GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 250)

No worries.   Get to me when you can.    

NO, your eyes are not deceiving you!    It's a beautiful picture.   Hopefully the ice will be gone in August.  

STEVE,

Ken says I'm crazy and that it's not ice.  

I must not have been paying much attention lately because I had no idea both SteveA and SteveB were headed to Nevada for races! Wishing both of you luck!

SteveB, still planning on the 2 miler and 5k, but the dates are the 13th and 21st. I'm also doing a totally last-minute 3-miler today with Donna down in Cape Cod.

Tracey

It appears Silverman tracking is not working - comments on the site indicate that

DENISE -

Hey! Welcome back!

Tough day for Vikings, tougher for Pats. Why Childress is sticking with Favre, i'll never know. Brett'll cost him his job.

All I've been able to get about Steve is 40' for the swim and 6' for T1. Maybe he got eaten by famished desert tortoises........

How've you been??

DENISE again -

Well, he is engineering a decent drive right now. Maybe I just got too focused on his earlier red-zone interception.

Hey, I'm good.

I didn't even watch the Vikes today - on same time as 2 hr NYC Marathon recap show.  I get misty when the finishers cross, be it the front-runners or back-of-the-packers.

I think Childress is gone.

I might need your help/advice.  I just started my winter maintenance program - easing into it.  Anyway, we'll be in Minneapolis at my brother's for Thanksgiving and my daughter (who I'm picking up in Madison the day before) wants to run a race Thanksgiving am.  Thanksgiving Day races have gotten very popular down here.  The idea is you run off the calories before you eat.  So I sent her a list and, of course, she did pick the 10k over the many 5ks.  The last time I ran 6 miles was about 4 months ago.  I have been running 3 times a week, about 2-4 miles each time and I did run 4.5 miles last week.  I have 2 1/2 weeks.  I was thinking maybe 3-4 miles twice a week plus 5 miles next week and 6 miles the next week.  Or switch that around and run 6 miles next week and 5 the week after.  I'd like to run 4-5 times a week but I'm afraid of increasing my mileage too much.
What do you think?

Denise

TRACEY -

Wowzers! I hope you had a good time romping on the Cape! Details, details, details, ASAP!!!!

DENISE -

Nice comeback for the Vikings! Also a nice comeback for the damnable Jets....and that one positively sickitates me! GRRRRR!!! As a Browns-lover, i could handle the Pats losing to them just so long as the Jets lost, too, but........GRRRRR!!!

See what i told you several months ago! Rotter-daughter! Sheesh. Picking that 10km out of all the 5km. The noive of her!

Ack! Gotta go quick! Will be back within about 20 minutes!

DENISE again -

You wth the rotter-daughter, me with the louse-spouse.....who decided it was IMPERATIVE that we go out and orchestrate the moving of a bunch of leaves around the yard beofre the sun went down.
So, that was the reason for the lightning-quick departure!

I would opt for Plan A, which would be working up in a couple of swift leaps to 6 miles. I think that's just slightly safer than jumping up to 6 miles and then working back down before the race. Four months back for the previous 6er is still close enough for some muscle memory of that distance, but far enough back to warrant the more prudent approach of a 10% or so build-up. So, Maybe aim for soemthing abit over 5 miles as soon as you can, and then float around there for a run or two, and then go for the six.

With an increase in mileage, I think you're safest to keep the runs at 3X a week. If you had another week before for the race, well, maybe adding a run a week and keeping the incremental jumps smaller might make sense, but as it is I think you're best served by staying at 3X a week. Does that sound fine enough to you?

SteveB,
Thanks, that's what I will do.  I'm pretty sure I'll be able to run the 6 miles, just a little slower than I would if I had more time to train (also I've got a few extra pounds on me which makes me a little slower).  I'll decide on a wise pace about a week before.  I'll tell my rotter-daughter what my pace is going to be and she can leave me behind if she chooses.  I'm just really glad she's embraced running - I think it's a great stress-reliever for a college student.  Also, to choose to get up early on a holiday is something new for her - and a good thing.

I tried to find Tracey's race but wasn't really sure about the "Cape Cod" geographical region.

