Baowolf's Beginner Banquet -Sorry all tables are full no room.. (Page 23)

The tri is about 40 minutes from my house so we are headed up there for packet pickup on Saturday and to drive the bike course in prepration for the tri on Sunday.  You are forgiven anyways Carol, you are on vacation and dodging jellyfish! 

I would say my ultimate and underlying goal is to have fun.  I enjoy pushing myself so something like a triathlon is kind of perfect for me because I can push myself physically without becoming obscenely bored like if I was running a marathon.  However my goals keep going up as training progresses and I am already seriously thinking about next year and getting a HIM in.  Health is also a major bonus and does keep me motivated when it just doesn't seem like that much fun to go for a bike in the rain. 

Marcus

Marcus, good luck this weekend. What distance is the tri? New shirt before the race...hey I did "new goggles" before the race! Truely a no no.  The new shirt will make you run faster! (didn't we all think that with new sneakers as a kid? lol)

Carol-My ultmate goal is same as what Marcus suggested but a different time line... I want to do a HIM, but in two years.  Next year OLYs following year HIMs. But when I have hard days like today, I have negative talk..."what am I thinking, there is no way I can up the distance..." bad thoughts.

News just said jellyfish should be gone in a few weeks.  I know I am obsessing about this, but my next sprint tri is father's day, checking calendar that is only 2 + weeks away and still I have not EVER done a OWS in the ocean. Does anyone have any suggestions how I can train without worrying about jellyfish? No suggestions from you, Carol- Aruba is out! lol

Also, never got suggetions about a transition bag.  I'll ask again what do you all have?  What should I look for? -Karen

Summer time is wrecking havoc on my pool schedule.  I used to always go at night around 8:30 to swim.  Well now all the kids are still there and there's easily 50 people in the pool and in the lap lanes.  I have had to resort to going at 5:00am to get a lane to myself. 

I think I am going to raise my bike seat this weekend a little to see if it helps with the little hip/knee soreness I get after some of my rides. When I got my bike and the shop fitted me, they even said my optimum seat height was a little higher than we set it because I wasn't comfortable on a new bike, clipless, riding that high.  I'm way better adjusted now and I think it's time.

I'm taking the next 2 days off so I can be rested for my 11.5 mile race Sunday.  Never ran that far.  My closest was a 10.3 mile training run 3 weeks ago. Going to try to do it in 1:45.  That would be around 9:00/miles.  I'll be happy with anything under 2 hours.  So my plan is to load up on a clif bar, a G1 Gatorade, a G2, and then some of the 100 cal jelly bean packs 30 minutes and then an hour into the run.  Along with whatever liquids support has, I should be fine for a short event.

Good job everybody else.  Where's Steve?  Of course the sheep go astray when the shepherd's away.

Dennis- good luck on your race this weekend.  I wish I could hold a 9 min mile for any distance over 2 miles!

Beats me about the jellyfish problem, if we had those in the lakes up here I think we would all have some major things to worry about.

My transition bag has:

Tri bottom/top, Wetsuit, 2 pair of goggles (Why are they a pair?  Who would wear just one?), Extra swimming cap, Sunblock, 2 waterbottles (one to rinse off my feet and to drink before the race, the other for my bike), Biking glasses, Helmet, Tire pump (but that stays in the car), Running hat, Biking shoes, Running shoes, Brightest towel I could find and maybe some ShotBloks for before the race.  I will also have a nice clean set of new clothes and shoes to change into after the race.  Other than that I can't really think of anything else... oh yeah my bike :D

The distances aren't bad at all for my sprints, I was looking more at having fun than dying mid race...  440yds/13.3miles/3.1miles.

Marcus

Ok here is my May.  June should be much better.  I was out of town for work since Monday and was too cheap to buy the hotel internet for $50.  Tomorrow is a 105 mile bike ride with a 15 mile run on Sunday in the rain and I really hope it doesn't snow or hail.  Last year's IM had 2 foot whitecaps diagnol across the course which was fun.... so I know how frustrating that can be. 

Back to back centuries is impressive that is a definate pat on the back, especially if you are balancing it with run and swim training. 

I am having flashbacks to getting stung by porgugese man-o-wars at age 7 in Miami based on your stingging jellies. 

I am also having flasbacks to taking psychopharmacology and DSM-IV diagnostics in 4 weeks in grad school. 

