MightyMojoMentorGroup -- (Full House!) (Page 185)

Without thinking about it at all, I have swam (swum?  gone swimming??) the past 13 days.  The total has been about 17km, and my recent swims have all been really good.  Part of this might be the new wetsuit, but a likley contributor is that, every season, I have a "spike" in performance fairly late in the season.  This usually happens in the first couple of weeks of August........but when it didn't hit and didn't hit back then, i figured it wasn't to be this year.  So, whatever has happened recently is most welcome, and hopefully it can extend through whatever races I can manage to string together between now and ---- the end of the season.  (Arrrggggghhhhhh...........)

DAVE -

Intriguing about Eclipse's palns; is that on their website?  i was there last night for late-breaking stuff about Nickel City, but didn't go beyond those pages.

I am still hoping to do N.C., and in my perfect world I would do both -- but worry about the "bike knees".  I went into this past race with sore outer knees........that amgically managed to be mostly all good during therace, and actually since then, too.  I will probably do just one ride this week in prep for Sunday's sprint in Maine (if I do it), figuring I can access good bike speed on a moment's notice on race day (well, that's the plan.......), but whether I can take that "strategy" into the oly at Buffalo is less certain. 

But I desperately want to do at least one oly this season, and besides -- it was last year at N.C. where I went 2;29, but then ended up at 2:31 due to a Position penalty, so I want to avenge that.  Problematic knees aren't the way to do that, though, and so maybe the wise approach is to just settle for the sdprint (which i also did last year -- but penalty-free!)

Any chance you'll be there?

JEFF,

Congrats on your race and that great bike speed!   The comments you made in your recent posts and the race report seem to make sense to me re the bricks, the lag in your stand alone runs vs tri runs, etc.    This is the first year I have ever run in the heat and discovered how it affects performance.  

I don't quite agree with your comment about BEING an embarrasing swimmer because a 2:19 pace is not embarrassing.   When I knock off a 2:20 pace for a swim race, I am quite proud and more often than not puts me middle of the pack.     I am, however, quite OK with you saying you were embarrased by YOUR performance, knowing how much faster you are capable of swimming.    

You should pat yourself on the back.

GEORGE,

CONGRATULATIONS on a great race.   Liked your race report.    Good times all around.   Can really relate to your comments on the run.    No question you are going to get faster in all three disciplines, even if you just keep training and don't work on speed.   I have seen improvements every year since I started.   

Too bad we didn't live closer together - we would be good training partners.    I did 2 sprints with the same distances you did this past race and the hardest was in Edmonton with a time of 1:41:03 and the easiest where I had a time of 1:33:51.   

Good luck with your winter training.

JOHANNE,

Congrats on finishing another HM.   Loved your race report and all the pictures.   What a great way to do a 'race'.   I'll bet that you are going to reap HUGE training benefits from the day.    You have a really healthy attitude towards life.   

DAVE -

Nice photo from Pittsburgh!  (I just got around to looking for it.)  Your running posture is very good - erect, and with high arms and seemingly even alignment - and the apparent absence of any extraneous body fat is enviable. 

And once again, that finishing time is a thing of beauty!

STEVE,

There is a growing bad habit up here (Canada) to provide only three splits, and it amkes me nuts -- and is one big factior why I don't do the local race series. It all comes down to money for the RD, as each mat and its eqyuipment costs a fair bit more. I recognize that, but it reamins imprtant ot me to know EXACTLY how my swim and bike and run times compare with others.......and that's not even remotely possible to determine when T times are included in some combination of S and B and R times. GRRRRRR!!!!!

This drives me crazy too!   And the IM and HIM races on Saturday had ONE split.   REALLY?????   I've used my chrono at all races for years now, because there have also been alot of times where the mats screw up. 

DAVE,

CONGRATULATIONS on ANOTHER GREAT RACE!    I don't know what else to say.   You are just a great athlete, all around.    I can imagine it is a thing of beauty watching you run.  

STEVE,

I know we talked personally about your great race but didn't know all the stats so wanted to congratulate you again on a stellar performance.   You are very inspiring. 

Really appreciated how long you hung around on race day, walking the course with me.     

Thinking about your comments re the bike speed and how it might have affected me, but I don't think it came into play that much.    My 40km speeds have been 28-29km/hr this season; one long sprint (30km bike) with a decent (for me) run off it.   And I have done several 14-17km TT's during training with 32-33 km/hr avg speeds, although not running off them.

