GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 171)

Excellent Denise, you'll get there!

Re-cap of my recon of Hawk Island Tri which is on Sunday June 6th in Lansing, MI.

http://www.southlansing.org/HawkIslandTriathlon/tabid/353/Default.aspx

400m swim 3 sides of a square kind of.
16km bike which is through the city of Lansing and part of Michigan State Univeristy's campus.
5km run in Hawk Island Park on a paved path (out and back)

We biked, ran then waited for the lifegaurds and swam.

Bike course;
Basically a rectangle in shape. Some short climbs (profile of course is off as there is more than a 10ft change in height from sea level). Overall fairly flat and main obstacle is pot holes and other cyclists. I am told they block off a lane of traffic for the race. Passing is apparently easy to do having a whole car lane. Very few turns, lots of places to get down in aero and hammer away (more or less everywhere except the 5 or 6 main turns).

Run course:
Nice course through the woods which makes it shaded other than the start and finish. Normal 4 person wide path which could get very congested with 800 people in the race. Basically flat or gentle uphill one way and gentle downhill the other. Pacing will be my key for this somehow trying not to sprint and blow up.

Swim:
OWS great!!!! Weather was nice and warm, water was mild. No wetsuit. Nice and refreshing even if we had to swim in the roped off area. Some tall weeds and floating seaweed but overall didn't look bad. I was told they cleaned up the seaweed last year. Of the people that swam I was the fastest and was told I better start near the front with all the first time tri'ers unless I want to be the one swimming over and around people.

Not much to talk about really. Pretty basic course, no great scenery or killer hills. Very beginner friendly course (almost like I picked it for this reason ).

I'm ready for it! I've seen the course so know what to expect there. I met 7 other people that will be there racing (1 other first timer). So hopefully some of nerves will not be there  day of.

My main fear is having my wave go next to last or last so the anxiety just keeps climbing and I have to watch everyone else swim. However, having never been through this, I also don't want to be one of the first people out of the water and only get passed on the bike and run and then not really see anyone else until after I finish...If there are 800 people supposedly to be on course, I'd at least like to see some of them on course.

MANDY -

Let's see:
(1) She didn't find the bug, but there was a scratch and irritataion there. She figures I got it out during one of my own ministrations over the previous 48 hours.
(2) I guess that's good......but I've seen "Alien" often enough that I wonder if what is there has morph into soemthing else and migrated to a different part of my body, ready to splurge forth when I least expect it. (And to think that I might consider gel spills to be messy! )
(3) The "harmonica shoulder" continues to be fine, and another swim went achelessly today.
(4) I can live with some orange HEED, and I'll buy it for whatever you ask!
(5) That is good about the 19th -- if necessary. I asked that because I am thinking of doing Mass. State Triathlon the day before, which means I can get really close to Ellacoya that night, as opposed to leaving home in the wee hours and drive straight down, I haven't decided if this is the best plan for me, but i hope to figure this out soon. Anyhow, thanks for your flexibility!
(6) Next post for Pirate thoughts!

MANDY again -

I think that more important to me than race site/race day proximity is which accommodation is closer to a decent restaurant the night before. And to add to that, which accom would have the best chance of being near a Dunkin' Donuts that might be open at 5am to serve me a nice, freshly-toasted and -buttered bagel. (Priorities, priorities....... )

So, if you could be so kind, maybe forward those names again, and I'll try to figure out all of the local eating options for them as well as the Super 8 in Westbrook. Merci!

(And we are still plannning to do dinner Saturday evening, yes?)

DENISE -

That sounds better than baby-steps; maybe more like a toddler's romp! It will come quickly, now that you have made the first serious stabs at it. Heck, before long you'll be just like the Tour d'France riders, who grab their muslin sacks with all their nutrition for the next 50 miles, drape it over their shoulder, and rifle through it with no hands on the bars, sticking the stuff in the pockets of their jerseys!

Just curious --- At first today, how white-knuckly was the hand that was on the bar when you took the other off, and did you "loosen up" any with your grip as the ride progressed?

