MightyMojoMentorGroup -- (Full House!) (Page 212)

Steve,

Yes, I signed up for Vineman again. It sold out in less than 30 minutes and the 600 strong wait list filled an hour later. Crazy! I think that's going to be my A race this year. This'll be my 3rd year doing it and I know I can push. Dave, our friend Mike and some of my Wednesday Cycling girls are doing it too so it should be a party I still would like to decide on another HIM in the early Fall. 

I'm going to put the bike on the trainer this afternoon for a short spin, swim tomorrow and go for a short run Thursday and I'll see how I feel. I had to do a short jog at the barn this morning and I felt perfectly fine so I'm optimistic!

The other think that's been keeping me busy is I started a drill team at my barn a few months ago and we're going to have our first exhibition in 1 1/2 weeks. It's been great fun to get back into drill. When we video the exhibition I'll put it on YouTube and link it here.

If you and Lynn are free for dinner on Saturday, let's plan that. If you don't have that much time we can meet for coffee. Dave and I are open in the late afternoon/evening. Looking forward to meeting you in person!

Johanne

JEFF -

Mighty fine photo!

Good comments, too.  There's one about the cues from the aero helmet telling you to stay put.  There's the one about the placebo effect, and one about having to many variables to make sense of why change has happened.  (It's likea  gear-freaks version of "mixing meds"!)

And I can relate really well to the comment about sometimes shifting focus to one event when the upcoming one hasn't passed yet.  I was better-behaved in that regard when I spent time figuring out true "A" races.........and dedicated my training in that direction..........and having a coach who kept me in line far better than I can manage that on my own.  I got a chuckle out of the "ADD" comparison, although for me it was more of "SO MANY RACES!!"  "SO LITTLE TIME!!"  Although I guess that coulda been kind of ADDish.

If you don't make the 200 miles, I will write a mentor's note to excuse you.  Just one the services I provide as a Full Service Mentor!

That picture is from the November TT, if you go here and look at pictures 16 through 18, on image number 18 you see the gentleman with his hand off the aero bars sort of motioning, he was my "two minute" man whom I had just caught and passed within 50 meters or so of the finish, when he made that gesture-I sort of frustrated him. 16 was right after the pass and 18 was his "wave".

A fun group to ride with, my compliments to him for waving with all 5 fingers extended-I don't always have the same restraint

JEFF -

Nifty photos, especially with the story behind them.  The one of him is a keeper -- whether for you or for him, I'm not sure which.  And you're right, it was a very measured and gentlemanly gesture!

Your position looks really good --- low, very compressedly tight, no indications of anything"straining" at all.  Save that setting!!

JEFF again -

And I think the guy in image 19 has just been passed by gestureman!

Number 19 is Richard Chowning, in his late 60's I believe. I passed a total of three riders, Chowning, a coupl on a tandem and Richard Boren-Gestureman, Boren passed the other two as well. I think Chowning cheered me on as I passed on my way to reeling in Boren-hard to know what I hear though in that helmet.

JEFF -

Yeah, the world becomes sort of muted in my aero helmet, too.  Might as well have a big old conch shell taped around each ear, at least for purposes of sound-supression and modification.

JOHANNE -

Um, er, ah...........don't hold those dates quite yet.  We are still kerfuffling with the original Scott Valley plan, and that will maybe affect when we are in your neck of the woods.  If things break favorably in that reagrd, we will there later on, as in more likely the 12-14.  Maybe?

You're too funny! You plan your vacations like you plan your races! By the seat of your pants

Keep me posted. We'd love to meet up if it works out for you two.

You must of had success with Infinit, right? Did you try anything else? I've used CarboPro and Heed mixed together and I've been happy with that the past couple of years. What did you like about Infinit? Is that the one where you can customize the formula?

Yes. I feel I had success with Inifint last year. It's the one where you can customize your carbs, sodium, flavor, strength, protein, caffeine. Going all liquid greatly simplified nutirition for me. But of course, I didn't do any races over 2:30 . . .

Wow! That's a LOT of miles. Yes, you are probably looking at a write-off. I bet you're none too happy about having to purchase a new car? You could buy one of those "Smart Cars" that get like eleventy billion miles per gallon of gas. That might offset the price of buy a new car somewhat!

Training for Dallas HM is going well. Just putting in the miles and having fun doing it. Running is so much more difficult than either riding or swimming, but I don't know....there's something about it that makes me feel so good. I guess you could call it a "high."  Especially now that cooler temps are here. I love when it's overcast and between cold and cool....running around the lake in front of my house can truly be a beautiful experience.

