GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 217)

Anne -

Just the person I was looking for! I haven't gone back to the last page to see what you said about the ride, as I have a thought or two in my bean that I wanted to mention. This is kind of related to breaks - be they mid-season or, in this case, pre-race.

It took a coupl e of years for former coach Erik and I to figure this out, but I seem(ed) to benefit from more "generous" tapers. i seem to have forgotten that lesson over the past couple of seasons, but last week forced me to take a generous taper.

Last week had the following:
Monday: 38' swim, 87' bike, 49' run
Tuesday: 30' swim, 86' bike
Wednesday: 49' run -- at the end of which I twanged my achilles, so...
Thursday: just a 30' swim
Friday: travel
Saturday: the races

There was no bike after Tuesday, and the last run was Wednesday; it was a soft week! And yet my race results were quite good, I think in no small part to having two soft days before the race. Had the achilles issue not appeared, I would've done another hard 40+km ride on Thursday, and maybe a brief 15' run. In hindsight, i can't believe that either of those would've helped me perform better than I did on Saturday.

Mental note: GENEROUS taper before Half Vermont!!!

Moving on...

Sleep is always a problem for me; some gene I inherited from my father, i think. I was floored to read that you did 11 hours last night, as I haven't done that since I was about 12 -- lierally. It has only been in the pst year or so that I have been able to pull off the odd seven-hour sleep, and I do mean odd: few and very far between. I dream way too vividly, and awken easily at small noises. But at least it is generally better now than at any point when I was still working. In short, i have spent the vast bulk of my adult life being at least mildly sleep-deprived.

As for the hematuria....

Most seasons it happens about four times, usually following heavy-duty workouts on very hot days. that was the pattern until December '08, when it happened after a typical-for-December chilly run, and one at low intensity to boot. And rather than disappearing after a day or even just one or two pees, it persisted -- run after run after run after. Well, some runs were hematuria-free, but most were followed by bouts. I saw my doctor about this and she worked up a meeting with a urologist, but in the way OHIP works with these elective things, that didn't happen until June -- and by March the problem was gone. There was some suggestion that I should have some invasive testing, but none of my urinary patterns showed that kidneys were the problem; mnost likely it is a problem of the bladder walls. Some people say it comes from an empty bladder that is being jostled with nothing to buffer it, others say the opposite that a full bladder being jostled will promote the bleeding. I certainly worked hard on Saturday - Zone 4 for the bulk - but it wasn't hot....and I think i kept well-hydrated. so what does thta tell me? Nothing conclusive.

After my run tomorrow, I will be very nervous about the first pee!

Sorry for too much info, and maybe at HVJ Ken might want to know about this, just in case it happens to him at some point. And FWIW, it's only happened once after a bike, with all other times being post-run. And even during that winter of frequent epiosdes, it NEVER happened without a run preceding it. So I am sure it is just exercise-induced. Lucky me, eh?

Off to your previous post!

And is it Orillia this coming weekend? Sounds like it!

ANNE again -

Oh my, that was WAY back!

I can see why you were somewhat disappointed that it was shorter than you wanted, but if the goals were met then that is ideal. In fact, that was a very complex groups of goals, and it is impressive that you met them all. That's a ride for the books, to be sure, just in terms of accomplishments!

really well done on the nutrition -- again pretty complex. I think it was either Mark Allen or Dave Scott who, early in their ironman careers, made due with whole figs - and lots of them! - as their main nutrition on both bike and run. Of course, that was way before the days of specialized gels and drinks and capsules and this and that, and they had to use SOMETHING, but still -- for many people, whole figs would result in just about permanent residence in the closest portapotty. You must have the constitution of a canal horse, Anne!

Close call on the knees, but it sounds as if youi have a sure-fire remedy for the problem when it arises. it amazes me how often I "forget" and do things that compromise various parts of me. DOH! I guess that happened to you with your legs stretched out in the open position, but you're very lucky to do be able to use yogic tricks to re-align things. We should all be so fortunate!!

