Eliwashere's spring fling mentor group!-Full (Page 20)

Whew! I am in a love/hate relationship with the SoFlo heat. I went in hopes of doing a TT 10k, all while keeping my HR moderate and my pace about 9minute pace. Did OK. My pace was 9:20 and HR was an avg of 154. I slowed down a bit at the end from the heat. Not bad considering i was a bit tired and not to motivated to run. But i had to get it in.


Thanks for the info. My longer runs now are in the 1+hour range Or around 8 miles  I kinda figured i would stick to the HIM plan and just add in some longer runs. Which is what i'll be doing this weekend seeing as how its just me and the dog. The fiance is going to DC to visit family and shop for wedding dress. So that means i get the entire weekend to train my butt off. Most people would relax and take it easy. But we aren't most people are we? We are triathletes and we never stop!

What does everyone have planned for the weekend?

Woot! We are leaving for our annual week in Cape Cod...lots of BBQ, beaches, swimming, hanging out with friends and family. I have so much to do to get ready, I had to take a vacation day to prepare for my vacation!

I had hoped to get some ocean OWS in while in Cape Cod (rumor has it the water temp is 73)...but lots of reports of shark sitings has me considering the lakes and ponds instead. We are staying very close to a bike trail that runs from the tip of the Cape down to the elbow...I'm planning on getting out on the bike a few mornings before anyone else wakes up. As long as the heat isn't too bad (I know! I'm such a wimp when it comes to heat...but 82 is HOT to me!), I'll get my runs in...only three weeks until my next race, so I don't feel like I can slack off too much.

I did get in a great OWS this morning - my first 2 miler. I felt remarkably good throughout (although really hungry by the end). I noticed a definite current in the lake (my route is from the public dock, around an island in the middle of the lake and back to the dock = 1 mile)...12 minutes out to the island and almost 17 minutes back. Interestingly, my form felt better when I was going *with* the current rather than against. I read somewhere recently that I should be averaging between 10-15Km per week on swim - I'm not even close...what do you all think?

Anywhoo- must go start laundry so we have clothes and swimsuits to wear while on vacation...have a great week all!

I'm also on vacation starting right now - two weeks at the lake!  Woot.  'm planning a lot of swimming, and some nice bikes including a ride around lake Winny which will be 65 miles of pure climbing hell!  If I ever was going to do Savageman, the circum Winny ride would be a staple of my training.  Check back next Friday afternoon since I'm planning that ride for next Friday.

I had a crazy ride this morning.  The stars aligned and I really cranked through the whole thing.

Jennifer, in terms of swimming, my swimming is almost an afterthought right now.  I don't swim anywhere near 10k a week.  I guess bang for the buck doesn't seem worth it, but I do love swimming.  I figure I'll get a ton of open water swimming in the next few weeks and on top of what I've already done I'm hoping to get through the 1.2 miles without killing myself so I have plenty left to bike and run.  If I lived on the lake full time or really near a pool, I might do more but it seems like swimming involves a lot of time not spent actually doing the workout.

We're packing up for vacation this coming week too!  We leave tomorrow for camping in Vermont.  Jennifer,  funny you say 82 is hot,  it has been in the mid-90's here in NJ and we are so looking forward to the mid to upper 70's especially camping.  We originally had planned vacationing in Gettysburg and Washington DC but figured it would be just to humid.  Looking at the forecast for those two places makes me glad we changed.

We did also look at Cape Cod but could not find a campground that we liked hence the Vermont locale.  I am probably not going to do any training but we will be swimming, hiking and bike-riding for fun. 

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend and vacation to those who are headed out as well.  Now,  I'm back to work getting packed up!

Hey Everybody.  I have been MIA for awhile.  Been busy but have been able to get my training in pretty well.  This week though it seems like my run went backwards a bit as I had to stop and walk a couple of times on runs that I have been able to do before.  likely went to fast and the heat and humidity took a toll.  It was 90 and really humid.  Stupid me did one of the runs during my lunch break at noon.

I had a couple tough biking sessions as well, could only avg 14 mph but the courses I rode had some significant hills.  I was beat after these rides but still had fun.

