Scott's Mentor Group-Closed for training. (Page 31)

Thanks! 203 was my peak but I'm a short guy. Got it down to 153 and not I maintain at around 157. 

- David

Good afternoon, ya'll!!

I like seeing all the good stuff going on! Good job to all you guys and gal!

Nicole- Way to break that mark. that will make you want to get out there more!

Troy- PRs are always nice. Good job.

Jeff- those are some good splits. Were they downhill miles?

I had a very encouraging workout yesterday. I did a swim/run combo because it was my day to run and wanted to measure my swim pace without dedicating a whole workout to it. Plus, that gives more more training. Anyway, my race coming up is a 400M (440yds) swim. I haven't done a speed drill since March. Last night, I did the 400M in 7:43 which is almost the same time (within 5 seconds) I did my 400 yards (365m) in March so I was happy about that. It is not drastic but steady improvement. My goal for the race was to finish a longer swim in the same amount of time and now I know I can!

I ran 4.1 in 34:29 which is a 8:24 mile. It was a good pace with the heat and prior swim. I will crush that on race day.

Overall, good workout. Do any of you guys use elastic laces? I would bet our fearless leader uses them, maybe Troy, but anyone else? I got a pair and OH MAN! I tied my shoes in my last tri when I didn't know these shoe laces existed. I discovered them later and vowed to get a pair before my next race. They will shave 20 seconds of my T1. Fiddling with shoelaces can cost precious time. If you don't have them, I would HIGHLY recommend them. Love them!

It's back in the pool today....need to do something different. I have 4 hours to decide. I might do another test and see how long 1000 yards take me.

Train smart!

This is a little weird but I don't need them-my shoes are loose enogh to slip on. I've been doing it for years and haven't really had an issue except that I do sometimes get gravel in them while running. Maybe I should go minimal.

Hi all,

Signed up for another race this weekend.

How do you plan your tri segment times or do you go all out until you run out of gas?

In the swim - do you try and jump out in front of your group or go to the side and gradually pick up pace?

My swim time can be very competitive but also want to have some gas in the tank......

Thoughts on how to approach?

The elastic laces are on my list to still purchase before my first race (the 30th ... two weeks!!).

Because this will be my first race, I don't really have any advice to give on pacing the three segments. It's a sprint, so I plan to pretty much redline it the entire way and hope for the best. I don't anticipate bonking, but my 5k run time might fade a bit. The way I see it, I really need to hold my own on the bike, to see if I have any shot of catching a few from my AG on the run. So that's my plan and I'm sticking to it. 

If it was a sprint I would just go all out from start to finish ...

I have the benefit/curse of almost always going off in the final wave as a Clydesdale.  Most Clydes are weak swimmers, also in our heat are generally the relay people and 60+ AGers ... I try to place myself near a relayer and keep on his/her feet.  In a sprint it is so short and you can churn, my 2 sprints last year I caught a bunch of the people from the prior heats (2 minute start differentials).

My weakness has always been the run (I am heavy and unless I trim big this will always be my slowest piece) ... what I love about going off in the last wave is that the elite guys are already well into the bike and I love counting people as I pass them - I had been going nuts cranking a high gear and going for broke but now that I understand cadence I can still pass people and have legs left.

Run - give it all you have.

That's my sprint philosophy ... I am sure leading up to my Olympic and HIM I will be seeking advice from others regarding the best way to tackle the added distance.

Race according to your training times.  By now you should have a good idea of what you can do at the distances for each.  Take what your fastest pace would be and add a bit of time to that.  

For me, I have to get out of my head for the swim.  I hold back too much and end up riding super hard to catch people.  This leaves me a bit fatigued for the run.  I plan on going out faster and staying with the lead group at the next race, and seeing where that gets me.  It is only a "B" race for me so I'm going to experiment a bit.  Basically:

Swim like you don't have to bike afterwards.

Bike like you don't have to run afterwards.

Run until the finish line.

