Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed (Page 20)

2015-05-21 8:10 AM

in reply to: TonyAbbott

541

North Grafton, Massachusetts

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by TonyAbbott

Hi all,

I have my first race of the season this Saturday, followed by my next in two weeks tine, and I'm wondering how I should train between the two.
I'm thinking taking it easy from Saturday (1st race day) until Wednesday, then hard from Wednesday to Wednesday then tapering the last part of the week.

Any thoughts?

Thanks - Tony.

I have only done 2 sprint tris, so take my opinion as you will. I don't think I see much point in training hard for one week between events. It wouldn't seem like you would be able to make any kind of noticeable gains in that short amount of time. Plus, training hard might just put you at risk of injury, which you wouldn't want to have impact your 2nd race. If it were me, I'd probably just do some moderate intensity workouts to keep myself sharp and fit for the 2nd race. The two sprints I did last year were only a week apart. I did one moderate run and one moderate bike ride in the week between events. In looking at my log, I didn't swim at all during that week. I had the fastest swim I'd ever had and my bike/run paces were almost exactly the same as the 1st tri from the week before.

You have one more week between races than what I had, but I see very little to be gained by training hard for one week. However, I do see the potential to lose a lot by training too hard and getting injured or fatigued before your 2nd race. I'm curious to hear what other, more experienced triathletes on here think.

2015-05-21 6:33 PM

in reply to: HelmoAlkou

Veteran

1016

Deep South, Georgia

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

Originally posted by TonyAbbott Hi all, I have my first race of the season this Saturday, followed by my next in two weeks tine, and I'm wondering how I should train between the two. I'm thinking taking it easy from Saturday (1st race day) until Wednesday, then hard from Wednesday to Wednesday then tapering the last part of the week. Any thoughts? Thanks - Tony.

Hiya Tony! What distances are you racing?

Are you new to the sport or your first season?

Which would be your "A" race?

Agree with Monty. We need to know what distances the races are.

2015-05-21 6:45 PM

in reply to: 0

Veteran

604

Cleburne, Texas

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by rjchilds8

Originally posted by TonyAbbott Hi all, I have my first race of the season this Saturday, followed by my next in two weeks tine, and I'm wondering how I should train between the two. I'm thinking taking it easy from Saturday (1st race day) until Wednesday, then hard from Wednesday to Wednesday then tapering the last part of the week. Any thoughts? Thanks - Tony.

I have only done 2 sprint tris, so take my opinion as you will. I don't think I see much point in training hard for one week between events. It wouldn't seem like you would be able to make any kind of noticeable gains in that short amount of time. Plus, training hard might just put you at risk of injury, which you wouldn't want to have impact your 2nd race. If it were me, I'd probably just do some moderate intensity workouts to keep myself sharp and fit for the 2nd race. The two sprints I did last year were only a week apart. I did one moderate run and one moderate bike ride in the week between events. In looking at my log, I didn't swim at all during that week. I had the fastest swim I'd ever had and my bike/run paces were almost exactly the same as the 1st tri from the week before. You have one more week between races than what I had, but I see very little to be gained by training hard for one week. However, I do see the potential to lose a lot by training too hard and getting injured or fatigued before your 2nd race. I'm curious to hear what other, more experienced triathletes on here think.

You're right on, imho! Tony, if you're wanting to do both races evenly and enjoy the venues then this is your best bet (As long as we're talking sprints and maybe Olympic distances). I would add just duplicate your two weeks prior to your first race, assuming you did a one week tapper. One thought would be to use race #1 as a train through. Don't hit it hard, stay aerobic, and work on the mechanics of the race. Rest a day, get in some speed work with low volume, and then start your tapper the second week for race #2. I've done some short venues close to longer distance races but that's different than what I think you're asking.

I'd like to hear from Chris on this as well.

Edit: I just ate a huge piece of cake that took two cups of coffee to get down. I should feel really bad!

Edited by HelmoAlkou 2015-05-21 6:52 PM

nrpoulin

2015-05-21 9:46 PM

in reply to: HelmoAlkou

595

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

I need more detail on that "cake report"

after a couple of 10-12 mile weeks my foot numbness came back. Last year I thought I had mortons neuroma, but never saw anyone. Can't remember what my mileage was last year when I started having problems but my longest run was a little longer and I was trying to build for a HM and Oly. May hae to adjust plans to stay at sprint distance this year.

Was thinking of focusing on shorter higher intensity runs, and bricks. Avoid all LSD days, and keeping distance at or below 12 miles total.

