JFord's Mentor Group-Closed (Page 24)

Hi ya'll.  Back from Charlotte and the NCAA tourney not too worse for the wear.  I actually worked out twice while there and one of them was a hazy half hungover/half sober swim of 1/2mi.  Still not sure how I was able to do that, but I did it in under 19min.  Goosedog, thanks for all the info, we enjoyed downtown Charlotte immensely!  What a great location for March Madness.  We will make it a regular stop when the tourney is in town.

I am 8 days until my first sprint tri ever.  I can't believe that.  Wish me luck!

Nicole, I did some yoga with the P90X workouts and it nearly made me cry.  I felt like I was hit by a truck.  My body refused to cooperate with me in any manner for a couple of days afterwards.

Yeah didn't think about the riding and putting my trash away. Last thing I need is to bite it.. I'll look to that flask. Maybe it will have more than just a gel :D

I won't comment on the quote above.....

I have done a couple 40 milers and a 60 miler. Usually somewhere inbetwee 20-40 milers. Now I changed to doing a solid 45 minutes on each exercise. then doing a brick on Saturday.

Love Vinyasa...

Also a fan of bendy and sweat, for that matter.

Got up at 4:30 am for a reverse tri work out.  30 mins on the treadmill at 8:32 pace to warm up.  Followed immediately by 1 hour on the trainer alternating big and small ring every 10 minutes.  Grabbed some coffee, drove 10 minutes and swam for 30 mins straight.  I get the point of this workout, but the reverse tri concept is just weird.  The run/bike brick was tougher than expected and took a while for my legs to get used to it.  The swim was really rough because the pool at the gym was too warm and I needed to keep taking fluids in my already depleted state.

I am obviously tired because all aspects of this workout felt like drudgery, but I'm glad that I pushed through it.  The workouts would have been much better in they were outside. 

First triathlon is in the books.  No results yet, but it went as good as could be expected considering my general bike & run slowness.  I was too conservative on my swim seeding, or the people around me were way off.  I must have passed 6 or so people and it was a mess (250SCY).  Good OWS practice and the mayhem helped the time pass.  I'm slow on the bike, so that wasn't the most fun.  The run route was tough because it was modified at the last minute due to heavy rain to be an out and back done twice on the same street.  One direction uphill and one direction downhill.  Actually, since it was such a condensed area, you had really good crowd/volunteer support.  My pacing was consistent.  If my watch was close, I do have a shot at a taking about 20 seconds off my 5K PR - so that's good.  Finishing stretch was downhill and I waited too long to go as hard as possible.  I lost time there.  Transitions were ok.  T1 was slow due to the cold - toe covers on my road shoes and wasted time getting my pullover on.  I should have had a zip up jacket.

Did I mention the rain?  Temperature was around 39-40 degrees with on and off rain and decent wind at times.  Fun stuff.  I passed on the novice category, so I'm going to post this rather optimistic review before seeing how fast M35-39 really is.  Next up 750M OWS sprint.  Time to hit the pool and OWS practice and the bike and the run.  All in all, A+ for the experience and having my 4yo tell me I was "hammering it" on the bike (but he did ask me why a "little boy" beat me).  However, speed needs improvement.  Thanks.

The results (250SCY/20K/5K):

M35-39

Swim 4:39 (32/59, MOP swim, who would have thunk)

T1  2:57

Bike 46:59 (49/59)

T2 1:43

Run 27:15 (47/59, 18 sec. PR)

Total 1:23:30 48/59

So, at least I wasn't DFL in my AG.  That stung a little in my duathlon a couple of weeks ago.

Great job Goosedog!  I hope I can share the same positive story afer my frist tri Saturday in Gatlinburg!  Seeing your times and positive vibes make me feel a bit more optimistic.  My weather should be much better though.  The fact that you did so well in that condition is awesome!!

I simulated a race leg yesterday at the gym doing the bike and run (or as close a simulation as I could) and was pleased with my times.  42min flat on the 12.4mi ride, then 34:58 on the 5k.  Transition was right around 1:30.  I have a ways to go on the run, but my half mile swims have been strong (16min and under).  My goal was to finish, then it was to break 2hrs....now I hope to compete with myself to come well under 2hrs.

Nice job Goose!

I am officially ending my funk or apathy or whatever my deal was today. I am going to hit the gym after work for a 4 mile run and tongiht I am doing a 20 mile ride on the trainer (while watching WWE, yeah I watch, so what??)

I have about 7 weeks till my OLY Tri and I want a new PR. So get out of my way Mr. excuses!

(I hope I still feel this way around 4:30 PM)

Congrats man!

I guess the season has started!  I finally plunked down the money for my two April races.  An XTERRA and Oly on back to back weekends...  Gulp.

Well done, nice PR on the run,

Hi ya'll.  I need to throw a question to the group.  My race is this Saturday and I have tomorrow to work out, an off day Thursday (also a travel day to Tenn), but I'm not sure about a Friday workout.  Should I be doing something the day before the race?  My program I have been following doesn't really tell me anything.

Also, I will take any pointers on what to do race morning.  Breakfast?  Fluids?  Consider this my freakout period now that I am realizing that I am about to actually compete in a race for the first time.  Thanks for any advice you can spare!!

Cory

Nice!  Thanks everyone for the kind words.  It was a fun time.

Echo everything Jessica said.  Relax Thursday, light work on friday to stay loose.  Don't try to eat anything new - whatever you have eaten before long rides or runs in training, have on race day.

Relax and enjoy the race.  It is going to be a great feeling when you finish after all your hard training.

Just read this on Runners World Quote of the Day... I think it is why I spent 25 minutes soaking in a tub of ice this morning.

I don't think you can become an outstanding runner unless you get a certain amount of enjoyment out of the suffering. You have to enjoy absorbing it, controlling it and—ultimately—overcoming it.
Derek Clayton in The Masters of the Marathon
Derek Clayton in The Masters of the Marathon

I will never indicate that I am "outstanding", but my wife and I were just joking about the punishment we put ourselves through to do all of the s/b/r training we do.

Cory, nothing new from me that wasn't already said, but I strongly agree with nothing new on race day.

Personally I like to stay up late Thursday night so I am good and sleepy on Friday night (for a Sat race). One thing I hate is the laying in bed thinking of things to worry about, so this way I know I am good and tired and fall asleep. Then I like to get up early. I like to have been awake for at least 4 hours before race time starts, this gives my body time to wake up, and time to eat something, use restroom and stuff.

Keep in mind that you know you can do the distances. Run your race ( like said before) and take in the entire experience and enjoy it, but also learn from it.

You will do great!

bump....

I hope everyone is knocking it out and  having a good week!

Thanks for the encouraging words and great advice everyone.  I will do my best t make ya'll proud come Saturday.  I'm ready to roll, heading out tomorrow morning with the family.  I can't wait to share the results!

Have a safe and happy weekend guys!

Cory

I was very happy to see that I hit my March training goals and the fact that I'm feeling healthy (for now) and strong.  Did I really spend 35 hours of my life this month training?!?

Registration for the Philadelphia Marathon opens tomorrow.  Thinking about taking the plunge on my first full marathon.

I ran a half mary last year at what I felt was a fast pace for me.  Any thoughts on making the transition to a fully mary?  Not so worried about the physical preparation, just trying to get my mind around the thought of running two back to back half marys.

My March totals sucked so I won't even post them, but great job on meeting your goals!

Cory, I can't wait to hear about your race. I admit when I race, I am always thinking about the group I am in at the time and it does give you alittle more juice to go on,cause I know they are all pulling for me, just like we are all pulling for you!  Have a great race!