Jeff Y's Group - CLOSED (Page 33)

Welcome back Matt.  I hope the vacation was relaxing and you're ready to get back to training, especially with the running you are thinking about doing.  I am in a 40mpw stage of training right now and today's run was challenging mentally more than physically.  I too, hope to get up to 50mpw starting in August but I'll need to get my head in that game and, probably more importantly, hope the temperatures come down some.  (Like that's going to happen in August!!!!)

Brian, Congrats on the tri!!  Hurry up a get the RR up so we call see how you did.  I checked your times out for the T1 and it looks like you did have a huge run up to the transition.  Personally I think they should put the timing mat and the waters edge since, to me, that is where the transition begins.  Of course that would make the T time that much longer but I think it would be a little more accurate.

Hey, just got back from the weekend.  I had a fun race Saturday, though not a great one.  I did get to meet Jonathan, and I have two things to say about that:

1. I forget how YOUNG some of you guys are! 

2. The pictures don't do his bike justice.  That thing is SMOKING.

3. He outkicked his coverage with his fiance.  She'll be dictating to him pretty shortly, if she isn't already!

I'll get a race report done tonight I hope, but here's a quick overview:

The race was a little short of an Oly bike and run and a very short swim. Never having done one this distance, I really didn't plan well and paced everything too easy expecting I'd need to really back off in order not to die on the run.  Essentially I probably paced this about like I should do a half until about 2 or so miles left on the run.

The swim start was strange in that they let us go in 5 second intervals, and you ran down a short ramp and into the water.  I'll need some advice on how to handle a start like that because I really messed up and had serious goggle issues.  I didn't pace the bike right since driving in on the bike route made me think I needed to really conserve energy for the second half, which was a slight uphill the whole way.  I went way too easy the whole bike and really didn't tax myself at all.  The run was similar in that I went out too easy but I decided with 2 miles to go to push and finished the last 2 miles around 7:50 pace (after running about 8:40 up to then).  All in all a fun race, learned a ton about the distance, and really wish there were more races this distance around here.

Matt - Welcome back.  It's great to have some real relaxation time.  We'll all be on the improve our running journey together.

Brian - Awesome job, nothing that first one!

I agree on the timing mats.  It's hard to judge a swim/bike/run when you have to add the time for a long run.  I've done an ocean swim which had a 300 yard run up the beach included in the swim, and the race this weekend had a pretty long run out before the bike mount.  In fact, I started and stopped my bike watch when I mounted and dismounted, and that time amounted to 1:42 less than my official bike time!

Yes, your assumption is right.  It can take the form of 2x4miles per day or be done any number of ways.  You don't need a day off.  You are welcome to take one if you want, but it can be a relatively easy, relatively short day giving your body the ability to rest/recover while still running.  By running that extra day you could have as many as 100 extra miles of running by the time the training block is over and that could possibly make a difference.

As for amount of improvement, that depends.  But I would be surprised if anyone doing this didn't improve by 3 minutes over 5k.  But if you have any weight to lose, we can work on that at the same time.  Each pound of weight loss will give you 2 seconds/mile.  So lose 10 pounds and you have another free minute off your 5k time.

How much you improve depends in large part on how great your physical potential is.  I have a theory that one of the predictors is your body's mechanics.  I mean things like leg length, muscle strength, how precisely you control your muscle's timing...things that can be observed by timing you in a short speed effort.  I would suggest we try a 200 meter sprint to see how you run when endurance isn't an issue.  If you have a good 200 meter time relative to your 25 minute 5k then I would guess you will improve more than another 25 minute 5k runner with a slower 200 time.

Matt,

Just to make sure you understand that Jeff is not saying you should jump into the 8 mile days immediately.  Ramping up this way needs to be done slowly otherwise the risk of injury is increased exponentially.  I hope I have not become Mr. Obvious but I am not sure where you are coming into training and what your background is.