Trina - Your running around your close to home lake sounds nice.  I really love to run from home to Skaha Lake and then back and forth there for awhile and then back home.  I don't know why but there is just something special about being near the water.

I've been struggling with a nuisance health issue for over a week now.  Troublesome enough I'm considering making an appointment to see my MD.  Funny thing is I'm still running, swimming and cycling without any difficulty.  I'm completely fine except for this annoyance.

On Tuesday evening we went to a Challenge Penticton Open house.  I guess they're looking to build support and a base of volunteers.  I was surprised at how many people were there and mostly it was just talking to people.  There were a lot of people from my swim and cycling groups.

They also introduced a couple local Pro athletes who're planning to compete and they announced Lothar Leder will participate and Macca will be there although he may not participate.  The local female athlete is Janelle Morrison who made a miraculous recovery after a severe MVA two years ago (very similar story to Jordan Rapp).

In the pool yesterday we did a timed 300m and I knocked 9 seconds off my last attempt.  My time was 7:06.  When I finished I realized I probably could have pushed myself harder to break 7 minutes.  That puts my average pace at 2:22/100m not very fast but last January I think I couldn't swim 100m at all and then for awhile I was about 6:00/100m.  At this point I can't imagine breaking 2:00 but I will keep trying.

JOHANNE -

I'm sure this is hardly original, but it just came to me, anyhow:

The only thing that should ever be carved-in-stone is words and names and dates on a gravestone.   I just say that in defense of our inability to plan a trip (a) first time around, and (b) that doesn't involve countless false starts, backsliding, and abject logistical collapses/implosions.  That is, nothing ever seems carved-in-stone for us trip-wise!

But!  We may be settled (hahahahahahahahahahah??) on a schemata now!  That would have us around the Bay Area Monday and Tuesday, and maybe Sunday afternoon, as in 10-11-maybe 9.  Now, the HOW of how all that is structured is kinda dicey (amoebic?), so stay tuned for details (i.e., watch for unravelings.  wheeeeee!)

TRINA -

That is great to hear that you are enjoying the training for DM --- next weekend!!!  I'm not sure I've ever heard you say "having fun" as it pertains to running, but the reasons you give -- "cooler", "overcast", "cool", "cold", "lake" -- are all ones I can dig.   I also think you have a whole lot more confidence in yourself as a runner, so if that's the case it makes perfect sense that you would find it more enjoyable than not.  Anyhow, it's so fine that you're having a good time on this leg of your multisport journey!

I ahve run a ton over the years, and mostly love it.......but have never really felt anything akin to a "runner's high".  The best I guess I can come up with is immense pleasure at some runs, and delightful ease with others, but as far as something that gets me into a special zone or is somehow transcendent...........don't think i've ever been there.  Most long-term runners talk about it often enough to make me think it's real, and if you are ever at that point, then i guess i am certifiably envious of you!

TRINA again -

Oh, yeah --- the car was a write-off.  Very, very sad, but given tha damage we saw on it, I would've been incredibly leery had there been a suggestion that it was gonna get repaired.  Given its age and miles, we actually got a decent settlement on it, but you're right -- not even close to covering teh cost of something new.

Having hit a deer and seen what it can do to a fairly sturdy car, I shudder to think how a "Smart" car would fare.  The deer would be right there, and if it didn't flop right through the windshield, it would almost surely push a bunch of the front innards into the car itself.  Oh, my!

We are leaning towards a Honda Fit or a Toyota Matrix.  The Fit has remarkable storage space, and because the back storge area is almost "depressed", my bike, minus front wheel, CAN STAND UP -- no need to lie down as it did in my various Focus and Escort wagons over the past many years.  The seat presses against the "ceiling", but not intrusively; it is really remarkable how spacious the Fit is.  And if I DO lie it down, it can fit in such a way that I can fold up one of the back seats so we have a thrid-person option.  We sure couldn't do that, either, in any of our previous cars!

Graet gas mileage, too.  The Focus wagons were okay, but the Fit is superb and the Matrix is definitely a fuel-efficiency upgrade.  So, we shall see!

It is December 1 and it's 80 degrees today! The Dallas Marathon is predicted with a high of 64 low of 41 light winds from the SSE.

1 hr of swim instruction at Play-Tri in the endless pool. I got a different coach than originally scheduled. He put his focus on my kick-apparently I still drag my feet kind of low and he wants me to develop a tighter and more consistent flutter kick to keep them up. I ended up swimming with a snorkel and kick band to help me focus on my feet, then slowly removed these elements to swim without them-sort of back and forth. Apparently I was able to get my swim to a 1;22/100 with some brief surges even faster and even swam a 2:04/100 with just kicking. So it is a very different focus than I had been. He said I am over gliding. I ended up buying a snorkel and kick band.  It was a full hour of drills and swimming which is much longer than I have been doing since Redman so I am tired and it was starting to show.

