GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 176)

latestarter - 2010-06-04 1:28 PM It's fun reading about everyone training for their races and feeling the excitement you all have, but I feel a bit out of it, with no running and no race until June 20th.   I haven't even registered for it yet, because I am so up and down about my swimming and have even started doubting my cycling.   But I did have sort of a good ride today - 40km of mostly hills and managed to keep an avg speed of 26km/hr.   If I can manage to swim 2km in OW this weekend, I will register on Monday.

STEVEB - We are heading to Muskoka on Tuesday morning now since the weather is looking better that day, although it seems to change hour to hour.      I was practicing some of the tactics you suggested on my hills today.  

I hate to even mention my knee because whenever I say it is feeling good - then it isn't.    BUT, it does seem to be coming along - had a bit of setback from the 3hr hike last weekend but seems to have bounced back quickly.   Feeling strong and stable.  

Hope I get my spirit back. 

smarx - 2010-06-03 6:01 AM

I know I know...I probably shouldn't. He said no restrictions on the training I am doing otherwise. So, as long as I go and have fun and don't go out to do my best all should be OK.

That's my goal now is to just go and finish it and enjoy it. Just treat it as real training bricks to understand transition and everything else. I'm now debating doing the same for Welland of course depending on what the Dr says after today's ultrasound. That and I've paid for both already, so I may as well show up and experience them as best I can.

SAquavia - 2010-06-03 2:50 PM Shaun - good luck this weekend!  Hope you do great!

Bike update:  $12 fix.  Turns out I braked so hard, I popped the axle out of position on the front fork.   Bike shop guy looked at the wheel and fork and couldn't see anything wrong - so he hit wheel hard with the heel of his hand, and it popped back in place.  He said something to the effect of, "wow, you must have braked like crazy!"  I laughed and said, "Yep...and now I need a new helmet!"  $12 was to true the wheel.

Shoulder is feeling better - less sore today - will likely do some trainer/brick work after work today.  Still very little range of motion (scabbing and such), but the muscles are better. 

It's amazing how much finding out the bike is OK has improved my spirits.  Head is much clearer than before as well - that's probably helping too.  Looking forward to getting back on the horse as it were this weekend!

stevebradley - 2010-06-05 7:03 PM






Racing Tomorrow - Sunday, June 6


SHAUN...........at.............HAWK ISLAND TRIATHLON!!

South Lansing, Michigan

8am start


400m swim
16km bike
5km run


Have a great time with it, Shaun!

stevebradley - 2010-06-05 8:46 AM



TRACEY -

Most excellent on the swim! Being a bazillion times more comfortable at anything is always good!

As for the bike........

One way to look at it is that for many people, ecstasy comes in the form of a 0.2mph improvement. I mean, some people shell out $2300 for a set of race wheels, and if they realize a 0.2mph speed improvement with them --- heck, that's money well spent!

The other way to look at it reflects what you were saying, that different parts of you are now engaged in the pedaling mecahnics. It will take some time to adjust to all of that, which includes optimizing foot position and figuring out which degree of tightness is best. (In general, you want maximum rigidity throughout the pedal/cleat/foot continuum, so tight is good.)

As for mechanics, there are general rules of thumb for what works best, but I think a lot of that will vary according to a person's position on the bike, such as how far forward they are. I'm sure the geometry of your bike puts you in a more "relaxed" position than I am on my bike, so where we are with respect to our cranks will have an effect on how our feet are positioned at different phases of a stroke cycle (that is, 360 degrees from top (noon) and back).

Mostly, toes should not be pointing down until the bottom of the cycle, say from 5 o'clock on. But I think this is more a reflection of the heel coming up and thus forcing the toes down, as opposed to consciously trying to point the toes downward. From the top of the stroke until about the 4 o'clock position, the most effective power will come when the feet are parallel to the ground. There is a good picture of all of this.....somewhere....and I will try to find it later. It is probably in one of the books by Joe Friel, but could be in one of my pure cycling books. I'm rushing now, so I will search later.

This is another case where even though I have spent all those hours doing something, I actually need to replicate it to be confident in what I am saying. In this case, I have spent lots and lots and lots of time doing single-leg drills on my trainer ----- but damned if I can say with 100% accuracy what exactly my feet are doing when they are positioned optimally!

What I can tell you, however, is that you do NOT want your toes pointing up at any point, so if your biggest problem right now is having your toes pointing down at times ---- then that is fine for at least 50% of each 360-degree stroke cycle. Yay!

Finally, sore quads for new shoes and new mechanics is not surprising, and any change in technique and mechanics carries with it the risk of newly-recruited muscles whining and complaining. Just think of the woes that befall most people who transition to forefoot, or Chi, running techniques --- their calves hardly let them hear the end of it! Yowzers!

Gotta run now!

stevebradley - 2010-06-04 7:09 PM ANNE - For what it's worth, I think you made the 10,000th post of my mentor group "career" -- spanning this group and the other one. So, thank you for that! It's worthy of a celebration, perhaps, but I have no one with whom to celebrate right now. Aw, I guess I'll wait for 20,000! But, I'm sorry you feel out of the loop, kind of, although I can relate to that from times of previous injuries, and definitely during the meniscus aqbk season of '06. My 2 cents tells you to register for a couple of things ASAP, just to get your name there and the commitment set. The 20th is Guelph, yes? Isn't that just a 1500m swim, with Peterborough being the 2000m? If so, then set this weekend's OWS on 1500 ---- which you and I both know you can do, anyhow. That'll give you what you need for Guelph, and then in the two weeks after Guelph you can nudge it up to the 2km for Pboro. That'll give you two races in the next four weeks, and there's nothing at all shabby about that!! Really and truly, aquabikes are every bit as valid as duathlons, both as competitions and as tests of one's own fitness. And with tat in mind.... I see no reason at all for you to doubt your cycling! You've not only done a huge amount of it in the past two months, especially, but it seems to be quality stuff. Sure, some ofm it might be saddle time, but you also seem to be very committed to incorporating some actually WORK into your rides, dutifully focusing on different skills and techniques. And with an eye to Pboro, what you did today is excellent -- 40km of hills, averaging 26kmh. Fine stuff, Anne, to be sure! And I will say NOTHING about your you-know-what for fear of jinxing it......but it sounds as if the rest is indeed paying off. "Strong and stable" are the descriptors you want to hear! And you know where you should be along about now --- www.trisportcanada.com. Oh, and have your credit card handy!

LadyNorth - 2010-06-05 10:04 AM

I think a race would be the best thing to get your spirit back on track.

Denise