Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 25)

Lots to catch up with here!

Scott- Congrats on your du! That was a pretty long one; any more details? Also, I would suggest logging your training here on BT. It's a great log, plus it will help us see what you are up too. I am doing Toughman HIM also, it will be my 4th time and it's a great race. I suggest when you run in Central Park, you hit the hills in the northern end as much as possible

Stacie- you've gotten great advice on the OWS. I agree with getting in the water as much as possible race morning. Get in, get the feel of the water, get your face the water in as much as possible, and warm up a little. Also agree completely with Matt, try to not go out too fast. Once you lose your breath on the swim, it's hard to get it back.

Kristen- sounds like a nice first private swim lesson. Very common for people to not breathe enough, and I also like to keep my stroke "long". A good reach helps me have a nice long strong pull with a lot less splashing around and more moving forward.

As far as nutrition, it can be real individual and I found what works for me through trial and error. For me, I only like Clif Shot Blocks, so I carry enough of them in my bento box. The only thing I get at the bike aid stations is water. I find regular sports drinks too sweet, but I do find that I will drink more if there's a little flavor, so I like to use Nuun. I start with a bottle with Nuun on the downtube, and one between the aerobars, and just refill the aero one at least twice. I keep a few Nuun tablets in my bento box to add to the water. On the run, I have trouble taking in calories so I usually just get water, but sometimes I'll grab whatever seems appealing at the time which is usually coke. Somehow even though it's flat and warm it can taste really good during a race.

Scott- 8:26/mile? Your daughter is wicked fast! Very impressive!

Matt- I like a 3/1 kind of schedule. I also like a rest day each week. I almost always take my rest day on Monday because I don't work Mondays.

I had a great weekend of training. I have a du on Sunday that has a few hills, so Saturday I ran 8 hilly miles and Sunday I rode 43 miles with a little over 3000 ft. in elevation gain. Felt great! I'll taper this week and hopefully be ready to perform well on Sunday.

Hey everyone! I just got back from Washington, DC and I made it through the Police Unity Tour without injury!! I just have to say, it was an amazing experience and one that I will remember for the rest of my life. I learned a lot over the last week but did extremely well in terms of nutrition, endurance and gearing and gained a ton of confidence in my cycling ability. I have a lot of post reading to catch up on in the group but I am really exhausted right now and will be going to bed so I will have to catch up later this week. I will write a full RR sometime this week and share it with all of you. Before I left someone said pics or it didn't happen so I attached a picture of us coming into DC and riding past the Capital building and one of my group at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial after we finished the last leg of the tour(hopefully the post). I hope everyone had a great training/racing week. Now I need to rest since I have my first TRI of the season on Sunday.

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Glad the ride went so well!  That's a lot of time in the saddle, so I'm sure it will help this season.  Sounds like a great experience!

Good luck with the upcoming tri.

... and of course, as a triathlete, you're the one in the calf sleeves.  

Absolutely! Looks like a great time, and all that riding will definitely help you.

... and of course, as a triathlete, you're the one in the calf sleeves.  

You beat me to it

I eat pretty much the exact same thing for breakfast every morning, including race mornings.  It consists of coffee, a bowl of oatmeal and a banana.  It's simple and I've never had an issue with it so I'm sticking with it!  I try to get it into me at least 2 hours before a race and I may or may not have a gel shortly before the race as well.

way to get it done!

I typically eat a few hours before the race and have a bagel & small bowl of cereal.  Also coffee to clear the pipes.  By the time I am setting up in transition I'm usually starting to get hungry again so I'll have a banana with me to eat and/or a gel.

Rode with my Tri-Wisconsin team last night.  It's a pretty technical course through some very hilly terrain.  I did my best to keep up with the lead group, but only made it through about 15 of the 30 miles before they eventually dropped me (and a whole slew of others).  I do love this group ride because there are a lot of very accomplished cyclists in the group and that always pushes me to go harder than if I ride alone.  Plus we frequently have beers afterwards!

Have a good Hump Day everyone.  Just a few more days until the weekend!

amd723 - 2013-05-15 4:43 AM

axteraa - 2013-05-15 6:14 AMI had a ridiculously hard swim in the pool this morning with the swim team kids.  It had me on the rivet for the last set but I'm really happy to have been able to hang on and finish it off.

