Manatee Mentors 2014 v.2 thread2 CLOSED (Poptart/pet pic bribes?) (Page 22)

BT has been a major pain for me this week.  It really doesn't like my Chromebook and I have no idea what's going on.

Today was the first real workout I've done in any time.  I went to the 8:30 am Hot House yoga class.  I can tell it's been almost 3 months since my last class!  I have 15 more visits that I need to use by the middle of November, so I should start going more often.

I don't feel like doing much else.  I'm in a serious funk.  I also think I'm getting a little sick this week.  My chest has been kind of tight and I've been coughing, but it's all dry and that's the only symptom.  Weird.

I think along those lines too, but instead of "crush it", just go have fun being out there and going fast. For me the term brings too much pressure to have the perfect race.

Rode the Dairyland Dare yesterday. 123 miles with almost 10,000 ft of climbing. Sister and a few friends had their race this morning. All of them did well getting around.

Woo hoo!  Serious ! 

Congrats to your sister :-)

Trainer question for all of you.

Background: We have had a stationary front over NC for the past month.  This is a resulted in more than our fair share of rain.  I had a four hour ride on the schedule for Saturday and, you guessed it, rain.  Lots of rain.  I set swapped my rear wheel, set up the trainer and off I went.  I have a Cycleops Fluid trainer that's 3-4 years old.  About 1:45 into the session, the rear wheel started to "slip" and lose a lot of it's tension. It would behave for maybe five pedal strokes and then get super easy for maybe ten strokes and then suddenly get hard. The suddenness and unpredictable nature of these shifts made it feel unsafe.  I certainly didn't want a trainer related injury!  I had Kevin look and he said, "The trainer looks broken."

Questions: 

Is the trainer really broken?  I tried increasing the tension on the rear wheel and the slipping still happened.  This would not hurt my feelings.  I've never liked this trainer.  Kevin has one of his own.  I like his better (different version of the Fluid2, his has the yellow handle, mine does not).

If I were to replace the trainer, I should get what?  I typically use the trainer infrequently.  I much prefer riding outside and I can do that mostly -- except rain or ice.  Unless I am taking the trainer to class (yes, I've done that!) I typically use it a half dozen times a year.  If I do winter trainer class, then we'll call it 25 times a year.  Classes are 60-90 minutes.  The other times I ride from 90 minutes to 5 hours. 

Do I need for it to be a fluid trainer?

Would an inexpensive unit like the Performance Ascent do the job for me?  Should I be looking at a Kinetic Road Machine instead?  (Both are mentioned here: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/10/2013-trainer-recommendations.html)

My current plan is to borrow Kevin's trainer until the winter trainer sales start so I have some time to decide.

Thanks for your input!

It doesn't *have* to be a fluid trainer, but those tend to work quite well. Particularly the Cyclops and Kurt Kinetic. If the tire is not slipping, then I'm not sure how to fix it. Have you contacted Cycleops yet? They may be able to repair it or may offer some sort of deal towards a new trainer of theirs. Worth a shot as their customer support is supposed to be great.

I agree with Ben's comment about contacting CycleOps.  I've dealt with them and they've been very friendly and helpful.  I think you and I may have the same trainer.

I'm finally back from my vast (OK, not vast but at least varying) travels the past 3 weeks: Lake Placid, NY; Bethlehem, PA; a trip to the Finger Lakes region of NY which also included venturing west - Buffalo, Rochester, Fairport, Canandaigua, then Watkins Glen for the NASCAR race Sun.  We hit some wineries around Lake Seneca Friday before heading west.  Fun times, but it's good to be home and am ready to try to settle back into a good training rhythm.

Sorry to see some manatees could use hugs: Yanti, Jonathan (TN), Jen, my twin TJ, Monica.  Hope things turn around for all of you.  Keep hanging out in here, it's good for puppy pics and laughs.

Speaking of puppies, Jazz is adorable, Stacey!

