Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 18)

By how much? I think we had this discussion a while ago and the drag was something like seconds... Personally, I wouldn't change my current setup over it.

On shorter rides I just drink if I feel like it, but on long rides when I'm practicing hydration and nutrition and also during an HIM I try to stay on a schedule. I have my Garmin set to beep periodically to remind me because otherwise i forget and don't drink enough. I think it's because I don't notice my thirst on the bike because the breeze helps keep me cool.

I know Kristen has the Cap2Cap Ride this weekend. Is anyone else racing? This group is hard to keep up with!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Same here, for longer rides, esp a race I will make myself takes sips periodically, as my thirst receptors are not always that accurate and my I sweat like a pig!

I was doing it 3+ times per week during the off season.  I have a gym close to my work so would do little workouts on my lunch hour but then it closed and now I do nothing.  Though even if it hadn't closed I'd probably only do a full body strength session - broken in to two sessions - once a week.

I drink by thirst but on longer rides I'm aware of how many bottles I've had. 

I eat by the clock.  I know for me - on anything longer than 1:20 I need to start taking in calories.  So after the 1:30 mark I'll take a gel or a date then and again every 45 minutes.  It's interesting that when I don't pay attention - I can feel my body starting to slog and sometimes I've waited too long.  So I try to be aware of the time and especially in races - sometimes you just don't feel like eating on the bike I find.

I have two on my frame and a dual seatpost water cage at the back.  I don't use the latter when racing - just long training rides.  I tend to be on country roads and can't always count on there being a store around when I need a refill so...  They can be awkward to use though without stopping. My experience anyway.

People talk about "practicing hydration for race day" and yet the conditions of a training ride and race day conditions can vary HUGELY. Even conditions on race day can vary. When I started my HIM ride it had just stopped raining and was a bit cool.. After one hour the sun was out and it was hotter than hades.

Practicing drinking on a certain schedule, that just doesn't quite make sense to me. 

I think what is most important is being in tune with your body and making sure you have easy access to beverage. 

Also GU is awesome to have on the bike, and easy to store. 

Wow...lots to catch up on.

Fred - Glad things didn't escalate, but yeah, I *try* to not give the bird anymore.  I think I did once this year, but that was to a fedex truck...so I sort of knew that he wouldn't escalate things unless he wanted to lose his job.  But even after that, I realized I shouldn't have done it anyway.

Regarding computer mounts after using BTA setup.  I use the profile design universal computer mount, but I put it WAY up front near my shifters.  I had to undo my bar tape to put it there, then wrap the bar tape back around the mount.  So plenty of room for my bottle, and an awesome viewing angle for my computer.  I would keep my computer there even if I didn't have a bottle BTA.

Hydration schedule...I drink to thirst.  I suppose you could say I have a mental schedule that I should drink every Xish minutes even if I'm not thirsty, but I also don't really believe in setting hard "barriers" (if that's the right word) in any part of my training or racing.  So much of being a successful endurance athlete is being able to adapt, adjust, and be flexible.  Conditions are never going to be the same, or exactly what we expect them to be.  Some days you're on...some days you're off.  While having a ridgid plan can help people get in the ball park, maximizing your training and racing will require some wiggle room.  This is why having a experience makes a difference.  It's also why having a coach (or self coaching) is better than simply following an online plan. 

I'll buy two bottles of Gatorade with the flip cap lid and I'll dilute 1/2 of one with water (variety).  I'll sip those until the bottle exchange and then get two new bottles of whatever they have.  

I find the bottles fit in the rear holder very tightly making it a bit hard to get them in and out so I don't like to wrestle with it while moving.  It's a recipe for an accident with me!!!  But on long training rides I'll store extra bottles there and swap them around at the 1/2 way mark.  On hot days I'll freeze the rear ones so they're melted at the 1/2 way mark vs. being sickly warm.

Regarding core work.  I don't do any.  I think a strong core is important to any athlete, but at the same time, the core muscles we need to S/B/R are worked when we train S/B/R.  If I had additional time in my day to add more training...I'd probably bike more...maybe swim more.  I'd need to have a lot of free time before I actually put core work into my schedule on a regular basis because I feel adding more SBR will lead to faster times.

Now...that being said, if you do have core issues, and are experiencing discomfort in your back/core while training and racing (or while sitting at your desk), then by all means...address the issue because it may allow you to SBR more, or simply live your daily life with less discomfort.  But since I don't feel like I have any issues with my core currently, I don't see the need to work on it more than I already do in normal training.

Scott, this is awesome! Question for the group, how often do you do core/strength training?

And this is exactly why people need to consider their own strengths, weaknesses, goals, etc before taking broad stroke advice.

Hi Fred - thanks for the PM, but I see the groups now closed, if I am too late I understand; if still in time then bio below, thanks, Mark.

