Baowolf's Beginner Banquet -Sorry all tables are full no room.. (Page 26)

Thanks for all the advice. I have been looking online for tri clothing and hearing all your opinions I think I will continue looking for a great deal. I do think this triathlon/racing thing is getting into my blood and having the right clothing is super helpful. Gonna hold out for that great deal

Karen-I like your two cents so keep em' coming when you have them. I like your suggestion of two mock races for practice. I would think that helped you with the nerves that might have been ever more present on race day because you had a good idea of what to expect.

Dennis-You kicked it on the bike - Way to go!! Sounds like group B was the right one for you. I hope you hook up with them again. BTW, does LBS mean "local bike shop"? I guess I will find out if they charge for a fitting. Why does everything have to cost so much money?

Lisa-I love hearing your stories of biking with the trailer. You are one tough rider. It must be different when you don't have the trailer and you must be able see some gain in speed when you are not pulling the wee ones behind you. Great training plan! Hope the swim turns out to be brilliant

Steve-I hope you get all your workout in. Being around or with different people than you are used to can really put a kink in your schedule.

So I will look into bike stuff. I may have to just stick with what I have for now unless a phenomenal deal falls into my lap.

Spent the day in downtown Portland and had a great time checking out the sights. I forget how different things are in the city and I saw things I did not expect to see and definitely had to laugh more than once. Run tomorrow??!! I hope so. Good-night.

Carol I am so happy for you.  Your training said 1:05, but with the higher number of miles you were doing over the past month I figured if you paced it right you could pull it off with a lot of heart at the end.  Extremely impressive!  And a podium to boot, find a place on the wall to start collecting those.

Everyone is doing so well. 

Ok nathbar I think is the spelling usualy has good deals on clothing but you have to kind of look through there stuff fairly often to find what you want.  Remember to buy in late fall and winter around Christmas.  You will save up to 50% off on everything including full new bikes.  Think shoes, tires, tubes, socks, and tri suits.  I saved $430 this year by shopping at the right time of year.   Nathbar currently has a women's tri top for $25, but no good deals on tri shorts, they are running $40-50, but there is a bike jacket for $20.  So they have good deals, but you have to kind of wait for the right items thow up. 

16 mile run today, yup into a head wind the entire way (one way run home from church), kicked my butt, however it was at a 7 second per mile faster pace than last week 8:47.  Not great, and my right calf tightened up some.. but it is done.  Time for some yard work.

There are some threads here on bt about Aevero tri clothing, here is on quote as far as price goes "Ok, I got a tri top, a cycling jersey, a pair of shorts, two running hats, and a pair of gloves for $70'." Not sure about quality, but some folks have been happy with them and they would probably get you through a few years while you decide how much you love Triathlon.

Steve, help explain something to me.  While riding on Saturday I had been conversing with this experienced rider(IM finisher) that mentioned 2 things to me to help my riding.  First was to raise my seat at least an inch, which I agree with 100%.  The other was to get out of my small crank gear and into my big gear.  Why would this matter?

I choose my gear based on my cadence.  If I get near 95, I go up, near 85, gear down.  Sometimes if I'm cruising along at 90 for an extended period I gear up to see if I can go faster easily to avoid zoning out.  Why should I concentrate on being in a big gear most of the time if I have rear gears still available while on my small gear?  Is it just a mental trainer to help push me to work harder?  I don't get it.

If it matters to your answer, I run a compact 50/34.

Samantha--I agree--this is a shockingly expensive hobby!  And here I thought running was pricey.

Carol--you rock!  I'm so happy that you got a great sub-60 time!  Woot!

The swim-before-church plan turned out to be brilliant.  I fit in 500 meters, a shower, and biked home with 20 minutes to spare. 

This afternoon I ran 11 miles.  My legs were tired at first, but as typically happens, after about 3 miles everything started to feel better. 

And...I think I need to call my doctor's office in the morning because I'm using my rescue inhaler a lot more than one is supposed to.  Apparently one should only need it a couple of times a week at most; I've been using it multiple times a day for 2-1/2 weeks.  Today's run was by far the best in terms of breathing (I used it right before I left), but there were a couple of times when my breathing wasn't quite what it ought to be.  That was true of my swim too, where I was really struggling to get enough air.  Friday's intervals were the worst.  It was the first time I actually heard myself wheezing and ended up stopping in the middle of the third interval to use the inhaler, despite having used it just before I started the run.  Hopefully we'll get everything under control in the next couple of weeks.  It's frustrating to know I can move faster and then feel like I'm in one of those nightmares where you're trying to run but can't.

