LaurenSU02's group - CLOSED! (Page 28)

Hey guys, I'm in a meeting from 9:30 - 3:30 today, then have an evening work function, so I won't be around BT much. Sorry I've been so out of touch lately, life is hectic. My Internet is back up at home (hopefully it doesn't go out again with today's storms), so I hope to catch up with this thread this weekend. I'm an awful mentor .

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE WHO'S RACING THIS WEEKEND!! I think we have someone with a half mary (vball), is that it? Good luck!!!

Take care !

Shiggy, I know what you mean on the balance and comfort in the water.  I just hate doing other strokes.  Breast Stroke kills my knee.  Butterfly is pointless (headbanging is pretty funny).  I'm pretty good at Back stroke though.  I just think you get more out of free.  I call Breast Stroke the speedwalking of swimming. 

I thought of something else that I heard from some fru-fru presentations class I took a few months ago for work...80% of all people never write-down a goal and 80% of all goals that are written and planned-for are attained.  I thought that was interesting because one of the keys on your log is your goals right? So if you write specific goals and then plan toward them, you're more likely to attain them. 

Then again Hooters moist towellette packets say 58.3% of all statistics are made up.  So who do you believe?

Glancing at it again, I think your are right!  The combination of the smaller wheels AND the longer crank will make the difference.  There are some many gear options on the roadie that can match what you have on the tri bike that it really doesn't make a difference.

I looked into some 180 or even 185 cranks.  In my research, there have been lots of testimonials stating what you have mentioned.  Easier climbs and faster on flats.

YES, you get more torque!  Very good!  Torque = force x moment arm.  In this case the moment arm is 165 for the roadie and 170 for the tri bike.  Same force applied to the pedels equals more torque (ie. force x 170 opposed to force x 165)  That torque, or "turning force" is greater on the tri bike.  That means you can push a slightly bigger gear and use the same amounbt of force!  That combined with the smaller torque need to spin the smaller wheels (650's compared to the 700's) may even let you go up on MORE gear.

That's why you are faster.  Bigger gear on the tri bike and it's the same force to turn it...

Lots of elite bikers like to go with a longer crank for that reason.  The only issue that people may have is the bigger "circle" that your foot travels.  But you are well within normal range on your bike.  It's easier for long legged people (like me) to go longer, but not as much if you have shorter legs.  In fact, when I went through a costum fitting program, they suggested 200-205 cranks.  They don't exist unless you get them custom built!  Also, getting cranks too long for your bike may result in them hitting the qround on turns....

Dont be silly!  Your cool......  Life has a tendancy of getting in the way!  We all talk enought to keep us busy.  Have a good weekend....

yes, don't just go for the biggest cranks you can find, willy nilly!  you can hurt your knees that way.  gotta work for you.

the other thing to consider is cornering, if you cranks are too long and your bike is too "low", if you corner sharply your pedals will touch the ground, bad.

i'd bed you'd be just fine on a new road bike with 700c wheels and 170/172.5mm cranks, a 50/34 or 50/36 front, and a 12-25 or 12-27 back.  or, maybe even a standard double up in front, 52/42, if you've got sweet quads.  for me and hills, i wanted the compact in front.

Today is actually the crappy 64 degree day.  Yesterday it was pretty nice, but it think we got to mid 70s.  MD weather can be very weird!

Yep, I am doing the Marine Corps half marathon on Sunday.  It's my first one and I can't wait!  I'm heading down to Fredericksburg, VA with my support group (fiance & my dog ) mid morning tomorrow.  It should be a nice weekend!  Hopefully it won't rain on Sunday.

Is anyone else racing this weekend?

Have a great race and enjoy yourself.  We can't wait to hear all about it when you get back.

GOOD LUCK! Enjoy the race, and make sure to soak in the whole experience. You are going to have a blast!

As for me, looks like I'm down for the weekend. This morning, the Dr. told me he thinks I have excercise-induced asthama... whatever the hell that is. He said it's basically brochio-spasms, and wants me to lay off this weekend. If I am feeling alright though, I may at least get some walking in or something to keep from getting too stagnant.

Anyways, hope you all have a great weekend!

Exactly. I know if I spent more time training and less time on BT like Lauren, I'd probably be a stud too.

Traci, good luck with your race! Just as Jeremy said, have a great time and enjoy all the race activities too! Hope the weather is good to you!

Jeremy, sorry to hear about your breathing-type issues, has this happened to you before?

OH NO!!!  That sucks!!!!  Taking the weekend off won't hurt you.  You won't lose any fitness.  Get better, though!

It NEVER gets that hot here!!!  We broke some records!!!!  No one has air conditioning here so we were all a little over heated!  The gym was totally dead last night.  Thank goodness it is going to be back to normal this weekend!

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about the knees.  I think I'll look at both 650 and 700 wheels (I'm 5'5" so I can go either way) with the compact up front and 170 cranks.  If I could get a 12/27 cassette, I think I would be fine on our hills.  I'm not that crazy about the triple chainring.  I was never a mountain biker so it is not natural.

Thank you Jim and Lisa for all of your help.  If you run across anything else that might be of interest, shoot it my way!  You guys are the best!!!  Cheers!

(Lisa, I think Jim is ready to go get that tri bike with 650 wheels and big gears and the longest cranks he can find!!!  Hee hee!!! )

Yeah, unless MTN biking, go with a double.  Even in MTN biking, you want to spend most of your time in the middle ring anyway.  Mine actually had a steel middle ring and aluminum small and big rings for that reason.