 NAME: username: markhodges1973/ first name: Mark Hodges

 STORY: I wasn’t really into sports as a kid. Coming from the UK there wasn’t much pressure to be involved either at school
or socially. During College and my single life, sport was an excuse to drink beer from the comfort of a Pub. Come my thirties I thought keeping fit meant running after my growing children. After moving to the US with work I went to watch a College friend who was travelling the USA participating in ‘Triathlons’ – as you all know I had a reality check and was hooked as a spectator. I spent the next two years ‘researching’ triathlon and started with a couch-running program, then added in swimming and finally biking. This culminated in 2012 being my first year as an official Triathlete!

 FAMILY STATUS: Married to Karen for 10 yrs. Have two girls, Chloe (14) and Libby (9) and Cockapoo, Molly.

 CURRENT TRAINING: I am currently following the Time Crunch Triathlete program for Olympic distance. Come June 10^th
I start my free BT HIM plan and already SO excited! I need to focus more on OWS rather than just pool. Also converted to the MAF method of running and surprised to see the improved results, so will continue to run at these laboriously slow paces :-)

 THIS YEAR'S RACES: One sprint completed; my first Olympic is in four weeks. I will likely participate in another oly and sprint (all OWS) before the HIM in October.

 2012 RACES: 1 x indoor sprint; 3 x outdoor sprints.

 WEIGHTLOSS: I was 210lbs when I started researching, now at 170lbs which seems to be my ideal weight. I recently
changed to a paleo type diet which seems to be good for me right now – I sometime dip under 170 but quickly bounce back.

 GOALS for 2013: Have fun! Injury prevention (weight training, warm up/down, dynamic stretching –focus on hips); improve
nutrition; train more consistently; increase race distance to Olympic and finish year on HIM.

On strength training, my plan is 2x's a week but I can tell you that is the first thing to get cut if time won't allow.  Last two weeks it has been almost none existent with the hamstring sprain (at least that is what the doctor said, if I have to run for the race this weekend then only do short strides.)

My only OWS practice before the race on Sunday was cancelled due to getting 4+ inches of rain yesterday and major thunderstorms. I am going to try to go out to the lake by myself today and just practice in the shallow areas. (I fellow triathlete was going to go with me yesterday.)

I am basically following the rule: survive the swim, rock the bike and don't hurt myself on the run. Even though the distance is the same as my last race I don't expect a PR due to the fact that the bike course on the last race was a bit short. (They said 8 miles, it was more like 7.3) Keep in under an hour and not hurt myself and I will be happy. The main reason I am doing this race is for the OWS experience and it is only 200 yds.  Water temp is supposed to be about 72 F but my wetsuit isn't here yet so I will be going without it. (It is only 200 yds.)

I really want to get more OWS practice in the next few weeks since my next race is 600 OWS the first weekend of June (provided I don't hurt myself this weekend.) Registration deadline is Wednesday so I figured I would wait till after this weekend.

Hydration: I am a new to all this so I haven't figured it out.  All I know is I usually have to pee after the bike. (I just took the time during the run course in my last tri). I didn't even drink barely any on my long ride last weekend and I still had to pee after 15 miles.  I got lucky and there are restrooms at the swap meet that I ride by on that particular route and just stopped there.

Suggestions? I have to stay hydrated but finding the balance is hard.

I reread my comment and hope it didn't come off as "standoff-ish."  If so, I apologize as that was not the intent, but more to agree that everyone chooses to do things differently based on their own priorities.  That's not limited to strength or core work, but why we even participate in the sport to begin with.  Some try to get to Kona, some try to simply get to the finish line.  Some prefer straws to remind them to drink, and some despise them for their unaeroness. 

In any case, we as a group are here to help each individual reach their own personal goals.  I'm certainly not here to have everyone strive for my goals.  If that were the case, you'd all be crappy swimmers.  LOL.

Interesting, and good, 10-mile run today.  During my training for my last marathon (Eugene), I chose to follow a Maffetone-ish methodology, doing all(most all) my training runs at or below what was termed LHR or Low Heart Rate.  Calculating this out for me, LHR came out to 143 bpm.  This strategy worked well for me as I had a 26 minute PR there. 

I went back and checked my training log and for any run of 10+ miles the best average pace I could acheive without exceeding the LHR threshold was 9:27.  My run today had an average pace of 8:52.  And that was after a 2500 yd swim this morning.  I was really surprised to see this as my running volume is WAY lower than during the marathon training, but it really speaks to the aerobic benefits coming from the swim and bike aspects I guess.  Early thinking for my HIM run pace was to be <9:00, but I may be able to be more aggressive if this type of performance holds up.  Have any of you seen a similar type of improvement when coming from a run background?  If so, how can I expect it to progress?