Scott's Mentor Group-Closed for training. (Page 32)

Good morning, all!!!

Happy fathers day to all you dads! This is my second one and it is great!

Paul, nothing but props to you my friend. That is a great accomplishment and an even better report. To picture a large man on a bike with snot plastered to both sides of his face makes me laugh. I have the same issues when riding. I run out of places to wipe my nose. I will have to carry tissues or a rag when I go for a 100 mile ride. I have a century ride on my goals for next year and I know I have a lot of work to do.

It was a good week with mixed results. My training schedule has been solid the last 4 weeks. I am having the best consistency since I started. This is the best 4 weeks I have had. I haven't missed a day except Sundays (physical/mental rest day). This ishaping up to be my best month. I am constantly seeing improvements in my running and swimming. I am not seeing improvements in my biking short distances like I want/expect. I feel like I have a good, not great, engine. I can go longer distances and maintain a decent pace. On a 25 mile ride though, I feel like I should be around 18mph average and I am sitting at 16. I went 40 miles last week and averaged 15mph. I am struggling mentally on the bike. I am curious to see what happens next Sunday morning when I exit T1.

My race is next Sunday so I will spend the week doing short distance training with medium intensity. I will throw in a few bricks- Mon-swim/bike, Tues- bike/run, Wed- swim/run and then a ride thurs, a short run friday. I'll rest saturday. Crush dreams on Sunday.

What is everyone doing for father's day? We did family day yesterday because the wife is working today. We went to a waterpark and out to dinner. It was fun.

Few things. 

Paul:  That is a monster effort.  Thanks for sharing that report.  

Troy:  I had a three hour long ride today.  I was thinking about your issue with nausea. , because three hours is a long time to be doing one thing.  http://www.sea-band.com/  Sea bands.  They may sound hoakey, but I've known some people who have been helped with these.  The apparently apply a light pressure to pressure points that have long known to help with nausea.  Anyway, just a thought.

All:  I had my longest ride ever today.  Three hours, 59 miles.  19.5 mph.  Felt good after that one.  Hope all you dads had a good father's day.  

Paul - amazing ride and story.  You will always remember that one!

I swear by ear plugs in open water.

Had a good race today, got to the podium with a #1 finish in clydesdale division - crushed the other big boy's and their dreams!!!.  Would have finished 3rd in 45-49  if I had done age group.

Swim getting better, ride was great and run was acceptable (hilly and all times were slower) but could have done a little better.  1:24:50 for .5 swing, 13 ride and 3 run.

Feel great and had a great fathers day.

Back at it tomorrow!!

Do any of you guys have a computrainer or have ever used one?  

I am thinking this may be my next big investment ... I really have no desire to put myself at risk training on the road with al the cars here on Long Island ... a group ride or group training I will be down for but I may be done with the solo rides.

I volunteered yesterday at a sprint event (I had registered but with the clavicle I can't compete yet - they gave me a deferment to next year since I volunteered) ... part of my responsibility was making sure the first 5 bike racks were being set up correctly - first rack were high school competitors.  The next two were elite and then started the AG'ers ... so I chatted them up as they racked/prepped.

2 competitors, one girl and one guy (the girl ended up winning an finishing 8th overall) both told me they no longer do any road training on the bike - zero.  Both had competed at the Quassy 70.3 and done well and have other Olympic and HIM races for the season - both solely train on Computrainers after too many friends had gotten hurt/hit by cars/crashed.  The girl told me she took out her bike only twice - both just to test her shifters/mechanics on a short ride of under an hour but that was it.  The guy said he changed his wheels and rode around his block before driving to the race.  This sorta didn't swing right with me so I went across the street when I got home and spoke to my neighbor.  She has done a bunch of HIM's and 4 IM's ... she told me she also stopped road training years ago - after a friend crashed in a training ride and 7 more bikes crashed into her ... and then swore it off completely after a local multiple ironman finisher got hit by a car on a 100 mile training ride and then had a stroke ...

She stated that the computrainer can prep for climbs and so forth and that if a race course offers a ride through only that would she ever partake in - she did the Lake Placid training week twice and said it was worth it.

Any thoughts guys??

Good morning, all!

Hope all you dads had a good one! I did!

