Todd's Tri Turtles 3 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10K) Basically Closed (Page 17)

OK, I have 2 swimming questions after my mock tri yesterday. The first one is- do you wear undies under the tri suit? It comes with a bra, so that is covered, but I don't know.

Second: When I am swimming laps int he pool, I can usually do almost the first 100 yards in 4 breathe freestyle (left, right, left, right/breath), then I drop down to 3 for a little and settle at 2 for the last 75 in a 200 yard repeat. When I'm in the lake, I feel like I need to drop down my strokes/breath a lot faster than that- is it really that much harder to swim in open water, or am I just not judging how fast I'm starting out?

I was glad I got the swim in yesterday- I was able to relax a bit more int he water so I didn't need to switch to breast stroke as much. And the water was a bit choppy so I got to experience that, and I got to swim in my tri suit.

Congrats on your second tri! Sounds like a good experience, and I cna't imagine doing it in July in FL!!

No undies under the tri suit. I do wear a sports bra under my top, as the support isn't enough for during the run for me.

I hear ya about the difference in pool and open water breathing. I have to breath more frequently in open water and during races too. Heart rate is pumping and working harder, so I figure it needs more oxygen. Yesterday, I was able to do some 3 stroke breathing, but mostly 2 strokes and I am happy with whatever works. Good luck on your upcoming race.

Yes and no. First off don't put a lot of thought into your breathing while racing and swimming in open water. Learn properly and practice those in training, which will help you in a race and open water. The thing is that in the open water and races you have multiple factors that limit your ability to swim like you train: current, waves, group size, contact, fogged googles, leaky googles, light, no real gauge of distance, your excited heart rate, perceived versus real output +++++. What I'm saying is that you can do this or that but when a wave or person hits you that pattern is thrown off. I have gotten to the point that I tell myself to put one arm in front of the other and go at a steady pace i know I can complete the swim at. Heck i breath basically every stroke (left arm right arm breath) and can be at or under 2 min per 100 for 1.2 miles. Now that's not fast but it works for me by any means but I'm at the front of the MOP. You are doing the biggest thing you need to do right now which is getting use to swimming in open water.

O and I don't wear panties so I'll let Kristen's answer guide you

My mother was released under home hospice care as the hospital was no longer able to help her.
I bought a plane ticket for last Wednesday (7/23) night to see her. Unfortunately, she passed the morning of 7/23rd.

I don't know if I am still doing my duathlon but I will be bowing out of the triathlon as it is the same weekend of the funeral.
I am tasked with planning the services and handling the details. A lot of work and frustration.

Over the coming weeks I may not post as often. I am very overwhelmed.

I am so sorry to hear of your mother's passing. Stress works the body too, and sometimes it's too much to try to exercise also. Take the time you need. Thinking of you. There will be other triathlons you can do.

Tracy, I am so sorry for your loss and what your family is going through at this time.

Tracy

Very sorry to learn of your mothers passing.

Condolences to you & your family.

Rod

Nice job Kristen - 17.5 mph on your bike for the first time is impressive. Give it a few weeks and I bet you'll be up around 20 mph.

Sorry to hear about your mother Lovey.

Very sorry to hear to loss of your mother as well. My condolences.

Well Turtles we are starting to reach the end of the Mentor Group Time. It's funny that this is my 3rd group and now I really do see / understand why the planned length of the groups are where they are. I can tell not only in this group but all of them how much the post and activity has dropped. This is not a bad thing because yall and people in each group generally have not stopped working out. Ron (mod.) is right when he says these groups are to get people to a point that they are comfortable, get questions answered, and get into a routine. We will stay after it for at least the next two weeks to ensure that we get Nancy across the line and learn from her race. No matter what, I want each and everyone of you to know that whether this group is going or not you can always send me a PM with any and every question you have. You will continue to get the random inspires and if your life and goals take you away from this site just send me a line and let me know. For instance I had 1 former Turtle that got off BT recently not because he was getting out of the sport but because he was advancing in it and part of a team / training group where are his workouts were planned, reviewed, and logged on their site. Once again, no matter what, you can always send me a PM regardless of what it is for or when.

Hi Todd,

This site and your contributions has been an HUGE help. Thank you for investing your time with us!

I took a few moments to look back on my training log and see what I've done. This is the 1st time I have ever kept a workout log and it's pretty cool to look back on things. I have logged (correction) 16 weeks of training and a total of 94 workouts here. My weekly average has been 5 training days per week. (I KNOW that on my own I'd average more like 3 workouts per week.) With my 1st race less than two weeks away I feel great! Could I have done more training? Sure! But as you shared with us, we need to keep balance in our lives and I truly feel I have been able to make this work for me without adversely affecting my family and primary commitments.

Let me ask you and anyone else out there a question - for your 1st tri did you have any specific time goal in mind or was your goal finishing? My race is a sprint distance (.5 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 3.1 mile run) and as I look at the previous results for my race I'm really hoping to finish somewhere in the 1h 30-35 minute time frame.

Anyway, I wish everyone the best of luck in their races!