Nate

TonyAbbott

2015-05-22 12:14 AM

in reply to: #5075698

New user

Watford

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Thanks all, that does make sense.
Both races are sprint distance, one in Hyde park the other in Blenheim palace.
I am doing a week or tapering, which I actually find hard not to go all out, so repeating this week during the the two weeks between events makes perfect sense.

Incidentally in about 8 weeks after this I'm doing my first Olympic distance so 'ticking' over makes sense for that as well.

2015-05-22 11:48 AM

in reply to: TonyAbbott

Veteran

1016

Deep South, Georgia

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by TonyAbbott Thanks all, that does make sense. Both races are sprint distance, one in Hyde park the other in Blenheim palace. I am doing a week or tapering, which I actually find hard not to go all out, so repeating this week during the the two weeks between events makes perfect sense. Incidentally in about 8 weeks after this I'm doing my first Olympic distance so 'ticking' over makes sense for that as well.

If it were me, I'd jump right back into training after the first sprint. If you are sore or need a couple days off, then take the rest as needed. But if I was feeling good after the 1st race, I'd try to use that first race as a hard workout and continue to build off that through the first week between races. Ease up that second week and taper for 4-5 days to be rested to go again.

2015-05-25 11:28 AM

in reply to: nrpoulin

Veteran

604

Cleburne, Texas

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by nrpoulin I need more detail on that "cake report" after a couple of 10-12 mile weeks my foot numbness came back. Last year I thought I had mortons neuroma, but never saw anyone. Can't remember what my mileage was last year when I started having problems but my longest run was a little longer and I was trying to build for a HM and Oly. May hae to adjust plans to stay at sprint distance this year. Was thinking of focusing on shorter higher intensity runs, and bricks. Avoid all LSD days, and keeping distance at or below 12 miles total. Nate

That sounds like a plan! You might have someone look at it just in case it's not an issue that will keep growing. And, you don't want to know about the cake. It was horrible!! I'm sure you wouldn't have liked it, lol.

I don't remember who but thanks for the trainer advice. I added a one inch book under the front tire lift that came with the trainer. I still had to move around in the saddle some to prevent numbness but I was pain free!

I got in a 3:45 ride this morning when I got off work!! That's been really hard to do with all the rain! Sunday morning our county had 5 swift water rescues before 6am. Three were in areas where they have never seen high water. We're expecting 2" this afternoon with hail and possible tornados. Just a spring day in north Texas!

2015-05-25 11:52 AM

in reply to: HelmoAlkou

541

North Grafton, Massachusetts

Subject: Long ride

It was probably more of a mental thing than anything else, but today was my longest bike ride by a fair margin. Logged 28.6 miles today, which was about 6.3 miles longer than my previous long ride. My pace was down some, but that was by design. I tried to keep my HR out of Z5. I spent most of the ride in the lower end of Z3 and I mostly only went into Z4 when I was climbing hills. My Oly event course is 2 loops around the same course and there is a large hill around mile 10.6 of the loop. So I mapped my training ride to incorporate a tough hill in the latter part of the ride. I made it up my training hills without stopping and did most of that in the saddle. I don't think I could have run very far after a ride like that, but it felt great to go beyond the event distance a little, especially when it included the hills. I still have 2 1/2 months to build in some bricks and start putting the longer distances together. I have to say that I'm really happy with that ride even if it was somewhat slower than what I hope for on race day.

Just curious, what HR zone do people target for the bike segment when they race? Do you actually try for a good portion of the bike segment in Z5 and then try to get that down once you get towards the end so that you don't start the run segment so high? I've never trained by HR zones before, so it's all new to me.

burner2

2015-05-25 3:36 PM

in reply to: Dominion

212

Pacific Northwest, Washington

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

I did my first open water swim of the year today. It felt good to be out in the lake again! It was a very different experience this year than last--I really felt strong and confident and got into my rhythm pretty quickly. I tested my GPS watch, which supposedly doesn't work when swimming, and it seemed to work fine. It recorded a distance of 1.39 miles at 34:53, which seems really fast to me, about twice as fast as a pool swim. I usually swim about 3:05/100 yards in the pool. Is this speed difference pretty normal? I don't do flip turns in the pool, which probably slows me down there. Also, I noticed it takes me about 150 strokes to swim across the lake, compared with 200 strokes last year, so I'm traveling further and faster per stroke.