Well done, m'am!!

The other places are:
The Windham Way Motel was recently re-done and a fair price at $85. It about 20 minutes closer or maybe more. http://www.windhamway.com/

There is another place - Sebago Lake Cottage. This is like 5 or so minutes from Point Sebago. They have a few rooms and cabins too. kitchen but only cost me $62 for the night. http://www.sebagolakelodge.com/

I think Windam has a Dunkin Donuts.  I know Westbrook has a Mister Bagel and probably a Dunkin Donuts.  Sebago Lake Cottage is probably not going to be close to much in that regard (but within 15 min).  We could find good places for dinner in either place I think...When you know where you are staying for sure I can figure that out (I will ask John's family since they are from down there). 

SO YES on Sat night! 

I might go scout out the bike course this Sat.  Not sure if I can swing it or not.  I had a fabulous OWS today with my friend Steph.  I got her to video my stroke so I could check it out to see where my inefficiencies are.  What I can see (with my untrained eyes) is that when I breath (either side, I am a bilateral breather) I bend my knee on the side I am breathing on.  So that makes drag.  AND I am not riding the glide quite enough - not quite windmilling (I don't think) but on my left side I just land and pull instead of reaching and pulling.  I am thinking some kicking drills are in order and some catch up drills....BUT what is cool is that I am SO much stronger and more efficient than this point last year, it feels really good.  And as soon as I could get in OW and out of that dreaded pool, I was so much more relaxed and happy.  I heart open water swimming!

No loons today.

Cheers,

Mandy

SHAUN -

That is really, really good that you got to preview all three parts of the race course. You will definitely benefit from that on Sunday, in ways that will become clear to you as the race unfolds.

As for early versus late waves, I prefer late just so long as the wait is not oe than about 20-30 minutes after the first wave. I love having lots of people to "reel in" on the bike and run, and when I'm the first wave that just doesn't happen. However, and advantage for going early at H.I. might be to avoid as much congestion as possible on the run.....but usually by the run most people are pretty well spread out, so tight run courses are not a big problem.

It will be great if they manage to close off a whole lane of roadway for the bike. If you do that, you'll be spoined for most other races, 99% of which do not provide that sweet little service! And I hope that area llowed to spray day-glo paint around the potholes, just to give everybody a heads-up of sorts when one is being approached.

As for the swim, all winter/spring your swim times sounded really fine, so take the advice of your associates who suggested you start up front. See what happens! There are always some people who sart in the front and should not be doing so, so it's not as if everyone around you is going to go out like sharks on a feeding mission. I think you'll be fine there, and it's very, very rare that soemone will actually swim over you. In all my races, it has happened to me just once, and I doubt very much that it will happen to you at H.I.

The scenery issue is an interesting one. So many races advrtise that as a selling point, but it's very rare that I notice the scenery at all; I doubt you will miss it, even if it IS there! I guess I can conjure up isolated views from many of my races, but I will never be lured to a race by the siren call of "Scenic!!".

Again, excellent initiative on scoping out the courses beforehand. Are you psyched, or are you PSYCHED?!?

Catching up on some posts after a weekend away from the computer...

SteveB: Given my squeamishness over yucky stuff in the open water, I'm sure it doesn't surprise you that this story totally freaks me out! Hopefully by now they've gotten the critter out of your ear. The same thing happened to my dad years ago while he was out raking the lawn. It was a really big bug too. They ended up removing it at the doctor's with a long, narrow instrument with a hook shape at the end. My dad said it almost looked like it was made for removing bugs from ears.

I think the fluttering and movement in my ear would make me go crazy... :/

Steve B-

I meant to mention that your story about the bug in the ear made me squirm!  Hope all is better now.

Mandy

TRACEY -

My GP didn't see anything in the ear, and flushed it aggresssively several times with nothing emerging, so I guess my own ministrations over the previous 48 hours or so had done the trick. I think I'll be okay, then! At the time, though, it was very unpleasant, as I was about seven miles from home and periodically I could feel it moving in there, and hear little squishy sounds. I don't freak out very easily, but that got me right to the edge, to be sure. It was a seemingly long ride home, and then a franticish phone call to my sports doctor (no answer), and then a rush into the pharmacy to see what they could recommend. Not fun!

