RFP GROUP - CLOSED (Page 28)

Hi all,  It is great to see all the training and racing you have been doing.  It seems like A races have just hit, or are getting very close and you guys are all ready for it.

I can't wait to hear how IM NYC goes next week.

Did an olympic tri yesterday.  felt good in all 3 physical areas, not so great in nutrition.  But had fun competing.  Will be in Madison, WI for the Madison Mini on the 17th +18th if any of you Wisconsin folks are participationg in a run only event.

Hi everyone!  Sorry I've been MIA the last couple weeks.  We've been doing lots of client demos so work has been a little busy.  I'm looking forward to post Sept 9 when I can do more than just sleep, eat, work, train. Haha!  Anywho, I've perused the last couple pages of posts...WOW!  so much that I've missed.  

Kathy - congrats on your first century!!  It's such a great feeling to see 100+ on the odometer  You'll be great!

Jen - congrats on finishing your first HIM!  Sooo... when are you signing up for an IM?

Jenny - congrats on your first century too!  don't get discouraged about the time.  When I rode the course a couple weekends ago, I looked at my avg speed and got very discouraged.  But then realized how fresh my legs felt and kept telling myself that I still have to run 26.2 on race day!   

KC - so excited for you!  It's been years since I've been to NYC but I remember having a reuben at the Roxy deli in Times Square.  My gawd, that was the biggest sammich I'd ever been served!  Might be a good idea to go *after* the race   

Tim - awesome ride yesterday (from FB, haha)!  I'll be doing my first 100+ ride of the season this coming Saturday by way of the Dairyland Dare. 

Deb - yay! IMLP 2013 in da haus!  

Scott - woot! IMWI 2013 in da haus too!!  

Brian - hey there! Way to go on the race, sorry to hear about the nutrition though. 

Training has been going well for me.  I was in Madison for EN training camp a couple weekends ago.  Rode the course on Friday and Saturday, ran on Sunday (got lost!).  I had some GI issues on the first loop Fri so I was about 20min into the 2nd loop and decided to turn around and head back to the hotel b/c I hadn't taken in enough nutrition and knew I wouldn't be able to hang for the entire 112 miles.  Good call b/c I could feel myself starting to bonk a little on the stick going back to hotel.  Saturday was much better!  I switched my water & nutrition bottles and that helped with the GI issues.  Had a roommate that was lollygagging that morning so we got a later start than I wanted.  We drove to Verona and planned on doing 2 loops.  On the 2nd one we ended up driving backwards about 4 miles and then rode to the bike/coffee shop and back.  Basically this allowed us to the hilly part of the course backwards to the bike shop and then back to the car.  Man, I thought those hills were tough going the right way, it was tougher going the opposite direction!  haha!

Sunday morning we started with an EN talk at the transition area and then did 1 loop of the run course.  I had downloaded the map onto my 910 but hadn't used the map feature before and ended up getting lost.  Managed to find my way back to the car with no issues though.

Last week, I ended up tweaking my big toenail and wasn't able to do anything Wed or Thurs.  I was worried how it would affect my training but after going to see a podiatrist on Thurs morning and getting on some antibiotics and reassurance from the doc that I could train with no risk of further damage, I was back on track Friday.  OWS Friday, 75mi ride Sat, and 12 mile run yesterday.

Was too exhausted from the weekend and missed masters swim this am so I'll go this evening for another OWS, then home for some core work and stretching/rolling.  Only a couple more weeks until taper time! 

Wow its getting busy here!

KC - I am so pumped for you to race this weekend!! You are gonna do awesome and I am really proud of how far you have come in the short time I have known you. I thought you were joking when you posted that you were gonna sign up for an Ironaman and now I have no doubt in my mind that you are gonna not only finish but finish strong!  Enjoy this week and take it all in!

Sarah - Good luck at the Dairyland Dare.  Isn't that crazy hilly? What did you switch with your water and nutrition bottles? The actual bottle?  When I was on the course I saw a bunch of people riding opposite and now I wonder if they just do that for a harder workout (although not sure why you woudl want to make it any harder-haha).  Sucks about work being busy but just stick with it for a few more weeks.  I read something that if we miss a workout or two ove rth next few weeks it isn't going to do anything tour fitness.  I am like you though and cannot wait for this to be over.

Deb - Once reality sets in that you have registered it is time to start thinking training plans! Any thought on what you are gonna do? Coach, BT plan, other plan?  Taking my experience with a grain of salt - it is my opinion that the plan you choose doesn't mean as much as sticking as close to the plan you choose (if that makes sense).  You need to be very realistic.  I made a last minute decision to downgrade my plan from the "Competative" to the "Intermediate" and it was one of the best choices I could have made.

Scott - Glad to hear you were able to get a room.  Looking forward to seeing you up there.

Jen - CONGRATS ON YOUR HIM!! Way to push through and RFP! Hopefully you are recovering today and are feeling good -especially the IT band.  So what was the post race beer of choice?