My foot seems to be better as I have not had any real pain since the first time and this week's runs went very well.  I am considering backing out of my half mary though as I just don't have the mileage in yet.  I lost 2 weeks with the tendonitis and a sprint next weekend.  There is another sprint on the 19th I am considering as a replacement though.  I could probably do the 1/2 but I think I would end up walking most of it as I have not even come close to that distance.  Oh well.


I am starting to plan next seasons races now, I think I am going to do 2 sprints and 2 HIM distance races.  Sprinkled in with a couple of running races.  The first HIM is in July and the other in September, this gives me plenty of time to get training volume up, and not have to do too much indoors.  I also signed up for a swim clinic at the Y that starts this fall.  Hopefully this will help me with my swim times.

Hope everybody enjoys their vacations!! We will be going to Cape Cod August 23rd for our family's annual trip as well.  Looking forward to that for sure.

Welcome to the group Nick, it is good to have another active participant as I have learned a bunch from this group already. 

Glad the foot is better Charlie.  Probably a good idea to avoid the half if it's going to be a walkathon.  Sounds like you've got plenty on the plate to keep you busy.

Two half irons next year?  That's a heavy load.  Good luck and since they're spaced apart I think you can pull it off.

Hey All,
Sounds like I hit the vacation early. My daughter and I did a 4 day cruise to Cozumel Mexico and got back on Monday.
Hope you all have great times at the beach/lake/mountains!
I did OK with my training on the boat. It was weird to run on a treadmill while the boat rocked across the direction of my running.
I am looking forward to the next few weeks, as my training is supposed to ramp up a bit. However, my achilles is bothering me again, so I may take a few weeks off now so that I can train pain free.

Nick, you are a mad man with the running in the heat! 

Hope everyone had a fun vacation and got a little training in. I successfully got up early last saturday and got 8 miles in before the heat hit. Makes a huge difference! A friend on mine is out of the country now and she let me borrow her Cycle-ops trainer I cannot wait to download SufferFest!

Eli-  You went on a cruise huh? Preview of IMCoz?

Charlie,
Glad to hear your foot is feeling better. Also nice to hear about your plans for next year!
Watch out for the HIM. They are addictive! I did one early this year and have another one later. I would loved to have added a third, but with IM cozumel, there wasn't much time.

Nick, very jealous that you are playing with a cyclops trainer. Which one? Is it one with the power readouts? I have to admit, I have really gotten into the power meter/numbers game a bit.

Although I believe that you need to run based on perceived exertion, I also think that using powermeters and HR monitors is a way to help find out what you can really do. I would never have guessed that I could be running sub 8 minute miles consistently on shorter runs, but based on following a decent plan, that is what I have made it to.
However, I also like running/riding "free" sometimes. You have to have your fun as well! 

Hey All,
How is it going?
So, I finally get back on my bike after almost a week off (rode the exercycle at the gym). I was thinking about putting on my race wheels (new/used 60/80 deep carbon rims) but decided I didn't want to tinker today.
So I get out and...my bike computer isn't working. So, I go back upstairs, reseat the computer (requires a hex wrench to get on and off) and get back out. I unclip at the first light and.....now I can't seem to clip back in.
I look down and realize the little plastic thing that keeps tension on the rear part of the pedal is in the wrong place. So I try to fix it by hand. No luck...so I decide, after much debate, to ride anyway.
I am so happy I rode, even though the pedal continued to frustrate me. While I was riding the screw and plastic holder fell OFF, so I can't even try to fix it.
That being said, I guess it is time for new ones anyway.

Anyone else ever have a mechanical failure but decide to go on anyway? 

Nick,
I am excited about our little HIM. I am not sure if I will even try to do the run at race pace, but I am very keen to play at fast on the bike.
However, I am planning to do a 3.5 hour ride on sat as well, so hopefully my legs will hold up.

Tomorrow is a swim day for me, but I have to admit I have been a little lax about my swim. Last day of summer vacation for my daughter, so I want to make sure she has some fun. 

Checking in from the lake on vacation.  I'm doing plenty of training, but next week is recovery week and my legs are ready for a break, and it ends with the Timberman sprint on Sat.

I rode around the lake Friday, it was 61 miles of pure hilly hell!  I've done that ride once a year for a while, and this is the first time I've ever gotten through it without any stops and without feeling totally spent.  I guess training really does work!  I'm also becoming a camel apparently.

