Scott's Mentor Group-Closed for training. (Page 35)

Great races, Dave and Jeff! So cool that you were at the same event!

Dave-It's great to be motivated to get better. I sometimes feel like I'm the only slow person in here when everyone is posting their times and talking of "crushing dreams" (there's a lot of testosterone in here). I try not to let it get me down. Like you, I just want to push harder this winter and maybe be able to be more than a finisher next season.

Pretty big difference.  A cycling jersey is a bit looser with rather large pockets.  A tri jersey should feel like sausage casing.  It is meant to be swum, biked and run in.  

David,  Congratulations on your first.  Always a great accomplishment.  I bet if you were to do that oly later this year you would go into it much more prepared.  The first is always a whirlwind.  As far as your off-season plan, BT has a fantastic winter cycling program that was written by my coach, Jorge Martinez.  It is an amazing program meant to strengthen our cycling, obviously, during the off-season.  

Great report.  Solid bike.  After drinking and little sleep.  You are a beast and force.  Keep up the good work.  

2nd that - didn't realize the benefits of a tri top until I tried using a cycling jersey on Sunday. Go with the sausage casing. 

- David

Ashley, I just sat her shaking my head and laughing. I love it when people complain about "only" running 8:30 miles after they've just swam and biked how far??? Reaffirms how NUTS we all are! Great race, and when you don't finish first you'll always find fault (heck after reading so many posts I think we would find fault even if we finished first?)

David, I almost did an Oly for my first tri. I don't have anywhere near the training/conditioning level you do and I admire your guts for stepping up. At the end of the day it was you're first race and you finished it. Not in the time you wanted, but now you know where you can focus and improve. Think about the first time you did anything in your life? How many times did it go exactly perfect, the way you wanted? (and for all of you out there with dirty minds I will be keeping this the G rated version!) First times are the hardest, no matter how much you prepare not having any prior experience to base it off of you're really just guessing. Hang in there!

JJ - another dandy! Look at you leaving us "fatties" behind and going AG! Good for you!

And thank you everyone for the congratulations on my first race. Means a lot coming from this group!

In regards to the tri top, I have a somewhat loose fitting one, and wouldn't think of swimming in it. It's really more of a sleeveless bike jersey although marketed as a tri top. As I've heard on here and else where, "never do anything for the first time on race day". So get one you like and try it out in training. My personal opinion was that I don't need to tie a parachute/bag to the back of myself when swimming, which is basically what a loose shirt/jersey amounts to.

Well, I got in a 2250 swim yesterday, upping the training a little now. Off to go get in a 10K run.

-Matt

Good morning, gang!

Troy, I spoke with the race director and they are coming over this afternoon to give you the 1st place trophy. The race is canceled. Congratulations! I don't think you have a 'weak' link in your racing. I want no part of you in a race.

I hit the pool yesterday for a 1000 yd swim to get ready for my 7/28 tri. Took me 18:12. Thats a 1:49/100 yd and I'll take it. That is a result from my 100 yd intervals I have been doing the last two months. Very excited about that.

Regarding practice days or course previews, what do you think???? Do you take advantage? For my 7/28 race, I have a chance to preview the bike course and ride it on a practice day. Would you take advantage of it? I like the element of surprise. I am going to go practice the swim at the lake. I don't want my first open swim to be the race.

Well, gonna hit the road today for a bike ride. I am going to switch up the training this month. I am going to do shorter sessions with more intensity one day and a longer sessions less intensity the second day. I'm going to see what kind of difference I see by 8/1. If I like it, I might continue the rest of the season through September.

What is on tap today tri trainers?

Morning, Matt.

I just had my heart set on sub 8 miles and wasn't excited about the grass gauntlet. I set the bar high in March with my first race. I knew where I had to improve and hope everything else stayed the same. I wanted to do better. I've worked hard to get better and was frustrated with my results. I never would have thought my swimming and running would be better than my biking. My world seems off it's axis!!

JJ- I don't have much advice for race day but I'll offer two things- commit to the outfit. Don't put things on when you are wet. It is hard. you'll lose valuable time screwing with a shirt/jersey on a wet body. The only thing I put on is socks. I wear a onesie so there is no need to add a bike jersey. i saw lots of guys sunday riding with no shirts. 2nd thing- never tie your shoes. Get elastic laces. Best invention ever!

Makes perfect sense now that you explained it. Guess it shows just how much of a newbie I am!

