Tri Mark's Madness Group-Closed (Page 26)

hypoxic,

what kind of pedals did you buy? You should adjust the tension all the way down so it is easiest to click out.  It usually takes a small allen wrench and you can adjust it with a few clicks.  Often out of the box pedals can be adjusted to very tight which makes it hard to get the cleat out!

Also, make sure your cleat is tightened well to the shoe.  If the screws are not holding the cleat well it can shift when trying to pull out of the pedal and make it difficult.

best of luck!

hey group!

since most of us are total NEWBS here i know people are begining to gather triathlong gear. I just stumbled upon this...

http://www.nytro.com/index.cfm/landing-pages/2011-tri-package-nytro-exclusive/

Basically you are paying for the bike, and you get the rest for free. The bike is a SOLID bike.  Only thing it really is missing are a good set up Race Wheels. But you wont find good race wheels until you start looking at bikes that are 3,000 ish. 

You also get very functional accesories.  Good functional pedal/shoes/helmet. The wetsuit and tri shorts/top are great brands and very good. 

Just if your in the market for all of this stuff, this saves you lots of cash! PLus free shipping and I dont think any tax!

I would strongly advise you ride a bike before you buy it.  So if you ever consider it, go ride a kestrel or whatever before you buy it.

hypoxic - 2011-05-16 1:03 AM I took my bike to a bike store - the nike shoes were fitted for the pedals and installed there - it was about a $250 deal.  I have the problem when I am in town and have to stop fo traffic and such.  the problem is the race I am doing is not one with closed streets.  Should I be able to clip out very easily?  I, at this point, have to move my heel out to the side.  Maybe I am just not coordinated for it - I will try to loosen it, I won't have time this week to take it to Champaign.  Thanks for the advice - I will find an allen wrench and a male friend who knows how to use it. 

To release the cleat from the pedal, I always clip out by moving the heel out to the side away from the bike and putting that foot on the pavement before clipping out the other side (also by moving the heel away from bike). I have Shimano pedals and cleats and that's how they work. The first couple of times, I felt like I had to use a lot of force to move the heel out and release the clip, but it has since loosened up.

hypoxic - 2011-05-15 10:03 PM ok - brick for me meant my calves felt like bricks.  did work through it though.  Unfortunately last week was painful in every way - wiped out on my bike four times in town.  In front of Dairy Queen, in front of son's school, in friends driveway, and in front of UPS driver.  Seems like I might have made a bad judgement call with the bike shoes and clip less pedals - please tell me I am wrong.  I can get one un-clipped, but then I fall to the right and it's too late.  I have lots of bruises   I can, at least, always laugh at myself which I am finding is very useful.  Also, last week I had short distances, but felt like I could barely make it!  I am hoping to chalk it up to PMS, but the verdict isn't in on that one yet.  3 1/2 mths of training and I could barely make it through a 4 mile run - is that normal?  I had much better luck today - 18 mile bike and 1 mile run after in one hour total, which for me is a record.  (it was pouring down rain, so this was in the gym, but I am still happy)  I am finding the back of my left ankle is hurting, like right above my heel.  It seems like I need to stretch it somehow but can't figure it out - any secrets?  Still taking a ton of water in on swim, can't seem to find the "trough" or whatever area there is supposed to be for me to breathe without choking, but I am just keeping on swimming hoping it will click.  Hope you all had a good weekend - Husband gone this week, giant fundraiser dinner for daughters school which I am head of, taking son to hand surgeon tomorrow, big training week - this tri thing is not an easy fit into a busy schedule, but the exercise is a welcome break.     Dear Monday, please be kind to everyone. 
 

Ok, lots to deal with in this one:

1.  The pedals require some getting used to.  It sounds like you and my wife have the same issue.  When you're in a place with lots of stops and starts (which I avoid like the plague), you have to always be thinking about getting out of the pedals.  My wife used to forget all the time until it was too late, then just fall over.  The good news is that one  year later, she has not done this on her new very expensive carbon bike!  You have to get adjusted and learn to clip out in advance of any situation where you might have to stop.  You can keep your foot in the pedal, but position it so you can break out well in advance.  As Barrett said, you can also loosen the tension.

2.  With the sudden  spike in heat we had last week, it's possible that your run just bombed because of that.  It takes time to adjust.  You may also just be tired.  If your legs are "dead", work in an extra day off, or do a swim workout instead of a run.  Swimming does not pound on your body and is the best for your overall fitness.  That's why most elite triathletes swim 5-6 times, for the overall fitness benefit.

3.  That pain in your left ankle area sounds like the achiles tendon.  Not a good thing.  If it's sore, you need to ice, ice, and then ice some more.  You need to rest it too.  If you tear that thing you're in big trouble.  As far as stretching it, I'm nervous about saying you should do that if it's already inflamed.  Barrett may be able to advise on that topic.  I know some stretches, but I think you need to get that under control first.

Finally, I know the tri thing is very hard to work into a schedule.  I had to find 15 hours last week and then this week another 9 plus leave town for our first tri this weekend.  The benefits, however, are really great, and you're setting a great example for your kids.  Not just about fitness, but trying new things and being tough with all your falls!  Hope the hand surgeon goes well.

I suggest you start immediately with ice and Aleve for the tendonitis.  I've been in denial about tendonitis in my shoulder because I've become intolerant of Aleve and don't want to admit I have a problem, so I can relate.  In my case, once I get through this little sprint, I need to cut my swimming in half for a week or so and let it heal.  Or...I just may take a cortisone shot for the shoulder like I did with my foot!  That will knock down the swelling and mask the pain!  The good news about tendonitis is that it will go away quickly if you rest and ice it.