Kathy - Great to get that Century ride under your belt.  Don't worry about the temps - nothing you can control.  Are you starting your taper this week? 

Jenny - Glad to hear you had a much better course ride this weekend (expect for a few minor issues).  Glad that you figured out the nutrition issue also.  That is more solids than I can handle - crazy how everyone is different with what their stomachs can handle.

Brian - Howdy stranger! Glad to see you back.  KC and I were texting the other day wondering if you were ok.  With all these IM's coming up we could use all the veteran help from guys like you and Scott.  What nutrition issues did you have this weekend?

I also got my first century in this weekend - 106.25 miles in 6:12.  It was windy as all hell yesterday and I figure I spent about just under 3-1/2 hours of riding straight into a 15-18 MPH headwind.  The trees were swaying and fields were.  I was averaging about 15 MPH into the wind but then was hammering with the tailwind at about 21-22 MPH.  By mistake I figured a few things out:

1. I was using too much Hammer Perpetuem.  The recommended dosage for my weight was 1.5 scoops/hour.  I have just been feeling very bloated and not so great towards the end of my rides.  Yesterday I only had 3.5 hours worth that I stretched over 4.5 hours.  I felt great.  I also drank Perform on the bike. At mile 50 I stopped at the gas station and picked up some Combos.  Felt good to get some solid food.  Needless to say I am gonna cut back to 1 scoop/hour and replace some calories with some solid food like Combos.
2. My bike sucks -haha  I have been pretty comfortable for all my rides this year but when I hit 90 miles I had a sharp pain in my upper back/lower neck that I never had before.  Figure it was because I have a rigged jalopy that I am pushing to the edge with this IM training.  Is that normal to have that pain after 100 miles?

I am exhausted after this weekend.  Saturday morning I woke up at 4am and did my 2:15 run before Josi went to work.  I then watched the kids all day.  I had to play a wedding that night so I got there and set up at 2:30pm.  Was on my feet all day- played until midnight and got home at 2:00am.  Then went on my ride at 11:00am.

I was supposed to do a brick after but with being gone all weekend - when I walked in after 6 hours and started putting my shoes on, my wife asked me what I was doing.  I told her going on a run.  I think I would have gotten the same expression and look if I told her there was a car full of hookers coming to pick me up and we would be gone for an hour.  The kids were rough on her all day so I knew I had to get out of the IM dream world and come back to real life and cancelled my run.  I did feel fresh so i was happy about that.

Sorry for the long post - hope everyone has a great week!

You can tell we are getting closer to our events as things are picking up.

Jenny - great job on your bike ride this weekend.  It sounds like you are ready!

KC - You will do great!  You are ready for this and you will do fine.

Jen - Congrats on your HIM!  Glad to hear the run/walk worked for you.  What interval did you decide to go with?

Tim - great job on the bike.  That is what these training rides are all about, learning what works and what doesn't.  It sounds like you figured yours out.  Sounds like you made a good decision about taking that extra break.  We have to remember what is most important to us.

Sarah - Hang in there, taper time is just around the corner.  Then what will you do with your extra time?  Me....probably sleep.

So, I am suppose to be tapering but today's workout and the schedule doesn't look like I am.  I know I am because I got to sleep in till 7 this morning and that is something I haven't done in a very long time.

Hey Team.

I hope everyone had a safe weekend.

WTB - awesome race - way to go!

Brian - nice to see you.

Sarah - looks like you are ready to go.

Tim - hang in there.

OK - leaving tomorrow morning for a 11.5 hour drive to NYC. I will check in with everyone as soon as I can. I am nervous but excited to get there and experience the entire thing from start to finish. Not sure if I am ready but I am as ready as I can be.

Thanks to all of you that have wished me well, I will do my best RFP.

KC

KC – I’m excited to read your race report when you are all done! I know you will do great. When I joined RFP I thought you had been doing IM’s for a long time…I didn’t realize that this would be your first. Good luck, you’ve definitely put in the work!

Sarah – I was wondering the same thing as Tim. What did you switch with your water and nutrition bottles? Also, I think I would like to get another 70.3 under my belt before I even imagine doing an FULL IM!

Tim – thanks! The beer? Oh it was a very special limited edition from Great Divide Brewery in Denver. It’s called Old Ruffian and it’s a Barley-wine style ale that’s aged for 9 months in Stranahan’s whiskey barrels. It was very good as was my race experience! Also, congrats on entering into the century club with everyone else on here. Guess I know my next challenge!

Kathy – I went with 4:1 ratio but it fell apart a little because of the aid stations. I walked those no matter where I was in the run/walk and then just tried to run 4 min from there. But then it also would fall apart a little because of some hills/heat where you just wanted to walk (funny to see 20+ people walking up a hill in a race) and started back up from there. Everyone around me seemed to be doing the run/walk program too. You are doing great! Keep up the good work and your race will be here/gone before you know it!

