left.right.repeat group -closed - Full of a bunch of winners...YEAH! (Page 28)

Dan - I too have been using the site as a "free" member. Never much thought about upgrading the membership so will be interested to read what others have to say.

Mav - I assume by every 6th stroke you mean 3 pulls with your left arm and 3 with your right?

Dan - you crack me up dude....YOU ALL pay me for this --- not BT....seriously....this is an absolutely volunteer deal for all of us...me and you....that's why I said earlier that you all have to mentor your own group next year....but you did make me laugh out loud....LOUDLY!

Foot - keep us posted on what the doc says....and my wife cracked up when you said you liked my MARITAL advice....smile.

Swim - Breathe - Sticka - Dan - let's hear from Mav and Flipper here but here's my .02 - I have a hitch in my stroke when I breathe on the left side.  I always breathe on the right and here is what Total Immersion teaches....breathe on every stroke so you don't OVERBREATHE and take in a lot of air that you don't exhale that turns into carbon dioxide residual in your lungs.  If you bilateral breathe, then do it L-R-L-B-R-L-R-B so every other left or right arm gets a breath.  Practice and drill bilateral breathing - it is all about BALANCE - that is it....that's what they tell me....and I am working to lose my hitch....I only breathe on the left in the event of waves filling my mouth and nose on the right, the sun blinding me every time I breathe (although I usually put up with this as you can't see in the water anyway), the swimmer next to me forcing waves and turbulence into my face, or some other force that really prevents me from getting clean regular breaths on the right.  In other words, don't stress about it - breathe when you need air, period.  You will be fine.  Dan - great job on the workouts.

By the way, your bail out on the swim in the event of a panic attack (which is NOT unusual AT ALL in your first few tris) is to roll on your back, light kick, float and relax...breathe.  You can also raise your arm and a kayak will come over.  As long as you just hang on and they do not advance you, you are not harmed by doing this....get your wits about you and then sTRIve on.....

Dan - back to your free comment....sounds like sTRIve is comprised of a bunch of tightwads....LOL

Mav - thanks for your kind words but what NONE of you know is that I am getting a lot more out of this than any of you....

sTRIve

I'm really interested in what the doc says, Dan! Hoping and praying it's nothing serious. Sending positive vibes your way!

Breathing: me. Every 2 strokes and to the right, period. When I'm cooling down and really relaxed at the pool, I sometimes go 4 strokes just to try to strengthen my lungs, but my lungs apparently have never fully recovered from 25 years of smoking (*ashamed*), so my breathing is almost always a bit tight. No way I'm going to feel extra discomfort or stress when I know I can breath every pull on my right side and feel good about it. Marianne is AWESOME. I swear she is, I don't know how she does it. But then my daughter, who has asthma, competed as a USA age grouper, and for the sprints she could swim the length of the pool without breathing. No breathing makes a sprinter much faster. I really don't care to be that fast. *grin*

If you look up "tight wad" in the dictionary you'll see my picture, Bryan. I've learned how to pinch the pennies until they scream. (I made my own number belt for the run by taking apart a couple of fanny packs, lol.) But speaking of 'tight', it looks like I'll have to give up my gym membership. My mom has fully recovered from her back surgery and started back to work yesterday. (That woman works circles around me. Unreal.) Without her sharing gas expenses, I can't afford to drive downtown 3 days a week at these gas prices. Dang. I'll miss the pool. And then some. *sigh* I need to get a job, I guess. But that means giving up my volunteer work at church. Ack. We'll see what happens. I least I have my bike.

Peter, that video was HILARIOUS! I'm so glad you posted the link!

Rock on, Turtles!

Holy carp - exploding bicycle tubes ??? I'd read about people under-inflating their bike tires when they leave it in transition early so that later on in the heat of the day the tire pressure didn't increase and cause them to pop but I really thought this was urban legend. Guess not.

Gas prices are crazy here too. We are currently paying $1.35 (cdn) per litre which my handy dandy on-line calculator says is $5.11 (cdn) per US gallon or $5.03 (US) per gallon. While I ride my mountain bike to work spring/summer/fall and take the bus in winter, our two cars are still on the road a lot and burning fuel thanks to the kids.

