QuincyF and Oriolepwr's Magical Mys-tri Tour for Newbies Has Begun (CLOSED) (Page 31)

BIKE PORN!!!!!  ya       Red like chaindropper.    cool!    Red gets you like 1 mph  faster just by itself.       Bronze is the best deal.     

Yvonne   You have been really working it!!  skip the run tomorrow and swim instead!    This is one of  good things about triathlon.  JUST swim, and stretch/roll      If they are still tight(ish) when you run again, then run easy/sloooow   shorten the distance.   It'll be ok.  Let them heal up a bit.     Also   ICE!   the clay Ice pack that Tom got works very well for shins  etc.   I have one as well.  

Time for me to hit the gym!  some running, then see my  pals in spin.

 I REALLY need to get on my actual bike soon.  I have not been on chain dropper since Ironman!!!!   It still has all the stickers etc on it.   heh     

Don't worry, swimming with my trainer tomorrow to get some tips, run on Saturday.  I'm sad because I found the perfect trainer and she's moving away! This is her last week, Waaahhhh!!! Watch out because now I'll really be bombarding you all with questions!!!

Oh, your first baby, it is breathtaking! May you ride many happy miles on her!!!

Definitely second the easy/slooow part...or was that sloooow? Also, I have been doing some of this guys stuff and am LOVING it...he can be a bit corny, but I am really digging everything he's doing...check it out, you won't be sorry!!!

make sure you post pix and name when he/she comes back from the shop...

Actually, this is my second.  My first was a Nishiki 14 speed, also red.  It is steel and over 25 yrs old.  Fortunately I bought my Cannondale (I always wanted one- made in US) in 2007 before I lost my business.  I could never afford it now.  I love it!

Hey All- While I haven't been posting, I have been reading...  Tons of great info out there.

I just started my olympic training program that I got from the site recommended.

One oddity is that they suggest that you stay away from bricks.  My issue is that While I definitely can afford the time to get up in teh AM early and do one lengthy workout, I DO NOT have the time to do 2 work outs in a day with one in teh AM, and one in the PM.  Realistically even if I did have the time, one of them (likely the PM) would simply not get done.

What I am curious about is why they suggest to stay away from bricks... Doesn't it make more sense to do bricks so that you can start getting the feel of doing these things back to back?  For instance, I know I can bike 10 miles, and I know I can run 3 miles, but doing them one after another feels complety different.  Wouldn't it make more sense to get used to that feel and build from there?

I suppose since all I can do is bricks, I don't have much of a choice, but perhaps there is some sort of damage that I might do to myself that I am not aware of that could be avoided if I were to break it up.  I don't know.

Any insight would be really cool.

Thanks-

Mark W.

Bricks are a specific type of workout designed to simulate a race...so the goal would be to quickly go from your bike workout to your run (5 minutes or less, 10 for Ted so he can pin on his race number). The idea is that there is a special adaptation that is achieved making you better able to run off the bike. The other school of thought is that it is better to get a solid run workout so you should run when fresh to achieve better run fitness. Neither of these arguments really apply to the average age grouper athlete, or even to most elite age group athletes. We don't have all day to workout, shower, rest, eat, workout, etc...that is for professionals really. And the finer tuning that that kind of day brings is for iotas of performance gain. 

For us it is far more important to get most of our workouts done every day (consistency). Newbies hear discussions about things like bricks or aero position or flip turns or whatever and get wrapped up in that minutae and lose sight of the big picture which is just train most every day and try to stick to your plan.

I stack workouts (not necessarily bricks) because I don't have all day to spend working out. Simple as that. You should too, it makes sense. AFA doing bricks or not doing bricks, just do what your plan says, and don't worry about resting in between two workouts if you need to get them done. You may want to do a couple of bricks for one reason, and that is just to understand what it feels like to run off the bike. Also, for me, it helps me calm down in a race as I tend to come off the bike like a bat out of hell and run way too hard. Mental training is important too. But if you never did a brick in your life, you would still achieve your potential in a race based on your fitness...OK?

Does this help? Do you need more info? Bottom line is, this is one of those "Tastes Great...Less Filling" kind of arguments that will never be agreed upon. And like I said, for us mere mortals, it is inconsequential.

Your repsonse definitely helps.

