Beth and Yanti's New Manatees - FULL! :-) (Page 27)

I had my bike fit, and yes, I will share--but not yet. I am exhausted: I just got home from work a little while ago, and I have to work again tomorrow. We are blocked from using the internet at work so I can't report anything from there, even if work is slow. Which it hasn't been the last few weeks. And, I need to post my race season plans. I'm with Ronen, though-it's so hard to choose when you have so much freedom of choice.

I ran/walked 5 miles this morning (okay yesterday morning- I guess technically it's Sunday now...). That is the farthest I have ever gone in one session before! Plus, since I was on a treadmill, I also know that I ran faster than I ever have on a treadmill, too. And I went from running 5-10 minutes, then walking, etc to running 20 minutes straight! (then walking and running some more). I am pumped! 

Now to put my tired body to bed.  

Awesome job on the 5 miles, Amy!

CONGRATS to Steve for a super 10K!

Sorry I've been MIA--down with a nasty cold, exhausted, slept for a week, but the great news is--I FEEL SUPER now. Maybe it's just what I needed to do!

Great job on the run Amy...It feels so cool to go distances you have never been before.

Glad you are feeling better Yanti.

Picking races is also hard for me.  Coming from a running past I am familiar with most of the quality races in this area, but being fairly new to triathalons I want to do quality events but still have questions about what my own capabilities are.  I have found that the Georgia Forum here on BT has given me great advice and information on what races are the "good ones" and then it is up to me to decide what I can accomplish.

I also feel that for me it is important to have a "Goal Race" on the horizion to help motivate me to train and once I plunk down the $$$ I tend commit mentally as well.  It isn't so much about the dollars spent as much as it is the commitment.  That is why I laid out my schedule for 2009 during Oct-Dec in 2008.  I am also already looking at some 2010 races...(aren't we Beth )  This helps keep me looking WAY ahead because if I just look at next month I will surely find a way to put off the needed training/workouts.

Another aspect, at least for me at my stage in life, is the ""other"" or ""fun"" or ""destination"" part of the races.  I would rather do fewer races and go to nice and new places than to race more, just to be racing.  That is part of the overall package for me.  BTW....Ronen, I would LOVE to have the opportunity to do Alcatraz...how awesome would that be.  This aspect of the sport is why if things go alright at my first HIM in Sept. I am already looking at doing one in the Northeast next year with some friends .  Since I have always wanted to go to the Sonoma Valley area I am already thinking about doing Vineman 70.3 in 2011....what I really want to do is use the race as an excuse to go to Wine Country and eat great food and stay wasted on outstanding wine for a week 

The last part, but an important one I got from running that most Tri folks use as well, is picking your "A" races then picking several smaller races to use in the training process for the BIG race(s).  This year I am going to do my first 2 bike centuries...I am doing the 50-60 mile portion and I would have never thought about doing these except to help in training for the HIM but it is something new for me and I LIKE NEW....new is cool.

Steve

Great job Erin on your race.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend and I hope that spring is just around the corner where you live...I hate cold weather and I have had enough of it for this year.

Steve

Hello Team,

Hope everyone is doing well. I have a lot of catching up to do on all the posts I have missed. I was out with a bad case of the flu and throat infection. Today was my first day back and I was done after 2 miles and a 20 minutes swim. It is good to be back though.

 Joel

Yanti - it's good to see your smiling face!  Glad to hear you are finally getting over that nasty cold!

Amy - good know know the fit went well, we'll look forward to details when you have time - you are a busy lady, so don't sweat it!  And CONGRATS on the run!!

Steve - great insights on picking races (especially for 2010 )

Erin - Awesome race!  It's great to see you back running!

Joel - So good to hear from you, sorry you were under the weather!

Increase your fluids.  Your body is still recovering from the flu.  And, you may be a little on the dehydrated side as a result of this bug.

Suzie is absolutely right!

Hope you are feeling better each day Joel!

The other day we were talking about upcoming races and so forth - some folks brought up some things they take into consideration when picking a race

I was thinking about it, and thought I would post some food for thought

Beth brings up a good point.  The experience I had this past September with leg cramps would have been terrible had there not been excellent coverage by the kayakers.