Thanks again Steve,
Denise

587 Steve Aquavia
M Sherman Oaks, CA

Swim Out:	00:40:00
Bike Out:	00:46:00
Run Out:	04:15:00
8 Mile Run:	05:36:43

this is what i got just now for steavea

 Brett Favre's latest amazing fourth-quarter comeback may have not only saved the Minnesota Vikings' season, but coach Brad Childress' job as well.

Well I managed to win 1st place in my AG at this race, which should give you some idea of the kind of race it was. :) It was very small scale (in its second year), with maybe 50 runners/walkers (if that). And there were probably only about 10-15 runners; the rest walked it. In fact, I think in my AG for women, I was the only runner. But I'll still take the medal!

But in terms of my progress, I think I did well. There was no real official timing (there was a guy who's a former RD taking times down at the finish line). I think my finish time was 32:00 (forgot my watch so I don't know for sure). This was a 3-miler, so that would put my pace at around 10:40 or so. That's a PR for me. But man, it was COLD! And windy. The race was along the Cape Cod Canal in Sandwich. The temp today was around 45, but with wind chill it had to be 30. Glad I brought along the fleece pullover (which I had considered leaving behind!)

Tracey





Edited by thall0672 2010-11-07 6:00 PM

Tracey - Wow - that's great!  I bet that medal feels good.  Was it fun to show your family? And a PR too.  You just keep getting better.
Which is worse - heat or cold?

SteveA's final

587 Steve Aquavia
M Sherman Oaks, CA

Swim Out:	00:40:00
Bike Out:	00:46:00
Run Out:	04:15:00
8 Mile Run:	05:36:43
Finish:	06:34:00

TRACEY! -

You medalled!!! And even if you were the only one in the a.g. -- you medalled!!

More importantly, though, as you already figured out, is the PR pace. It really is amazing how far you have come since the spring, displaying all the benefits of good foot health, steady training, and budding confidence. All these things have come together to turn you into a race-running machine, keen enough of the whole scene to bop off on short notice to do a 3-miler not exactly right next door. How cool is that???

Just curious -- how many runs are you fixing to do between now and Sunday?

Enjoy the medal -- it stands for all of your hard work and self-belief over the past many months!!

DENISE -

Thank you for Steve's results! My computer wasn't displaying the Silverman page since late afternoon. I'll be anxious to hear his comments, especially about the run off of a very tough bike leg.

Gutsy performance by Favre and company in the 4th quarter. He sure turned those boos around in a hurry!

DENISE again -

Did you notice that four of the current top eight in the full iron of Silverman are from LasVegas or Henderson? I guess tnat shows the benefits of being able to train regularly on that mean bugger of a course!

I could not, howvever, find the full list of half-iron results -- just a list of everybody's name and a clicky place to get their results. Last time I was "allowed" by my computer to be on that site, there was a running list of how people were faring at that time. Poo.

Hey everyone!

Well, 2010 is in the books.

The word for the day was "Average".  LOL:
Division Place:  44/93
Gender Place:  210/434

Swim:  40:22 - tough swim in a way, very easy in another.  Lake Las Vegas is SMALL.  I was commenting to my friend that I expected a real bruiser out there, as there is just no room for 1200 swimmers to work, and I was right.  Could not find open water until the return lap.  Spend most of the first half mile literally cruising at below my preferred pace, as there was just nowhere to go.  In retrospect, I should have gotten to the front of the start line, but as always, I doubt my ability to swim in front.  All in all, it worked well though, as it kept me within myself.  I made the turn at 25 minutes, so had a negative split on the swim.  Mainly because once I made the second turn, I swam on the inside of the buoy for the return leg, away from others.  Added about 100 meters to the swim to get back on course near the end, but was worth the extra distance.

T1:  6:29  Almost a DISASTER.  Low dock that they pulled you onto coming out of the water.  I was feeling so good, I tried to push myself onto the dock with some momentum (think of a seal in a SeaWorld show).  Legs locked badly and cramped.  Hurt like a son-of-a-gun, and I thought I pulled something.  But, managed to get on dry land, and run to T1...which was a LONG way away.  It was about 200 yards to the T1 area, and then you had to run your bike up a carpeted hill with two switchbacks to get to the starting line.  So, a good 2 minutes of T1 was spent running.  LOL. 