So what questions do we have about training or what have you?  Um any bag will do for a tri back, you just want it big enough to hold your helmet and wetsuit and probably use a backpack style because at some races parking is so bad you want to ride your bike to T1.   

Hey Marcus, good luck in your tri this weekend!  I like your attitude re: keeping it fun .

Karen, on the ocean swim thing....if this landlocked girl can do it, so can you.  It was really not difficult.  Even when the waves were a little more active, it was just natural to continue to roll with them on the surface.  Biggest problem was convincing myself that jaws was not coming for me

Based on answers to why are we triing, it really seems like this group is in it for the long term and to stay challenged. 

Steve, we were too cheap for the internet fees too...until a few days in when my hubby couldn't stand it any more.  Not being connected for a while is a blessing in many ways.

OK, back from vacation, and wasn't particularly good in terms of the calories in/calories out equation.  Time to come home before I really start to resemble the fat iguanas that just sun themselves on the rocks all day!

WOW!  Excellent May totals!  Impresive.  You are a Rock!

Here is a q for you.  Had MRI yesterday.  Torn MCL. 

Oly Race (my A race) in 9 days.  Do not care to beat any records...just finish.  I tried to build maybe too quickly...ughhh...So I think that I will do no training for 3 days and then slowish Swim and Bikes for the week before the race.  Thoughts?

If you live near a sports doc I would set up a visit.  My quick cruiz of the net looks like 4-6 week recovery for minor pull.  If it is bad enough it could require surgery.  If it were bad and you screw around with it you could get a related pull in your ACL and then be very sad.  No medical doc here, I don't know how it feels, how you pulled it, whether there is bruizing you can see through the skin, etc.  Most pulled leg muscles are a 2 month ish fix with another (6 weeks with a very slow build if you can't manage the 8 weeks or are young).  But a sports medicine doc is your best bet, they often also tell you what you can do and how soon.  Regular doc will say stay off it for 2 months.... why are you looking at me that way?... next 

But major bummer if it screws your summer season 8(.  For now RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and alternate some heat, do not stretch it to test it out.... bad.

I agree!  Don't mess around with your MCL!

Marcus

Cheri, ouch!  Plenty of races, but you only have two knees.

Dennis, just re-read your post and sounds like you are also racing this weekend.  Good luck!  Betting you have no troble with the distance.

May was a good month for me.  Now just need to get something going for June!

Cheri-I am so sorry for you! I had a stress fracture two years ago- put me out for the season (was only doing half marathons then).  So I understand your frustration and still wanting to race.  But I agree with Carol- you only have two knees!

Carol-You are too funny! Great, now I have to worry about Jaws as well as the jellyfish! Thanks girlfriend! lol

Marcus- Love the swim distance.  Why do they differ so much in Sprint distances?  I have one at 800, another at 880 and the third at 440. Wierd.

Steve-Thanks for the input on transition bag.  I've been looking on line they seem to run from $50 to $150. Guess I'll go on the cheaper side.

I will not post my May totals.  What with my tappering for the tri, then son hurt , May turned out not to be a great month.  June should be better!

Going for a long bike ride...Hope all are working hard, and playing harder! -Karen

I have a(n) (audio)book recommendation for everybody.  Chris McCormack's I'm Here To Win: A World Champion's Advice for Peak Performance.  I don'tread much but I am an audiobook junkie and really enjoyed this one.  It's really the only book I've found yet that was totally about triathlons that wasn't a training book.

Any other recommendations.  Leaving to pick up my race packet for tomorrows race.  With the temps in the high 90s here I'm glad it starts at 6:30 tomorrow.

Good luck everybody.  Even though I have a race tomorrow, I'm more excited about getting back out on the bike for some longer rides next week.

Take care of that injury.  In the book above he talks about overtraining and pretty much sums it up with the result of low=confidence in your current abilities and trying to over compensate.  I agree with that some, but I also just freaking love to bike and run (but screw swimming, I'm not swimming a yard over the distance my training calls for) and would run every morning if I could.

I am picking up my race packet tonight also and am seriously looking forward to training again.  Haha what is wrong with me?!  I need some good sbr training runs under my belt again.  Swimming isn't that bad just a little mind numbing, running on the other hand every other step I am wondering when is it going to end.  I do my runs but I don't really look forward to them.

