GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 219)

HA! Yeah for the geeklid!

Holy crap, I was away all day yesterday and you all got really active!! That is awesome, but I am behind again.   Off to work now, but hope to catch up tonight!

MANDY -

Just make sure that when you return.......you have in hand the invoice for your BentoBox order. I'll be checkin' at the door!







Edited by stevebradley 2010-08-12 7:17 AM

My boss is late so I can say this:

Have a Bento Box on my bike! I love Triathlete Sports for shipping same day as ordering. 

Uh oh. Boss man is here. Gotta run.

Yes, I am sure, thanks.   Ken and I don't always agree on race goals and although we love to train and race together, we don't try to 'coach' each other.    If I ask, he will give me his thoughts, and vice-versa.   

I am feeling quite strong now, and am actually going to do a bit of strength training today - in particular walking lunges with weights.   And maybe some stuff to keep my shoulder strength.  I don't want to lose what I gained over the last 2 weeks.   No swimming or biking today as we are doing a s/b brick tomorrow starting with 2km lake swim and 40km bike on a hilly course which is probably hillier than Orillia.  

Orillia isn't the best race for a PB.  If you haven't done it, getting out of town can slow you down a bit.   Right into a long, steep climb and the roads SUCK!   Really bad pot holes.   Once into the country it is better and the hills are more of long gradual climbs for the most part.  

I don't think Orillia will pose a problem for HVJ, unless I have an accident or something.   The swim is short and so is the bike.   Even if I wasn't doing the race, I would probably be doing similar training that weekend.  

Did I ask you how HVJ would compare to Muskoka?   I hope it isn't harder.

Bring on your 2 cents worth!  

Thanks Tracey and Steve. 

REI is the one he mentioned.   We knew is started with "R".   Have already gone on-line and seen a couple of things were are interested in.   We will also check out the EMS in South Burlington.    I LOVE shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!

I believe you are more of an outdoor person than Ken and I and would be interested in what you take on your trips and any suggestions you can give.    We never go with other people or groups, which I think sometimes might make it easier for the food and cooking gear.   Not sure though.  

ANNE -

Watch out! I have it on good authority that when MANDY does her multi-day solo trips, she subsists on tree bark (and not necessarily the tender inner bark), caddisfly eggs, and whatever fungal matter is close at hand. Just so you know!

ANNE again -

Okay, let's see what we see!

We see some swim and bike results from P'boro and Musk, along withe some hot-off-the-press bike results that excited you. Toss them all in the aerodynamic goaldron (a down-sized, speed enhancing cauldron) and simmer a bit and.....

You had a P'boro swim at 46', which included a beach portion that you (wisely) walked, and then an up-current Musk swim of 50'. My guess is that unless the winds kick up at HVJ, that will be a much more user-friendly swim than P or M. I find it always helps to be able to see the bottom and get a sense of how fast I'm moving relative to it, and my recollection of my one race in Lake Dunmore is that the bottom is visible for most of the swim.

My other recollection is that transition is RIGHT THERE, mere baby steps from the water's edge, so that should make for a swim + T1 that will be significantly faster than your two 2000m swims this season. (That is IF the winds don't kick up and IF the course is measured correctly!!)

So, as a goal for the swim......how does 42' to 44' sound to you? FWIW, in my own case I am tentatively -- very tenatatively -- shooting for 38', subtarcting 2' from my usual ~40' HIM swim time. But for you, I'm thinking that the no-beach-run-halfway-through might make for more of a difference, which is why I'm going from 2'-4' faster -- openeing the window a bit wider.

How does that sound to you? Reasonable? Too ambitious? Easy-peasy?

As for the T1 part, I'll leave that up to you as to how fast you think you can pull it off, and maybe in your case it will also be weather-dependent. that is, are you likely to don more layers if it is either rainy or chilly. (I usually decline either option, and I took a real risk at Lake George last year by just wearing my wet tri stuff for the bike, whereas most people put on a shell and/or switched into a dry top. But that's just me, allowing valor to be the better part of discretion!)