I consider myself competent on the bike but not GREAT.  I have looked at some races that were on busy roads and were very technical that I have passed on just for that factor.  I have never given that a second thought as far as the run goes but I guess I am more likely to wobble into the traffic on two wheels than to stagger into the road on 2 legs. 

I think most of us would consider ourselves at least competent in an event, nuteral in another and weak in the third.  I have chosen to sign up for some races this year that test my weakest event (swimming) and I hardly looked at what the run was like because I didn't really care since I knew I could at least walk my way through it.  I did this because I made a conscience decision that this year was about testing myself, but in the future, when I decide what distance is really best suited for me, I think I might go the other direction and choose some races that play to my strength and I will just get by on the other events.

Good topic guys...I have thought about this some but it is great to hear the perspective of others.

Steve

Hey Manatees!

What's been up with everyone (tap tap tap, is this thing on?) I've kept up with most of you individually, and it's great to see everyone training and for others already starting the race season!

After a crappy cold/sleep week, I'm slowly building back into my Iron training program. No good to take a week off and then just jump back in.

So another thought: each workout should have a focus. And to counter that, sometimes workouts should be just get up and go and have fun with it. Leave your watch at home, even. Just go do.

Recent workout foci (OKAY, focuses) for me have been FORM and RELAXATION.

Ok, so the bike fit...

First, a disclaimer: let's just say that my fitness on the bike is lacking. And given the cold I had the week prior to the fit test, it was down right pathetic.

The fitter, Mike, had me bring my bike and shoes, etc with me, and the first thing he did was measure my bike, and get the fit bike all set up to match my bike. He even put my pedals on the fit bike. The fit bike was kind of like a spin bike, hooked up to a computrainer. Mike drew little marks on my knee so he would be measuring from the same spot each time, and then I hopped on the fit bike and started pedaling. After a discussion about cadence and why higher is better, even when the mid-seventies feel ok, I managed to get my cadence up into the mid to upper eighties. After mere minutes I was already reaching for the inhaler... so started the fit test. I pedaled for a while, he would stop me and take a measurement of my leg every few minutes. Then he would have me stand up on the pedals and adjust the seat, or the handlebars, or the stem, or the rise, etc. And these were itty bitty adjustments, as in less than a centimeter most times. After what felt like forever (probably about half an hour in all), he had me hop off the bike, and he started transferring the measurements over to my bike. He put the pedals back on, checked my bike computer installation, put it on a trainer, and had me hop back on. Again, some more time making micro-adjustments , taking a few more measurements to make sure he got it perfect, and voila! A nice, new bike fit. It was easier to breathe, and he kept asking me if it felt ok, because I kept riding. On the fit bike I kept asking to stop (jokingly, of course ). He made recommendations on a few things to change such as getting a shorter stem, showed me a few stems on the internet, talked about the options open to me as far as angles, length, etc, and discussed some good LBS's to go to who would be familiar with my campy components, since that's a problem I have run into before. He put some more risers on to raise the entire aerobar setup higher, and he told me that once I get my fitness up more and am ready to get a little more aggressive with my aero position, that he left me some room to get more aggressive with the angles, specifically with the height of the aerobars. And of course, I got him talking about tri, and going from a novice to an ironman in a few year's time. I went to this guy for two reasons: I have heard how good a FIST certified fit is, and also because I have heard from so many local triathletes how straightforward, honest, and open this guy is. He has been known to tell a few people when the bike they own (no matter how nice/expensive it is) is just not going to fit them no matter what adjustments they make. That's the kind of integrity I wanted--and I was hoping that the bike I bought last year sight unseen, when I had no idea what I was doing, actually fits me. I wanted to be sure that it really did fit, not that someone thought if might fit IF certain adjustments were made. He said it does fit, I just need a shorter stem. Yay! I learned alot about cycling, and alot about the local tri/cycling community. All in all, I was there for 2 and a half hours. Totally worth the $. 

What we really want to know.......is who won the fight? 