Have you gotten out at all with the prospective training partner, the woman from the 5km? Just curious! And with Escape about 11 days ahead, are you getting excited yet? Hope so!

KASIA -

And now we come to your last question, which is bricks!

For now, think bricks, not icks, and think small; what I recommended to Tracey is a good starting place for you. At this point, bricks should be a very ancillary part of your training, with just one a week -- enough to give you the feeling of what it feels like running off the bike. The general goal of bricks is not to simulate the entire race experience, but just to allow your body to learn coping mechanisms for going from pedaling to running.

There are two ways to view what you have to do before LL2L - run 10km off the bike, and run 10km. I think you have to get as close to the latter as you can first, and then worry about the former come race day. And again, that's how it is for virtually everyone who is coming into triathlon without a background in running - they have to do the distance first, or at least get as close to as they can in their training.

So for your bricks-to-come, start of with a 10-12 minute run after a bike of whatever distance. If you ride 20 miles, try a 12-minute run. If you ride 30 miles, try a 10-minuter. If you ride 15 and feel quite good, see if you can do 15 minutes off the bike. In a sense you have an advantage over Tracey where she was when I made that recommendation to her, in that you have done a tri already and have an idea what it feels like to run off the bike. BUT, each race produces different reactions on the body, so how you felt at Summer OPEN will not be the same as how you feel at LL2L.

Do not worry about pace at all. In fact, other than to keep track of the total time of your brick run, don't even look at it until you feel you are getting clsoe to the goal distance for that day. The early stages of brickwork are just about getting your legs and your system adjusted to running off the bike. That's it!

The double-edged sword you will face is that in a tri you are going from your strongest area (bike) to the one you feel least competent at (run), and where this can become a problem is if you work extra hard on the bike so as to "bank" the time you feel you might lose on the run. But for even experienced people, this is very risky to do, as each increased fraction of a mph improvemnet on the bime will exact some toll on your running legs. It took mne liteally years to find some good balance between riding agrressively in an oly and still being able to do a strong run after, so don't count on your bricks to prepare you for that.

Thinking again about the LL2L course, I'll stick with what I said last week -- use the second half of the ride to start stockpiling the energy you'll need for the run. And that will require not trying to hammer down each and every descent -- use several of them to coast, using gravity rather than pedaling.

I would say, then, that your key workouts should be the ones that get you closer to running 10km. Make sure that for each of these you are well-rested, with nothing too demanding the day before (preferably just a swim). But as I said a couple of days ago, don't worry if you fall short of the 10km distance before the race!! Race day will be where you find some strength in adrenaline and enthusiasm. For the bricks, um, make your longest run off the bike 20 minutes, and keep the bricks at one per week -- that'll be a way to restrain yourself and allow the running efforts to be paramount!

My own upcoming bricks......

Speaking of bricks with Kasia, it gets me thinking about what I can do that is specific for thre weekend of the 12th/13th. That will be Escape the Cape on Saturday and Pirate on Sunday. Escape is .3/10/3.1 and Pirate is .3/14/3, and my prevailing thought is why do anything long between now and then? As that pertains to bricks, they too will be short, and my emphasis will be on wall-to-wall speed.

So, here is how I might structure my bricks:
brick#1 -- 10-mile ride, 3.1-mile run, 14-mile ride
brick#2 -- reverse
brick#3 -- 12-mile ride/3.1-mile run/16-mile ride/3.1-mile run
brick#4 -- 14-mile ride/4-mile run/10-mile ride/4-mile run

Or something like that. It'll be the those today, Thursday, Saturday, and Monday, and then we'll see what happens on the three following days!

Off now to a swim in the rain (hopefully no thunder and lightning ), and then brick #1 this afternoon. See you all later!

