MightyMojoMentorGroup -- (Full House!) (Page 176)

STEVE,

Did you see my note at the top of my race report?  Did 30.7 avg speed for a 26min threshold attempt with a decent avg hr so now I'm thinking maybe I might be able to still push the speed a bit for September.   Also, I was using my 12-27 both at the Sat race, Monday's long ride and yesterday.    What are your views on me switching to the 11-25?   I was maxed out on the 12-27 in Ottawa. 

ANNE -

"Race report?  What race report?!?"  (That was what I said to myself when I saw your post.)  Then I sloooooowly scrolled back up and, lo and behold ---a race report!  I guess what i did was scroll down quickly and saw a long one, and then by the time my reaction had kicked in....I was at the one directed at just me.  I suppose that's how I miss things sometimes, and maybe there's a lesson in there fot me.  Ya think?

Second things first, YES!!!, go to the 11-25 --- especially if you ran out of gears at Nat Cap.  You are way too strong a cyclist to need - or even really benefit from - the 27 cog, and if you can generate a few more watts by pushing an 11 on those long, slippy "descents" heading north on Colonel By, then that's what you want.  And FWIW, I would be fully content witha 23-11, fixing to attack the handful of "climbs" through momentum, as opposed to standing and grinding in a 25.  It's a great course for attacking the climbs from below them, and then running through the gears while you stay in the big ring on the actual slope parts.  The goal would be to stay in the saddle, with the possible exception being on the last longer climb leading to the turnaround at Hog's Back.

It's also a great course (what with the six repeats) to refine your plan with each subsequent loop.  Here, then, the goal is to fly like a hot knife through soft butter on the final retutrn, the southbound from Laurier Bridge to Hog's back.  (Of course, that's all dependent on the capriciousness of the wind! )

Keeping on the topic of the bike.......tsk, tsk for not heeding my "warnings" about the course, going instead with that kinda bogus description of "flat and fast".  I told you so!  I told you so!

An irony about the half is that you might want to remove your feet form the shoes early -- partly to keep reins on yourself in prep for the longer run, and partly to give you fet some breathing time.  I'm also thinking of your foot pain, and trying to think if that migth be related to compression in your bike shoes.  But it doesn't seem to bug you on long rides, so it might just be one of those unpredicatble happenings that nails you form time to time.

Back to the swim, it could've easily have been long.  T & C aren't too exact about measuring courses, and two instances that galled me were (1) at the inaugural Canadian Iron, where the run was 1.5 miles LONG ( I think that was the apologized-for figure: I've tried to block it out of my memory bank), and (2) the '07 Canadian Half, where the run was something like 600m short (thus unofficially depriving me of my all-time fastest HIM), effectively changing my posted finish time of 5:07 to a 5:10 or so, had the run been an actual 21.1km.  GRRR!  GRRR!

And as we talked about on the phone, 135 is just too many for a wave, especially with teh shape of that course.  But I'm sure that without those extra mats, it's easier to keep tracjk of times when everyone starts at once, as opposed to divvying the athletes into tidier waves.  Grrr!

Yeah, that long run......

I did both Nat Cap and Canadian as unofficial aquabikes (menaing I just stopped after the bike, that they weren't designated as aqbks that year) in '06, the year of my torn meniscus, and you can imagine how nervous I was running form the water to T1 on a knee that it was questionable to be running on.  Gulp!  (But it worked out fine, apparently being mostly self-healed by then.)

That new run course must've been nasty for sun, a real change from the old course which was at least 60% shaded.  But at least you avoided the hillishness of the old course, and plus the new course had the sprinkler samaritans in the neighborhoods (okay, okay, neither of those plusses balances out relentless sun....)

Yup, it's mean to have to do that climb just to head back out on the second loop.  I think they could get rid of that pretty easily if they felt so inclined and just add on some sistance at the turnaround.....but NOOOOOOOOO!

About your feet again:

Think about taking them out of your shoes once or twice during During Canadian, especially if it's hot.  One good place to do this is between Bank Street Bridge and Pretoria, where you did the turnaround.  Yes, you'll lose a bit of time getting out of shoes and then weaseling back into them, but if it saves you from mega-blisters, it's worth it.  It's obvious that you have twice as many miles in which to agitate your skin, so preventiveness is paramount.

To this end, you could try (a) smearing Vaseline on the insides of your shoes wherever there might be "hot spots", and definitely where you got the blisters on Saturday, (b) taking the extra 15-20s in T2 to coat your feet REALLY WELL with BodyGlide, or (c) carrying one or two of those packets of BG "liquified powder" with you on the run.  I had one at a HIM in '09, and by gosh, I used at about mile 10.5.  They have no profile and weight next to nothing, so they are highly portable.  In fact, i carry one on all of my spring/summer/fall runs, which are always sockless --- just in case!  if you have trouble finding the stuff, i have some I can get to you before the race -- maybe a motel drop-off again!