I did at least 4 long rides of 75-90km with 25-26 averages and ran 10km or more off them, also OK.

I wasn't pushing myself at all on the bike.   I think the big limiter was my hip getting out of alignment and also the spill I took 2 weeks before the event.   That may have been where the misalignment came about.    That combined with the other big limiter - my mind - didn't help.  

Have an appt with the chiro tomorrow morning, so will let you know what I find out. 

ANNE -

More thoughts to ponder, but as I read your recent one, I see your point about bike speeds and paces.  I will take that under advisement!

Given what all you were physically feeling, I'd say that the fall entered into things to a greater degree than you might've feared.  I'll be very interested in what the chiro thinks about it all!

It was my pleasure to spend that time with you during the race (Irony of ironies, had you been hale and hearty there would've been virtually no talk-time!), and I only regret that I couldn't mobilize myself to return.  I really had carved-out that day for you and Ken......and then along came SkinnyMan.........and the wee-hours awakening......and the long drive both ways........and the dog being tied up from 2:30 a.m...............and it just didn't unfold as planned.  that's whay I'm glad we did the swim and then the breakfast -- some semblance of "quality" time!

I am still thinking about your inner arguments in T2.  That must've been something you never-ever counted on happening, especially the length of time it took you to convince yourself to forge onward.  I have had two similar discussions, one being the DNF at Brierman '08 --- but that one didn't last too long before the sag wagon came along and made the decision that much easier.

The big one was at Columbia '05, when I blew a tube during the swim, fixed in haphazardly, and then flatted again less than a mile into the bike.  It was close enough to transition that I could hear the announcer, and as I struggled and struggled and struggled with the change, and as hordes of bikes kept charging apst me, and I kept struggling, and the bikes continued charging.......oh, I was so tempted to just pack it in.  But I carried on, finally fixed the damn thing, and then rode ANGRY!!!!! over what is a very difficult course.  But due to my ANGER!!!!, it didn't seem bad at all, and I went on to run an ANGRY!!!! run on the toughest of all oly run courses...........and it almost turned out to be a good day!

But, boy oh boy, was my one mind really fierce with my other mind during those almost 20-minutes (I told you I struggled with the change!).  So, I empathize with you, almost fully!

DAVE - 

Thanks so much! I was completely resetting my laps after each set, which chopped-up the GarminConnect data so that I couldn't make much out of the entire workout. I'll try your method next time I hit the pool. And wow, your SWOLF scores are really low! You're a good swimmer! Also, congrats on your race and placing in the top 80+%! 

TRINA -

And now the other "Redperson" has been flushed from their lair; JEFF reappeared yesterday!

How goeth the new coach?  I don't think you've said anything since the day before the planned long phone interview, which I think was going to be a day or two after HnH.  The last post i seem to remember is one about your Garmin........and of course I left that to anyone other myself, seeing as how I know sub-nothing.  I saw DAVE'S response, and that made sense, in a scratch-my-head-because-I-know-nothing kind of way.

ANYHOW. if your cat-nerves stem from fear of injury --- join the club!  The ante gets upped hugely with increased race distances,  partly justifiably physical (all that increased training, you know), and partly psychological ("I've done all this training and what happens if I get hurt and have to bail?!?!?!?").  I've been there many, many, many times, and truth told, i have been a DNS due to injuries.  But the bigger "problem" is the latter one, the psychological, and I put "problem" in q marks because it turns out that, like most things psychological -- it's all in the head.  Meaning -- the body is okay, it's up for the challenge, and come race day it will handle it just (mostly) fine.

So!  Don't get your knickers in a knot quite yet about things, and just keep training smart.  Do not train through pain, and pull the plug on workouts as soon as something seems amiss.  I know full well the temptation you will have to tough out the workouts, but discretion is almost always the better part of valor when hurts happens during long-distance training.

And other than that......how are ya?

JOHANNE -

Ack!  What am I doing wrong??  Anne's post above makes it sounds as if she's seen your Disney stuff, but the blog goes only as far as the Santa Cruz race, and your races link ends well before that.  Huh?

My bad! Try again

JOHANNE -

Too much!  Really!

My favorite photos were the Star Wars one, and the the two of you showing the Shark jaws, and "Mikayla is not impreesed".  Honorable mention goes to Snow White, and maybe to you sticking the left side of your head into the photo in the car (Was Dave driving while taking that photo?!?).