Nope, not a Lakers fan at all.  I'll be wearing GREEN the next couple of weeks!

SteveB:

Don't feel too bad about the "harmonica shoulder", it's not nearly as bad as the story of my friend who seriously injured her back showing off her hula-hoop skills to her 9 year old nieces.

Awesome Denise!

I need to work on that myself. It's getting hot here and it's starting to become obvious that I need to hydrate on any rides that last more than a half hour or so.

Hey all!

Tough weekend.  I think my bike is trying to kill me. 

Rode PCH on Saturday, and was good, until the turn at Pt. Magu.  Wind shifted and nearly threw me from the bike.  I was literally hammering at around 20 mph, saw a dust devil on front of me, and next thing you know, the bike stopped in its tracks - just terrible gust of headwinds.  So I was fighting just to keep the bike upright.  Then crosswinds...just nasty stuff.  But, great for developing those bike handling skills.

Monday, not so lucky.  Long story short, I'm kind of battered, and bike is kind of bent.  Short story long, I'm on a bike path heading to a friend's house to pick up my car.  Bike path has traffic lanes on each side, heading in opposite directions - so it's kind of a glorified island if you will.  ANYWAY, heading through an intersection on the green, and a car on my right which is turning left in front of me, doesn't see me, and pulls out in front of me.  I guess I should have seen him, but I'm so used to looking for cars turning right from my right side, and left from my left side, that it didn't occur to me that someone would come up from behind me on the right and turn left in front of me.  ANYWAY, lock up the brakes (again, doing around 20ish), and go right over the handlebars in the road.  Landed on my head, tore up my shoulder and knee.  It was actually pretty lucky the way I landed, as it was square on my head, which broke the fall.  Otherwise, I'm pretty sure I'd have broken my collar bone (or wrist/shoulder/arm).  Got up, moved out of the road, and the guy just drove off.   I have some vague recollection of yelling at him, and him at me as I was moving out of the road.  But I'm pretty sure I was in the right - he just wasn't expecting to see a bike flying through the intersection with the right of way. 

Pretty sure I had a concussion, but managed to get back on the bike and make it the rest of the way to my friend's house (about another 5 miles).  Was kind of out of it for the rest of the day - dizzy when I stood up, moving a bit slow.  Didn't notice that my wheel is bent (or worse, my fork is broken), because wheel was off center, rubbing against the brake calipers, and I've scored the tire, so that will definitely need to be replaced.  Bike shop was closed, so I'll have to take it in tomorrow and see what the damage is.  The wheel looks OK, the fork looks OK, but they are definitely out of alignment at this point.  I'm praying it's a wheel issue - as that's likely the cheaper fix. 

Hopefully, they can get it sorted out quickly, as Maggie is traveling for work this weekend, and I was hoping to get in a couple days of long riding and running.  Will lay low for today and maybe tomorrow to make sure the head is OK, get the bike fixed and get a new helmet. 

Good lesson for me - never trust that a driver is paying attention.  Even if you have the right of way, their mistake can cost you dearly.

Well let's hope that you got the bug out, or it crawled out itself at some point (gross thought I know, but at least it's moved on!)

Getting both excited and nervous about Escape for sure! I'm headed over to the course tomorrow for another OWS.

I've met Donna (my training partner) twice so far. She runs a little faster than me, but I beat her at swimming and biking! Yay! (Nothing like a little friendly competition). Admittedly though she's a total swimming newbie so it's not hard to go faster than her. We're meeting up again this Thursday and Friday to do the bike and run course. On Friday we may attempt the whole course, OWS included, as long as they have a lifeguard stationed at the beach.

Have you booked your accommodations yet?

SteveB:

Any recommendations for training between now and Escape? As you know I'm not looking to break any records. I just want to finish a decent time. Right now it's hard to even set a goal for myself, since I really have no idea how long it will take me to do the swim course now that I've experienced it. Using my performance from the pool, and the little boost in speed from the wet suit, I would guesstimate that I could finish it in somewhere between 13 and 15 minutes. (My average time for 100 yards has been in the neighborhood of about 2 mins, 40 seconds). But of course that's the pool. The OWS environment will add who-knows-how-much time to the swim.

