Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed (Page 19)

Jim-congrats on the engagement!

More Vo2 intervals on the bike this evening.  Felt pretty good but it is warm and humid here and I left a puddle of sweat on the garage floor.  Medium run tomorrow and maybe an easy recovery spin on the bike.  Last 2 days of swimming have been miserable!  

OK gang, here is a question that I typically ask at some point in every group.  Since we are all into our gear and gadgets my question is: What is the best gear you have relating to triathlon racing/training.  You know, something you bought that exceeded expectations or just does exactly what it is suppose to do.

For me I have 2 things.  The first is the bike rack on my car.  It is made by 1up USA and is awesome. Well made, secure and easy/quick to use when transporting the bike.  I have driven all over with this thing and never had an issue with it.      https://www.1upusa.com/product-quikracksilver.html . Somewhat pricey for a bike rack but worth every penny over the last 6+ years.

The other is my trainer...which is actually a set of rollers.  I am on my second set as the first rusted out after living with the sweat of workouts, poor cleaning and the humidity of my garage.  I have been much better about caring for the second set by wiping them down after each use.  Very realistic road feel. No need for a trainer tire and the ability to do hard intervals with the magnetic resistance.  Expensive for a trainer but since I do almost all of my rides during the week on them they are worth it to me.  http://www.insideride.com/

VO2 bike on Monday - 6 x 4 @ 109-110% and then longer endurance ride last night - 1.5 hours @ 75 - 80%.

I was not looking forward to the 6 x 4 VO2 session, but managed to get through it by psychologically bargaining with myself that I could shorten the last 2 intervals to 3 minutes if I felt like I couldn't make it (for me, just the idea that I have the option to bail on a training session really helps get through some days). 

Jason - best of luck on your run tonight!  Hopefully all goes well.  I've been dealing with a few aches and pains lately as I increase my weekly run and bike load and am always conscious of pushing too hard and then being out of commission for a prolonged period.

Randy - great question.  For running, it would have to be the Forerunner 305 with the HR monitor.  My wife bought it for me after my 1st year of racing and my first reaction was, neat toy but I don't really think I'll use it.  My training at that time was to run the exact distance of my next race as fast as I could a few times each week.  I bought Friel's book on training with HR and it really changed how I trained and how I paced a run. 

For the bike, the Fluid 2 trainer initially with virtual power and then with a PM.  I use Golden Cheetah and can see the progression of my CP from the first testing we did in the Power Mentor Group.

For the swim, I'm still waiting for that one piece of equipment that will be game changer and improve my swim time

Does anyone follow Lionel Sanders blog posts on 'lsanderstri.com'?

He did a recap of his win at Panama 70.3 and talks about the power output on the bike:

"I started pushing 330w for the first little while, but initially this felt a bit too easy. By about halfway on the bike I had got the average up to about 345w, and my average speed was close to 46kph."

Holding that kind of power and then to average 333 watts for the entire race is just insane to me.  The guy is a beast!

A few years ago, Lionel did a Q&A session at the year end awards for one of the local tri series in Ontario.

He comes across as real down to earth guy with no arrogance or ego.

I had the chance to race with him a few times in 2014.  All I saw was a lime green streak fly by me on the bike as he was heading back to T2.

Very cool Marc.  In his last blog post, Lionel talks about stretching out his fit before Panama 70.3 - moving his bars forward an inch and his seat back an inch.  Seemed like a pretty aggressive change.

What do you think the aero penalty is for that mustache?

Marc-that is awesome. Can't wait to get  some helpful hints on getting more aero.

One of the guys on my tri team has started a kickstarter for a one piece multi-tool for cyclists.  Pretty neat. Rob is a great guy.  Here is the link.  Worth a look.

 https://www.facebook.com/teamfeltul/?pnref=story

That is very cool Marc.  I'm super interested to hear what you got from him through those 5 hours - and vice versa.  Like others I'm a big Lionel fan, but get frustrated by what seems like his unwillingness or inability to choose a coach that can properly manage his training regime.  Glad he's been working with someone on the open water swim piece, but would love to see him find someone he can commit to all round.

Where did you do the aero testing?  I know Garneau has done testing at the Milton Velodrome before, and had wondered if they would ever get him out this way with the team from Alphamantis.

6x3min@115% on 3min RI last night, and it almost broke me.  I missed the past few bike sessions so this may have felt even harder than it was, but each rest  interval I had to take it a little easier than the previous one to try and recuperate.  Didn't think I was going to have the legs for the last one given how I felt through the 4th one.

Randy, most of my "game changers" haven't been equipment, but here they are regardless:

1) Coach. After 19 years of doing it myself, I started working with a coach seven years ago. Making the switch from "working out lots and lots" to actually "training" has made a huge difference in my results. Sometimes I miss all the working out (I spend A LOT) less time now but my performance is much better).

2) Masters Swimming. Single smartest thing i have ever done relative to training was joining masters 4 years ago, and the program I work with is not even a very good one.

3) training by effort and time (except on the track and in the pool)

4) Proper bike fitting.

5) Road Bike.

6) Powermeter.

7) Smart Trainer.

8) and while they are now completed ubiquitous, I really think we forget that gps watches and head units have made a HUGE impact on training in so many ways. i have been using various ones just about since they became consumer products, and the biggest change I noticed when I first started using them was that I explore a lot more; I don't feel nearly the compulsion to run the same routes over and over again like I always did 10~15 years ago for some reason.