kaburns1214 Mentor Group 2011 Part 2 - CLOSED (Page 3)

Hi, Karen!  Welcome!

Hope you killed the HM!  Can't wait to hear the details......

Well done, Paul!  Sounds like you had a great race! 

I took my bike out for my first road ride of the season, and I got my a** kicked.  Cleveland had a wind advisory with gusting winds up to 40 mph.  Guess I should have looked at the weather before I hopped on the bike.  LOL.  Seriously, I felt like a pinball, being knocked all over the road.  I could barely pedal.  My quads got quite the workout.  After 2 hours of nonsense, I called it a day and went home.  That was brutal and frustrating.  I climbed at least 30 hills, too.  I hope I don't perform so poorly in my races. 

Joined a new gym, and it is pimp.  Going to swim this afternoon. 

My first race of the season is a HM on May 15.  I can't wait!!!   

Today was a good day, 2 hour bike and 12 mile run to finished up with training camp.  I have lots of take aways, which I will share as soon as I can collect my thoughts. 

Some initial thoughts I'm having have to do with fueling and training your gut, going easy as possible during recovery efforts, run form, raising bike cadence and mental "toughness" in racing (and even training) situations.

Is it too late to join this group?

I'm brand-new to this site and to triathlons but started running/biking about 7 months ago after being somewhat sedentary. (I'm a mom of four and own my own business so I was active in regards to those things but pretty inactive otherwise.)

I finished my first ever race about a week ago (10 miles) and am signed up for an olympic triathlon in Portland, Oregon in August.

I downloaded an 'intermediate' training program here on the site which might be a bit harder than I'm ready for but I think I'm going to start on it tomorrow anyhow with a 21.6 mile bike and a 3.2 mile run. (The longest brick workout I've done in the past is a 13 mile bike and a 3 mile run so I'm nervous for tomorrow.)

Anyhow, I'd love to join this group if there's still opening. Thanks!

Welcome Karen!

That is a bummer.  One year I was training for a marathon, we were in taper mode and had some horrible fires.  They cancelled the race because of the poor air quality.  I knew it would not be good to run with all the ashes still floating in the air, you could literally "see" the air, but I had trained so hard for that race.  See if you can find another one like you say, you're trained and ready to go!

Nice job too on the 1:32.

Hi, Karen!  Welcome! 

I'm doing my first long brick today, too (also on an intermediate olympic program).  Good luck!!

I'm sorry your HM got "modified."  Will you find another to race?  Great 10-mile time!!! 

20 mile bike followed by an easy run this morning......we'll see how it goes

I have to cram all of my hard workouts into the beginning of the week, as we're travelling to my parents' house for Easter, and I won't have the time to train much while we are there.  I think I have a 10k scheduled for Sat., and that's it!  I'm going to be crawling out of my skin from the inactivity.  LOL 

ARGH!

My left foot has been hurting when I run lately (about the past 10-14 days). It's around my middle toe, kind of near the ball of the foot.

I figured it was the joint and I needed to pop my toes (they pop a lot and get "stiff" when they haven't popped in a bit). Well, they won't pop and it's still very sore and a bit tender to the touch.

Last night's run, it hurt virtually from the first mile until the end. The pain is bearable, but it hurts. Hurts to walk around the house too.

Could it be a stress fracture?? 

I'm thinking, unless it gets way worse, I'll just bury my head in the sand at least until after this weekend's triathlon. And then see what happens. For now, I think I just won't run this week leading up to the race on Saturday. 

Stupid feet!

so sorry to hear that, it has been a tough year for weather. Congrats on the finish none-the-less!!!

Ok, after realizing that i never did a proper introduction in the original mentor thread, i am working on one right now, it will be a bit long winded and Kelly asked me to do a little piece on bike racing, which is my strong suit. Hopefully you all will have time to read it, as i hope the information will help to answer some questions.

Here is my quick race report from the Route 66 MTB series season opener held yesterday at Winding Trails.  We had some wicked rain the night before, and knew there was one section that was going to be nasty. 

