Jsnowash (Jenny)'s Mentor Group - CLOSED! (Page 25)

I did a three-legged brick after work this evening - 22 minute run; 15 minutes on the trainer; 13 minute run. I'm doing a duathlon in May, but I've never biked off the run -- at least not in a very long time. It was a bit tough, honestly. But my run off the bike was considerably faster than the run before the bike -- which I find interesting, but also seems typical for me. (Maybe for everyone?)

My transition times were pretty good, too, considering I had to stir dinner as I ran by each time. :-)

Another gorgeous day. I lost 1.5 pounds during my almost hour of exercise this afternoon.

My best 5k times have been in races off the bike -- they even beat my stand alone 5k times. It probably says something about how I need to make sure I am warmed up sufficiently and how I could push myself harder in the stand alones. :-)

I was pretty beat after the workout yesterday. I did about 40 minutes of yoga last night before going to bed, and this morning I feel pretty good. I'm ready to tackle another 85 degree day. This spring break has been absolutely incredible. We usually get some kind of freak snow storm, but not this year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Good morning! I hope everyone is doing well. It sounds like Chris got into the pool. I'm jealous. I'm missing the swimming this week (pool closed for Spring break).

My race schedule is set (I think my race log is up to date). I wanted to have a sprint a month -- a few of them are short sprints (400m pool swim rather than a 750m lake/river/pond swim), so I think I will be okay. The first one is April 15th -- it was a late add, but I'm excited to do it.

One race on my schedule that I haven't signed up for is Mudwater. That race includes an Olympic distance. I have the sprint on my schedule, but I really wanted to try an Oly this summer. I'm going to give myself another month or so to see if my swim can improve enough for a 1500m lake swim. Then sign up for the appropriate distance.

I have a question about transition 1 -- last night on the trainer, I experimented with clipping my shoes in before they are on my feet. Then I would go to one end of the house, run in my bare feet to the trainer, hop on, and try to clip in while I am riding. Then unclip while I am riding and run back to the other end of the house in bare feet. I realize this isn't going to be exactly how it will be when I'm on the road, but I'm trying to get used to it.

My transition times are horrible -- my fastest T1 was 1:47, and I can't get T2 below 2 minutes.

So here's the question -- if you clip in/out while on the bike, what techniques/secrets do you have to keep from crashing or falling over while you are fussing with the shoes? I watched some youtube clips, and I've seen the rubber band trick, but I'm just wondering if there are others or if using a rubber band is the best way to handle it?

I tried running without socks, and I don't think that's going to work for me. I can cycle without socks, however -- I do that quite often. So T2 will still include putting on socks before my running shoes.

Any other hints/secrets for race day?

Chris -- nice job with the swimming, especially the flip turns. My first tri in April is also a pool swim. I've abandoned the idea of flip turns (dizziness and all), but I have been working on making a very speedy and efficient open turn.

Jenny -- I have seen that video before. It was pretty wild. I must admit that I've never seen anything like that live, but maybe that's because I'm usually one of the last out of the water; there's never much of a bottle neck for me trying to get out of T1.

I'm up for trying to figure out how to speed things up without having the shoes clipped in, but I really can't see what I can do. I am running right out of the water, running with the bike. I have my stuff pretty organized -- I don't sit down to change anything. (I have seen that, as I'm sure you have. People sitting on their towels, drying off their feet and legs, slowly putting their socks and shoes on, etc. I'm not one of those.) I've watched many clips of efficient transitions, and I think I'm doing everything already -- with the exception of the shoes. Well, and socks.

I woke up this morning at 4:30, and almost got up to get on the trainer, but I didn't. I ended up falling back asleep until almost 9:00. Which I never do. It felt kind of good, but also pretty lazy. I'm not going into work today, so the older boys and I will leave here in about 30 minutes to go to lunch and then to Wichita for three rounds of laser tag. I've never been. We will see.

I hope everyone has a great day.

Thanks, Jenny. I ran sockless again today, and it went better than when I tried it before. Do you do all of your short training runs without socks? I'm starting to chicken out about having the shoes clipped in. I'm finding it easier to get my feet out than in. T2 is the slow transition, so maybe clipping in at T1 and then taking my feet out at T2 would be better for the first few times. I'm still practicing it all on the trainer, and I know it will all be different once I am out on the road. I'm probably going to keep my bike on the trainer for another week, then take it to the LBS for a shake down. That will leave me two weeks to practice on the road before the first Tri on April 15.

I'm not know of kicking drills, other than with a board, but I'm sure others will have a clue. Why do you think your kick is weak?

Sorry your run today was a suffer fest. Is your ankle still hurting?

I'm glad your ankle feels better.

Have you had them video tape you while you are kicking? I wonder if you could see what they see, you might be able to correct more effectively whatever the issue is. I am just about ready to have my son video tape my swimming. I feel like I am at a threshold, and I'm not going to be able to break through it until I can see if what I think I am doing matches what I am actually doing.

I seriously overslept this morning -- I didn't wake up until 8:05. The kids are supposed to be at school and sitting in the desk by 8:00. Oops. Needless to say, I didn't get a swim in this morning. I am hoping to get a good swim workout in this afternoon -- the pool opens at 4:00. I would also like to run today, but we are in a deluge and are at risk for severe thunderstorms, so I probably won't be able to get out today. I'm glad I did my "long" run yesterday.

I hope everyone is having a better Monday than I am. Waking up late has made me feel behind all morning.

That's great! I'm glad things are looking up for you.

Awesome! Just being in the water, helping someone else feel comfortable with it too, is a win.

Hooray for your wife deciding to do a triathlon. That will be great fun.