Experior's Group, Take Two -- CLOSED (Page 37)

Good luck this weekend, Michael... you've been knockin' at that sub-5 door for awhile now... time to bust it down!  Thanks for the race report Randy... I think I'm going to set qualifying for nationals as one of my reach goals for next year, so I'm super impressed that you made it. 

My last tri of the season is tomorrow.  A nice OLY to wrap it up.  I'd love to knock 10 minutes off last year's time, but I think most of that would need to come from the run.  As usual, training time on the bike was about 50% of what it needed to be and I had a good bike leg last year (except for forgetting to put on my helmet - sheez!).  Swim is getting back to acceptable levels... I've been slow in the pool since starting back up.  Need to do more 200 sprints :-)  Anyway, after tomorrow, swim and bike go on maintain and my focus turns to Richmond HM in Nov.  Really want to break 2hrs there and then I will have a PB in all the running distances this year (and hitting 3 of 4 time milestones).  After the HM, I think I am going to have to figure out this indoor bike training and maybe give Jorge's training plan a try.  One goal for next year is 20+ mph on a bike leg.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Stu

Stu, hope the race went well!

Mine was a massive disappointment -- not because of performance, but because the swim was canceled.  So no sub 5 for me this year.    I made it a hard training day for my IM in November.

We did everything else (including 'T1' -- running from the swim exit to the transition area as if we had just finished the swim).  I managed 4:04 and change.  Race report here.

ufff... Michael... I'm so sorry to hear your news and you were so going to smash the 5hr mark, especially after seeing your time in the remainder of the event.  Glad your season isn't complete yet.

We had an absolutely perfect day for our OLY and I improved over last year's time by 7 minutes (and no DQ this year either).  Took 6 min off the bike and 7 off the run, which means the other 3 parts weren't so good.   Ran out of steam in the last two miles, but that's my style.  6th out of 14th in MCs.  A good way to wrap up my year.  Pretty sure I'll be top 10 in MC in Virginia.

Here's my race report.

Nice season-ender Stu!  Looks like the bike was especially good for you.  6th out of 14?  Watch out or before you realize it you'll be on the podium!


I just found out that I qualified for world long course championships in Las Vegas.  Mom is making noises about helping out with the expenses, so I just might go.

Might?  Might?  You ARE going!  Congrats Michael... quite a roller coaster of a weekend for you!  That is a fantastic accomplishment!!!

Randy,

Sorry I forgot -- what HIM are you doing?

Hi guys, happy, and little jealous, to see some of you are still racing. 

Great finnish to a season for you Stu.  Great racing, glad to see you with new PR. Bring on next year, I'll keep a close eye. I think you said your doing Half Mary, if you write up report let us know.

Randy, good luck on HIM, looking forward to race report.

Michael, sad to hear you couldn't go after a PR but congrats on qualifier you deserve it.  Hope you find a way to get there.  You could always bike there!    Good luck at B2B.

Just reading up on your discussions has triggered my appetite for next year.   I've started lining up races that I may do leading to my first HIM in Sept 2011.  My ultimate goal for it is <5:30:00. 

Good luck to all your races,
Sylvain

Hello again,

I just wanted to share with you an article I read that has cought my attention.  I think it got my attention because one of my focus in the new season is strengthening my mind.  Have a read and hopefully it can help with your upcoming races. 

http://lavamagazine.com/in-multisport-it's-mind-over-matter#axzz11Fvumzar

Sylvain

Edited by sstucker 2010-10-05 10:56 AM

Great races guys!
Congrats Michael on qualifying for Vegas.
Sylvain- I'm with you: A little envious that other people are still racing. With the season over here in the North east, it's been hard to stay focused for the past few weeks.

I started a new job today. I'm heading to DC this weekend for some fun, and after that, I'll get focused again.

I rode the furthest I've ever done the other day -- 150 miles. Wow.  The last two hours were really, really, hard.  Totally different kettle of fish (for me at least) from a 100-mile ride.

That's a looong ride. Were you with a group?

Nope.  I met up with a friend for about 15 miles in the middle.  Otherwise, I was riding largely through the middle of absolutely nowhere by myself.  It was an interesting experience.  At one point I went about an hour during which I saw around 5 cars and around 20 houses.

One of the unexpected benefits of training for me has been learning more about the area where I live (outside of the 2 square miles where I spend 99% of my time).  On Saturday I expanded those horizons just a little more.