Anyway, here's what I plan between now and the race:

Today: 10 mile ride
Wed: OWS at the course
Th: 0.3m swim/10 mile ride/3.1k run (pool swim; neither ride or run will be at the course) (Umm, is that supposed to be "neither-nor"? I always get worried about my grammar when I write to you since you're a teacher!)
Fri: 0.3m swim/10 mile ride/3.1k run (all at the course)
Sat: off
Sun: off

Mon: 0.3m swim/10 mile ride (hopefully both at the course)
Tues: 0.3m swim (hopefully another OWS; at the pool if not)
Wed: 40 minute run
Th: 10 mile ride/3.1k run (probably at the course)
Fri: rest

(OR, if you can make it down earlier Friday, I'll rest on Thursday and do the course with you on Friday)

Does this look doable and appropriate? Thanks!

SteveB:

A bike shoe question for you.

How much additional speed can one realistically expect when riding clipped in? If I can average around 15.5 to 16 mph with regular shoes, can I expect any additional speed with bike shoes?

Thanks!

Tracey

SteveA:

Oh my gosh, I'm glad to hear you didn't get seriously hurt in that fall!! Over the handle bars has to be the worst... it's like you see your life flash before your eyes as you're sailing through the air. I hope you're feeling better soon.

And I can't believe that a** didn't stop to see if you were okay. Regardless of whose fault it was.

Mandy,

We both have some of the same issues with mounting rear water bottles. Check out

http://www.tri-zone.com/Products.html?cat=88

which is for saddle mounted water systems.

Of note (I wonder why I didn't see this as it is almost exactly what I was looking for...) the Minoura double rear cage holder, has gotten a number of negative reviews for breaking when tightened down too much. Which I tend to be that guy that tightens things too much, its probably a good thing I did not go with that one.

SteveB,

I'm ready to go NOW!!!! Okay, well other than the 2 days off from training and eating like crap, I'm ready to go. I really chose a poor time to break out the sausages and chips and whatever else...Overall, I'm just ready to get up at 3:30am and go race and see what happens.

The nerves will be less because I know where the park is, I know some people to chit chat with and I alrady feel 'experienced' as we ran across 3 or 4 groups of people who basically didn't put any thought into training for a triathlon and are doing one. No idea what to wear, what to prepare for, when to show up, etc etc.

As for waves...LET ME IN THE WATER!!! It's going to kill me having to sit around and wait for however long....seeing people coming out of the water before I'm even getting close to getting in.

Really? I kind of assumed most tri's had some form of lane/road closure depending on how they are setup. Any idea about Welland? It is an out and back bike course. Is there just a police individual at the turn around controlling car traffic?

It's decided then...I'm going to be art of the mely at the start of the wave. Should be interesting.

We were running slower than my normal pace, so I could notice the scenery a bit. The path runs through a wooded area so its more or less just different than what I am used to. The scenery may just turn out to be the people around me.

Glad to hear the bug found its way out or you massaged it out on your own...this does not sound like fun!

Edited by smarx 2010-06-01 1:57 PM

MARK,

Between taping the gels to the top tube and the socks, you've covered everything I have been able to come up with on my own for this coming race. Only other idea I had was to have a sports drink in my aero bottle so I had no reason to come out of aero and could get liquid in me. 10 miles is going to be over before I know it.

Great work Denise!!! You'll have it before you know it!!

SteveA,

That sounds like quite a fall!! It's reasons like that (and how every road in MI people tend to drive 55+mph) that I really struggle with riding anywhere but the metro park that I ride at. Too many people not paying attention to the road and assuming since they are in a car they must have the right of way. Not to mention they are in such a hurry and SOOOOO important how dare we get in their way.

Glad to hear you are doing ok and hopefully only got your bell rung a bit. Hopefully no concusion. That is one thing I really don't need any more of in my future.