Baowolf mentor group is [ Closed ] (Page 22)

Nice to hear everyone enjoying the swim. Not sure if I have been feeling it lately as I keep trying to build my run and bike. Of course work always gets in the way. I'd rather be training!!!

Ceril - Great to hear from you. Life has a way of taking over. Get some sleep to help stay healthy, then find 2-3 time a week you can call your own to do some simple fitness. You will do great in your events and that will make life that much more enjoyable.

Mike - nice thoughts on the transition pre-race walk through. I kind of know the area where the race is which should help along with your idea.

Transition locations:  I try to put the stuff near the bike exit, or the bike re-entry.  If those spots are taken, I try to pick a landmark I can remember: near the only tree, opposite a curb that sticks out into the lot; those are a couple I remember from last year.

60 mile bike yesterday! Beautiful day, with a stiff wind but that kept it from being too hot. I love long bikes. Felt great, energized, and slept like a baby last night.

I've never done a race where I didn't have an assigned transition spot, so my experience has been with locating my space relative to the various in & outs. If it was first come first served, I'd certainly set up next to an obvious spot, or at least as close as I can.

Signed up for a local fun run 5k yesterday, which I'll be doing with my 12 year old daughter. After that race, there is a family 1-miler race so the two of us will be joined by my 9 year old daughter and we'll all do the 1 mile run together. I can't wait, and am hoping for good weather.

Muscle pull from the pool on Wednesday was still a bit sore this AM, so I skipped my swim this AM, but will still hit my 6-7 mile run tonight. Tomorrow is a big 60 mile ride/30 min run brick. Getting out real early and can't wait to go.

That's awesome, Samantha! It is so nice to hear affirmation that your hard work is paying off.  And VERY nice pace you were holding in your class!

Ceril, so glad you had some feel good running!  That is the feeling that keeps us coming back for more. 

I feel that sleep has a huge role in training.  I may be a certified sleep wimp, but my mental state takes a big dip too.  I can get away with a night or two of less than normal sleep, but after that, it's time to pay the sandman! 

Great job making the most of your time!  It's a puzzle that has to be constantly reworked, especially for working parents.

Thanks for the book recommendations!

Hope you and your girls have a blast at the 5K!  So neat that you can share this with them.  Good luck on your brick tomorrow as well.  May the wind be at your back!

Awesome Beth!  So glad you had a great ride.

As long as they get out of the way!

I had a very good (for me) bike ride yesterday.  Averaged just over 17 mph for 29 miles.  I know that is not fast by most standards, and once again it put me in last place in the bike group.  But it was VERY good pace for me so I'm celebrating it!

Had a nice 5 miler this morning, followed by an OWS, finally!  Only other time I've been to the lake to swim this season was 25+ mph winds and white caps and I bailed partway through.  Conditions were much better today, so I regained a little confidence.  I'm fortunate to swim with a vey good group of triathletes.  Learned today that one of them is #12 nationally in his AG, and another is #3.  No wonder I'm last there too!

Carol,

great job on the bike.  That is a very good pace!!

Congrats on the wedding, and glad you had a great honeymoon!!!  Training is there waiting for you when you're ready.

Thanks!  And today proved that for every good ride, there an equal and opposite bad ride.  Knew when I saw the group gathering this morning that I was in over my head.  Only one of the folks that I usually can hang with was there, and once again I was the only girl.  Ugh!  Told them at the first regroup to feel free to drop me, and they sure did.  Roads already wet from rain last night, and then started coming down again, so I headed home after about 22 and made it a brick with a 4ish mile run.  Running in the rain = good, riding in the rain = scary.  Oh well...if they were all good rides I probably wouldn't appreciate any of them!

You are just killin' it!! great work!

Anyone race today? if so, how did it go??

I managed a 42 mile bike/2 mile run brick this AM. Had planned on 60 miles biking, but had to cut short due to last minute family things. Will get there next week. Brutal 'bike legs' for the first half of the run, and I couldn't feel my toes as they were freezing cold from the ride (went out at 5:15 AM). Never really felt good running.

Ride was great. Beautiful day to ride along the ocean for nearly 20 miles to start. worked on nutrition, and things are shaping up. also put a bottle cage between my aerobars to hold a second bottle. Worked great, and reminded me to drink. Only had a couple poitns where the ride was more of an effort than I thought they should be, but they passed quickly.

Tomorrow AM is an early 10 mile run, then a 1 hour easy spin on the bike later in the day.

Samantha--all that hard work on the swim is paying off big time!

Ceril-Loved to hear about those moments of zen on the run

Quasi--you're doing all-around awesome. 

Carol that's a great average for 29!!!

I had an amazing day as bike support for my running club's marathon. It was unusually sunny and hot and I hung out with the most inspiring folks who finished between 4-5.5 hours. Heard their amazing stories, was inspired by their smiles and tears.  All of them winners!