It could just be that you were crosschaining.... meaning your better gear ratio with a straighter chain was in the large ring up front and the 4th or 5th ring in back rather than small ring up front and really far right in back.  The straighter your chain is the happier it is.  He might have also wanted you to push a bit harder...meaning get you to start in 1 gear up and then get you to slowly raise your cadence in that gear so that your overall power/speed is higher.  I am not 100 percent sure and I suck at cycling ) so feel free to ask him and we can all learn from it.  Low seat is hard on the knees. 

Oh I do hope you can get that breathing better 8(...

Carol-You rocked the 10k, way to go! I love hearing people set goals and attain them especially when it requires real commitment to do something you have not done before. I hope you are super proud of yourself for this accomplishment!

Steve-thanks for the website tip. I am gonna check it out. I have been seeing some shorts and tops between $30 and $50, but I am gonna try and wait for a bit better deal if at all possible. Did you get your workouts in like you hoped?

Lisa-Sorry about the breathing issue. I am actually struggling with the same thing. I use my inhaler usually before I head out and sometimes during. The 10k was hard in part because there came a point where breathing really was difficult. I have never really known what breathing should feel like because I have never been active and I smoked for so many years, so at first I thought I couldn't breathe because I was out of shape. But there are times when I truly can't take in enough oxygen. I would love to know what your doctor has to say.

Swim class starts in two days and I can't wait. Tomorrow I head home with my mind set to get back on the training track. Hope all is well with everyone as we enter into Monday.

Lisa-Glad you got your swim in before church.  Now that is dedication! I take my inhaler before any long run or long bike ride. Never thought twice about it. Do let us know what your doc says about that. What else do you take? I had my doc up my Advair. I was on a 150 he upped it to 250 and I can tell the difference-no coughing at night. Keep us posted!

Samantha-You quit smoking years ago! Good for you.  I am not a smoker but have known many people who have tried and failed, so kuddos! Now to find that great deal on shorts...

Dennis-I read somthing about that cross chaining like Steve mentioned. It puts more stress on your chain, not suppose to be good.

Steve- How was the weekend with the family + in yur house? I see you were still able to get in a great run!

Carol-Awesome, awesome, awesome! You must be so proud of yourself to make your goal! What a great feeling! All your work is paying off. And we are ALL proud of you!

Visited the family 2 hour trip away.  Distant cousins were there, and wouldn't you know one is a triathlete!? He has done a HIM. I was humbled to be there and wished I had more time to pick his brain. He has a tri this weekend, just like me. Weird huh? Just goes to show you never know what you may have in common with people.

Going to do a long swim today with a nice black line for me to follow. -Karen

I'm back finally, and hopefully will be getting in some much needed biking and running tomorrow!  On another note I put up a few photos for anyone who wants to see me not holding a giant mug of beer that was way to big for me. <http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=15815>

Great job on the race Carol!  I knew you could hit your goal, it just took a bit of heart!

I hope you all have a great week of training!

Marcus

Life of a (employed) triathlete: it's not even 4am. Training plan calls for 1:40 bike, 0:40 run brick this morning. Hoping to be done before 6:30. June's going to be a long month.Let's get going people.

Marcus, hope the graduation was enjoyable.  Couldn't get your link to work to look at the pix.  Like the new one here.

Samantha-We all have secrets/ dreams etc.  I am sure the swim coach will want to say that, but won't so as not to over indulge you. lol Do share with us what you have learned! I have thought about a Master's class, but I have the opposite fear they would say: "Why the heck is she here? She has no business being here.  Put some swimmer's floaties on! And join the beginner's group."

Ran 5.5 this morning.  Today is my son's 12 Birthday, so I won't get in my usual training. It got up to 101* yesterday, glad it was a swim day! -Karen

Ugh, lost a very long post.  Maybe that's a good thing to spare you all :

Dennis, nice pre-work workout!  You are doing great, and definitely look like a triathlete in your new pic.  Awesome group ride.  I'm planning to do my first real one this Saturday, and you are my inspiration not to chicken out.

Karen, happy bd to your son!  And nice 5.5 miles for you out of the way too!  So nice to meet other triathlete's.  Next time haul that cousin off to a corner and pick his brain. OK, so the family will think you're weird, but so what >

Samantha, I totally get wanting to be a "natural" at something.  It always seems I have to work harder at things than my peers to acheive, and yes, it would be really nice to just take up something and have it click without much effort.  Or would it?  Makes me wonder if I would find it boring, and then look for something more challenging at that point.  Anyway, I definitely get the feeling and would bet it's more common than we think.

Marcus, nice pics!  Yep, you look like a triathlete too!  Sounds like a good graduation was had by all.  Now, back to training you go

Lisa, good pre-church workouts!  So nice to have that done before the day even starts.  Hope you get good answers re: your asthma.

