left.right.repeat group -closed - Full of a bunch of winners...YEAH! (Page 19)

Hey guys Thanks Bryan, Mav, Peter for the kind words. It's nice to be missed. Life away from fitness got a hold of me last week and wouldn't let go. Plus, I have to admit, I feel a bit out-classed here these days. I can't really relate to you guys anymore. My goal is simply to survive a teeny tiny beginner triathlon.  And I don't have the money to invest in the sport the way I'd like to.    But please know that I admire the heck outta you guys! You are all amazing!

I'd like to submit a question for Annie: I have problems with my toes and the front half of my feet going numb after I've been on the bike for about 6 or 7 miles. I thought the problem was specific to the biking motion only (it happens on my Trek and on the stationary bike), but I recently discovered the same problem on the elliptical machine. I added elliptical workouts last week, because my left knee is bothering me a little and I wanted to substitute a lower impact cardio for running to make sure the knee would be ok. (The knee started bothering me when I increased resistance on the stationary bike to over 12 for longer then 5 or 10 minutes. But it feels ok when I stop peddling.)

Back to the numbness... I've loosened shoe strings almost to the point where my heel slides in the shoe, but it hasn't helped. I don't use clipless pedals/shoes and really don't want to at this point. But if that is the problem, I'll sure re-consider. I really appreciate the oportunity to ask the question! Thanks!

So good to read everyones posts! WTG, y'all.          sTRIving on

Hey Dan and Juanita - great to have you both back and posting!!

Juanita - what's with the comments about being "outclassed" ??? That surely doesn't apply in this group - aren't you the one who swims 100 miles at a time while others of us (like me !!) struggle to stay afloat for 500m ??? And last I understood, we're all trying to survive or first tri's - "upright and smiling" at the finish line is my goal. So, enough of that "I can't relate to you guys" crap. I won't hear of it !!!

Not sure if I passed along news last week that my daughter got her marks for 1st year and she exceeded what was necessary to retain her tuition scholarship - yippee. Here in Canada tuition is very inexpensive by comparison to many US colleges - about $6000 per year -  but its still nice not to have to worry about funding it!! Of course there's still books, residence, etc. so I'm not off scott free. Another bit of good news is that she got a summer job offer and started today. Full time working as a customer service rep at a local equivalent to Home Depot.

Didn't get any sort of workout in today due to a meeting that ran way over time. Probably OK though as I should be trying to rest this week in advance of the "Half Mary" on Sunday.

 Ooh, and the 2 sets of bike name stickers arrived today so I am heading down to the garage to  "pimp my ride". I'll try to post a pic. Don't tell Mrs FBP that I expect to order a couple more sets - she already thinks I'm wacky for what I've done so far.

Dan - I wonder two things about your calf/heel problems - a) are you in the right category of shoe (stability, motion control, neutral) and/or b) do you need an orthotic or heel wedge or something. I wouldn't think that the move from TM to outdoors should cause such a problem. As for your bike, I am really happy with the entry level road bike that I decided upon (Trek 1000) and I'm glad that I didn't go hog wild (not that our financial resources would've made it possible) on super duper machine. I would rather wait for the day when I can both afford and justify being on a tri-specific bike for example. I must say too, I sometimes chuckle at the folks who show up at 5k fun runs, obviously new to the sport yet they are tricked out with $400 Garmins, all the best of this and that. I love the fact that they are there and keen but in my mind better to work into things rather than blow the bank early on.

That's it for now, off to spend a few minutes with Seb ...

FBP

mav - OK so they were honking at your butt ... for good or for bad ? (LOL) ....

FBP 

Like Juanita, I too have been sensing that the front part of my foot is getting numb during rides - I'm wondering whether I might be "grabbing" with my toes inside my cycling shoes because I'm pretty confident that it's not that the shoes are too small or the straps too tight.

Also, like mav, I find that cramping in my feet often happens during swim sessions.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, a couple of pics of my ride:

Peter

Aye, it's me Marianne. *grin* Good to see you, too. 

"Stickers" is a great name for Pete! LOL

A1:During the majority of your pedal stroke, your foot should be flat with the sole of your shoe parallel to the ground. The one exception is that your foot can be slightly angled with the toe pointed down during your up stroke. The important thing is that you don’t have your toes pointed down when you are on your down stroke. This can put undue strain on your ligaments and Achilles.

A2: To learn how to feel the pulling and pushing sensations, just clip in one foot to a pedal and only use that foot to push and pull through the entire stroke. Ride around the block like this and you will learn very quickly how this feels. If you think of the pedal stroke as a clock, consider two o’clock to seven o’clock as the pushing down phase and then seven o’clock to two o’clock as the pulling up phase – pulling slightly forward as you reach the top. Try it one foot at a time and you’ll quickly experience the differences in the two.

a kick of 12 beats before taking a single stroke.)

A4: This is definitely reasonable. Just make sure you take the week after your first sprint tri to recover. Keep strength training light that week and if you are working on speed workouts, make the recovery time longer in between sets. That 2^nd week you can bump up your workouts again in terms of duration and intensity, and then that 3^rd week would be your taper again.

Peter - great question. In my personal experience, I have found that newbies tend to overdo it. Most of us triathletes are A types who have to do everything right - and more is better, right? Well, not so much in the triathlon world. Overtraining just leads to nasty injuries, increased heart resting heart rate, sickness...and all lead to decreased performance.

 As far as the upgraded wheels, they lighten your bike and make you more aerodynamic. Simply put - it makes you faster! Don't feel like you need to get Zipp wheels, though, you can just get an upgrade from the entry level and you will feel a big difference - especially in the descents.