ADollar79's Group--closed and in the base building phase! (Page 26)

God, I am late to the party.  John - you're racing today!!! I'll be thinking of you!

Open water swim today plus wetsuit = Sarah feeling much much better for St. Anthony's.  Giddy up.  We had a transition clinic this morning, but I decided that the OWS would be a better bet. I'm glad I did it.

My transition for the duathlon was great - just over a minute after the first run and 49 seconds after the bike.  For St. A's - the only differences will be getting out of the wetsuit on T1 and the size of the transition area, otherwise, I'm hoping to keep it simple.

After my ride today I'm going to set up shop in the living room and change my tire a few times.  I should probably pick up some extra CO2 cartridges and a spare tube just in case (though I'm going to use the tube already on my bike for the practice).   

Playing some catchup on a few questions....

Drew--At Austin 70.3, they probably won't retreive your bike for you.  Generally pros get that option and *maybe* Kona gets it.  However, they *may* put your bike up for you.  I know at my IM they took my bike from me. 

Lynne--Re: Training plans.  I think you have two options.  First you could just move around the workouts in your log.  Or you may be able to just delete the plan and reload it with the newly configured dates. 

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I still want to stir up some discussion on transitions.  Drew kicked it off with a few good reminders. 

Also, John....we want to hear about the race.  What went well, what mistakes did you make, what lessons did you learn, what can you share with the group. 

Ok - the race - What went well.

I was extremely happy with my transitions.  I had practiced and thought it out a lot, plus I kind of checked out the way that Ken (Manatee Express) had his setup and made some specific plans.  I went into transitions calmly, as I have found that when you are trying to hurry, you generally make mistakes.  I was calm and consistent and I had some really good transitions.  I came through the beach opening with a string of people and my friend that was following me to take pictures said that the guy that was directly ahead of me coming out of T1 had gotten out of the water almost 4 minutes ahead of me.  I beat everyone from him back out of the transition, and I didn't forget anything.  T2 was the same way.  The tranistion area was a gravel lot, so I decided against taking my feet out of my shoes to dismount (though I practiced it 100 times, plus 4 times the day before).  Instead I clipped out with one foot, rode the left pedal in a standing position into the dismount area and jumped off onto the heel of my shoe.  That way I had shoes on to run through the gravel.  I think I actually saved time because I would have moved slower barefoot.  I sat down and put my shoes on (I wore socks) and ate a gell as I grabbed my visor and went out.  My Mom said that she was surprised how little time it took me to be back out.  Unfortunately, I do not have exact times, because they don't time them at this event and I didn't do the watch thing.   

I was surprised that I didn't have a lot of nervousness.  When I got there in the morning I set up and talked to some people that were around me and then went down to the beach.  I was surprisingly very calm.

What I did wrong - Does doing my first tri with an ocean swim count??  The waves were absolutely huge.  I will post a picture later that my friend took that shows a guy coming out of the water and there is a wave behind him that is at least 3 feet over his head.  The conditions were red flag and I really had a tough time getting out to the first bouy.  The course was supposed to be 400 Yards, but I talked to the guy that finished first and he said he would guess that it was actually 700.  It took me 19 minutes to do the swim and get to the top of the beach.  I had trouble with my breathing as everytime I turned my head I would get a mouthful of water.  I had to start lifting my head a little to get breaths.  I also had very weak legs coming out of the water, which is not usual for me.  One of the lifeguards said that they see that a lot in wavy conditions because people have to use their legs to battle the waves.  I need more practice in OWS. 

I tried to use a fuel flask to get Gu.  Ummmmm, those suck.  It is so much easier to open a pack and suck it down than fiddle with the flask and fight the gel to leave the bottle.  I went without the nutrition that I had practiced with because I couldn't get it out of the bottle.

What I learned - evidently, if you drink a lot of sea water, you will get terrible cramps.  Mine came in my middle back right about halfway through the bike ride.  It really hurt, and I had to really fight to keep going at a decent pace - even though I finished the bike about 15 minutes less than I expected to. 

People think it is funny when you get a cup of water and you just kind of throw it at your mouth and hope some of it goes in where you can swallow it.  I made  a group of construction workers laugh hysterically when they saw that.  They had taken a break from work to watch a little of the race. 

You have got to save some for the run.  I just have to do more bricks - sustained bricks - before my next race.  I was doing little 5 minute bricks, but my body started saying (We have gone past the 5 minute mark) and was getting a little upset. 

Overall - I had a really good time.  I am more sore today than I was yesterday and I hope that a little work will help me loosen up some. 

Great analysis John...and a huge congrats.  I am SO happy to hear that you had fun.  Often we put so much pressure on ourselves that we forget this is a HOBBY. 

A few thoughts for you and the group....

OWS--the good thing is that it can't really get any worse for you   I heard the water conditions were brutal.

Transitions--awesome.  I love to watch what others are doing.  Meeting BTers are half the fun and a great way to learn. 

Nutrition--gel flasks are good if you have it loaded.  If you have only 1-2 they are a pain.  Again just keep practicing....it gets easier.

