Penn State's mentor group - CLOSED! (Page 28)

WittyCityGirl - 2010-04-25 9:08 PM My husband and I went for a cycling tour today and ended up taking a shorter route because the forecast had t-storms during the bulk of the ride.  No t-storms though!  We got some good hill work in, but it was the first time I had to experience sitting on a cold, wet sponge for 3 hours! How did people at IMLP do it (cycle in a down pour) two years ago? I could NOT stand the squishy crotch effect. Yuck-o.

zionvier - 2010-04-25 6:35 PM

Good job with the race, I'll check out the full report later tonight or tomorrow.... I'm dead tired myself after this mornings workout.

You want to talk about a hilly run though... Today was a 20mile trail (technically more like "mountain" and not "trail) run.  4500ft of elevation gain is what I've been told... My Garmin showed 8k ft, but we know they are typically off on elevation.

Here's the elevation profile of the run though, had the auto-pause on for a bit, but had to shut it off because of about ten 25yard wide switchbacks kept making it think I wasn't moving... Talk about a motivation killer... [I'm looking at my watching thinking: "I swear... I really AM moving"].  So I turned that off and then forgot to turn it back on around mile 11.5, total run was 19.2-19.3 based on other people's Garmin's.  Took 5hrs 15minutes, but that includes a good amount of waiting for others to catch up and regroup (I held my own around the middle of the pack)... felt bad for my friends that kept getting the European breaks (ie. as they show up the people that got there first say: "ok, we're all here, lets get going").

Click on the graph and it'll open a new window with it in full size if you want.

phxphotog - 2010-04-26 1:39 AM I just got back from Mexico and have a bunch of stuff to get to.

1. Your friend Bryan that will be stopping by won the race I was at this weekend. An ocean OWS Olympic with a hilly run course on a golf course and he finished it in 1:55. He was done before I got off the bike. He said that the swim was the hardest he had every done. Amazing time.

2. Congrats on the Specialized Transition. It's a beautiful bike and I'm sure with all the fitting that it will give you years of great service. Thanks for the pictures.

3. Less than a week til IMSG. I wish I could go but I already had plans this weekend. I have some friends going up from First Wave Tri Club here in Phoenix. You'll see them on course because they are running an aid station. I'm disappointed that I won't be able to cheer you on this weekend but I know you'll do great. They say that this will be the toughest IM out there so you can't get much better than that.

4. And now the big race breakdown. I did the Las Palomas Oly distance tri in Rocky Point, Mexico on Saturday. It was a very well planned and run triathlon by  the company Red Rocks. It's a real party atmosphere because it's in Mexico. When you finish, there is a free beer garden there for you and you finish into a big slip n slide.

This was my 1st race OWS and I had only done 1 other OWS before the race. I didn't freak out and all and actually didn't get really tired on the swim. The waves and surf were a bit to deal with and I did swallow a few gallons of salt water. I also had an issue with my goggle filling up with water over and over but at least I didn't get beaten up on the swim. My goal was 25 min out of the water and I did it in 29:12. I know I can do better.

The bike was actually what I expected. I wanted to average about 16 mph and I was right on that time. Had a few back, neck and knee aches and pains but I got through it. I did lose my aero bottle on lap 1 and lap 2. I stopped the 1st time and put it back on but the 2nd time I said f it and left it on the street. There were some sections with cobblestone streets and there were water bottles all over the place. I know with some more time and training I can get my time down to about 1:15 on the bike. Finished in just a hair under 1:30.

The run is where I fell apart again. For the 1st 2 mile my left knee felt like bone smashing on bone while I ran. Don't know what that was but I ended up walking a lot. After that pain went away it was replaced with left hip pain and then blisters on the balls of both feet. The course was on a golf course cart path and it was very hilly. On the way down I had to put the brakes on and it wrecked my feet. My water and nutrition was good through the whole race. Finished the 10K in 1:23. I had hoped to do it in 1:12 (5 mph).

After the race I was really thinking that the 1/2 IM could be a mistake but I have 6 months to train and so I'm still on track for SOMA on Oct 26th in Tempe, AZ. It's the same course as IMAZ. This was my 1st Oly and only 2nd triathlon so my goal was just to finish and I ended up 156th out of 173 and 25th out of 26 for my AG. I think the distance was a bit over where my training was but I finished.

I have 3 weeks until my next Sprint which is the Tempe Int'l on May 16th. There are about 1500 entered for this race so it should be fun. I hope to be somewhere around 1:20 for my sprint.

Sounds like a lot of people had great training weekends.

phxphotog - 2010-04-25 11:39 PM I just got back from Mexico and have a bunch of stuff to get to.

1. Your friend Bryan that will be stopping by won the race I was at this weekend. An ocean OWS Olympic with a hilly run course on a golf course and he finished it in 1:55. He was done before I got off the bike. He said that the swim was the hardest he had every done. Amazing time.

2. Congrats on the Specialized Transition. It's a beautiful bike and I'm sure with all the fitting that it will give you years of great service. Thanks for the pictures.

