Todd's Tri Turtles 2 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10 K) - Closed (Page 28)

Today I swam 1250 yards nonstop!

I was suppose to stop and take a breather at 400 yards... but I felt OK so I kept going and it felt amazing.

This was my second day of the 0-1650 training program (started on week 3). Going into today I told myself to relax as much as possible in order to pace myself for the distance. By forcing myself to relax and expend less effort into everything (pulling, kicking, rotating, and even exhaling) I was able to keep going for the entire distance. And my overall pace was identical to what I did on Monday when I was trying harder to go fast and use good form. I can't believe it, I'm so happy.

Less is more

That's amazing and inspiring Cass! Congrats! Enjoy that high.

I'm excited. Just registered for my first sprint on May 18 in Harriman State Park NY. What's great about this is that I went to camp in this park for 6 years learning backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing and survival skills. It has a lot of meaning for me and it's fortuitous that my first race will be here.

Hey Turtles!
I was going to post last night and had just taken my Ambien....LOL that's why you see my last post was blank!! I have been really motivated reading all the awesome posts from EVERYONE!!! Way to go in that pool!!!! Ok so this is what has been happening with me....The weather has been GORGEOUS here! 82 degrees the last three days! After my 50 mile ride on Sunday I thought I probably would not get back on the bike very much as I thought I would be just thrashed from the high miles....I have been on that bike every single day this week and FINALLY got it outside on the road and my husband is now cleared to ride. What I want to share the most is though on Tuesday was the first nice day and the first day OFF the trainer...we went for a 18 mile ride....it was easy LOL I was a bit saddle sore but nothing crazy...anyways when we got back home I got my running shoes on and hubby got on his mountain bike to follow me with water... I have not pushed myself at all to run at any sort of speed. I have been building my base up and doing my heart rate training, which has been some super slow miles... so anyway I went out to run two miles to see how my legs would feel right off the bike.... my first mile was a 10.48!!! wohooo!! I am ESTATIC with ANYTHING under 12 for races that are 10K and above!!! My fastest 5K was 29:00 I can only do that pace when I totally push myself but I will not do that on longer distances. I don't like 5ks I think they are boring, running in general to me is boring and has caused the most injuries then biking or swimming. I don't mind being that *slow old lady* that plugs along and finishes towards the back. My second mile was uphill a bit and I did a 11:13. I did Yoga, swimming and another 18 mile bike ride last night and it felt GREAT to be nice and stretched out from Yoga and swimming with no leg pounding from running. I am happy to report that on the way back home last night I left my hubby in the dust on the bikes LOLOL granted he is just now coming back from recovering but he bounces back fast (already back to running 8 min miles like it is nothing, typical Marine! ).

Today I went for a swim and did 500 meters. As long as I remind myself to RELAX RELAX RELAX and GO SLOW I find myself in a much better state. The second I start doing freestyle and kicking like crazy my heart rate goes up and I run out of breath (yes I exhale underwater) and it all falls apart. I have been laying off swims and doing more bikes and runs to get ready for my Du next Saturday. Tomorrow I am going for a swim and then relaxing. the local running group that I do things with once in awhile is hosting a FREE Sprint Tri this Saturday on base. I have my last 7 mile long run scheduled for this Saturday but my hubby wants to go in the free Tri so guess what? Yep I am entering as well! LOL Cant beat the price! I think it will be a great training day and I will get three of my miles out of the way!! Sunday will be a total rest day, Monday will be a long bike ride (nothing crazy) and Tuesday will be short run and bike Brick. Weds a very lazy swim.. thurs and fri rest and then Saturday morning very early we load my bike and my gear and head down to White Lake for the big Du. They are also holding a half so it should be a great day!! I cant wait!!!

Cassowary and Graham~ I like the program you are doing for swimming. I saw the website and started reading it and it is very good! When my Du is over I will be hitting the pool again hard as I have a sprint on April 27th and it is going to be a 750 in the river!! GULP! Thanks for posting your swimming adventures guys! They keep me moving in the pool!!

Taringa~ WOW The beast sounds SCARY! I am sure you will just totally ROCK the half!! Cant wait to hear more about it!

Rod~ You are probably working at night right now and I bet you have a great schedule all planned out to keep you on track!!!

Todd~ It is exciting to read your posts as you get closer and closer to the big Ironman race!!!!!! I have no doubt all the preparation you have done will pay off and you will finish strong!! Our big weekend is right around the corner now!!