Bike:  3:24 - again - put me in the middle of the group - about 6 minutes faster than I had planned on.  Really a tale of two rides.  First 35 miles were hilly, but fast!  Screaming downhills - we were lucky to have fair, cloudless skies with a low UV index.  Mid 60's to low 70's on the bike, and for most of it, very little to no wind so you could get aero and take advantage of the downhill sections.  Felt good on the climbs and did a fair amount of passing (and being passed).  But those Three Sisters - those killed everything.  Was averaging nearly 19 mph heading in to those at around mile 40.  There was just one answer for them.  Find the lowest gear, get out of the saddle, pump the arms and try not to look at the top.  Just keep forcing the peddles down.  On the second and third, a lot of people were walking the bike up the hill.  You had to really pay attention and make sure the person in front of you wasn't going to just stop.  Once over them, we were greeted to a false flat climb into a headwind for 9 miles.  Strained my right quad just above the knee and the right glute on the last sister, and that would cost me on the run.  The mood definitely shifted there. Before, everyone was chirpy and happy.  On that last grade, everyone was quiet, head down and somber.  Averaged about 12 mph from there to the next set of downhills (again, screaming fast) and then into T2 with a last few miles of climbs.  All in all, a very, very tough bike course.  The first 40 miles actually beat you up a bit, but the downhills present a false sense of success and pacing.  The Sisters followed by the false flat really beat you up. 

T2:  4.56 - again, a bit of running to the tent then to the mat.  But good.

Run:  2:18 - I was both happy and not happy with the run.  Fought through some shin/calf issues to start, but the quad and glute was shot and really sang on the hills.  When I was running, I was moving at a pretty good clip, but was forced to stop and walk it out every mile or so.  I got into a rhythm of running to the aid stations, walking through, loading up on gatorade and water, then running again.  But, as the run wore on, the quad and glute started spasming and cramping hard.  So I was soon walking 2x between aid stations.  I estimate my run pace was roughly 8 minute mile pace - so I tried to slow the run down in the hopes of averaging 9 without walking, but the leg/butt would still cramp and spasm.  I got lucky at mile 10.  They had some Endurolytes on the table.  I took three of them, cracked them open, poured the powder into a cup of Gatorade, powered it down and that carried me for the next two miles of solid running.  Ran hard the last .75 miles and actually felt pretty good for the finish. 

So, 6:34 - about what I thought it would be.  In retrospect, my training for this race was sub par - a lot of going through the motions toward the end and that cost me a bit on the run.  I was a bit burned out on the training after Nautica, and it showed in the training, and it showed on the run course.  But, with that said, I'm very pleased with the result and the last race of the season.

Looking back at the race - I think they have a good claim on "the toughest" race.  If they were to turn IMSG into a single loop HIM distance course, I think Silver would be harder.  The Sisters are much more challenging than the "wall" at IMSG.  The run courses are equally brutal, but I think the bike on Silverman is tougher.  Before the race, I was full of bravado, saying that in 2012, I'd do the Silver full.....now I want no part of it!  LOL.

All in all, a good day.  Some very good times of confidence and feeling strong, some times of suffering and wanting to stop, and a good finish that I'm proud of for the season. 

Now, for some R&R - I think I'm gonna have a beer tonight! 

P.S.
For a non-WTC race - they put on a HECK of a good race. Just first class all the way.  Small and intimate, but they took very good care of the racers, great course, great police protection on the roads, awesome aid stations, good volunteers...just a top-notch production all around. 

PPS - Next step: Season post mortem - what to work on for next season....putting the thinking cap on. 

STEVE!

Yo, silver-/tin-man!

Many, many thanks for thr detailed race report. As I've told you, I've been living this one vicariously through you for a while now, and it's awfuly good to have a sense of how the course really is! It has received such glowing reviews over the years that it is hard to believe it can be that good, but with the exception of the swim venue, you seem to support the consensus that it is first-class all the way.

That swim venue, though.....
Lake Mead was certainly large enough, and many people seemed to love the one big single-circuit nature of it. I hear the RDs thoughts about having the host hotel RIGHT THERE at Lake Las Vegas, but i cabn't imagine too many peolple enjoyed that site for the reasons you state. And what was the set-up for the iron people -- how many "loops" did they have to do? Two out-and-backs?

When I saw your time at 40' I figured you'd had a good swim; that is a decent time. But to have negatoive=split it....WOW! Fine job, too, on navigating on the inside; it's hard to think you could have managed it any better.

