fungi32 - 2010-05-27 5:46 PM Got the new bike today, Im lovin it, long ride Saturday

michwea - 2010-05-27 10:10 PM Sorry I haven't been very participative lately, guys.  Lots going on at work, plus the usual business travel has left me NOT wanting to get on the computer when I get home at night. 

In the last throes of training for my half on Saturday, the 5th.  Just going to do 9 on Saturday at race pace, some speedwork on Tuesday, and an easy 3 on Thursday and call it good.  I haven't been on the bike as much as I would like due to the work and travel commitments.  A friend and I were going to do a longish ride last weekend (well, longish for me at about 30 miles).  She ended up canceling at the last minute, which was fine.  Now she's suggesting we reschedule for this Sunday.  Here's my question:  Do I risk it when technically I'm in my taper week before the race?  The route is hilly, but there's no reason for us to go balls out; just a nice HRZ 2-3 effort, hopefully.  Is it possible to trash my legs so bad that I won't recover sufficiently by the following Saturday?

Any advice is appreciated!

yogachic - 2010-05-28 8:51 AM Kip, nice bike!

Michelle... For me, that'd be a close call.  I guess the question is, how important is that half to you, and is a 30-mile ride really pushing your limits (ie would it take you more than a few days to recover)?  If it's an A-race and a 30-mile ride will really leave you exhausted, I'd skip it and see if she'd want to reschedule after your race.  If you're just doing the half marathon as a B- or C-race, and 30-miles is not that big of a deal for you, then go ahead and ride but just take it easy!  Though for me, biking doesn't really wear me out too much, so I'd probably go ahead and ride.... I did my first long ride (38 miles) about a week before my first tri, and I was totally fine for the race.

fungi32 - 2010-05-27 5:46 PM Got the new bike today, Im lovin it, long ride Saturday

michwea - 2010-05-29 9:54 AM

Good advice Missy.  This would be a B race for me...I want to do well, but given that it's an out of town event that I haven't done before and weather/wind could be a factor, I don't have a high set of expectations.  Also, as for the ride, 30 should be no problem, and I generally don't have issues recovering from the bike in a day.  Long runs sometimes take me 48 hours before I recover, but cycling so far hasn't caused long recovery times.

Carrie--the place we're supposed to ride is called Yokol Valley.  My understanding is that you ride the hills to get to valley.  I presume the valley is flat, or flatter anyway.  At the very least, there should be rollers as this is in the Sierras.  In any case, I already made a pact with my friend that we're going to take it easy.  She seemed relieved as I don't think she has spent much time in the saddle.

Thanks for the advice everyone.  I'll let you all know how it went.

QueenZipp - 2010-05-29 11:30 AM Scott,
I had my massage today.  HEAVEN.  THe therapist said something pretty interesting that I thought I would pass along.....you may not want the deep tissue work before the race incase they stir up stuff that takes a while to recoup from.  She especially advises that if you haven't had a massage before and the therapist doesn't know your trouble spots.

I am not allowed to go a full year in between massages.  Have the next one scheduled already.  Going to put them into my life like a haircut!!

scotty930 - 2010-05-31 8:30 AM

Good to know. Did you you just get a sports masage, then? hopefully i dont become addicted to these, they don't really seem to ever be that cheap.

retiretotri - 2010-05-30 9:55 PM Very nice bike!

My hubby and I did a quarter marathon today.  Odd distance 6.55 miles.  My motto, "the quarter marathon, longer than a 10K."  Very warm, humid, sunny.

How hot was it?

Heat Shuts Down Madison Marathon Early

Organizers Decide Heat Too Dangerous

Updated: 7:28 pm CDT May 30, 2010

QueenZipp - 2010-05-31 2:27 PM

It was a deep tissue massage with some stretching too.  I will be going fairly regularly (8 weeks apart max) until the HIM then probably space it out more as the volume decreases off season. 

Expensive?  Yes....Worth the price in terms of body maintenance?  Yes...... 

Probably as beneficial as the few minutes taken to stretch, do yoga or use a foam roller are but she definitely hits areas you just can't get doing those things.

retiretotri - 2010-06-01 11:04 AM Well, as it turns out, the RD just stopped timing the event but kept the medical and aid stations open.  He hoped that stopping the timing would encourage people to either slow down or stop.  Buses were also sent out on the route to pick anyone up that wanted a ride back to the start/finish line.

I don't get it.  Either completely shut it down and stop everything or keep the timing going.  Trust me, plenty of people looked bad (quarter/half/full marathoners).  Reports stated that medical was overwhelmed with many people taken off the course on stretchers.  Safety of the runners was first priority, shut it all down and pick them up. 

yogachic - 2010-06-01 1:16 PM Hi guys, sorry for being MIA again.  Sheesh, all this training is taking away from my BT time   I'll try to catch up to the thread later (when my boss isn't looking, ha!)  And hopefully if I have more time, I'll poke my nose into everyone's blogs and see how you're all doing

I had a pretty good weekend.  Ran 2 miles Saturday morning from my house to the meeting spot for my tri club group run, then we ran 6 miles to Soldier Field to cheer on our fellow club-mates doing the SF 10-miler.  Fun morning, and I got a total of 8 miles running - only 2 miles less than the racers!

Sunday was Bike the Drive.  I'd hoped to get in 50+ miles during the 3.5hrs they had Lake Shore Drive dedicated for bikes, but I slept in and only had access to the Drive for 2.5 hrs before they kicked all the bikers off to let cars back on.  So I only got in 36 miles, but still had a fun time!  Sunday night, my running friends did a running bar crawl, where we ran from bar to bar and took a shot at each bar.  We ended up doing 7.3 miles, but I ran to/from the start as well so my total mileage that night was 9.3 miles/8 bars/a lot of alcohol.

Yesterday, I was hoping to swim & go to yoga, but I forgot they changed the gym hours for memorial day, so I wasn't able to do either of those things   Luckily I was still able to lift since my lifting buddy has a home gym.

This morning I got my first open water swim in of the season!  The lake was beautiful, warm, and calm today!  I only did a 1/2 mile though because my wetsuit felt really restrictive.  I'm sure it'll loosen up after a few more swims, though.