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stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL (Page 30)
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 2009-02-27 11:24 PM in reply to: #1896958 |
Master  1547   |  Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULLmy nightly dilema is...since this will be my "HIM Rehearsal", should I go tri shorts or bike shorts. Seems like a small thing but over 56miles I wonder??? And the other...race wheels or training wheels?? Edited by sax 2009-02-27 11:25 PM |
| 2009-02-28 1:39 AM in reply to: #1896958 |
Member 8 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL Good morning Steve, I am all ready! I am starting a training program for the oly I am doing in May this coming week. I have my new pedals and shoes, a great pair of nicely fitted running shoes, and a pair of fins will be on their way shortly. I can't wait to get started. In tri clinic the other day we went over swimming drills and got timed on the 200yd. I am rather slow (5:30 for 200yd), but I am going to get a little one on one training today to help me. At least the coach said my stroke was good! I just have to put in the time on drills now and practice not lifting my head so high when I take breaths. I also have to do my long run either today or tomorrow. Six miles this time. I was really shocked when I ran 4 miles last weekend. I did really well (for me) and felt really good afterward. Although it did take me an hour. To keep me motivated I made my husband ride his bike next to me. It really helped. If I keep this up though I will no longer be an Athena by the end of this year. I have also added a 10K to my race list. I thought this would be good practice for the 1/2 marathon. The only thing I am struggling to figure out is how to fit all this training in along with a full time and part time job and school. Wish me luck. I am sure I will have a lot more questions in the next few weeks as i am getting adjusted to the training schedule. Have a great day! Patricia |
| 2009-02-28 8:13 AM in reply to: #1987263 |
Champion 10618  | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL PATRICIA!! Yo! Welcome back! Sometimes, when people disappear for a spell, I wonder if their life has temporarily smothered their training into submission, but that hardly sounds like the case for you. And, you've been a very busy beaver, quietly and systematically collecting all sorts of nifty toys. Pedals! Bike shoes! Running shoes! Fins! So there I was, kind of concerned about you, and all along you've just been merrily crusing along under the radar! One-on-one swim instruction -- often one of the best things a start-up swimmer can do. Please let me know how it goes/went, okay? It's funny how that works - how a person's stroke can be good, but there are those Other Things that get in the way. Most people - or at least those who comment - tell me I have a beautiful stroke, and that's all well and good, but it just points out more clearly that there are things happening below the surface that undermine the overall effectiveness of my stroke. And that is what I have spent literally years working on, with incremental progress over time. HOWEVER, I have known lots of people who have just swept right along the learning curve, knocking off improvement after improvement, refinement after refinement, and within a relatively short period of time emerge as highly competent swimmers; hopefully, that will be the case with you! The drills are good -- tedious as the day is long, but oh-so-good. The best advice I have on swim drills is to do them slowly, even to the point where you stop at the end of every length and pause to think about what you did that last 25 yards, what it felt like, and maybe how you can improve it the next 25 yards. At this point of the off-season, yardage is far less important than working on technique, so if you can keep yourself disciplined enough to do the drills slowly and methodically, they should pay some good dividends. I like your husband, devoted sherpa that he is!! You're lucky to have a willing shadow on (at least some of) your longer runs. And it's good that these earlier runs are nice and slow, be that by design or out of necessity. Your body is having to adjust to the distance, and it probably really doesn't want to deal with having to bop along at a fairly rapid pace as well. Going from 4 miles to 6 miles is a bit of a leap, so if you are feeling anything suspicious in the last mile or so, think about slowing your pace or maybe just bailing at that point; going into a walk-run sequence is fine, too, if that's what your body is requesting. I think you'll be fine, but I'm saying that just in case. And the 10km -- FABULOUS lead-up to the half-marathon! Can you give me the dates for those, please? If you are looking to perform well at the half-marathon, then a tweak of that approach would be to get a second 10km in there, with the first being sort of reconnaisance, and the second being a