SWBKRUN Mentor Group-"Off Season?" What is that?!! (Page 26)

Have a good weekend (and week) everyone.  Im going to Mexico for the next week (hoping I dont catch the Swine Flu). 

Good luck everyone who is racing.

Right, as Steve said, the table is simply a way to contact any member of our group for whatever purpose without having to search for said person through our 30+ pages of threads.  It does not mean you are not part of the group if you are not or choose not to be on the table.  You'll see these tables pop up regularly when you join a challenge (do that too).

Here's how the Goals section of my training log appears:

Yeah heard about the Swine Flu on the news... SCARY!?!  Stay 6 feet away from people, and don't shake hands!  Then you should be ok? !!! Enjoy the week!

Heeey guys, so I just finished the spring at Gustavus (St. Peter, MN)

Everything went well until the run hahaa

i haven't received the splits, but these times are based on my watch

8 min 5 sec swim

39min 7 sec bike

40+ minute run hahaha
  My IT band flared up a mile in and I limped to the finish whoop.

It's a bit frustrating, to say the least, but it was still a lot of fun.  I do hope that PT works.  Has anyone had problems with this before?

Congrats and good job on the race!!  You finished under pressure when you could have called it a day,  at minimum it is an experience that you can learn from and better yourself before your next race.

I haven't had any real IT issues, so I'll leave that for someone who knows.

Okay, I've got to share.  I just got home from my first olympic distance race and I kicked butt.  Keep in mind, it's all relative.  I had an original goal of 2:30, but since I have injured my Achilles, I decided that I was going to take it easy on the run and bump it to 2:40.  I finished it in 2:38 and that is without pushing anything.  It was 90 degrees when I started the run, and that  fatigued me pretty quickly.  Other than that, it wasn't too bad.  The swim and the bike were actually pretty easy.  It was my second OWS ever and I did 1500 in 27 minutes.  I was unsure of my biking skills, but managed to put in 1:12 for 24 miles.  I did the 6.25 mile run in 51:52.  That is pretty good for me, considering I am not a natural runner.  In case you can't tell, I'm pretty excited!

PICK ME ...PICK ME

Missing in action a couple of days and get left in the dust.  Please, Please, Please don't leave me out.  I promise I will be a good boy and post more often

Good Job Chris!  Sounds like you did kick some booty.  Did you use a wetsuit for your swim?

Very Niice on the Oly Chris!

Frozen Still?  Ours is still cold, but actually comfortable after a few minutes.  We have an awesome lake...750 miles of shoreline, and it is really clean and clear.  I can see mussell shells off the dock at 12 feet.  Did another OWS this morning and my wife and son followed me on the paddle boat.  Pretty funny...and I actually had to slow and wait for them.  I am really liking this open water stuff, as I think it is lending itself to my finding better technique to make the distance a little easier. 

Nice work man!!! 1st Oly or 1st tri?? We want pics too!

Pics will certainly come a little later.  Everything went exactly as planned.  I had no surprises.  T1 and T2 were great.  T1 was a little slow because of a previous wetsuit incident where I really tried to rush getting it off.  This time, I decided to be calm and deliberate and it worked!  It is real weird, I took it easy on all three areas trying to pace myself and I came in two minutes below my goal time.  I really could have pushed the swim and the bike harder, but not the run.  I am going to visit my doc who is sending me for PT until my HIM training begins in three weeks.  I need to get my Achilles healed! 

I will say, the two biggest surprises were: #1 ~ How straight I swam.  I was only off my mark during my third leg of my swim.  The others, I really did not even need to sight.  The second surprise was my avg. speed on my bike:  19.78 mph.  I feel if I even tried to push the hills at all, I could have been 20-21 avg.  I am normally a masher, but today I was a spinner.  All in all, my first tri of the season and my first olympic ever, I'm satisfied. 

Barry~  I did use a wetsuit.  I tried to rent one from XTERRA and they covinced me to buy the model I rented from them last year.  (New of course)  $65 to rent or $145 to buy!  I still have Augusta that will use it for as well.  I couldn't resist.

Awesome job.  Way to start off your season (and inspire the rest of us).  Congrats on a job well done!
Now take it easy and get that foot healed!  

great job on your first olympic!  It looks like you're a natural! 

Choo- Choo... "Now arriving at Affirmation Station"

OK folks, it's me... the Super Newbie   I signed up for the group but have been pretty quiet (OK, totally quiet) because I'm sort of in awe of everyone. Is there anyone else in the group who hasn't done a race yet?  I have two this summer and I'm rediculously excited.  Reading all the posts I realize I have soooooo much to learn but I'm trying to take it all in and just keep moving.

