JFord Bradleyd3 2013 Spring Group- Closed (Page 20)

Noel:  Nice Ride.  Have fun @ Disney on Ice.  Been wanting to take my kids to that.  LMK how it goes then I will have a better idea if its something I really want to do 

Todd: Sprint Tri on Sunday.  Whoot!

James:  Have a goal time for the half mary?  Or just a 13.1 run w no pressure?

MKennedy:  Heck Ya Id use a wetsuit in 60-65 degree water!  I have a sleevless (Xterra brand).  The water I swim in is anywhere from 62-72 degrees.  Ive been perfectly comfortable with a sleevless.  My sister in law has the exact same suit and on 2 separate occasions has unzipped & pulled it down to her waist during the swim.... she got too hot.  Can you imagine the drag?!!  So I'd go sleevless especially if youre a warm-blooded body!  WETSUIT STRIPPERS:  I had heard about them and finally experieced them during last years Aquabike race.  WOW.  Is all I can say.  It was a very Fifty Shades Of Grey moment for me.  LOL.  Have you read the series?!?  Very direct.  Very forceful.  Very rough.  I just did what I was told and before I knew what the heck was happening, I was almost naked!   Yea! Wow!  haha. Great experience for me. Totally awesome :D 

My # so far this month:  swim 4000/12000  bike-37/175 (low!) run: 30/56 abs: i'm behind once again...  Ride & run for me tomorrow.  Swim & ride on Saturday.  Happy training!!   

Not sure really. My longest run has been 9 miles. The half has not been a focus of mine, so I am not sure where I will finish! And the wetsuit strippers!  Well sounds like I might need to make two laps if it is that fun!

A BIKE SEAT ANSWER/IDEA:  ISM or Adamo TT seat.  Been using it since I bought my bike this year and could not imagine using a traditional seat.  Bike shop may have one you can trial.  My shop loaned me one til mine came in.  Best money I have spent thus far. If too wide of a nose, have one person squeeze nose in, and attach zip tie under.  Works like a dream for most.

BIKE SPEED SAGA - those of you disappointed with bike times:  Careful here, you are prob comparing last year 'in shape times' with late winter times of 2013 (now).  The bike helps, but you have ride in aero position and have done some longer, strength building work on the bike to get some comparable data.  Keep riding, throw in some 3-8 min cruise intervals maybe on a shorter ride and build from there.  Speed will come.  I imagine we have all been just building base except Stuart who is on a different timeline.  The speed will come with some specific work; it is barely mid-March.  If you want, there is  a free plan on BT website (this website) at the bottom all the free plans just for improving bike speed.  I like it; for some, you may want increase the work depending on where you are right now with speed or base.  The cost is right and it is very good.

Elena - I will move all my wetsuit Tri's to CA starting in 2014. Sounds like CA has this down to an art of some kind.  Sounds like you need to tip those involved.  You can guide us as our race gets closer.  Road trip to CA!!!

James:  13.1 update?

Me:  did second tri today (did 1st one 3 yrs ago).  did well enough to get a podium finish for my age group.  Happy about that.  Prob a weak field.  There was another race just last weekend.  No complaints- all key moments went as planned.  Prob could have ridden a bit harder, but that would have impacted my surprisingly unplanned run (turned out much better than I predicted).  No complaints.  One thing that paid big dividends: practicing my transitions and getting on/off bike with bare feet.  That helped big time.  Don't look for highlights on ESPN - I did not see any coverage.  Sorry, really thought ESPN, The Ocho was coming out (joke from Dodgeball).  

Sounds like all are picking it up this month....woohoo!  Warmth is arriving!  

Renee:  4wks to train for that sprint? Crunch time!  

James: How did your 1/2 go?!

Todd:  Poidium!  Nice!  And no no no.  Not a weak field!  You earned your finish time.  Pat on the back!   Awesome.  Good recommendation about practicing transitions.  My race last week clued me in on the need to practice transitions... All gear was set up nicely, but right before the race started I turned my bike around because someone squeezed in next to me and our bikes were ffacing the same direction....But I never moved all my gear! So needless to say it was not easy access!  When I came into T1 I felt like I was CRAWLING under my bike to grab my shoes.....which were TIED!  

Good news,  no shin pain during any of my runs!  Yay for that!  Planning to ride to the pool tomorrow for my swim.  Do any of you log your ride "commute" time in your logs?  I'd be on my MTB.  I usually do, although dont ride to the gym very often.          

I think it would depend on how the knee is doing, last thing you want is to re-injure that knee because you are doing too much too fast! Also it would depend on your goals for this race, sorry it is not a better answer!

Todd: we can only race the people that show up on race day, so no more talk about the field!  Great job to podium!

My half went better than expected. My longest run had only been 9 miles prior. I started off slower than I normally would have and that helped me a lot. I was able to negative split the race and I finished in 2:03. My last 2 miles were in the 8:45 pace, which felt awesome. After wards I felt great, like I could have kept running! I was very happy with the race.

Thank you Ken!

A spin last night and a swim this morning helped overcome some soreness from the HM. I am glad this is a recovery week for me!

Dan-git, I hate to agree with Brad, but yeah, get some, get a fit and start practicing with them. It took me awhile to get really comfortable using aero bars. As far as brand, I think that depends on your budget!

one point of caution:  if you have carbon handlebars....you're not eligible.  You have to have alum handlebars. 

Now if you are willing to wait a few days, I can send you a pair of gently used clip ons.  The price is right (FREE) and they are race tested!  Send me a pm with the address.  

(you know these are for a road bike, right?  I noticed you holding a mtn bike above your head in the photo....)

yes!  I felt the same way during my race Sunday.  Maybe something was in the air on Sunday.  Each of my miles were faster than the previous by 10-15 seconds.   I understand the first mile, but the 2nd and 3rd?  Too bad Stuart did not do his IM on Sunday, maybe he would have qualified for Kona!

Great job on the 13.1 BTW.  Not sure I could run 2 hrs quite yet.  I will get there. 

or maybe the training is paying off!  

Also I have researched that at my IM, they will be handing out Hammer gels and stuff on the course. I have never used Hammer gels before, so I just ordered a Hammer gel starter kit so I can start using them and let my body learn to use them!

Absolutely! I would just have a different focus on those runs, meaning I would not run all out everyday, but use one for a short run, a recovery run, a medium run, speedwork, long run...  mix it up, This will also keep it interesting...

Stuart, that is awesome! Sucks about the long run to T1, but still a very good time!  Great job!  I look forward to reading your race report, so be sure and let us all know when it is finished!