Beyond those photos and the (per usual) scintillating write-up, I have to say that I have never seen a more over-the-top finishers medal.  I'm assuming it's as large as it looks (compared to the shirt), and figure that it must weigh about nine pounds; am I close?

You can imagine how much it bothered me to see the close-up of the Angels' logo....but I'm working to get past that.  The A's also swept them, and I like the A's, so I guess i can't hold it against the Angels too much -- although they are an obnoxiously deep-pocket team (but so are the Red sox), whereas the A's have always been frugal in their operations.

Is there still talk that the A's will end up in San Jose?

ANYHOW, congrats on crafting such a terrifically memorable weekend for yourselves -- and huge thanks for, once again, sharing it with us all!

Dave - my races were stated to be the same distances but one map showed the Summerland run to be 5.4km rather than 5K but then the results show a pace based on 5K so I'm not certain of the actual distance.  I may go back with my Garmin and run the course again to see how long it actually was.

As for Challenge, I've decided to embrace it and see how they do next year.  I'm also considering participating in a relay team.  I'm just not too strong in any event to have much to offer to a team.  I can swim passably well and maybe I can get some faster on the bike.

Steve - There are only two sprints left in this season that I can find so far.  Cultus Lake is this weekend which is a bit too quick.  And, there is a new one: Pavillion Lake Triathlon on Sept 16th which is in the coastal mountains.  The photo of the swim looks like "glacial" waters (thinking iceburgs).  I've driven by the lake in the past and it isn't that bad but it is a long "off the beaten path" ways to go to get there.  I'll look some more to see if there might be something yet in Victoria or Vancouver but I haven't found anything yet.

As far as run training goes, it seems that the only time I have trouble is with any running on concrete.  Even asphalt doesn't seem to be as much of a problem.  I expect if I can continue to slowly increase my time running I'll be able to increase my endurance.  I'm thinking I should try to do a 5 or 10K run this fall.  There are a few runs right up to early December.

Anne - I enjoyed your race report and I really felt bad that I couldn't have helped your low back issues.  You can never have enough training partners eh!  I'd love to show you around the area.

Johanne - Your photos add a lot to your race reports.  I particularly liked the 1st photo and the last.  Your cat reminds me of the commercial in which a cat says,"I love how my fur goes with everything."  And, Now I want to try a HM.

I haven't done any workouts since Sunday but tomorrow I'll go for a swim.  Today we harvested some of our grapes (just a few pounds for personal eating).

STEVE,

I saw your comments to JEFF about the differential between a stand alone run race and a tri-run and 6 minutes being too much.   Just how close should it be? 

I only did two 'real' sprints with a 5km run this year - the Leamington one that was flat but I did have to work hard on the bike because of the wind and the Edmonton race that I also had to work really hard on because of the hills.  

Both had similar bike speeds but the difference in the run pace was big:   Bike at Leamington was 28.66 with only about 2 minutes difference on the run pace from my best 5km pace in June.    Bike at Edmonton was 29 with 6 minutes difference on the run pace from my best 5km.   Any thoughts on why?

ANNE -

Quick response for now:

First, nice photos, especially the top and bottom rows.  Your aero ones look comfy for you (and catch that smile!!), and the bottom left run one shows good form -- but many of the run ones do as well, as that's what i noticed on one of your run efforts during the race itself.  Good photo collection!

Second, i'm not sure what teh differential should be, especially for sprints, cuz i've never done a stand-alone 5km.  But for olys, my best stand-alone 10km are 42-44 range..........and I hope for 45-47 for the 10km in an oly.  So I guess I accept a 3' diff for 10km, in which case it would be less for a sprint -- maybe 2'?  I think my best sprint run was 21:30 (and that sub-22 time just happened once), with the ones that please me being in the 22-range.  I doubtt I could ever go sub-20 for a stand-alone 5km.but would hope for, oh, maybe 20:23??

Thinking back to olys, I had two stand-alone 10km that were low-42, and those were about six or seven years ago.  Could I do that now?  Probably not.  So let's say it's at about 43:30 now, and I have done a few olys in the past few yars with runs around 45-46, so maybe that's what i expect --- along about 2-3 minutes.

All that said, I don't put much stock in my stand-alone run times being any indicator of what can be done in a triathlon -- unless I pretty much concede the bike entirely.  The longer I do this stuff (and the more I push the limits on the bike), the further away any "dream" becomes of matching stand-alone runs.  I could do a whole sequence of 10km runs in 43:30, but as long as I'm trying to do rides >21mph, and on rolling/hilly courses.................I will not nail a sub-44 oly run.