Hello All, I have been absent for a while since I'm on summer break from school!!! I dont check the compter very much when I'm not at school. That might be a problem...haha

I have missed alot of all of your accomplishments but reading through them, you guys are tearing up courses and training!! Its great to hear you success stories it really modiviates me too! Congrats to everyone!!

I've been training hard lately...I have my 1/2 Iron coming up in 11 DAYS!!!! It is going to be a tough race with the distance, heat, # of people (i believe 2,000ish). I am ready for the bike but the run and swim are going to be the real test. The swim is a 3 sided rectangle (2 very long sides) thats a long way off shore...The run is a very rolling course of 13.1 miles combine this with the heat of the afternoon sun and no shade as im told. Its really going to push me to my limits, I am planning on drinking A LOT and taking in gu's/clif bars/and whatever else the course has to offer. I'm not sure if they are doing water bottle exchanges at this race, either way I rolling with my camelback on. My goal for this race is to finish with a time of 6 hours 30 min. over panning for swim 1 hr, bike solid 3 hrs, run 2.5 hr or anybodys guess...we will see what left in the tank.

Have a great rest of the week all!! Have fun and ohh yeah take a spare bike pump with you on long rides, made that mistake today 35 mile into my ride and 15 miles from home. dont be like me!

Good morning, adrenaline junkies!

Caleb, good luck in Muncie! I have a buddy here in Lexington going up there. Is this your first one? That is exciting! Best of luck to you! Don't forget your CO2 cartridges! If you don't have any, get some!

Hit the road yesterday for a shorter high intensity ride to punish the legs. They were hurting so I know I did something right. I train on a hilly ride so it will give me good perspective. I did a 15.4 mile ride in 50:09. Thats right at 18.4 mph. There was a punishing wind on the way up but no excuses. Thats just life in KY. I am going to train on the same course this month and see how fast I can do it in the next 4 weeks. My goal is 46 minutes. That is an average of 20mph. I won't stop if I do hit the goal. If I see improvement, I will commit to this for the next 90 days until my last race on 9/23.

My race on 7/28 is a sprint with shorter distances. It is called the Lame Duck Try-Athlon. It is:

• .54 mile lake swim
• 9.1 mile bike
• 2.6 mile run

The distances look shorter than a usual sprint but EVERYONE says it is the toughest course I will see this summer. I have been told to expect pain. The name comes from people who try and don't finish. I am really looking forward to this bad boy!

Gonna run about 4 miles today and try to keep an 8 minute pace. It will be 90 degrees so we'll see. Tomorrow and thursday should hit 100 so I will go indoors and swim one of them.....bike the other?

 What you got people!?

Hey Ashley,

I'm with Troy, I'm all about getting out there on the course before it counts. It helps me to know exactly where I can really go all out on the bike and really push myself. For me, mentally knowing where and when I'll be able to recoup later in the course makes it even easier for me to grind it out big time  (unless of course grandpa pulls out to get more preparation H at the store in the middle of the race!) That's just me, maybe your jedi mind tricks are stronger than mine?

Upping the running ante, changing my 5-6 mile runs into 7 now and trying to mix in some intervals on alternate days. I'll see if this helps this tortoise pick up any speed on the run! What are your suggestions for interval running for a complete amateur? I've mixed in fartleks in the past during my runs (running all out to the next stop sign, then jogging to the next one, etc...) but think I need to do something more serious/structured. I'm figuring at least a 1-3 mile warm up prior but I have no clue what I'm doing. Any suggestions are very welcome.

-Matt

I think you'll see a lot of advice on the general discussion thread suggesting that "amateurs" (I think you're selling yourself short) who are new to running shouldn't be figuring out intervals. I happen to disagree, but stay pretty quiet on the matter in the general discussions.

But first advice would be that you shouldn't plan to be doing them on alternate runs. If you're running 5 days a week, I'd structure your weekly schedule to include the following:

1 Long Run
1 Hard workout (speed on the track, intervals, fartlek, lactate threshold run, whatever)
1 General aerobic paced run (feels like you could run forever)
2 Recovery runs (really force yourself to GO SLOW!!!! ... you should almost feel embarrassed and regularly get passed by old grandpas who ran out of Preparation H)

Fartleks are a great way to introduce speed, as you don't really have to think about them. But push yourself to make the fast interval hurt a bit and maybe extend it to 30 seconds past when you first want to quit. Challenge yourself to go to a certain landmark and then exceed that challenge. Then, rest ... but don't give yourself the luxury of resting until you feel 100% ready to start the next interval. Start when you're feeling about 75% and could really go for another .25 miles.  