Scott, impressive ride. I would be happy to average 20 mph or do a 59 mile ride. Doing them simultaneously is a good achievement.

Jeff, way to go on the 1st place finish! Are you tempted to try the AG division?

Paul, I have seen/read about computrainers and know people that do them regularly. We have a tri store here in Lexington that is pretty awesome- treadmills, computrainers, endless swim tub. I can't afford two memberships right now (local Y and tri store) but would kill to go there and workout with other triathletes. Anyway, those computrainers are awesome however I would miss being out on the open road. People here use them more in the winter. One of the reasons I love this sport is because it gets me outside. I do need a trainer so I can get my slow a$$ moving! Do those people you mentioned run on a treadmill inside also? Reminds me of an old classic Seinfeld....bubble boy.

This brings me to the topic of practicing a road course for upcoming race. I have a race in July that has a practice day for the road course. Would you take advantage of it or do you like the element of surprise? I like seeing it for the first time but could cut my time if I know what is coming and where to exhurt my energy. Thoughts?

Heading to the pool today for a 450 yard swim then a 14 mile ride. It's race week baby!!!

Good morning all!

Taking a rest morning today ... no run or bike. But I'm going to get back into the lake after work. I'll be taking in ginger extract today and will swim with ear plugs. We'll see how that goes.

I've been given that wrist band tip by another person as well, and will try that if today's approach does not yield better results than Saturday.

Scott: You have my morning ride beat by 6 miles. Nice ride!!

Paul: I can't imagine not riding on the roads. If I had to train exclusively on a trainer, I wouldn't be doing triathlons. I can't stand training inside, but do it during the winter because I don't want to lose fitness. I don't subscribe to the "those that have crashed v. those that will crash" camp. I think bikers can stand to be me significantly more aware on the road to avoid accidents and crashes. This is not to suggest that those that crash are careless or that I'll never get hit by a car or crash myself ... but taking it exclusively indoors is not, in my opinion, the answer. Especially if you exercise to enjoy being outside like I do. With the scenery around here, I can't imagine keeping myself inside on the bike.

I was hit by a car while riding my bike as a kid. I was out of school for 3 or 4 weeks and I still have a nasty scar on my leg from the accident. Those things happen and they're sad when lives are lost. I'm far more defensive of a rider as a result. I'll continue to drive defensively and hope for the best.

I second that - some areas are crowded but drivers are courteous and other areas (most of the South Shore of Nassau County) are incredibly dangerous. I can deal with the traffic passing real close on the left, its the people rolling through stop signs or pulling out of their parking spots without looking that has almost killed me several times. 

- David

David ...

My typical loop takes me through the 5 towns (heavily congested) then across a bridge and into the beach areas (was not bad in March, April, May) but now its a hot mess and going across the Long Beach bridge and through Oceanside was never comfortable before I wrecked.  I am not the type of guy to get spooked or panic but I have 2 little boys that I don't want to be afraid to follow my footsteps and enjoy riding ... may turn them off if something happens again.

My Aquafit group does Sunday bricks and with a group I would be more comfortable - my brother still wants us to head out for 5am rides so we will see (the only day I can ride with him is Sundays).

As far as running goes - if I had to run on a treadmill exclusively I would never run again - my neighbor (the ironwoman) runs 5 times a week - two nights with her training partners, two nights speed work on a track, and one night on her treadmill.  While she runs the treadmill her husband rides the trainer and they chat for 2 hours (they have 4 kids) ... guess that works for them as "together time" 

I live in the 5 towns and you nailed the issues exactly. I have started changing my cycling routes to only do early AM rides and only with a group. This past Friday a few of us went from 5 Towns all the way up to Kings Point and once you cross Sunrise Hwy its like a different world. 

I agree with you about the treadmill, I actually find the area to be great for running and I usually run from my house, over the Atlantic Beach bridge and then through the various boardwalks (Atlantic Beach, Long Beach, etc) depending on the distance. 

