Tri Mark's Madness Group-Closed (Page 25)

Mark & Jacqui, you are both inspirational! Even on your rough days (maybe more so). There were several workouts where I thought "What would Mark do?" and just powered through even if it wasn't pretty. Maybe we need to make bumber stickers...LOL WWMD?

Hey everybody,

I had my head in the sand for finals week, but now I'm done with the semester and just getting settled into a research schedule.  Quite a few pages of posts to catch up on!  I fell off the bandwagon for a couple of days of training last week but got back on top of things over the weekend.  I have my first tri coming up this Sunday!  450m indoor swim, 13 mi bike, 5k run.  I'm treating it as a training day so I haven't been ramping down too much.  3+ mi run on Monday (ran sub-8 minute miles for the first time this season!), 18 mi moderate ride yesterday, 1100 m swim this morning with a few 100m sprints thrown in.  I'm thinking of doing an easy swim and an easy run between now and Sunday.  Does that seem reasonable?

Looking beyond this race, my next tri is three weeks after the one this weekend.  Then my 'big' tri, the main event of this season, is two weeks after that.  I was planning on having a couple of recovery days early next week, then a week of build followed by a taper to Tri #2.  The last two weeks to Tri # 3 I thought would include a few days of recovery, then a big taper to the last race.  I welcome any thoughts on adjusting this schedule.

Congrats to all who have already gotten races under their belts this season!  I'm inspired!

   -Tel-

Congratulations to henry on his first! YAY!

I've been too busy to even read but went back a few pages to get a bit caught up.  I have 4 weeks (or is it 3?) for my HIM and I'm feeling very ready on the bike.  Looking over my logs I'm woefully unprepared for the swim and I figured out I really dread workouts because of the reef (cudda, wicked currents, high waves) and finally figured out I should just cut each lap short (each lap is 150m ish) and avoid the reef.  DOH!

I still really really hate that cudda though.  But at least it isn't a shark.

cudda....YIKES!!!

@Henry

The xterra rental sounds like a good idea for 49$. HOwever, there are wetsuits that are very functional (neosports brand) on ebay for around 100$ which includes the shipping.  Usually shipping is free.  I got mine two years ago before neosport became a better known brand and got it for 89$ including the free shipping!

@kathy

I hear you about the cuddas. They freak me out too.

I've never seen one in the bay where I swim but it's pretty shallow and heavily trafficked and not near a reef so it would be unlikely. Actually, when I'm in a group I don't worry but when I'm alone or just with one other person I'm always sure that the shadows are cuddas attracted by the reflection from my road id, or my goggles or my nail polish. Of course, that's just silly. And I know that ... and then there's another stinking shadow scaring the crap out of me. And then I'll touch a piece of seaweed and forget it I practically leap out of the water.

Sometimes I'm so jumpy by the end of a swim I'm practically laughing at myself because I know it's silly but they do freak me out.

:-)

If you're not planning on hammering your first race at race pace, I'd not be too worried about recovery.  One day max.  Get right back to your aggressive build phase, but then one week before your next race, do a significant cut back and taper.  Make sure your taper is adequate to allow for maximum recovery so that you are in peak shape.  Well rested, but still having done all your sports, just shorter duration and reasonable intensity.  I strongly advocate swimming and running the day before the race too.  Many athletes take that day off, I think it's a mistake.  Take a day off two days before the race if you wish.  It's very important to allow your muscle fibers to fire the day before the race, just for a little bit.  You'll feel better on race day, trust me.

Thanks so much!  Our water is super clear (except when it is stormy, then it gets murky) but yeah, that seaweed or kelp have me breaching like a whale when I hit it.    Sometimes I think I get more cardio from swimming than bike or run just from the "scared sh*tless" factor. 

I took Mark's advice and did an easy run (about a mile and a half) the day before my race. I wasn't able to swim that day, but my last swim was 2 days prior to race day, so I wasn't worried. I really think the easy run kept me loose. I ran faster on race day than I'd run in my trainings and it felt really good!

Good luck to those racing this weekend!

Remember, race to your intentions.  Set your course and race to it.

wet suits help you find that balance point easier by bringing your legs up so you are more hydrodynamic.

love them

WHO IS RACING THIS WEEKEND?????????????????????????????????

I am riding the Wine Country Century tomorrow.  Not really a race.  More of a touring experience.  I will most likely ride with my dad and pull him along , unless he decises to kick my butt on the hills!

I am "running" this weekend -- not racing, lol.  I did a Running with the Cows half marathon this morning with a fun group of fellow Half Fanatics.  I'll see if I can post a picture.  It was slow but we had fun chatting.  