On to the bike, then!

Ooooookaaaaay. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you will find the HVJ course much easier than Musk, and maybe easier than P'boro. My qualifier there is that the wind is not out of either the north of the south; if it;'s from either direction, that will level the playing field to comparable to P'boro. If the wind behaves itself and comes from either the west (good chance) or east (poor chance....and if it happens will likley bring big rain with it), that should help us as about 95% of the bike is going either north or south.

My recollection of the parts of the course that I have done is that it is mostly long roller-"hills" and a few nice flats. The roller-hill things give a good long descent that allows you to see what is coming and begin strategizing about how you will tackle it. I have never ridden on the parts of Route 7 that are south of Fern Lake Road and north of Route 53, so for now I'm taken my ignorance to be bliss! And speaking of Route 53, the hardest part of the bike will be at about mile 52-53, which is the mile or so that begins shortly after the turn back on to Route 53, heading up towards the intersection with West Shore Road. This is not terribly steep (like, it's not (9% or anything), but it pitches quickly and stays that way for a while -- maybe not a mile, alrthough at that point in the race it might seem that way!

Your km/h values for P and M were almost identical -- 25.7 and 25.9, and your time for the 56 miles of P was 3:30. Just a few days ago you had thatt freat ride at a 27.6 average on hills, and even though it was quite a bit shorter than what HVJ will be, it is probbaly also a hillier route. Were I in your cleats, I might want to set my sights on an average of 26.5kmh...or maybe even a bit higher? I'm SURE you'll find the course easier than Muskoka, and even though it's 35km longer, I think your endurnace might be good enough to allow you to push a harder pace for theose additional miles beyond what Muskoka had. So, what would 26.5kmh give for a time for 90km? About 3:15, maybe? 3:10? Are either of those something you could be happy about having as a goal? And what about 26.5 --- do you think that's doable for you?

All of the above -- I'm just scratchin' around! I think i might have some decent points here and there, but maybe not. I guess it's a starting point for further refinements; afterall, there are still a couple of weeks of hopefully solid training still to be completed, and who knows what fruit that will bear?!

Let me know what you think about all of the machinations above!

MANDY -

Honest? You got your Bento Box? You wouldn't be jiving me, would you?

So, how's it look? Can you see fitting all of your timberneeds into it? I hope so!



(All those people who think they are the cat's meow when it comes to the fine art of Feng Shui? Ha! Let's see how they can downsize when the goal is to fit your possessions into a BentoBox! Ha!)

TRACEY and MANDY -

Lordy, lordy, that was an ugly loss today for the Sox!! That could be one that you look back on come October 3rd and think "if only...."

The day began poorly by learning that the Yankees had overcome a 6-1 deficit (which is when I smugly went to bed) and ended up winning 7-6, and then giving up 4 runs in the bootom of the 9th just made it that much worse. Humbug!!!

Just DENISE and ME this weekend??


I'm fixing to go do West Point Triathlon, and to that end I did my last tune-up run for it today -- 17km.
(What the ??????.........)

I was getting nervous about needing some more miles in prep for the half-iron on the 29th....and today just seemed like a swell time to do it! And if I somehow injured myself in the process, then that would make my decision about West Point that much easier, right? Win-win! (Brilliant self-coaching, don't you think? )

So, tomorrow will be a ride at tempo, maybe about 15 miles (same as WP), and possibly a swim. Then Saturday will be travel and Sunday will be the race -- 800meters/15miles/3.1miles.

Sir!YesSir!

You are TOO funny!   WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED!    Hope you have a most awesome race (as usual)  and don't tweak anything.  

OK, this is WELL more than 2 cents worth.   THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!   You are really good at this mentoring stuff.  

I think I am with you on the swim goal, with all the right conditions.    I'm going for 43-44.   If I can swim as well as I think I did in Muskoka it just might be doable.   I wish had clicked my watch entering the last 750 upriver to have had a better idea of my pace to that point.   Although not quite as long a walk to transition it was still pretty lengthy. 

