm afriad to test it.  So, with that mindset ---- whither goest I?

A great benefit of the short stuff is the light training load and the quick recovery time.  But, you know, IMLP happened yesterday, and while I generally don't miss IM one iota.....there is still the itch that happens every year at this time.  I look at the list of finishers, and there aI guys I have beaten in shorter races.....but they are holding it together enough to be able to at least train for and then execute an iron.  I am envious of their bodies for being bionic enough to do that, and now of course I wonder if I have "been removed" from the half-iron ranks, as well.  Time will tell.

Have I ever told you about my 140.6 sticker?  That graced the back of my car until about 2009 or 2010, when I looked at it one day and realized "I am no longer an ironman".  I felt that quite emphatically.....and waited a few weeks.....and then removed the sticker.  (Thank heavens I didn't get an M-dot tattoo!!!!!!!)  For me, anyhow, being an ironman is not something "for life"; rather, it is somewhat like needing to be recertified periofically at one's profession, or one loses one's license.  So, I guess I view myslef as someone who once did a couple of irons.....but who no longer is a practicing ironperson.  But having doen my most recent half-iron about 23 months ago ----- that still counts, and I'm still a half-ironperson!  And I'd hate to lose that license, too.

Your weekend here is complicated, for me, by several things.  My current scheming will have me doing the Fronhofer Double (oly at 8, sprint at 2) on the Saturday, but then returning home ot be able to ride with you two on Sunday.  That would rule out eating together Friday evening, but I figure that's a good trade-off for the ride instead.  Plans are still evolving, but if I do the Fron Doub I have to register by tomorrow, so I should have some closure on it by this time tomorrow evening.  (Or I can just keep procrastinating, sacrificing only the SWAG.)

And no, no nap that day for me.  I snagged a short one today, following a 36' OWS, and then a 10.something km run, and then a brief 10' OWS, all in Big Heat.  Poor baby!

I'm I allowed back in? 

Sort of taken an 4 month "leave of absence"  from any sort of triathlon training (unless eating sugar counts!!).  But, I'm 14 weeks away from the REV3 Florida HIM that I already registered for and it's time to get going.  Not a chance of setting any PB for that (or any) distance becuase my fitness is in the tank but it will be nice to just get moving again.

No chance of catching up on the thread so I'm not going to try but.... I did hear a rumor that we have a National Champion in our group!!!  Yeah!!!

WELCOME BACK, JEFF!!!!!   You have been sorely missed.    Always adding SO much to this group.   

You may have lost a bit of fitness but I doubt it's in the tank.    If you need any motivation I know you will get tons of support from the remaining members of the group and I look forward to your guidance as I move towards my first HIM in Sept.  

How do those rumours get started, anyway. 

Race Report --- VERMONT SPRINT II  (Shelburne, VT, 21 July '12)

I signed up for this quite late, like Wednesday.  I didn't even know it existed until then, and at $50 it seemd like a stal of a deal.  It is "only" about 3.25 hours away, and I eventually decided I would just drive down the  morning-of.  So as I posted in a prelim report two nights gao, I awoke at about 2:20 and left the house at 3:20, arriving there at about 6:50 (tough border crossing, even at that early hour).

You can see my post from two nights ago to ANNE about my "history" with the RD and his races -- some great, some dismal.  This one started off as the latter, but by the end I quite liked it as a quirky, old-school race. 

The big aspect was no timing chips --- my first-ever multisport race without electronic timing.  BUT even though it was only three splits (arrrgggghhhhhh!), they got my finish time exactly as I had it.  Still, I am now twice-bugged by having two consecutive races with just three splits, and for this one it went like this:  S+T1; Bike; T2+Run.  But I managed to click my watch at probably appropriate places, so my times below reflect my actual transition times [give or take a few seconds])

SWIM (500y -- 10:39)

This started mostly on time, but kind of choatic as to which way to go in an upside-down triangle.  But I had it right, and got a great line to the first buoy, as well as a decent start because I was in the right place to begin with.  Overall it was a good swim, with straight lines swum rather well by this guy who usually veers slightly leftward.  IT was very shallow, though, which meant the final 50 yards or so were really a run-in to shore.  And after that was a run up a steep little boat ramp, and a lot of people were gassed by those.  Of the three "official" splits from teh race results, my best one was the S+T1.....but that's only because I ran well through the calf-deep water AND ran it up that nasty little ramp; I'm sure most swimmers actually swam it faster than I did.  Oh, and two waves -- men, then women three minutes later.  And wetsuit-legal.

T1 (1:28)

This was very good, given the long run ---- but then again my T1s are usually strong, what with going sockless and all.

BIKE -- 15.8 miles -- 45:29 (20.8mph)

Lollipop-shaped, with the stick to begin and end with, and then two loops of the lollipop part.  Vermont-hilly; I forgotten what that can be like!  The ride begins with a good long climb, but I had prefigured that and was in the right gearing.  After that, though it took a while to get in a groove, and I tried hard to keep up with three young pups ---- who, regretable, dropped me at about the halfway point.  My second loop of the top part was better, almost perfect ----- until my gears stopped shifting with about 1.3 miles to go.  Fortunatley I was "stuck" in big ring and one of the middle cogs, so while I could move fast enough and generate some okay power, I sure coulda/woulda generated more with working gearing.  As it was, though, it cost me probably less than 30 seconds.  Overall, I still feel that I don't have my good cycling legs AND smarts; I'm kind of perplexed by this.

T2  (1:34)

Not good.  Not horrific, but not good -- much like last week, in fact.  The run from dismount to my spot was maybe 11s, and then from there to where a mat would've been was about 19s.......so that meant another minute-plus screwing around with shoes.  This must improve (and to this end I changed my lacing today to eliminate the topmost part). 

RUN -- 3.1miles (5km) -- 23:07 (7:27/mile)

Straightforward out-and-back, mostly flat except for first and last 750 meters or so --- climb going out, downhill on the return.  I plodded for about a mile, and then got a minor groove on the second mile, and, with the wind at my back, had a strong third-plus mile.  The plod up the hill at the start, and then for the next several minutes, cost me in terms of going sub-23....but I'm happy enough with 23:07 in a race with a demanding bike course.

Time:  1:22:18

1/3 M60-64 (would've been 2/5 in 55-59, 3/8 in 50-54....but who's counting?)

32/112 overall, 29/70 male; I feel so-so about both of those.

POST-RACE

Hung around for the awards, got a 16-oz glass with the race organization logo on it.  Food was sparse, but then again I was not near as desperate as I was last week.  Sat in gorgeous Lake Champlain immediately upon finishing, with a splendid view across to the Adirondacks.  Weather was about perfect, but with a slight nod to windy on the bike.  But temps were right, and the water was very calm.

As I said before, and wnet into detail in that other post to ANNE, this was an old-school race that i actually ended up enjoying.  We racers were even enlisted in the dismantling on the bike racks......and that seemed a worthwhile thing to do.  I initially was appalled at no timing chips, but i guess it all worked out okay -- enough so that I would consider his other races at the same venue (same exact course, even).

HOKIEJEFF -

I've been waiting and waiting and waiting, since I responded to your PM about ten days ago, and had begun to wonder if you received it. (Did you?)

Never too late to rerturn here, or to your training, for that matter.  It's a loooooong season down there in orangeland, so you've hardly missed a beat!  What's next up for you?  (Wait!  I'll try to ferret out that info on my own!)

As for us here........just pace yourself, pace yourself!

Front page of the newspaper!!