chance to experiment around with pacing. Of course, you can do this quite easily during your training runs, so, really, adding a second 10km race is just an indulgent tweak. Finally, I definitely wish you luck about balancing training with the other of life's essentials! I wish I had a magic pill for people about that one, but I don't. The only thing I can offer is that, over time, it seems to get easier as one learns how to more effectively compartmentalize the training into their broader life. Also, try as hard as you can to keep it all fun, which really means to not beat up on yourself when you are forced to miss workouts. Keep the training-related stresses as low as possible! Looking forward to hearing about the swim one-on-one and the long run!!  |
| 2009-02-28 8:36 AM in reply to: #1987223 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL SAX- Good, tricky questions, both! Without 100% commitment on either, I say go with full race rehearsal for both. It is easy for me to say that about the tri shorts, because I have been blessed with "sits bones" that don't seem to be affected by lots of miles with minimal padding. I wear DeSoto tri shorts for everything I do on the bike, and have done this for all except the first month or two I started biking, when I wore conventional bike shorts (still DeSoto, though) with a larger chamois pad. For you, now is a good time to get the feel of how your tokhis will respond to 56 miles. I would say that's almost an essential. If there are any problems, namely saddle-sores or general chafing, that arise today with tri shorts, then you have time to figure out what you did to do to negate the problem on race day. (Remedies? BodyGlide or a chamois cream work for most people.) Having pecked away for five minutes on the above, I am re-thinking my position on the wheels. On the positive side, it's good to have a sense of how they will feel and what they are capable of producing in terms of performance over the 56 miles. On the negative side, all it takes is one bad encounter (there are about 173 from which to choose) to ruin a wheel. I wrecked a race wheel the day before Atomicman, in '02, when it got lodged in an expansion joint of a bridge. It got bent some, and even though a mechanic tried to get it back to true, and thought he succeeded, it gave me misery the next day at the race. (That is a whole other story.) Beyond that, I've popped spokes on good race wheels, although that is often easily repairable -- but sometimes not so easily with Hed wheels. I am very lazy about switching out my race wheels during race season. I put them on, and then just don't bother to put in my training wheels unless my races are at least three weeks apart. This is bad of me, and I think I should resolve to do about 200% better this year - and every year hereafter! So, you definitely want to know if there are any faults with the race wheels, but you don't need 56 miles to make that assessment. I know you are concerned about keeping the race wheels in the best condition possible, so when you put them to trial do it along a route that is usually pristine -- no pothioles, no bridge joints, nice wide shoulders. See how they do going up, going down, going flat, and giving that they are expensive high-performance babies, assume that they will deliver on race day. (Training wheels are like being in the on-deck circle with a weighted bat --- or something like that?  ) I'm looking forward to the post-ride report! |
| 2009-02-28 8:42 AM in reply to: #1987026 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL GRACE - Good first result, and probably a good plan to try it again. Multiple sample sizes are always useful, so what the heck - do it every other day between now and April. No more joshin' around -- yes, another go at it would be good. Make sure you're as rested as possible going into it, and it will be interesting to see how it compares to the 191 value. (It may or may not be much different.) That is a WICKED pace!! Sweet Mother of Mercy! (Sure you don't have a Canadian machine, set for kilometers?? ) |
| 2009-02-28 9:40 AM in reply to: #1987392 |
Regular 111 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL stevebradley - 2009-02-28 9:42 AM GRACE - ... Multiple sample sizes are always useful, so what the heck - do it every other day between now and April. ...YES SIR! And no, I don't have the kph and mph mixed up. My husband got ultracompetitive after I did the MaxHR test, and he did 17 mph, but couldn't last the required 2 min. This MHR thing certainly has got us talking. |
| 2009-02-28 1:54 PM in reply to: #1896958 |
Expert 745 Bethesda, MD/Northern NJ | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL So I think I broke my bike  I got home at 2:30 and was really excited to try and get in my ride outside this afternoon (despite the fact that its a little chilly!), so I got dressed, and was getting my bike ready. I wanted to put some more air in the tires before I headed out - and I think I've messed up the valve somehow The tire is completely flat now, and there is no air going in. I can't even tell where the air is going! The valve thing is a little crooked looking- which worries me. This is going to be a really embarrassing thing to go into the bike store over... |