Best of luck on your race tomorrow Dennis!

Marcus

Dennis and Marcus, I am jealous! I wish I had a race tomorrow tri or "just" a run.  Love the whole atmosphere, so addictive. GOOD LUCK! HAVE FUN! Do let us know how they go.

I had a nice bike ride, 23 miles.  For me that is long.  Beautiful ride through a National Park, temps in the 80's life was good! Coming back I went over a huge bridge spaning the river.  Had to come to a stop at the bottom to turn left. Unclipped left foot (you know where this is going...) Was looking at the brakes since I used them a lot going down the bridge to stop...got distracted... yes, I fell AGAIN!Fall #5.   So frustrating! It must have been comedic to the people in cars waiting at the light. I am sure they were thinking "stupid blonde chick has no business being on a bike like that." Oh well, I only have a scrape on the knee...and very little fear of falling...stupid blonde chick. Can't wait for my long run tomorrow, no worries about falling!-Karen the fall queen!

So 105 mile bike today and averaged 18.3 mph... 4500 feet elevation gain and 20 ish mph wind, but less unfavorable than usual followed by a slow 3 mile brick run and  a 2 hour nap.  Hopefully some of that was actual speed and not just wind advantage.

So for triathlons in the heat... the swim is going to be early and well no heat issue there.  The bike is often early enough that you don't have to worry about the heat body temperature wise, but you do need to keep your fluid intake up.  I tend to go with more frequent smaller sips of water on the bike for hot bike rides (100F) rather than drinking big amounts less frequently.  Paft of this is because I can drink my water without lifting out any bottles.  Usually by the time you are on the run things will be heating up.  You need to be careful of your water intake, but don't get sloshy or you will get side cramps.  I wear a hat because it will hold water and work as a cheap ac unit to keep you cool.  If hot I will dump a cup of water on my shirt or hat every mile and slightly up my water intake (4 oz per mile) rather than 4 oz per 3 miles if cooler.  Some races will give out sponges with cold water... those are nice.  Remember no ice in your hat... this will give you a major headache, perhaps for hours, perhaps including vomiting.  Ice in your shirt, shorts, wherever else that makes you happy may work, I have been fine up to 105 with just water on the shirt.  If you have not been working out in the heat, you may well have a lackluster race as it takes about 2 weeks to get accustomed to the heat. 

Don't worry if your training last month wasn't stellar.  As triathlon is a lifestyle it is really years we are talking about not just a week or a month here or there.  It is all self paced so you pick your goals, work it around your lifestyle and progress as you wish.  No one will judge you as just running a 5k makes you amazing in the mind of most folks in the world.  Doing a Sprint triathlon is soo much cooler than that.  It is all about fun, making friends along the way and getting healthier and well ya racing is fun too.  It is an odd sport where even finishing last earns you aplause from world level athletes.  Be safe and have fun. 

Triathlon bag, just holds junk.  A burlap sack would work fine, so just use whatever you want, not something to burn a lot of $$ on unless of course it matches your bike and your tri uniform, then well exceptions can be made 8).

Karen, great your description of your ride.  Love that this stuff gets us outside enjoying nature.  And....at times....the pavement....not so much!  Hope you came up from the fall w/out too much damage to you or your bike.  I totally sympathize!

Steve, thanks for the encouragement, and for the heat info.  It is really heating up here, and I bailed in the middle of a run w/ nausea yesterday.  Blood sugar was also higher than medically recommended for exercise which could have contributed, but I can often work through that.  The heat and I don't get along, and this is the time of year I am most at risk for checking out of all but very easy outdoor activity.

Question: where do you stand on weight and core training?  I seem to feel better/look better when I keep up a minimal routine on that (30 minutes 2 X per week), but don't know if perhaps more time of the bike would be better.

Good luck to our racers, Dennis & Marcus this morning!

Steve, you are amazing! Not only in your exercising! *wow* but also in you inspirational messages. Thanks for all that.

Carol-I am fine, just yet another new scab on the knee.  I never had so many scabs growing up! It is getting hot here, and very humid as well.  How do you deal?  I had to stop twice to refill my water bottles this morning on my 13 mile run.

Steve-As I run I always have in the back of my mind my first marathon this October- Marine Corps in DC.  I feel I am so slow and want to increase my times.  I know track work helps, but I hate it.  I have started to do it (hurt myself last year doing speed work).  I have a har time hilding 10 min for more than 3-4 miles. What can I do to increase my stamina?

