Gray Guys/Girls Master's Focus Triathlon Mentor Group--Now Open (Page 27)

Janet - Well done on your race and report.  Good siting in the swim is a definite advantage in a race.  I have trouble running after I get off my bike so I've been doing "T2 Runs" after one of my bike rides per week.  I just get off my bike and transition to running and run for 15 to 20 minutes.  I start out feeling awkward but soon find I am running and settling into the run.  It is over fast but I do find I am able to run better by doing this.

I did post a race report yesterday: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=542481&posts=1&page=1#M5190791  I got a bit wordy as usual and there isn't really a lot to say about a long bike ride.  

I was supposed to do our local Peach City Olympic Tri this weekend but I am also signed up for the Ironman Canada 70,3 in Whistler next weekend and I don't want to still be recovering from the Oly when I get there.

Thanks Deb, if you'd ever consider doing a Fondo don't let the crowd scare you.  By the time I crossed the start line the elites up at the front were already gone.  The last people to start were 15 minutes (I'm guessing) after the elites.  Then people very quickly sort out into their various paces and there are 4 distances so people are further divided up.  So after the first half hour we were actually surprisingly isolated.

By the time I reached Secrest hill there were 5 people in my immediate area,  A couple ahead and a couple behind.  After that hill I was mostly riding with a few people that were riding very close to my pace.  The only thing I would say is avoid draughting with beginner cyclists.  Their inexperience makes them dangerous (they lap wheels and such).  I tend to avoid lines of cyclists although I did ride with one fellow for a while and had fun draughting each other without taking risks.

3:04 is a good Oly to me.  Very tempting to want to knock 5 minutes off though, eh!  I wish I had time to pick your brain on transitions but I'm getting a bit close to my race.  Most of our races we're not allowed to leave our shoes on our bikes.  Only Pros can do that.  Cayuga sounds like it should be even more challenging for you.

Everyone - I'd like to ask some opinions on some race planning:

When do you put on Butt Butter? Before your swim or after? And, where in transition do you do it?

I want to wear bike shorts on my bike but I don't want to wear them on the run, What do other people do about this? If possible I'd rather not wear my bike shorts under my wetsuit either so I may have to wear my tri shorts under my wetsuit then put on my bike shorts for the ride and then strip the bike shorts off so I can run in the tri shorts.  This would mean no butt butter though.

Any thoughts?  In the past I've just worn my tri shorts and no butt butter for each of my HIM and had no problems but I do seem to need it now.

George,

I just use tri-shorts with an included chamois.  As Steve said, the pad is thinner.  Personally I prefer my tri-shorts over "normal" bike shorts.  I find the thicker pad creates as many problems as it solves.  Tri-shorts under my wetsuit, then thru to the finish.  When I use butt butter I apply it before the race and am good to the end.

Just tri shorts for me too.  I don't even own a pair of regular cycling shorts.  The tri club shorts that I usually wear for races and most of my longer training rides have a pretty thin pad but so far I haven't had any issues - they're very comfortable and I've not had any chafing issues with them.  They're also really comfortable to run in too.

So I went to the pool this morning all ready to do a 2000m workout.  Opened my bag, pulled out my towel and realized I had forgotten my swim cap and goggles.  I figured I had 3 options - 1) turn around and go home - not an option I liked; 2) go upstairs and do either a ST workout or a bike ride on one of the exercise bikes - not a good option since I didn't have regular workout clothes with me; or 3) modify the swim workout and do what I could.  I chose option 3.  So instead of the 2000m I was planning, I ended up with maybe 600m (didn't actually keep track).  I just did all 25's doing some drills - kick drills (which I never do and it shows, I have a terrible kick ) and tarzan drill mostly.  

I also did a couple 25's with my eyes closed.  I was talking to a former swimmer at one of the OWS and saying how I couldn't swim straight.  He said his coach always had them do some laps with their eyes closed even in the pool and that's how he learned to swim straight without a line to follow.  The lifeguard must have been wondering what the heck I was doing - I hit the outside wall and the lane divider a couple of times.  But if it helps with my swim, I don't mind looking a little ridiculous at times .  

I'm hoping to get a brick in tonight if the rain holds off long enough.  I'm starting to hate my bike trainer and would much rather ride outside so hopefully I can meet up with the group ride tonight.  My HIM's getting close and I need all the workouts I can get.
Janet

Congrats on finishing your first HIM!  Even with the issues you had, sounds like it went well for you.  Looking forward to the race report.

Hey Janet!  You get a BIG "Atta Girl" from whoever is in charge of giving those out!  So many people would have just used that as an excuse to miss a workout.  Well done!

I had to laugh when I was reading about you swimming with your eyes closed.  Back when I first started swimming we didn't use goggles because they didn't exist yet (OK, I'm dating myself!).  At some point during every workout we'd be swimming with our eyes closed because of the chlorine.  Some days, when the chlorine was strong, nearly the entire workout was with our eyes closed.  Who knew all that chlorine would teach us to swim straight?

Hey David,

Congratulations on your first HIM!  So how long before you have a IM on your schedule!