| 2009-02-28 2:44 PM in reply to: #1987507 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL GRACE - I've changed my mind -- between now and May would be best. (Up to just April is for slackers.) |
| 2009-02-28 3:03 PM in reply to: #1987771 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL JESS - Welcome to the world of faulty stems!! You have now entered travelled by thousnads before you. See that well-worn path? I've trod down it more than once! It's a good thing that tubes are relatively inexpensive! With my sorry history of flats, along with the odd valve that isn't cut out for the job, I've run through a swack of tubes over the years. I know that doesn't help you get out on your ride, but it's an easy repair that will NOT cause your bike shop to rolltheir eyes in your grenral direction. I'm no ace at this stuff, but I'm guessing you've either damaged the tip of the valve (which is what it sounds like), or possibly the other end of the valve has pulled away from its contact point with the actual tube. (A third option is that, if you don't have rim tape installed, the tube flatted when it was inflated high enough to come in contact with the rougher or sharper edges of the concave wheel/tire interface. Sometimes that makes a big loud pop, other times it's just a sudden deflation.) If you've got an extra tube, try doing the change yourself -- but once you get the old tube out, check to make sure there is rim tape there. This will look like either cloth or shiny plastic, and what you will NOT see is the actual wall of the wheel, which will be metal and likely interspersed with indentations that mark where the spokes are attached to the outer part of the wheel. It is these can lead to punctures if there is no rim tape to protect the tube from them. Fear not, Jess! This is fully fixable! Let me know how it gets resolved, okay? |
| 2009-02-28 3:05 PM in reply to: #1986698 |
Member 51 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL Well, the house is "being" built, we're not really helping. With the price drops lately, couldn't help but not do it. My shin still hurts. I talked to a PT who was thinking stress fracture now. I took a week off again, and first day back running it hurt again, but not as bad at all. I'm still doing the karate stuff, so that helps with the overall just keeping active. Might swim tmrw... |
| 2009-02-28 3:05 PM in reply to: #1896958 |
Expert 745 Bethesda, MD/Northern NJ | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL Woo! Fixed it myself! Through the help of the internet, this YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5K-DXt9djA), and Zinn's book, I have successfully changed my first tube! I'm really glad I had the help of the internet and the book and did this in the warmth of my own apartment. If that happens to me during a race, I'll be done for since it took me almost an hour to fix it, haha... I'm sure thats something you pick up over time... |
| 2009-02-28 3:15 PM in reply to: #1987850 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL JESS again - More nutrition stuff! I am on a list serve (correct term?), or maybe it's just a yahoo group, that is at [email protected]. I tell you this because of a recent exchange with the title "Triathlon summit?", and it involves both Hammer and Infinit. If you can track these posts down, then definitely look at the ones from Steve Born and Brian Frank, both dated 25 Feb. The one by S.B. (good initials!) addresses stomach distress during training or racing, and is probably worth your time to read. Let me know if you can't find these. They are in my email inbox, and I might ask Lynn if she knows how to post them to the group here. If not, I can maybe get them to you - Hey! Likely when I send the powders! (BRILLIANT thought!!!!) That would be easy, as I've already printed them just so I can keep them as "hard copies". |
| 2009-02-28 3:20 PM in reply to: #1987855 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL ERIC - Hmmm. Shin pain that morphs into a stress fracture - I was there, Jan. '00. I will open up those sealed chambers of my memory that store the specifics of what I felt and where, and I will get back to you about this. But with the PT suggesting a s.f., definitely do not run on it until you get a fuller diagnosis. (Mine eventually came via a bone scan, as an x-ray doesn't always show them, but a bone scan will.) I'll get back to you about this very soon. Hang in there! |
| 2009-02-28 6:15 PM in reply to: #1987819 |
Regular 111 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL stevebradley - 2009-02-28 3:44 PM GRACE - I've changed my mind -- between now and May would be best. (Up to just April is for slackers.) YES SIR!
