Fred D's Ironman/Half-Ironman focused Mentor Group --CLOSED (Page 27)

Yeah Fred.  It is definitely race specific.  My race in June is pretty flat and fast.  Wind is the only real issue.  I really do not race to a time when I am out there and take what the day gives me.  I am partial to time goals but was playing along .  More worried about how I execute which is the important thing to me..the time is what it is.

Very true.  I was actually thinking of Andrew Starkyowicz (sp?), a pro triathlete, when I wrote that.  He is one of those guys that always puts it all on the line and pretty much finishes first or doesnt finish.  Alot of the ITU guys have that mentality too.  I think its not the right way for AG'ers who do not make a living off the sport to go about it.

I was just being stubborn at the race in Muncie.  Now my family doctor always calls me stubborn becuase of that incident LOL.

I haven't either. I've always wondered if I have some sort of mental switch that I won't flip or if I've never actually physically tried to push that hard.

Ooooh I'll be very curious to see how you like it.  I love my 310 and won't have a need to replace it until it kicks the bucket but the added functionality for indoor swimming sounds super cool ....

I tend to be able to keep it reasonable too - it's just when i am 'sort of sick' i can't always tell if i should line up or not - see marathon story above. 

Also, i puke. It's gross but at higher exertions my stomach lets me know in a hurry to back off.  It's really embarassing to be in the bushes losing all of the gel i took in because i was running too hard ... heh. 

It is awesome to program for a race.  I wore it for my HIM and totally forgot to pop it off with the wetsuit strippers (quick release) so took a few seconds longer to get my suit off ...

I ordered one from the Garmin site back in Oct but they haven't reached me in the ship date yet.  Grr...  I got it mostly cause I was already thinking of getting one of the watches to count laps (cause I can't count) and then they announced this.  My 305 mostly works but every now and then throws a fit, I think due to moisture so this fit the bill for me.

It is frustrating but the way it was explained to me is that they look at every order the same.  They do not care if it is an individual or a big shop.  So if the big shop got their order in before me they will get theirs shipped before me.  I guess I can see it from both points of view so I am putting on my patience pants and hoping mine comes soon

I ordered a Garmin on a Friday morning. That evening I had it my hands.

Yeah, I told Maureen about it and she went and got it a local store-

You all suck.   I should see if Trisports has any in stock and just drive over and cancel my Garmin site order.

I think we all in some way idolize or idolized the "Julie Moss Effect," that crawling over the finish line, body in total failure and cr@pping on yourself is "what makes ironman an ironman."  Many of us were drawn to the sport after initially seeing that coverage which, when you think about it, is pretty distorted.  That was the image of triathlon that hooked us?  Also, there's the "never quit, never surrender", or "you can quit and no one will ever know, but you will know for the rest of your life" mentality.  I know it's not an IM, but there's that famous ITU (?) pic of the guy spewing vomit as he crosses the line.  It's as if you aren't trying hard enough if your body isn't physically rebelling against the effort.

There's a difference between pushing through pain when you just want to stop and sit down and finishing a race, and pushing yourself to a point of physical danger.  There is the added dimension of once you start getting dehydrated, your mental faculties ain't all there, so knowing where that line is becomes virtually impossible.

And I think it happens less often with people who simply aren't prepared than with those that have prepared, and expect to finish, and for whatever reason - weather, nutrition, illness - the day starts going south.

I am still on my original 305, technically, first one I killed the speaker by sweating on it, they sent a new one, that one last year died during a half mary, and I sent it back and for something like $50 they sent a refurbished one, which is what I am using now