Flipper - hope you find a way to maintain a gym/pool membership. I am so fortunate to have the facilities on campus and only $200 per year for a family pass. To date all I've ever used is the pool but someday I may get over my reluctance and head into the ... dum de dum dum ... weight room

Another finish line approaches for me this weekend. I am attending a conference in Winnipeg and decided to head out early to participate as a member of a relay team for the Manitoba Marathon. 5 of us from the on-line running group that I am part of ( www.runningmania.com ) make up the team so we'll each be running a little over 5 miles. Should be fun. Our team name is RunningManiaDotCalm.

Had a good swim yesterday and after complaining about bi-lateral breathing, I seemed to make some progress yesterday. I think I may not have been keeping my head  steady when I turned and so was looking to much up and forward. By concerntrating on looking a little furtehr back it seemed I was able to take in air without also taking in water !

Our own clothing store !!

... and just like some of us, the clothes are used or reconstructed!!

Dan - I always use a short/top two piece.  That is just personal preference.  I am pretty tall so the one piece suits pull a little in my happy place usually.  Also, contrary to conventional wisdom, I usually put the top on in T1 and swim in just the shorts.  My preference and I usually get in the shirt pretty easily.

Flipper - I think working at the gym is a great suggestion.  As far as Mom goes, we are all thrilled she is cleared and recovered.  I also agree with the suggestion of "don't back up"  You have come too far.  You only need a pool - there is surely a community pool you can swim in reasonably.  The run and bike can both be done outside - and you can NEVER replicate an outside run or ride in the gym...no matter how hard you try.  I also prefer the scenery and other stuff you find....I am going to start taking a camera on my run to chronicle all the really interesting stuff you see along the road.

Mav -  "I try never to deprive myself of anything. LOL" - there is truth in journalism....ROFL.  Have never had my tires pop in tranisition but I hear it happens.  If I rack my bike overnight I never pump up the tires in the cool of the evening...as the morning heats up I fear the dreaded explosion.  I do, however, fill them fully prior to the swim.  By the way....you treat your son pretty well....methinks mom does spoil the boy...

Sticka - you are on more teams than anyone I know....awesome....I also have a finish line this weekend - the new tri shop in town is sponsoring a race that I am doing...it is a sprint with an OWS....should be fun.

Leston - on the Yankz! don't overtighten them....it seems normally people pull them tighter than necessary thinking their shoes would slip off - they won't  - run in them several times before your race with varying tensions.  Remember THE LAW - long live THE LAW.  "I'm personally struggling to find the time and motivation to keep putting in hours and hours of training every week. I do enjoy it, but there are so many other things asking for my attention." - well welcome to the real world Grasshopper....we all struggle with this one....my advice....get one foot out the door...tell yourself if after 15 minutes you want to stop, you can.  Try it....never fails.

Dan - please send the pdf to [email protected]  - the elliptical, bike, etc will keep you in shape...don't worry about the run....get rid of the PF...your race is still on and that is all that matters.....awesome news.  We need pics of these kewl sleek one piece turtle suits......

Wetsuit comments....I have never heard of soaking a wetsuit...not that you shouldn't - I just haven't heard of it...be sure you dry it completely after use hanging to dry turned inside out and then after the lining is dry turn it right side out...if it will not be used for some time (over a month) fold it is thirds with a towel in between all the layers of neoprene.  In and out of it is fun....hahaha....try PAM or body glide around the wrists and ankles/lower legs...also lube any area that might get chafed....the backs of my armpits get chafed from time to time.  Putting on...pull the legs up all the way...like pantyhose (I've watched not done this people) work both legs up to the knees with the ankle area high up on the lower leg at this time...like calf high....then work the thighs up one at a time until the crotch is fully seated in the area....you are trying to give the torso as much area and room as possible.  After it is totally pulled up then you can lower the lower legs if there is room...this is also important in a full sleeve....work into the sleeve up at the forearms, then pull it down to the wrists.  Coming out of it - get the sleeves off and top down to your waist ASAP - right out of the water....you cannot believe how much easier this is when the suit is WET....then off the hips and then pull off one leg at a time.  Watch the fingernails...they can rip the suit....but it can be repaired.  I actually stand on mine to get my legs out from time to time but some people don't want to do that to their killer wetsuit.  By the way, before my first OWSWS - that's open water salt water swim - in the wetsuit - I am going to have silkscreened "I am not a seal" in lime green for the sharks to read....or    arrows pointing both ways with the word "seal" splitting the arrows.....I don't want to be mistaken for a seal.....