Yes I have a few pairs of elastic laces. 

My core work consists of whatever benefit I get from swimming biking and running.  

ok got it......

Swim like you don't have to bike afterwards.

Bike like you don't have to run afterwards.

Run until the finish line.

I have laces too!!!

Good morning, folks.

I love the reaction to Jeff's question. Jeff, these guys are a lot more experienced than I am but I will still put in my $0.02. I like the balls out and red line it the whole way approach but I don't practice the method. I have been training so I can finish the race standing up. Like Scott said, you know your training paces. Stick with them. You will finish much better sticking with your paces than crashing with 1.5 miles to go in the run. Maybe I am different but I like to enjoy the race at a good pace. I am competing with myself and of course others but we all know we are not pros. There is no reason to go out there and try and kill yourself. Barfing or having to stop and rest or catch your breath is not impressive. Again, just my .02.

My race next Sunday is 400M/14M/5K. I typically swim the 400M in about 7.5 minutes. Race day will add some anxiety but I am still giving myself 8 minutes to finish. I have a 1 minute goal for each transition. My goal for the bike is to maintain a 20mph speed. That is a 3 three minute mile. At 14 miles, it should take me 42 minutes. I want to finish the run in sub 8 minute miles. I kow I need to finish in under 24:40. Many 5K races are out and back so I will be sure to start the watch when I exit T2. I check my time at the 1/2 way point. My 1/2 way goal is to be at/under 12 minutes. Now, I begin to push it because I have just over 1.5 miles to go and I know what I have in the tank. I can give it a little extra gas for a max of 12 minutes. When I see the finish line, I press the gas to the floor. I should cross the finish line in under 76 minutes. There is my pace setter.

That is how I do it but again, I'm a newbie and don't like barfing/crashing.

I hit the pool yesterday for a 1000 yard 'mental' race. I have been chugging along with my 2000 yard time intervals but I always take those few seconds of rest. Smetimes those few seconds get extended a few more seconds. Yesterday, i set a goal to do a 1000 with no stopping. I finished in 18:32. I am excited about that because it is my first attempt at the distance. I have a race in July that is an outdoor .54 mile swim. I am super pumped but had not swam the distance non-stop yet. Yesterday's swim gave me the confidence I needed. I need to go swim it outdoors and practice b/c the setting will be much different. ?

Today will be a 25 miler on the bike. Next week begins race distance training. I might sneek one more ride in but it doesn't matter at this point.

What is on tap today everyone?

Forced myself out of bed at 4 AM for a 43 mile ride with two friends. Made awesome time, discovered a new route, and got to hit up some smallish hills. 9 days to Philly Olympic and its time to taper so no more long rides for a week or two. 

- David 

Thanks for putting out the question Jeff! I don't even have Ashley's $0.02 to put in so I'm just taking notes frantically!

I did a nice 7 mile run this morning and have a ride scheduled for lunch time with a friend (see how much we can squeeze in and get back to the work desk!)

I'm just over a week out from my first race, it's a sprint (.6 swim, 17.5 bike, 3.5 run) next Sunday. I won't be able to get in the water to do the swim portion but I plan on doing the rest on this Sunday on the actual course. I'm thinking about doing more than the race distances but didn't know if that was a good idea? Any thoughts on what I should be doing not only this Sunday, but this week to get ready? Looking for any and all suggestions.

-Matt

I don't taper much for a sprint race.  I will maintain the intensity of my workouts, but lower the volume a bit.  This is typically what I do the week of a race.

Monday: swim normal session in morning

Tuesday:  Swim normal session in morning/Bike a short high intensity workout.

Wednesday:  Easy run 3-4 miles

Thursday: Short easy run in morning/ Bike easy 30-40 min with some 30 second all out sprints in the pm.

Friday:  Short easy run in the evening

Saturday: 20 min bike/20 min run with some strides

Sunday:  Crush dreams!

Hi Guys

Not been on for a while, but have been reading all the posts!!

