GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 204)

I didn't know you had long hair.  I LOVE it!  Looks like you wear it in pigtails for races.
Denise

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the absence! I have thought of you often, but life has been busy!

I have some reading to do to catch up, but my quick look it seems that Steve is the only racer this weekend?  GOOD LUCK!

More later, must work again.  So sad.

Cheers,

Mandy

ANNE again -

I like those photos -- especially the one of you veering around that other rider. And you're just like Mandy, all smiles and just seemingly thrilled to be there1

It's funny about ASI. They are considered the gold standard of race photos, maybe because they service all the M--dot races. but over the years, I have been underwhelmed by their work -- unimaginative and not very generous in the offerings. But i have had some great photos from teensy local companies, such as Island Photo for MightyMan last year, and Capstone for Escape and Pirate and Lobsterman, and a company whose name I can't remember that shot great stuff at north Country Tri a few years ago. Zoom, out of Ottawa, is not all that creative, but for any given race one can count on about 53 images of themselves popping up THE NEXT DAY on line. Brightroom is pretty good, sometimes even terrific.

In '07 I raced a ton (17 tri and du), and had a run of five a.g. firsts, then a second, then another five. HOWEVER, as you know, the field is sometimes small, and of those firsts just mentioned, here was one in which I was the only M55-59, and two in which I was 1/2. So, those aren't too represented of anything! (Also in '07 were a couple of other first, plus a few seconds.....and a 4/6 in the Canadian Duathlon Championships* in Parry Sound. One of the four above me was Robert Knuckey, who had a great race at Peterborough -- might've been 5:06 or so.)

This year, I still don't count Columbia as an a.g first, due to the Grand Masters thing. Sure, i'm on the website as first in the a.g., and have the glass plaque that says I was the a.g. champion ---- but David Adams is M60-64 and he beat me by three seconds and in my world that means that he won the age group!!!! I even had a fantasy yesterday about figuring out his address and sending the glass plaque to him; he earned it, after all.

So, it's three now, but none of the pools has been large. On Saturday, if all 16 M60-64 show up, that'll be a pretty good competitive field. Or, the quantity will be there, anyhow. Tom Dutton has aged up to 65-69, Terry Habecker isn't in, and Herman Sieverding is doing the half-iron, so that removes a few of the heavy hitters. Two years ago I was 2/18 in M55-59, but the guy who beat me is still in 55-59, so I don't have to panic about him whupping me (I'm not even sure he is registered, period) this year!


*I've done the Can. Du. Cham. twice, and been cleaned up both times. The first was in Quebec City, and that was the first time I met Harry Barnes. (Still have to comment back to you about him.) (And had he been at Parry Sound, I wouyld've been 5/7! ).

Two thoughts about the Can. Du. Champ.:
-- Both I have attended were incredibly poorly run. Almost disgraceful. I wouldn't do another.
-- Although my strengths are the bike and the run, and they lead me to lots of success in triathlon, when the real duathlon kingpins come out for the du championships, I can't compete. I guess they spend all their time doing two things really well, and maybe if I devoted all my time to just biking and running I could hold my own in the pure duathlon world, but.......

(Curiously, in run-of-the-mill duathlons I do great.....so the big guns aren't even attending those. WHERE ARE THEY HIDING FOR MOST OF ANY GIVEN SEASON?!?)

MANDY -

Work, schmork. I imagine you are well-regarded by your work colleagues, but just remember that your REAL fans are right here!!

It's not just me on Saturday, but also Denise on Sunday. I'll get that info all up here later today or tomorrow morning.

Still up for next Friday? I'm thinking of doing Lake Terramuggus Triathlon SE of Hartford Thursday evening, and then staying maybe around Worcester Thursday night before heading up to Lake Winn as earlty as you need me Friday morning. Short of that, maybe driving down on Thursday and staying at Gunstock. And short of that, just leaving at about 4am Friday and driving straight there. (Yaaaaaaaawwwwwnnnn......)

What is the earliest you could begin? The latest? What is your perfect timeline?

SteveB,

Help me!  Help me!

They just posted the waves for my tri Sunday.  They have elite 1st, then 4 waves of women, youngest to oldest, then 4 waves of men, youngest to oldest.  I fear for my life.  I've always been last (except for pool tri but that didn't matter).
This is a straight across lake swim.  Any advice

Denise (stressed big time)

DENISE -

Very strange wave organization, but not to worry!

It will help LOTS that it is a straight-across swim, as you won't have any clustering and swatting going on as you find at many buoy turns. So, I would recommend just starting to the outside of whatever looks like the best straight arrow shot to the swim exit. Most of the testosterone crowd will be looking for the quickest path from start to finish, so if you start fairly wide of it you should have a fairly peaceful and unmolested swim.

