Bill's House of Pain-No Vacancy (Page 20)

Good morning all. I have another question for the group, and I'd like to share some good news as well.

1. Just found out one of the sprint races I want to run got pushed back and is now 8 days before my Oly race, my definite "A" race this year. I planned on racing pretty hard in the sprint - does that sound too close to the Oly to have my best effort in both, or should I tone down my goals in the sprint and use it as more of a training session?

2. Found out last night I got selected for promotion in the Marine Corps. Stand by, here comes Gunnery Sergeant Gran!

1. I would back off on the effort in the sprint considering it is a week before.

2. That is awesome!  Congratulations!

For the sprint I would swim easy, bike at your race pace for the OLY, and run easy. Focus on good transitions. As far as nutrition goes, you don't need to worry much for the sprint, but I would practice my OLY nutrition plan to include the day before.

COGRATS on the promotion! I was an E-7 when I left the Rangers. Lot's of changes when you become a senior NCO!

Just wanted to bump this thread back to the top so you guys can find it.

Where's everyone hiding at?

I looked last night gran and thought the same thing.  I was off the computer all weekend so I'm just getting caught up with everything.  I'll ask a random question to get some conversation going....

Where do you guys buy your tri gear?  Are you lucky enough to have tri specific shops in your area or do you buy online?  I have LBS's only and they carry little if any tri gear so I am an online shopper.  What are your favorite websites to buy from?

I'm in the same boat as you. Online shopper here. I just bought shorts and a top from zootsports.com, and I have to say I'm completely happy with it. I don't have a huge wardrobe of tri stuff yet, but I'm working on it. I get miscellaneous odds and ends from Amazon, and have browsed around www.triathletesports.com.

I have to balance my wants/needs against what my wife will allow me to buy without going apeshit about my "addiction." This being my first real season, I'm trying to not break the bank yet. I have a feeling though that next year will cost me quite a bit.

My first year gear budget was low for the same reason. My wife did a tri in my second season so she gave me more leeway with gear after that. Also, I scored a big bonus check for working every day for 6 weeks through Hurricane Rita and the aftermath. Helloooo bike and Computrainer. 

I had big plans for a monster bike build last year, but they got shelved when we had two kids 14 months apart. My boy just climbed up on the couch to hang out and watch Handy Manny with me. So I still have a 2004 Quintano Roo, and I wouldn't trade any of my kids for a custom tri bike. Not yet anyway...

I did manage to compile SRAM Red and Force components to replace all of the components of my bike this year. The framweight isn't bad as it is, so I can hold off another year or two.

As for where to get gear, I saved hundreds of dollars shopping around online for those components. I prefer to buy tri clothing in person, but I only have one shop an hours drive away. The next best place if you don't have a shop nearby is a tri expo at a big race. Even if you're not racing, pop by the expo of a big race. Not only will you find some gear, you'll be all motivated to train when you get in that atmosphere.

I hear ya on the bonus...I just got an additional $4K from ammended tax return from 2007, so I'm testing the waters to see what my wife is going to let me dish out on tri stuff.

I got plans to get a serious bike in a few years when I sell my house, change stations, and get another huge reenlistment bonus. For now my roadie is all I got, but I'm ok with that.

Luckily we have a few tri specific shops here in the phoenix area but I wouldn't say that I have a whole lot of Tri gear as far as clothing goes. one pair of Tri shorts and a Tri a top my next investment will probably be a wetsuit...Any recomendations on brands sleeveless vs sleeves?

My take on wetsuits is based on what I have... I have a full suit with sleeves and I love it. People I know that have sleeveless like their's too, so it's a matter of comfort and individual build I suppose. Try to find out if your retailer will let you try it out before you buy.

As for brand, from what I understand Quintana Roo (I have one) and the Blue 70 suits tend to have a more forgiving fit the general population, while the Orca suits are for the more prototypical triathlete build. I know De Soto has excellent customer service (Emilio DeSoto) is a BTer), and Zoot's products are very high quality, but I've never worn their suits.

Trying as many as you can before you buy if possible will help you dial in the fit. Good luck.

Sweet!!

Bump

Hi Guys-

Just thought I would pass along an awesome find. While searching for a good price for my first tri suit, I came across the Website below. It's a cycle shop in Miami, FL called Mack Cycle and Fitness that's getting out of the Tri equipmtent biz due to a shop specializing in the sport opening near them. I called them to verify the prices and that's what they told me. The prices are unbelievable. I purchased a Zoot Ultra Trisuit normally priced ar $175 for $80. They have Zoot wetsuits from $500 for $150. Unfortuanely, I had already bought one from Xterra. Hope it help some of you guys save some money too.

mackcycleandfitness.com

Hey guys. O just got back from a swim session and I did really well. I managed to bang out 2,000 metres in 50 minutes (which is good for me) and I feel as though I have got some momentum going again. Just need to get the running going.