Steve, hope you survived the weekend-o-peeps!  The run into the wind the whole way was no doubt character building, but a nice out and back with the wind at your back sounds better .

Thanks for all the encouraging words re: my race over the weekend!  Love this team!

Dennis-could you imagine if that were true. I got a good laugh at your mental picture.

Swim class went well. Lots of drills learning to keep my arm in more of a downhill position in the water, learning to pull (Derek gave a great visual example to demonstrate how to move my arm through the water). We worked on kicking from the hip through the foot, somewhat like a wip snapping. I am slower than a turtle and had moments where I felt intimidated by the others, but I remembered it was more important that I stay focused on technique rather that being a speed boat. After I finished my elbow hurt a bit; it reminds me of how it felt when I was doing repetitive work and hurt my elbow. Is there something in the way I swim that may be causing this?

Today I have had to remind myself that this is a process and it all takes time because I had little motivation and feel overweight and frustrated, about what I am not exactly sure. Bleh. Thanks for all your continuing stories of hard work and success. This group really does help keep me going.

Samantha--she prescribed a preventer inhaler, and hopefully that means I'll only need my rescue inhaler infrequently. 

Karen--the asthma diagnosis is new as of three weeks ago, so she only had me do a 6-day dose of oral steroids and then just the rescue inhaler after that.  Now she has me trying Qvar as a preventer inhaler, one puff twice daily.  If that isn't as effective, she said I should go up to two puffs twice a day.  Thanks for the advice about using an inhaler before long runs or rides.  They didn't give me a whole lot of instructions on how or when to use it, so I've been trying to work through a few books on asthma to educate myself.  I've had the asthma cough before, but it's never progressed beyond that or ever affected my exercise beyond having an annoying cough.  This is a definite first for me.

On natural ability:  even if it comes easy, most people find they end up perfecting their skills anyway.  Take Deena Kastor:  she's a phenomenal runner, but she still does speedwork and strength training and all of the hard stuff too.  Ditto for musicians:  world-class musicians practice 4-6 hours a day.  I think it would be super-cool to find out one can be a really fast runner without ever knowing it, but otoh, I've been blessed with talents in other areas so I'll deal. 

Ran the girls to storytime at the library today in the double jogger, so that's 3 miles there.  In the afternoon I had my dr's appointment, so I biked them over to my sister's house in the trailer, left the trailer and biked to my appointment, biked back, hooked the trailer back up and went home for a total of 8 miles.  Neither was fast and it was a super-windy day, but miles are miles, right?

I've got the trailer and bike packed up so we can head to the park for a picnic lunch after my 6-year-old's violin lesson tomorrow, and then we're going to head out on the trail from there for what will hopefully prove to be a fun and longish ride.

Lisa, I love the way you integrate working out into your family activities.

I have picked up a cold and am not up to working out right now.  In spite of passing the "above the chest" rule, I need to be able to swallow, breathe, sleep, etc. first.  To further it being a sucky week, hubby is having to take the keys/car away from his 92 year old dad today.  I'm acutally relieved and thankful that he has been forced into this (long story), but still a very difficult thing.  Praying it goes better than we think it will, or at the very least it goes. 

trigator01 - 2011-06-15 7:51 AM

realrellim - 2011-06-15 2:13 PM

 

Ran the girls to storytime at the library today in the double jogger, so that's 3 miles there. 

Lisa, In my book biking with the stroller and running with one counts double! lol

My thoughts EXACTLY!  Wow!

Hi - I'm still here.  Been a bit quiet because work is just killing me lately.  Lots of late nights and early mornings.  I've been trying to keep up with the posts but haven't had much to say.

Lisa - I'm on the maintenance inhaler (Advair) and rescue inhaler (albuterol) combo as well.  When I forget to use the maintenance one - I definitely end up using the rescue more often.  I never had to use them regularly until this year - don't know why.

Samantha - was having a low week as you described - feeling a bit unmotivated.  Wondering why I'm even hoping to be able to do a triathlon - now I just do 3 things....badly!  Down on myself for not reaching goals or getting workouts in - but I had to remember that just a few months ago I was nowhere near where I am now in terms of fitness.  I'm trying to look at this as a long term lifestyle - whether I run the race I want to run or not - my goal is to integrate the workouts into life for the long haul - years.  It's hard to put aside the desire for instant gratification and put the workouts in day after day, week after week.  There is a certain amount of patient endurance needed - don't know that I have it - it's humbling, but hopefully we keep pushing onward.

Marcus and Dennis - love the new pics!  You guys are amazing, I love reading your updates and hearing how great your training is going.  Totally jealous!

Karen - thanks for the encouraging words.  Makes me really curious about trying an OWS in the ocean now that I've tried the lake.  Going on vacation on Lake Champlain in July - so looking forward to more OWS practice.