If you truly think HVJ might be similar or a tad easier than Peterborough, and the winds/rain don't screw things up, I'm going for 28 and hope I come in at 27.5.   I will only shed tears if I come in less than 26.   I paced myself on the cautious side in Peterborough and let up after 60km, with my goal to finish decently but not hurt myself, thinking about Muskoka.   Based on my last 2 rides I know I have much more in me.   I am feeling great after yesterday's hard ride, with no muscle or fascia issues.   Last year in Peterborough, (different route but similar and some people felt it was harder, but I didn't) I really took it easy with a 5 minute break to chat with some friends at the turn around point,  and still came in with 26.7

Going to think on this tonight, and see what tomorrow's swim/bike brings.   You're the best!

HA HA HA

How did you know?  Did I try to feed you a bug last time I saw you?  I usually wait until the 3 or 4th time I see folks to do that 

MANDY -

I used to HATE it when women waited until the 3rd or 4th date to feed me a bug! ("Four dates altready, and all I get is this dung beetle? Sheesh.")

ANNE -

VERY gald to hear what you're thinking of shooting for on the HVJ bike! I was wondering if I should throw something in the 27-range throw that out there, but not only was I lacking confidence, I also can't make any promises that I know what I'm talking about with the nature of the course. (That was the big reasoin why i wanted to feel able to do Lake Dunmore Tri this past Sunday.)

The ONLY way you will come in under 26kmh is if you have a serious mechanical or are somehow sick or the conditions are abominable, deplorable, and otherwise gosh-darn nasty. That's the ONLY way you will see the soft, white, underbelly of 26, I am sure of it!

IRONFANS!!

Very cool chart and table here:
www.runtri.com/2010/07/runtri-benchmarks-easiest-ironman.html

Hey that is cool, thanks.  That site is really cool actually. I read the IMLP stuff and peed a little I got so excited.

Although in my humble opinion I do find it to be misleading a bit....I am not surprised the Kona and Clearwater (they ahve a 70.3 list I checked out) average times are low, with most of the athletes competing in it qualifying with fairly low times, those races have the best, most competitive age group and pro triathletes around.  So you are starting with a group of people who run fast times anyway, or have in the past...those that get in by lottery or donation aren't going to change that avg much

Awesome news on the swimming breakthrough! Next question, does your annual swimming breakthrough always carry through the off season? Just wondering... I know for myself, if I'm away for swimming for more than a couple of weeks, I seem to lose some of my previous gains.

Mandy:

I'm so glad you posted the link to the Timberman swim waves in your blog, because I couldn't find them for the life of me yesterday on the web page (I was expecting them to be in the Athlete Packet...)

Are you still planning to be there for the sprint? I think I recall you saying you were volunteering? Anyway, my bib # is 1021. I'll send you my cell # if you're around that morning and want to meet before the race!

Tracey

Tracey!

I am not volunteering (want to rest my legs really) but WILL be there to cheer you on.  Give me your # and we can maybe hook up either the night before or that morning or whatever.

SteveB,

Ah hah - kenneling the dog is another expense that wasn't mentioned before.

So, is part of the reason you're racing Sunday because Lynn's been gone awhile and you need company?
You could just find a nice coffee/ice cream shop and start talking to people.  Be a lot cheaper.
I know, I know - racing's in your blood.

Denise

MANDY -

Ahhhh! I didn't know there was a 70.3 link. Now I'll have to go and check that one out!

I agree wth you on Kona and Clearwater, 100%. A surprise to me is Lanzarote, which has the reputation of an ultra-tough course.....and yet it's "faster" than Wisconsin and CdA, and andwiched between Canada and LP. The guy who clued me into the chart did Lanzarote a few years ago, and he was blown awy by how incredibly fit the Europeans were -- which is the bulk of Lanzarote participants.

I also wonder if so many North American ones at the top part of the chart refect that a lot of people over here do them as part of their "bucket list", and really don't care if they are well-prepared and well-trained.

And as I toy around with the idea of St. George, there it is -- not only at the top but PROTRUDING!!