Had a great race.  It was about 80 outside even at 6:30 when the race started.  I don't have the official results but according to the Garmin I finished the 11.52 miles in 1:41:57(8:51/mile pace).  That was 3 minutes faster than my goal.  I also think from what I can tell that my pace was faster for the second half.

I'll do a proper race report after I find the results and post it here.

Oh and I realized something quickly today.  Over half the runners have to have ipods where as triathletes don't.

Back and had a fun race!  My goal was to finish in under 1:30 and I came in at 1:25 so I am pretty happy about that.  The only 2 parts I wasn't really satisfied with were the biking portion on an open hwy with rumble strips... passing was interesting to say the least and my running performance, I got a stitch in my side about half a mile into the run and suffered the rest of the way through it.  All in all a good race and I'll throw up a race report when I get the chance.

Thanks for all your encouragement and tips guys and gals you really helped me through this!!

Marcus

I am not sure what folks use for water on the run during practice.  I have a 45 oz camelback that is fanypack style so much less bouncing around than the backpack style.  I need that much water when it gets hot to get me to town.  It also holds gels etc.  Feel free to use water on your shirt and hat to cool off.  It takes about 2 weeks for your body to acclimate to exercising in the heat, so if you are bogging down in the first week or two that is normal.  Your water intake also goes up dramatically over 85F and at 100F+ you may well feel like a bulap sack, water goes in and you are thirsty again in 2 minutes, it must be leaking out somehow.  That is when frequent sips seem to help me stay hydrated and keep my mouth from cleaving to the waterbottle.   

Today was a 15 mile continuous run, not uber fast but muscle groups remained intact, so I should be good to go for all running now.  That 105 mile bike ride yesterday does sap the strength from your running legs on the long runs the next day. 

Sounds like you guys did great in your races. 

To get more run endurance and faster on the run starts with just running more frequently and slowly building up distance.  If you can get to 30 miles per week running 5 days per week for 6 to 12 months... you will get faster with no speed work.  You risk injury if you start speedwork with less than 30 miles per week for 6 months.  And if you are running 10 minutes per mile you don't really need speedwork yet.  So build a really big base of steady z2 to z3 efforts and then after 6 months you can start looking at adding in 400 or 800 yard repeats.  If you are thinking marathons then you can add in mile repeats, but only once per week.  After a year and when your base miles are up around 45 miles per week you can add in a 2nd day of harder effort, like a tempo run on Tuesday, a repeat on Thursday and a long slower run on Saturday or Sunday with shorter lower intensity runs inbetween.  There really isn't any way to get fast quickly unless you are in your late teens or your parents have olympic medals on the wall.  Just take build slowly because injuries put you at no running for 2 months and all of your run endurance gone and then you have to start out slowly again.  It is fine to walk some of your miles while you are building up, but you need to eventually get those miles up or you probably won't get much faster. 

I was running 10:30 miles in 2007, I ran a marathon in 2009 at an 8:40 pace, 2010 my marathon was a 7:36 pace and 2011 I got at a sub 6:00 pace for short races (5k ish).  But I run 1500 miles a year.   I also lost 35 pounds.  I didn't do any speedwork until I had been running consistently for 1 year (no more than 2 consecutive days of no running for 1 year unless sick). 

Got the official results.  My official time was 1:42:23 with a 8:52/mile pace.  I place 110 out of 608 overall and 13 out of 36 for my AG.  That puts me basically in the FOP which is a lot nicer than the BOP which I have been for my other races (not that I'm unhappy with any of my results).

What I'm really impressed is that the Daniel's formula predicted my pace for this rate pretty much on the money based on my 5k times.  If you are a numbers freak, check out the Daniels spreadsheet.

OK Steve, question.

Since today was a pretty long run for me, what should my recovery tomorrow be?  A 3 mile walk?  Ride bike spinning in small gear? Pretend today never happened and train as usual?

I hydrated well and stretched, and iced my knees, but my legs and hips feel sore right now.  

Good work Dennis!

I am really working on getting runs in more frequently but that is unfortunately my least favoriate event.  So it takes a bit of will power to get me out the door for that one.

My race report for those that care to read! <http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=255185>

Marcus