I've said this before, but for all of the talk about being "swum over", in my experience it doesn't happen. In my 80+ races, I've had it happen just once --- and as far as I know it was someone just going fast and not looking where they were going. I really think that most people avoid contact, as in that environment you cannot guarantee what will happen -- whose foot will catch you in the mouth, whose elbow will clip off your goggles. And that can happen to anyone, but I think the odds increase exponentially with aggressive swimming, and the odds further favor the damage being done to the agressor. The result is that the fastest swimmers will 99% of the time look to go AROUND rather than go OVER someone ahead of them.

If you start, say 20 feet wide of the best line, just think about how long it will take you to swim 20 feet -- not too long! So even if you keep your own line all the way across the lake and then veer in towards the actual swim exit with 30 or so feet to go, that will only take you about 10-15 seconds. If you line up 30 feet to the side, that adds only about 15-20 seconds to your time. And a final strategy would be to just swim in all the way on your own path, and then do the run to the actual swim exit once you are out of the water.

Don't stress about this, okay?








(What is the timing of the waves?

DENISE again -

Remember, too, that the real hard-core are likely to be in that first group of 12 elites. Sure, there will be some fast swimmers in the other waves, but if anybody is going to be over-aggressive, it's the boys of Wave One.

I see in one of the photos that swimmers are swimming to the left of a line of long bouy thingies, so I'd just start visualizing now of starting to the FAR left. Are you a right- or left-side breather? It will be really nice if you breathe to the right, if in fact the bouys will be that direction from you!

No stress! No stress! Or, rather........nooooooooo stressssssss atttt alllllllllllllllllllllll.

Yes! Yes! I breathe right-side.  I think those are noodles and I see what you mean.  I'm going to email race director and see if swimmers are on left for sure.  That would not be too bad.

Thank you Steve!
Denise

DENISE -

NOODLES! That's it! I knew "long buoy thingies" wasn't quite right, but for neither love nor money could I come up with "noodles"!

Anyhow, if the swim is configured the same as in that photo, you can just stay to the outside, way left of the main flow, and keep an eye on the churning masses AND the noodle line, and all will be hunky-dory.

Illegitimum non carborundum!

DENISE again -

Here's something esle to ease your worried mind:

Even though the demographics of the waves might be a bit unusual, the RD has done a very good job of keeping the waves relatievley small. Give or take one or two either way, here's my count:
#4 -- 56 (your wave)
#5 -- 51
#6 -- 45
#7 -- 43
#8 -- 45
#9 -- 55

I generally consider anything under 70 to be pretty good, so even thought here are five waves after you set off, it's not like the Mongol hordes will be descending upon you. In fact, it all looks quite manageable!

The one after you is 20s, and my experience says there are lots of "kids" that age who are just trying to fit in this stuff with school and social networking and what have you, so it's not like they are die-hards. Wave #6 COULD be a problem, as lots of M30-34 are trying to strut their stuff (I was never like that, however.....), but of the 45 people in it, there are a number (13 or 14) of teens -- and they have the same Other Priorities as the 20-set. Wave 7 will have some real good athletes in it, but they will be starting far enough after you that you might not even see them.

Does any of that help?








Edited by stevebradley 2010-07-08 3:44 PM

SteveB,

You are so good to your mentees (is that a word?).  You're putting things in perspective and helping me calm down.  You're right - it won't be so bad.  Here's what the RD and I exchanged:
--------------------------
Hi Denise,

We are putting a larger 5 minute gap between heats 4 and 5 to give you guys a little more room.  That will get you about 1/2 way to the end of the swim before the next wave even starts.  That way, if you do get caught by the next group, it will only be by a few and at the very end.

Thanks
-------------------------
Hi,

Thanks for your response.

.46 mile is 800 yds.  I swim 2:30/100 on a good day.  5 minutes puts me 1/4 way not 1/2
Note: I looked at last years results and about 100 swam 2:30/100 or slower - these are most likely the ones
who will be in heat 4.

Are the swimmers on the right or left of the noodles?

------------------
Denise,

Sorry, didn't do the math to that detail.  The swim is straight across the lake.  We will put out a line of noodles somewhere in the middle, but it won't stretch the entire length of the swim.  You can swim to either side of it, so the swim will spread out a bit for some, so you can pick a side and go with that. 

See you Sunday!
------------------

DENISE -

VERY fine exchange with the RD. He is a rigtheous dude in my books!

In all seriousness......
--- He addressed your concerns in a more-than-adequate fashion; not too many are willing to do that -- and so punctually, too.
--- That five-minute spacing between your wave and the next one is very generous, showing that he is sensitive to possible problems.
--- Allowing swimmers to use either side of the noodles is brilliant, effectively reducing already-smallish waves by half. I can't remember a race I have done with a similar set-up, and it's something that has never crossed my mind. Then again I have never (?) done a race that has a straight-shot swim, so with that as a set-up and a budget that can accommodate ample noodles, you've transcended adequacy into brilliance.

