SWBKRUN MENTOR GROUP - OPEN (Page 34)

CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hugging you soon!!! And packing my FLEECE!!! The mornings are gonna be CHILLY!

That's it, boys and girls!  Packing up and heading out.....hay's in the barn, is what it is, and all of that.  Not sure if I'll have much computer time up there......but Maybe Kyla can post updates!  My bib is 1068 and Jeff's is 2618.  We'll also be on the myathlete site, like Suzy was.

I'll be thinking of you all - while pedaling in the snow, breathing the smoke, avoiding the bears, puking from altitude sickness, and fighting off hypothermia.

I'm also on FB - way too often - friend if you'd like!  Linda Schwender Nollette

THANKS!!

Where do I sign up?    Roger   

Just starting out & having some people / some one to ask questions would sure be a huge help!   

Thanks, Roger 

(does this go out the whole group?)  

Oh my, I'm a day late and a few dollars short.  I know of one chica who's going the distance this weekend.  How about the rest of you?  Who's going to REPRESENT? (I choose blue because it reminds me of the water at TAHOE!!)

Looking back over your season....what went well?  What are you proud of?

Welcome Roger.  This does go out to the whole group.  You will find a wealth of knowledge and some craziness here on the mentor group.  The only thing we ask of new people is to give us a short bio (check back on the first few pages to see the ones we posted).  It's also helpful if you make sure your logs are open so that people can view them. 

I'm racing this weekend.  It's the last 50k of my Dances With Dirt series.  This one is in Hell, Michigan.  Planning to pick up my buckle at the end of the day.  I've had a good taper week, good diet, well rested, trying to get the knees settled down and ready for 8 hours of trail running.  The ultra distance is probably 30% training and 60% mental.  It's all about making adjustments, working through the discomfort and pain, enjoying the people and the environment, and not giving up.  Oh, and you have to take your nutrition and hydration seriously.  My goal would be under 8 hours, but just finishing would be great too! :-)  Here's a link that will give you an idea of what I have in store for me this weekend. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paUqfMpFQdA&list=WL9A5F39B9520ABF25

Carry on.

No racing here. Good luck Linda and Jeff! Rock that race!

I am just starting my taper period. Then in a week from Sunday I will be toeing the line in Augusta for My first HIM. I think when I finish that will be what I am most proud of. I am also very very proud of my wife for running the ship while I trained all summer long. I am also proud that I stuck to my plan and remained injury and pain free.

No racing here.   Best of luck to Linda, Jayne and David!!  ("represent" means you are racing right David?).

My training is what really went well this season.  I was finally able to add intensity to both the bike and the run and remain injury free.  On top of that, I know that I still have room for improvement which is really a motivator for me.

National Level Cyclocross race at the TREK World Headquarters for me this weekend.  Should be an interesting weekend and really give me some gauge on where my fitness is at this point.  

Good luck to all those racing....  REPRESENT!!!

"Looking backover your season????"  The season just started???  

Big weekend for Linda and Jeff, I'm really forward to following you, should be an epic day!

I'm at the beginning of my season, last season ended with a successful IM so I was very happy with that. It's given me the freedom to relax this season and concentrate on improving my weaknesses, becoming a better swimmer and having fun.

One big success has been moving my saddle up (as per the John Cobb formula) and thereby eliminating my right kneecap pain that plagued me during my running all last year!

Just checked on Lake Tahoe, I think there might be some course changes due to the snow!!!

I had a great day yesterday.  I didn't get to the campground until 9pm, and it was raining, so I opted to sleep in the back seat of the car instead of setting up in the rain and then having to deal with wet gear.  Not the best night's sleep I've ever had, but I was up at 4am to make my coffee and oatmeal.  The race started at 6:15 and the first hour was in the dark. Everything was damp from the rain overnight, but the temps were comfortable and the trails held up to the water quite well.  I soon made friends with a woman and her husband who were setting a great pace.  They were probably in their late 50s and they were doing 50 miles.  They dropped my around mile 25. 

