swbkrun Mentor Group II- CLOSED FOR BUSINESS!!! (Page 25)

DJ- I would have quoted your first post, but this one was hilarious.  And something I would totally have happen,  actually has happened (not during a race--but anyone remember my 15 mile run in Hawaii where I had to duck into the grove of trees???)  but good for you finding an actual house toilet to go, toilet paper rocks!!!

All that said, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  You did a terrific job out there on your first Oly and the course sounded really tough!!!   Way to go and thank you for teaching me a new term:  prairie dog!  Love it.

x2

Keller went to his first Giants game (in one of those fancy suites -- anniversary present from Dave's boss during The Bubble) at around 6 weeks old. We went to many more over the years before we moved (and hundreds before kids!). I'm so excited that he is now finally old enough to GET baseball and watch the WS with me cheering for our team. I think last night was the first time in nearly 6 years I've truly had pangs for the Bay Area!! Seriously!

And Linda, what a great day for a marathon!!!!!!!

Fingers crossed for you!

Bike people, I have had two friends ask me whether they should buy a CT or a PT.  They can only afford one....which would you recommend?  My initial reaction is the PT (or something similar) so they can use it indoors and outdoors.  What say you?

Project Cooper is going much better.  Been following lots of the good advice from you all and being diligent to the crate training.  Seems to be working.  He is a bundle of entertainment.  All 8lbs of him.

Agree PT is the way to go since you can use it on the trainer and outside.

I agree - PT. CT is only good for indoors only. I don't have either one of them, but if I had the money, it would be the PT, since 11 months out of 12 months I can go outside and ride. :-)  

 

Great race, DJ....I laughed so hard I almost....well, never mind.

Hope the run went well.  Michelle's right - Wilson kinda scares me.

kim the funniest thing about the hawaii story was our reaction to it and we were so surprised you told us.   i think you used to be a little more shy up here.  maybe we can call that you coming out poop.  ha!

should be a good series.  sanchez is still a moron.

Edited by fattyfatfat 2010-10-24 2:53 PM

I feel like a kid in a candy store today.

Got my first little package in for the new ride...the rear derailleur.  The frame should be in this week I hope.

And...just sold a refrigerator that we had in the garage and were not using for 250.  That will pay for my crank.

For those who cares, here's 

My Funnest Race Report EVEAH! 



Enjoy! 

Aw, that is so cool, my coming out poop party.  I feel right at home with DJ and Cooper!  I can't even remember why I felt compelled to share other than that I "think" someone up north from here shared a story about going number 1 behind a dumpster near where she was doing her track workout.  

The CT or PT dilemma!  I bought my CT first and honestly, I would still be very happy with just that and going off of HR for outside training and races, even if I didn't have my Quarq.  The main reason for this is because I actually enjoy doing my bike workouts indoors (blasphemy!).   The difference between the CT and my old Kurt Kinetic trainer is:

1) the ability to ride courses while the CT changes the load, instead of me changing to a harder gear to simulate a hill...you actually have to change gears to keep your cadence where you want it to be to account for the hill on the course.
2) the ability to ride MRC (multi-rider course) files that our coach gives us which I actually love doing...they vary from one hour to three hours or more where you have to ride for x amount of time at x % of your FTP with recovery periods between these intervals.  it is similar to doing intervals, but the computer changes the load and you adjust your effort based upon the load changes.  I love them! Oh wait, I said that.
 
I like it so much more than my KK and my tires don't get shredded, you don't need a fan on your tire to cool off the rubber either.

I also really enjoy doing being able to do 2-3 good quality bike sessions per week indoors without distractions from traffic, bad weather, etc.  The other thing is that with my work schedule, I don't have too much time to drive out to somewhere and do the bike workout...I can get a 60 or 90 minute focused workout done indoors and not have to worry about travel time, etc, I can wake up at 5am, do the bike, eat something and still go to the pool and get my swim done.  

Last year I trained almost exclusively on the CT from Oct to March as I prepared for CA70.3.  I only did about 3 or 4 long rides outdoors before the race and I used HR on those rides that we gleaned from my TT's on the CT.  I raced with HR only for that race and improved my bike/run split quite a bit from my previous HIM.  Even with my quarq, for my second HIM, I still watched HR because I wasn't sure if the power was calibrated quite right...and I knew my HR zones were pretty much right on.

I guess the bottom line is, if you really love riding outdoors and hate riding indoors, buy the PT because you can still use it on the trainer, but if you have lots of trainer time due to work or weather or whatever it may be, the CT is pretty sweet.  John-I think my longest on the CT was 4 hours and it was a course, not a real course video, but just a racermate IM course (free), I am pretty sure I was watching movies or Kona downloads or Project runway marathons...but when I do those long rides indoors, Steve has me doing chunks of Z2, Z3, Z4, Z3, Z2, etc to work on power output, it is not just mindless pedaling.  And we have the spinscan feedback which has helped even out and balance the pedal stroke (push/pull) along with right leg/left leg balance.  Never a need to get bored.  

I think the software upgrades are free even if you bought your CT used, which I did.  I've never seen the real course videos, anyone know if they are worth it?  Would it be good for IMMOO?  

B'Weezy as we affectionately call Brian Wilson here, is scary for many reasons, but my dad and I agree that WE will need to dye our hair black after all of the grey hairs he has caused us!  