I was really surprised to find my wetsuit from last year still fit well, despite my being 60 pounds lighter. It was a LOT easier to get into and out of and was pretty comfortable. So, looks like it will last another year! I had to go to REI last week for a new tri suit as my old gear is just way too loose to fit under a wetsuit. The old stuff will still do for training rides, though. It was nice being able to shop in the women's section for a change, instead of men's big and tall!

So, my first tri of the season is this coming Saturday. It's just a Sprint. Piece of cake! With the distances I've been training, the sprints are seeming less of a challenge now. So I have a question for you folks who train for Olympics: When you do bricks, do you do the full 25-mile ride and a full 10K run? Or do you do shorter distances? I'm thinking of time management and wondering how I might fit a full Olympic brick into my schedule. The shorter bricks are easy, but longer ones will be more difficult. Since I work longer hours in the summer, I have less time in the evenings, and most of my weekends are already booked up.

2015-05-25 5:43 PM

in reply to: 0

Veteran

604

Cleburne, Texas

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by burner2 I did my first open water swim of the year today. It felt good to be out in the lake again! It was a very different experience this year than last--I really felt strong and confident and got into my rhythm pretty quickly. I tested my GPS watch, which supposedly doesn't work when swimming, and it seemed to work fine. It recorded a distance of 1.39 miles at 34:53, which seems really fast to me, about twice as fast as a pool swim. I usually swim about 3:05/100 yards in the pool. Is this speed difference pretty normal? I don't do flip turns in the pool, which probably slows me down there. Also, I noticed it takes me about 150 strokes to swim across the lake, compared with 200 strokes last year, so I'm traveling further and faster per stroke. I was really surprised to find my wetsuit from last year still fit well, despite my being 60 pounds lighter. It was a LOT easier to get into and out of and was pretty comfortable. So, looks like it will last another year! I had to go to REI last week for a new tri suit as my old gear is just way too loose to fit under a wetsuit. The old stuff will still do for training rides, though. It was nice being able to shop in the women's section for a change, instead of men's big and tall! So, my first tri of the season is this coming Saturday. It's just a Sprint. Piece of cake! With the distances I've been training, the sprints are seeming less of a challenge now. So I have a question for you folks who train for Olympics: When you do bricks, do you do the full 25-mile ride and a full 10K run? Or do you do shorter distances? I'm thinking of time management and wondering how I might fit a full Olympic brick into my schedule. The shorter bricks are easy, but longer ones will be more difficult. Since I work longer hours in the summer, I have less time in the evenings, and most of my weekends are already booked up.

WOW! I don't want to be discouraging by any means! And, the time you posted is doable by some but I would recommend double checking your distance. If you swam 1.39 miles in 34:53 you'll be one of the top 10% out of the water in a Ironman 70.3! And I'm including the pros! I calculate that at 1:26/100y. That leaves small flames behind you in the water! I'm a little jealous!! With a race in five weeks I haven't been able to get in a OWS with all the flooding we've had.

I'll leave the sprint brick question for someone with experience in that. Good luck Saturday!!

Edited by HelmoAlkou 2015-05-25 5:45 PM

2015-05-25 6:26 PM

in reply to: 0

Veteran

604

Cleburne, Texas

Subject: RE: Long ride

Originally posted by rjchilds8 It was probably more of a mental thing than anything else, but today was my longest bike ride by a fair margin. Logged 28.6 miles today, which was about 6.3 miles longer than my previous long ride....Do you actually try for a good portion of the bike segment in Z5 and then try to get that down once you get towards the end so that you don't start the run segment so high? I've never trained by HR zones before, so it's all new to me.

Congrats on your ride, man!!

About 80% of my training and racing is in Z1-2 but I mostly do the half distance.

Edited by HelmoAlkou 2015-05-25 6:26 PM

2015-05-25 6:39 PM

in reply to: 0

Veteran

1016

Deep South, Georgia

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

The general consensus is that you don't need to run more than 20 minutes or so. For Olympic training bricks, I'll usually ride 10-20% over the race distance, so 30 miles or so, and then run 2-3 off the bike. You don't need to run the full 10K. Just enough until the legs have adjusted and you get used to how it will feel running after the bike.

Start with a 20/1 brick and then work up to a 30/1. Once you get that try a 30/2 brick. That is all you really need for Olympic distance.

Edited by Dominion 2015-05-25 6:40 PM

burner2

2015-05-25 6:57 PM

in reply to: 0

212

Pacific Northwest, Washington

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

I would recommend double checking your distance. If you swam 1.39 miles in 34:53 you'll be one of the top 10% out of the water in a Ironman 70.3! And I'm including the pros! I calculate that at 1:26/100y.