I am sure Jeff will have some ideas for each of you that are participating in this effort.  I will not be participating as I will already be at 50mpw when you start your efforts.  I also don't want to hold that kind of mpw for more than a month or two.  I simply don't want to take that kind of time.

Thanks Dirk, you're right.

I'm thinking we will start this September or October when everyone has had their last triathlon of the season.  Each will have a tailored plan that ramps up from where they stand at that point up to what their bodies and personal lives allow.

Advice?  Are you referring to the problem you had with your goggles?

Diving starts always have the potential to knock your goggles off.  It's not super complicated...the goggle straps should be tightened down a lot more for a diving start than they need to be for swimming.

When I go to swim practice we don't have blocks and don't dive.  So for comfort I have my goggles adjusted rather loosely.  When I go to a meet, I need to cinch them up very tightly or they come off on the dive.

It's very beneficial to have good fitting goggles.  I'm referring to the lense part fitting your eye socket well, such that they create and hold suction.  the test of a good fitting pair of goggles is to leave the strap off your head, push them against your eyes to burp some air then let go.  If they hold for a few seconds they fit well.

If your goggles do this, then all you do is give them a little press to create suction, and you need very little strap tension to swim.  For a diving start you tighten them a bit more.

Whew...took me a while, but here are my race reports:

TT:  ?http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=260153

International:  ?http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=260174

Sprint:  ?http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=260204

This was a great weekend.  It was great to meet you Warren.  Wish I knew who you were out on the course!  I agree that swim was a crap shoot.  I swam well, but could have done much better had it been a mass start.  I need a lower bib number next year for sure!  I absolutely love that bike course too.  It's smokin' fast on the way out.  Coming back up is totally worth it to me.   Too bad it's not a point to point race.  Did you find that the timing was messed up at all?  I know Sunday was a mess.  The results show I ran 7:55 over 3 miles for a time of 26:55 or something like that.  Do the math...makes zero sense.  Bike distance is all messed up too.

This was my first back to back race weekend...and this one obviously added this crazy little time trial.  Got my Lord of the Flies finisher hat and finished 54 out of 155 people for the entire weekend.  I'm excited to do the run workouts this winter and see if we can get those times down.  Maybe be competitive next year!

Matt, welcome back.  Was wondering if you dropped off the face of the earth.  Real vacations are awesome.  Hopefully you have renewed motivation to train and work and all that!

Bryan, looks like you did an awesome job on that race man!  It's tough to set goals for races you've never done before and I think it was smart of you to pick a wide range like that.  You are in a similar place as me when I was first starting.  Swim was slow...run wasn't that bad and bike was relatively good.  You must be psyched!

Am I the only person who cannot zip up their wetsuit alone, or do other people have this problem. I'm going to go swimming today in the wetsuit and I have to hope there will be kind people at the lake to help me.

Not the only one.  I don't remember if I've ever zipped mine myself or not.  Probably did once in front of the bathroom mirror.  It's not easy (not supposed to be).  So it's actually right to get someone to zip you up.

Race report is done.

I definitely have never zipped my own wetsuit.  Most people don't - I zipped two people up on race morning in fact.

Wow good races everyone! I have just skimmed the reports so far but plan on reading them later today in depth.

My sprint is in 12 days and I need a bit of advice. I think I know what to bring for the transitions and how to lay it all out and plan on practicing it a few times. I am going to print out a check list so I don't forget anything like I did last year. I forgot my bike shoes and my wife arrived at the last second before the swim start and tossed them over the barrier in to the transition zone for me. This time I am printing out the list from this site once I find it again.

One question I have is about the race number. I don't have a race belt and this is my first USAT race. Do I pin it to my running shirt ahead of time? and if so in front or back? I haven't ever swam in my tri top and am leery of trying it now and I don't think the extra 30 seconds to put it on is going to kill me.