I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something bigger that may be obvious to others that I was completly missing because I am too bull headed or somethign like that.

Ultimately, i woudl absolutely agree that getting in the workout and train is more important that specifically how you do it.  I just want to make sure that whiel I am doing this, I am not straining myself in some way that I am just too new to understand.

Thank you

MW

You're doing great...it's a valid and thoughtful question and I am sure if you needed to know, probably at least 1/3 of this mentor group was wondering the same thing! Thanks so much for checking in...

What's that? Oh, today is random question day? Great!

- new to clipless pedals, um how do I work bike shoes into my transition? Put them on in transition, then run with my bike making tap dancing noises?? Leave the shoes clipped in, run in my socks?  Yes, socks, I love my socks, no barefeet in bike shoes or running shoes, my socks make my feet go 'ahhhh' every day

- on a similar note ^^^^ what about at dismount? I can barely clip in and out now so I don't see myself unstrapping while moving and just pulling my feet out

YES!!  Well that's how I do it. anyhow.   In T1 I put them on and clip clop to the mount line.    Then at dismount I clip out and clip clop run till I re-rack the bike.     It is a bit slippy to run in the bike shoes. 

Many people do have their shoes clipped in and run barefoot.    I feel that for me, it just adds a complexity  that I don't want to deal with.   I believe it would actually COST me time.   So for your first tri,  go ahead and tap dance!!   I mean you will be having a great time,  might as well dance            In the future you can always add that to your skill set.    I never have. 

Socks-   My first 2 seasons I used socks 100% of the time.       1/2 way through this past season,  I stopped using socks.  it was no biggie.   Saved me some time!!         I'm thinking this year for sprint/oly distance  I will go sockless.     But for the 70.3   I'll use them.       The longer the event, the less transition time matters and the more comfort does matter. 

Nice to see you posting again Mark! 

I'm feeling the need to "cook"    YO  Mr. White!!

Thanks for keeping me in.

Truth be told there are 2 things going on for me....

1-  I have been very sick, and on business trips for a while now (means my progress is slower than dirt, if not total reversion).

2-  I am almost intimidated by the progress everybody else seems to be making, and here i go barely able to ride 10 miles and run 3 (forget the swim part).  Everybody else seems to be makign some big strides toward goals, and I am relatively stagnant.  Don't get me wrong, I am not throwing a pity party, I am just stating that I really haven't had cause to post my less than stellar performance.  That, and the patriots lost, so I assumed I would get a load of plop because of that as well.

Anyway, I haven't gone anywhere, and I read this regularly (daily if not more), so I have been taking it all in, but just not posting.

Thanks
Mark W.

Ya know, since you guys turned me on to this, I've instituted the talking pillow in my staff meetings.

hey now...I resemble that remark.

Do we need one for the group???

Did 47 minutes on my bike, legs and butt hurt.  But the 3 egg, pork roll, american cheese, and tomato omelet was delicious.  Pork Roll is from Trenton, also called Taylor Ham.

I should have posted this on the "learn from our mistakes"  post.     This is  RE: 2010 Chicago marathon    I had run the marathon in 2009 as well as my 1st.  In 2009 it was really cold and I only had two GU's.        In 2010 it was  HOT!  I didn't realize that the heat can really affect how much GU/nutrition you need.   So knowing I could get one GU on the course, I only took one with me that day.   ya ONE! 

So this is what happened:   I posted this the day after in the marathon thread.     Lesson learned just bring extra GU  

One funny thing that happened.

unlike triathlon events.  The Chicago marathon had ONE station with gel's   which i took.

Around mile 19 I was in Dire need for another...   I was looking/hoping/praying for one.  then i saw it.   There was a spectator that had a gu in her hand.   she was not offering it to anyone. in fact it sort of looked like she was hiding it.  but i saw it, and I had to make it mine!      I really think she was planning on giving it to a runner relative of hers.   but it was too late.    I saw it and took it from her, as i ran by.  she seemed really surprised.  hell I was surprised i did it.     then i realized it was double espresso flavor.  yuck!!   but i needed it and took it down gleefully.   it helped me for a bit of time, bit alas it only delayed the onset of crampzilla.     yes it was nasty out there.     carnage everywhere.    no pr for me. but i survived to fight another  mary soon.