Elaine's Awesome Start to 2012 Group! - Closed! (Page 18)

I've wanted to do Norseman since I saw it:

http://www.nxtri.com

Swim leg:

• 3,8 kilometers in the Hardangerfjord. The water temperature is expected to be between 15,5 to 17,5 degrees Celsius.
• Wetsuit is mandatory.
• Water-start after getting out of the boat.

Bike leg:

• 180 kilometers from Eidfjord, up Måbudalen, highway 7 over Hardangervidda to Geilo, highway 40 down Numedalen and over to Tessungdalen.
• Transition zone (T2) is in Austbygde.

Running:

• 42,2 kilometers from Austbygde, via Rjukan and up to the top of Gaustatoppen. This means 25 kilometers fairly flat and 17,2 kilometers with an extreme climb up to 1.850 meters.

Total distance: 226 kilometers. (140.4 miles)

Wow,

That Norseman Tri looks ......like a piece of cake!  I just sent our PR director an email saying that if my company sponsors me, I'll do it!  He's from Denmark and was on the Danish national Triathlon team, he may have done that race himself.  I think he's done 8 Ironman races total.

I doubt the company would sponsor me but hey, it doesn't hurt to ask

I've been to Denmark 5 times, all work related so the next business trip.....hmmmmmm

Hi all. Need to drop in more often. Sounds like everyone is off to a good start. I have a marathon this sunday and can't wait. I am really ready to have it behind me. I miss my bike!

I got sick last weekend and have been on a flu induced taper. Finally did a little work last night and felt ok. Should be fine by sunday. I didnt lose any weight and seem to have stayed hydrated. Who knows. Just trying to stay positive.

Reece - you're right! It never hurts to ask!

Jimmy - best of luck this weekend! I felt the same way before my marathon! I wish you cool temperatures, overcast sky, and a positive attitude through it all. Remember - smile! Even if you're hurting. You can trick yourself into thinking that you're not hurting as much I think the best advice I got was that it's a 10k race with a 20 mile warmup. That last 6.2 will feel as tough as the first 20.

Don't be afraid of going a little carb heavy from here on out - stay hydrated and rest up!!

Happy Friday everyone!!

Good luck in your marathon this weekend, Jimmy! Can we track you?

Anyone else racing this weekend?

I am on the fence about a local 5K trail race tomorrow. I wasn't going to race this weekend, then I learned last night I am in the lead of our Runners Club Grand Prix! So I may run!

Do the 5K Phillip!  Then do a 2 or 3 mile recovery run.  Then with your long run on Sunday you'll stay #1 in the Grand Prix standings

I just got my Pearl Izumi Tri Fly III Carbon shoes in the mail yesterday.  They fit perfectly!  I already feel faster on the bike and in transition.  Carbon makes you fast, right?

Lots happened this week! But Ill start off with the bad. Haven't done any training in 3 weeks. My motivation has really been slacking and then I was fighting off a cold. But back to it because that's what one must do.

I decided to get a second gym membership so I have access to a step mill ( I have a stair race in April), a pool (so I can swim for this triathlon I want to do) and spin classes ( for the same triathlon). I hate conventional gyms. My first membership is a MMA gym where I do kickboxing and crossfit so its bear bones outside of heavy bags, boxing rings and kettle balls. I met with a trainer just because it was included and yes guy I know my endurance is good but I have no strength.  So that's something I do want to work on. More so through crossfit than machines at the gym but I can switch it up.

Funny thing is I ran on the treadmill as a warm up and it was very uncomfortable.  Much more so than running outside.  Ill stick with outside thanks.  And hit 9 miles this morning.  Took it easy since my half marathon is next Sunday. Im not planning to race it, because I havent been training but I know it will be fun since I will be in New Orleans.