Should I get a belt and wear my top in the swim? the water is going to be plenty warm so no wet suits. we are on day 18 of 100+ temps so no worries about it being to cold. We could only hope for coldness at this point.

I certainly won't say that a belt is necessary, but it adds enough convenience that I wouldn't want to race without one.  I'm not even talking about transition speed which doesn't matter to those without competitive goals.

The reason it's so convenient, is because of how inconvenient the alternative is.  Your tri top is tight fitting and stretches as you put it on.  This will rip the number from the safety pins.  Putting on a tri top when wet is nearly impossible.  It will probably get stuck around your body and take far more than 30 seconds to get on. 

You know what? I just thought of an alternative that I've not used, but seen used by people before.  It's to pin just the top of your race number to the waistband of your tri shorts.  When you run the number will cover your crotch, but shouldn't cause any interference with your legs.  You put it on before the race starts, only pinning the 2 top corners.  You then roll the number up from the bottom up to the top so you have a roll along your front waistband then tuck it back inside the waistband.  It will be invisible and out of the way for the swim and bike.  Then as you leave T2 you pull it out and unroll it.

The number is always on the front, not the back by the way.

Thanks Jeff, you were right I was asking for goggle advice.  I think I didn't have them anywhere near tight enough.  Usually I'm in the water putting them on and testing them out and such, but that was impossible for this event since we were waiting in a line for our turn to enter the water.

I felt like the swim distance had to be longer that 1/4 mile, not based on me but on other people's times.  Other than that I think the Saturday times/distances were spot on.  No sure on the sprint stuff.

On that vein, when you guys do race reports and see the distances are way off, do you change the distance in your report?  I noticed the Black fly bike is listed at 21 on the race report, but it was advertised as 20.5 and my GPS and bike computer both had it right at 20.55, so I believe the 20.5.

Wait...Tim, I am confused.  What are you wearing during the bike and what are you wearing during the run?

A race number belt will run you less than $5.  I recommend getting one.  It's so much less hassle.

If you plan on biking with your race number belt on, which I always do, it goes in the back.  Then you spin it around on the run to the front.

I am wearing tri shorts and a tri top for the bike and run, they are 2 separate pieces not a bib. Man I'm a noob, I thought you had to have the number of while biking and running...

I like the idea Jeff had about rolling the number up inside the shorts, hope I don't get a paper Cut!

This is exactly what I did this weekend.  I had my race belt hanging on my aerobars.  I put it on in T1 and flipped it around back.  Then when you do your T2 all you have to do is switch your shoes, grab your hat, and slide the belt around so the number is in the front as you run out of transition.  By having it hanging on your bike it forces you to put it on and then you don't forget to put it on after the bike and risk a DQ.

Yeah, some races require different things.  What's your adress Tim.  I'll send you an extra race belt.  You'll have it in time for your race.  I must have five of them.

Mighty nice of you. I will send you a PM.

I've got my first Xterra triathlon in 4 weeks and was wondering if anybody else had done one, what I should look out for, what I should train for differently than an olympic distance.

I'm a pretty good technical mountain biker and don't anticipate any problems completing this in a timely manner. This race is more for fun than anything since I'll be competing in my A race the week before and my body will probably be destroyed again.

I have no idea Ryan, look out for moose....but good luck!!

Thanks, I was very pleased.  I haven't gotten the race report finished yet, but I did get the photos my wife took uploaded to my blog.  For those of you that like to look at that sort of thing, here is the link.

http://bit.ly/nQPpeU

Well, the swim will not be a time-trial start so if you haven't started a swim in a crowd before that may offer you something new.

Mtn biking is a little like swimming in that there is a very large component of skill.  And I don't mean staying upright, but carrying speed.  That's where I would have focused advice except that you aren't new to mtn biking.

If you tend to run barefoot in your triathlon shoes, I suggest using socks in Xterra.

But other than mtn biking, the olympic distance training you are doing is ideal for Xterra.

You will have a blast!!!