TRACEY -

Yay! You're back!

About a week ago i posted something that was in a publication from PowerBar and dealt with short course nutrition. i will dig back and find where that is, figuring you missed it.

But in the meantime, your nutrition thought sounds very good! A combination of bananas and gels should work great for Timberman, working together to keep your carb levels as high you will need them.

I would love to be able to make bananas work for me at races, but at times they can "loosen me up" too much, and I fear that kind of gastric discomfort. But that's just me, and if they work well for you then they are ideal -- especially if you need your potassium topped up!

It's a good week you have scheduled, and the run of 18-milers will really help you with Timberman. Even if they aren't hilly, just having that extra time in the saddle each ride session will help.

As for the swim, well, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised by the layout of the course of the T-man swim course. It is sooo user-friendly. But if you are feeling that you are doing more thrashing and splashing on recent swims, then a session or two of TI-focused swimming will help your mindset at the T-man swim.

An article in a recent issue of Triathlete magazine mentioned that swimming is not like running and biking in that the action in swimming is not supposed to be continuous, that there is supposed to be that pause between strokes where glide occurs. And that is not the goal of either running or cycling. The article wrned against treating the swim in a "windmill" fashion, and that might be how your recent swims have been. So if you can get back to more consciously deliberate swimming techniques, you will almost certainly perform better at Timberman.

And, I just wrote all that wearing the geekster teardrop aero helmet. Just for you and your giggle factor!

MANDY -

Great long post about your goals, and my short answer for now is that NONE of them are out of line. Not at all!!

I will hit the long answer first thing tomorrow morning -- partially because I'm very tired right now, and partially because I figure you're asleep and won't see this until the morning anyhow!

G'night!

MANDY again (even though it's about 8 hours later) -

As I was saying, your goals are very solid and very realistic, and being more specific......

Swim -
I would be very surprised if you took longer than 50 minutes - unless Lake Winn is absolutely wild, that is. But I think the history of T-man, with nine years of swims, shows that it is conveniently calm on the race day; I can't remember stories of wild water there. In fact, I would be surprised if you went over 45 on it.

Bike -
Our time was about 3:30, and even though we had a very accommodating day for a ride, it should be a good 15 minutes quicker for you on race day due to (a) the huge benefit of marshals at all those crossings at which we had to slow down, and (b) adrenaline. Rain and wind can change things, of course, but even if it turns out to be an uncomfortably hot day later on, at least during the bike leg itself the temps shouldn't be a problem.

Run -
2:20 is a very good goal for you. I have seen you run twice now, and you are a solid and steadfast runner. When we returned from out run on the one loop, you hardly seemed taxed at all. Unless it's a real scorcher, you will set your pace and systematically work your way through it. If it's real hot and/or nutrition fails (see below), walking will be involved....but you will have lots of company!!

T1 and T2 -
Lightning fast in the ideal, but just be careful that you haven't forgotten anything. Oopses can be gotten around at sprints and many olys, but they can be devastating at HIM and IM. The bike represents the best option for fueling and hydrating properly, so just make sure you have all your edibles and drinkables on board before you leave your racking spot. Don't forget the sunglasses*, and if you're a sunblock person, make sure you're covered. For T2, if you're figuring on a couple of gels during the run, or anything else that you think you'll need, take the few extra seconds** to be certain that it's all with you.

Goal 1 - Done and done -- you WILL finish, and you WILL have phenomenal race photos -- you are one of the most race-photogenic people on the planet!
Goal 2 - I'd be surprised otherwise -- unless catastrophe happens in the form of lost goggles, a bad mechanical on the bike, system shut-down on the run.
Goal 3 - That's about where I have you pegged!!

