BamaDC's Mentor Group v4.0 - Closed (Page 35)

Not a good week for me.  Traveling for work got in the way, but got done what I could on the road:

Last week:

Travel/Vacation slowed me down last week.  Didn't get my long ride in.  Still managed a decent week, though.  Got some good trail running in on some MTB trails.  Really enjoyed it at the time...the poison ivy that popped up later, not so much.

Last week:
Swim: 4300yrd - 1hr 25min
Bike: 36.99mi - 1hr 59min
Run: 26.3mi - 4hr 05min
Strength: 50min

Man I have some work to do. It would be real nice if every afternoon wasn't clogged up with rain and gloomy weather!

I see nothing wrong with it. As a matter of fact, I do it quite often when at the lake. I generally tell the family that I'm swimming the shore, and do just that. Swim 30-50yrds off the shore and often times they'll follow in the boat or watch from land. It's pretty simple.

The guards would appreciate the heads up too. And you'll get some great experience when it comes to the surf coming sideways and sighting. I'd recommend it.

Oh, and HAVE FUN!

Nice, what part?  (meaning which part "in what part of OBX did the bites occur" not "what body part was bitten"...)

So I gotta vent.  Atomic Man has been cancelled.  I haven't received any correspondence about this.  I just happened to go to the website today to check for course maps and saw the message about the cancellation (see below).  I'm pretty upset right now.  Time to start looking for another race...maybe Austin 70.3 in October.  I don't know.  I can't make Augusta and I'm sure by now it's either sold out or will be a logistical mess due to hotel sellouts and what not.  Any advice?  I'm lucky I checked the site, I mean it's 2 months out, I'm a little shocked.  There wasn't anything in the TN forum about this either.  Starting my first HIM search now (again)...

Posted on RaceDayEvents.net/events:

"The 2011 Atomic Man has been canceled.Atomic Man will return in 2012 at a new venue. Details will be released at the conclusion of the 2011 season. There were several factor that led to this decision; including our desire to craft a half distance event with a considerably faster bike and run course. Additionally, we are concentrating many resources on our new Olympic distance race Storm the Fort. We feel launching two new races on the scale of Atomic Man and Storm the Fort so close on the calendar would risk compromising our high standards for event management. We are excited about the changes coming to Atomic Man in 2012

Again, we regret any inconvenience for those who where planning on competeing in the 2011 Atomic Man. We will be contacting all current Atomic Man registrants soon to arrange compensation."

Sorry to hear that.  You would think they would have sent something to the participants.

Augusta is probably still open.  I don't believe it sells out and there were hotels still available within 5 miles of the start (not much to choose from downtown anyway).

I've considered Austin 70.3 before, or I think B2B (which I believe includes a half) is around that time frame also.

Good Luck.

It does - I have a friend doing the half.

I'm actually considering the Howlin' Half in Jackson, MO on the same weekend.  The dates for Nashvegas and Branson 70.3 don't work.  I'm still open to Augusta but the smaller race appeals to me for some reason.  Will have to decide soon.

Last Weeks Totals:

 No swimming , but not a bad week in the bike and run area.  Run probably needs to be a bit more right now.

On a good note though, PR'd my 5k this weekend by 2 minutes on tired legs.  Wasn't planning to really race it, but went out and felt pretty good (had already run 6.5 that morning).  Didn't have my watch either, which probably helped.  Guess I should leave that at home sometimes.

Also, got in a 65 mile ride Sunday (longest for me to date).  Around mile 50 is where I started cracking a bit.  One too many hills caught up with me.  I clocked over 4,000 ft climbing (according to the PM, so not sure how accurate).  No way I could have run 13.1 after 56 miles.  I might have made it about 4, so I still have some work to do.

How was everyone's week?

As for my week, it went pretty much to plan with only 1 swim missed (shame it was a 2000m session )

Simple question about running....

I'm in week 3 of the Marine Corp Marathon Training and I'm doubting myself already

On Tuesdays we do speed work. Roughly 5-6mi total, with all but 2mi at a much faster pace. I can usually hit these pretty well and feel really well about it afterwards.

On Thursday we do tempo work. Roughly 7mi total with all but 2 at a tempo pace (MP -10"ish). I can usually hit these pretty well. I start falling apart in the CD or just feel tired afterwards. I get it done, but not as fresh as Tuesdays'.

On Saturday's is our long run. Lately, I've fallen apart and struggled. It's ugly. Last week's 9 was filled with some walking, and just a run down attitude. I'm beat and whipped afterwards.

My question is thoughts on why? I will say that on Fri afternoons, I get off work around noon and that's my ride time. I generally go for 35-50mi on a pretty hilly course (Oak Mtn for the locals) and sadly it's at the heat of the day. I make a conscious effort to keep the hills easy and drink like crazy, but I'm not sure if it's enough.

I'm guessing here, based on my last couple of weeks, that the longer ride is hurting my longer run being stacked 12hrs apart. Anybody have any other recommendations about what to do/try?

I am thinking that when this Oly is over (Aug 28) I'll keep the Fri rides to 20mi or so, so that the legs are completely trashed before the long run since the marathon is the A race afterwards. Does that seem logical?

Thoughts?

Quality run and bike training at the same time is tough.  Part of it has to be the heat, though.  For your long run I'd try to really cool your core before the run (ice cold water 10 minutes before running) and carrying something as cold as you can get it and sip on that the whole way.  I'll bet that if you keep yourself cooler you'll have better long runs. 

There was a great article in Runner's World on just this last month.  I have a copy if you want to read it.

What about moving the ride to Sundays?  That way your Saturday run isn't compromised.

As much as I love my Fri afternoon of "open time", I just may have to. I like that free time on Friday's and I feel like I'm wasting a great opportunity by not riding, but lately I'm seeing that I probably really ought to use that to get ready for the long run.

And do like you suggest for Sundays... I just have a discomfort of riding by myself unless I'm in the local state park, but I guess I need to get over that and just do it...

 4 months of this year to go and:

 Guess I've been hitting the pool a bit more than I realised this year

Based on your rate, you should hit close to 131,000m by the end of the year !

Keep at it!

HOLY 200s Batman!!

Here's an excerpt from my swim set this morning:
4x
200Fast (2:56, 2:44, 2:41, 2:37)
100Kick @15"
100Drill @15"

Ok, my 200s should not be that fast! At all! Even prepping for the 5k swim, I wasn't hitting those times. Yea, I'm bragging!

The new masters coach has made some minor changes to my stroke and whoa, it's paying off! I am blown away by that! Here's what he's done, in case you want to try it too.

Swim wide: Draw an imaginary line out of the top of your shoulders. Your arms should NOT cross that line. I was bringing my hand almost to the center line. He's had me focus on swimming in a Y shape to work on the wide entry. It opens the elbow up, allows for the straight back propulsion, and keeps the body streamlined.

Finish: I was bringing my hand out of the water at my hips and recycling the stroke. He's got me to finish. When the hand gets to my hip, add one last push (palm facing the feet) by straightening out the arm and pushing through the tricep. Then recycle.

That little bit and the times have been dropping without much more tax to the system.

Man, that's awesome.

If I could pull out a 2:37 200 I'd be bragging too! I was always under the impression that your arm should be somewhere between your shoulder and head on entry, but I might have to give this wider entry a try and see what happens.

Killer times!  And your hand should enter the water at shoulder level - i.e. straight out.