Chet's Group is out doing it!- Closed (Page 26)

So I decided to stop moaning about the snow and get out and enjoy it instead. Had a great couple of hours on the cross country skis.

Ross- That is beautiful too!  It looks a lot like where I have been the last couple days.  

I am doing my first OWS this year on Saturday.  I have to get a few in before next Saturday!

None taken! I remain jealous of you guys and your beach lifestyle. We used to have regular holidays to such destinations but now we have kids instead... wouldn't change it for the world.

Just back from my first ever "brick" session. Running feels weird after biking.

Chris - good luck with the new schedule.  I am struggling to get into a routine.  I had my running schedule down but haven't switched gears completely yet.  First tri of the year next weekend and it won't be my best race.  I don't have another "A" race probably until the fall.  Anyway, I feel your pain

Hope everyone has a great weekend planned!! 

Plan for the week - 3 open water swims at race site, get race ready, and one full prerace run of the course.  I was hoping the water was going to be a little warmer for the race by now but I waited as long as I could.  Race is Saturday.

I plan on racing once a month this year.  My last race was on Feb 6th so it has felt like forever since the last one.  I am getting excited! 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Had a great 10k race in Brisbane yesterday - Brisbane Twilight Running Festival.

Was still very humid at 3:30pm but cooler than usual and a great turnout, I think 4000. This is the 3rd year for this festival and it's getting better every year. They give out a singlet in twilight colours, this year a sort of deep purple with stars.

I used my Garmin for the first time in a race and aimed to match my McMillan calculator predicted 10k time ( based on my 3k time trial last Tuesday).

Finished in 49mins 24secs according to the Garmin which is a new PB for me!!! This was within 10secs of the predicted time so I'm pretty impressed with his predictions. According to the chart I should be aiming for a 1hr 49min half marathon, last year I did 1hr 55min so I've got a new target to go for now.

Ross - I love the snow, great pic!

Cheers, Dave

Congrats on the 10k David!  You are making some great progress over the last couple months.

Off for a mountain bike ride in the rain!  Fun Fun

Good effort Dave. That macmillan calculator worked out pretty accurate for me last year as well. I had only done one 10k and it pretty well matched my subsequent times for a 10 miler and a half marathon. Sadly I was a good few mins slower on my first marthon attempt than the calculator predicted, this was probably down to my failure to adequately train.

Rest day for me today and off to the pool in the morning followed by a sneaky run in the afternoon if I can escape work for an hour.

Questions for the group:  How much time do you plan between races?  Does it matter if the races is longer, shorter, or the same?

Last year I did about 1 race every 3 weeks, all were sprint distance tris.  This year I am doing an Oly distance tri on May 1st as my first A race of the season (St. Anthony's).  Two weeks later, the 14th, there is a local race that I am trying to decide if I should do the sprint or the Oly distance.  Last year I did the sprint and came in 2nd place in the Clydesdale division.  Part of me wants to see if I can defend/improve my podium position and part of me wants to see how I will do against a smaller field of participants in the longer race.  What are your thoughts?

Thanks,

Chris

Im with ya on not changing it for the world.  My boys are 15 and 16 and I am already feeling the empty nest syndrome.

Hi Chris, wow that is impressive!!  I cant imagine doing a tri every 3 weeks.  Holy cow, maybe after my first I'll feel differnt.  I think if you did the sprint it would be awesome if you could come in first and or stand your ground.  If you do the Oly then you can try to improve what you do from your fisrt A race.  Either way, awesome to even consider.

Chris - i think you are fine racing the Oly's.  I would say you just have to watch the effort level.  They seem too close for me to put in an "A" race effort but races are fun.  Just Do It!  

So I can say it:  I'm racing this weekend!  Anyone else? 

Hi guys:

Went off the grid for a moment. Sorry I am studying for a personal trainer cert and looking into level 1 tri coach. I am training a bit though. Nice pics folks. Ross my place looks a bit like yours. Chris impressive race schedule. CHet good luck in your race this week.

Had a good swim today and hoping to get a bike ride in this afternoon.  

Good to see you back Jeff!

Everybody must be training hard and not have enough time to chat, that's great!  Keep up the good work!  

I have a busy weekend ahead, group ride/BRICK in the morning, some geocaching with the family (first time) then hopefully an afternoon/evening canoe trip through a local wildlife preserve.  And that's just the plan for Saturday!  

Chet - good luck this weekend, hope you have a good race.  

Jeff - hope things are going well with the personal trainer studies.  Which exam are you studying for, I know there are several different companies/organizations that issue certificates.  The one that I know is pretty well accepted and respected in organized athletics is the NSCA CPT (National Strength Coaches' Association Certified Personal Trainer).  Their website has some great resources. 

Dave - better late than never, so WAY TO GO on the PR!  You are going to love your Garmin. 

Sheila - Thanks for the complement, I love races.  If I could race every weekend, I would.  My biggest problem is my competitiveness, I can not go easy in a race.  It got even worse once I got a taste of success by winning a few races in the Clydesdale division. 

Good luck in the race Chet.

Sadly my wife is working today and I am tomorrow so gonna struggle to get much done apart from in the evenings this weekend. Still I get to play with the kiddos today so that is fun.

Ross

thanks everyone!  It was an interesting day.  The swim was cancelled because of the water being too cold?!?  Then about 5 miles in I came across a guy that had just taken a corner too fast and ended up in the rocks and really hurt.  It took 45 minutes to get him to the helicopter to fly him out.  Bad spot in the course with no volunteers posted at the corner.  I believe we prevented wrecks just by being at the corner giving some kind of warning of the curve.  Not a very well run race is an understatement.  Be careful out there!  It really put things in perspective for me. We are out there to be healthy, not to get hurt.

I did finish the race after and was DFL.  Positive thoughts for the rider, he has a long recovery ahead of him.  It is what I do everyday at work but somehow it was different today.  

Hey guys,

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted...    I've been really busy finishing things up at work, and it was tough for me to find the time -- both to train, and to post here.    I've been running a little bit (but not as much as I'd like) and riding my bike (commuting) a fair amount around the city..   Also I'm getting ready to move back to Vancouver, so big changes are coming again.  (My airplane leaves tomorrow morning!)

Today I ran a 12 km race, called the Zandvoort Circuit Run.   It's a fun race -- the first 4 kilometers are on a Formula 1 circuit (curvy and fun!), the next 2 kilometers are on the beach, and the last 6 kilometers are on the road through the coastal resort village of Zandvoort.   I ran the first 4 km quickly, but my speed immediately took a big hit from the soft sand of the beach.   After the beach portion, I was pretty exhausted, and with it also being a fairly warm day, I didn't quite get my speed back.   My final time was 1:11:45 (9:39 min/mile average).

Once I'm in Vancouver, I'll try to be better about both training and posting to BT.    My next running race is the Vancouver Sun Run 10km on April 17, and the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon on May 1.

Cheers to everyone!

Mel