* I have two pairs of race sunglasses, the ones for the bike with reddish lenses, the ones for the run with polarized lenses. So at Fronhofer, on the oly bike, I suddenly remembered that I had not taken the run shades out of my car! DOH! It was a fully sunny day and I would've loved to have them****, but had to make due with keeping on the bike ones. So even after all those years of "routine", I managed to goof up.

** Coach Erik used to tell me to take 30 seconds to do something if it will avoid losing 30 minutes later on. So, if you start to run away from T2 and realize you left something back there, turn around and get it. A better example is if you hit a bump and know you've just launched one of your bottles. Unless it's the final couple of miles of the bike, take the time to retrieve it. That's the nutrition you carefully**** chose to get you through a certain part of the race and bridge into the next part, and leaving the bottle there might end up leaving you bonked at mile ten of the run.

*** So after the oly I made sure I had my run sunglasses at t-zone for the sprint, and dutifully placed them on top of my running shoes. When the sprint run began I grabbed them and headed out, putting them on just after I crossed the timing mats -- and they were all foggy and grundgy, no fun to look out of at all. I tried to figure out what had happened, and then it dawned on me -- I had dumped my wetsuit on them, and some combination of water and BodyGlide and Pam had slimed the lenses. Oofdah!

**** Of course, many people don't choose their nutrition***** carefully and just have way more stuff than they need or can effectively use. Ultimately, it's better to have too much than too little, especially if a podium finish is not in the plans and the extra weight doesn't really matter. But, having less decisions to make is always desirable at longer distances, which is when the brain cannot be counted on for 100% reliability.

***** You know your gut better than I do, but I would cautiously recommend having something (a) salty and (b) real foodish with you. If you don't have a Bento Box, try to land one between now and then. One of the smaller ones will do fine for HIM (and IMLP, too). If you like pretzels, a few of the small ones will taste fabulous during the bike. (Small is good because they don't break so easily.) I used to be a baby potatoes****** guy on HIM, but not so much anymore. I just find that a steady diet of the specialized energy stuff wears thins after a while, and where that has left me many times is out on the run with ABSOLUTELY NO DESIRE FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN WATER. And that's not good. I have had lots of races in which I just couldn't contemplate another gel, even though I knew my muscles could dearly use one or two. And when this translates over to rejecting the run course energy drink, then it is a set-up to true disaster (which happened to me just once, on HIM #5). So for me, eating other than energy stuff allows me to postpone the time at which it will copme that I JUST CAN'T do that stuff anymore. BUT -- if you have a cast-iron gut and/or you feel confident that you can keep wolfing down the specialized gels and drinks and bars and stuff to no ill effect and with complete impunity, then what you propose for nutrition should work just fine.

****** if I haven't told you about the baby potatoes, let me know and I will. But i think I mentioned it when we had the ice cream.

Have a good day today!!


















Edited by stevebradley 2010-08-10 7:55 AM

MANDY once more -

Gee whiz! Weren't all those connectable asterisks fun?!?

DENISE, 62 for your race?? Although I'd love 62, I'm with you, and much prefer 50.  It will get here ... eventually! 

KASIA, WELCOME BACK!!  So, glad to "see" you!  Glad to hear that you've sorted things out and are ready to get back at it.

STEVE B (aka TRI GEEK), I need to check out that article in Triathlete.  I think two complete weeks off would do wonders for me right now.  I did skip out on my speed work this morning, guess that will account for something.  Again, congrats on your races and by winning AG with such healthy margins in both instances.

SHAUN, enjoy your time in Milwaukee.  Asia or Africa??  Sounds like that might fit well with where you are in your life right now and be quite an adventure.

ANNE, do you have any pictures from your most recent adventures?  I'd love to see them if you do!

TRACEY, glad you didn't disappear for too long.  It's hard to keep up with where everyone is at!

MANDY, don't work too hard and try to enjoy your taper.  Happy swimming!

LISA

STEVE B - thanks so much for the awesome input and advice!  You are a full service mentor!!   Really, I appreciate all the help you have given me, it is awesome.