The first half of the race went really well and king of flew by.  Miles 15-25 were REALLY REALLY TOUGH.  There were sections that went off trail, with a LOT of steep hills, a 1/2 mile section where you ran upstream in the river, and some muddy areas.  The last 6 miles were easier (as far as the trail), but I was just tired.  As I checked in at the aid stations, I noticed my Garmin was not showing the same mileage, but I was just trying to hold an average pace of 15 min/miles to get under 8 hours. 

My right knee was screaming in the last couple miles, but I was thankful that it was the only problem I was having.  I had no cramping in this race.  My hydration and electrolyte supplements did the trick.  The end of the course brings you out on a hill where you can see the entire finish area, so I paused for a few seconds and soaked it all in.  It's been a tough, yet rewarding year, in many ways.  I came in to the finish line and looked at the clock 7:53:40.  2nd in my age group.  I think it was the first 50k where I didn't cry until it was over. 

She's got less than 10 miles to the finish line!  Can't wait to hear the stories.  That had to be EPIC!!!!  GO LINDA GO!

Where are you tracking her Jayne?   On Athlete Tracker, I only see her through 9.4 miles.

Yep...that is what I see now too.  Go Linda!!

Linda is incredible. But we already knew that. She and Jeff are so awesome and inspiring and it was such a GIFT to spend the weekend with them!!! I'll let her share in the details about the lead-up (yeah, we sat around taking pictures of snow Saturday afternoon), T1 (needing to change but no space to do it!), cold and hilly ride (words can't describe), and an incredible but chilly run. So proud of that woman. In spite of our best efforts, Zach (her son) and I missed both her and Jeff's finishes. And it took us more than an hour to track down Jeff after the race -- it was a farce how we kept "just missing" him everywhere (finish, massage tent, food tent, warming tent, medical [wasn't there, thankfully], transition...). To all IM spectators: Find a way to charge phones mid-day. It is really, really hard to stay in touch with, track, and find people when technology fails you!!

The IMLT course will go down as Epic for years to come. Looking forward to reading lots and lots of RRs. Everyone has a story about yesterday.

An no, not for one minute did I contemplate signing up for 2014. No way, no how. Linda on the other hand... :-)

DONE!!!!

I'll work on a rr - it's gonna take pages. Having Kyla there was huge...Sherpa extraordinaire!!

The race was epic.  An overused term, but I think it fits.  I may have a new record for T1 -29 minutes - and I didn't even get a mimosa.  Tents were way too small (Kyla and I noticed that the day before)  Had to wait OUTSIDE, in a speedo, barefoot (29 degrees) to get into the tent....where there were no chairs, no volunteers.  The athletes all helped each other.  I think put 4 other bras on - and somebody put on mine!  Hundreds of freezing, naked women.  EVERYONE changed completely, and many had wet clothes to change into, because it rained/snowed on our bike gear overnight.  NOT pretty.  Several I saw were pulled for hypothermia before they even got to their bikes, thanks to T1. The swim itself was gorgeous beyond words, and not cold at all.  Loved it, best part of my race.

DNF numbers range from 21-35%, depending on what you read.  I had many friends there, and several didn't make it.  Hard day for all.  I'm a 6:30-7:00 IM biker, and at 8:10ish, I almost missed the cutoff.  Brutal.

Run was good, felt strong for most of it.....skipped at one aid station, danced through 3 more, and hugged my son at his station!  Kyla screaming for me helped hugely, (ESPECIALLY on the bike finish - I could FEEL her relief that I made it, it mirrored mine - cut that one WAY TOO CLOSE.  She could have lied about missing the finish......I would never had known!!  I felt strong running through the village at the end, hope that I get to see video of it.

She and Zach got my bike and gear - in the 35 degree finish, that was super-hero status.  Then they beat us home and turned on the heat.  Rockstar.

Home, drinking an awesome wine, eating a ribeye, and my legs don't hurt too much.  I could have done more.......

Happy Hump Day! Who's going to lace up (or clip in) the shoes and represent this weekend? 

Our bad a$$ Tahoe star mentioned in an earlier post that she "could have done more".  That made me chuckle, but it also made me think.....Where could I be doing more?  How about you, could you do more?  What would it be and why?