MightyMojoMentorGroup -- (Full House!) (Page 187)

Thanks for the info on Paula.   Makes sense that she does a couple more races this year.   Will give her a mental boost going into next season and if her injury flares up, I guess they will know what she has to work on.  

I think the name of the tri on Sunday is very appropriate for you.    Ha Ha!!   Especially when I see the list of your potential season ending races.   

I do like to make plans, but they pretty much change on weekly basis.     My biggest focus this winter will just be consistency in running/walking and putting in extra work on my swimming.    Didn't swim much the last 2 years and after reading that article in the Triathlon mag you gave us, realize that I need to swim more consistently.   They really stressed the importance of doing say 1000m 5 times per week over 2000m 3 times per week.    The other thing they stress is swimming fast.  I think the last interval work I did in swimming was 3 years ago.    

I think I am going to spend the 150 bucks for three one-hour sessions with Sean Bechtel and see where that gets me.   Was thinking of waiting till January but now I am thinking it might be better to see him sooner than later.   Doesn't make sense to continue swimming with poor technique for the next 3 months. 

Good luck with the race on Sunday!!!!   Hope they don't turn it into a du. 

I understand where you are coming from being disappointed with 'all' you can produce on the runs, but seriously, that is inevitable for people who were/are running all-stars in their youth, as they age.    You haven't lost much at all and are still incredibly fast and how can you complain when you still place first.     

The past is the past and no point worrying about the future.    I don't really think you do either - it's all about the Power of Now.  

ANNE -

I need time to sit down with my log and think about my swimming since Aug 22, I think it was.  I did 14 days of OWS, totaling I think it was 18km.  It was about evenly split between the the ~800 we did last week, and the "full" distance of the buoys, ~1750.  Anyhow, by the time the 14 days was up, i had produced my fastest times of the season for both distances, and maybe my second and third fastest for each as well.  So, i have three thoughts about this "accomplishment"

1. The new wetsuit factored heavily.  I bought that on the 4th day of the string of 14.
2. The cumulative effect of all those swims.  I never developed any soreness in those two weeks, so I can only figure that it all helped me.
3. Each and every season, I enjoy a "spike" in my swims.  Normally this happens in the first two weeks of August, but if a spike was what produced those faster times, then it was later this year by maybe about two weeks.  I can never explain why the spike happens, and it always just one day goes away.  That is usually in early October, right about when I give up on OWS for the fallwinterspring, but it never fails -- one day I'm magically back to my more pedestrian paces.

Interstingly (amybe....), the past teo days since breaking the streak on Wednesday have seen me slower than the few swims leading up to Wednesday, but not as slow as, say, three weeks ago.  If #2 above pertains...........then could I really lose any pronounced edge by taking a day off??

The short of all this is that I am inclined to believe the greater benefits of moderate yardage 5x a week, as opposed to more yardage 3x a week.  Part of that is my empirical hunches (can hunches be empirical in nature??), while the other part is that for those of us with less-than-perfect swim form, our form can easily fall apart when we just crank out bigger sessions.  So, ergo ipso, no improvements are happening cuz we're swimming borderline crappy.

One of the few things I have enjoyed (??) about this sprint-heavy season is that it has "given me permission" to do those shorter 800m OWS, toatlly guilt-freee.  In fact, I almost feel guilty doing the long ones, just because --- WHY?!?  Why do them if I'm not going to race them??  Granted, i have hopes for Buffalo next weekend, or Hunter Mtn the following weekend, or, or.......but at least for now it was just shorter swims in races, so no need to swim long at a slow pace.  Hell's bells, I know I can do THAT, but what I need is more speed at ~800, right?

ANYHOW, I fully support any efforts you make to swim more frequently this coming off-season, and I really do think your abilities will improve markedly.  Try it and see!

On to next one.

ANNE again -

I also fully support the three sessions with Sean B.  If each is an hour long, then it's a bargain at $150.  The only thing to make sure of is that he will pay attention to YOU, and not just set drills and yell encouragement to the masses. 

I did a tri-swim early-morning thingie for a few months (2 or 3 days a week) back in '00/'01 winter, and there wwere about 35-40 of us spread out over 4 or 5 ability-based lanes.  It was mostly as I suggested above, and eventually i went to rick Hellard and asked him to pplease watch my specifically and then could we please talk.  he did this very willingly, but it took a long time for me to figure out that that was the onlyy way I would get any individualized feedback.