Finally, congrats on being loosey-goosey before the race.  That is THE best time of a race scene, just milling about and chatting with people.  I think most people are looking for an excuse to lighten up and loosen up, so they appreciated someone who is smiling and chatty and doesn't appear to have a care in the world.  And look -- you got an awesome French braid out of it!!

Great report, and now that I've read it once I'll read it again and see what I may have missed.  (And I apologize for glossing past it previously!)

I missed both Triathlon's except to see Simon's fall (multiple times) and the 1st 10 finishers of the Men's in replays.  I did see a young American girl win a gold in her gymnastics event yesterday. 

Today I did a Sprint "dry-run".  I wasn't surprised that I was painfully slow.  Unfortunately, I don't think there is much I can do to get faster at this late date.

Swim - 750m - I swam without my wetsuit which really seemed to slow me down.  My rough timing was 26:48 which I'm sure was a bit high.  Maybe the shirt I wore created enough drag to add considerably to my slow pace.

T1 - I wore a shirt and tri-shorts in the water so when I came out I just had to put on my cycling shoes (no socks).  In all my readings on T1 I've never come across anything on how to deal with sand on the feet before putting on shoes.  I spent 8 minutes here but 4minutes were chatting with a fellow I usually swim with and his Dtr-I-L.  Maybe it was more than 4minutes?

Bike - 20.55Km in 49:23 was also slow although fair for me.  I felt comfortable and worried about saving my legs for running.  I didn't include any big hills in my ride so I might be a bit slower if there is a big hill on the actual event.

T2 - I just had to switch shoes so 4minutes went pretty fast.

Run - 5Km in 39:58 was slow even for me but when I started running my legs felt a bit heavy but I was pleased to find no complaints other than slowness.  I was able to maintain my slow pace for the entire distance.  I do hope I can pick up some speed from running with other competitors in an actual event.  It won't make a big difference but a few minutes would be nice.

At the end my Garmin said I finished at 10:29:50 which I thought was funny because my birthday is 10/29/'50.  I was disappointed with my overall time because I wanted to beat 2hrs but I was somewhere around 2:08

I was tired and glad to stop running.  I think a bit of experience will help me speed up a bit.  I still had energy to go on so maybe I should've pushed harder and that might be easier to do in an event with other people to compete with.

ANNE again -

Just went back to my "07 log, and the run at The Canadian Half was 1.6km SHORT!!!  So, that changes my 5:07 to close to 5:15, maybe 5:14:30?  i don't think i ever figured it out, like took my run pace for 19.5km in 1:43:56, and thyen added that to the "official" finish time of 5:07:23.  i think I'll do that now ---- bring some closure to the debacle! 

ANNE once more -

It woulda been a 5:15:55, I think, had it been measured right, with the run being 1:52:28.  Oh, well.

How a run along Colonel By could've been mismeasured by that mush, I don't know.   In subsequent email exchanges, several people thought Terry's claim of 1.6km was too high, that it was more like 1km.  i could actually believe that, given how I felt that day.....but I ended up putting Terry's 1.6 in my log.....and so be it.  (Ancient histroy at this point, yes?)

Grrrr!

GEORGE -

Really well done on the sprint "dry-run".  Those sorts of efforts shouldn't be done frequently, but at the point you're at now -- perfect!  It gave you idea of what to expect, both in terms of speed and comfort.

Remember that, come race day, adrenaline will have a lot to say about how things go.  Most people feed quite nicely on it, and that, combined with aid stations on the raun, usually make things easier and more pleasurable.  Hopefully, some of that will help improve some of the "painfully slow" aspects of the dry-run, but if not --- then time will continue to help you forge improvements.

I have to leave in a minute or two, but for now (and I will return later) just a couple of quickies:

