Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 36)

Congrats on a great race in difficult conditions! That's quite an improvement on the swim. I like riding in the rain when it's warm, but I definitely can't see with glasses on in the rain.

I have a compact crank and an 11-28 cassette. My regular training routes and the races I'm signed up for this year are all hilly enough for me to use all the gears. If I were doing a flat race I would probably switch to a 12-25. I would like to get under 3:10 on the bike for my HIM in September.  I'll really have to up my training mileage and intensity over the next couple of months to reach that goal.

Great RR Jason!  Sounds like you made the best out of some crazy tough conditions!  I like the pee on the run part of the RR..

When you were biking by RPE after your HR monitor and Power meter did not work, at what level did you perceive it to be? out of 10?  And looking back do you think you should have dialed it back even more?

Another question for you and the group.  After your first A race of the season, do you tend to dial it back for a bit or just keep pushing hard.  Seems like some are proponents of getting back to easy base building to start out the second half of the year.

Had an awesome ride this weekend with my cycling buddy.  43 miles combining city and country, flats, rollers and some small but challenging hills - with him pushing the pace.  He's teaching me a lot about cycling and about riding with others.  Here's what it looked like: 

When it was over, I was ready for it to be over, but felt good about how it went.  Actually, just before the peak of that hill at mile 33, I think I would have been happy for it to have been over.

I do have a new issue which is a hot spot in the area of my left sit bone.  This is the first time that it has ever shown up and came after the long hill ride the previous weekend (2200' over 8 miles) with a relatively new pair of shorts.  Don't know if it was the hill climb or the new shorts, but could use some advice on how to deal with it.  The spot is not an open wound, just red, a bit puffy and tender.  I've been applying neosporin regularly in case there is an open spot (it is kinda hard to get a good look at) to prevent any infection and to keep the skin from drying out.  I've got about a 60 mile ride on Thursday (talked the same guy into coming up and riding the course with me) and want to minimize any further issues there.  Current plan is to apply vaseline to the reddened site and liberally lube up the chamois, and to make sure I stand up and pedal more frequently.  What else would you suggest?

Originally posted by amd723 Ok, with all the talk about cranks and cassettes I have to ask a total bike dope question: what does it all mean? I know what the numbers represent, but how do they impact your riding. For example, I see some people say if they were riding flat races they would use x cassette or others saying a compact crank with a certain cassette is a good combo, but I don't know why those things are true. Anyone care to give me a primer on the subject?

Bumping this question because I'd to learn more about it as well. I just ride with the stock components that came with my Felt B-16.

My road bike is 52/36 and 11/28 (I believe).

Tri bike is 53/39 and I just switched from 11/28 to 11/25 for Sunday's tri (rolling hills - no crankers).

No idea yet what my HIM split will be!  Just did ~22.3mph for a 15 mile rolling hill course, but I have some work to do to figure out the longer course speeds and such.

Hope your back is now completely behind you.  

Matt

Jason, thanks for the comments on gearing.  Helpful, indeed.  Personally, I'm only on the 53/39 on my tri bike because that's what it came with (and I've only had it a couple weeks).  I've been trying it in the hills, though, and it's not too bad.  As for the higher gears, I don't spin out, as I'm uncomfortable with the speed using the 53/11 at about the same cadence that I'd spin out (read as, more than fast enough for me, but I do get into that gear every now and then).  Might look at a mid-compact, but need more to figure it out...

As for your RR (I posted to the RR itself on a general "thank you for the RR," as it was very helpful), how do you pee on the run?  No, seriously?  Do you just go in your kit, or do you bust out the junk on the fly?  I'm not sure if that would be easier, but it's a skill I need to learn either way.  

Thanks!
Matt 

OK - back for my third and last post of the night (honest).

Finished the first tri of the season this weekend past (and third since coming back to tri's after ~20 years last Fall).  It was a longish sprint (0.5 / 15 / 5 miles), one I signed up for only last Wednesday, and the day after a family/local 5k (in which I placed 15 OA and 3 AG - happy with that - and the family got 3 podiums and a PR among them!).  RR is here:  http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/RaceLog/races-view-container.asp?raceid=248548  

Not sure how to make that a link - sorry!

Hot and windy (not Honu, but 20-ish), but a beautiful day, and I convinced one of my oldest/best friends to run it with me.  I did far better than I expected (15 OA), with solid (for me) paces on the swim and bike (and this was the first race on the new-to-me tri bike), and an average run.  Thought maybe I overdid the bike, even though it felt fine and my HR stayed at the edge of threshold (lower than I even wanted: 157 with target of 160), but I think the race the day before, the hills and the HEAT had something to do with it, too.  

Overall, hot and humid, but a solid result for me and a good test of fitness going into my Oly's.  Didn't tell me much about the HIM coming up after them, but that's a different beast to be handled in a bit.  I think I can pick up the run pace with a better taper and more fitness on the bike - so that's what I'm going to try.

One side note - I was 7th in my AG.  15 OA, but 6 of them were 45-49 and 2 or 3 were 40-44.  The others that beat me were in their 20's mostly.  How messed up is that?  Some fast old dudes around here - I have my work cut out for me!

To Mike-D - good luck at the Patriot!  Just meter out the run so you don't get hurt, and enjoy the day.

Matt

Good morning, everyone, just checking in! Rode the loop part of the IMWI course last weekend. After reading Jason's detailed response re: gearing and after riding the course, I definitely understand why my 53/39 and 11-25 setup is not ideal! But the course - super fun, very fast downhills with some tight turns at the bottom. Lots of climbs and I gave my gears a workout. Being June, it's pretty windy here right now and at one point I even had to downgrade a gear while pedaling downhill bc the wind was so strong! I certainly wasn't fast, but I was able to do all of the climbs, no parts where it was completely miserable. My skills, though, were really lacking on the downhills. Don't have the confidence or the handling know-how to navigate those. 

Jason - congrats on Hono 70.3! Seemed like a very tough day out there, as evidenced by the pro times, and I think it's awesome that you were able to maintain a good spirit and encourage those around you

Stacie - great job on finishing your first sprint and for finishing third! Re: the lower back pain - has this happened before? Also sounds like you had a tough day with the rain.

Fred - glad your back is getting better. How did the ride go on your TT bike?

Mike - Is today any better? Take a breather and relax! Control the things you can and try not to worry about what you can't control. The unknown is just that - something you can't control. The injured hamstring is what it is, and while it's not ideal, you trained as you could. If your mind is wandering bc you are entering that taper madness period, try to think about things that will ensure a good race: Go over your nutrition plans, review your goals, visualize finishing strong and happy.

Matt - nice job on two races this weekend!

Is that everyone? 

Hope everyone's training is going well this week. I had a trainer ride this a.m., which I ended up bagging it after my WU. My HR wouldn't go anywhere and I tried all the tricks to get it to rise - sit up, stand up in a hard gear, etc. I'm going to try again after work. Sometimes my HR is low in the morning, but not this low. Maybe I'm dehydrated? Don't know.