- David 

Paul-I have never used a trainer but I will speak to the LP bike course issue. You can take this FWIW as I have never rode on the course and I don't plan to unless I am participating in IMLP on race day. I grew up in that area (about an hour from LP) My school district did not include LP but did include Wilmington, Jay, Upper Jay and Ausable Forks (all on the current bike route). As a result of knowing many people in the area and LP having many of the area's events and also 5 years of doing homecare in the area I have travelled those roads a lot. I have always thought that was a dangerous place to create a bike route. Especially the part we called The Notch between Wilmington and LP. It is a narrow, winding road with a river on one side and a steep incline (think mountainous) on the other. In order to widen it, they would have had to blast. It was narrow and dangerous with just cars on it. To make matters worse it is incredibly winding and seriously fun to drive quickly-something you can rarely do because some poor terrified-to-drive soul is always crawling along that road very sloooooooooooooowly. Because of this there is an added risk of some people who are in a hurry or just having a good time passing in a no passing zone. Now they've made it more narrow to add a bike lane and many bike 2 or more across. It is a bad situation. And that's just one part of the course. Last year, I was travelling through the day before IMLP and saw a bad bike accident on the Keene descent. The road is wider there but again, bikers were riding 2 or more across and passing each other. It was really a mess. It's not worth it to me to take that chance for a mental edge on race day.

I do think that some of it depends on where you live. The day I rode with Scott in VT, I noticed that the motorists were really great about giving us space and letting us merge with traffic when we needed to turn. At home, this is not the case. I'm careful about where I ride because of it. It may be a case of finding a safe place to ride even if you can only get there sometimes. For me though, some of the joy of riding is in being outdoors so If I have to ride slower on a MUP and dodge kids, and dogs and senior citizens (a typical ride for me) I'll do it. It may not help my speed but there are other parts of my ride that make up for it. I do think that as I increase my distance this may become a lot harder.

What was even better was when I dropped my chain going about 4mph going up a hill and I managed to unclip before doing one of my 0mph fall over crashes.  It dropped to the inside, easy fix, but I almost bit it about 2 hrs into the ride.  

Most of my rides are on a trainer.  I get out on Sundays for my long ride.  Most of the time solo.  Riding here is great.  I have rarely had any problems.  Andy Potts, a professional, rides almost exclusively on a trainer.  He does pretty well.  

Ashley - Yes, I am very much considering Age Group and my next two races will be 45-49.......and I have put a few pounds back on - hovering around 225lbs (net -15).

Felt good about yesterday but the hills impacted the times.....so today I did a 10 mile ride - a pr of 28:34 (21MPH - yea) and a 3 mile run.....started with a 7 minute mile then walked so I didn't get hurt and then did a 7:40 and then an 8:30.......ok maybe I just wanted more out of the mileage than I got yesterday...

This feels better - OWS tonight with ear plugs and on a plane all day tomorrow to rest.

PS - a local tri club sucked me into a local race this weekend......stilla sprint - only sprints this year to manage health....Is this a healthy addiction or.......

Question - high cadence or high gears lower cadence for the bike?  I have been training for high cadence at  the suggestion of my bike shop guy.  He is sponsored and has been for years and is just a biker.....

Then I read this....

In short, high cadence saves muscles at the cost of greater aerobic stress: “Optimum cadence” is the point at which price balances benefit. As a triathlete, you are training to run after the cycling portion. But running on tired legs is much like cycling at high power outputs: The legs are already weakened, and the scarcest resource is a rested muscle. Attempting to run with a more forceful, longer stride rate in a triathlon will quickly lead to disappointment – the tired legs have nothing left to give. So just as a cyclist needs to increase cadence when working at effort levels at which the leg muscles begin to be significantly stressed, so too does a triathlete need to increase running stride rate to preserve the run muscles.

This implies that running will need to draw on fast twitch fibers if the runner is to run at a high stride rate – which in turn implies that in a triathlon the athlete needs to preserve
these fast twitch fibers until the run begins.

In conclusion, the most effective cycling style for triathlon is to“grind” it out in a big gear rather than adopting a higher cadence because low cadence cycling against a higher
resistance:

• Fatigues fast twitch muscle fibers while preserving slow twitch fibers
• Caps heart rate due to the slow contractions and high resistance
• Consequently conserves glycogen stores and draws more on fat as a fuel source

Thoughts or experiences?

Good morning, folks.

Hope everyone had a marvelous Monday. I took the ole bike down to the lbs and got her a once over before the race Sunday. I have a mechanic there that I really trust/like and he was showing me how to do some fine tuning on my barrel adjusters. I had a new chain put on.