So, here's my big issue and I'd sure love to hear from any of you:  I AM THE WORLDS WORST RUNNER.  I swam competetively in high school and college and absolutely love the water. I feel great on my road bike (although my clipless pedals and I are working out a truce).  However, the run just eludes me.  I have been following the Couch 2 5K plan and finally ran my first 5k  (don't laugh - I know it was just a 5k but that was one of my best days ever!)  The issue is that it feels awful      I feel like I'm all over the place - will my body ever figure out a more graceful way to move?  I lost 65 pounds over the past 2 years so maybe my body is saying "what the heck are you doing to me now?"  I read Slow Fat Triathlete and am trying the positive affirmations she suggests (i.e." you can run in straight line with success").

Guess I'm just hoping to hear from anyone in the group who started with zero running experience/talent and can share a bit about how they "got into running".


Also, I have a new Garmin Forerunner 305 and am trying to figure out the integration with BT so it's not yet showing my workouts for the past few days. If any of you have a 305, do you use the Motion Based softwatre or another similar program?

Thanks everbody!  I am so inspired by all of you.

Shannon

Hey Shannon,  I am not too far ahead of you.  Last year was my first year doing triathlons and I have only done three.
So, not a lot of experience here.  I do agree with you, there are folks here with tons of experience - and what's cool is everyone is so nice and willing to help/share any insight and expertise.  I've learned most everything I know about tris from this web site.  
I'll let the experts chime in on the running.  I will say I've heard a lot of folks say that swimming is the hardest piece of this sport to "learn" ... so you are ahead of many when they just started out. 

Shannon, I also only have 2 tri's under my belt.  I started running races 3 years ago and just started cycle racing this year.

I have the Fr305.  I use SportTracks to corral my data.  It's free and the options are far better than Motion Based.  It takes a little while to figure out. 

You'll get it this year and soon, you'll be kicking butt!

Happy Birthday Suzy and Kim!

Great job to all the racers this weekend! I'm looking forward to checking your logs and reading the RR!

My races went pretty much as expected. Slower than last year, but not terrible. Will do the RR Monday. It's been a really busy weekend and I'm exhausted! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Shannon

Most of us in this group are VERY new to triathlon. While I have done marathons, I've done a whopping one mini sprint and two sprints! Join in and ask questions, we will learn together.  Never feel stupid or inexperienced.

Second, I am totally in awe of someone who can swim like a fish.  You are so lucky and your knowledge could probably help us alot.  Most people don't do triathlons because their swim stinks so you are ahead of the pack.  I suppose you swam everyday at Brenecke's Beach-totally jealous!!!

Re: your running.  It sounds like your issues are mainly form related?  If so, you have a couple of options.  You can get a gait analysis done with a PT or even a Fleet Feet type store.  You could also join a beginners runners group.  We have many in Madison.  They are often affiliated with a running or tri store.  The other option is to be a voracious reader (which it sounds like you are doing), search out articles on running form and drills.  That is what I did when I started out seven years ago.  I could not run for more than a couple of minutes without pooping out.  I did the run/walk program for my first marathon.  Do what it takes to get better and chunk it out that way you won't get discouraged.  I need to do the same thing for swimming!

I do have the Forerunner 305.  I don't typically upload my data to BT , but here is the article that tells you how to do it.  I use motionbased mainly, but will soon start using Training Peaks.

PS. My favorite form fixers start with the arms--make sure you are moving them front to back and not across your body.  Those who have a lot of cross over waste energy and probably feel off balance. My second piece of advice is to tuck the pelvis, it will allow you to stand more upright and get your legs under your torso better.  Finally, don't overstride.  Your feet should not land too far out in front you.  It causes a breaking action which often leads to shin pain.  The goal is higher turnover.

Suzy

We look forward to hearing more from you.  Where are those swimming tips?

Edited by SSMinnow 2009-04-26 6:39 AM

Happy B-day Suzy & Kim.  Great job this weekend everyone!

Shannon...I have one tri under my belt.  Far from knowing what the heck I'm doing. 

Edited by fattyfatfat 2009-04-26 6:39 AM

Nice job in tough conditions!  If you never walked up the hills you were victorious.  Just think you already got your really long ride in for the week! 

Suzy

Ok Shannon ... you are ahead of me if you have run a 5K.  I have NOT had a race yet.  Just missed one that I was planning, and have one no on May 30.  I feel you on the running thing.  I started off in October and really could not run a mile, and now I still feel like running is my WEAKNESS.  I have built my mileage up quite a bit, but still feel like my legs are getting beat up when I do more than 7 or 8 miles.  Still working on the distance. 

Just remember to take it slow and keep your heart rate in zones 1 and 2 and just work on being out there.  If you are having to walk a bit to keep yourself aerobic, then that is ok.  Soon the walking will turn into a slow jog, and then that slow jog will turn into a slow run.  I remember when I first started, there was a lady that used to walk around the field where I was "running" .  I remember passing her and my "run" and her walk were about the same speed

Hang in there!




Edited by Plainsman AU 2009-04-26 8:42 AM