Todd's Tri Turtles 2 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10 K) - Closed (Page 30)

Dang man, that's what I was worried about when I checked your log. Get better and like you said the pool and bike are there for you.

Look at how far you have come. Now your like I swam 1200 non-stop but didn't feel quit strong enough so I'm going to redo a couple weeks. I can remember when you thought that distance was almost impossible for you. You are freaking awesome and a super hard worker. Great Job

I'm mentally feeling much better today, despite the calf injury. To prove it, I swam my first 1650 non-stop and it felt very peaceful. Tomorrow I'm going to fix up my bicycle and try heading out on the roads for the first time this season.

Big ups to you Sir, that's awesome.

Hi Turtles,

Just a quick note to say hi. Progress is slow & steady.

I took last week off from training and was able to recharge the batteries. I've signed up for a 100km bike ride but that's not until October. Not many events in my part of the world over the next 6 months.

Great job by Lovey on the swim and by Cass able to train while nursing an injury. Looking forward to darcie's race report.

Hope you all have a happy & safe Easter.

Rod

Hey Rod, the 100k bike ride sounds great.

I just signed up for my first tri today. It will be a sprint at the end of May. I'm very excited.

YES! That rocks, way to go MJSolt! Swimming is so tough, but the "breakthroughs" are very rewarding.

Great job on signing up for your first Tri Cassowary.

Making a commitment like that will sharpen your focus.

What are the distances for your Tri?

Hello everyone!!!!

Just a quick note that YES I DID finish the Duathlon!!! Thanks everyone for your nice notes/messages/inspires!!! WOW what a race it was!!! The race ran along side the Half Triathlon that was being held at White Lake. We started our race when the last swim wave entered the water. We had a very small group so it would of been nice just to start when the first swimmers began the race. White lake is a beautiful spot for a Triathlon. The water was like a sheet of glass and the morning was a bit chilly. I watched all the swimmers take off in amazement at that LONG swim course!! The buoys looked 10 miles away! Our group started with a two mile run. We had been mostly in the shade at this point and I noticed as soon as I got out on the pavement that we had a huge curveball being thrown at us....... it was suppose to be a nice mild low 70s....the run and bike course are out on the road and NO SHADE is available as the trees are all set back far away from the road. The race advertises that *the nice early April date is a favorite as cooler weather is around and appreciated by the Triathletes on the shade less course*. I did a quick 20 minute out and back. I was not going for any special time, I just wanted to save my legs and finish the day. I got my bike and had three bottles of liquid nutrition, five gels taped to the frame and my bento box filled with Stinger Waffles and Chomps. I checked my bike computer and knew after the first 10 miles that I was going to have to really be careful with my fluids. I was in a full sweat and I could feel the sun beating down on my back. The problem was they only had three water stations available on the 56 mile bike course.... They gave out 20 oz bottles of water and it was a bummer to find out that any and all aid stations for the rest of day would be serving up WARM WATER/HEED and HOT COKE :-( nothing tastes more disgusting to me then a hot soda..... back to the bike course...... I was going through my liquids so fast that it was starting to worry me. At the first water station I only grabbed one bottle when I should of grabbed two. The bike course was on a two lane country road and it was boring/lonely with not one spectator. Not being allowed to have any music REALLY made it much worse. I train with music and enjoy running with it as well. The second water station I grabbed two bottles and I did the same thing at the third. The bugs were REALLY bad and it was getting hotter and hotter. I felt good on the bike course until about mile 40. Thank god for my aero bars! It was great to lay down on them and rest my upper body. My legs felt fine during the entire ride and the only problem I seem to have is both of my feet around the outer edge of my toes had fallen asleep!! I used to have problems with my right foot falling asleep but this time it was both of them! I probably should of stretched my legs out of the pedals every 15 miles or so but I wanted to get off the bike and on to the run course as soon as possible! I never felt like I was out of breath and I never tried to really push hard. I would say my average speed that I saw on my bike computer was around 16-18 MPH. I am not one to try and force myself to stay at a certain bike or run time. My main goal was to have enough left in my legs for the half marathon!!!

At the last water station I noticed two people off their bikes and laying on the their backs. This was at mile 46. They both were pulling out of the race from heat exhaustion. That was my main concern for the day. I get overheated REALLY EASY so I thought it would be best to stay within a normal range and not overdue it. My heart rate never felt like it was high during the bike ride. When I left the last water station I really had to force myself to keep going on. I have never had both of my feet fall asleep around the my toe area at the same time. Both feet really hurt when I pushed down on the pedals. I only had one small uncomfortable area from my saddle. I did not have any skin rubbing issues or blisters. One problem I encountered that has NEVER happened before is my right half started doing sporadic muscle cramping.... it would happen so fast and hard it made my entire body tense up! It started about half way into the bike and then tapered off around the high 40 miles...it was very painful!!! I was REALLY happy to reach T2 and get off my bike. I warned the race crew that I might fall over because my feet were so asleep that I was scared I would not have control over them. I got off my bike just fine and jogged over to my transition station. I changed over for my run and was happy to tell my husband that my Nutrition plan worked out fantastic because I was not starving like I was during the Marine Corps Marathon. I had no headache and no low blood sugar issues. Hats off to all my Hammer Nutrition products!! You did your job!!!!