I see we have some nice bike pics to oogle over, too!  Red, Kanga Katana, Deanna's loaner.

Have fun in Alaska, Ann-Marie!  Hope France is treating you well, Darren!

Great job!  That and the Horribly Hilly Hundreds are on my "never again" list.  I do not like climbing!!

That is a lot of climbing!  Congrats to you and your sister.

I have a few friends that did the 100km route and they want me to come back next year and do either the Dairyland Dare or HHH with them... I'm not sure which will be the greater of two evils...  

Welcome back! I have been loving all of your photos! 

Daaaaa-YUM! 

Awwwww, hey now chin up!

Summer is tough. It really is. I have been struggling a bit lately, too. I think it's a good time to establish some goals and priorities, make a plan and tackle it. 

That being said, maybe it would be good for all of us Manatees to discuss our goals and plans. I know I really need to figure my sh*t out and it would be nice to have some group support! 

Welcome Back! I'm sure it'll be nice for all of you to settle back in to a routine.

Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement. I knew you all would help. I started feeling better after my swim yesterday but am still trying to figure out WTH that was all about. I'm still not deciding on IM, which may mean I miss out on Boulder if I don't figure it out soon. I think I'll read some of the IM Boulder RRs and see if that helps.

As for Fi, we stopped at the Tri shop on the way home from the race. Apparently the cable was fraying and it caused a piece of plastic housing to bunch up and mess up the system. Tri shop got me all fixed up (of course, I walked in there with Sbux coffee for the mechanic) and we are good to go.

Good call! Right now my focus is still RnR Denver in October. I really wanted to do the HM

An IM for 2015 is still on my mind but with the emo fit yesterday I'm just not sure what to think...

ETA: I've been enjoying your pix too!

ETA2: Is it creepy that I followed Siri Lindley on Instagram to see pictures of Rinny training?

On another maybe even somewhat relevant note, I've been getting out and about a ton. Lots of trail running/hiking and exploring.

We did a trail run and saw 7 of the most unique and beautiful waterfalls and then went into this gorge where you hike right in the riverbed to ANOTHER waterfall, complete with an up to your neck COLD water crossing, it looked like Jurassic Park. 

.       

Ooooh also, Oiselle featured me in one of their tweets: https://twitter.com/oiselle 

Exponential Awesomeness! I haven't been keeping up on Twitter because I'm behind on the Tour of Utah and don't want spoilers

Wow!!  What beautiful falls!!  That's a fabulous way to get a post-run "ice bath," although up to the neck might be a bit much for me...

I actually have not been on that one at all this year!

Very nice!

I have my 1st tri next Sunday, a little 5k on 8/23, then another sprint tri on Sept. 21.  I'm planning to do a run/bike series (the "Chilly Cheeks") in Dec., Jan., and Feb., each 4 mi. run and 10 mi. bike in a variety of configurations and regardless of the weather.  I'm also seriously considering the Zion HM in March and maybe a 56 flight stair climb in Feb.  Next summer, I'm going to do 2 sprints and an Oly.  Haven't figured out which ones yet other than the Boulder Sunrise in June.

As for goals, I really need to strengthen my L hip, which is still weak as a result of 2 surgeries.  Doing that will definitely help with swimming and cycling.  I also want to do some Pilates to increase core strength, and increase distance and speed in all 3 disciplines.  I'm going to join a running club in Oct. and start going to a semi-coached swim conditioning class sometime in there for the distance/speed goals.

As I write all this out, it looks really ambitious, at least for me.  I feel like I'll need to do something 6 day a week all winter to accomplish everything.  Not sure I can manage all that, but between a motivated friend and DH, who wants to get more active again, I'm hoping I can do it.  We'll see....

I think those are fantastic goals! It's ambitious but I don't think it's too much. 

6 days a week isn't over the top either. It's not like you have to go all out every day. Even if you are just doing some small hip strengthening exercises one day, it's better than nothing and relates directly to your goals.