Fred D's Ironman/Half-Ironman focused Mentor Group --CLOSED (Page 33)

Well, at 3:30 this morning i could no longer sleep. I layed there for about a half hour and decided to get up for the day.  Made and drank a cup of tea and then got dressed and went and did almost 8 miles running.  Had to take a potty break after the first loop as gummi bears and mallowmars did not sit well together, HAHA!!!!

Hopefully i can get a full week in this week, i really do not like taking 3-4 days to get over a fever 2 weeks in a row.

First bike race is in 6 weeks, i think it is time to turn up the heat with bike training.

Swim this morning then a 1:45 bike ride.  Most likely on the trainer this evening due to my schedule.  

That's a trick question about training for a hot race right?  lol  I do not do much in the way of anything special.  Other then be pretty careful I don't overheat.  It takes a few weeks once the heater back on outside to get use to the non-stop heat but once I do I am fine.  The problem I would have is training for humidity.  We get a bit of it during monsoon season but not that much. 

I have always wanted to bike race but honestly I am scared.  I'm comfortable riding in groups, I've done a lot if it, but racing just ups the game so much and your chances of crashing are so increased.  Especially in certain levels where not everyone has a high bike handing skill level.  I even had a chance to join a team here this winter but the timing was off. 

Signed up for the 4:30 (~10:18/mile) pace for my marathon on Sunday.

Good idea? Bad idea? Reasonable group to run with? Logs are up to date... 

That seems reasonable and maybe a little bit conservative based on your half marathon time from November.  How have you felt on your long runs leading up?  I have never run with a pace group before so cannot really comment on how effective it may/may not be.  I think you could start there and slowly build pace as you go along and/or how you feel.

Good Luck!  Have Fun.

I am thinking that might be tough so close to Ragnar, but it is plausable.  You have the volume so it is all down to how well you recovered.  I would caution against relying on a pace group though?  They are not the most reliable and they may not pace in the best possible way.  Some push the pace early and try and bank it.  So I'd maybe start with them but then I would make sure your listening to your pace and how you feel and be ready to abandon them if necessary.  I'd ask their experience level at the start so you can get a feel for how well they might do

Thanks everyone!

My long runs have been decent. My average pace has been around 11:00 for them. My 20 miler was spectacularly awful, but I was hit with the perfect storm for bad conditions (high heat index, GI issues pre-run continued into run, random nose bleed, nausea... think I worked out the kinks though!). I really want to be right around 10:00/mile, or a 4:22 overall, but I'm not very good at pacing myself, and I'm worried that's a little to ambitious. 

I've run with a pace group before, and the leader was AWESOME. He did go a little fast at first (in a half marathon), but if that happens, I should be able to slow down. He did a great job of keeping us social and happy, but I know that's not the standard

I've read a lot of reports of people first marathon, and I know they almost never go as planned. 

Don't tell the RD, but a few friends who were planning on banditing the 1/2 marathon. Instead, they are going to run most of the second half with me. If all goes well, I'll have a bit of a renewed spirit halfway - if not, I continue solo & drop them

I'm definitely in taper madness mode. But my legs feel less heavy than they did last week!!

Seriously, thanks so much for the support everyone

golfpro - 2012-01-23 2:20 PM

Rudedog55 - 2012-01-23 6:45 AM

Well, at 3:30 this morning i could no longer sleep. I layed there for about a half hour and decided to get up for the day.  Made and drank a cup of tea and then got dressed and went and did almost 8 miles running.  Had to take a potty break after the first loop as gummi bears and mallowmars did not sit well together, HAHA!!!!

Hopefully i can get a full week in this week, i really do not like taking 3-4 days to get over a fever 2 weeks in a row.

First bike race is in 6 weeks, i think it is time to turn up the heat with bike training.

Get well soon brother! I've enjoyed reading your race reports and certainly looking forward to reading all your upcoming one. I enjoy bike riding and specially racing. I have not done many but the one's I've done have certainly been a lot of FUN! You being a Roadie before a Tri kind of a guy let me ask you this- IMHO- I've gotten the feeling there is a little animosity between roadies and tri-guys? why? just curious to what is your take on this? thomas

You have read my reports??  WOW, thanks!!!  I try to make them as entertaining and honest as possible. Times have changed since the first couple of tri's (race time and life times) I did back in 2008, but man o man, do I LOVE race mornings, it is my favorite part of the whole race experience. Some of my first tri's were quite an undertaking and i was around 250lbs for the first couple.