Waves & Bib#'s are up for Timberman - I am going DEAD LAST - swim starting for me at 8:10. That really sucks, I get the stupid last wave 90% of the time...but I guess at least I might get a chance to pass a few people.  Bib # 2597

Chrissie Wellington and Andy Potts are racing on that day as well!  I know Chrissie stays a while after she finishes, but I don't know if she will stay long enough to put the medal over my head or not.

Re: Nutrition.  I am a slacker on nutrition.  Bad Mandy.  This is my biggest stress about the race.

I was originally going to do cliff bars and pretzels but couldn't figure out how to haul that stuff around.  I get really sick of sweet crap too...I got this thing called a Nathan Feed bag that goes on my bike and I hate it.  Don't get that product, it is a piece of crap, it doesn't attach to your handlebars and so it just kind of rolls around...  So now I need to go and track down something different.

Yes I remember the baby potatoes!!

I always want just water.  I hate energy drinks - Even on a day to day basis with meals and stuff, I don't ever drink soda, milk, juice, etc - just water.  I don't like flavored stuff.  Every marathon I have ever done I forced the energy drinks in every other stop, then switch to just water cause I hate the sweet.  I was thinking of bringing a fuel belt with my EFS in it on the run....I still get sick of it but I mix it light....then use water on the course.

Oh yeah, i need to work..

Mandy

Since you asked.     Posted 24 pictures in my album under Algonquin 2010.   Some of the pictures look better/clearer if you click on them (makes them REALLY big).   Others look better left just as they are.   Hope you like them.    

Anne,

Read your trip logs and looked at your pics.   Again, I am so envious.  I loved the campsite (I think 2nd pic on page 2) with the log bench/table.  That campsite looked awesome.

I haven't been portaging/canoeing since my 20s but I remember how much work it was.  You burned a ton of calories.

I didn't see any pictures of your "no suit" swim with goggles.

Denise

I would have whined and ranted big time.  We work really really hard to shave even a minute off our times.

Denise

Welcome back Kasia. Onward!

Denise

MANDY -

Order a Bento Box. Use www.tri-zone.com. Ask for special delivery, whatever it takes to get it to you asap. Bento boxes are great devices, and you will realy want it for IMLP. They have two velcro straps on the bottom which wrap around your top tube, and two at the front that rap around the stem area. There is a mesh falp that goes over the top, secured on one side and velcroable on the other. They are quite inexpensive. Order it now!!!!!!

Soemthing else you might want to look into is Carbo-Pro. This is an unflaored carohydrate powder that can be added to any drink - even water - to boost carb levels. Many people will add it to their pre-existing energy drink -- HEED, Gatorade, Infinit, whatever. If they have single-serving packets at tri-zone, order two or three to try out between now and Timberman. Ultimately, that might be a good way to keep those carbs coming without the gag effect of any of the sweet stuff. I will find the company's website for you when I finish here.

Success still doesn't seem to have gone to Chrissie's head, as I here is as approachable as ever. That would be very cool to have her be-medal you! As for Potts, I think he has become a nicer guy over the past couple of seasons. A few years ago he sported a bit of an attitude, but seems to have jettisoned that part of his persona.

Last wave is probably not the best, but.......
I have never been in the last wave in one of the big races. In the small ones it doesn't bother me and it IS a blast to blow by so many people. But the downside in the bigger races is that they often close transition before the first wave goes, leaving the people in the last few waves looooong times to stand around trying to get their mind under control. What is the gap between the first wave and your wave? I see you're at 8:10, so I'm thinking - hoping!! - that the first wave is at 7:30....or is it at 7:00. Heaven forbid, but you can always curl up under a tree and have your mom wake you at 7:55 or so. I'm serious about that, not trying to be cute or clever at all.

Get a BentoBox. Now! Hop to it!!