• Depending on the top you wore, it could've created a lot of drag on the swim.  One of the reasons I went with the swim-skin last Saturday was to eliminate drag from my top.  The ones I have are quite form-fitting anyhow.....but noty enough to majke me worry about armholes, say, flapping in the water.  At least half the guys were topless in the swim, and that's an attempt to get drag down to the bare (as it were....) minimum.  the downside to that, of course, is the loss of time trying to wrestle a top onto their wet torsos, although in the U.S., it is legal for men to ride and run topless.  (I don't know about B.C., but I think in Ontario it is a DQ offense to not wear a top on the bike and run.)
• I don't worry about sand in my cycling shoes.  Within a short while it all dries and then sifts to the bottom, and I am never aware of it.  Now, i go sockless and maybe that helps, but even with socks....it's just sand.  I do make a quick attempt to scrape any extra off my feet as I shuffle there at my rack, but it really is justa  scrape-scrape.  Also, i will maybe stand on my wetsuit while putting on my helmet, just hoping some of the sand or dirt or twigs or leaves comes off better when in contact with wet neoprene.  And I NEVER take any care with the wetsuit beyond making sure it is out of my way and the way of anyone around me.  At most, i just give it a swift kick to move it along!
• You'll see people with little buckets or trays of water, na they take the time to rinse and dry their feet before putting on their cycling shoes.  if you do this, you sure won't be alone, but as I said in the preceeding point, I find any extraneous attention to sandy feet just unnecessary.  Going sockless on the bike WILL help, but do do this at Apple or Summerside if you haven't tried it several times before.  I have very gnarly feet, both beaten-up and heavily calloused, so I can mostly do stuff sockless with impunity.  But it took me a few years to get to that point, or at leat the sense of "impunity"!
• Being comfortable, and saving the legs for running, are both KEY elements, so you played the bike part really well.  It is always a crapshoot as to how hard to go on the bike while still ebing able to run (either "well, or "at all") off the bike.  A lot of that knowledge will develop over time, but for now, for you, being slightly conservative on the bike will make the run more enjoyable.  And if all you felt was heaviness, well, that's okay.  I often use the word "ponderous" when my legs aren't working as well as I want them to when running off the bike, and I guess that and heaviness are about the same.  
• Mainatining a steady pace is GREAT, even if the pace is slower than desired!  It shows you have managed your effort and energy quite well, and over time you can just work at getting incrementally faster on both the bike and the run while maintaining a solid, steady pace.  Nice!
• 2:08 is fine, and you now have a benchmark time if you ever do a faux sprint on that same course.  And remember to account for those transition times -- especially the yakkety first one!  (There's four-plus minutes right there!)
• Finally, having the energy to go on --- OUTSTANDING!!!!!

There -- Lynn's not back yet, so I was able to finish.  Halleloo!

STEVE (or GANG) -

1. My darn Garmin Forerunner 305 is on its last legs. It only has about 3hrs of battery life once fully charged. I've tried everything, including making sure its battery is fully drained before I charge it to see if the charge would last longer, to no avail. I now need to buy another training computer. Not sure whether to buy the 310xt, or go for the 910xt. My plan is to continue with triathlon for as long as my body will allow me, so whatever I buy will be used until it finally wears-out. Anyway, I think DAVE just made this same decision, but I don't have time to go find what page his conversation/decision unfolded so if anyone has suggestions/thoughts....

2. Still not sure about nutrition/hydration. Maybe I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but I don't think my bento box will hold all the food I'm going to need while on the bike during a HIM (assuming that I will only be eating solid foods such as Cliff Mojo Bars, and Sport Beans on the bike and gels on the run - the gels can be grabbed for the run at T2 so I don't have to carry them on the bike). I apparently need a lot of food because I actually get very hungry while riding to the point that my stomach starts growling. I have a long, organized benefit ride coming-up this weekend and I'm going to experiment with taking all of the nutrition I will need instead of utilizing the rest stops' nutrition. I'll see how that goes. Maybe I'm overestimating how much nutrition I will need, especially if I eat a hearty breakfast. As for hydration, I'm sure the temps will be in the high 80's or thereabouts on race day, so I'm not sure if two 24 ounce bottles of water/Nuun are going to be enough. I've seen people with hydration packs mounted between their aerobars, as well as bottles in their cages. Would this be an option? I'm also planning on taking a couple of Endurolyte capsules throughout the day to augment electrolytes lost through my profuse perspiration.

3. I saw someone at Target wearing a Toad Suck Tri finisher's shirt the other day - it was from 5 years ago, and the wearer said it's still one of her favorite t-shirts. I want, I want!

4. I've looked at my entire training plan leading up to the HIM. My longest run is for 1.5 hours, which, since I'm so slow, translates into about 7 miles for me. This concerns me as I remember training for my half marathon and at about mile 8 is when my body started hurting the first few times I ran 10+ miles. It's almost as if my body needed to get used to all the jarring. How will such short training runs translate over into race day running? Especially after 56miles on the bike? 

Am I over-thinking all of this? 

TRINA -

ANNE gave you some phenomenal answers, and hers to your last question is so bang-on that I will only say "I second it!!"

