kalalau's Group - FULL for now (Page 23)

Must be nice to get age group awards. :-)  Seems you have more coming in future races.

I signed up for two more events today, the Annapolis Ten Miler (8/30) and the Double Creek Metric Century Ride in York on June 20.  Didn't really feel like doing the A-10 again but I have trouble saying no when newbie friends are signing up. :-)

Double Creek is an awesome event, and you can do a half marathon and metric century ride for $40 total.  But since it is one week after Eagleman, I thought I better stay away from being stupid again.  I may try to do 2 loops and get 93 miles in.

I've been scatter-brained this week, I'm all over the place.

Becky I am impressed and happy that you have not gotten caught up in the Eagleman obsessing over in the other thread. :-)  It's hard to read that stuff without getting caught up in it.  That's part of the reason I don't like staying at the host hotel of a race.  I like to be calm before a race.  So do you have your money all set to make your purchase of Ironman 70.3 jerseys, shirts, stickers, etc. ? :-)  Did you get the hotel arrangements worked out?

Don't let the rain stop you from training.  Suck it up, you are going to be a long distance triathlete in one week. :-)

Chicago Dave - it is good that you are talking to the elites when you get done these races.  That is a good time to talk to folks who are around your level.  Frequently, right after a race, before the midpackers come in, the fast people talk to each other, and there's lots to learn.  If you finish with those folks, you are automatically "in the club" and part of the group.  It's a bit different in a triathlon with waves spreading everyone apart, but still good to do.

Speaking of which, that is also the time to get the free race massages, good food, etc.  If you head to those areas as soon as you get done, you beat the crowd who come in just minutes later, but also dawdle their way over there.  The difference can be between a 45 min wait for a massage, or walking right up.

Losing weight is a huge boost to running.  Wish I could drop 10-15 lbs, it would make me so much faster.  Supplements aren't going to help you that much in a 5k, it was all you baby. :-)  Sometimes if a 5k is really important to me, I will take a gel about 20 min before the race, and run a little bit to warm up, that seems to help a lot.

I tried to eat my way to recovery after my killer bike ride on Sunday and it didn't seem to be helping much except maybe those 3 bowls of soup.  Made me wonder if maybe a recovery drink would've helped.  Or maybe nothing could fix it, at some point your body just needs rest because of a huge training session.

No, I won't be eating the free Krispy Kreme donut today, I just thought it was noteworthy to tell people. :-)  I would've eaten the ones in the office though if I had gotten in early enough.  It's been a week of being tired, for me.  That Sunday ride was a bit much.

I have seen wetsuitrental.com around too.  You could also check a local triathlon store and see if they are offering the same kind of "rent before you buy" deal.

Or you could just go out and buy one, it's your call.

At 70 degrees you can suffer through the swim and decide later if you like, but it's going to feel cold.  And most (but not all) everyone else will be wearing them due to speed as well as being more confident in the water.

The way I did it, I bought cheap wetsuits and kept upgrading as I got more serious.  But I think that's more expensive. :-)  I started out with a wetsuit at Costco, but I think people have said BJ's has them sometimes.  I haven't seen Costco with wetsuits this year.

The less "stuff" on a wetsuit, the easier it will be to take off.  My "shorty" is super quick.  My full sleeve, full legs is a lot longer but you can practice.  I don't like having to get it over my watch when I take it off so sometimes I wish I had a sleeveless that was just as nice.  Some people like the sleeveless because it gives their arms a feel for the water.  It's also going to be cheaper to buy. 

There's no clear-cut answer to which one you should buy, sorry. :-)  If I was going to buy one for most conditions and I was just starting out I would go sleeveless, but then I would be cold in super cold triathlons, which you might never do.

I feel pretty good about the race, not thinking about it too much right now except being ready.  I'm sure that will change over the next few days.  Just had a friend back out of doing it, on Saturday, which is a bummer.  Now I have to work out maybe another hotel plan (got 2 rooms but might not need both, not sure yet).  Things are kind of up in the air as far as logistics are concerned.

Becky, make sure that you take note of the rules for Eagleman.  They are Ironman based rules and can be a bit different than Columbia. 

http://www.tricolumbia.org/Eagleman/IronMan_Race_Rules_2009.pdf

Noteworthy are:

- Shirt to be worn during entire race

- We have penalty tents, and if you are penalized you are shown a red or yellow card depending on the severity.

- 4 bike lengths for drafting, you have 20 sec to pass

- Bib number must be worn on the bike as well as the run (might as well wear it in the swim)

- no outside support is allowed.  Don't be taking drinks and such from family members, nor let them run with you for an obvious amount of time (though I have done this at IM and gotten away with it).  I have read before that you cannot get support from other athletes but I am not reading it in this page.

As a side note, you should mention to Josh that it would be a good idea to wear nip guards for this race.  It will be hot, we will have wet shirts, and with the distance that combination is not good.  I have worn them for full Ironman events and they will stay on from the beginning of the race through the whole 12+ hours of an IM.

I actually had two friends ditch this race.  The first one ditched it long ago before the refund deadline, because he "wanted to focus on marathons".  He really toyed with the race director, waffling back and forth a lot.  This last friend didn't really train much, but he was really going to do it; his wife just had a death in the family and he's left watching a big family and not feeling comfortable with someone else watching them.  This is his 2nd attempt at a HIM without it being done.  Last year he actually trained for the Patriot's Half which was cancelled due to a hurricane.

Yeah it's a huge bummer to get a penalty.  In a flat race like this, you have to make a huge effort in order not to draft.  Maybe the waves will break things up a bit.  They will take drafting seriously because Kona slots are at stake, but consider that they can't cover 56 miles with a few cycles.  I have seen them give warnings, or yell "break it up!" before giving out penalties.  I've never gotten a penalty, but I've had friends who got penalties or warnings.

Don't forget about "legal drafting," that is coming up behind the bike and swing out right before you are about to pass them.  If you are in that 20 second rule, you are good.

How are you two doing with the taper and race?

If anyone needs bike or nutrition stuff, Performance Bike is having great deals right now.  With promo code 569, you get 15% even off their sale items.  Shipping is free when shipped to the store.  If you are a member, you get another 10% back in dividends.  The promo code expires this weekend.  I jumped on and got some race tires for this weekend, as well as a lightweight tool kit.  I'm all ready!

Steve, if you got a last minute idea to come to the race, apparently I have extra bed in my room because of the one guy that bowed out.  I don't think I am going to cram in with 2 other guys in the other room.  You're welcome to come watch us.

You know what would be super cool?  Us all doing the 4.4 mile Chesapeake Bay Swim next year. :-)  Yes I know the idea sounds insane, but I'm telling you we have all been in that "I can't swim 1 mile much less 4.4 miles" place.  The bay swim is a victory over a weakness we once had.

I'll tell you what though, those 3-4 mile training swims are a serious killer training session.