Hills are speed work in disguise. Find a 200m hill and do 6-8 repeats at your 5k pace with a jogging recovery back down the hill. Don't take a break at the bottom of the hill run right back up. Find a 400m hill and do 4-6 repeats at your 10k - HM pace. Same thing for recovery. Find a 800m hill and do 2-4 repeats at your marathon pace. Same drill for recovery.

If you want to take it to the track, decide ahead of time what you want your intervals to be and then run half that distance as active recovery. If you're going to run 800s, then a light jog in between them for 400m should be your recovery. One workout our coach gave us 3 weeks a go was 2 x 2k on the track (5 laps) we ran our 5k pace for 200m followed immediately by 200m at our marathon pace. Then full 3 minutes of recovery in between the 2 sets. I could have gone 3 sets.

I like the meat of my track workouts to be around 5k with a nice warm up and cool down on either side.

That should get you started. As I remember other workouts, I can post them, but I won't be at my track workouts for a few weeks now given my vacation schedule. 

First off great race reports Matt and Ashley!

David - yours was great as well - don't get down - my season is a complete and utter fiasco ... try to stay positive - hell you live close enough that we can train (or get a beer) sometime ... hit me up if you want to get together.

To answer some older posts - I always swim with earplugs, don't want to mess in a stream, river, ocean and get some crap in my ears - - ended up carrying over to the pool as well.  

I use a 4 bottle fuel belt for any run planned longer than an hour and a half or in heat over 85 degrees ... generally make 2 bottles electrolyte and 2 water.  On shorter runs I use a hand held 10oz fuel belt single - it has a pocket for my keys (or a gel) and I just always take that with me ...

Caleb - you must be freaking out about your HIM - I know I am and mine is still about 90 days away ... though I am freaking because I am hoping I don't suck to the point of being pathetic.

Swam three days in a row - I am very slow now - the shoulder is tight for at least 300 meters and my kick is still not 100% ... I swam strongest on Monday (my day off) and have gotten progressively weaker the last two days (swam after 11 hour work days on 4 hours sleep) ... so I know when I am refreshed I do better ... the problem is getting enough sleep.

I jogged Monday 3 miles and again today 3 miles.  On Monday I had some stiffness and soreness but today I did a pure trail run and I feel good.  I have 10 weeks to get my mileage back up (I will be forsaking speed for stamina at this point).  I screwed up my front derailleur and had it fixed today - so will be back on the bike after the swim tomorrow.  

My son has a mud run on July 15th and I will be back racing at the Smith Point Tri on August 5th (500m/20k/5k) ... goal with that one is not embarrass myself - don't come in last of the clydes. 

On the day I got hurt I weighed in at the ER at 229 ... yesterday at my follow up I weighed 218 ... hope to be down to 205 by September 30th (HIM day) ...

I am going to turn up the aggression without overdoing it - can I get some feedback on this regimen (July 1 - July 7)

Sun (no work) - OWS followed by 2 hours on bike 

Mon (no work) - Swim 90 min with team AQFT, trail jog 40 minutes, 1 hour on trainer (Spinervals Sufferfest)

Tue  (after work) - Swim (one mile) - X-train with some AB ripper P90x(I am seriously lacking here)

Wed (after work) - Track workout - 6 x 400m@2:05 ... Bike (1 hour/trainer)

Thu (after work) - Swim (one mile), 30 minute trail jog, Bike (2 hours/trainer)

Fri (after work) - Swim (one mile), X-train (with P90x Kempo)

Sat (after work) 7 miles at 10:50 pace ...

Planned July/August with Sundays as the off days just for OWS ... the Wednesday track work will build week over week from 6, 8, 10 to 12 repeats at 2:05 and then try to crank up to 2:00 intervals.  The Saturday LOng Runs will add one or two miles a week but stay at the 10:40 pace ... I am hoping this will help me build back the run endurance.

Troy,

Nice running outline.  Question - what about double sessions?  Did a 10 mile ride and a 3 mile easy run this am.  Tonight, I did another 3 miles hard.

Ok to combine sessions like this in a day?  Benefits and downside?

