Caius's Group - CLOSED (Page 25)

 Ok Kristina - you've got to tell us how you swim that fast, cause that is smoking quick!!  I plod along (sink) in the water.  Can you provide any pointers to us non-fish.

 Thanks,

 Neil

What? No reports from the past weekend? Okay, I'll start.

This past Sunday I competed in my first race this whole year other than IMLP. It was a sprint race held on the islands just off the coast of Toronto and consisted of a 750m swim, 30km bike and 7.5 run.

The water was brrrrrr cold at about 62F (17C) but once I got going it felt alright. I got a good rythm going and actually passed quite a few people including this guy that always swims faster than me at the local pool. But after I rounded the last buoy the sun was in my eyes and for the life of me I couldn't really see where to head. I spotted a buoy that I though was the next target and went for it. Wrong buoy. I ended up going at least an extra 100m if not more. Oh well. Swim time was 16:13.

The bike was great. It was a flat course so I averaged just over 35km/h finishing in 50:39.

The run was fine but I wish I would have been faster. I really really have to work on my pace over the fall and into spring. This will be my primary goal for this next year. My for the 7.5km was 41:02 for a 5m28s/km pace.

Overall, a great great, rain free day!!!

I think everyone may be cramming in last minute vacations.  Our kiddos have already started school this past week.

I have a metric (60-something mile) fun, large-group ride this coming Saturday.   Should be fun.

Hope Tim did well on the bike leg of the HIM this past weekend!

Great job on your HIM relay! A month or so ago you were wondering whether you'd be able to do it and you did! Great job. I'm sure you're feeling great about it, as you should be. I find that one of the great things about these sort of strech goals is that for me, they really flip some sort a of a switch in my head when I realize that I was able to accomplish something that previously seemed next to impossible. And so, all of sudden, you're now believing that, "hey, I can do a Sprint/Oly/HIM/IM/Double IM."

Great job!

Dadgum Tim!  Wicked time and you certainly did your part!  Way to go!

My metric is this coming Saturday.  There will be some BTers in there too.  Huge ride.

I heard out about a local half century and posted under the Tennessee section of the BT forum.  Several people responded and mentioned this one.  I couldn't attend the half, so I opted for this one and there are about 4 of us riding.  One guy is doing the full century.  Again, it isn't a race, just a long group ride.  The website said it is an annual event and, "For the first 500 to register..." so I imagine there'll be a gazillion riders.  Should be fun.

Oh, I stopped by REI (outdoors store) to kill some time before visiting a client yesterday.  I snagged a Profile-Design AeroDrink bottle which fits my bars perfectly.  I put the velcro on there and it fits like a glove!  It came with the mesh to keep the drink from splashing.  I'll try it out tomorrow.  Snagged a Bento box as well.

Thank you!!! That makes me feel really great. I'm not sure what I did but whatever it was you're very welcome. I quite LOVE our sport and there were so many people on BT that helped me, provided advice and words of enouragement that it's the least I can do to give back to our great online community!

Hi Everyone ! Well I am back from Southwest Texas now, it was soooo very, very hot there I just about melted !!  I am just not used to 100 degree weather at 9 pm at night.  I basically stayed inside with the AC all week .

Sounds like everyone is having some great race times congratulations to all .

My next race is a local 5K on the 30th and a Sprint Triathlon in Utah on Sept 6th I am really looking forward to that one.  That is about it for my race season expect for some local races...unless I can find a few more tri's to enter that are close enough to get to before the snow flies

Hope you are all doing well, it's good to be back !

Caius, so funny you should ask, because I just posted my race report.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=129375&posts=1&start=1

Work has been crazy busy this week (budget time is starting up) and I just hadn't found the time to be online enough.  I loved the race, it's a great venue, and I finshed just below middle of the pack in my AG.  Once again the run saved my bacon - need to work on the other two pieces.

Speaking of which, I just bought a used i-Magic from a guy in Halifax.  I've hooked it up and played with it a little and after just a few minutes have decided I love it.  I'm hoping this thing helps me improve my bike speed over the winter.  It's got the older software which I'll need to upgrade at some point, but since I couldn't have a computrainer I figure this is the next best thing.

 I'm off to bed.....

Caius, I have a heart rate question for you.  Can you actually increase your maximum HR?  If so what contributes to it?  Or alternatively, should you just spend longer training in Z2 and get faster at a lower HR - ergo you should be able to then be faster in your higher zones.

 This make sense?? 

Can't say I understand the question 100%. When you mention "maximum heartrate" what exactly do you mean? This term is used interchangeably to mean many things including the actual maximum number of BPM or your HR at a certain threshold like lactate threshold. What do you mean by the term?

As you are carrying out some activity (e.g. running) and your HR increases, at a certain point your lungs can't take in enough oxygen, and your heart can't pump the oxygen rich blood to your muscles fast enough to feed them. Your muscles then start going anaerobic, breaking down glucose without oxygen, for energy. You can only do this for a short limited time. In this state your heart is probably pumping near or at its maximum from a pure BPM perspective.

Increasing your maximum HR if possible is moot at this point as again, you will only be able to sustain this state for a short period of time. However, as you train, your heart becomes stronger and becomes more efficient at moving oxygen rich blood to your muscles, all the while doing so at a lower HR. Is this what you are asking me about?

 Two words - love it.  I've only touched the surface of what it can do, but riding in the VR world is eerily similiar to riding outside, because you feel the gradient of the slopes.  You're constantly shifting gears, have to get out of the saddle, etc.  You can also race online if you have some additional software, and I have managed to download other peoples rides, and then I can race against their times.  Then there's a whole piece that lets you create workouts based around HR, power, slope, etc. 

I bought used, but I saw them online from Colorado cyclist for $650.  It's a big investment, but I'm really hoping it helps me improve my biking for next year.