Yeah, I don't really trust the numbers, either. I had a friend check the distance with her iPhone GPS and we also used Google, and all three measured the distance about the same. However, I'm NOT a fast swimmer at all. My last race pace was about 2:30/100y, which seems more reasonable to me.

Originally posted by Dominion

Start with a 20/1 brick and then work up to a 30/1. Once you get that try a 30/2 brick. That is all you really need for Olympic distance.

Whew! Thanks! That's totally doable!

Edited by burner2 2015-05-25 6:57 PM

nrpoulin

2015-05-26 9:18 AM

in reply to: HelmoAlkou

595

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

Sounds like things are getting pretty bad out there. Stay safe!

I am toying with seeing one of the sports med docs around here or going straight to a Podiatrist. Don't want anything major during the season. Last week went okay. If I keep to sprints there is no real reason to run over 5-6 miles, but I would like to do a HM and Oly at some point.

Anyone have recs on bike shoes?

Nate

scottjjmtri99

2015-05-29 9:12 PM

in reply to: #5075698

New user

178

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

First outdoor Tri of the season is upon me! How is this possible? I had all these plans to be in "super shape" and ready to turn some heads going into the season. Instead, life changing events have given me excuses to slack on my training yet again. We're moved, but still have boxes to unpack. I've snuck in one run in the past 2 weeks, haven't swam or biked in 2 weeks. Ugh, it's gonna be an interesting race come Sunday.

Thankfully, I foresaw my lack of time to train coming and signed up for the Sprint vs the Olympic that I had originally planned to do. Weather appears to be comfortable, high in the mid 60s is predicted with no rain. Probably close to the water temperature! Bike course is full of rolling hills and is on a closed course. The run is also full of rolling hills and is an out and back.

Good news is, I've run this race before and know what to expect and I guess you could say I'm "well rested " as some of my friends would say. lol. Bad news is, I'm well rested lol.

The last 3 weeks have fun filled with packing, lifting boxes, furniture, ect, and walking up and down stairs nearly every day leaving me mentally and physically exhausted. Sunday's Tri I think will be treated as a very hard workout. A test of my endurance and mental toughness and will give me a bench mark for future tri's this summer and into the fall. I ain't counting myself out of an AG podium, gotta believe to achieve! (Gotta put in the work though too lol)

Anyone else racing this weekend? If so, good luck! Race smart and have fun! To those in training enjoy your weekend!

Scott

2015-05-30 3:42 PM

in reply to: burner2

Veteran

604

Cleburne, Texas

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by burner2

Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

Originally posted by Dominion

Start with a 20/1 brick and then work up to a 30/1. Once you get that try a 30/2 brick. That is all you really need for Olympic distance.

Whew! Thanks! That's totally doable!

HEY! I remembered an article I read a while back about OWS and using a GPS. The lady said she put her watch under her swim cap on the back of her head. She got great numbers every time!

I finally got to get in an OWS this weekend and it was great!! But, I ended up with the same issue with my GPS. My pace was 1:13/100y!! I was smokin'!!!

Shimano Triathlon Cycling Shoe

2015-05-30 3:51 PM

in reply to: 0

Veteran

604

Cleburne, Texas

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by nrpoulin

Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

Originally posted by nrpoulin

Anyone have recs on bike shoes? Nate

I've used these for two years now and they're starting to look used so I'm about to replace them. No issues, many, many miles and races. Wore them w/o socks many times (every race). They aren't top of the line but I'm a little frugal and really don't believe a cycling shoe will get me on a podium.

Really looking at one of these for a replacement:

Pearl Izumi Tri Fly V or Tri Fly IV

EDIT: GOOD LUCK SCOTT!!! GO GET EM!!!

Edited by HelmoAlkou 2015-05-30 3:52 PM

nrpoulin

2015-05-30 4:02 PM

in reply to: #5119066

595	Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed Go gettem' Scott! With no expectations you are a very dangerous racer. Leave it on the course! My Race Log

burner2

2015-05-30 8:13 PM

in reply to: 0

212

Pacific Northwest, Washington

Subject: Troika Sprint Triathlon

Troika Sprint Triathlon Race Report
1/4 mile swim, 10.25 mile bike, 3 mile run
1:27:28

I competed in this race last year; my goal was to cut 30 minutes off that time (1:57:31), and I did that! The swim started out badly. I don't know what happened; I just couldn't get into a rhythm, despite three OWS practices earlier this week. About half way through the swim, I finally settled down and was able to breathe and put my face in the water. From there on, I was pretty flawless in my performance. Transition went really well, about half the time I took last year. The bike ride went well, too. I put everything I had into it to make up the few minutes I lost on the swim and also knowing running is my weakest link. I passed everyone; I felt like I was just flying, but my average speed actually was pretty slow (16.39 mph), even though it was a pretty flat course. Transition went great; I was in and out in under a minute. Again, I cut my time just about in half from last year. I hit the ground running and stayed running. My GPS watch was a great motivator as I had it set for 1/10 mile intervals, so it gave regular feedback about my pace.

