SWBKRUN- Miles and Miles ahead!!!! CLOSED (Page 19)

Does that include cart? HA Welcome back Chris. Good to see you again. And congrats on the distinction.

Wow, I've caught up on all the posts and want to contribute something but I don't really have much to add!

Hi. I'm going back to work now. Keep up the good work, all!

Wow! I thought I had a hard time keeping up before.

Love reading everyone's proudest moments! Truly inspiring!

Tracey- Thank you for your wonderful comments. You are an amazing athlete and runner! Even now, when you can't train the way you would like to, you are giving your all to get your body to a place that will get you to your goals. That's what being a runner/triathlete is all about IMHO; doing our best each day to reach our potential. And, who knows, maybe one of these days we'll both be running sub 8's. Either way we'll have an amazing journey!

Kyla- Thank you for sharing your story about your Father-in-law. How wonderful that the two of you were able to share your passion for running! I'm sorry he couldn't be there physically when you attained your goal, but, no doubt, he was there.

Chris- Congratulations!!!

Barry- Glad you explained the avatar. I thought maybe you were afraid of stalkers

Michelle- I did an Oly 3 weeks before my HIM and I was using the BT 20 week plan. It worked out great as a run through for the HIM. I practiced my nutrition and transitions just as I'd planned to do them for Boise, and didn't worry about my time.

Suzy- So sorry about the bike delay. I know how much you've put into this, and I hope you can get it worked out without too much more hassle. I really don't think I would want to start all over, but I know nothing about bikes so take this for what it's worth.

I was down in San Antonio a few years ago. We golfed the La Cantera course a week after the valero texas Open was there. Frig' for a bogey golfer, that was not a fun day. But great resort.

Hola Group -

I actually saw some progress on my run yesterday. Very happy about that...was starting to wonder.

I have also decided that I want to do Lonestar this April. It gives me exactly four months to train (plus the three weeks I already have under my belt Do you guys think that four months is long enough for me to train for my first sprint? I know people have recommended an indoor swim sprint for my first, but I'm having difficulty finding any around me until September. Given this, what do you recommend that I do to get used to the open water? Go to a lake and swim the distance a few times a couple of weeks before the sprint?

Also - I need a road bike. I've been riding a hybrid and I love it, but I need something raceworthy. I don't want to purchase a Tri bike until I know that I will be continuing with the Tri's. I do know that I love cycling and will definitely be doing that for a long time. For the tris I just plan on getting the clip-on tri handlebars. So...anyone have any suggestions for a good road bike? I'd like to spend under $1000 if possible.

Ah - thank you Trevor.  Tony and I had played one course in Texas and it was LaCantera but I couldn't remember the name only that they charged some ridiculous price for a can of coke like $2.75 and that was 10 yrs. ago.

It's very scary how we seem to bounce from one expensive sport to another.  We need better jobs!  LOL

OMG -- I got on the trainer last week or the week before and am trying to do 3-4x a week and my butt bones are still hurting. It is my total punishment for not being on my bike for so long. Cannot wait for this to pass!

Right across the street from the six flas park. They had 2 courses there. We got to golf the one where the PGA played the week before. Rough was like 3 feet tall. Not fun.

Welcome to Lonestar!!!! This is going to be great!!!
I would check your bike shops. Or bike groups in the area. Alot of the hardcores will be itching to buy a new bike for the new season. You could get a good used one. That is what I did. 

Call these guys about ows up there.  But be careful you find yourself hanging out with some of them a lot.  I also searched the Oklahoma BT group but didn't find much.  I'd post that question up there.  You are definatley going to want a partner or 10 when hitting the open water.

AWESOME news about Lone Star.  The HIM right!!!!!  I no nothing about bikes other than the have 3 wheels.  But fwiw my wife will be rockin' the sprint at Lone Star (her first) on a hybrid.

Great job on the run yesterday!!!  

Awesome news!!!!!!!!!!!!  We would love to see you at Lonestar.  The great news is the sprint is on Sat. and most of us are doing the Half on Sunday so you will have one hell of a cheering section.

Try to find some OWS venues to get some practice in.  Of course, never swim alone so drag along a friend either in the water w/ you or in a boat/kayak next to you.  Also I think there will be some practice the day before at Lonestar.  John, can you confirm this?

I know nothing about bikes.

I think that is fantastic that you'll do Lonestar.  So many of our group will be there to cheer you on!!  And 4 months is plenty of time.   As far as open water swimming - I would start practicing your sighting now.  Being bumped by people and sighting are probably the 2 most unique experiences in open water.  Do you know how to do sight drills in the pool?  If not, we've got you covered.  Also I would take advantage of sharing lanes at the pool or swim close to the wall.  Get use to having people around you.  It doesn't mean swimmers will be swimming on top of you necessarily. I recommend staying closer to the back at first to minimize body contact. But it is a skill to practice.