I can't wait to hear about the HIM prep race results, is that a full distance thing?  Serious stuff.  My HIM simulation was half swim, full bike, half run distance to get pacing and nutrition down.  I may do another one two weeks out from my race.

The HIM seems like a great distance, but Charlie don't get caught up in thinking it's not a serious endurance event because it's called a "half".  70.3 is a long way!

How did the trial HIM go? That sounds like a fantastic idea...it would help me mentally more than anything.

Warren - as I was sitting at the beach in Cape Cod, I pulled out my latest Triathlete mag and the lady next to me asked if I did Triathlons...I said yes and she said she did the Timberman half last year! Talk about a small world. I know the distance isn't the same - but she did say the course and race were both really well done. Enjoy the taper and knock it out of the park!

I just got an invitation to go to Chicago for a family member's 70th birthday the one weekend in September I'm not doing a race...can't decide if I would be pushing my luck or not...I wouldn't be able to train while on the trip (which would mean a three day rest)...still mulling it over.

About pressing on despite mechanical failure - if the wheels still turn on the bike, I'm gonna finish the ride...I feel much more accomplished finishing a ride like that. Now - if your are talking physical failure - I try to stop as soon as I have figured out that the pain is continuing to get worse/more extreme...

Hope everyone's weekends were great!

61 miles of hilly hell sounds fun! As much as i like biking down here on flat land, i would love to get some hill action. Unfortunately the only hills we have bridges and trash mounds. Eli will atest.


I'vwe never been to Cap Cod, but have heard great things about it. I'll get there one day. I acutally go to Chicago in 2 weeks for the fiance's birthday. Cannot wait for some deep dish pizza. Wish I had some after the HIM today

Now, about the HIM. The race was originally called Boca Half Iron Man. but was shortly changed to the Boca Death March. Great swim! The water was a sheet of glass and crystal clear. Bike ride was good with little to no wind but started to get hot towards the last 12 or so miles. Now. The run, or should i say the run/walk. I'll say that i've done some crazy things in my life being a former Marine. But todays run is classified as brutal, if not rediculous. With a heat index of 110 i could drink enough. I filled my Camelback up twice. It was just crazy. But it was fun and a learning experience. I now have some great info on what to work on for the real race come 11/14.


Peace out, im going to bed. I am t i r e d

Hey All,
So...the HIM. First of all, let me give you some background. A group of about 20 triathletes in Palm, Broward and Miami dade counties are part of a training group called try a tri. I found it through a friend on meetup.com.
There are a bunch of us who have been slowly working our way through the distances. Sprints to Oly's, Oly to HIM, a few of us signed up for IM and some ultra runners in there too.
So, this weekend, once of our friends who is training for an IM has a HIM race "rehearsal" for his training plan. Since I had a 3 hour bike ride on my plan, I thought I would join in. So did about 5 others, including Nick. 
So, we make a plan, using some of the excellent bike paths and multi-use paths here in Palm Beach County.
We met up at about 6:30 in the local golf course parking lot. My wife came along to guard our "transition area." This golf course is frequently used by cyclists and triathletes, so we didn't stick out too bad.

We all went over to the water, and as Nick said, it was glassy smooth.
Joked around for a bit and then counted of a start. Off we went. The organizer, Larry, and I were going close to the same speed and made it to the turn around in about 21 minutes. I actually had to stand up to find the cones on the beach, as my contact lens ripped last night so I only had one in. Because I slowed down, I was able to draft off of Larry for a bit, which was fun.
We swam back in 16 minutes, which felt AWESOME. Larry and I congratulated each other on a great swim and hustled up the beach and to the showers. Larry was working on "race" technique, so he didn't dawdle. Across the street to our "transition" and off we went.
He was out of transition fast, so I had to get organized as well. I got my bottles set up, grabbed my cell phone and some cash and off I went.