Been concentrating on my running at the moment, don't feel that this is a weak discipline, but it is the one I enjoy the most and have signed up for a couple of 10k races and a half marathon!!

I have a question that I would value your input on....

I have been training a lot, still not 100% disciplined on food, but seem to have hit a plateau on weight loss, so I have been thinking about protein shakes. will protein shakes help me lose weight or will they just bulk me up further? Should you be eating anything else whilst taking these shakes?

Appreciate your thoughts

Have a good weekend

Gareth

Since I have experienced weight loss (from 245 pounds to 180 today) I will chime in on this subject. Weight-loss plateaus really could come from a number of different things and without knowing your diet and level of training and how far you have come with your weight loss it will really be hard to make recommendations. On the subject of protein shakes: again a difficult subject because protein shakes could consist of 100 calories to 1000s of calories depending on what you put in them. Protein shakes do not help you lose weight. Protein shakes simply help you consume the correct amount of protein you need easily (in shake form) versus trying to eat 10 pieces of chicken breast all day. For example if your body needs 160 grams of protein you might drink 50 grams of that in the form of protein powder instead of trying to get the entire 160 grams from whole food.

I will be glad to help you with your specific goals if you want to email me or contact me via PM. I just need alot more information to make proper recommendations.

Hi JJ

I have sent you a PM

Thanks

Gareth

Hi all,

Thanks for the thoughts - I tend to do a combination by pivoting off my training times but understanding my current conditioning.  The races are sprints so just part of my training but a HARD work out.....

Crush Dreams!  .5M swing 13 mile ride and 3M run.  Looking forward to it.

Did an easy 2 mile run this am well the final half was agressive.  Going for a 6 mile ride and then start to pack.

Happy Fathers day to all - I will do a tri and then have dinner with My dad and my kids!!

245 - 180 - I need to talk to you!  Enjoy the weekend.

Nice Pics of VT.

My grandmother has a place on Newfound lake in NH - the location of the MooseMan Tri (half & olympic), it looks similar.

Enjoy.

I posted about this on the main discussion page as well ... but I got pretty nauseated on today's open water swim trial. I otherwise felt great and was loving the buoyancy of the swim suit. Felt smooth and fast.

But man do I feel gross from the nausea. While frustrating, this doesn't surprise me, I get vertigo very easily and this is the reason I can't do flip turns. I've never done any true open water swimming ... just splashing around sort of stuff. Hoping this is a temporary thing that I can overcome with more exposure, ear plugs, or some other fix.

Ishy. 

I too get vertigo easily but have never had a problem with swimming. I haven't tried swimming without ear plugs and don't plan to. Try them-let us know if it helps.

Ok-so I had a crappy week workout-wise. I knew I would. Life + training + available hours just didn't add up this week and something had to give. Add to all that the fact that I wasn't feeling well last weekend and I had a longer stretch of crappy workouts than I would've liked.

Today, though, was awesome. I swam this morning and got my ride in and did my yoga. I feel like myself again.

Running tomorrow. Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Troy,  I have heard numerous people rave about earplugs.  

My first race I did not have an opportunity to do any OWS so I was thrust into an Ocean swim in the Long Island Sound.  I came out of that swim so dizzy I had to sit down in T1.  I did not use earplugs, but what I did was became determined to "swim" it out of me.  I swam like crazy that summer in the open water and it became less and less to the point of it no longer being an issue. I don't know if this is something that you will get used to, but the earplugs are worth a shot, and it might also be helpful to know that many people have asked about it on this site.  We'll get it sorted out.  I'm also going to bump your post so the fishes can chime in.  Let's try to get to Indian Brook next weekend before the race.  

Hey guys I am beat to hell ...

Did a 114 mile bike ride today - was supposed to be 108 but the guys I was chaining with at the time got a bit lost for a while.  I did the Babylon to Montauk ride on Long Island.

