BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! (Page 21)

George! George!

I forgot you're racing too.  Good luck!  I'm a notorious results stalker so I'll be checking the results Sunday - I hope it's not one of those races that don't have results up for days.

Denise

Steve,

haha - just saw the "if".  Her grades are posted and she did ok.  In fact, her GPA was higher this year (junior) than either of the previous years.  I think they stop trying to weed you out once you're in your major.

Denise

Lots to catch up on here! So happy for a long weekend!!

STEVE and DENISE, congrats on another 1st place race for each of you!  DENISE, you can send some of that 59 degree weather down here.  It was 98 degrees when I met my partner for our "run" last night at 7pm. We decided neither of us needed to kill ourselves this early in the season (and certainly not before either of us take vacation in 3 weeks, hers to Hawaii and mine to Alaska), so we decided to walk our 3 miles.  It was still 94 degrees when I left to head home. Guess it will make for a nice weekend in the pool!

JOE, congrats on your century!

SANDRA, TRINA, and GEORGE, good luck at your races this weekend. SANDRA on her first 1st tri, just enjoy the experience and have fun; and TRINA with her 1st oly, can't wait to hear how it goes as that's still on my "to-do" list.

JEFF, thanks for the indepth race report. Sounds like you got more out of the race than you had first thought.

And, welcome, MANDY!! Good to "see" you again!

LISA

Hi Everyone-

Just back from a 112 mile ride in the fog and rain.  It was a really tough ride on hilly terrain.  It took me about 8 hours, I sure do hope I am a little faster than that for IMLP, but there was pretty heavy traffic and so I think that also slowed me down some.

STEVE - So. Why the heck are my pinkies numb now?  That hasn't happened before and I didn't notice it until AFTER I got off the bike.  Any thoughts?

I hope you all had a marvelous weekend!

Mandy

Hi all-

Topped off the weekend with a 14 mile run.  Legs were very tired and it wasn't a great run.  This week I taper a bit leading up to next weekends race.

Also, apparently I have something with being in the last wave of races.   Like my first HIM, I am in the last wave of the upcoming race.  At least I won't have the guys swimming over my head!  Now I am kind of used to it I think.

Hi Steve, hi everybody!

I'm poking my head in here last minute to give a quick Cap Tex update.

Well, it's the night before my first Oly and I'm NERVOUS! It's super duper hot here in Austin, TX, and there's supposed to be record heat tomorrow (110F heat index). I remain calm on the outside so my husband thinks I'm fine, but on the inside I'm really freaking out. This is precisely why I stop racing after May and don't start up again until late Sept/early Oct. I HATE the heat - I'm a super heavy sweater and my face turns red and people worry about me.

In an effort to keep my core temp down my coach told me to stuff ice in my shorts, bra and under my cap while on the run. I will do this at every aid station. What I'm worried about is electrolytes. And about a million other things, but I'll stick to the electrolytes right now: I don't know how much I need, specifically. I bought some Endurolytes capsules and it says 1-3 tablets every hour in hot weather, more if necessary. How do I know if I need more? I'm thinking I will take 3 tablets before I get on the bike, and 3 before I start the run, then maybe a couple more at about the 4 mile marker. Obviously I will be consuming water during the bike and especially the run portions as often as I can.

My bib number is: 855, Women 45-49 Wave J

Please pray for me. (lol)

Trina,

I just got back from DC and saw your post. Good luck and the good thing is you will be running in the morning prior to the peak heat.  If they have towels in ice water at the fueling stations grab one and run with it on your head or the back of your neck until the next fueling station and switch it out.  I also sweat heavy and take about the same amount of Endurolytes  that you are planning to take, so I think you wil be fine.  Enjoy your race and don't forget your sun screen.  

JK

My first one done!!!!!

It was wonderful!

I also should mention that I'm finishing my master thesis. On Saturday at 8PM I sent in the final draft. That added a lot of stress to the last few weekends too. Today and tomorrow my two last days at work and on Wednesday I'll start a new training plan. Steve, I'll ask you for help with that later

The race was a roller-coaster of emotions. (which I did not expect)

It all started on Saturday after emailing the thesis. I entered in a panic state. I went to bed at 11 but I couldn't fall asleep immediately. Woke up at 5:30

We arrived early (my husband and a friend came along) got registered and set up my gear.  I was so nervous, that I went back and forth to the transition area 3 times to make sure everything was ok.

This was a try a tri. 300 m indoor-swim 15k bike and 3 k run.