Actually, I'll say more, such as ask where your plan is.  You have probably told me this, but like many things....I may have forgotten.  I'd just like to look at how it stacks up for the runs, and see how much latitude there is for change.  What are we looking at now -- about seven weeks (Sept 22, is it?).  That would give some time to adjust the runs to get you going longer, which wuld be helpful -- especially with ther mile 8 problem-point hanging over you.

Where are you at now with mileage, and also -- when exactly was your HIM, and what was your longest run going into it?  Also, are you currently dealing with any niggles or wonks in your lower body?

Moving on to nutrition/hydration, again ANNE has a good thought in a top with pockets.  A lotta stuff can be put in pockets ---- and if you go through it quickly, it doesn't seem such an encumbrance!

Beyond that, look into an open-top aerobottle ( wait -- do you have aerobars??) that would fit between your bars; Profile Design makes the standard one.  As I said to DAVE a few days ago, I use mine for water AND storage, as in sticking my gels in there, and then replacing the empty packets there.  But i have also carried a baggy with "stuff" in it, such as baby potatoes and energy bars, and the benefit of useing the baggy is to ensure that stuff doesn't get wet. 

Think too about taping things to your top tube.  The Bento Box might take up a lot of room.but you can always squeeze one or two other items in there.  Plus, there's always you bars on which to tape something or other.

I'll also agree with ANNE about not waiting until you're hungry --- and definitely don't wait until you're thirsty!!!  I go back and forth with your eat/drink protocol, sometimes worrying that you do those things borderline too much, but if it's a hot day you'll want to err on the side of too much.  I think.

I'll be back!

TRINA again -

I had to take a phone call, and posted so i wouldn't lose anything!

As it turns out, the only thing left to say is that -- again agreeing with ANNE -- you are NOT overthinking ANYTHING.  Keep thinking it all through, and just make sure that you have yourself covered in terms of carbohydrates and electrolytes for the duration, and protein from about two hours on.  The protein needn't be fancy, but just something here and there so that your system doesn't cannibalize protein from your body.  Seriously!

STEVE,

Are you drowning up there???    Lots of rain here the last couple of days.  Hoping it settles down for tomorrow, but not likely.  

Don't normally let anyone see my race pictures but Ken can't stop laughing at my run photos saying it is definitely NOT the face of a 10km runner - huge smile on my face in all of them!    I REALLY have to start trying to look more like a serious runner.  

www.zoomphoto.ca

Think you just have to click on the race event and then type my name in. 

TRINA -

A few quick fueling thoughts now, running thoughts later:

• For the Profile Design Aero bottle: yes, that's what I do, except the spongy thing the bottle comes with is what prevents the baggy or gel packes from sinking.  It's impressive what all can be janmmed/crammed into the top of a P.D. aero bottle!
• I AM A HUGE FAN OF MOJO BARS!!!!!!!!!!!  First, they satisfy much of my need for salty, especially in the face of so much formulated sweet (i.e., gels and energy drinks).  I cannot tell you how quickly sweetness wears on me in a half-iron; well, yes, i can -- about halfway through the bike.  Second, their nutritional profile is excellent.  Depending on the flavor, you get the following ranges per bar:  Carbs, 18-21g; Protein. 8/9g; Sodium, 180-220mg; Potassium, 125-175mg; Magnesium, 8-10%.  (Those are excluding the white choc.macademia nut one, which isn't as solid, nutritionally, as the others.
• If I had to choose just one fro nutritional purposes only, it would be Mountain Mix, which is21g carb, 8g protein, 200mg sodium, 180mg potas, 10% magnes.   Peanut Butter Pretzel (my fave for taste) weighs in at 20, 9, 220, 125, and 8, following the order previously.
• Mojo bars are one of the few formuklated energu foods that i can eat lots of, and if you are the same, then you'll give yourself a good, safe nutritional edge.  I find P.B.P to be the saltiest and M.M. to be the sweetest (those chocolate bits!!!!!!! [and raisins, too, I believe]}, so the two as a tag-team keep me satified and tickled too!

A bit of redemption in the pool this PM.  Did a PR for 1000 yards in 23:43 vs. 23:51 a couple of months back.  Was actually a lot better than that as I didn't decide to turn up the heat until the 4th 100 when I was feeling OK.  Even then just increased my turnover and focused on staying long.  Gotta get my head squared away on the OWS -- clear that I can swim and it's not a physical issue!

Also on the positive side have been running 2-3 miles each day this week really easy.  HR is awesome and legs feel great.

Plan is to finish out 2012 slow and steady, do a round of P90x come January (never done it before), and get back to the tri training in April.  Not sure how much I'll race in 2013, but not really that important -- happy with the healthiness of exercise and the results I'm seeing.