And just how was Georgia?  ;-)

Edited by juneapple 2010-10-10 11:13 PM

Howdy strangers! Seems like everone is still pressing on. I am envious of all the race talk! I have a quick question. A few weeks ago my knee started to act a little goofy. I cut way back on my volume. At the end of last week it started to feel better so I start back on the running. Just two miles and tonight I hit some hills on the bike. Tonight I began to freak because I thought OMG I'm losing my conditioning! How fast do you lose conditioning? How quick do you get it back? I have put on a few pounds over the last month because of decreasing my volume. Could that account for me almost blowing a lung tonight?!

Hey Phil... I sucked alot of wind when I came back from my break and I still haven't gotten my swimming (of all things) back to snuff.  Any chance you went out a little too hard?  But the weight is definitely part of it... I gain a few pounds and I can seriously feel it slowing me down.  Just get out there and consistently work at it again.  You know the way home.

We're still having great weather here, but I'm running out of daylight on the two ends of my workday.  I love the temps though.

Stu

Hi Phil!

Yeah, you will lose a noticeable amount of aerobic fitness within 1-2 weeks, and a depressingly high amount within 6-12 weeks.  So listen to your body and come back at a volume and intensity that it can handle.  The good news is that once you've been fit, it returns much more quickly than it took you to get there in the first place.

Thanks Stu and Michael,

I completely understand now why athletes are hesitant to cut back because of injuries. You work so hard to get to a point and within a few weeks, you begin to lose it fast. It has been a hard lesson to learn, but now I am very conscious of taking things slowly now despite how frustrating it can be.

Phil

5 hours on the trainer the other day because I couldn't leave the house.  Oh my, I was not loving life at the end of that.  I confess that I'm ready for IM training to be OVER!  Next weekend at least I'll be able to do my final long ride in the beautiful NC mountains.

I see you all are still at it.  Thought I stop by and check things out.  150 miles dang that is a longgggggg ride.  Good luck on your IM Michael; which one?  My wife works for a Doctor who is going to Florida for the Ironman in Nov.  Look forward to tracking him and maybe catching him on the Web Broadcast.  Watched the Ironman Wourld Championsships in Kona this Month.  Man that is so cool and exhilarating to watch.

I am extending my running this fall.  Running my first 1/2 Marathon on Sunday.  Too bad the weather is looking like rain.  Oh well, I seem to run better in cooler weather.  Will do one of two more 1/2's this winter as well in prep for next year 1/2 Ironman; probably not a Ironman Brand Race, but the same distance.  Happy to see everyone is still haingin in there and recoverying some.

Phil..I know what you mean by injuries.  I had some light pain in my right nkle area so I took an extra day off on this past Sunday and have a day off today as part of normal routine.  Now I am into my Taper week before my race so I think things will be fine.  Feels so much better already.

Take Care Everyone

Brian

Good Luck on the HIM Randy.  Will be interested in reading your race report upon successful completion. : )

Brian

Hey Brian - good to see your smilin' face around these parts again.  Best of luck in your HM this weekend.  You've really been run focused recently which should pay dividends.  I've got a HM mid-Nov, so I've gone down to 1 bike/1 swim a week.  Decided not to totally stop either of them while increasing my run volume.  Last year I increased running mileage too quickly and had some foot problems.  This year, trying to run more often during the week rather than just adding miles to my long run.  The proof will be in the race.  Hoping to break 2 hours and then will have PBs at all my running distances in 2010.  I did run another 10K 10 days ago and had another PB, so was particularly pleased with that a week after the OLY and on a relatively difficult 10K course.  Who knows, perhaps I can cheat age next year and break through 50 min.  Losing another 10lbs or so will have to be part of that scenario :-)

Michael, I saw your post on the accomplishments thread and thought to myself wow... this guy was out of commission from a bike accident earlier in the season and qualified for worlds.  You are indeed a beast with the heart of a warrior.  I've really appreciated knowing someone on more of a day to day basis who is at that level and what it takes to get there.  There was an interesting article in the NYT yesterday that talked about this as well that you can read here. 

Kona has been amazing to watch.  First time I've seen the whole thing rather than just the NBC condensed version.  Internet at home was too slow, so I've been watching a bit here and there at work over the last couple of weeks.  Just watched the woman's finish and it looks like I'm only about 2/3rds done with the broadcast.  The elites are amazing, but hard to identify with... so I'm looking forward to the age groupers!

Good luck to Randy and Michael in their upcoming races.  Look forward to the race reports.  Always learn a bunch from those, especially at HIM+ distances.  After my HM, I'll be sitting down to think about goals for 2011 and reflect on learnings from 2010.  BT and this board really provided some great insights.

Stu