That's awesome!

Checking in for the weekend... what's everyone got on tap?

I'm off work today so I have plenty of time to get my long swim in, along with a bike and hopefully a little track work this afternoo. I work 12's Saturday and Sunday though.

I'm thinking about revamping my training plan given my work schedule (full weekend at work every third weekend). Instead of taking a full recovery week every 4th week, I'm going to try to just sort of lighten up a little around that work weekend and take an extra rest day that week and see how that goes. I do a good job of paying attention to recovery within my normal weeks as it is, and I don't feel like I'm at risk of overtraining so I'm going to try that out for a month.

My weight is down to 182. I've never raced or trained this light. I'd like to get down to 175 by the time the US Open rolls around.


Have a great weekend!

We're visiting my wife's dad in Savanna, IL, self titled "Sportsman's Paradise". It's right on the mighty Mississippi. There is an awesome trail that goes all the way to the quad cities that i plan to tear up on my bike tomorrow morning. Can't wait to get away from all the Lance Armstrong wannabe's on the lake front, traffic, and congestion and just ride long and hard. Then I plan to go off-road for a run through Palisades Park. The long loop through the forest is 6 miles.

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all you dads.

Got a Brick planned for tomorrow morning - going out with a buddy I just got interested in the sport and my retired Master Guns buddy. Pace won't be blazing, but then again it's my first brick in quite some time. Less than 1 month til my first race. Not worried about covering distance or finishing, but I'd like to jam out as fast as I can (pretty short sprint) so the next few weeks I need to ramp up my intensity.

My weight is at 190, and I can't remember the last time I was down there. I feel great, and then I feel even better when people comment on how it looks like I've lost "a ton of weight." It definitely makes me happy to see that my hard work is paying off


And to go back to our convo the other day about tri gear... I walked into my LBS today and saw an entire wall of things 50% off, including their remaining Zoot tri shoes, which I had been interested in. To my complete devastation, the biggest size they had (for $55, mind you) was 1/2 size too small!! I did score some cheap shorts though, so it wasn't a total bust.

Yikes, temps there look like they do here...and I wouldn't want to race here tomorrow! Good luck though, I'm sure you'll do fine!!

I had a good swim and a slow bike this morning.  My wife has decided that if I am this into triathlons that she might as well see what all the fuss is about.  She has been working out with me off an on for months, but after watching me race a few weeks back she got excited enough to sign up for a sprint with me on July 11.  She was out of town with work last week so we went for a swim/bike brick this morning.  I did 800 yds and she did 600 yds then we hoped out and took off on the bikes.  She is on a mountain bike so it was a pretty slow ride.  I didn't get much out of it as far as a workout goes, but I loved having her out there.  We did 20 miles and she was pretty whipped!  Of course her first time to really ride with me and every house we passed had dogs that wanted to chase us.  None of them meant any harm but she didn't realize that.  All it showed me is that when she fears for her life she can go 18 mph. 

So did you wake up?   It is in the upper 90's with heat index near 110 today in MS, so I figure it is about the same over there.  How did it go?

Way to go Sledge!  Your trophy shelf must be getting full.

I went and did a practice tri with 3 other BTers I'd met at local races.
And found out about Bonking.
7:30am: swim felt totally bad, had to breathe every stroke.  Bike OK, walked at least half the run.
Just felt dead the whole time, totally different from training (which occurs later in the day)
So I need to change my nutrition/hydration plan for the future.
1. A PB&J and 16oz of water 2hours pre-race probably isn't ideal.
2. I think I need electrolytes during the race.

So I'm gonna buy some gatorade powder and get used to consuming it as I race.

I'm also considering reducing the # of days I train but increasing the overall hours.
Tentative:
Sat or Sun : Do a full practice tri.  Swim 500y, Bike 13 mi, Run 3 mi just like a tri
Tue: Swim 1200 - 1600 yards / around one hour total in the water
Wed: Bike 14-16 miles
Thu: Lift 40min then Run 20min on the treadmill for speed

I'm lucky to have at least 3 different training locations I can do a full practice tri.
Any thoughts regarding the plan-
steve

I'm not an expert, but I think you would be better off doing more individual event training rather than a simulated tri every weekend.  Something like a 2x swim/bike/run might give you more gains.  If you like to do brick workouts to know how your body will react to them you could mix one in every week or two.  It is a contriversial subject, but most people are in agreement that bricks do not offer any benefit to your training.  If you look at the training plans on BT they have few if any brick workouts in them.  Personally I like to do them now and then just to see how I feel, but I don't do it often.  My $0.02 anyway.  Lets see what the more experienced folks have to say...

Edited by cole18msu 2009-06-21 10:29 AM