MarkQuiet's group - FULL (Page 22)

Tara:  Hang in there.  I can't expound in my usual way right at the moment, but for this morning, consider what you're really trying to accomplish by improving the bike.  Are you driven to be on the podium and take home hardware or are you just trying to improve from one tri to the next?  If it's the latter, then feel free to back off the bike a bit.  We'll all offer you ways to get more comfortable - and I'm not sure a group is where it's at.  I've never been a group rider, but I grew up on a bike and have ridden now for 30+ years (and I'm only nearly 40) .  I'm getting started - but I've gotta go.  More later.

THANK YOU ALL!  I needed to hear that.  I so appreciate your kind words - they're encouraging and helpful.  I switched around my a.m. schedule today and freed up some extra time.  )  I'm going to lower my expectations, slow down and allow myself to grow into this lifestyle slowly (heck, I've been doing it going on almost a year now!) instead of shooting for best in my AG (how arrogant at this stage anyway???!!!).  I want to run at least one more tri this summer so I'll have a couple of races to compare to for next year.  I think I've got to relook at the training plan I downloaded too so I'm not discouraged when I'm not able to keep up with its requirements.

Thank you to everyone....You guys are great!

Thanks again Megan and Doug!  Gosh, this week has been an insight into my psyche.  I usually consider myself pretty happy-go-lucky, but I'm realizing I can get obsessed about doing everything to a "t" and that takes all the fun out of it.  I'm actually an "otter" at heart and like to reduce everything to play so I like both your ideas about using the dang plan as a "guide."  I was pressuring myself too much to try to improve on my bike and I thought the only way to do it was to ride with the group.  They're basically very safety conscious but have had some bad accidents lately and they press the limits and are known for their hard riding.  I get pumped up when I ride with them but I'm also terrified riding one inch from the person in front of me.  I also have to be there right on time (I'm almost always late to everything I go to) and then I'm rushing around trying to pull myself together for the ride.  I really enjoyed my solo ride last night. 

Any good suggestions on improving my biking in general?  I know the motto about "time in the saddle" but should I focus on cadence or avg speed, hill work, or just mix it up?

Any one racing this weekend?  If so - good luck.  If not - be safe training.

Cool thing happened today.  I found a phone number of a lady I met at my first and only triathlon.  She had been chiding me cuz I beat her and she mentioned she lives here in town and is new to town and was looking for some one to train with.  I put her number away and didn't think of it till just recently.  Anyway, we talked today and she is psyched about training together AND her strong suite is biking.  She lives in a part of the county that has some nice rural hilly roads and she's gonna work with me.  She's running the Crystal River Twilight Triathlon tomorrow night which I wish I was ready for but I think I'd push too hard on the run and hurt myself.  Anyway, I'll go to cheer her on.  We've committed to train for the 10/28 Cooter Fest (yes, that's the real name) Triathlon in Inverness.  Yippee - I'm excited!

fgray: good luck and have fun.  You'll learn a lot in the first OWS and don't get discouraged.

Tara: Having one partner is great.  Probably better than a group, imo.  As for improving, just ride, baby.  Find some hills and climb them, then enjoy the descent.  Find some flats and sprint them, then enjoy the recovery speed.  I don't know a thing about cadence, but find a gear you're comfortable in, not too hard, not too easy.  Adjust accordingly.  Don't forget, riding a bike is fun.  Look at all the kids who love to bike.  Be one of them.

Frank - have a blast!  If you've been doing TI stuff just try to remind yourself of the drills while you swim.  You'll do fine.

I loved my bike ride today.  I wore my HRM and I don't know what range I should be training in but it has given me a default training zone of something like 119-136 so I'm using it until I figure out what mine actually is.  I normally get my HR really high when I ride, like 170 or something (I know I'm overtraining) so, today I took a LSD and even though it was 102 degrees on my bike computer I felt great.  I saw a swallow-tailed kite (my favorite bird) and no less than 6 gopher tortoises (endangered big 'ol turtles) sitting in their holes along the trail watching the bikers go by.  They made me laugh.

Doug, you are so right about kids and bikes and I realized while I was at the LBS buying a new helmet (broke my old one but not due to a wreck, thankfully) today that riding a bike makes a kid out of everyone.  The shop was super busy while I was there and I watched as each person mounted a bike and took off for a test ride that they had these huge big smiles of delight on their faces.  I definitely had lost the joy of riding but I'm gettin' back in the groove.  Thanks!

My 5 y.o. just ditched the training wheels.  We can't keep her off the bike!