Amy,

I don't know if you're riding a tri or road bike or what, but in any case, in a cross wind, you must tuck into aero position the best that you can and lean into the wind.  In the area where I live, 20+ mph winds are an every day occurence until about July/August, when you'd kill to have them but can't buy a breeze!  The less of you the wind can see, the better off you are.  If you look at videos of IM Hawaii, you'll see people riding into the notorious cross winds riding as much as 25-30 degress off of center leaning into the wind.  That's the only way I know to deal with it, and for God's sake, no full disc wheels!

Hope your heel issue works out ok.

The girl who does my hair is loving my tri training....she is raking in the bucks big time dealing with my pool hair.  An expense I did not budget as part of my triathlon!

(miamiamy - 2011-05-16 12:15 PM I raced. Tri-Miami sprint in Miami. Windy day here. I was happy to be swimming with the wind :-) the bike was good. I actually passed somebody going up the bridge (which is our only hill). Okay to be honest that person was on a mountain bike so perhaps I had an advantage. Still, I'll admit it felt good. Speaking of wind on the bike. There was so much wind I felt like it was pushing me sideways and I did not know how to handle that. Scaredy cat that i am on the bike i slowed down going down hill which felt wimpy. Does anybody have any suggestions or tips for what to do with that much wind)

Congrats on your race- and passing someone, don't minimize your success. ! 

So I have been wondering about my training and had some questions. I have a half marathon this Saturday then a Oly in two weeks. Should I push my training after the HM or just get in some easy training in. I was thinking on pushing the bike and swim and taking it easy on the run unless my legs feel good after the HM. Then the biggest training question is, I have 12 weeks after the oly till my HIM. Does anyone have a good training plan I could use. I have been looking at the one on BT and could start it at 12 weeks left. Just wondering what everyone's thought's were.

Thanks,

Jarrod

Hey everybody!  I had a great time at my first race this past Sunday!  Here's a quick report:

Terrible weather- cold, rainy, and wet.  I found out at the end that the start temperature was in the high 30's.  Brr!  I've never biked fast on wet pavement before, so part of my warmup was looping through the parking lot testing my brakes and cornering confidence.  

The swim snaked 450 m through 18 lanes, which was nice in terms of not needing to count laps, but not great in terms of passing people.  I overestimated my time while those around me underestimated, so I was able to catch up and pass about 5 people in the water.  It was not fun!  Shorter intervals are great for training, but I definitely need to practice swimming the race distance with a few laps of 'pickups' interspersed to imitate race conditions.  I tried that in my swim this morning and think it will help me not get so out of breath.

The bike went really well.  Aside from getting numb arms, legs, and feet by the last lap, that is.

The run definitely hurt and is absolutely my worst event.  I couldn't feel my feet until mile 2, which was interesting!  However I managed to start off slow enough to keep my calves from cramping, and worked through a stomach cramp during miles 1-2.  Mile 2-3 actually felt the best, and I was able to pick up the pace to the finish.  

Overall it was a great second triathlon, first of the season!  I have 2.5 weeks until the next event, and I think I'm going to focus on getting in good run intervals and brick workouts.

Hope all of you are doing well with training and racing.

  -Tel-

Great job and great report.  You should definitely do some swim intervals that are actually longer than the distance you will race.  As you enter the race season, it's important to lengthen out your main set.  We're doing a lot of 400 and 500 meter sets, and one day a week starting in June I will do 4x1000m sets with just like 10 seconds rest between them to regain form. 

Bricks will help you transition too.  Keep them short and sweet as far as the run goes, no more than 1.5 miles if you're doing sprint races.  You just need to get that feel of weary legs in your head so it's a normal deal.  I always suggest starting the run a little slower than you normally would, then build to your race pace and finish at an all out sprint.

kathy caribe - 2011-05-18 8:37 PM so today I was supposed to do a 5 mile TT (during a 60 min ride) but we don't do miles here so I figured 10km would work.  THEN I figured if I did 12km I could probably use this for a LT test (as the last one was from a couple months ago) so I did it.  Dayum, I HATE these workouts.  They are SO HARD.    So my new LT is 151 whereas the old was 154.  For my HIM, what should I be shooting for on the bike?  I would be comfy at 130 adn working at 135, and working HARD at 140.

For 70.3 distance I would stay in the 65-70% of threshold range for output. 

WHO IS RACING THIS WEEKEND???????????????

I've got a half marathon on sunday.  It will be my first road half marathon before so im hoping to take some good time off of my PR strictly from not having nearly as many hills.

N e body up to long training workouts or races this weekend?

Good Luck on your Half this weekend.

I am racing a Half also, I am hoping for a sub 1:50!!

@Garrunning

best of luck bud! Sub 1:50 is a great feat! Stick to your game plan and let those legs take you there!

@mark

glad to hear the conditions have settled slightly

Well that race is in the books! I haven't seen the official results but I think I missed my goal by two minutes. I stopped my watch a little late but had 1:52, can't wait to see the results and were I finished in the clydesdale division. Can't wait to here how everyone else did, here is my race report and will post results when I get them.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=253184&posts=1#M3511508

race went well! Man road is completely different than trail!!!! What a rush! Came in at 1:31 and some change.  I'll put up a race report later with more details.  having a post race BBQ at my place so got to man the grill!

*on an important note.. all 300+ males were "chicked" today! Female overall winner around 1:20. VERY COOL!