Started the day getting the family out of the house late.  Wanted to leave at 6:45 am, but didn't head out until 7:05. thankfully I was already loaded up the night before. Made a quick stop for some drinks for the kids, and on our way. it actually turned out to be a great day for weather. it was about 55 degrees come race time (9:00 am) but actually cooled off as the day went on. Pulled into Farmington at about 8:15, quickly got inside to register.  The pre-registration line was extremely long.  I thought the purpose of pre registering was to avoid those lines. I was getting a little antsy as I knew my warm up would be cut short, if I had a chance to warm up at all.  I still had to unlaod and get dressed.

Finally got all set up, and head out for a brief 15 minute warmup.  Eventually, my warmup was useless, as I got to the starting line 10 minutes in advance to get in front.  Didn't start until 9:10, so I was completely cold.  Anyway, as we take off, it's important to sprint to the single track and get in front.  If you don't, you get stuck behind someone, and it can really mess up your day.  I was happy to be third at the singletrack entrance, with about 22 others behind me.  Here's where my day went somewhat bad.  The guy in front of me approaches the first log we need to get over, which is also the first of many tight singletrack descents.  He fails to get over it and flies over the handlebars, causing me to ram my front tire into his bike.  I had to hop off, go off the track around the tree, and immediately got passed by 5 guys.  Ughhhhhhhh. i was able to reel in a few of them, but still was behind a couple slower guys.  There are only a few areas to pass, and you really need to take advantage of them.  There is one section that I mention earlier.  As you reenter the trail, there was about a 200 foot long section of deep, wet, thick and nasty mud.  You had no choice but to peddle your a$$ off to get through it.  What a blast.

Winding Trails did a great job adding a ton more singletrack, but I tell you, it was very slick on the downhills, and very tight.  I ended up finishing 11th out of 25 or so iun my Age Group.  There was only 1 min 30 seconds separating the winner to 11th.  Without that crash at the beginning, I think I could have done much better.  Oh well, that's part of racing.  it never goes perfect!!! i think overall, there were 300 riders, and about 100 in Cat 3 (my class).  I need to wait for results to dtermine my overall finsih.

More importantly, I had my 6 year old do the kids race.  he took first place (even though it's pretty informal).  That was the best part of the day!  He loves his new Specialized HotRock.

I felt pretty good when I got home, and the weather was still pretty nice.  Ended up running 6.5 miles.  Got up early this morning and did 21 miles outdoors.  A little cool this morning, but what a beautiful start to the day

Name: Rudedog55 (Rudy)

Story: Everyone loves a good story, mine I don’t think is half bad. I started all this at 262lbs in June of 2008, after a bunch of years of non-exercise, I signed up for a charity bike ride in July 2008. I bought the parts and assembled my own bike and signed up for the 12 mile version. I started training, and things were going well, so I upped the distance to the 25 mile route. It took me close to two hours to complete the 25 miles, and I cramped so bad on a hill I almost fell over on my bike, I managed to maintain balance, but the big chain ring left a 6” scar on my right outside calf. It is a small reminder of my past and how far I have come. After completing the event, I decided to try and find an outlet to continue the exercise regimen, I stumbled across BT on an internet search and joined, I started training with as friend for my first Tri in September and second In October (see my race reports, trust me they are worth the read). I was barely able to run 100 feet when I started, but made improvement as time went by, barely finished my first tri (micro-sprint) and then had a much better result at the October race, where I had also met Kell-y and Jeff-y. Kelly provided constant inspiration that winter and really kept me going in the right direction, when I came into 2009, I had taken 25lbs off and had a good year, finishing 8 tri’s including a Half –Iron man in Sub 6 hours. 2010 came rolling around, and I had taken some time off after my half, and had put back on most of the weight, my wife and I also had our first child in January which did not help. But in February of 2010, I got on my trainer and decided to do some bike racing (the bike was always my strong suit). I signed up for some Cat5 races and proceeded to get dropped in all of them to start the year. I then got serious about diet and took off enough weight to get me back to 215lbs and started to become competitive in cycling races. I had 2 tri’s in 2010, which were both PR’s and top 100 in one and top 50 in the other overall, I had come along way. 2011 has much promise, I have actually taken off another 5-10lbs and have some serious goals for the 2011 season, which will be my last as I have decided to race bike full time (more on that later). I have my goals listed on my log page, please check them out. Oh year…I am still a Clydesdale, lol!!