Larry, Power bars are what 220 calories. So for a HIM you are going to be out there 3-4 hours... at 300 to 350 calories per hour... so like 4-5 power bars, could leave you with a sore jaw if you do power bars on the run too.  Nothing wrong with it though. 

I use Infinit because it is 1100 calories in 1 bottle with a straw.  I dont have to unwrap anything or count bars or chew or anything that requires thinking. 

My sprinkler system is killing me.  So after replacing 4 separate breaks the pump itself breaks a seam and there is another leak somewhere and a selinoid or 2 our and all the gaskets for every line needed to be cleaned ...... so 5 hours later I went on a 60 mile bike ride, wind seemed to always be in my face, but was probably just a crosswind most of the time.  I added in a stiff 3 mile climb in the middle.  I haven't had much energy all week, and was not really feeling the love, so I just went out at a moderate pace to keep it there.  The air has dried out a lot and I ended up going through about 84 oz of water in 3:25:00.  I have a 14 mile run on tap for tomorrow, we see how that goes, not optimistic given the week's high fatigue rating. 

So reading all the posts.... you guys are definately rocking.... 10 mile this 60 mile that brick 1.2 mile swim etc.   Go back and read a couple of your first posts, look at your workouts from 2 months ago and give yourselves a pat on the back.  Everyone is rocking.  It looks like we are definately gona have some folks ready for their races.

Oh for finding transition spots, I have a really ugly bright towel just for transition.  I try to grab an end of the isle spot if I can (not assigned).  Some folks use helium ballons or some other way to make their bike stand out.  Landmarks are a great idea too.  Basically you need to have a way of remembering where it is if the spots are not numbered.  For the longer races, also have a strat for potty stops.  The first portapoty on the bike is often the most crowded. Sometimes it is worth it to hit the one in transition as there are typically lots of them there. 

Grats on the wedding, swim improvement, solid bikes, runs and confidence.  I slept 11 hours lastnight and could have probably used 30, so ya try to get sleep when you can.  Very proud of everyone, you are all on target for your races. 

The miles y'all are covering is impressive. This was my recovery week with 2mile runs. Seems so small when I compare. It was good time for a recovery week. I will get all but one bike in, but I am okay with that. I really needed some extra rest to be ready for the build. This will be a new experience and I hope my desire for the race outweighs my desire for sleep and laziness.

I like the bright towel idea. I have never had an assigned spot, so I try to get there early enough to get a good spot. Count rows. Place my bike next to the end. I like the balloon idea. Anyone ever use the 5 gallon bucket idea? I have seen people bring all there transition stuff in the bucket, then they turn the bucket over so they have something to sit on while they are changing there shoes. What are your thoughts on this?

I would encourage folks to not be hard on themselves if their numbers are different than other people's.  There was a time when I was winded after 1 mile.  I saw a guy on bt running 200 miles in a month and I was like oh my gosh what the heck, I'll never be anywhere near that.  But this is really just about your own journey.  Some folks love sprints, some love IM's, etc.  We all start with where we are and then we build as quickly or slowly as we want to.  None of us are likely to make a living as a professional triathlete, so this is a hobby.  We each pick our rate of increase, our training hours per week, what is more important than a 3 mile recovery run, etc.  Comparing against yourself with your goals is really the main thing.  I love to see folks getting better, training safely and finishing things they never thought they could.  You guys would have loved to see me doing the breasttroke and riding a rented bike at my first sprint being all nervous and such.  Or at my first Oly trying to put on a tri top over wet skin, timing chip doubled up in the wetsuit and trying to eat bananas on the bike.  The first him was less funny with not enough calories and having to walk the last mile in 105F temps. 

We have a huge range of where people are starting from and what races they are going for.  So please don't get intimidated by the bigger numbers, everyone is doing great and pushing themselves.  I dropped a bike and a swim this week due to fatigue.  It is the recovering from a HIM while recovering from a cold, while throwing in a 4 mile race and aligning my training to the new HIM training plan thing.  I share my training so you can see why I do what I do in the process.  The plan is the plan and I try to follow it very closely, but your body is not always perfectly aligned with the paper.  The long swim, bike and run are very important for the week, sometomes other things can be dropped to get through the week.  Getting to the starting line healthy is the big thing, assuming you hit "enough" of your workouts.  I'm not saying skip 3 runs and hit your long run cuz thats gona bite you, but stay healthy guys. 

The bucket can work nicely, the elites will look down on you for it, but it is nice.  For IM branded IMs they have chairs in the tents to sit in.  For the HITS races they have little benches at your transition area to sit on.  Most races don't have anything.  So a bucket and a bottle of water to wash the sand off your feet is a nice luxury.  It is hard to bike while carying a bucket to T1 though from your car.  Find what works and go with it.