Glad you had a good ride.  I'm heading into an intense training session tomorrow 30 + and a 12 mile run --if, and it's a moderate if, my calf holds up.  I got kicked pretty hard in my soccer game on Friday.  I've been icing aggressively today, so I'll just have to see how it feels tomorrow.

Yippee for no training wheels!

Gosh, I looked at your log and that's quite an impressive hydration/fuel plan.  I never thought about how much you have to take along with you for those longer races.  Besides the "bento box" where do you store it - your pockets in your shirt and/or fuel belt?  Hope the leg is feeling better and you had a good workout.

Hi Everyone,

I'm still hanging in there.  Working on increasing my run distance and length of time (but quicker pace) and also more time on the bike.  Its been difficult lately because of rain.  This weekend looks drier but may reach into high 90's and with the humidity, its a killer (not unlike hot, wet Texas).  I'm hoping to either do the 3rd Crystal River Tri on 9/1/07,  or, more likely, the Cooter Fest Tri in Inverness on 10/28/07.  Trying to enjoy my training and not get so blasted serious that its a chore.

Enjoy your weekend!  Be safe & have fun (and for all you sickies - get well soon).  Tara

I had a strong weekend. 

47m 53s 1300.00 meters 3m 41s /100 meters

Got a bonus OWS this afternoon at a nice place on Lake Worth. Distance is approx.

2h 30m 56s 43.20 miles 17.17 miles/hr

Good ride this morning except for the wind. First leg was longer than I'd done before at 35.67 miles in 2:06:27 (avg. spd 16.9). Second leg was short but strong, even hitting a wind-aided 28 mph on the flats (7.53/24:29/18.4 mph avg).

50m 25s 5.02 miles 10m 02s /mile

This was a great run. It was still hot and humid, but I felt much better than last week. I couldn't go slow to pace Frank. When he failed to keep up with my 9:30s, I just let it go, finishing with sub 9s and little effort.

How about the rest of you?

I had a nice LSD run on Saturday and hung out with friends on Sunday.  Today I did some speed work.  Still trying to figure out the HR I should be training at.  Sounds like the 220 formula isn't the right way to do it, BUT, the other way sounds like I'm supposed to test myself by running as fast as I can for 30 minutes (or bike or swim as per the test protocols) but I can not yet run 30 minutes.  Do you think it would work if I ran AND walked as fast as I can for 30 minutes and figured it from there?

Oh ya, and how the heck do you do standing sprints on your bike?  I tried them today and felt like I was going to flip over my handlebars.  My front wheel was zigzagging back and forth and then when I really got going, I started mashing the pedals down at the bottom and then there was a lot of play in them coming up.  Plus, I was supposed to do 4 - 1 min standing sprints with 2 min rest in between.  WELL, I could do about 30+ seconds for the first 2 and then only 20+ seconds for the second 2.  Those things are killer!!!

Tara:  I learned my HR "zones" by trial and error.  Basically, I just watched (my HRM doesn't keep data) as I was moving on the bike and runs.  What I found is that I train best in the 130s to 140s, begin pushing things in the 150s-160s and am working pretty hard by the 170s.  I exceed 180 when climbing hills.  Also, my HR is generally lower on the bike than the run.  Don't key on mine, either, as everyone is different.

As for standing sprints, did you downshift (i.e. make it harder to pedal) before standing and powering through?  That's a key.  If you keep the gears the same as when seated, then yes, you'll wobble and over pedal.  It's kind of scary, isn't it?  Even when I'm climbing a hill, I downshift one or two notches to get that stronger feeling.

Does that help?

Yes, thanks for the suggestions.  I did progressively downshift as I went faster but I don't think I did so fast enough.  I'm going to try doing it on an uphill next time to keep the slack out of my pedaling.  I watched a few of the legs of the Tour de France and actually didn't feel too stupid when I saw how crazy they flipflopped back and forth while they were sprinting out of the saddle.  Of course, I'm not comparing myself to them at all but I figure I wasn't too totally dorky....  It sure does burn up your legs though, gosh!

As to HR, I'm finding that I like being between 150-155.  Below that I feel like I'm creeping and above that I'm panting.  I actually have a higher average on my bike than on a run.  Its going to be fun to figure out.  My main goal is to learn how not to push too hard on days when I need to go longer and then to figure out how hard I can actually push on days that I want a more intense but shorter workout.  I'll let you know what I figure out when I do figure out - if that makes sense.  Have a good one every one!