As far as the old roadie/tri guy thing, it is 85-90% bunk.  I ride with both, heck, i hardly ever ride solo. With our groups, if you are on a TT bike (which we allow in group rides) you are good so long as you are not in aero in a pace line. And trust me, EVERYONE will yell at you if you do that unless you are at the head/front.  I would imagine some pretentious roadie pricks will have an issue with ANYONE, let alone a Tri guy riding in their group, i have encountered them myself, and i am almost never on my TT rig on the streets training. There are always exceptions.  The base fact of the matter is a lot of triathletes are poor bike handlers and not use to riding in groups, therefore they get shunned, but since my area is 50/50 Tri/Road, and most of the Tri Teams also have road teams, it is not as prevelent as other area's i would imagine. So we all get along pretty well.

I am a Triathlete first, but i race bikes because we all know fast bike splits get all the hot chicks digging you.....HAHAHAHA  just kidding about that part.

but seriously, it is just what i did well, and early on i got hurt a lot running, so i leaned toward the bike to stay in shape and lose weight, then racing was the only thing left and it had it's collateral advantages. I sucked my first year bike racing, i was horrible, i got dropped for the first 6-7 races of the year, but i learned and did not give up. Soon i was pack finishing, then a placing or two. Last year was FAR FAR more successful than i though it would be, something clicked and it all worked out.

I bike race in March/April, then May i use to get my long weekend rides in for Tri's in June-September, then i switch back to Cyclocross in late Sept-Dec. So, i do not race bikes all year, just half, LOL.  What it does do though is keep me in race shape for most of the year, so i do not have to do a ton of work in Jan-May to get re-ready for Tri's. the bad part is i get burned out pretty good by August, racing is strenuous and tough on the mind, it is hard to keep motivated/sharp for 8 months.

I’m curious…if any of you want to share…how does your job affect your training/triathlon lifestyle?

In a lot of cases, I’m lucky…at least for afternoon and summer workouts.

During the school year my morning workouts usually start around 4:30 or 5:30 depending on the workout. I get up earlier to run so Nik isn’t running alone in the dark. If it’s a bike trainer session, I get to sleep in a little longer. Unfortunately, I do not have the option of morning swims, which I hate, because swimming is the one aspect I enjoy the most first thing in the morning.

In most cases, my day ends around 4:00pm, which gives me plenty of time to get a good workout (or two) taken care of at a reasonable hour. Very rarely do I have late training nights, and I’m extremely lucky that I can start shutting down and relaxing by about 7:30 in the evenings.

One of the biggest benefits of my job is allowing an almost wide-open schedule for racing in the summer months. And of course training can happen any time, although I really like the structure I have during the school year.

On the flip side of things, the fall tends to be very tricky and limiting for me. Because of my self-owned business, I feel like I miss out on a lot of racing opportunities. The fall season is incredibly busy because the business deals primarily with high school football, and I also do play-by-play for the local radio station. So Fridays typically start about 5:00am and don’t end until almost 5:00am on Saturday morning…a hard 24-hour day working 3 jobs…making traveling and racing during the weekend very difficult…especially with a lack of proper rest.

But, I think in the big picture, I have a very good situation…which I think will be vital as I ramp up the volume in (hopefully) next season’s quest for the IM.

Looking forward to hearing what you all have to contend with and how you reach your accomplishments in the realm of everyday life.

I naturally have to deal with the heat (and humidity) from late April into October. However, I try to limit my training in the heat and do a lot of summer runs early if possible.

About once a week I'll do a run in the middle of the day, but make sure to hydrate lots prior, during, and after. I stick to water unless the runs is longer than an hour, then I will go with some sports drink. Usually after a hot run I will take in an 8oz. sports drink and continue with lots of water.

In the prep leading up to Galveston, I'll also work in some midday runs when the temperature is a bit warmer and would be about the time I'd be on the run course at the event anyway.

My job can affect my training but more often then not it actually is great for training.  I work from home and my managers are pretty flexible with my time.  So I tend to be able to fit workouts in pretty easily.  I sometimes get days like today where I get meetings scheduled that make it hard to do two a days though.  And I go on call periodically which really hampers any long distance stuff.  The bigger issue is when I work through the night and need to get up for a morning session.  I've been known to bag those.

I work 8-5 each day. Lunch is 12-1. There are no showers or locker rooms. I can get in a 4 mile run, max, because I have to drive to a place with sidewalks (driving around here is dangerous enough! I won't run on these roads!)

Commute is ~45min each way.

Management is not very flexible at all.

NOT excited about the current situation, but, it is temporary for me.