Edited by mbcoulter 2014-07-30 6:45 AM

Let me share what I heard and still go with when thinking of race times. First race the first goal time is to finish (when you get to your second this would be any time you can finish in even on a bad day), second goal time is what your average time is per disciplines added together plus / minus a few minute. Last is your to the moon goal, your near perfectly executed race day and new found speed. For instance my Half Ironman in April I set it at 6:30 (longer than my last), 6:15 (a few minutes faster than my last), and then under 6 hours. I was able to come in under my 2 the moon and broke six hours, which took probably the best race I've ever run. That said I have definitely changed my just show up and finish thought. I still just want to finish first of all but now I want to toe the line, knowing i put in the work before and deserve to be there. I ran quit a few races very unprepared and knew I left time out there because of my lack of prep work. I say all of that to say that now after four years I can look at the course, my logs, and my current level and estimate pretty closely my finish time.

Back from a stressful few days in Miami planning my mother's service.

In the midst of all that, a good run would have been helpful. I had no time and I was so exhausted.
Went for a stress relieving run this morning. It did help just to run.

I have a duathlon on 8/3 and a triathlon on 8/16.
With all that is happening, I don't feel mentally ready for Sunday's duathlon.
The triathlon is the same weekend as my mom's services.

Even though the race sites say no refunds or deferrals, I requested both from them with the offer of a copy of the death certificate if they needed it.
Both race directors gave me deferrals to the 2015 race.

I may do a triathlon later in the year, I just need time to process. I will still log my workouts but traveling back to Florida will throw me off track a little.

I hope everyone is still on track with workouts and enjoying themselves along the way.

While I've been injured for almost this entire session, it's been great tuning in to see what everyone else is up to. I don't know anyone locally who trains for triathlons, so BT and this group have really helped me to feel connected and motivated as I train. Thanks Todd again for mentoring and thanks everyone else for sharing your stories and questions.

Keep up the training everyone!

Thanks Todd for all of your inspires and keeping the large collective motivated. I know from previous posts that you had a lot to juggle this time around, and yet you were still there with the advice and inspiration. This period I was able to put together a log which showed definite improvement over time, and I was able to run my first tri, and ready to run my second this coming weekend. I will give a full report next week before the group disbands, but as like my first race, I am nervous and excited all at once!

Again, thanks Todd and everyone for the support and comments, it is much appreciated!

Mike

I have a question about swimming in cold water. I am seriously thinking about signing up for a sprint tri in mid October, but I am afraid the water temp will be in the low 70's, and I don't do cold, that's why I live in florida. Those of you that swim in much colder water must think I'm nuts, but I don't own a wet suit, and I wonder if it's even worth buying one at the end of the season, or renting one, or just not doing the race. Any thoughts?

Is there going to be another mentor group starting up again, or does it only happen during tri season? This is my first year here, and I"m loving it, totally addicted. I love the log and how I can see my monthly totals, or weekly even. I love being able to see other's logs too.
I appreciate everyone's input so far. Good luck to those with tri's coming up.

I had the same dilemma at the start this year. I competed in a tri in my hometown, which is one of the finger lakes and upstate NY had experienced one of the coldest winters in years. The water temp was 66 race day, brrrr....

I ended up buying a wet suit, and here's why:
A wet suit rental is usually 45-60 per rental. The wet suit I bought was a NeoSport long john (sleeveless, up to calves on legs) for a little over 100 dollars. I bought it from Wet Suit Warehouse in Hagerstown, MD. They are on the web, but have a live person who will answer the phone, and give them your dimensions and they will size it pretty close. My wet suit fits like the proverbial glove. Make sure you ask for a triathlon specific suit. It does really make a difference! It will be thicker to provide buoyancy and will have a smooth outer skin meant for swimming. Most water skiing wet suits have a flat, rougher texture which might slow you down. Also it will not provide buoyancy. If you lose interest, you can always sell it online somewhere.

Personally I like the sleeveless, it does not hinder my swim stroke, and it will keep you plenty warm in chilly water. Also remember that most races 78 degrees and above is not USAT legal, and at 84 degrees and above, no suit at all. Check with the race coordinator for the rules.

Hope this helps, just my past experience from what I learned by posting here; and making the mistake of buying a closeout on Amazon. Fortunately, Amazon took the return because the zipper broke when I first tried it on.

Kristen, if you think you may want to do a race in cold water then I have one word for you Xterra. You can get a full or sleeveless suit new with a BT code for right around 120 - 140. I did both Halfs and an Olympic in mine and have been very satisfied and at the price and don't feel guilty watching it sit in the closet 90% of the time. I like you am not use to cold water and wondered what I got myself into when I got into Lake Michigan last summer and it was 58. Race day it was 63 and I really could not tell the difference and made it through the half. Where you are from I would suggest a sleeveless as you will only use one at the very start and end of the seasons with the temps likely being near cutoff, which would help you with overheating.

To your other question there will be another set of groups likely in a few months but I am always here. I will likely do it again and you are welcome or you can chose a different group. Everyone can continue to post here until then it's just most don't check it as often.

Hi Turtles

I started off the week with a couple of runs. Unfortunately this resulted in knee soreness so I took the rest of the week off to recover. I'm sitting down today to revise my training plan. I'll only be running on grass, not the foot path / pavement to reduce the impact on my knees.

Very productive week on the home front as I managed to build a fence and do some landscaping. Does manual labor count as a workout? I felt like I'd had a workout by the end of each day.

I was wishing I'd kept a training journal of my tri preparation so during the week I copied every post I'd made this year into a document. It was interesting recapping my efforts and the discussions with other Turtles since January.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Rod