Go Turtles Go!!!!

Hey Todd,

I hope you enjoy competing in your race this weekend and get the result you're looking for.

Go Turtle Power.

Rod



Edited by AussieTurtle 2014-04-03 9:23 PM

Hi 2gs

Congratulations on entering your first Sprint. Nothing like entering an event to focus your training.

Rod

Hi Darcie

Great effort with all the training. How many hours a week have you been able to complete?

I'm not familiar with North Carolina but the turnaround in weather conditions seems unreal. You were only talking about snow a couple of weeks ago.

You've outlined a pretty comprehensive plan to prepare for your Duathlon. Hope all goes well.

Rod

Hey Cassowary

Sensational results in the pool.

I agree with your approach to staying relaxed in the pool. To me it's the opposite of the bike and the run; in those disciplines you increase your cadence to improve. I find I can swin fster and for longer with slower, stronger strokes.

Rod

Hi Taringa

Challenge Gold Coast looks like it's going to be held in a spectacular part of QLD. Do you intend to train on the actual course prior to the event?

I'm trying to recall how wide Currumbin Creek is and whether the tides or current would influence the race in any way. Do you know?

Rod

Greeting Turtles

Despite what it looks like I'm not trying to set the record for the number of consecutive posts. I just found a quiet time to sit down and catch up with what's happening.

I've been working nights again but I'm able to make some time each afternoon for a workout. I've started a new run program and I'm up to week 2. I'm hoping to be able to get a 5km run happening soon.

This weekend is the last race in Melbourne and I'll be watching rather than competing. I'm still a couple of months off from being ready for my first race. In the beginner series races they increase the distances as the season progresses. I'm not up for a 400 metre swim in the bay yet. Realistically I didn't think I'd make the transition from couch potato to triathlete in 3 months but I'm happy with my progress and enjoying the training.

I'm off to tackle some hills in this weekends bike ride.

Enjoy your weekend.

Rod

Great freaking job and Congrats!!! It's amazing just how much relaxing can mean in the water.

Darcie, give um hell tomorrow and enjoy yourself!!

Congrats on the registration and at a place with such meaning. I am positive that you will be good to go on that day and your hard work will show!!

Rod, I can not tell you how important and awesome it is that you don't feel quit ready but are not minimizing your accomplishments, hard work, and training. Some can not accomplish what you did in your post and bail on triathlon feeling like they've failed because of some made up time table or distance they think they have to do to validate something. Thanks for posting and putting the work.

Best of luck to you tomorrow / today (damn time difference ) i sense you will have your best run portion ever.

I have been so swamped with work, activities, sports, exhaustion and laziness. I did manage to drag myself out of bed this morning.

I got a short swim in followed by a 6 mile run.

Good luck to everyone this weekend.
Cass, great job on the swimming..

Well the day is here with wind and rain in the forecast for the day. I'm headed down to transition now to set up my area and the swim start at 7:30. I wanted to thank all of yall for the well wishes and if your bored today go to ironman. Com and you can track me. BIB 688

Had a great time at the sprint.... shaved five minutes off my swim... ended up doing every stroke but freestyle... it kept me calm and I finished..wasn't perfect but it was better then last race!! I felt my bike was really good 10.3 miles in 37:00 flat... with a 19 mph headwind..... I did not push the run as I met up with a friend on course and we chit chatted the entire way.... that's what I planned on doing anyways :-) I am now getting prepared for the big Du on Saturday and I am trying not to freak out!! Hope I survive...LOL

Here is a picture one of the photographers took of me out on the bike course..... I look mean... actually I was searching for the markers on the ground for the next turn LOL I was laughing that I had four people come up and tell me they had wheel envy.


Todd I am off to the Ironman website to stalk you!!!!

five minutes later.............. Ok Todd I have all your info from the race and WOOOWWWW you KICKED !!!! Your chip times were OUTSTANDING!! way to go!!!! Be super proud of what you did!!!! Ironman!!!!




Edited by Pixiedustlady 2014-04-06 8:37 PM






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Taringa~

I keep forgetting it is fall in Australia right now! I know sometimes the races do not go as planned, the awesome part is you take things and learn from experience and you move on. You have a great attitude and I am sure any race you enter you will always come out a winner no matter where you placed.