One tip that I will provide is how to take a cup of water on the run.  If you plan on running through the aid stations and don't want to break stride, I do the following:

1.  Call out what I want to identify which volunteer has it
2.  Make eye contact and point at the volunteer to let him/her know you are coming
3.  Grab and pinch the top of the cup.  I will kinda turn my body and grab it as I pass
4.  Thank volunteer
5.  Keep the top pinched and drink out of one end.  I often only get a gulp or two.
6.  Discard the cup

There is nothing wrong with slowing down and taking in all the fluid you want/need.  However, in shorter races, I do think aid stations are often a place for free time.  Many people don't know how to handle the station so they stop.  Then they have to work harder to get moving again.  If you can master taking fluid on the fly....you will easily gain a few extra positions. 

Great job!

OK - I got the pictures downloaded to my computer - this is the one that my friend took of the exit area.  Unfortunately, I was still in the water after this one was taken - somewhere behind the wall of water as I emerged about 2 minutes after the photo (my wife tried to videotape most of the time I was in her view near the finish area and on the beach).  The swells were so big she lost sight of me in the water and my cap was a dark green, which you could barely see when the swimmers were out there.

A couple of notes on the photo.  It was taken from a ways up the beach - so the shot is at a downward angle.  The big turn buoys out in the water were about 6 to 8 feet tall and probably 5 feet on each size - just to give some perspective.  I would guess that this wave was somewhere between 4 and 5 feet high.  It was really funny when we got back to the condo after the race and we were watching the news and the boat and beach guy said that only a crazy person would wander off of the shore in these conditions.  Well, there were 500 of us this morning, buddy.

There are more pictures in my album, unfortunately the temp tattoo was gone before I got out of the water.  Going to try somehing different next time to make it last.

(IMG_1891s.jpg)

That is an awesome photo.  I only wish is was shot from the water level. 

It reminds me of my favorite tri swim picture.  LA Tri 06(?)

atlrunnergirl - 2008-04-22 10:11 AM Oh lord - why are you posting this before my ocean swim race??? Why, god, why?

The Atlantic is calm and soothing.  

Think of it as mental training.  

Are you excited yet???? 

Hell ya - I'm stoked. And more determined than ever to just enjoy myself and have fun on Sunday. You know there's no time like your first

When I get home on Monday - then I'll contemplate South Carolina.

Yes...I am continuing this thread.  Typically mentor last only about 6 months...enough to get you all going and set you on your way.  I will definitely monitor it closely until mid-summer.  At that point we can re-evaluate everyone's needs.  The moderators just merged the forums to consolidate space. 

It is really impossible to diagnose such an injury.  My guess is as good as yours.  Is it still bothering you?  I would just monitor it for a few days.  If it feels inflamed then ice it.  If it lingers, definitely go to the doctor....nagging injuries turn into serious injuries as the season progresses.   

Yay!  I finally have internet again!

Ummm, those pictures solidify the fact that I should NEVER do an ocean swim.  Wow! 

On an up note, I got the clearance from the doc to run...up to the point that my knee hurts.  Which of course, I tested today.  It's at about 1.5 miles.  I guess we'll stay at that distance for a while. 

I'm thinking for the tri in May, I'm going to do the swim and the bike and skip the run.  Kind of sucks, but at least it's something.

Yah, am kind of nervous about the nutrition part, I should have practiced more, but I didn't have any workouts that went past 3 hours and for the most part, I just drank.  I'm going to go with that for my race, and then add in some luna moons on the bike and the start of the run since I've practiced with those before. Also, some endurolytes since it will be really hot on Sunday compared to what I'm used to. 

On tap tomorrow is filming at Meek & Mighty and then a swim and a quick ride on the bike before I turn it in to transition.  I also want to practice transition some in our hotel room and make sure I've got it figured out.  One thing I forgot to add in when I practiced before was putting my Garmin on. 

Hey Sarah. Nice job. I am so itching to do a tri. Eek. Going to organize a sprint tri as a training run with some friends maybe later this month

What's everyone's week look like? I am still playing catch up. The weather is lovely just now so going to do my 53 minute run/walk from yesterday. Then perhaps a swim at the gym (Just so I can shower) hehe.  

Congrats to Sarah and John for their recent race success!!!!!!

For everyone else...

How much longer to your next/first race?  What do you need to focus on between now and then?

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I have my BIG race in a month.  I am almost ready to taper which means I will totally freak out.  I don't really know what to expect from the race so I a bit overwhelmed by the thoughts.  I could always use more time on the bike.  Despite having a monster month, I stil feel VERY undertrained.   

I have a race on Saturday.  300 M pool swim, 16.2 bike, 5K run.  I just looked up the weather forecast.  Low of 37, high of 53, 50% chance of rain showers.  That doesn't sound like all that much fun.

My next race is an Oly. I just can't find anything else in between that suits. I need to concentrate on building up running and biking. I feel I'm ok for the swim but obviously can't rule it out all together.  Some friends of mine are thinking of doing a mini sprint later this month just to get a feel for things again. So I'm going to run more hills and bike more hills  

Well I have just registered for a Sprint on Memorial Day. It's a good drive for me but I have the day off and the race doesn't start till 11am. I just feel I need a wee go before my Oly.  

Next race is May 18.  I need to focus on not hurting myself.    haha

Biking question...My hands and feet fall asleep when I'm riding.  Anyone else have this problem?