Have a great weekend folks...sTRIve on...this is my last race until August I think....

B

mav - the Green Turtle Clothing store is here in Fredericton and I pass it on my daily bicycle commute to work.

Yes, I agree that B-man should post a training video on how to don/doff a wetsuit!

FBP 

OK funny people....

Go to the rocketsciencesports website to see another video

Mav, I cannot believe you would throw me in the grease like that....shame on you

and Sticka, same goes for you....

both of you know I will get you back.....just wait

Dan, as the faithful one....I will continue to answer your questions honestly....

LOL

Wow...where is everybody.  My sprint today was like every race I have done this year....HOT!  However the run was a grass trail with some shade....spotty but covered about 30% of the course.  It was really nice.  The bike was 15 miles of rolling hills...big wind today too - I didn't really notice it until the turnaround when the about four miles it was right on the nose and hard.

The swim was open water in a water ski lake that several people had seen a couple of snakes in this morning.....those people included my wife.  I convinced myself they were harmless water snakes and since I was number 33 into the water, 32 people would have chased them away before I got in the water.  Near the end of the swim there was some tall grass in the water that kind of grabbed at you.  That was interesting.

The half mile ride out to the main road was on a very bumpy patched asphalt surface that was pretty rough.  Once out on the road, the ride was very nice.  The drive was uphill on the way out which obviously means downhill coming back in....doing 20+ bouncing around was pretty cool....and a bit nerve racking. 

I hit T2 very close to a couple of other guys in my age group and I knew I needed to get after the run (my weakest event) to stay ahead of them.  They were on my tail the whole way and ended up finishing within about 30 seconds and a minute.  I was pretty jazzed that I didn't get run down.  I thought I had done pretty well in my AG but there were some added this morning that didn't go in the swim with us.  As soon as I have final placing and times I will post them

This was the first race for Tri-sition Area, a new tri shop in San Antonio and they did a marvelous job.  The course was great, the race started on time (big deal with me), and they had plenty to eat and drink post race.  If you ever are in Texas and have a chance to do one of their races I highly recommend it.  For a small event they had great stuff.  The t-shirt was a technical, dry fit shirt and the goodie bag included a latex swim cap, a pair of Yankz! and some Hammer gel (apple cinnamon - which IS the greatest gel flavor ever).  This was a great first race.

sTRIve

B

Leston - as soon as Sticka reports in on this weekend's adventure, I think if I am not mistaken that you will be the next finish line report.

Taper like a pro....

sTRIve

WTG, Bryan! Great report, and awesome job! You ARE the man! Woohoo! Thank you so much for taking the time to post. You give me hope.

sTRIve on, Turtles!

Will post a more complete report later but for the moment a quick note to say my Marathon Relay experience was fantastic. I ran Leg #3 - a bit over 7k and I averaged 5:20 per km which is a decent pace for me. Met my other team mates last evening for the first time and we managed to find each other in the crowded relay transition zones. My leg was along a river and then through a beautiful park before turning back and along a boulevard on the opposite side of the river.

More to follow but for the moment B, add one to the finish line total!!

Sticka

Dan - the wetsuit is supposed to be very very tight....especially before you get in the water.  If it doesn't constrict your muscle movement in the shoulders you will be okay.  Temps around 70 are okay and could be tolerated.  Much lower, you might want some protection from the wetsuit.  did you swim in it or just try it on dry?  If dry, it will loosen up in the water.  Remember Mav calls it a sausage casing....I am sure there's a joke in there somewhere....LOL!  Any chance of taking a swim in the lake prior to the race to see how chilly it is?  Also, not wearing it would speed your T1. 

The results from my tri are supposed to be up later tonight....I finished fourth in my age group out of 8....it was a small tri....I actually felt pretty good about my effort....although my left achilles is bothering me today....go figure....

sTRIve