The drill-setting approach works great for very able swimmers, as they are in a lane with other studs and studdettes and can work hard off each others, but it tends to be discouraging to those of lesser or more meagre abilities.  Anyhow, just check to see how much attention he will give to YOU!! 

Go to www.mainiactri.com and look at trhe picture of the plaid hat.  That is what is awarded to the top three M and F overall, and while I wouldn't normally wear a hat like that in a month of Sundays, i'd sure wear it if I won it.  But, ocf course, my only hope of that happening is if the waves are humungous on Sunday, and everyone else opts for the duathlon except for a handful...........and some of the handful are weaker swimmers than i am!  So, i am not counting of nabbing myself a hat.  So sad!

Better run today.......although my left foot is seeming to be paying a certain price for the effort.  It was a fast 4km, with the splits being 4:35, 4:34, 4:26, and 4:35.  I'm pleased with that, mostly, and at least it was an improvement over last ebvening's less-adept 5km run. 

i looked up my run times from last summer, and the good nes is that they weren't all stellar.  there were some very good ones, but mostly they were kind of "maintanence" in terms of psuing myslef and achieving speed.

The bad news is that my tri-race runs from 9/11 to 10/2 were killers, as in:

• 43:28 for the 10km at Nations
• 45:01 fro 10km at Buffalo
• 21:52 for 5km at Buffalo
• 25:14 for 3.5 miles at Clam Man
• 28:45 for 4.2 miles at Bassman

I posted to DAVE this morning that I am currently at about 169, several pounds more ahn my 164-167 range last Sept and Oct.  Think that might factor into it all??

Finally, while I understand the sense of "The Power of Now", I have to admit that my modus operandi has me living in the past and living for the future.  Or something like that, anyhow.  I gotta think about that some!

Steve - I love the Mainiac hat!!  It looks like something out of SCTV, Bob and Doug or Red Green.

Swim today was really nice although the chop slowed me down a few minutes.  The water temp is holding steady at 19C/68F so I'm hoping to get another 5 OWSs before it starts to really cool off.

GEORGE -

Lots of people in Maine wear hats jsut like that -- and are proud of it!  And, yes, it could also befit the wardrobe of the McKenzie brothers.  (Scary, but true!)

I stuck my kids' pool thermometer in the Rideau river today, about 2.5-3 feet down, kept it there for 16 minutes........and was surprised to pull it up and see it reading 75.  I was sure, early in the week, that it was down a bit under 70, and it has seemed warmer the past couple of days, but 75?!?  i just can't see it quite that high, although it sure is nice and inviting.

My last OWS in '11 was on 14 Oct, and I think I can beat that this year.  The water temps on Oct 10, 11, and 12 were 64, 64.2, and 62.5, respectively, so proably by the 14th it was just above 60 -- too cool for this cat!

Also harkening back to last season, my first OWS was on 29 may, 12 days later than this season.  So if the seasons bookend just right, I might be swimming in the Rideau well into the final week of October.  Woo-hoo!

Good work on braving the chop.  While that sort of thing is never too fun, it's really valuable for when you come into a race with chop, storm surges, tsunamis, etc.  I did a wicked one at a half-iron in upstate NY a few years ago, and I could go multiple sighting attempts without seeing a buoy, due to being in a trough between waves; mega troughs, too!  It's kind of amazing that all particpants finished the swim --- or at least didn't get swept out to the middle of Lake Seneca.  Mercy!

GANG!

See you in two or three days!  I'm off tomorrow morning for Maine and the Mainiac Triathlon.  It's a sprint with an ocean swim..........but the mid-Atlantic frolickings of Tropical Stporm Leslie might kick up the ocean enough to cause it to be turned into a duathlon.  So, please send mojo Mainewards so that the coastal waters aren't too rambunctious!

I could be back anytime between mid-evening Sunday and around noon on Monday, depending on how I return home and how I possibly re-route myself.  Have good weekends, all!!

Big mojo coming your way for calm waters.   I love the hat too!   Looks like a great event.   Have added it to our wish list of tri's.      Best of luck for a FAST race.     

Great score.....

Pressure in:Pascals? bars?