At the end, I'd placed third in my division (Athena), out of 11 athletes, which I thought was pretty good. However, had I raced in my age group instead of as an Athena, I would have placed first. Ha ha ha! I think that now I'm faster, I'll start registering for my age group so I'm not competing against much younger women. I mean, seriously, 150 pounds is considered Plus sized? Give me a break! Some of the skinniest women there were competing as Athenas!

Anyway, I got home and checked the results online. It seems a couple of women had malfunctioning chip timers, and when they accounted for that, I was moved down a spot to fourth, so now I have someone else's bronze medal.

Overall, I'm happy with my results. I gave it everything I had and collapsed in a heap at the end. Pretty much, I just need to get faster at everything and maybe figure out how to do open water swims around other people. I have a lake to practice in for the summer, but it's private, and I swim alone, so there's no distractions, no chaos. My bike and run times should improve with time and training.

Update 5.31.2015: Checked the latest race results, and I'm back listed in third place of ten, rather than fourth of 11, so someone was either moved to a different age group or DQ'd. So, unless it changes again, it looks like I get to keep my bronze medal.

Edited by burner2 2015-05-31 6:27 PM

2015-05-31 11:01 AM

in reply to: scottjjmtri99

541

North Grafton, Massachusetts

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by scottjjmtri99

First outdoor Tri of the season is upon me! How is this possible? I had all these plans to be in "super shape" and ready to turn some heads going into the season. Instead, life changing events have given me excuses to slack on my training yet again. We're moved, but still have boxes to unpack. I've snuck in one run in the past 2 weeks, haven't swam or biked in 2 weeks. Ugh, it's gonna be an interesting race come Sunday.

Anyone else racing this weekend? If so, good luck! Race smart and have fun! To those in training enjoy your weekend!

Scott

Good luck, Scott! You might be "well rested", but that doesn't mean you can't do well. Plus, you could take a lot of things out of this race. If nothing else, work on your transitions.

I was going to do a sprint next week, but I'm worried about the water temps and I don't have a wet suit. I know there is another race near me a couple weeks after that one, so I might just do that one instead. I was interested in both of these sprints because the swim is 1/2 mile, which would help me get a good gauge on where my swimming is. My A race is my Olympic in August and the swim is the part that worries me the most. Like my brother always says, "if I can get out of the water, I can finish the race"! LOL I'm sure I could do the swim now, it's just a matter of building more confidence.

2015-05-31 12:23 PM

in reply to: burner2

Veteran

604

Cleburne, Texas

Subject: RE: Troika Sprint Triathlon

Originally posted by burner2 Troika Sprint Triathlon Race Report 1/4 mile swim, 10.25 mile bike, 3 mile run 1:27:28

Fantastic!! Good job!

2015-05-31 5:38 PM

in reply to: burner2

541

North Grafton, Massachusetts

Subject: RE: Troika Sprint Triathlon

Originally posted by burner2

Troika Sprint Triathlon Race Report
1/4 mile swim, 10.25 mile bike, 3 mile run
1:27:28

I competed in this race last year; my goal was to cut 30 minutes off that time (1:57:31), and I did that!

Nice job! Seems like you've really made some gains since last year. Keep up the good work!

Shimano Triathlon Cycling Shoe

2015-06-01 5:37 AM

in reply to: 0

Veteran

1016

Deep South, Georgia

Subject: RE: Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed

Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

Originally posted by nrpoulin

Originally posted by HelmoAlkou

Originally posted by nrpoulin

Anyone have recs on bike shoes? Nate

Really looking at one of these for a replacement:

Pearl Izumi Tri Fly V or Tri Fly IV

EDIT: GOOD LUCK SCOTT!!! GO GET EM!!!

I can recommend the Tri Fly IV. Love mine. the 5 is probably great too, just no need for me to upgrade yet.

Edited by Dominion 2015-06-01 5:38 AM