2 questions- What pressure do you keep you tire inflated to? I do my mine at 100. I have been wondering how much of a speed difference tire pressure makes. Yesterday, I had my tires at 100psi and I was rolling. I did 14 miles at 17.42mph. That included wind gusts of 20 mph! I think I am going to crush BIG dreams Sunday at 7:08 am when I get on the bike and it is not gusting. I swam my 450yds at 7:53. Little slower than last week but acceptable. Need to give it a little more push on Sunday.  

2nd question-  can you change a tube and get back on the road? I am not great at it. I could get it done but it would not be fast or pretty. I don't practice (need to!) and have been very lucky with no flats while out riding. In a race, could you change it and get back out there to finish? USAT rules says you can't get help.

Gonna do a bike ride today with a short run after. I love race week!!!

That is both specific and optimistic (the part about the wind not the dream crushing-I'm sure you'll crush lots of dreams).

I keep my tires just over 100. I figure I lose a little, though when I remove the pump.

I could change my flat and keep going but it won't be fast. I did have to change one just before a race last year when I flatted trying to remove my pump. I've heard that they do make some kind of fix-a-flat for bikes. You might want to look into it. I've never used it so I don't know how well it works.

I inflate my tires before every ride to 120 or more ... look at what the limits of your tire/tube are.  I have found I get much better speed when I max my tire pressure.

Do you have a small saddle bag or bento box on your bike?  For the distances I have done (not being overly concerned about nutrition) I have had a under the seat bag - my bag has a spare tube, 3 CO2 cartridges, the inflator cap and my tire removal tool.   The front tire is way easier to switch than the rear but if I get a blowout I would always hope it be the rear and not the front (for safety reasons - I can better steer a rear blowout).  I have never blown in a race but if it happens I will be ready and if I stay calm can do so front or rear in less than two minutes.

Now for Olympic and HIM I will be reconsidering how I do my nutrition and may mount that dual bottle behind the seat - if I do that I think my bento box can still fit enduralites, two eFuels and my tire gear ... 

My body is still somewhat shattered by my long bike ride Saturday ... will do a slow 30 minute jog with my son today just to get loose and will aim for a pool/jog day tomorrow. 

My thoughts for me on this are that I get a higher power output if I drop my cadence to between 80-85 rather than 90 and above.  I run easier and feel like I have more left.  There are some pretty high profile triathlon coaches that recommend a lower cadence as well to run better of the bike.  I can't think of his name, but he coached Chrissie Wellington.  I'm pretty sure he advocated for a relatively low cadence, which she maintained while competing.  

I've used perpetuem.  I like it much better than Gatorade.  For longer rides I make it more concentrated.  They recommend drinking plenty of water with it, as do I.  My mouth gets pretty pasty if I don't, but I have had no GI issues with it. 

First off, if I chimed in on this with my own opinion I'd be talking out my butt because I don't have the experience. However, when I got my shoes, and fit, at my LBS I was talking to the guy there that I really trust and value his opinion. He was a professional rider and is getting a little older, like the rest of us, and runs the shop now. His opinion matches up to what Scott has stated, the target cadence is the magic 92 but that's really out there for the riders focusing on centuries to avoid the bonk. This is especially important for little riders who are very sinewy. If they bonk they are completely cooked so they have to maintain the high cadence to avoid this as much as possible. He also stated that BIG guys like myself, have a tendency to try and power through things on the bike, which at an Oly or sprint distance we can get away with but when the distances start getting up there you will definitely bonk if you don't work on this. He also stated that the typical target for triathletes should be 75-85 (75 for beginners like myself, I think he was just being kind and this should really be 80 as Scott stated.) So that's what I've been working off of.

Father's Day was good for me! Got in a 30 mile ride, bricked it into a 10K and later banged out a 1200 in the pool with my sons. All in all a great day.

Got my bike safety checked for my race this weekend. I have my little sticker and I'm ready to go rack my bike on Saturday. My wave goes off in the water at 7:44 AM on Sunday. Time to do this for REAL, enough with the training!  Not sure about "Crushing Dreams" but I do plan on "Crushing Fears" over this stupid thumb! On a good note? I'm guaranteed to get a PR this weekend! WOO HOO!!! (first races are good that way!)

-Matt