Bike recommendations:  I am a big fan of TREK.  They usually have very friendly bike shops and they offer payment plans if that interests you. Their WSD (women specific design) bikes have a great reputation. Their Pilot models are in your price range.   And a tri bike is not necessary.  A road bike is a wonder investment and much more versatile.  Personally, I've taken my clip on aero bars off my road bike and I ride in the drops if I want to be more aero.  You should be able to find lots of deals in the winter. Set Tony and Doug on it for you. They are the group's deal finders.

Darnit:  the minute I hit submit I realize I've forgotten to add my name:  Tracy

Edited by tahrens 2009-12-17 10:53 AM

Yes we made the mistake of doing that twice.  Once at Kingsmill in VA and at La Cantera 2 weeks after.  We set clubs down around the green and then couldn't find them b/c the rough was so thick.  I gave up at one point trying to hit out of the rough b/c it was a lost cause.  The foot wedge became my best club.  ;-)

Sounds like a good plan. Funny how the Garmin can be our best friend or worst enemy, no? I loved it in my HIM as I used it to keep my HR down for the bike (cuz I'm a crappy cyclist but competitive and it was a hilly course so I had the potential to do serious damage to the rest of the race!). But in the run I NEVER looked at my HR because I knew it was way up there and that if I saw it I would slow way down. I just kept pushing...In my October marathon I had it mostly to track pacing, but the thing totally worked against me mentally as my marathon ended up being 26.5 miles... and I was done -- DONE! I tell you! -- at 26.2. After the race I Googled something like "Marathon Garmin 26.5" and learned that they measure courses so you have to run the exact tangents (nearly impossible), and just a bit of weaving or pulling over for water can really add up over 26 miles. Now that I know that I can live with it but when I was struggling after mile 22 that really messed with my head (I kept waiting for a super "short" mile to get the distance back on track!). Anyway, I think I really really want the HR data for the IM so I like the idea of making it a 2-Garmin race and using my husband's for the run (while he's busy taking pictures and posting Facebook updates for me!).

Sounds great. Lets post our race numbers when they come out. I think we should keep "official" lists of swmbkrun MG '10 members participating in: 1) Lonestar, 2) Nations Tri, and 3) Augusta (Feel free to add more if there are numbers to merit a list).

Lonestar                   Nations                       Augusta
Fattyfatfat                 Tobey91                     Plainsman AU
Ashort33                   Trying1                       Jeepguy2358
Tony                          Doug                          Doug
Sam                                                             Tracy                   
Suzy
Trevor
RoniS
Kickitinok

Feel free to copy paste and add your name where appropriate!

Doug

Awesome! I look forward to meeting you at Lonestar! Yes, 4 months is plenty of time to get ready for a sprint.

For the swim: I would highly recommend getting a swimming wetsuit. As was mentioned a bit ago Xterra has some great deals on wetsuits. Here is the link xterrawetsuits.com . Also, get out and do as much OWS as you can during your training. While you're OWS find an object in the lake or on shore to watch for keeping a straight line. In a race you will normally have swim buoys to site off of.  After you are pretty comfortable swimming the distance in the lake, see if you can find someone to swim with you to bump into you and partially swim over you a bit. Contact with other swimmers will happen and it takes a little getting used to. In my first few tri's I also stayed to the back and side during the start to avoid as much contact as possible. If you haven't swam in a wetsuit before, they do provide quite a bit of buoyancy, so remember that you can always flip onto your back and take a few breaths if you need to.  You can successfully complete the swim without doing any of this, but this is what I wish I had done before my first sprint.

I did use my hybrid for my first tri, but it was not ideal. I think you'll be happy with a road bike. I'm sure the bike experts will give you more advice on that.




Edited by RoniS 2009-12-17 11:16 AM

I am adding a ROAD TRIP TO PENTICTON:
Tracy
Birdy
Ryan

(only 1 reason to roadtrip---- 2 sign up 2011)

Janet- Sucks about the pool!  I would have been totally annoyed and Pee'd off!

Add me to the Penticton list

possibly.......TrevorC...Really thinking of getting there. Depends on how the 1/2's goes this year. I'm only a few hour drive from there, so probably volunteeering at 2010. We'll see how hard everyone can push me to sign up for 2011.

Hey, Happy Thursday Everybody!! Quick question for you guys. I need to update my goals. How do I do that? I've looked at the page that tells me how to set up my blog but I'm obviously missing something. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! Oh and since there's more than one Chris on here, I'll go by SeattleChris!

Settings button up top, then Blog Customization Tab, then Dashboard tab.

It's an open area you can put in whatever you want.

Tony, you type too fast.