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| 2009-02-28 9:09 PM in reply to: #1896958 |
Master 1547 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL Ride today was great...but I didn't get in the full 56 due to darkness. I wasn't feeling the 5am wake up so I postponed. Looks like a little too much. But things went well and I did a quick transition run and learned why we call them bricks. For nutrition I had 2 bottles of HEED that I drank from each lap. Afterwards I drank the whey protein and I feel great. Now time to get ready for dinner...we're going out for cuban food tonight.
 easy transition run about 5 min after bike. Legs felt like bricks but got better...ran faster than I thought I was going. | |||||
| 2009-02-28 11:24 PM in reply to: #1988765 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL SAX - Masterfully executed! That is just about the perfect distance and pace for a first run off the bike that was ridden for 36 miles. You earned that Cuban food, to be sure! |
| 2009-02-28 11:27 PM in reply to: #1988971 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL JESS - Yippee! You're now part of another august club - the Changed-A-Tube Club. Righteous! Soon, maybe even tomorrow, I will say a few things about flats and how they have plagued me over time. Some times I've won....other times I've lost. |
| 2009-03-01 8:10 AM in reply to: #1988972 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL THINK SUMMERY THOUGHTS? Form the website of North Coast Multisports, near Cleveland, I have just learned that the water temperature of Lake Erie is 38F. (I guess that's better than 33F, right?) |
| 2009-03-01 11:24 AM in reply to: #1989182 |
Expert 745 Bethesda, MD/Northern NJ | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL stevebradley - 2009-03-01 9:10 AM THINK SUMMERY THOUGHTS? Form the website of North Coast Multisports, near Cleveland, I have just learned that the water temperature of Lake Erie is 38F. (I guess that's better than 33F, right?) Hard to think summery thoughts when the DC metro area is expecting 6-10 inches of snow today! I'd estimate that that much snow will shut the city down for at least 2-3 days? People around here go CRAZZZZY. I am so happy to have finally changed a tube - I was worried that my first time would outside. You're totally right Steve - I think I damaged the end of the little valve - the part you unscrew to make it loose. I looked at it closer once I got the old tube off and the tip is definitely sticking out at a weird angle. After that, I followed Neil's lead and rode inside on the trainer for half an hour. After that, I went outside for an hour - I wanted to do an hour and a half, but like Neil, I ran into darkness and had to hurry home, where I did another half hour on the trainer. It felt SO GOOD to ride outside for the first time in forever - it was cold but nice to be moving fast (ok fast for me - 16-17mph, haha). I also rode outside for an hour without falling over! I've been mostly on the trainer so far with the new pedals, so I felt very accomplished. Since there wasn't much traffic, I practiced getting my water bottle out and drinking, but I still feel like I'm going to lose my balance doing that... Any tips for that? |
| 2009-03-01 1:47 PM in reply to: #1989182 |
Veteran 481 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL stevebradley - 2009-03-01 9:10 AM THINK SUMMERY THOUGHTS? Form the website of North Coast Multisports, near Cleveland, I have just learned that the water temperature of Lake Erie is 38F. (I guess that's better than 33F, right?)