Most of my high mileage friends don't really incorporate doubles until they're over 70 miles per week. I've never bothered with them. I'd rather do more miles in the morning in that scenario and then ride or swim in the evening. I think your running will gain more from one 6 mile run than two 3 mile runs. That's mostly personal opinion, but certainly validated by the ultra people I know who use doubles to add mileage.

Good morning peeps!

5.3 easy-peasy miles this morning. And a swim scheduled with friends in the lake after work ... probably a mile or so. Nothing too strenuous.

I had another thought on running "doubles" this morning ... I actually have run doubles as I prepare each year for my 200 mile relay event. In that, I'll be running 3-6 shifts, one every 8 hours (depending on if I'm on a 12 person or 6 person team). I found preparing for that with multiple runs per day is very helpful. Aside from that, I think you're better served with one longer run than you are with two shorter runs unless you're doing some pretty significant mileage. 

Good morning, ya'll!

Hope everyone had a good day. We are preparing for triple digit heat for the next 3-4 days. Gonna try and train in the mornings before it gets ugly.

Hit the road yesterday for a 4 mile run at sub 8 miles. I havn't accomplished that since April. I finished yesterday at 31:54 which is a sub 8 average but my last mile was 8:20. I was getting tired when I hit mile 3 and by 3.5 I felt it. Still happy about the total run time.

Gonna go for swim today. Gonna increase the distance for my intervals. Gonna keep it at 2:00 minutes because I feel it is working. Less time than that over thist distance is unrealistic for me. I am going to try and step it up to 2250 yds and see how I feel.

 Tomorrow, in 100+ heat, gonna do 25 miles on the bike and try to keep my average up. I forecast a 1.5 hour ride with an average pace of 16.5! I DON'T WANT THAT!!!!! I will make sure my legs hurt the whole time! Many say you should stay out of the heat but that is an excuse for the weak! I will be prepared and have fluids. Plus, how else can I train for Kona where it hits 115 for the world championship! I don't see those people staying out of the heat!

What you got today, people??

Hey Everyone!

In regards to the heat Ashley I'll refer back to what was posted earlier this year when I asked about ways to get used to it, "only way to get used to it, is to train in it." Was the universal answer.  So get on out there and have fun sweating like a machine! Two bottles on the bike and at least another one in the jersey should cover you.

I tried to put Troy's running suggestion into place starting yesterday, had an easy run in the morning 7 miles, then upped my lunchtime bike up to 20 miles (rather than the 16 I had been doing) amazing how much the extra 4 miles makes me push it, then did my interval pool training last night (passed out around 9:30). This morning prior to coming to work I had planned a nice 10 mile run, was out and running prior to 5 AM and all was good. Then? IT STRUCK! My 10 mile long run became a 5 mile run followed by a 1 mile SPRINT HOME! Gotta love the GI issues! I'll try for the 10 miles again tomorrow. I can count it maybe as a half speed run as the first and last mile had me going up and down hills of the 200m and 400m variety?

Weekend is gonna be crazy busy! Heading into DC tomorrow to see my better half with our twins. Then lots of fun on Saturday between swim meets, birthday parties, and block parties for the 4th. Then a Brick workout on Sunday(hoping for at least 35 miles on the bike and a 10K). What's everyone else got on tap?

-Matt

I'll offer the suggestion to become deliberate about running your training runs as a negative split. My first mile today was 9:27 and my final was 7:5x, if I recall correctly. 

1. It's good practice for how your fastest racing is likely to occur ... with a strong finish.

2. It allows you a nice mellow warm up mile (or two, depending on the distance) and trains your body to slowly unleash in the 2nd half of the race.

3. You feel like a rock star as you finish.

On your next 4 mile run, try starting out at that 8:30 - 8:15 range. Then slowly let your inner speed demon out: 8:20, 8:05, 7:50, 7:45 ... tweak as necessary for any given day's level of awesomeness.

In short ... training yourself to naturally negative split your runs is going to serve you well on race day. Once you can dial in your paces, you'll control the race rather than vice versa. I've had PRs at all distances aside from the marathon with negative split races. 

Thanks, that makes sense......and you took away my excuse to not run longer runs.   Wish I knew you when I was training and running marathons.  The first one had my longest run at 13 mile......yes I paid for that.......but finished and even did a second being Boston!!  Value of long runs.....was the difference between 4:10 and 3:22....

But I'm a triathlete NOW. 

Kona is more that 73 degrees??  It looks so nice on TV.

Day off today - drove to Portland ME - great ride in the car and had my bike tuned up today -can't wait to ride in am.