Big Steve's Group - CLOSED (Page 22)

I'll be swimming in a cold lake in three weeks. I need to start practicing getting in and out of the wetsuit

How did your OWS/volunteering go?

Congradulations !!!  Excellent time for a 1st.  Hope you're enjoying saying "Im a triathlete". 

Sign up for another yet??

You don't say.  Getting in is one thing...But I absolutely hate getting out, it takes me forever.  My T1 time was so long at my first Oly that someone commented on my race report.... "what were you doing in T1 .. shaving your legs?"

Thank god for the wetsuit stripers at some events. They rock!

LOL!! I have a very vivid visual of you shaving your legs in the transition area now. Thanks!

Good thing about Black Bear is we'll have Jules there (we will, right?). She'll have to help with the wetsuits. She's the reason we are going to be there!

Yes,  My wife and I are doing the NJ State in July.   I am doing a ride for Autism June 11th.   Looking for another tri in the interim.   What you guys recommend?

Hi Everyone,

I’m sorry to report my first open water swim did not go well.  I was unprepared for the cold water and the claustrophobic effects of a lake swim.  All my pool training went out the window and I couldn’t focus my mind on any one thing, control my breathing or relax my body.  I grabbed hold of a kayak less than halfway through to try to compose myself, but ultimately I did not finish.  It was a very humbling experience.    

I know the mantra “Nothing new on race day” but that didn’t stop me from making some critical mistakes.  First, I chose the day of the race to swim for the first time wearing a wetsuit.  In hindsight, I should have at least tried it out in the pool.  Clearly, my experience scuba diving was insufficient.

Second, I went with a friend who has been doing Tri’s for 5 years and I wound up going away from my usual warm up routine and followed hers instead, which basically consisted of waiting on the shore line for the starter to say Go…  I didn’t even take the opportunity to take a short warm up swim.  Maybe that’s a good thing. If I had I might not have gone in again.       

Ultimately, like all of us who pursue this sport, I will use this experience to solidify my resolve and since there is no substitute for experience, I going to try again.  I signed up for the Jerseyman Sprint on May 21^st in Clinton, NJ.   It will be the same swim in the same lake (hopefully it will be a few degrees warmer), follow by the bike and the run. It will be my first outdoor event.  

I’ve made a promise to myself to finish, even if I have to swim on my back the entire way.  

Steve, sorry about your experience. I know what you are talking about since this is exactly how my first lake swim ended. Unlike you, I had plenty of OWS experience since I had spent twenty two years of my life swimming in murky lakes and rivers of the Ukraine. There were not swimming pools. You wanted to swim - you swam in the river (no lifeguards either). I was so confident in my first OWS I jumped in with the first group - the strongest swimmers. I was trying to climb ashore exactly 5 minutes later. I could not explain it but I had a full-blown panic attack. 

I signed up for another OWS two weeks later and swam for about a mile. No issues. On the race day I had a brief anxiety attack once I started swimming away from the shore, but this time I was prepared and just did breaststroke for a bit keeping my eyes on the nearest kayaks. After a couple of minutes I was able to go back to freestyle and swam steadily the rest of the distance.

Next time you'll be prepared, you'll know what to expect, and the swim will go much better. Good luck!

Thank you for the wetsuit warning - I'll try mine in the swimming pool this week.

My first OWS was a positive experience. The weather was in the 90's and the lake was sitting in the low 60 degree range. I did not have anyone to swim with me but my wife was on shore and there were ironman swimmers close by so I put on my wetsuit (for the first time ever) and just went for it. All in all it seemed pretty smooth but once away from the shore to where I could no longer see the bottom and could only see murkiness it became a little bit scary. I swam back and kept close to the shore line since I was basically swimming alone. After swimming a few laps and feeling really good about it, I checked the garmin that I had placed in my swim cap and it showed me swimming .70 miles. I did not realize the insignificance of the distance I swam until I compared my route to the Ironman route happening the next day. I am a little nervous now after seeing the ironman swim in real life realizing that I will be swimming this distance in November.

As for the race, I ended up not signing up as a volunteer and just enjoying the race as a spectator. The weather was hot and the race was amazing to watch in person. Saw the leader finish at 8:32 which is amazing considering that this is known as the toughest ironman branded race (it's the only Ironman that did not sell out). Had a great few days though and if everything works out well for me in Arizona this year, I may consider this race for next May as it is beautiful in every way.

I was thankful for the open water swim with Team Brandon.   I did ok on the swim, but could have done better.   The water was more like black liquid mud and the in water start had us really cramped in the beginning.   I plan to hit as many OWS clinics as possible.

Here are the sites I'm watching:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wenonah-Lake-Open-Water-Swims/143312109062142

http://www.jstriclub.org/

If anyone is feeling crazy enough, I'd be up for an island beach bike/OWS.  

My picture is on the jstriclub site (you only see my oakleys and the top of my head).  I'm in the team brandon photo in the middle.  

When were you thinking?   

I'm doing a 20 mile Time Trial in Frenchtown, NJ on Sunday @ 7:30.  I think there are still spots left....

http://www.BikeReg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=12641

Hi All! Hope eveybody is having a good day. Wanted to share something funny. I told a co-worker (an avid runner) that the upcoming race now stars in my nightmares and he replied with the following:

Questions:

At night, do you wake up and.... find your self moving your legs like your peddling or running?

At night, do you wake up and.... find your self in a mental transition zone?

At night, do you wake up and .... find your self gnawing on a power bar?

At night, do you wake up and ....last but not least... You are wearing a tri-suit?

Yes......nightmares!!!

Running is easier!!!!

No particular time in mind.  It might be nice to get the NJ part of the group together for a ride and swim.    I thought Island Beach was a nice easy going ride.  Here's the route Team Brandon used.

http://runkeeper.com/user/grauch/activity/33675525  

Swam a mile in the pool wearing my wetsuit and learned a lot.  Wish I had done so before my first OWS attempt.  Also practices a lot of spotting and found (slightly strained) neck mussels I didn’t know I had, but I developed a technique I’m comfortable with.  Same athlete – more experience. 

You have to add me as a "friend" so I can see the route.  Just sent you a request.

I won't be able to get out to island beach for an OWS & bike tomorrow. Raincheck please!!!

Need to get in 4 hours before it starts raining tomorrow @ noon.  I'll be going from North Brunswick to New Hope and back starting no later than 8.  17 MPH avg.  If anyone is interested, please let me know.

Didn't stick to the plan fully but got in some good training time this week. 

Swim:  5700.00 Yd  - 2h 10m

Bike: 96.16 Mi  - 5h 51m

10 Weeks till IMLP! Next week is when training starts getting really serious.  Coach has 20hrs on my plan.  Will give it a shot but its gonna be tough. 

Finally a pretty consistent week

Total: 8.6 hours

Swim: 2.7 hours

Bike: 4.6 hours

Run: 1.3 hours

Highlight of the week: flat tire during a long ride in pouring rain. Fun times!

first flat??

Yep, I have never had a flat before. Took me about 30 minutes to replace it )

I was soaked and cold. Had to turn on the heater in the car on the way home.

Good practice changing a flat under the pressure of nasty weather! Here are my totals for the week:

Good question First, I could not get the tire off the wheel and then I could not get the tube + tire back on the wheel. A stronger person would have done it faster. There also was a 5-minute effort to figure out my my CO2 was not working. Turned out I put the cartridge in the wrong way. Oh well, next time I'll do better.