It's snowing in Atlanta today! |
| 2009-03-01 3:09 PM in reply to: #1975560 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL REVIEW OF PAST WEEK'S GOALS (1) First two-hour ride on trainer. CHECK. Did that Monday, then followed with another 90 minutes on Friday. (2) A few sessions of short intense work on rollers. CHECK. If "a few" can really be two, I did it. One was 45 minutes, one was 55 minutes, so those don't count for "intense" - although in a way, all roller sessions are intense. (More on that in a later post.) (3) Start building back run strength. NOPE. The Achilles is not yet ready for prime time, although my doctor told me on Thursday that it would be fine. I did a tentative mile on the 'mill Tuesday, and it was quite sore Wednesday. But by the time I got to doc Thursday evening, it was feeling good - and with neither swelling nor crepitataion. So, I will give it another go in a day or two. Keys to indoor biking tolerability: good instructional videos, or mindless TV or videos. My fare this week for six total hours on the trainer and rollers included: parts of several hockey games; MMA; "Judge Judy"; "Survivor"; the horror movie "Vacancy" (mostly with sound down, eyes averted); "Hell's Kitchen"; "Maury" (nutso paternity test conflicts!); other dross that I happened to surf across and through. (But it's all good if it helps the seconds tick by!) Hmmm. Looking at the list and reflecting on the quality of the viewing choices, I can only say that it's good that my body is getting stronger, because my mind is turning to mush! |
| 2009-03-01 3:17 PM in reply to: #1989751 |
Veteran 481 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL Any nutrition goals I may have had this week just went out the door when those Girl Scout Cookies were delivered. Damn those Thin Mints! |
| 2009-03-01 3:27 PM in reply to: #1989450 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL JESS - Nicely done on that ride! As for the water bottles, get it so you can do it with your eyes closed - literally. As you sit on your trainer, reach for them without looking, and then without thinking. Get it so you know their location like you know the whereabouts of your own nose. Are they behind your seat, or on the down tube or seat tube? If the former, get the reach so you do it without moving your upper body at all - just your arm, pivoting and extending. If on the down or seat tubes, then just focus on moving your torso as little as possible. Ultimately, though, just a bit of practice will make it second-nature and safe. And as for the bent valve, have you tried unbending it? Often there is still life in these after they get bent (which is very common and easy to do), and unbending them can be done either with your fingers or with pliers, gently. I will maybe share some flat-fixing horror stories at some point, but for now I'll just tell you the following. Prior to my first half, which was Timberman '01, I spent the several days of my daughter's tour of colleges with an extra wheel with me. In the evenings, while sitting in a motel watching TV, I would deflate the tire, remove the tube, put it back in, re-inflateand repeat the process over an over and over and over. I cheated with the inflating, using a stand-up pump rather than the tedious frame pump. I guess I got okay at changing tubes, but that hasn't stopped me from having two disasters with flats during races. ANYHOW, practice is good, and I think you should be very pleased that you figured this out so quickly yesterday. I owe you a gold star!! Jess, have you looked into CO2 cartridges yet? If not, do so. You have a lot of confidence about gizmos and such, and CO2 cartridges are incredibly quick and easy to use. Now, having said that, I'm not 100% comfortable with that technology, simply because I'm a technological nitwit. But you - you're good at that stuff, so ask about them at your bike shop and give it a try. |
| 2009-03-01 3:28 PM in reply to: #1989759 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL MINDY - Girl Scout cookies come but once a year.... (Same with the snow there, I hope!) |
| 2009-03-01 3:49 PM in reply to: #1987857 |
Regular 111 | Subject: RE: stevebradley's Mentor Group FULL ThatGirl - 2009-02-28 4:05 PM Woo! Fixed it myself! Through the help of the internet, this YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5K-DXt9djA), and Zinn's book, I have successfully changed my first tube! I'm really glad I had the help of the internet and the book and did this in the warmth of my own apartment. If that happens to me during a race, I'll be done for since it took me almost an hour to fix it, haha... I'm sure thats something you pick up over time... JESS, Wow awesome! I'm impressed! So far I've been depending on Spencer to do everything bike-related for me. He put together my bike, changed out the cranks, etc. I think I used to know how to swap out an inner tube, but it's been at least 5 years since I did that.
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