Gary's Mentor Group - Re-OPENED for Training (Page 26)

been in my own little world lately. may/june are always ridulously busy. coming off a long weekend of having the flu and then i have a race on saturday. it will be an experience. I'm about 70% right now. Hopefully it won't linger much longer. Needless to say i didn't do anything friday-monday. taper week with a lot of fluids.

Good luck to all the racers this weekend. Can't wait to read the rr. Hope you all smoke the competition. ;-)

Shelly

need to get signed up for another race- lol.

Gary ... I'm pulling out of the Three Little Pigs race on June 18.  This tendonitis in the knee is just not cooperating.  I went to the doc ~2 weeks ago and while the soreness is better, the knee is not yet race worthy. If it's not at least 90%, I'm not risking further injury.

Next race is in August, but need to train on the running, especially on my technique between now and then.  My running form is purely heel striking and I'm working to improve this and lessen the stress impact ... lot's of good instruction vids on youtube.

Ciao ...

Playing single dad this week while DW is in Kentucky.  Have been doing short swims, no running, and lots of short rides.  Planning on running tonight to see if the knee is ready for action.

Dorm - good idea, hope you your back up soon

Shelly  - there is a sprint on June 18th in New Roads or one in Lake Charles on July 10th.

Justin - how are you feeling?

Kim, Stephanie - ready to race?

On this site there is a comparisons of the different mounts and their associate times.  I use what they label (if I remember correctly) as "Intermediate" mount.  I have my shoes on the bike.  As I am walking the bike I (almost) stop, I have the left pedal in the 9 oclock position.  I will step on the left shoe (with left foot) and push off and bring my right leg over.  Not quite as fast as a flying mount but almost.  Not to mention safer.

If I can record and post I will if you think it would help.

I'm doing that one too. Earlier in the week when trying to talk myself into doing a flying mount on concrete made me feel like i was 8 yrs old all over again trying to talk myself into doing something that i knew would end badly. "come on what's the worst that could happen," I said, "If you fall it's only concrete you fell a bunch of times when you were younger." Needless to say my 'older, wiser' conscious won and I didn't try it, baby steps i tell myself. Below is the video that I watched:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1820

Yep, thats the one.  If you figure out how to do the first one without killing yourself, come teach me.  Free beer in exchange!

Good luck racers!!!

Rode today, 30 miles at easy pace as it rained overnight and the roads were a bit wet at first.  But with the drought it quickly dried.  Even though I went easier my avg pace wasn't far off my usual.  Maybe there is hope for me afterall.  My wife is out of town until tomorrow so playing single dad.  Thinking tonight beer, pizza, and poker with the kids (albeit minus the beer and poker).  How is everyone doing?

Hey all!

Pretty quiet here.  Weather here is a bit crazy (as it is across the country).  Either blazing hot or storming.  Third day in a row with a storm blowing thru.  Knocked out power at work for awhile (thank goodness for generators!).

Been a few days since I've been back from my early summer vacation. Ran the Boulder Bolder while in Denver. For those that have never ran it, it's a must, very well organized (year 32) rated the best 10k by RW, mile markers and kilo markers, lots of entertainment, 54,000+ runners. There was a banner that read 'highest peak of the course 5,394 feet, sea level is for sissies' hahaha Thats funny for a guy from LA. Time was ok, 55:25, considering the altitude change.

Hey alll!

Swam today with the zoomers, they used to cause my foot to cramp but didn't today.  Definitely felt the concept of keeping feet/knees straight with a long body.  Rode last night on the trainer doing intervals, keep telling myself its good for me!

Dub - I would be happy with 55mins at below sea level.  Nice job on the race

Gary -  What are zoomers for swimming?  How do they help?

I had a great run this morning - Finally!  I'm really trying to get back into my early morning workouts.  Otherwise they dont seem to get done. 

Hope you're all having a great week.  We have our second kids swim lesson tonight.  MOnday was even worse than expected so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that tonight goes better.  If not, we'll wait another year.  

The official quote:

Zoomers are unique swim fins that utilize patented short-blade technology to promote a shorter, faster kick. They are designed to provide the ideal amount of propulsion for perfecting the swimming kick and stroke, allowing for better form over longer periods of time.

Because they have a smaller blade than traditional swimming fins, Zoomers make the legs work harder without overloading the muscles. They help you avoid burnout and sustain an optimum workout level over a longer period.

From me:

Zoomers are, in effect, shortened swim fins.  You get some of the benefits of swim fins (extra propulsion) but not all.  It gives you some extra propulsion but you do have to work for it.  My biggest issue with them is that when I first started using them my foot would cramp pretty quickly.  Evidently I have built some tolerance to them and can swim decent distances with them.  I can tell that now what my coach was talking about after using them (zoomers).  Now when I swim without them I am keeping straighter legs and getting a better kick.

this is the first time all week i've had time to sit down and read some posts. I had a short race last saturday - 300m, 10mi, 2.5mi. weather was perfect - upper 60's, no wind, overcast. in the weeks leading up to the race i had absolutely no motivation - i just couldn't get myself excited for it. I signed up with a friend of mine and it was his first tri. he is an experienced marathoner who qualified for boston this year, an average biker, but has only been swimming for a month. he ended up beating me by 35 seconds. i had better splits than him in every part of the race including transitions except the run - where he averaged 6:15 per mile. i definately need to improve my running speeds. i have a lot to say about this race but will put it in the RR. Hopefully i will have time to do it this evening. i will post the linkn on here when it's up. only one more race left for the season in September which is an olympic distance here in Lincoln. i need to build up my swimming endurance for the 1500m ows. keep up the good work everyone.

Hey all!
JPF- congrats on the race.  Anyone running 6:15's is going to be tough to beat.  Especially on the shorter distance races.  Looking forward to the RR

Fit - It happens, most of the online Tri's stores are not making a ton of money and sounds like if they honored that deal for everone it would have been costly.  It would be nice if they offered you some sort of discount as a way to say sorry.

Ran last night, swim today and longish ride tomorrow.  The HIM plan I am on is starting to increase distances a little but the bike is still very short.  I am still using workouts from Jorge's plan during the week and combining with longer rides on the weekend.

had a good run this morning. did my first interval run (1 min @ 65% effort followed by 30 sprint or as fast as i could go without throwing up) for 4 miles. it was a good challenge. this 4 mile loop is a typical shorter route that i've ran dozens of times but for some reason i have a great sense of accomplishment completing it.

Does anyone else incorporate tempo, interval/fartlek (which sounds like an intestinal disorder), speedwork?

Off to work now, putting on a Kids Health & Safety Fair at work. It's a huge PITA (you can figure out that acronym) and i'm glad when it over but it's cool seeing 3000 kids and parents having a good time.

RR is still on my to-do list.

JPF - I used to but right now just trying to do distance and keep the knee happy.  I will be doing some soon.

Had to laugh, was at the grocery store walking by the pharmacy.  Evidently they keep the condoms in a glass cabinet, not locked.  Some guy is trying not to draw attention to himself as he is opening the cabinet and getting a package.  At that point his 3yr old (guessing age) yells "Daddy, why are you buying that?"  Needless to say all the shoppers turned and looked.  Took everything I had not to bust out laughing as I passed him.