My husband was telling me the latest weather update.... out on the pavement the weather had reached a staggering 88 degrees...with no shade. I slipped on my gear and grabbed a cold water and headed out to the run course. My feet were awake but they felt HOT. I was glad I had changed into a fresh pair of socks. I could feel a hot spot starting on the ball of my right foot. The first thing I noticed on the run course was that almost every single person had been reduced to walking because of the heat. Thank god they had ice cold towels at every aid station. Without those towels I think I would of been a heat casualty. Almost everyone had one on top of their head as they made their way through the run. The run was just as boring as the bike course. All the spectators were at the transition/finish area. The only people on the run course were aid station volunteers. I saw the ice truck running back and forth between the stations. All I wanted was a cold cup of Coke/Heed/Water. The ice was not being used to cool down drinks, it was being used to soak the towels in. I had two people ask me if I was ok because I was getting really red from heat exhaustion. I knew the only way to get through this race was to walk and jog. Forget keeping a pace. I was really missing my music and knew It would of been a fantastic distraction but did not want a penalty. Almost every single person I met on the course was encouraging and we cheered each other on as we passed each other. By Mile six I really wanted to turn around and go home LOL I could not get cooled down and the sun was beating down making it worse. If only we had some shade!! Like the bike, I was basically alone for the entire run. It was hard to want to continue on. My right foot hot spot was hurting really bad. I just pressed on and did a lot of really fast walking. I was not alone. I made sure I took the salt tablets and ate Gels that Hammer had provided at the aid stations. I felt I could not get enough to drink. My husband came out on my bike at mile 10. He told me all my friends had been cheering me on via Facebook and that he was so proud of me. He also told me we would be coming back in the morning so he could enter the Sprint distance race. He said watching me do this race inspired him. I told him I must look like death and that I couldn't wait to see the finish line. I finally saw the area where we turn to run to the finish. People that had gotten done and packed up were walking back to their cars all stood to the side and cheered me on. It was a great feeling to see all the smiling faces and hear all the clapping and yelling for me.

When I turned the last corner I could see the finish line I do what I always do....no matter how far I had just raced I ALWAYS sprint as fast as I can across the finish line ..people went crazy to see someone out there sprinting when they knew how tired and hot I must of been. The announcer picked up my number on his screen and yelled out my name and where I was from and congratulated me.... I crossed the finish line then stopped to have my timing chip removed and a beautiful medal hung around my neck. It was a great day and I was glad it was OVER!!!!! I felt that if this years weather had allowed me more running and biking OUTSIDE then I probably would of had a better finish time. The biggest factor plain and simple was the fact it had reached 89 degrees and we had zero shade during the entire race. I found out many people ended up dropping out and ended up in the medical tent as heat casualties. Thanks to Todd, Anna, Rod, Graham, Cassowary for always having something positive to say and cheering me on from all over the world :-) I have returned back to work which means I had to move out of my house and I come home on the weekends. We work horrible hours that do not allow time for anything but a shower and some sleep before having to be back in 8 hours to do it all over again. The worse part is the area we are filming in has the BEST TRIS in the state!! Tons of lakes and amazing bike/run areas...Might have to bring my bike up! I am going to try and work out when I can but my sleep is precious to me! Me and my husband are signed up to race a Sprint Tri next Sunday.... right now the only thing I am worried about is the swim...it is open water in a river that I have never seen....after running 15.1 miles and biking 56...a sprint Tri sounds SOOOO GOOD!!! I will pop in here whenever I CAN! We wanted to go biking today but it is pouring down rain with 20 mph winds and is suppose to be this way tomorrow as well. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Easter!!!!







Edited by Pixiedustlady 2014-04-19 5:44 PM

Pixie you are so awesome! It sounds like you did an amazing job adjusting your pace given the extreme conditions.

Great story, thanks for sharing, it's very inspiring!

Edited by cassowary 2014-04-20 8:10 PM

Great Job Mike. By the way 1:56 per is not slow. I am in that area and usually finish in the top 1/3 of swimmers for Olympic and Half Ironman distances, and no worse then top 1/2 for sprint distances. Great Job again, because your swim has come a long way since last year.