My plan was to average 17mph for the entire length.  Started at 6:12 with a group of 5 and withing 3 miles it was just me and one guy with him wanting to lead and allowing me to draft - I asked several times if he wanted me to lead and he always said no ... we crushed to the first rest stop (at mile 21) with a 19mph average (there was very little traffic) ... we were told only 15 people hit the rest stop before us ... I refilled my water bottle and my partner took off ugh ...

With 73 miles to go (mile 35)  mile 73 another 700 people were slated to join the ride - I pretty much rode alone until mile 31 when a train of 5 appeared out of a hotel parking lot - they were heading to the mile 35 start point and we began a draft line (I had slowed to 16.8 mph average on my own) ... we ended up getting lost, a few miles out of the way and someone used a GPS to get us to the start point - I skipped the rest stop (since it was mobbed and kept going).

I traded on and off with a triathlete on a TT bike to the next checkpoint which should have been 49 miles down and 59 to go but I was at 55 miles down and almost 45 minutes off my planned pace ... from here on I got crushed.  

My prior longest training ride was 70 miles - I figured despite not riding at all since May 14th and having a double ear infection I could do this ... by the time I hit mile 60 I realized my 17mph pace was a pipe dream ... my nose began running nonstop - eventually I gave up wiping it with my gloves and let it fly out of my face -  sort of made conversation limited once someone looked at me ... I found no one to chain with and at mile 65 we hit a head wind of 14 miles an hour that continued to mile 78 ... I struggled big time, despite chaining for a few miles here and there I could never get my average higher that 14.9 and was pushing 8mph and 12mph for long stretches and then the first hill once I crested I had to get off the bike, stretch - breathe - and eat/drink ... 

The rest stop with 30 miles left had pie - all I wanted to do was lay under a tree and take a nap.  Got back on the bike and within 45 minutes I had drank 24 ounces of water and 24 of gatorade ... I was parched and was facing the dreaded headwinds again, heavy traffic and a headache ... thankfully I found a resteraunt  that sold me a bottle of water and a coke (thought it would help with the headache).  

Back on the bike I was sucking wind and faced all the climbs to the finish basically a bunch of rather small hills and two big ones that if I did them alone would be fine but I was already over 100 miles, I was barely sweating anymore and my body was screaming stop - my head was saying stop too but I was fighting with it that the finish was near.  I think I averaged something like 8 miles an hour for that last 13.6 miles ... I never walked the bike, I did stop with 9 or so miles left to throw up - I decided to snort in the snot that was again flowing - it hit my stomach and came right out.  I pulled over for a few minutes to spit it all out - take a swig of water - curse the Gods ...

The ride through the town of Montauk sucked - it was crowded with pedestrians, cars, cyclists (most of us desperate to finish) ... trying to fall into single file (due to necessity) when you want to try to pound it sucks but whatever - once through town a group of 8 riders on the 154 mile course caught me - all in the same gear - in perfect precision - I was seriously impressed these guys were moving and I was unworthy to be a spoke in their expensive wheels.  

From the town to the finish there was a countdown of signs 100 down to zero as we struggled up the final 5 hill to the lighthouse ... as I rolled in my wife was at the finish and she screamed "You made it!" - I seriously got choked up ... took a shower, at a burger, hot dog and tuna wrap, an ice cream from mr softee and 2 cokes - all as part of the ride ... wicked fun though I am mess right now ... seriously need a ton more bike time (on the road) between now and my HIM ...

Stats:

7 hours 31 minutes in the saddle - how long will my bits and pieces be numb??

15.1 average speed - with a tailwind I know I could have done much better - at least until the hilly end - I would have been thumped by the hills regardless after 78 miles. Top speed 29.2

6240 feet - height gain over course of ride (granted just about any gain from mile 1 to 78 was fairly gradual except for 2 small climbs prior to the end ...

9242 - calories burned calories consumed including ride end feast 2600 (too large a defecit and why I bonked) ...

I assume I will be near crippled for the next few days ...