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Sorry I've been missing for a while.  We've had a perfect storm of grandchildren, visitors and getting caught up on my chores.  I've been training regularly and I'm very tired (lots of napping).

I did the Ironman Canada 70.3 last weekend and while I had a good time and enjoyed the race and the day, my results were embarrassing to say the least.  I finished the course but I was 4 minutes over time so I am listed as DNF.  Of course there were a lot of places where I can see I could have saved 4 minutes.  For certain, I need to reassess my transitions.  I should be able to save a few minutes there for sure.

I did write a race report last week:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=542736&posts=4&page=1

The bike course was really hard.  I'm not certain whether Whistler or ChelanMan were harder rides.  They were pretty close in difficulty.  I did like the run course and swim though.

Hope everyone is training hard and having fun.  

Thanks Deb, I like to look back at old race reports which take me right back to that day.  I'll definitely check out Trainer Rd.  I'd always like to get faster.

In my limited experience of 5 HIM.  I've had wetsuit strippers 3 times and none twice.  Two of the races with strippers had full distance and half at the same time. Two were Ironman races and one was Challenge.

Have fun tomorrow.

Hey Deb,

10-minutes!  That rocks!  Congratulations.

I love the pictures.  I especially like the one where you are taking in nutrition in T1.  Very smart girl!

Deb - congrats on your race!  And nice pix!

I wanted to get one last outdoor ride in before my race next weekend so I went out yesterday morning for short brick.  Ended up being good practice - it started to rain during the ride, nothing heavy, just a steady rain.  I ended up cutting the ride short though - didn't want to take a chance on a crash this close to my first HIM.  It's looking like the race next weekend is going to be wet.  Storms on Saturday and an 80% chance of rain on Sunday.  I'm hoping the rain is at least light until about noon when I should be finishing up my ride.  I'm already slow enough on the bike - don't need the wet roads/rain to slow me down even more .  

Question on wetsuits - I've gotten used to swimming without one but I know I'm a little faster and more confident when I wear one - especially if the water is a little choppy.  Right now the water temp at the lake is about 78* (according to the Ohio DNR website), so with the rain and cooler weather this week, the race could be wetsuit legal.  If it is, would you wear one?  I've never done a longer swim in a wetsuit with temps over 70*.  I did do a sprint race last summer with it where the water temp was just under 76* and I couldn't wait to get the thing off - and that was only 500m.  It's a full sleeve and I'm concerned about being too warm if the water temp is in the mid-70's.  
Janet

Hey Janet,

There's an old saying, "Nothing new on race day."  If you haven't swum a long swim in a wetsuit at the temperatures you are talking about, I wouldn't do it, especially for a HIM.  You said you were beginning to overheat when it was just under 76 at 500m.  What's going to happen when you go 1,800m?  With it being a HIM you won't likely get cooled down - unless you just stop for some period of time -  and even then you still may suffer the entire day.  Better to be a touch slower in the swim and be fresh coming out of the water, instead of baked when you get to T1.

Just my humble two cents.

Thanks Scott - that's pretty much what I was thinking.  I thing I'm overthinking things at this point though .  I'm really just ready to do the race.  We're definitely going to get wet (and not just from the swimming), it just remains to be seen how wet we'll be.  As long as it's not too windy I think I'll be OK.  My plan for the swim is just to be out of the water before or as the last swim wave gets in - that gives me approximately 56 minutes, which I should be able to do based on practice swims.  It also gives me about 15 minutes until the swim cutoff so if the water is a little choppy, I should still be able to make it.  

So another question - since it's going to be raining and the air temp is predicted to be in the mid-60's, would you wear some kind of jacket on the bike?  Again, I don't want to overheat but I've never done a longer ride in the rain in cooler temps.  Am I overthinking again?

Thanks
Janet

Janet,

While mid-60's isn't necessarily a low temperature, take another 3-4 degrees off because you're moving through the air at ~ 13-15 MPH and factor in that you may well be wet.  Based on your training logs, it looks like you're going to be on the bike for 3 1/2 - 4 hours.  That's a long time to be wet in the low 60's.  I'd certainly look to have something that can at a minimum break the wind such as a light wind breaker jacket.  You're going to be generating heat so I think if you can break the wind, you will probably be fine.

If it were me, I'd get an inexpensive wind breaker that I can throw away if it gets too warm.

I'm finally tapering for Challenge next weekend.  It's a different course distance (3k, 120k, 30k).  After Whistler I must be crazy to expect better results but I'll do my best and have fun.  I've been working long hours since before Whistler.

Over the next few days I'm planning to review my transitions and see what I can do to shave off some time.  I had my bike tuned up for Whistler so I think it should still be good for Challenge.  I'll probably go over everything else and see what improvements I can make.  

On my last long bike ride I just finished the last hill climb and had a long fast descent left to finish my ride and my front tire went flat.  And, my spare tube went flat as well.  So. I started walking after calling my wife for a pick up.  I only had to walk about a kilometre before she arrived.  Needless to say I'll be loading up on CO2 cartridges and spare tubes.  I'm also planning to change the rear tube as well.  I never found anything to cause a flat in the tire and I don't recall hitting any potholes.

Hope everyone is having fun.