Snaaijer - 2012-09-05 4:42 PM Trina come to Holland the temps hover between 65-75

Please don't tempt me. I've already informed my sweet husband that next summer I'm going to find temporary residence in a cooler place. Probably have to sleep in a tent to afford it, but hey I'd get my training in!

JEFFTX- Yes, very good point. I was riding my bike in January and February earlier this year. And training for my first half marathon was awesome in the mild winter weather. I love running when it's between 40-70F! However, I do think the great equalizer is that no matter what the temp - we also have to deal with WIND. No doubt about it - you have to be tough to train in these parts.

I've threatened to take our RV up into the Rockies and stay there to train next summer, but alas I do have to work. And I think the hubby might miss me. Er...not sure about that...sometimes I think I get on his nerves. 

Quick report on Mainiac Triathlon:

Nope, no swim.  High seas did indeed prevail, and the swim became a one-mile run on hard-packed sand recently exposed as the tide receded.  (Mama said there'd be days like this......)

Good day for me, mostly.

• Run #1 ---- 7:59 (done a tad too conservatively, in hindsight) - 1 mile
• T1 ----------  0:53
• Bike ------- 41:24 (21.5mph) - 15 miles
• T2 ----------   1:11
• Run #2 --- 22:48 (7:22/mile) - 3.1 miles 

1/3 a.g., 29/207 overall

Bad part was that it was the New England University Triathlon Championship, and a staggering 14 of the folks who finished ahead of me were the collegiates.  This is the second time this season I have been "punked", with the first being by the kids who had just returend from a high-falutin' U-19 developmental camp.  Have they no respect for their elders?!?

More later, when I get rested and all.  Great event, however!!

CONGRATULATIONS Steve!    Knew you'd deliver!!!  

ANNE -

Glad you knew i'd deliver, cuz I wasn't so sure.  After my fast 4km of Friday I was plaguesd by a very iffy left groin that had me travelling with ice and keeping either an ice pack or ice-filled bottles on the area for the whole ride down.  It was still bothersome on Saturday evening, although slightly better, and it was noticeable yesterday morning -- and then my the rcae start it was fine.  Never felt it at all, and it didn't affect anything I did (except ligeringly, in my head).  It seems to have been another in a long line of "phantom" pre-race "injuries".

I looked through the detailed results, and emerge pleased with how it all went down.  I might've gone faster on the first run, the beach run, but (a) was in a wave of M40+ and didn't want to get sucked into a too-fast pace by the 40-49 guys, (b) just wanted to stick to my resolve to not let it all hang-out on ANY first run of a du, and (c) was just nervous about the groin, and, really, knee issues of late.

BUT!  As I am usually a 30-40% swimmer (meaning no higher than top 30th %ile, and sometimes no higher than top 40th %ile), I could've gained more ground in the USAT rankings world by going all-out of that first run.  I enetered it thinking maybe around 20th%ile...but ended up at 25th.  Betterr than 30th, or 33rd, or 38th......or 43rd....but coulda been higher.  On the other hand, looking at M50-54, 3 guys had better fist runs than did I, but only one had a better second run.  And none had better bikes, with the same going for 55-59.  And there, only one guy had a better firstt run, and he also had a better second run (19:58 for the 3.1km!!!!).  He came up to me after the finish and told me that he wanted to be able to ride as well as I did when he "grew up" (he is 57).  That was fine of him to say!

I'm kind of amazing that I am pulling these strong rides out of thin air, given my dearth f bike training the past few weeks.  Between Skinnyman and Mainiac I rode just once, and that for 26km or so.  What is workiong jow Is all my old instincts, mostly concerning shifting and reading the road ahead of me.  It's less of a machine/engine thing than a brain-thing..........although the engine seems to be in great form.  Mainiac was a rolling/flat course, which is really ideal for me. 

More later!

Congratulations STEVE! Another great AG win.

Good thing you'll be in the 80-84 AG by the time I'm in 60-64!

DAVE -

Uh, am I supposed to feel good about that factoid?? 

Thinking about it, it would be great -- but in this year of creaky-groanies, I'm not sure I'll make it there (as a functional triathlete, that is.....).

This will likely come as no surprise to you, but with each passing year I discover peer-competitors I once raced against, or knew about, who are now only conspicuous in their absence.  Sometimes they resurface afer a year, and if I run up against them after their hiatus, i mignt find out that they had been tending to a sick parent, or were recovering from some fairly significand injury or operation.  But in other cases, they.........just...........disappear................