Edited by stevebradley 2010-08-10 4:07 PM

MANDY again -

It's www.sportsquestdirect.com, for Carbo-Pro.

Ordered the Bento Box yet? Huh? Huh?

LISA -

Yes, i have really thought alot about that since I saw the article. I would love to implement it fully next season and get in a nice, guilt-free trip with Lynn.....but I wonder how quickly I will "freeze" when I go to pull the trigger on a confirmed two-weeks-off. I will need to do a ton of self-urging between now and then to make this actually happen!

As for my geekiness, i don't know if my move today made me more geeky or less geeky. I exchanged the helmet, which was black with some white and silver, for one that is white with red and blue. My thinking was that I don't want a heat-absorber in a prdominantly black helmet -- even though it s cosmetics are very fine. A bit Vaderesque maybe, but still sweet. So now, with the white one, i look more pure -- or maybe it's just more vanilla-ish. I definitely look like a Good Guy, as opposed to a Bad Guy in the black one. But which is more geeky?????

Mandy,

Wow! Chrissie will be at you race.
They had a rerun of the 2009 Kona which I watched this weekend.  She is really something.  I had seen that telecast before - I think it won some Emmys.  I cry thru most of it.  The sad parts, like the guy who missed the swim cut-off and just fell apart, and the guy who was in 1st until the last few miles and just couldn't do it and got passed by the winner, a better runner.  I cry thru the happy parts even more.

Denise

DENISE -

Thank you for your support of my whining and complaining; I have actually felt kind of bad about it all. One of the two emails I wrote to the scoring company mentioned how important USAT points are to me, and that three minutes is huge (in fact, 30 seconds is huge). And then I got to thinking about why, in the cosmic order, that is even remotely important. ("Cuz it is", is the best I could come up with.) This isn't the first time I have confronted my obsession with results, and it is only some cold comfort that so many others registered their complaint well before I got wound up about it.

But you're right -- we work very hard to save mere seconds, so obviously they count for a lot. And I have spent enough over the years to slice seconds off my times -- not that that validates it just by spending money, but....but....but.....

(My geeky new helmet -- is it REALLY worth it to spend that money to save a few secoinds each race? Can I, in all honesty, justify spending (Lynn's) money that way??)

(Complaining about faulty race times is, at least, not a money-waster!)

There are several words that I frequently misspell in my chaotic two-fingered typing style. Soemtimes is one of them. Traithlon is another. A third is resluts. And there are others. I try to correct these always, but sometimes I miss and they end up getting posted as typed. But with the resluts one, it always gets my attention because it almost seems like a Fruedian slip, given my pandering about my results. (I apologize for the slight rudeness there!)

DENISE again -

Have you seen the older ones, such as the Paula Newby-Fraser meltdown, or the crawl to the finish between Wendy Ingraham and Sian Welch? Those are both pretty gripping viewing!

My A.R.T. person usually works the massage tent in the days leading up to IMLP, and then stays to watch the race. Every year she sees several people (usaully men) who are out of the swim within the first few minutes of it starting. They have either found their way immediately to a kayak, or swam a few minutes and then truned around, or just froze standing there watching everyone else head off. She says it is awful to watch them walk back to....wherever. I guess it's to transition to get their stuff. And at IMLP it is a long walk, past maybe a couple thousand fans, which would make it a couple thousand times worse, I would think.

Makes one wonder what went wrong. Did they think they could do that swim when they signed up 364.99 days before, and then never got comfortable in the water? Did they just get intimidated by the sheer mass of people in the water? It must be terible, whatever it is.

Tina also told me about a 78-year old guy who missed the bike cut-off this year and wasn't allowed out on the run, and that he was crying. Oh my.

Just to finish with some good news, one of her clients did IMLP as his first triathlon, period. He called her in December all excited that he had just managed his first 100 meters in the pool, without stopping! And so there he is at IMLP a couple weeks ago, and finsihed in 11:11, I think is waht she said. That's a hugely good time for anybody, let alone someone doing his first triathlon and who couldn't swim when he signed up for it , 364.99 days before the race itself.