Hey, new to this forum. I'm set to race in August in Aptos CA in a sprint. I too have tons of trouble with becoming breathless swimming and have really appreciated/enjoyed reading all the tips regarding. I'm only able to swim 50 yards and then stop and catch my breathe. If I had to guess I'm using far too much legs. I'm following the 20 week sprint training program posted on this site and I look forward to interacting with you all on here. Have a great day.

Welcome to BT. Swim Improvement as I'm sure you have read has a lot to do with just simply swimming. The more you swim the better and faster you will get. As you continue to grow in ability you can fine tone and practice proper swim technique, which will also make you faster. Let me tell you this and I'm not saying that it is true for everyone but don't think that you have to take x number of strokes between breathes to be a good swimmer. I breathe every stroke and have for years, it's what works for me and what I likely will continue to do because perfecting my stroke would do more for me then less breathes.

Also just to let you know all the Groups are about to end at the end of this month but new groups will open at the start of May. I leave my group going until the new ones start and will likely Mentor again in the next one.

Welcome to the group!! Your post is close to my heart as I was born and raised in Santa Cruz and graduated from Aptos High School. My father and brother live in Aptos!! You have made me homesick for sure!! Welcome to a spectacular and motivating group. Todd is the BEST mentor ever!


Pixie

I've fallen into two overuse-injury pitfalls within the same week! Here's my stupid story...

Running:
I had been running 1-2 times per week for several months, and my distance typically ranged between 1.5 and 3.0 miles per running event. My cardio and legs were started to feel very strong, so I decided to kick things up a notch by increasing my mileage to between 3.0 and 4.5 per running event. After my 3rd workout at this higher distance my calves and Achilles tendon started to feel tight, but no red flags went off in my head. I rested a few days, but it wasn't enough, because 1 mile into my next workout I strained my lower calf and now I can't run.

Swimming:
As a result of not being able to run I thought, 'let's kick my swimming up a notch!' Awesome, I bet you can see where this is going. So Day 1, I swam a mile non-stop for the first time ever (yay!). Day 2, I did a bunch of pushups and pull ups for the first time in months. Day 3, I swam 1/2 a mile nonstop and noticed I felt pretty fatigued - but once again no red flags went off in my head. Day 4... no swim workout, because my shoulder blades were killing me and they're still killing me 3 days later. I'm pretty sure I've developed some tendonitis.

Bicycling:
Since I can't run or swim, I went for my first outdoor bicycle ride of the season. I can't wait to really kick things up a notch! Just kidding, I will take it easy while I let the rest of my body heal.

SOOOOO, please be careful not to push yourself too much. There is a fine balance that must be respected.

Cass sorry to hear about the overuse injuries, but at least you know why they happened and how to prevent them in the future.

I have always found it funny / sad how stuff like this happens. We have to work really hard to develop and stay with the routine of working out. Then we get in the routine, start really enjoying it and the accomplishments, which makes us want to work harder and do more. Then we end up with overuse injuries, which sideline us and dang near take us all the way back to the start and having to rebuild a routine of working out again. It is such a fine line between doing enough while pushing, without pushing and doing to much to put us back to square one.

Get better man.

Thanks Todd and Anna.

While I have some downtime healing, I have some gear questions...

SPD or SPD SL Pedals?
I currently have SPD pedals, but my SPD clips are attached a road bike shoe. I don't think this is ideal. I figure I should do one of the following:

1) Stay with the SPD pedals, but get a Mt bike shoes for a recessed cleat so that I can jog at T1
2) Get new SPD SL pedals and new road bike shoes.

Any thoughts?

I just wanted to pop in and say hi! I've been horribly absent for quite a while now. I've been reading the thread, and had an occasional run now and then, but I've completely fallen off any sort of real training.

I've had a pretty stressful personal situation come up, and when I get stressed I don't really function. Go to work, come home and sleep =/ Not the best way to deal with stress. It looks like I will be making a pretty big change soon, assuming I find the courage and nothing pops up in the next couple of weeks. Ideally I'll make this move and be able to get back into life. I hate seeing so many days pass by where I feel like I'm not really part of the world.

My first tri was supposed to be this weekend =( I'm so disappointed in myself that I let my training fall apart to where I'm not going to be able to do it. I've never swam anywhere close to the distance, and although it's only a sprint, the swim is open water and I really don't feel I can finish even that leg. When I signed up for this one I also signed up for one in August. My goal, starting in May, is to start training for the August Tri. I will complete a tri this year.

I've ridden my grandpa's bike just one short time. I've never ridden a bike with the clips or cages on the pedals and it scared me a bit! I kept thinking that if I fell I'd just hit the ground b/c my feet are stuck in the pedals. I'm really looking forward to riding it more.

It's so awesome to see everyone's progress!! I'm proud of you guys, and it motivates me to get back into things as soon as I can. Good luck to everyone who has an upcoming even, and keep up all the great training! ^_^

Shannon

Edited by tweets_4611 2014-04-23 5:04 PM