Of course, that pertains to your a.g. as well, but for usually different reasons -- family, job stresses/changes, different priorities.  Those are blessedly mostly absent from my crowd, as the kids have long left the coop, and more and more of us are retired.  As for the latter one, just think how nicely your training world will open up when you no longer need to show up at work every day.  Halleloo and wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Hey guys just checking in.  Seems like many of you are still going strong and doing great things -- congrats.  I shut things down big time about two weeks back and have just been doing 1/2 hour each AM on the exercise bike.  My legs were hurting me really bad and the time off seems to be helping. 

On the brag front, my oldest started grad school at Stanford last week and my son set a new PR in his XC race this weekend turning in a 15:30 performance for 3 miles.

Hope you all stay healthy and continue to progress.  Will check back from time-to-time.  Thanks again for all of the support.

AND, in case you guys missed it, Steve's coming up on his 10,000 post!

CURT -

Yo! 

Thanks for checking in an giving some updates.  As you maybe know, when folks go AWOL I tend to get nervous, eventually fearing the worst.  Well, not exactly Ultimate Demise type of stuff, but something along the lines of Datardly Injuries and such......which sound like the case for you.  And for that i am sorry, but your approach of backing-off is a wise one, and the fact that you are getting in time each day on the ex. bike shows some definite promise that you will maintain a good part of your aerobic base.  Hang with it!

Congrats on the kids, and especially your son't whompin' fabulous time for 3 miles on a CROSS-COUNTRY COURSE, for heavens' sake!  His heart must've been about to explode out of his chest with that effort ---- and if not, then he has a truly massive engine in there.  I gassho in his general direction!

You know, I seldom notice the number of posts, and efinitely haven't paid attention to it in along while.    I guess when I get to 10,000 it'll be time to get my head examined, eh?  I did do a count a couple of months ago of posts in my various groups over the past 3.5 years, and at the time I think it was approaching 25,000, which I guess means that i have somehow "overseen" all those missives.  Good grief almighty!!

I'm scrambling with my own season, having done five tris and hoping for 3-5 more.  But fitting them in in a wise fashion at this stage of a season is tricky as, with the exception of Florida, everyplace north of there seems to finish on the Oct 12/13 weekend (excpeting Beach 2 Battleship in NC, which has closed out the half-iron).  I might hit the du scene late in October, though.  Hmmm.

Keep in touch!

ANNE -

A few things from the Slowtwitch forum:

• Check photos from one of the posts on the Wasaga Beach race report.  Mercy!!
• Paula F has apparently just posted on her blog that she has low iron levels and won't be doing any more races this season.  No Buffalo for her, I guess!
• Libby Burrell is the new head of Triathlon Canada, which posters viewed to be an excellent move.  However, the posters seemed to view this from the perspective of elite atletes and their development and successes, as opposed to paying attention to age groupers. 

Just so you know!

Hey Mojitos!

11 x 400 M @ mile pace on the track tonight. Managed to crank out the last one in 1:23 (5:27 / mile pace).

Not liking it getting dark so early.

Zoom, ZOOM!!!

Can I guess that had it not gotten dark so early, you might've done 15 X 400??  That's the type of effort that accompanies the sickness of people who love hard track sessions AND do well at them.  And I know a sick man when I see one!

When are you fixing to apply that speed in a race setting?  I'm thinking there was a stand-alone 10km in your not-too-distant future.  Yes?

Also, can I assume that you won't be gracing Buffalo with your presence this weekend?

Awwwwww........!!!!

DAVE again -

As for Buffalo, I am inclined to do it.  I did a 10km run yesterday in 48:47, which is not where I ideally want to be, but I also didn't give close to 100%.  I did the run in the Buffalo oly last Sept in 45:01, and I have no delusions about hitting that baby again on Saturday.  I think I can pull off a sub-47, which in this year of fractured training would be a success, i guess.

The bike course has needed to be changed, and what is there is not as conducive to speed as last year.  Then, each of two loops required just six 90-degree turns, whereas this year's course will have about a dozen each loop.  Oh well.  Construction rears its ugly head once again!  (This'll be my third race this season to have an altered bike course due to roadwork.)

So it goes.......