Good Evening Team.

Well - I made it to my hotel in NYC. 12 hours of driving - . I am not sure what is worse - 12 hours of driving or 7.5 hours of biking - I will let you know after Saturday .

This NYC is a crazy place and this is going to be a crazy race. Logistics are very complicated. I will start trying to figure things out after I get a good night sleep tonight. Athlete check in starts at noon - now all I have to do is find it LOL.

KC

Yay, go KC!!!  You're gonna be great!  Good luck Saturday!  I echo Tim's comments in that it's great to see how far you've come from last year.  Heck, how far we've all come  

As far as what I switched, I used to have water in my aero bottle and nutrition in a bottle on my down tube and one bottle behind the seat (Carbo Pro + Skratch drink mix).  What caused the GI issues on Friday was that I took a couple big gulps of my nutrition and it gave me a side stitch, which I have a tendency to get if I'm not super careful.  So Saturday, I put my nutrition in the aero bottle...it's right in front of me and I have a tendency to sip from that as opposed to realizing that I need to drink and chug.  It worked well for me so that is what I'll do for IMWI.  The only thing I have to think about though is that the water bottles they hand out are the 'easy crush' kind and don't stay in the bottle cages well so it was recommended having water in the aero bottle.  Hmm, I'm thinking I'll have my own water bottle behind my seat and take my chances with a course bottle on my down tube.  Thoughts/suggestions?

Jen - you can sign up for a full and just do another half in the same season 

Hope you have a good pair of compression socks for post race! 

I bought 4 cheap water bottles, had the hammer perpeleum in two, one frozen over night, the other cooled. I put both on the bike.  My old bike I had four cages so I had two with water.  I carried some bars cut up in small chunks for something to chew.  My electrolytes were in the nutrition bottles.   I tossed the water bottles when empty and just kept grabbing bottles off course.  That worked for me.  Never stopped.  

I have changed bikes.  Only three cages now but the Shiv has a bladder for water that fits in the top tube and a sraw that comes up in front of me.  Not set up yet.  Won't use it on the short Half IM course.  Three bottles with Carbo pro should do it and I can grab other water along the way.  For next year's IM, it will be set up.

I have contemplated taking my cages off and going with the one cage zip tied and under the seat and a cage ziptied between my aero bars.  From what I have read that seem to be the most aerodynamic way - but then I remembered I have a piece of crap bike (and that is being kind) and it doesn't really matter what I do.  It is like putting an aero fin on a the back of a '91 Escort and expecting to get better gas mileage -haha.

Anyways - I am making one final tweak to my nutrition plan and bought some Hammer Endurolytes.  I will get two 5-1/2 hour rides to experiment with before IMWI.

Gonna be heading up to my friends lake house in South Haven for the weekend.  Runs on his private beach and open water swims in Lake Michigan should do me some good.  I am taking off work tomorrow so I can get my 5-1/2 ride in early am then head up there with the family.  So on Saturday I have no workouts so I will be kicking back on the beach with a margarita tracking online and cheering on KC at IMNY!! 

This in unbelievable. They may have to cancel the swim in the Hudson - see the article linked below.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-09/new-york-ironman-triathlon-may-cancel-hudson-swim-due-to-sewage.html

Hoping to cheer up KC!!!

How is everyone's training going?

Good one Coach  it did the trick! As a freind of mine from back home pointed out to me a few hours ago - I have been swimming in the detoit river to get ready for this - they should let me swim no matter what LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well.

KC

KC- GOODLUCK!

I had hoped to get to NY/NJ but it just does not fit my schedule

Kevin--former RFP member

Kevin - Awesome to see you and I hope you are doing well. Thanks for touching base and wishing me well.

Tim - thanks for your help today - greatly appreciated. I am off to the athletes banquet - perhaps they will have an update for us - I will let you know team.

KC

Come on you need the aero fin on your escort! lol  If its hot you will want that other bottle to pour on yourself!  At best you will save 30 seconds for 112!   

How did your ramp up weeks go? is your body holding up?

KC I forgot to ask you today if you had your link for your tracking unit yet?  I see they will make a call before 4pm tomorrow!  Either way don't worry about it as you don't need the added stress just kick as$ weather its  du or tri! Wish I could have made it (still looking for a cheap flight)

Hey Team.

Could there be a better youtube clip while we are waiting to hear about the swim -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zqNigBNUWOs

Hey Coach. I am on the grid!

http://www.myathletelive.com/storage/races/2012IMNYC/index.html

Woot!  KC - good luck tomorrow and RFP all the way!!!!!  

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-10/new-york-ironman-swim-will-proceed-after-sewer-break-repaired

Looks like it'll be a TRIathlon after all!! 

Hey Team.

Thanks Sarah.

The swim is on! Wish me luck team.

KC