I entered the pool on the 3rd wave. First lap fast but ok. second lap still fine. 3rd one: This was a complete mistake! What I'm doing here. who asked me to do this. Why, etc,etc... I just wanted to quit right there! I was exhausted. Completely out of breath and tired. I wanted to go home. Then I started to swim slower and even though I couldn't relax I finished ok. I came out of the pool and barley could walk to the transition zone.

The bike was fine, slower than usual (avg 25k per hr) but fine. The weather 10 celsius overcast and a little bit windy. By the end of the bike portion my feet were very painfully cold. Maybe I should wear something else.

Then my biggest fear: the run. I came out of the bike, and the legs were not responding But at this point it was funny. The run part went extremely slow. 7.5k per hr! My legs did not want to do what my brain was ordering them!!! But it was very funny. I was picturing myself from an observer point of view and laughed about that.

I'm glad there were volunteers everywhere cheering us up. That helped. During the last lap I started talking with another women and everything ended very soon and in a good mood.

Clearly I think I'll need to work with my emotions. From one second to the next I went from wanting to quit, to being exited and proud of myself, to OMG what a terrible mistake, to oh this is wonderful!

But today. I'm very very proud. I finished the run without even thinking about the pains and injuries. I even biked with the swimsuit and a regular swim pant. (I thought that it wouldn't make sense to wear the cycling short on top of the swimsuit. And it was cold) Nothing bothered me during nor after the race.

I wish you could hear my excitement! My son said that I did not stop talking all day about the experience.

One of the many mistakes was using a cotton T-shirt on top of the swimsuit. It never dried out and I could feel the cold. I'll buy a proper shirt this week and maybe a jacket. Also a tri short.

I'm running late for work now. I'm glad to be part of this group Even if I haven't participated too much during the last weeks, I feel there are people who understands what is going on and also reading all the posts has been very helpful. I'm not alone... getting emotional again

Sandra

Sandra,

1st Tri completed, master thesis completed.  I'd say you had a great weekend.  Congrat's on both accomplishments.  You should feel very proud!!

Sandra

Good on ya, you get your "hood" and your finishers medal.  What's next week? (just kidding).  By the way, I always get a bit "winded" the first part of my swim also.  It takes me a few hundred yards to calm down and "get in the grove". Congrats!!!

JK

Great job, Sandra.  I assure you your emotions were similar to the feelings every other one on this listserve has experienced at some point in their past.  Congrats to the two Captex competitors, too.

I've been complaining about the cool and rainy weather all Spring.  Well, we've skipped ahead to July.  Just returned from a 17 mile ride followed by what was supposed to be a 2.5 mile run.  Very hot, humid and windy.  Could only complete about 1.5 miles of the run.  Felt sluggish and crampy.  The beers around the pool yesterday probably didn't help things much, either.

Running a local 5K next Saturday but treating as a training run because will be celebrating the Cardinals' victory over the Cubs the night before.  Looking at a sprint in mid-July, a biathlon and another sprint in August then another biathlon in September.  Starting to reconsider my previous conviction to never run another 1/2 marathon, too.  St. Louis has its inaugural Rockn'Roll Marathon and half in October.  Got a lot of training to do if I decide to go for it.

Sandra - Congrats! You now have a Master's degree as well as a new title - Triathlete!  Good job on both, and I wouldn't consider your emotions to be out of line at all - triathlon brings-out all sorts of emotions in its participants. Just look how scared I was last night! LOL! Oh, and yes please do yourself a favor and ditch the cotton clothes. You can get tech shirts at discount sporting good stores that work just fine and will be a lot more comfortable for you to train and race in. Tri shorts are an excellent investment, and one pair will last a few years.

Ok, I made it through Cap Tex without dying. You guys must have prayed really hard for me, and for that I say - thanks! The swim was awesome; the water cold and clear. The bike wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it was going to be, but man oh man the wind was howling. I actually rode through a Dust Devil in downtown Austin - not once, but twice... thankyouverymuch. Austin is in a draught, and the subsequent dust combined with the wind and heat - yeah...I rode through dust twisters. I bet not many triathletes can report that misfortune. Then came my weakest (by far) split - running. If you can call it that. Oh how I wish I could run. But I did manage to complete the 10K, cross the finish line, and eat a slice of pizza with my hubby. I raced in honor of my uncle who died serving his country in WWII, and wore his name on my shirt. What a humbling experience.

George - I looked for you, but never saw you. Hope you enjoyed yourself! (Yes, it was a suffer fest on the run).

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day!