The rest of the ladies are doing the Five Trails Half in Leavenworth, KS tomorrow and I am considering it.  I am really not in shape to do 26.2 in two days but we'll see.  I am usually crazy enough to go for a challenge!

so the other day I was supposed to do about a hour at race pace (plan said 10-15 bpm lower than LT (139-144)) in intervals (3 x 20 min) during a 3 hr ride and man oh man did that hurt.  I honestly couldn't do it.  I changed my target HR to around 15-20 lower than LT (134-139)  (I wonder if my LT has changed in the last couple months?) and I was still beat after that.  I was able to keep my HR there though and generally around 137.  My LT is 154.  The entire ride was HIM ride length (90km).  I had planned to shoot for 140 bpm (15 under LT) for my HIM but now I'm thinking I should shoot for 20-25 below (Z2).  Any advice?

OTOH, had a great 1:30 run today and was totally stoned afterwards.  I only get high from running - not swim or bike.

finished up the ride this morning.  It took a little over 4:30 for our 65 mile (metric century).  Road the whole way with my dad.  Pulled him most the way, then he would sneak by my when I was dogging it.  Ate lots of food, talked with people and had great weather for riding. 60* and overcast!

Hope everyone training/racing went well!

Congrats Jacqui! Be careful with running another one tomorrow! Use your judgment!

I felt the wet suit was like cheating, I'm glad its legal

Went for a 6 mile run last night, it felt good finished it in 50 minutes. Woke up this morning and did a 16 mile bike ride with very windy conditions. The news was saying 60 mph gusts!! I was going down a hill that I usually go 22-25 mph without trying and I was standing up sprinting it at 11 LOL It was still a great workout but wow the wind sucks or I mean blows. Hope everyone had a good weekend!!!

Isn't the wind an awesome resistance workout!  LOL.  Sounds like a great workout nevertheless!

I did end up doing a second half marathon this morning.  I guess 26.2 running miles this weekend is a good workout, lol.  My knee felt pretty good.  The only issue I had was a calf cramp in the last half mile Saturday, and then the same calf cramped up from miles 11-13 today.  I had to walk part of a steep downhill  leading to the finish today which just broke my heart.  What a waste of a downhill!  Other than the pesky leg muscle I felt even stronger today than yesterday.  

Anyway, it was a fun challenge and I'm glad I did it.  I will take it easy running this week but hit the biking and swimming hard.  

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Jacqui

You guys have way better attitudes than I do--I was kind of furious in a pointless way today, climbing hills with 25 mph gusts--though I loved the part where the wind was at my back. 

Lots of strong swim and bike workouts this week and I may just be over my streak of running injuries. For the past couple of weeks, I have run no more than  1-2 miles at a time because of a nagging ache/ pain in the inner heel/arch. (a mystery, but saw PT for myofascial work and pain now gone.)

I've got a duathlon (5K, 33K, 5K) coming up in 2 weeks, but want to be careful not to re-injure or create a new injury.  So, I have this idea that I should run a bit more often in the two weeks leading up to the duathlon--maybe 4 days instead of 3 days--but for short durations of 20-30 minutes and at a quicker pace than usual.   Any thoughts on this as a strategy?

Glad you had such a good weekend of running!

Sounds like fun! Hope everyone had a fun weekend of racing and training!

Beth,

It's easy for me to be positive about the wind when it is not blowing in MY face, lol.  I struggle with windy bike rides as well, so I understand your frustration.

I'm glad your heel pain is gone.  I'll defer to an expert on the running advice.  I tend to err on the side of doing too much running and I've come to regret that at times.

Good luck!

Jacqui

Thanks everybody! Wow, I can't believe I'm not a newbie anymore! One thing that really stood out for me (for anyone approaching their first tri) is how fast it was over. I mean, the race was easier both mentally & physically than most of my training! And so many months of work leading up to the race, but then you're so in the moment and it's over before you know it. So a) don't stress - if you've trained properly, and conditions cooperate, a Sprint is likely gonna be a breeze and b) SAVOR EVERY MINUTE cos it just flies by. I even enjoyed getting passed by probably dozens of people on the run. I had a big grin on my face and wasn't even looking at my watch.

Thanks for all the support & training tips! Not sure I'll fit another tri in this season since I have a lot of other stuff planned, but I'm already looking forward to next year! I want to do the same Sprint again and improve my PR, plus attempt at least one sprint, if not more, with an open-water swim. I'm also going to consider upping my distance to Olympic. I know I can do it now!

Jacqui, I agree with everyone else who commented. While mentally, your race wasn't where you wanted it, you succeeded in racing without pain and I hope you can appreciate what an accomplishment that is in itself. As you know, structuring your eating habits & nutrition better will help even if you didn't change anything about your training. Food is as much a training challenge as getting out the door to run. Get back on top of it and your times will drop off with the pounds! You are awesome and there's always another race.

So glad to here this - I am so concerned that I won't possibly be able to do all three eventson the same day, but I am putting in my base hours so I will trust you!!  Unfortunately the tri that I am doing for my first is more Olympic than Sprint, but that's what I get for signing up for something I had no idea about    Good Job!! You are an encouragement to me and all I am sure.