I finally got some air in my tires for my bike.  I know it sounds crazy but I had no idea about Presta values and twisting off the cap to get the air in.  So thats how much of a newbie I am.  But its done. Now to get on the bike.  Its been cold so I am going to get it some spin classes.  My training group also does spin classes and I can get my bike on a trainer to actually get used to my gears.  I never thought of that until someone mentioned it and I became excited!

So I am going to sit down and put together some real training plans after my half and getting a stupid tooth pulled.  I dont think Ill do the Iron Girl in May but I can see myself in a tri in June. I may still sign up if it doesnt sell out and my swimming/biking  really take off in March when I put a lot more effort towards it.

Thanks guys for all your motivation and support!!

michelle, 

Sounds like you are getting together a good plan.   Which Tri do you want to do?   I find it really helps setting a plan when I pick a race so i can plan out my weeks to race time.   A spin class will be great for building in some strength and riding time.    i saw huge improvements in my wifes riding after spin.    Keep it up and feel free to ask the questions,  I wish I could post all my ah ha moments as a new triathlete, there would be lots.     What am I saying there still are lots!!!   

Michelle, I am with Dave, pick a race, then you have a goal to work towards!

Jen, you are going to rock that 70.3!

My volunteering at the race went great! If you have never volunteered at I race I would encourage you to do so! It really opened my eyes to how much work goes into making a race run, and run smoothly!

Good question.  I have two watches with HRM and have never used either.  I was on a stationary bike a few weeks ago which has the built in HRM that picks up your pulse when you grip the bars.  I was going at it pretty hard, 25-26 mph on the screen, and the reistance was pretty high, I could only maintain that for say 3-4 minutes and my HR was only 130-135.  I have no idea what my Zones are or lactate thresholds are etc. but that seems kind of low.  Maybe I'm missing something too.

I like to keep things simple however, don't want to be messing with gadgets, just go out there and work hard etc.

Interesting topic as it came up in my training group on Saturday! A runner was saying he follows his heart rate and sticks with it to make sure he stays within his fat burning zone.  If he goes to hard and see it goes up he slows down and bring it back down to range. 

I myself never thought to use HR training. My question is if you always stay within that range how are you pushing yourself forward?  Now the guy was an older gentleman so he may be at a point where he wants to maintain his fitness and maybe it makes sense for maintenance.  But I know if Im doing intervals my heart rate is NOT within any kind of normal zone.

I do not use a HRM.  I believe a person needs to listen and feel their body.   I know what my heart rate feels like at my tempo runs and my interval runs.   I have some team mates that follow their monitors and seem to have very consistant races.   It is hard to get them to push on hard days to get off the heart rate monitor. 

Overall advice I think there are benefits to boths ways of training.  Do what works for you, I guess that answer kept me sitting on the fence. 

Great topic!

First of all, if you're interested in using a HRM, here is how you test your Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR), what LTHR means, and how to get zones from there: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=633 Do not to 220-Age or any other estimate. Those will have you working towards numbers that don't make sense for you.

I have one, and I occasionally use it on the bike trainer. If I'm doing a workout similar to Jorge's workouts, he specifies intervals based on HR. (http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=2332). When I do those, I make sure I've done a LTHR test recently, so my zones are accurate, and I print out my zones and try to hit the recommended HR for each interval. 

That said, I often just do interval rides on RPE scale - Rate of Perceived Excretion - which is basically how hard I'm working on a scale of 1-10. Or just Easy, Medium, Hard with a few things in between.

I never use one outside. I'm too focused on cars, potholes, trees, pedestrians and just enjoying the scenery to bother

If you want to use one, you should also check out this article: http://pfitzinger.com/labreports/heartrate.shtml It talks about why your HR varies from day to day, or even by time of day. The reasons discussed there are why I don't really use one for running.

In my opinion, Heart Rate, like many other tools out there, can be useful if used for a guide, but can be detrimental if followed like the law. 

So, is Rate of percieved excretion measured by how much you sweat?  I couldn't resist Elaine