kenj triathletes in training - IM and HIM focused - Closed (Page 34)

I am thinking about going down to Madison to do the IMWI bike loop tomorrow morning. I hope to do the loop twice. It will be a slow pace as I do not yet know the turns (of which there are many!), so will be consulting the map often. Sounds like the weather may cooperate.
A good 2 mile swim this morning (following the blue lines).
Also have to pack to go canoeing in Canada in a couple weeks (can't wait!). Hoping that will serve well as my taper before the Door County HIM in July.
Thanks for the bike shorts suggestions; I will try them out.

Todd

I meant to say if anyone is interested in meeting in Madison tomorrow to stumble through the loop directions let me know.

Todd

My coach is taking a group of clients up there on the 27th and running SAG. I'm sure I could hook you up with them. He's here on BT. LMK

Good luck on your HIM's tomorrow Ken and Bill!!!! I hope the weather cooperates for you!

Edited by robingray_260 2013-06-28 12:24 PM

Good Luck to everyone racing this weekend...hope the weather cooperates!

Hope you had a good race Ken, and a good weekend for all! i had a pretty solid HIM. Well, at least a solid bike/run, and good weather. I'll post a report, but happy with 5:43:xx given the course, etc...

I finally tested changing a tubular under race conditions. the good news is that I got it changed, and the spare worked like a charm. The bad news is that it took me 19 minutes, with a lot of curses, sweat, and a bit of whining. I can cut that time to about 1/3 of that by REALLY prestretching my spare. Just streaching it once wasnt enough. It seemed to un-strech itself. I need to keep the spare on a rim whenever I'm not racing with it.

I have been doing a run/walk since early last year when my PF started. It works wonderfully for me. I use a 3:30/:30 interval which is kinda weird, but it works for me! I run faster too and more importantly, when the PF was really bad, I could still walk the next day!!

Ken and Bill - Congrats on what sounds like great races. Looking forward to the race reports and more details! Who else raced this weekend?

So, I picked up my custom orthotics this week. I am not sure what to make of them. I have only worn them for a few hours walking around at the store, and I am not sure if I like them. I know they said it will take a while to get used to them, but they just feel so ... different? I have not run in them yet and am just not sure how that will go. Anybody have any experience with them that can tell me what to expect??

I am so excited that the Tour started! I am a total addict. I was working on my computer yesterday, but I had the live coverage on yesterday morning, the replay right after the live coverage ended, and the show in the evening!! I have the live coverage on now! I will be sad when I have to go to work tomorrow!!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Karen

I have custom orthotics and HATE them! I wore them for about 4 months continuously so I gave them a fair shot. The insoles felt like they were pushing in on "the spot" on my heal. After I ditched them and went with an expensive pair of OTC insoles my foot started improving.

I hope they work better for you!!!!!

I am a tour junkie too!!! Yesterday was ummmm.... interesting.

Edited by robingray_260 2013-06-30 6:00 PM

Nice job on the HIM's Bill and Ken - can't wait to read your RR's!!!

I had my first encounter of the year (and the first ever on a trail run) with a bear. I was on a popular hiking trail and only about 1/2 mile from the nature center. A girl past me running and she scared a smallish black bear from behind a tree right beside the trail. I was right behind here and stopped as it was only about 15 feet away. I tried scaring it away from the trail by yelling and waving my arms b/c the trail was full of kids, but it didn't seem to interested to move. Wasn't acting in any threatening manner so finally left it in peace. Was good practice getting the bear spray ready though! Saw a fox and a moose on my MTB rides last week.

Great race result Ken! Sorry that you got the rain that missed me.

I posted a RR but happy to go into more detail on the race offering. I would definitely do this one again.

Robin - You live in an amazing place. Funny...I think I'd be fine with the enormous wildlife, but I'm too scared to go mountain biking.

Nice job on the races this weekend Ken/Bill!

Robin....I think I'm a kind of a redneck deep down, cuz I think I would enjoy a good excuse to carry a weapon with me everytime I leave the house!

Karen, I have no experience with custom orthotics. I do know that some of the OTC ones hurt me in certain shoes. It seems if the shoe has good arch support already I don't need to wear the orthotic. If I do it presses agains the sore area and gets untolerable.

I have to agree with the red neck within post... Definitely a reason to carry my fire arm.... just don't know what holster will work good for running with a Glock...

Be careful with replacing a tubular and tight corners... Back when I bike raced, I saw multiple tubular tires roll off the rim during tight corners... These happened when someone flatted during warm up and would replace the tubular right before the race....

I had a good workout on Saturday... It was not very long but it is what I would consider quality. I just built a new tri bike so that was its maiden voyage.. I had to adjust a few things, but the bike ride was basically a steady pace for 25 miles.. made an effort not to go too fast with the thought of running 4 miles after the ride and staying on the aerobars as much as possible since this terrain is not very flat.