For half-irons, the diff is larger by a lot.  I did that stand-alone half-marathon close to two years ago in 1:37, wheras HIMs I did in '09 and '10 saw me do the 21.1km in around 1:54.  granted, thsoe two HIM featured hilly ruin courses while the stand-alone was quite falt, but still -- it was about a 17-minute differential for both HIM run compared with the stand-alone.  But, jeez --- riding 56miles pre-run will have that effect, right? 

ANNE again -

The best I can come up with on those two different differentials is that the muscles you used at Edmonton, and the amount of hill-force required of them, were significantly different from how you used your muscles at windy Leamington.  I'm sure that would be the case for me.  and, as well, I suspect there was more pressure on your to perform well at Edmonton, so is it possible that your pushed the bike there harder than at Leamington?  I will continue to contemplate this!

Thanks for mentioning the photos.   I hadn't seen them yet.   Actually sort of like them for a change.     What's with the crazy heel strike in that one photo! 

Thanks for the thoughts on the run pacing.  I'm thinking 2' max on a sprint.  

I was right about the hips - left SI joint -  would have been a REALLY easy fix had I gone to him the minute I sensed it, but with 2 1/2 weeks of s/b/r with the left hip dropped, the muscles have tightened and shortened, causing the feeling of sacrum being 'locked'.    He said I'm lined up now and should be OK if I ice, do lots of stretching and no running or Bikram this week.   Just need to be a bit careful so the muscles don't pull me out of alignment again.     Can swim, walk, easy bike and introduce some short runs next week.   

Did some ART on the left psoais too.   When I get that 'pinching' feeling at the top of the front of the leg when I pull the leg to the chest, it is a signal that hips are out or psoais tight - whatever muscle is there at the front won`t work right and it tucks in under the bone causing that bulky feeling and pinching feeling.

Are you doing Buffalo.  

Check out James Lawrence (2nd place in the IM on Saturday) - he`s done 7 IM`s since May and set some kind of record with 21 on Saturday - apparently going for 30.   There are some crazy people out there.    He actually has pretty good times for so many, so close.   

www.sportsstats.ca

GEORGE -

Icebergs?  SOUNDS WETSUIT-LEGAL!!!!!!  Do it!  Do it!  Do it!

If by concrete you mean the grey stuff, then that is notoriously bad for many runners.  And if by asphalt you many the purple-blue stuff, that's much better.  So, stay to the latter if any of your lower joints (knees, hips, ankles) seem to suffer from running on concrete.

I support the idea of running a stand-alone 5km and/or 10km.  It's just good to learn what it feels like to push to some degree at thsoe distances, and also it helps keep your head in the racing game.  plus, almost all stand-alone runs are nice and low-key -----and it's kinda fun to do a race that doesn't involve 27 pieces of equipment!

Don't sell yourself short on being part of a relay team.  You seem a very confident swimmer, and there are just so many people who aren't at all comfortable in the water, let alone for 2.4 miles.  And you are also content being perched on your bike for long periods of time, so that might make you desireable to people who suffer saddle-sores after about 45 minutes.

Also, many relay teams are far, far less interested in turning in a scintillating time than just being part of the iron-scene.  For some it would be one-and-out, but for others they will do relay tri#1 as a runner, and then relay tri #2 as a cyclist, and then, finally, relay tri #3 as a swimmer ----- all as a progression to convince themselves that they can put it all together and become a bonafide three-act triathlete!  Voila!

Have a good swim today!  I will probably NOT swim today, having done swims the past 14 days -- a completely new record.  i'm loving my new wetsuit, and my recent swims have seen me bump it up a notch or two......but I now worry about putting too much wear and tear on the new suit, thus shortening its life expectancy.  i really do go through a lot of wetsuits, but then again: (a) I'm retired, so have lots of time to swim, (b) have a couple of wonderful OWS spots that are joys to swim in, and (c) have no qualms about open water.  I am now at about OWS #75 (literally) for this season...........and I wonder why wetsuits don't last me too long in termas of months and years?!?  I mean, i do this ecvery summer, mega-OWS stuff, although this year is probably my biggest one yet.

But, y'know, i will be heading into Ottawa this afternoon...........and the Rideau is right there.........and it just seems silly to be so close and not swim........so.............................................

Haha! Yes, during the race! I really shouldn't call it a race. This year it was more an event