Our course went south for maybe 3 or 4 miles and then north for 28 (not sure, but it worked out to 56 total). I had to race a bit at the beginning, as the drawbridge was going up, but I made it over. Larry was a minute or so ahead and moving well, but I wanted to catch him. He has caught me on the bike at our last two races.
After our turnaround in the south (about 5 or 6 miles into the race) I caught Larry and drafted for a bit. I was on new wheels and wasn't really feeling the love for them (could be that I was fried from the day before when I rode 65). Larry and I passed a convenience store and I pulled over to get a coke and some water. I was so hungry and thirsty, I had already gone through my "2 hour" bottle of perpetuem.
I knew I couldn't catch Larry again, and focused on not blowing myself up on the ride. I just couldn't get my self up to the speed/cadence I wanted, and my rear dérailleur was just enough out of tune to give me some hassles but not be too much. My total ride time, including stops was 3:01. Not my best ride, but I did OK, and there was somewhat of a headwind on the last 20 or so back to the parking lot.
T2 was a little slow for me, as my wife was joining in on the fun. Her marathon plan had her running 13 miles, so we figured...perfect!
We also had my daughter and a friends daughter working the table we set up in the transition area. This became the water and nutrition depot for just about all of us. A couple of coolers of water/ice and vitamin waters. This would be HUGE!
As Nick said, it was already getting hot, so I actually put some ice cubes in a ziploc and wore it under my hat. Worked GREAT!
Larry was off in front, about 5 minutes ahead I think, and looking good. Melanie (my wife) and I started slow, which, considering the heat, is a good thing. This course also went north, south, north, south, north, so we would pass by the parking lot/transition area/ice depot many times.
The first leg to the North went OK for Mel and I. I was already pretty wasted from the bike, and my belly was full of water. I had a handheld bottle of Gatorade from powder and a couple of Chocolate outrage GU.
We made the first 3 miles and were heading to the south when we started wondering where Larry was. At the ice depot, I refilled my ice beanie and my bottle with water and we chugged on.
At the southern turnaround, we saw Larry, he had started to walk (which I know he hates doing).
Suffice to say, that already, the run was turning into a sufferfest. Larry had been doing great with his training, but the heat, and I think his unfamiliarity with what the heat will do to you, started to mess with him.
Mel and I also started to make mental errors. Although we refilled out liquids, we kept forgetting to get more gu gels and it started to catch up to us. You needed all the energy you could get on this hot a day.
So, Mel and I finished in 2:46, which is one of our slowest 13.1's together ever. But, we did finish! So did almost everyone else. Two or three of our group had never done a 70.3 before, so kudo's to them in the awful conditions.
On a not so great note-Larry fried himself. He started to rally after walking for a while, but picked up the pace to much and had to pull over for a 30 minute "nap". We actually went to look for him.

So, what did I learn?
1. Don't tune a derailluer on a new tire/wheel the night before a race or big training race.
2. Ice under the cap is AWESOME.
3. Pay attention to where you stash your gu.
4. Be able to adapt to conditions. In that kind of heat, I had to run WAY slower than I would have, but it made all the difference.
5. Vitamin Water and I don't play well when I am already hot. Something about that drink was just killing me today. No more!
6. I really like the people I train with. We all spent about 2-3 hours waiting for the last finishers and it was very nice (once the cramping and soreness subsided a little).

Hope you all had great weekends!
 

Nick and Eli - Fantastic job! That sounds like a great time was had...what a good idea! Still flabberghasted at your ability to perform in the heat. Holy cow!

Hi All,

I completed my second sprint yesterday.  This race was much more difficult than the one I did in July.  First off I elected to go in the last swim wave as I realize that I am a slow swimmer, I feel I am a strong swimmer but not all that fast.

This came back to bite me as the race started at 8:30 and my wave did not go until about 9:00 or so, in that time the water went from a light chop to down right choppy.  Let me say that this swim kicked my butt.  As I went out I was starting to pull away from my wave which is what I did last time but I ran into a swimmer from the wave in front of me and got kicked just below my ribs on the side.  This broke my rythym and I stopped to regain my composure.  As I did this I tried to take a breath and ended up inhaling a large amount of water.  This really sucked, I was having a real hard time catching my breath as I was coughing up both my lungs.  I seriously considered calling over a kayak but the race director made it pretty clear doing so would result in a DQ.  So I tried to fight through this, and went on to my back to catch my breath.  Way too choppy for that to work and I ended up drinking more lake water.  I continued struggling to the first turn buoy where I may have cheated a bit and rested by hanging of the buoy for a couple of minutes.  Once I regained my composure and wind I headed across to the second turn buoy.  I was doing much better but was mixing alot of breast stroke in to and at points it felt like every 3 strokes forward I was being pushed back 2.   I was very happy when this swim ended to say the least.