 

Kim said it for me as well:

"The CT or PT dilemma!  I bought my CT first and honestly, I would still be very happy with just that and going off of HR for outside training and races, even if I didn't have my Quarq.  The main reason for this is because I actually enjoy doing my bike workouts indoors (blasphemy!). "

Having a CT allows me to train at any hour in any weather. I have never trained with a power meter, but even if I do, and I might in the future, I doubt I will race with it.

JMTCW.

Doug

I have to put in a vote for the PT.  It has been amazing to me how much it changes the way you ride because you become so much more effiecient.  Up hills, long rides, windy days, all you need is your wattage zones and you know right where you are and how much energy you are using.  Now, I would love to have a CT also, but that will be a couple of years.   

I use my PT on the trainer, watch a movie if it is a long ride or usually just tunes when doing intervals.

Hey everyone,  had a great weekend and I hope everyone else did too.  Congratulations DJ!!  I can't wait to read your RR.  You are too funny.

Doug, my physical therapist is Claire Little from Sports and More Physical Therapy.  She focuses on endurance athletes and is a triathlete/runner herself. Myself, my Doug and some of my other friends all go to her.

My Doug had his first weekend racing cyclo-cross. He did great!!  Placed in the top half on Saturday and took 12th out of 64 on Sunday.  I'd say he got the hang of it rather quick!!!  Must share some photos.  And for the record Tony,  all you people are CRAZY!!

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Thanks for all the opinions on the CT and the PT.  For me, the CT is great for training during the winter, but I realized this Spring/Summer how much I love to ride outside on real terrain so the PT has been invaluable.  I know it made me a better racer.  Given all the deaths and near misses this summer, I am very conscious of the fact the more miles you put in, the more likely you are to be hit by a car so understand those who choose to ride inside.  Tough decision really.  Like Kim, I do like MRC files and you can build them yourselves with the CT...I've never had a three or four hour one though so Kim must be hot stuff!

Project Coop continues to go well now that we are back in Madison.  I think he liked Minocqua better.  He had a plethora of deer poop appetizers to eat throughout our property.  And no, I'm not making it up.

Great pictures Tracy,

Had my 2nd race today, 2 practice laps and 1.5 laps of the race before I DNF'd.... 

I couldn't shift out of the small gear, so I was madly spinning 110+ RPM's and was prepared to do that for the rest of the day but then my chain also fell off the front and kept falling off...

About the 4th time it fell off I took my bike and slammed it into a barrier to see if that would help, made me feel slightly better but didn't seem to fix the bike.

First time I have ever DNF'd any race, I keep wondering if I should have just run with my bike on my shoulder for 35 minutes vs. quitting, which is stupid but it's put me in a crappy mood all day.

On the upside I figured out what the problem was, replaced all the cables and got my shifter working like new, so it's ready for next weekend.

As for the CT vs PT thing again, I find that in the beginning I used to do the rides with variable tension, but now I just ride the flat course that always has the same tension.  I can do an easy spin @ 90-100 watts, or shift up and go 400-500 watts if I want to. 

This will be the 2nd winter with it so maybe I will ride the courses again but the Powertap is such a great training and racing tool, I think you'll get more bang for your buck there.

Being able to dial in your rides to make sure that you're getting the most out of them seems to be invaluable.  I am never good at RPE, lol my body gives up early on me but at least mentally I can look at the PT and know exactly how hard (or not) I rode.

well I made it through the 30k run. I wore a neroprene knee brace, which totally helped. Only thing was it sucks trying to run up any type of hill with it on. Godo feedback from you guys on last weeks run. I literally doubled my nutrition from last week.
~200 cal/hr after the 1st 45-60 minutes. Felt good when we finished. Was nice running at MIchelles pace today.
Only thing that sucks is when you do an out and back and you do not go far enough on the out. We got back to our start and had to run about a mile around the park we started. mentally that sucked! But i definitely felt good about the run today.
I'm recognizing that its about the distance right now, and not the time as much.

You sold a fridge to get a new crank? your wife must love that. Oh wait, crank for your new bike. gotcha

Frozen Man 2010 is complete.  It was cold, wet, fun, and the beer transistions almost did me in.  No RR for this one, just detailed notes in my training log for those interested.

I orginally mis-read Barry's post and thought he said he sold his fridge for "Crank."  Not something you would want to admit in writing on the web, or on a Fitness related website!!  Glad Trevor cleared that up for me!

Congrats DJ.  Next time take the browns to the pool before the race, its easier than breaking and entering during the race. 

Tony, don't sweat the DNF.  When your equipment breaks, it breaks!  Plus, is there any form of bike racing tougher on equipment than Cross? 

Suzy,  the Coop pictures are awesome.  We missed you at Frozen Man, hope you had fun up North. 

that sucks tony, but i suppose its bound to happen to all of us at some point.  learn from it and move on. 

nice job trev!

COOOOOOOOOOOOPPPP!!!!!!

tracy is doug kicking that guy in the third pic!  ha!  awesome!!!!

Edited by fattyfatfat 2010-10-25 7:28 AM

Good to hear the knee brace worked. Good to give your knee the extra support. That should help the healing process too. Rest it as much as you can.

Tony: sorry about the DNF but what can you do. Maybe you should have tried to see how far you could actually throw your bike. I saw one person do that in a tri here. Bike broke down and the woman was so pissed she just heaved it as far as she could into the ditch. Probably made her feel better until she had to go get it.

Edited by Redknight 2010-10-25 7:46 AM