I will work on the drills he showed me-especially since I bought the "toys" then a follow up session to work on other parts of my stroke.

Tomorrow my last longish run-probably only 14 miles.

Tomorrow afternoon my friend and I are going to McKinney-he sold his Cannondale Synapse road bike and bought a Slice from some guy who broke his foot and no longer rides. He bought a slice of the tri life I guess.

STEVE - Yes, I'm as surprised as you are. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely abhor running in the heat, but give me a lake, cold temps, no sun and Sigur Ros' dreamy/haunting Icelandic melodies in my ear and running is a transcendent experience. If it's foggy that's even better. I bet you can tell that I'm a fall/winter type person like your wife, right?

I think I've actually used the term "spiritual experience" to describe what I feel when all the conditions are just right, but that could have been me pushing it so hard that I was on the brink of death and was seeing a bright light at the end of a tunnel instead of a lake. Dunno.

Good point about the "Smart Car." Smart Car vs. Deer and I'm thinking you'll be on the losing end of that encounter. Sounds to me that you're definitely leaning toward the Honda Fit - I looked it up on the internet and it is a snazzy ride! I see a lot of those types of cars/conversion vehicles at tri and bike events, obviously because of their functionality. I just purchased a Volvo SC 60 which is very similar to the Honda Fit and I love it. I can fold the back seats down and place my bike inside (sans front wheel) on it's side, but I usually just slap the rack on the back and carry my bikes that way as I don't want to get the interior dirty, especially with my mountain bike. 

DAVE- Congrats on being second in the US today. That had to feel good, however short it was or not. I wonder if my local tri club has registered? Anyway, thanks for the link and great swim!

Yes, George. There is something special about being near the water. I'm pretty sure I've heard that somewhere near 80% of the US population lives near the ocean or a large body of water. Even though the lake in front of my house is small, and I think pretty shallow, it can still be very pretty.

Hope your health issue resolves itself soon. I was plagued with one this tri season and it about drove me nuts until I figured out what the culprit. Good luck! 

I woke up this morning with a very sore left shoulder.  Either I slept wrong or I did something to it in my swim yesterday.  Just now I'm typing with one finger because I can barely move my left arm.  When I feel around my deltoid muscle it literally feels like I broke the humerus.

When I got up I assumed that if I used my arm it would ease up so I got dressed and a fellow I swim with came over and we drove to Kelowna for the Santa Shuffle 5K Fun Run.  I haven't been preparing for the run so I didn't have high expectations.  I just wanted to finish.

The run was on a gravel trail and included 4 bridge crossings that were interesting because the bridges were bouncing like suspension bridges so a bit challenging to run on.  I started running in the back of the pack and just tried to maintain a comfortable pace.  I felt pretty slow so I figured my time would be 38-ish minutes but as I came into view of the finish line I sw 33minutes on the clock so I tried to sprint (no difference) and I hit the finish line at 34 minutes even.  I was very pleased with this considering how slow I felt.  I'm sure I could've cut some more time if I'd been better prepared.

The day was supposed to be cool and snowing but at the time of the run it was a balmy 11 or 12 deg. (about 60F).  Not as good as Jeff's very nice 80 but a nice surprise for us.

Jeff's comments on the Honda Fit do bring up an important point.  Some vehicles "fit" people better than others.  My previous vehicle (a Ford) was very uncomfortable for me after 1.5 hours driving.  My M-I-L's car (Sebring) had me in agony in 30 minutes so I never drive it anymore.  But my new Ford is actually fine - but a bit of a guzzler.

GEORGE -

Very mixed reports from you.  On the down side is the "nuisance health issue" and the shoulder, but on the plus side are the 34' for the 5km Santa and the whopping 9" off your previous 300m time.  That's a very large slice, and even though you sound skeptical about breaking 2:00/100, those 22" might come off much more quickly than you imagine!

As for the shoulder....how is it now?  You mention deltoid, so I will ask how you manage lifting that arm above your head as you would to put on a buttonless shirt?  let me know, okay?  i'm asking becasue shoulder impingements often register as deltoid pain, even though that is usually less bothesome than pain at the top of the shoulder.  Give me a description of what you're feeling, okay?

It's been a lousy week of raw weather, but the next few days will be peachy.  The nicest of those, though, is Tuesday -- just when we will be driving to Syracuse so as to fly to California until the 16th.  Nice to escaspe winter........but it also makes it a big old come-down to come back to.  But really --- should i be complaining?!?