The small is only used for the nasty stuff.

No 650's for me.  I like the 700's.  I still make a bike look tiny when I get my huge body on it.  But sure, some long cranks and a 55 tooth big ring (AND a flat course) and I would be happy fo sho!....

OK - Question. (I kind of know the answer, but fishing for some others.....)

I have a couple workouts that I need to get in today.  But, to be honest, I'm not feeling it.  They are pretty intense, and I don't have the energy.  HOWEVER, I do have enough motivation and energy to do something.

So I'm thinking of doing a 90 minute Z1/Z2 bike instead of 90 minutes of intervals.  THEN a 40 minute Z2 run instead of a tempo run in Z5 or at 5k pace.  Just some easy biking sounds really nice, rather than sweating all over myself to do z4/z5 intervals.

I get the time in, but not the intensity.  I feel a little bad that I'm not following the plan exactly, but it's better than skipping them all together, no?

HOWEVER, the thought of taking a nap and just enjoying the afternoon, go for a motorcylce ride, etc sounds really nice too!  (but then can I live with the guilt of missing a training ride?)

What to do, what to do.....

OK - here it goes.....

Go home, and relax and maybe take a nap since I was tired this week.  Wakeup and I might feel like a bike or run.  If not, that's ok too.  Then get some energy for a fun weekend out on the bike.  I'm looking forward to the semi long bike on Sunday.  May do something fun.  MAYBE even get a couple hours on the MTN bike for fun!  Woot!

I used to follow every workout in my training plan(s) no matter how I felt because I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I just couldn't deal with doing less than what the plan lists. Needless to say, I have had many, many, many injuries. So, as I am currently trying to change my evil ways, I would advise to not go hard today, do what your body feels like doing for the day! You have such a solid base that missing or changing a workout is not going to hurt IMO.

Aikidoman, Something that I did in Iraq (also a hot, dry climate in case you didn't know) is if I didn't feel like the heat-of-the-day run, I would wait until 9 or 10 at night and then hit the road.  Air Density is a little better, the air is cooler.  That way if you don't want to now, you can't use "it's too hot" as another excuse later.  Just make sure you wear reflectors or lights.

JJWeav, I had Exercise Enduced Asthma when I was in High School and decided I couldn't ever use that as an excuse if I wanted to get my commission so I stopped using an inhaler, stopped talking about it.  Basically, I just decided I had to train hard enough never to reach the point of a spasm.  IMO it's mostly due to environmental conditions (especially down in the bayou) because when I moved away from Maryland (where I went to Jr. High and HS) it cleared-up significantly.  Bronchial Spasms are the new term for the same thing.  Teddy Roosevelt had it also and he decided he just had to train-through it.  If you look at the olympics or even the NFL, there are a large number of professional athletes with inhalers (and waivers to use them) because they have the same condition.  Don't let it get you down dude.

As for the issue of following a plan.  I think Claire's right, you gotta do just-enough, but there's a "training trough" right? Where overtraining leads you away from getting-better. 

Yesterday's Day Off was brutal, so I may change-things-up and take a day off every-other-week instead of every Thursday because I don't feel rested at all from the day off, I felt anxious all day long.

Ended up taking a nap and then going for a 45 min Z2 run instead of the 40 min tempo.  I'm glat about that.  I'm looking forward to the long bike this weekend.  I haven't done one since the HIM a while back...

It was warm today, but I guess I got to get used to it....  That's Vegas for ya....

I am quoting myself again..... cool....

So my most recent thoughts on this 6/8 race is to do an "aquabike" for this race, and just drop out after the bike. This would give me a good practice with a race open water swim for the full distance, and also give me a chance to see what the water-bottle hand-offs on the bike are like. Then I wouldn't need a taper or recovery week around 6/8 and could go about my normal training for the July HIM.

 Thoughts? Thanks and have a great weekend!

Wow!!!  That sounds like a FANTASTIC idea!!!  You will be less likely to tear up your body!  Yes!  Perfect!  Cheers!

that does sounds like a great idea - much easier to recover from, and you can get all sorts of "relevant practice" into your training without kicking your own azz!!!  

x3. Another example of why women are smarter than men. That's a great idea. Not sure how much brick work you've been doing, but you could take it even one step further and throw a short brick onto the end of the bike. That would give you the T2 practice as well as a good idea of how you are going to be feeling off the bike. Even just a mile or two.

But mine may be a terrible idea. Who knows. I should just stick with the distances I've done.

well, group, i've hit a rough patch with the working out - only one day this week so far!!!!  how pathetic!

but i've got a lot of work on my plate lately, i have a big presentation to some leading lights of the industry at Big Kahuna Corporation in 2 weeks, and I have a lot of work to put in before I'm ready for that.  this easily could be virtually like a job interview for me, though it isn't, officially.  so...yeah.  wish me luck.

i think i'm going to try out OWS today in hubby's wetsuit, but i'm not going to be hitting it as hard as usual in the near future . 

Hey thanks again for all the comments!

Jeremy- good idea, but I know myself and the only way I won't go on and do the whole race is if I leave my running shoes at home. Nice bike ride today by the way!

Lisa- I've read many times that it takes more like 2 full weeks to start to lose some of your fitness, so I wouldn't worry too much. I too will miss a full week pretty soon here as I am headed out next week on vacation. Hang in there and good luck with the presentation! If you can sneak away from it for a short workout, it could be the perfect thing to clear your head for a short while.