I am very intrigued by your comments comparing Silver and IMSG bike courses. I know that Silver has a TOUGH rep, but I didn't necessarily figure it was tougher than SG. It will be worth looking through the results to see who did both, and how their times compared -- or even better, how they compare the two in race reports. THe Sisters vs The Wall. Cry "Mercy!"

That is really unfortunate that you hurt yourself on the last sister. Was it from "reaching" too hard on one of the pedal downstrokes? That is also tricky positioning of the Sisters -- 40 miles in, 16 to go.....and there they are! In a way that is similar to the Three Bears at IMLP, only much, much worse. But location is everything when it comes to dirty tricks on long-distance races, and the Sisters coming so late definitely counts as a Dirty Trick!

Your run comments explain what I saw on the rough results, with your time at 8 miles and then the finish time. 5.1 miles later. I figured something had to have happened to slow you down, and i guess the four horseman - shin, calf, quad, glute - of your own persoanl silverman apocalypse worked their wickedness on you! Still, to have done it in the time you did, facing those adversities, is pretty darn good, and also supports your feeling that when you were moving, you were moving quite well. I guess!

So....what you're saying....no Silverman Full next year? (And does this mean you're headed to Tempe in about 13 days to volunteer and sign-up? )

As for what sprouts from under the thinking cap, let me know, okay? I still haven't done my 2010 post-mortem yet, but if I have in fact shut down the running races, then I guess I'd better get to it soon!

Congrats on making it through one of the arguably toughest HIM in North America Now you just have to do Savageman, Auburn, and Ste. Agathe, and you'll have squatter's rights to all four! (For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer.........)

Enjoy your well-earned recovery!

Hey there!

Post Mortem still to come, but I was thinking about this more, and maybe I have to back off of it a bit.

The trouble comparing the two is that you'd only do the three sisters once on Silverman.  However, you  have done 85 miles of pretty relentless rollers and some tough climbs up until then.  All I could think of going up the third was, "I'm not sure I could do this after 85 miles!"  My hats are off to those that did the 112 course.

On fresh legs, I'd rather do "The Wall" once than the "Three Sisters".  No doubt in my mind.

As for the 56 mile Silveman against a single loop at St. George - man, that's a tough call.  The benefit of Silver is that you have a mile climb, then a great downhill to recover.  Climb, downhill, climb, downhill - until the sisters, it's really a fun course that gives you a chance to recover before the next effort.  For the first 35/40 of Silver, you're climbing, but just when you start to get tired, you get the screaming downhill for recovery - it's like a good interval session, and the uphills are largely the kind you can keep a good 11-13 mph speed, so you're not slowing down all that much.

St. George is more of a constant grind until you get to the steep jab before the Wall, and then the Wall. 

I guess in the end, if it weren't for the headwind after the Three Sisters, I'd have said St. George was tougher - because once you get to the top of the Wall, you're not done, you still have one more climb that's visually a heart breaker, and is a tough slog.  And there is almost always a headwind on that last climb, no matter how nice the day is.

At Silver, the headwind after the sisters was a real killer.  The false flat without wind would have you at 15-17 mph, but the wind kept us down at 11-12 mph.  Just demoralizing, and it kept you from ever getting comfortable again until you were into T2. 

I guess after all that, I'd be hard pressed to say which one is really harder...they are both, as you say, diabolical in their own way.  All in all, I must say, there was more than one person screaming, "F you Frank!" on those hills.  And a few people wrote it out in chalk on the ground.  "F You Frank!"  LOL.

Denise,

I didn't stick around for the awards to be given out, so I'll have to wait until I see my friend who raced with me to give me the medal.

As much as I hate the cold, I'd take it over exercising in the heat any day. When it's cold, at least you warm up after a few minutes. But in the heat and humidity, I'm toast after about 15 minutes, even with lots of hydration.

Between now and Sunday I've got 3 runs planned (a 3-4 miler tomorrow, a 5 miler on Wednesday, then another short run on Friday.) This Saturday's run is only a 2 miler so I'm going to just see what I can do in terms of pace.

By the way, I'm the proud owner of a new pair of Newton trail shoes:

http://www.newtonrunning.com/newton-products/the-shoes/women-shoes/...

I'm considering working some trail running into my training, although with the snow coming I don't know how much longer I have...