At the end, it all worked out well and most importantly, I got a better understanding of pacing the bike to prepare for a run. The two races that I have done I was fast on the bike, but then had zero on the run..

Great job everyone on your racing and training this weekend! I am now 8 weeks out from my first Ironman and I am so glad to have signed up for this forum--all of your trials, tribulations and successes help keep me motivated!

I had a pretty good weekend of training--skipped my 8 mile run Friday night because I was feeling tired, and I'm okay with that because I had my long run to do Saturday morning instead of Sunday. Did 14 miles and felt pretty good. In fact, ran a little slower than I could have in the second half because I was with a friend who was struggling a bit. Later in the day did a 23 mile ride on the single speed, and was actually feeling really tired, but at least I got the legs spinning (plan called for an hour and 15 minutes of high cadence spinning).

Sunday morning I headed out to the local "hills" in Central Florida and did a 21.5 mile circuit 3 times. Each circuit included 2 trips up the "big" hill (Sugarloaf Mountain), one trip on a short but steep one called "The Wall," and one trip on a road with 3 consecutive short but steep climbs. The rest of the circuit consists of small rollers, so it's as close as I can get to simulating the Louisville rolling hills course. I rode it solo, even though there was a large group of friends riding it, but we all went our own pace so I did the 64.5 miles on my own. Changed the cassette on my bike from an 11-23 to an 11-28, which allowed me to stay seated on the steep grades during which I would normally stand up for leverage. I've been advised that for the IM, staying seated and taking my time on the climbs will work best for having the legs to actually run the marathon and not be reduced to the death march.

I must say I am a little bit discouraged because I don't think I'll be able to hit the 6 hour bike segment that I originally planned. Two weeks ago I did 76 miles in 4 hours, though that was with a group for 60 miles of the total (I hung off the back to avoid drafting as much as possible). Yesterday in the "hills" I only did 64.5 miles in 4 hours. So I might be revising my IM goal.

After the 4 hour ride I did a 5 mile brick run. That started out well, but when I turned around to head back to the car, the wind was at my back (so nothing in my face to cool me off), I had a really steep climb in the last mile and the sun was HOT. So I was fairly depleted after all that. Again, a bit discouraged because I kept thinking if I feel this depleted after 5 miles, how will I ever make 26.2 hot miles? Any advice on that from those of you who have completed full IM before?

Ken - Good job on your race!! This is not your A race right? You have another one soon...rock it!

Karen - no experience with orthotics, and I do know from reading that it does take time. Give it a month, and if it causes more trouble than it's worth, then seek another way.

Becky - Smart on changing out your cassette...it definitely will help with the hills when you are seated. For a ride that's long, if there's a short hill, I tend to power over it standing up, just to get another set of muscles working, but any other hills I remain seated and just spin. I haven't done an Ironman, but I've done so many different hills, and extremely long hill rides. Many people tend to push too hard on the hills and they bonk half way and can't go as hard/fast for the rest of the hills.

as for your run feeling depleted - What's your nutrition like from the last hour on the bike? Could it be that you didn't take enough electrolytes? How about food wise? It's possible that you went out too fast at the beginning (runner's high, being glad to get off the bike, etc), then you just kind of fell apart. Pace yourself...go super slow at the start. It may feel really good, but pacing yourself at the start of the run will determine how you'll do for the rest of the marathon. Too fast, you'll blow up. FWIW - no ironman for me, but I often see posts that people just fall apart after a little while on the run. You mentioned in your logs that you probably didn't take in enough calories...if you think that's the case, and you don't get GI upset after eating solid food prior to the run, take in a Fig Bar (I highly recommend Nature's Bakery that's available at Costco). You should have few more bricks prior to your Ironman to nail this down.

Anyone else can add or change to what I mentioned...I don't want to give bad advice if I'm completely wrong!!

Here's hoping the weather will cool down some so I can get in some rides this week! :-) Husband came home after being in NJ for a month (business trip). It's been 117 degrees the past few days...140 degrees in the car (I know, I measured!). So many people had to be treated for heat stroke/ heat related issues. It's ridiculous! I stayed inside pretty much the whole time.

I'm gonna do a 4th of July ride....Ride out from Menchie's (FroYo place) to a casino, watch the Fireworks display from there and from Las Vegas strip, and ride back. How cool is that?

Have a Happy training week everyone! I'm going to *try* to ramp up my cycling by joining another group rides, but it's kind of difficult when I have two night rides smack dab in the week, and I don't get home until 10:30ish, which can leave me tired to get up for a 6-7am ride. Oy vey...choices choices choices...