3. Less than a week til IMSG. I wish I could go but I already had plans this weekend. I have some friends going up from First Wave Tri Club here in Phoenix. You'll see them on course because they are running an aid station. I'm disappointed that I won't be able to cheer you on this weekend but I know you'll do great. They say that this will be the toughest IM out there so you can't get much better than that.

4. And now the big race breakdown. I did the Las Palomas Oly distance tri in Rocky Point, Mexico on Saturday. It was a very well planned and run triathlon by  the company Red Rocks. It's a real party atmosphere because it's in Mexico. When you finish, there is a free beer garden there for you and you finish into a big slip n slide.

This was my 1st race OWS and I had only done 1 other OWS before the race. I didn't freak out and all and actually didn't get really tired on the swim. The waves and surf were a bit to deal with and I did swallow a few gallons of salt water. I also had an issue with my goggle filling up with water over and over but at least I didn't get beaten up on the swim. My goal was 25 min out of the water and I did it in 29:12. I know I can do better.

The bike was actually what I expected. I wanted to average about 16 mph and I was right on that time. Had a few back, neck and knee aches and pains but I got through it. I did lose my aero bottle on lap 1 and lap 2. I stopped the 1st time and put it back on but the 2nd time I said f it and left it on the street. There were some sections with cobblestone streets and there were water bottles all over the place. I know with some more time and training I can get my time down to about 1:15 on the bike. Finished in just a hair under 1:30.

The run is where I fell apart again. For the 1st 2 mile my left knee felt like bone smashing on bone while I ran. Don't know what that was but I ended up walking a lot. After that pain went away it was replaced with left hip pain and then blisters on the balls of both feet. The course was on a golf course cart path and it was very hilly. On the way down I had to put the brakes on and it wrecked my feet. My water and nutrition was good through the whole race. Finished the 10K in 1:23. I had hoped to do it in 1:12 (5 mph).

After the race I was really thinking that the 1/2 IM could be a mistake but I have 6 months to train and so I'm still on track for SOMA on Oct 26th in Tempe, AZ. It's the same course as IMAZ. This was my 1st Oly and only 2nd triathlon so my goal was just to finish and I ended up 156th out of 173 and 25th out of 26 for my AG. I think the distance was a bit over where my training was but I finished.

I have 3 weeks until my next Sprint which is the Tempe Int'l on May 16th. There are about 1500 entered for this race so it should be fun. I hope to be somewhere around 1:20 for my sprint.

Sounds like a lot of people had great training weekends.

Kath2163 - 2010-04-25 7:47 PM Here it is, compact crank and all.

Kathleen,

Great looking bike.  Looks like you worked out the cmpact crank issue as well, that is great.  I think your really going to enjoy this bike. 

Greg

GRB1 - 2010-04-26 7:34 AM

Hey Greg,
Thanks!  Yes, I was able to work it out. They took a compact off of another new bike and put it on mine. They just charged $30.00 for the labor. 

Kath2163 - 2010-04-26 7:36 AM
Hey Greg,
Thanks!  Yes, I was able to work it out. They took a compact off of another new bike and put it on mine. They just charged $30.00 for the labor. 

kenj - 2010-04-26 5:30 AM

After the race I was really thinking that the 1/2 IM could be a mistake but I have 6 months to train and so I'm still on track for SOMA on Oct 26th in Tempe, AZ. It's the same course as IMAZ. This was my 1st Oly and only 2nd triathlon so my goal was just to finish and I ended up 156th out of 173 and 25th out of 26 for my AG. I think the distance was a bit over where my training was but I finished.
QUOTE]

Great job with your race!  Your races will come together as you get your training in, it is still early in the season!!

zionvier - 2010-04-26 11:30 AM Here's a topic I'd like to hear people's opinions on:

Saunas and Steam Rooms... Do you use them at your gym? What do you think are the benefits if you use them? what do you think are not good about them if you don't use them?

Personally, I love the steam room, but I'm also very weary of it.  Seems like it's the perfect environment to incubate bacteria, the common cold, and the flu.  I love how it clears out my lungs and makes them feel refreshed... I think it was a huge help when I quit smoking by speeding up the process of cleaning out my lungs.  But now with the amount of exercise I do and reading all the articles in runners world and other magazines about how your immune system gets weakened by long duration workouts and stuff, I'm semi nervous about continuing to use the steam room.

As for the sauna, I don't see a real benefit to it.  To me it seems like it's simply dehydrating me without giving me the benefit of working out.  So I have to rehydrate after so that my next workout doesn't suffer.

What is everyone else's opinions?  Are there benefits I'm missing out on that I'm unaware of?

zionvier - 2010-04-26 9:22 AM

That's awesome!  Sounds like the shop really worked towards making you a happy customer.  Can I ask what bike shop it was?

kenj - 2010-04-26 1:26 PM

My Y has a sauna off the pool deck but I have never tried it.  I do have a hot tub at home that we use somewhat regular.  I really don't have an opinion on the sauna or steam room. I don't use it because I usually am running late to get to work when I get out of the pool.

dharris13 - 2010-04-26 11:52 AM
I too have a hot tub and LOVE it! I will soak for a bit then get out and stretch