Steve

I have had an easy time doing this with running and I have done OK with it for biking...but not-so-much for swimming.

Coming from a running background and understanding the need for diverse types of training (i.e. intervals, fartlek speed, hills etc.) the "Have a Focus" run was easy for me.  I also have been working for about 8-9 months on Chi-Running which helps a great deal with endurance and injury prevention, so I have had to focus on technique while running, not just get in the miles.  The key thing you focus on in that style running is...Form and Relaxation.

While I am swimming I just try to get the distances in before my form and motivation go in the crapper...then frustration sets in, and I don't need a real valid reason to say "F' it" and get out of the pool...which does me no good.  Today I started on the "0-1650 in 6 Weeks" plan.

http://ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html

I really like the way it is set up and I am sure it is a very basic plan compared to you guys that do Masters and you real swimmers out there...Like BOTH our Mentors...But I do feel that it will help me with keeping things moving and the sets will be more defined and work on the thing I need most....ENDURANCE.  My goal is to be at a 1 mile distance (non-stop) but mid-April..That will be my FOCUS.

Amy,

Thanks for taking the time to write it all down and share with us your fitting experience. I am 100% sure now that I need a bike fit too sometimes soon. 

Just as soon as I can hide away some $$$$ I am having mine done.  I was going to wait until I bought a new saddle but I think I am going to talk to the Fit Guy before I order one and get his recommendation.   I ride a road bike so some of the tri saddles that are highly recommended are not necessarily good riding upright on a roadie.

I have to get this done soon as nice weather is approaching and I have my first Oly in May and my first Century (I'm doing the 55 mi. option) is in June...I have to get my a$$ in shape...literally 

Steve

Amy!  awesome job and thank you so much for writing about your bike fit!  It will pay dividends in comfort and speed

it really helps to hear first hand from someone else's experience

Ronen - bike fit - a must!

Steve - I love you, you know this - can i ask why you feel you must swim a mile nonstop by April? I appreciate the goal, but let me ask you this - if you were coaching a runner - someone going to do their first 10k - or maybe even their first 1/2 mary for arguments sake

and they didn't have to do the distance until say maybe September........................

would you advise them to try and run a 1/2 mary in april - MONTHS b4 the race, or would you advise them to build to the distance? and to focus on the techniques to get there.....

take this

and apply it to swimming - 

ok

i'm stepping down off of the soap box

hmmmmm

that was really a small soap box

Yep...More like a Hand Soap Box  

Point taken about the Mile swim....BUT...there is always a BIG BUT.  I have an Olympic in the middle of May that is an OW Ocean swim.  I also have another in July with a river swim.  Oly. distance being just short of a mile and given that they are probably going to be wetsuit swims, I am just trying to make sure I have the endurance for the races.  My last attempt at the 1500 yrd. distance didn't go so well (for a number of reasons...all of them within my control) and this time I don't want that to be the case.  Knowing that endurance is my main limiter in the water I just felt like this was the best way to go.

I also want to have that base under my belt when summer gets here and my HIM plan starts so that I can focus on the bike and just maintain the base I have built now for the swim.  And using your runner training example building the base is as important as the final 2-3 months of training.

There is no dought I have bitten of a lot this year...as my blog title "The Year of BIG CHANGES"

• First Marathon
• First Olympic Distance x 2
• First Half Century x 2
• First HIM Distance

So that is why I am base building for the entire year in the pool now so I can work off of that through the HIM in September.  I know that as I have gotten older I have realized that I have to work longer (ie. start sooner) and work smarter in order to get to the race level that I want to be.

Now....THAT IS A SOAPBOX....     

BTW.....thanks for questioning my reasons for this.  Seriously....I enjoy the thought process needed for setting up plans and schedules and when you do it for yourself you are thnking in a vacuum...not good for me at all.  I had thought these things before but not in one continous sitting and this helps me to put it into perspective that I hope think know I am doing the right thing for me.

Steve

Steve, that makes a lot of sense, you have put a lot of thought to it and you have a solid plan in place.

The two Oly swims sound both long and the venue will definitely require endurance.

Keep on keepin' on!  You will get there