Hurray for the good stories!!

SteveB:

Great race report! I continue to be impressed by the strength of your runs...

Interesting what you say about the effect that bananas have on you, considering that they're part of the "BRAT" diet that they recommend for babies and kids when they're sick!

I made it to the Y today for my swim. After 30 minutes of laps and drills, I was getting bored, so I spent the last few minutes of my time doing backstroke. I have to admit that I have a backstroke phobia! I really would like to get to the point where I'm totally comfortable in the water, going up and down, upside down, etc. When I'm doing the backstroke I have this fear of my head tilting back and the water going over my face. And there's the added issue of not seeing what's behind you. Of course, in the pool that's not really an issue as it would be in open water. I haven't had to use the backstroke so far in the races, but I realized how unnerving it could be, being in open water with lots of swimmers around you, and not knowing who is behind/beside you. Although I probably will never do the backstroke in a race, I think throwing it in now and then during training will help me to get to that level of comfort in the water that I think one truly needs in order to be a "good" swimmer.

Tracey

SteveB,

I just checked the Ironman website and they have DVDs from every year.  But 34.95.  Maybe put it on my xmas/birthday list.  Any years you think might be particlarly good.

Denise

Tracey,

Last year at my 1st tri, a woman passed me doing the backstroke.  It was very demoralizing.

Denise

I think you should go for it.   I remember the first time we did that and was really worried what it was going to do to my fitness, etc.   We were doing 10 days or so in Killarney, and Ken had signed up to do Bala the 2nd day out of the park.   I said no way was I going to do that.   Imagine my surprise when I got on my bike the DAY after we got out of the park and went for a 30km ride, I think in Parry Sound?, and it was a breeze to average 29km/hr for the 30km.   Decided to sign up for Bala but it was sold out.   Ken did really well in the race as well, and I rode the bike course before the race started. 
Now, a person may have different results if they went on a 2 week vacation where all they did is eat and sightsee.  

You mentioned earlier about having a good taper for the Vermont race.    When I first started tri's, Harry told me that I should try different things in the week preceding a race.   Take the day off immediately before and see how you feel; take two days off before a race; even take 3 days off and see how that goes.   He said just because something seems to work well, don't let that stop you from trying something new.   Your new routine may give even better results.  

I've read numerous articles the importance of being rested for the race, and how any training you do the week prior is not going to make you faster for THAT race.   It will help you with races down the road, but you run the risk of injury or overtraining if you go too nuts. 

As you can tell from my 11 hour sleep, I lean on the side of being rested.  

Liked your post to Mandy on her upcoming race.   Got lots of useful info from that.   

I didn't realize until recently just how 'obsessed' you are about results.   When I am racing in events where I can actually make the podium, I am too, which is why I have been liking the aqua/bike stuff this year.   May not be a good thing though.   I don't think I put in quite the same effort.   But I do like the having fun aspect of it.   I have always said that if it' not fun anymore, time to move on the something else.    So even though my swim and run pretty much suck, I love them both.  

I just remembered  something about your new helmet.   When we raced in Peterborough, it was super hot, and there was a guy with that kind of helmet who left it in the sun during the run, and it MELTED!    It looked pretty weird.     So make sure you cover yours up.  

Time for supper..............

Oh my gosh, that is SO something that would happen to me! Especially after dissing the backstroke as not a "real" race stroke.

TRACEY and DENISE -

It seems that lots of people can actually get a great "roll" going with the backstroke that they can't achieve with freestyle. And if they have terrfic arm flexibility, they are just flying in the water. In some respects, it is the prettiest stroke to watch, when executed to perfection. So, if and when you are passed by a backstroker during a triathlon, consider the source -- someone who has been swimming it since they were seven, and podiumed throughout high school at local, regional, and maybe even national swim meets!