Scott F's group - FULL! (Page 2)

Aaron - I'm really hoping we can all exchange ideas, information, etc. I don't want to set myself up as the "authority" or expert - I think we'll all have lots to offer each other. I'm always happy to offer my take on things, but I try not to be dogmatic and pretend that my way is the "right" way... Anyway, just wanted to make that clear - that I think in many important ways, we can all "mentor" each other. Ok, I've used enough quotation marks for now...

As for OWS: I think you're on the right track, except that, if at all possible, I'd try to find someone to go with. Even if you don't have someone to swim with (which is preferable) at least have someone on shore who's keeping a close eye on you (not that they could do much if you got in trouble, which is why a partner is better, or even an escort in a kayak if you can find someone who can do that, which isn't easy, obviously). At any rate, you should try to stay pretty close to shore, as you say, which makes it easier to get out of trouble should it occur, and also tends to cut down on the disorientation you might feel in deeper/more open water. Water temp. is also a big factor, as Mauricio found out. Swimming in a wetsuit takes some getting used to, so try to get as many OW swims in as you can before your race. I found that as I did more and more of them, I became more and more relaxed (and therefore used less energy) during my races.

One big wetsuit tip: USE BODYGLIDE (or pam). You will probably experience chafing around your neck (and armpits if you're using a sleeveless suit) - BG goes a long way towards eliminating this. Pam also works if you can't get your hands on any BG by this weekend.

You'll definitely notice a major difference in how you swim with the wetsuit - you're much more buoyant. At first, it almost feels like you're cheating - it's much easier to swim with a wetsuit on... So you have to get used to that and adjust to the new style of swimming.

But mostly, relax and have a great time - OWS is a lot of fun - I love it! 

Mauricio, I did my first OWS about 1 week ago in a shallow lake.  I tried without the suit, then with, and its like night an day.  The suit feels like it is holding air because you float so much easier.  It makes you swim on top of the water instead of through it.  The water was still a bit cold so you got that tight breathing feeling still, but it helps alot still.

Aaron, I think you will enjoy swimming outdoors, especially once the water warms up more.  Get the wife to sit on the beach and watch at least, it sucks being out there alone.

One other thing I forgot to mention about OWS - it's definitely worth your time to practice SIGHTING. I've been in a number of races where I'll see the same guy zig-zag back and forth around me - he's obviously a faster swimmer than me, but he's so bad at sighting that he's going all over the place, and I end up getting out of the water before him. If you practice, you can incorporate a slight head lift at the very end (or beginning works for some people) of your stroke - the way I do it is that when I turn to breathe, I lift my head to the front instead of the side and take a quick peek. I try to practice by finding a landmark on shore and swimming straight to it... then find another one and swim to that... You can practice the motion (the head lift) when you're in the pool, but obviously you can't really practice sighting! Another tip I got from an experienced swimmer is that at the start of a race, if possible, find a big landmark that lines up behind the first buoy - that way, when you're in the water, if you can't see the buoy due to sun, or glare, or splashing, you might be able to see the landmark behind it - then you can continue to do this with the other buoys as you work your way around the course...

I'm also a really big fan of the Seal mask type goggles - I find that they stay on my face very well in the sometimes hectic OWS environment. Plus they look completely dorky, which is a nice bonus. 

The fastest way to get yourself to that next hurdle is to just sign up and push yourself.

I ran my first 5k (ever) on about April 1st, first 5k race April 6th.  It was hard but I made it.

I then ran my first 10k on about April 20th, with my first 10k race on April 28th.

 
So it took me personally under a month to make the jump from 5k to 10k (non-stop running), but I truly think I wouldn't have done it had I not signed up for the race on the 28th.  When you give yourself a deadline, you don't make up excuses and just do it.

Now everyone is different and you may not be ready by then, but I say sign up for the 10k, and WORST thing that can happen is you have to walk a bit.  You won't regret it though no matter what. 

Thanks for the feedback on OWS guys. I'll see if the wife wants to go with me and she can bring one of the dogs. I'll let you all know how it goes on Monday.

Laurie, I have a Trek Alpha 1000. I bought it about 4 or 5 years ago and from what I was told it's pretty basic and standard. I think it's a great bike to log the miles on for the price. I would recommend going to your local bike shop (or shops to compare) and ask them. I went in and said (at the time) "I'm a college student who's looking for a cheap, reliable, road bike" and they sized me on the Trek. Through the years I have been adding different things, like changing out the tires and adding clip pedals, aero bars. Good luck looking!

Barb, congratulations on running your 5K! I'd agree with Rob and say that you should sign up for the 10K. Normally you don't want to increase your milage by more than 5% a week. Just listen to your body when you run. If you start to feel pains that you're not used to, or it's getting uncomfortable the longer you go, I would stop and walk. I think you'll be ready if you keep the cross-training up with biking. I saw huge progress in my running when I started biking.

Aaron

I think with runnings it's all about finding your "groove" like Matt had said. At the beginning it's not about speed, it's about the comfort and "pain-free" jogging. It also depends a lot on your stride like he mentioned above. That and your shoes. If you have a local running store, I'd go in and see if they can fit you for a running shoe. They're a little more expensive, but they'll watch where you land on your foot, how much room you need in the toes, etc.

Check out this link to a forum on BT that talks about form and running. Might help a bit:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=72885&posts=19&start=1

matt, I still can't see your logs. Not really sure why it's not letting us.