One thing you mentioned that gets on my nerves is my group is ALWAYS dead last to go in the water. I don't know why! It wont matter what series I enter, all the races I have been in, our wave always goes last and that means usually when I am coming over the finish line most people are packed up and most have left. Even though they started a full hour before me It still gets to me and makes me feel even slower! My first Tri I had NOT even gotten in the water and people were finishing the race...yep...it was totally empty when I got done with my run...only thing left was my bike and two others that were still out running.

Our Tri season is just starting if you want to come and do a few here!! Best of luck on your Half Ironman training!! I am sure you will kill it!!!

Edited by Pixiedustlady 2014-04-07 10:08 AM

No worries, you pushed through on what was a bad day for you and finished. You learned some more things about yourself, training, and fueling during the race. Some days things just aren't going to feel / work right and others they will, what matters that we do our best on that day. Great job!

Great race and super impressive swim improvement and bike split in very windy conditions. I was not thinking that you looked angry, I thought you looked like you were concentrating. Again, best of luck this weekend with your DU.

Well here is a recap of the weekend and a brief report of the race.

Friday - checked in myself and my daughter for her Ironkid Fun Run; Mandatory race meeting

Saturday - did the Ironkids Fun Run with my daughter. She received her medal from Ironman Pro Rachael Joyce, which I know I was more excited about then her. My daughter is not athletic but I could tell that she felt a sense of accomplishment and enjoyed the race and time we got to spend together doing it. In the afternoon, I did the mandatory bike check in and then we went out to eat.

Sunday morning - up at 4:15 a.m. to eat and get transition set up. The set up was made a little more difficult by small rain showers and bigger ones that were supposed to come. I do not like my shoes to be wet so I placed my cycling shoes in a plastic bag and left my running shoes in my zipped transition bag to try and keep them dry. Went back to the hotel room, stretched, relaxed, then kissed the wife and little one good bye and went to swim start with about 15 minutes before my wave started.


Race Summary

Swim 00:38:57 - 2:01 per 100 m (top 1/3) Well the water was extremely choppy going out and coming back in but the swim across was with the wave movement. I felt strong in the swim and kept telling myself what seems to have become the mantra for this group while swimming, which was to relax. I just took it one stroke at a time, never slowed, never stopped, and the next thing I know I'm out of the water with a much better time then I expected. I don't have difficulty sighting, but in this race I never even thought about it because I was straight line from buoy to buoy with little effort. This was a great swim for me and I know that what I went through last year in Racine made it possible. I also noticed that the wetsuit did not really bother me so the practices in it must have help more then I thought.

Bike 02:48:29 - 19.94 mph (top 1/2) It was windy and misting rain as we started the ride out along the Gulf. We had a tailwind going out that turned into a crosswind with slight head wind coming back in. I tried to keep an even pace, but at times felt like I was going to hard and then others knew I was going to easy. I was very happy with my finish time but thought, dang so close to an average of 20. I got extremely worried at mile 10 when my front wheel began to make this weird mouse squeaking sound. It stopped but made me think it was about to lock up or something. It did it a few more times but nothing ever happened.

Run 02:22:16 - 10:51 per mile (bottom 1/2) The run was great and terrible for me all at the same time. it was fantastic in the sense that it was a PR for me, not just for 70.3's but for stand alone half marathons as well. The bad part was my pacing. I ran the first mile in just over 8:30 and kept thinking that my watch was not reading correctly, but it obviously was. I know it all worked out in the end but I really want to get where I get off the bike and go at a nice steady, no walking pace, until towards the end when I decide what is left and really push the last 3 miles or so. Not the other way around which is what I've done at both of my Halfs now.

So I had decided that no matter what I was going to be running across the finish line from at least where everyone could see us. (I felt bad after my last one because I walked past everyone until about 50 yards out and then ran in) I rounded the corner and could see that the clock showed 6:27, which told me immediately that if I could finish in under 3 minutes I would break the 6 hour mark. ( for those that may not know, Ironman starts the clock when the pros take off, so my wave leaving 30 minutes later I knew where my time would be) I took off running, saw my wife and daughter cheering from me and ran under the clock.

Overall 05:58:12

I can not tell you how happy I was to break the six hour mark because it was not something I thought would be possible for me at this time. I met with my daughter and wife, then got some pizza, picked up some finisher gear, and drank two cold Coors Lights and cheered on others for the next two hours before having to head home.

Great Job on the half!