Family Status: I got married in October of 2007, my wife is Nanci, we had a daughter Morgan Olivia in January of 2010.

Current Training: I am currently training for mostly bike racing and running, I have yet to get in the pool, I am on my bike for 5-7 hours a week, and that will increase as th warm weather gets here and I can get out on the weekends for longer rides. My training has consisted of hard short workouts indoors as my spring is Criterium style bike racing and a few running races, as per a conversation with Kelly, all my hard effort is done on the bike, and I use the runs as an active recovery. This will change as I get more geared for my next Half-iron.

2010 Races: 19 bike races, all sorts, Road Crit and Cyclocross (my true love). Two tri’s the Ridgefield Sprint and Mossman Sprints.

Planned 2011 Races:  Ridgefield Sprint, Patriot Half, Mossman Sprint, Cranberry Trifest (sprint/Oly), and The 1^st annual Vineyard Warrior (Oly) on Martha’s Vineyard with Jeff, Shaun and Kelly.

Weightloss: It has been a good year, I had gotten to 209lbs for a couple of days, but then bike racing started and I decided that eating enough and maintaining strength was more important than losing another 5lbs, I am currently 215, but my clothes fall off me and the love handles are almost gone. My legs on the other hand…well lets say I have a hard time getting into jeans, my wife bought me a pair of slim cut that I cannot wear, my thighs won’t fit, lol.

Specialties: I had come to the realization that the bike and I get along famously, it is what I liked the best, and after a couple of overuse injuries while running, is what I focused on. So I decided to try road bike racing last year, I was in love after the first race, I was also dropped after about 5 laps. In road cycling there are many different disciplines. For road racing the main four are Criterium, Circuit, Road and TT. Criterium’s are like Nascar short track, lots of laps on a short (less than a mile) course, Circuit races are similar but with longer laps (2-10 miles), road races are like the Tour De whatever and TT’s are the bike portion of the Tri, with no run or swim. I specialize in Crits and TT’s, it is what I am good at, well got good at anyway, lol!!  I also race Cyclocross, which is basically off road fire trail type stuff on a modified road bike, this is my true love, but New England has a short season Aug-Dec. Cycling races are broken down, not by age, but by Category, the beginners are Cat 5, and as you proceed with a Lower cat # you are with faster guys, 4-3-2-1 and then Pro. USA cycling is a great resource if you want to find out about racing and upgrades and such. I will spare you the details. I started as a Cat 5 racer last year, I was dropped off the field in the first 6 races I did, got my nutrition and weight under control and ended up being competitive through the latter half of the season. I upgraded to Cat 4 this January and did not know what to expect, I had busted my azz all winter on the trainer, and in my first race had a mechanical issue, I finished in the field. All in all, I took 2 3rds, a 10^th and some other finishes in my first season as a CAT 4, which is above and beyond what I was hoping to accomplish. This past weekend I did a TT (time trial) and finished 2^nd in the Cat 3-4 category. So I am having a good spring.

I will leave it at this, please do not hesitate to ask any questions regarding bike racing, I do read all your posts, even though I do not post much myself, and will be happy to answer any and all directed at me.

Rizer, congrats to your 6yr old! I bet it was a blast!!

Rudedog, you'll like this. I MIGHT be giving this a go with a few friends in September:

http://www.coloradocrookedroubaix.com/

90 miles in the mountains of Colorado, most of it on forest service roads. Should be "fun", in a painful sort of way

That looks fricken awesome.  I'd love to do that someday.  Just added to the bucket list!!!!

Welcome aboard.  You've joined a great group.

Sorry to hear that.  I HATE wind gusts. They seem to be there everytime I go out to ride!  Nice job on your time.

Thanks for the race report.  It sounds like you did really well, despite the wreck and the mud.  Congratulations!  It's so cool that your son won the kids' race. 

Welcome aboard!  I've been at a training camp in FL and a little in and out but I'm back now.  I'll do a round up of everyone this afternoon!