Three big cheers for Pickle Events!!!

(And three cheers for you for taking the initiative to express your concerns to him!)

------------------- RACES THIS WEEKEND! --------------------




Saturday the 10th

ME --

Mini-Mussel Triathlon (750 meter swim/16 mile bike/3.1 mile run)
Geneva, NY

9am race start (wave 6 for me)
race #1046



Sunday the 11th

DENISE -

Graniteman Triathlon (0.46 mile swim/15 mile bike/3.1 mile run)
Clearwater, MN

8am race start (wave 4 for Denise)














Edited by stevebradley 2010-07-08 8:10 PM

SteveB,

Have a great race!

Thanks so much for all your support.

Denise

LISA -

It's about 4 hours down there, although the border can always throw a mean curveball at you! We hope to make the crossing befoe three, so we should be kinda sorta maybe okay? We hope?

So, border crossing notwithstanding, it shouldn't be too much of a marathon drive!

DENISE -

Thank you, and a good race to you, too --- although we plan to be back tomorrow night, so I can re-post welll-wishes at that time, too!

GANG!!

Random thoughts before I leave:
(1) Did anyone else forget that SteveA is in Belize? I got worried about him and PMed him two days ago, but it wasn't until this morning that it dawned on me that that's where he is. Duh.
(2) Talked to Shaun last night, who is now in Ottawa, and we still plan to ride an swim and maybe run sometime on Monday and/or Tuesday.
(3) I had a groin-sproing last night....or maybe it's my appendix about to burst -- who knows! It's a low-grade thing right now, and it's moving around some, so I hope it departs fully by tomorrow morning!
(4) When I did this race two years ago, I had a bike of 43:29 and a run of 22:21, and of course I'm hoping for better this year!
(I'm not mentioning the swim, because it's been re-tooled entirely. Two years ago it was a "bogus" 750meters --as witnessed by my time of 8:00 on it! Tomorrow it will be more like a legitimate 15-17 minutes, I'm afraid. And two years ago I was 2/18 in M55-59, so we'll see what tomorrow brings in that regard!)

(5) I will be back tomorrow night, probably. If it's at a reasonable hour I will check in, but if it's late it might not be until Sunday morning that I rear my head back here. So, until then, have a wonderful first part of the weekend, GrooveTimers!

just looked that up

The "Latin" verse, in fact, is dog Latin (a pun), as "illegitimum non carborundum" loosely means, "don't let the bastards grind you down."

Denise

Good luck to SteveB and Denise this weekend!

I did my first OWS today in the local pond. A few observations: pond water tastes decidedly metallic (at least this pond water did), and there are LOTS of fish who don't seem to mind making friends with you. Also, ponds, being standing bodies of water, just have more "stuff" at the bottom. And that bottom stuff is my little phobia that I need to get over! I even wore water shoes today because I knew there was no way I'd be walking on that stuff with my bare feet.

Can someone out there also reassure me that I won't be infected with giardia or some other nasty bug by swallowing pond water? Or is that just the risk you take by swimming in ponds?

Hey Tracey,

I can't say that I have swam in any ponds, except maybe when I was a kid and we ate all kinds of dirt and stuff.     I hear what you are saying about all that stuff on the bottom.    I'm not knowledgeable enough to reassure you that you won't get infected with giardia, etc.   We canoe in what seem to be some pristine lakes but have been warned numerous times not to drink the water unless we filter it.    However, we have met up with a few people who say they have been exposed so many times, their body is 'trained', and the giardia doesn't affect them.   I'm  not willing to risk it.  

Do you not have a lake close by?   

Hope you're having a great weekend.  It is really nice here this weekend finally - good temp, sunny and NO humidity. 

HAVE A GREAT RACE TOMORROW, DENISE!!!!!


You've had some good training this week - nice bike and run speeds.    Good stuff, as SteveB would say!  

GANG!

It's 2am, and I 'm just here checking in before going to bed.

The short of it is that I had arguably the best race of my life, or at last the most complete effort. I was 1/13 in the a.g.(#2 guy 6:09 behind), but most importantly to me is that:
(A) My bike pace was 21.5mph, as opposed to 20.9 in '08.
(B) My run pace was 7:08/mile, as opposed to 7:27 in '08.
(C) My swim was at a 1:50 pace, and best in the a.g by almost two minutes. That has NEVER happened before! (It also would've been 2/17 in M55-59, were I still of that age. Goodness!)

More to follow, sometime after DENISE romps at and reports on Graniteman!









Edited by stevebradley 2010-07-11 1:14 AM