Have a great weekend all.

Just a bit nervous.  Just spent $95 on the Kelowna Apple Sprint Triathlon.  Then I had a look at last years results.  I'll be pretty far back but I'll still have a good time.

Had a nice swim today.  The lake was warm at 75deg F but I wore the wetsuit anyway.  My rough timing for the swim was :46 for 1800m.  Getting to be a lot of swim/bike/runners out getting ready for Ironman.  It'll keep getting busier each day from here on.

CURT -

Nice swim; a mid-season PR effort is always sweet!  Good commitment to running, too.  Am i guessing the day or two you took off a couple weeks ago helped?

Did you see my thoughts on OWS?  They were from about four or five days ago, I think.  (Your race was last weekend, yes?) (I seem to be having trouble keeping track of time!)

P90x??  Hmmm.  Seeems like I should know what that refers to.....but right now I can't nab it from my memory bank.  I'm giving myself until this evening to try to remember what it is (if indeed I ever knew!), and then if nothing surfaces ---- I will google it!

Good weekend to you, too!

GEORGE -

Woo-hoo!  Congrats on signing up for Apple!  But from now on until race day, don't think at all about last year's results.  Not only was that then, and maybe it was a perfect day, or maybe the course was mismeasured.....but at any rate, you weren't there, then.  But this year----- there you'll be!

The first few races of one's career are almost always exploratory efforts, so if you keep your focus on "fun", and maybe "learning", you'll have a fine day out there.

Good swim too, and I wonder --- at this point, might you want to try a couple of smaller ones that are more in keeping with the distances of your two races?  if so, you could try to increase arm turnover just a bit, and see if you can access any further speed.  But this is just a random thought, and nothing that I would advocate to be set in stone.  If you are perfectly content with your long swims, then keep doing them!

Yup, the pre-IMC deluge should be coming real soon!

ANNE -

Ya gotta love Zoom, don't you -- 39 images of you, a few less of Ken.  Granted, many of them are part of rapid-fire clicking and very similar to the one a millisecond before, but still -- an image is an image is an image!

Well, Ken is right -- you really have to stop looking happy for the camera.  The odd scowl is perfectly appropriate.......a grimace....a gnashing of teeth.  Anything except that "I'm happy, happy, HAPPY!" smile!

All joking aside, your form suggests that you are indeed running happy, with no indication of suffering at all.  If you had told me it was a 5km run on a day with a gentle breze and temps in the mid-60s, I would've  believed you.  Overall, the photos are really fine, and I'm guessing that you're quite pleased with them, yes?

Yup, lots of rain up here, with more to follow over the next few days.  I guess it's good to have, but a bit to late to reverse drought effcts in our gardens.  Oh well.  Great sunflowers, anyhow.

Knees still problematic, scared to bike, scared to run.  I'll do one later, and then prepare to reeturn to be tweaked on Monday.  I'm not sure it'll ever return to the old "happy normal" --- and all becasue I rode far, far too long on chipped/broken cleats.  My float was huge, and my legs got accustomed to it, and now I'm in trouble.  It makes me nuts to see the world full of blissful cyclists........and I'm hurting despite my million miles of riding.  Grrr!

ANNE again -

And all those hot-shot U-19 kids at my first race did indeed affect my USAT points there, so with two races in I'm not at all happy with hwere I'm at.  Fronhofer will be good, though, I think.........but I sure can't afford to have my season end now.  ARRGGGHHHH!!!!!

(And breathe.............)

YES, BREATHE!!!!!  Hate (oops, there it is again) to see you get worked up on those points.  I really don't think they tell the true story.  

I really will try to do some more grimacing during my runs, but I have a feeling it is just habit because I used to make myself  smile even when working hard because it actually tricks the body into being a 'happy' body.   

I have my race day plan complete and tested out the run plan on a brief 3km indoor track yesterday.   Did another 3km walk to test out the toes and heel blister.   Also used some new Injinji toe socks.    Even without my Garmin for pacing, I was almost bang on to my plan. 

We are heading out shortly for a 2.5hr run and I will test it outside.   Hoping we don't get rained on because apparently it's the wet feet that is the primary cause of blisters and then with heat and swelling feet, the toe on toe frictions causes the blister.   I don't think the problem starts on the bike - my tri shoes are mostly open and feet stay dry. 

Moved a 5hr bike ride from today to tomorrow.    You know how much I don't like riding in the rain.  

Sorry the knees are still aggravating.   You didn't say which pedals/cleats you use.   I really like the Speedplay - they are like 100% float. Ken had knee problems before and I suggested he try them and they seemed to have helped.