Wow - lots of good advice and discussion going on here. I like hearing all the different points of view.

Barb - you've gotten some good feedback from everyone on the running question - I definitely agree that having a race as a deadline is a great motivator. Personally, I've tried VERY hard to stick to the 10% (or less) rule - never increasing your total weekly mileage OR your longest run by more than 10% from week to week. I think you can get away with breaking this rule more at the beginning when you're just getting started and probably making significant gains, and even after that, I think you can get away with overdoing it for a while (or longer if you have good biomechanics, body composition, background, etc.) BUT eventually, things catch up with you. The little injuries/imbalances add up over time and can catch up with you unexpectedly.

I find this to be the single hardest thing about triathlon training: knowing the difference between pushing yourself vs. overtraining, or to look at it another way - knowing when to back off because you SHOULD vs. being lazy. I feel like I've made some progress in understanding those differences over the last few years but still struggle with it. The one thing I know for sure is that when I do develop minor aches/pains/discomfort, I immediately try to figure out what's going on and try to address the problem. I usually don't immediately back off training as long as things don't get worse, but I try to adjust my routine to fix the issue. I'm currently dealing with some "sciatica/piriformis syndrome" and trying to stretch a lot, do some trigger point massage and stuff like that to work it out - hopefully I can do that and get better w/o reducing my training volume, but if that becomes necessary, so be it...

Well, drifted a bit off the topic of running mileage, but... oh well. Bottom line: I wouldn't discourage you from increasing your mileage in order to hit your 10k goal, but keep careful track of how your body feels and make sure you're doing things "correctly": stretching, proper recovery, rest, etc...

Laurie -

Bike purchases - one of my all-time favorite topics. As you can see from the equipment list on my log, I don't have any hesitation to spend lots of money on bikes, so I might not be the best person to offer advice on this topic, but I'll try

This question comes up a lot among the new members of the triathlon team, and here's what I usually tell them:

There's a certain price point at which you basically get everything you need for a good to decent bike - beyond that, you're pretty much refining things with better parts, lighter weight, etc - and as a beginning rider, you won't really appreciate those refinements yet. That price point tends to be around the $700-1000 range for a new bike. This is NOT to say that a bike which costs less will be unsuitable or crappy or anything like that. Only to say that once you start going beyond that, you're getting less and less of a return on your increased investment. The other thing to consider when buying a road bike is that if you get pretty serious about triathlons, you might eventually want a tri bike. You'll still probably keep and ride the road bike though - so it's always good to have and I think it's definitely the best way for a beginner to start out since it's so versatile and something you'll continue to use. I have a really nice tri bike and a pretty nice road bike (and will probably be buying a new, spiffy road bike in the fall), and they get about equal mileage throughout the season because I train on the road bike in the winter and early spring, and throughout the year on very long and hilly rides.

A new bike is a big investment, but you should think of it as an investment in your health and wellbeing - at least, that's how I always justify it Also - bikes tend to have pretty good resale value, so you can often recoup that investment - which leads to my next suggestion: consider a used bike. Esp. for your first bike, when you're not sure exactly what you want, a used bike can save you a lot of money. The trick is to have someone who can help you pick one out and check it over for you to make sure it's not been too abused (or buy from someone you know/trust).

As you've probably figured out BIKE FIT is extremely important. Do whatever you can to buy your bike from someone who will take the time to fit you on it and who knows how to do so correctly (or take your bike to such a place after you buy it used). Once you've been properly fit, it's important to give yourself time to adjust. I really think that about 90% of the "issues" most people have are a matter of adaptation - if your butt is getting sore/achy after a long ride, it's more likely to be due to the fact that you haven't spent enough time in the saddle to adjust than it is to be due a poor saddle (although that IS certainly possible).

As for your elbows - that's not usually a spot people complain about, so it's less likely to be just a "get used to it" type of complaint - it could be caused by improper fit (likely if you're borrowing a bike) or by riding style - you could be overgripping, as Matt suggested, or perhaps locking your elbows? Try to be relaxed on the bike with a slight bend of your elbows. You should also shift your position around regularly - move from the bar tops to the brake hoods to the drops, etc.

When you start looking at bikes, feel free to let us know and we can probably provide more specific guidance/suggestions, etc.

Yeah, craigslist is great. I feel MUCH more comfortable buying a used bike that I can see in person. If it were long distance, I'd need to see lots of photos, talk to the person on the phone, etc. - and even then, I'd be pretty nervous. But in any decent sized city, I imagine there are plenty of used bikes available, esp. at that price point, since it's a popular one to buy and then later upgrade a couple of years down the line.

Don't hesitate to let us know if you find something and you want some second, third, fourth opinions  

Sounds like you didn't have a good experience there.

The only thing I can suggest is go in acting like you are buying that day.  Say your willing to spend $1500 or whatever, pick out a bike, and have them size you up.  Then you know what you need, and say you are going to think about it.

They probably thought you were looking to buy a walmart priced bike, or nothing at all, and didn't want to be bothered.  People like that shouldn't be in business but it happens.  So take advantage of them and just pretend like you are looking to walk in a buy.  And then don't :P

Like Scott said, if you live in a big enough city, there should be plenty of local deals to take advantage of.  I plan to give my LBS all the business I can because they have been great to me, but I plan to buy my tri-bike used when I can.