They didn't give a swim split but a swim + T1 split which was  26:03, this was about 5 minutes slower than my July time for the same 800 Meter distance.  Although I think I was likely even slower than that as I don't think my T1 time was 5:03 like it was in July, I felt I moved much quicker than I did last time.  Not real pleased with this swim but given the lake conditions I shouldn't be too disappointed.  Placed 133 out of 210, many DNS, and DNF as there were 290 registered.

The bike was difficult and really hilly by my standards, 2 seperate steep hills, and numerous small but challenging ones.  I expected that and was mentally prepared for those as I had ridden this course numerous times the past couple of weeks.  What I didn't expect was the extremely upset stomach I had from overexertion and drinking so much water during the swim.  This passed after I cleared the first major hills, but never to the point where I felt I could drink my gatorade, and the thought of eating my GU, well turned my stomach just thinking about it.  Either way I still did the course faster than my training runs but not as fast as I hoped.  I think this was largely due to the fact the last half of my ride was directly into the wind which was very strong at this point.

Averaged 14.2 MPH, which is slow but the conditions were tough (not sure how people can hold 20 or 21, amazing IMO).  Not happy, but not dissapointed either.  Next year I need to focus on improving speed, I don't think I push my self hard enough on my rides, and I think this shows in my HR never really holding past Z2 very often.  I need to get comfortable pushing it harder to avg faster speeds. 

If there is a portion I am happy about it would be my run.  Last time I ended up having to walk portions of the run.  This time I was able to run the entire thing with each mile faster than the previous one.  I averaged a 10:40 minute mile over the course which is faster than my last event.  Should have pushed harder but was afraid I was going to run out of gas based on how I did last time.  I had more left by the time I crossed the line.

I will likely use some of this in my report but I wanted to let you guys know how I did. 

Edited by chmoore2 2010-08-16 6:25 PM

Nick and Eli,

Sounds like you guys had a great day out there.  The heat may have killed me but way to go.  I am thinking of joining my local tri club next year as they hold practice tris every week, and I think I would meet some great people to help me improve.   Sounds like you guys had a great time.  Congrats.

For the Group,

Thanks for all the support throughout the year.  I will continue training but I think my Tri season is over as the one I was planning on signing up for was sold out, and the other fell on my family trip to D.C.  I will be looking for running races as those are pretty common right through October, but September is really the last month for tris in my area.  I also see they have closed this mentoring session but fully plan on coming back and reading and posting for as long as we can keep this thread active.  Hope everybody else feels the same way.

 

No worries here, after yesterday's sprint I am fully aware that this will be a serious undertaking.  I think with the entire winter to build up my base, and following a 20 week plan starting in February I will be plenty ready for the HIM in July.  The swim will be in a sheltered canal and the ride is fairly flat, so I think it will be a good one to do as my first HIM.  Will be a lot of training though!!

Charlie, way to go on persevering in difficult circumstances!
Also, unless you have a hard race director, hanging on a bouy is legal. As long as there is no forward motion, you can even hang on a kayak in most races.
I can relate to having a swim mess up your race. Getting kicked hard stinks, and swallowing water is just as bad. Keeping your head and being able to execute well on the run are HUGE in that situation.
Sorry to hear your season is over, but that just gives you time to relax, and then make outrageous plans for next season!
I would say that solid HIM training would require at least 6 hours most weeks and 10 hours on occasion. I personally don't like super long plans. I rather do some interval and maintenance work, training by feel and making sure I get in each sport once every 3 days, and then getting hardcore with a 12-16 week plan.
Great idea on the running events in the fall. I love fall races, especially the cooler weather. 

Charlie -

I was talking with a friend the other day about racing and he reminded me that even with a less than stellar performance, you can learn something from the race. I am sorry that it didn't go perfectly - but you still 1) finished (which is much more than most of the population) and 2) did great on the run. Just think of how far you have come!

September looks like it will be the *end* of the racing season for me as well - but I've got three races before the end. I like the idea of run races in the fall - sounds like a great plan!

Hope all are well - any races/simulations coming up?

Hey all,
So, I am a little sore, go figure. I have an hour run on my plan tonight, with intervals. Not sure I will be doing that!

Charlie mentioned the groups ending, but I will continue to check on this thread and post, so please stay with us if you want! 

Hey here is my race report if you are interested.  Not much that I didn't already tell you but....

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=222786