Now you've made me feel like a slacker - I blew off masters this morning

way to get it done!

I did too....and I heard it was a pretty good swim this morning!  But I did get on the trainer for Stage 5 of TrainerRoad's 8 Days in California tour. 

I know saddles are super personal, so what works for one might not work for another....but I'm going to ask anyways.  I've used both an Adamo Road and a Cobb V-Flow Plus and haven't had a lot of success with either.  For someone who's used the commonly suggested saddles (and had multiple bike fits with professional fitters) and found that they don't seem to work, where do you look next? 

FWIW, the Adamo felt too wide in the front and left me with bad bruising (used for ~20 hours before going to the Cobb).  The Cobb (going on 115 hours) is maybe too squishy and seems to result in some friction issues despite numerous bike fits and lots of chamois cream.

I go with wheat toast with peanut butter and a banana.  I might get a couple shot blocks in me before the swim start, but the nervous energy usually makes them seem repulsive!

I tried smoothies (a scoop of protein, some fruit, a spoonful of peanut butter) for a while, but I found that the large volume wanted to come back up while on the bike....aero position is conducive to liquids wanting to come back out the way they came in!  So that was nixed after a few long rides.

Nice job.  Swim lessons are so valuable, if nothing else, to have someone look at your stroke and identify weaknesses.  Nice job on the 300m TT improvement!

You know I really screwed up the morning of my HIM so I'll share so no one else makes the same mistake.

I did Muskoka which is hosted by a resort and I just assumed that they'd have some breakfast buffet or cafe open early in the morning for the athletes.  They are the hosts afterall!  So the night before I learn that nope... you're on your own!  And not only that but they don't even sell Gatorade in the place!?  So hubby and I are driving around northern Ontario in search of a place to go and I find a gas station and load up on bevvies and a no-name roadside place that sells bananas.  So my race day breakfast consisted of a Cliff bar I found in my bag and a couple of bananas.

Normally I just have a multigrain cereal, milk and a banana.  No issues.  Then gels on the course.

BE PREPARED!!!  

90 minutes on the trainer this morning and I'll run an hour at lunch.

I don't have allergies every year and normally when I do they are mild. Twice in my life they've been this bad. Once in the late 90's and once in the mid 80's. There must be some type of pollen that cycles out high every 15 years or so but it is kicking my @ss.

I've heard good things about the Selle Italia. Sheri was going to order the SMP but changed her position first with a better fit and stuck with her saddle. I also know a couple of people that have used a zip tie to "narrow" the Adamo saddle by tightening the gap between rails. I don't know what other models Adamo has come out with recently but I seem to remember someone saying they had a narrower one. Otherwise I got nothing.

I had a little saddle emergency last Sunday; went to go ride and found that one of the rails on my trusty 5 year Koobi Tri saddle had broken. Switched the Cobb V-Flow Plus off my road bike and went for my ride. Wasn't too bad, a little squishy like you said, but worse than that is I had some much unwanted discomfort afterwards. Went to my LBS which is a Specialized dealer with a loaner program to give them a try. They measured my backside and everything (turns out my wife is right: I have no butt), and gave me a Specialized Toupe model. Rode it for a short ride Tuesday, and really didn't like it, so i called Koobi and made sure they overnighted me a new Koobi Tri, which should come today. It has the full length cutout like the Cobb and Adamo but is narrower and less bulky, so for me it is much more comfortable, but like you said, saddles are very personal.

On race day, I find my stomach doesn't like solid foods, so I have a protein shake about 2 hours before the start, and then try to stay hydrated before the start. Also, the few days before a race I make sure to stay very well hydrated.

PSA: I needed new race shorts and jersey this year, and I found the 2XU long distance shorts and jersey, which I like very much, for a great price on Amazon.

I eat oatmeal, PB and a banana, which is what I eat for breakfast nearly every day. And I eat about 2.5-3 hours before my wave goes off.

For shorter races, I sub out the oatmeal for a piece of whole wheat toast.

About 10 years ago I had terrible digestive issues in, of all things, a 5k. Since then I have been very particular about what I eat the night before and the morning of a race. If the race is out of town I pack my meals so I eat my own oatmeal and not hotel buffet oatmeal.