Baowolf's Beginner Banquet -Sorry all tables are full no room.. (Page 37)

Hi group! I am back from my vacation in Naples with the hubby.  Found it interesting how tired I was, how much I slept and how little I did.  Guess that is waht vacations are for.  I did get in a little exercise but it was so much hotter than it is even here.

Steve-I can tell from your posts you have a lot more time on your hands...stay well...I am getting nervous for you!

Carol-Congrats on catching your friend in the race. Your times are really coming along.

Lisa-I've said it before but it is worth repeating, I get tired just reading your posts, how much more you have to do with the little ones. You are one strong mama!

Dennis-Sorry you have the blahs. Think we have all had it at least once this season. But you are really coming along and will probably benefit from the lower bricks.

Samantha-I am so glad you did an OWS and felt good about it. You will do well on your race, or have you already done it? Was it this past weekend, or this next? Gosh I've been out of the loop! And you signed up for an OLY? grrr now you have me thinking again...

Ceril-Sell the camper stay at Embassy Suits! Or if you want to feel like you are still roughing it stay at Holiday Inn! Just kidding, that is my running joke with my husband.  I do NOT camp. Seems like many in this group do and I am not knocking it. It is just not for me.  Ceril, hope you are able to get back into exercising full force soon.

Didn't get my bike ride in yesterday. I like to ride when my son is at gymnastics.  He is there for almost 3 hours and the "loop" that goes through a National Park is right there.  Well the SUV's battery died, so I had to take the convertible Mustang and with no bike rack I wasn't about to pop the bike in the back seat although that would have been a funny sight. So bike and swim today.  Which leads me to the question du jor (did I spell that right?): If I were to purchase a bike rack for the car or SUV is there a brand I should look for, stay away from? What do I want to  make sure it has/does? Any suggestions would be helpful.  -Karen

Got my run on this morning.  8.1 miles at a 9:46 pace, a lot faster than my normal training pace.  I seem to slack during my longer runs and jog more than I run.  The sunburn was only mildly irritated during the run.  Hurts more dressing/undressing than running.

I might try to squeeze in a swim session tonight.

Below are a couple of posts from my tri club.  They have an annual award for doing something stupid throughout the year.  Here are 2 nominations from last week's race.  The first one is something I always warn newbies about.

	re: Mighty Mite race this Saturday	7/17/2011 1:32 PM
	If beginning to run out of T2 with your helmet still on is worthy of such a nomination, consider me nominated!!!   If not for Wendy who was handing out water at T2, I probably would have still had it on at the finish.  Thanks Wendy!  At least the Commercial Appeal wasn't there to capture my mistake like the guy at MIM last year with his pointy helmet on backwards.

	re: Mighty Mite race this Saturday	7/17/2011 6:47 PM
	One of our members took first place overall in the female category.  The problem is this person is a male, who registered as a female!

Karen - glad to hear that you got rest during your time away.  You probably needed it more than you realized!

Dennis - thanks for the continued posts of info and training.  It's amazing to read and keeps me from completely falling off the boat.

Samantha - I know you're gonna do great this weekend!  We're rooting for you!

Carol - I've been so impressed watching your cycling progress.  I look forward to when I can post that I did any kind of distance.

Lisa - I was thinking of you the other day, just pushing the grocery cart in the store tweaked my back a little and I was pondering what it would be like to be pushing a stroller for miles - it boggles my mind!

Steve - Hearing about your training, etc. really is giving me a glimpse into what it really takes to be an ironman.  I guess in my pre-tri life, I never really thought about the long term commitment and discipline needed.

Well, I'm racing this weekend.  Looks like temps will be up in the 90's and really humid during the race (will get up to 100* later in the day)  I'm worried at this point about just completing the race and not getting carted off in an ambulance!  Going to swim class tonight then continuing to do little things for the rest of the week.  Looking at older posts here and getting my race day stuff together.  Practicing drinking while on the bike - sounds silly, but I kind of suck at getting the bottle out of the cage!  I don't know if it's just my position on the mountain bike, but I always feel that I'm gonna pull my back out when i reach down.  I decided to register as an Athena since I am, but also thought that being grouped with other Athena's may help me to continue forward and not get too discouraged.

Also, I am nearly at my fundraising goal.  Realized that I never posted this, so here is my fundraising page:

http://www.active.com/donate/nfeventnotlisted2011/slowpoke

No pressure to support me - but thought that I'd like to show you guys what I've been up to.  Especially since I've been so quiet here lately.  I'm racing as part of the NF Endurance team that is a fundraising arm of the Children's Tumor Foundation.  So, I'm using the NF Endurance team tri top - which happen to be day-glo yellow - and also happen to run small, so I've nicknamed myself the neon sausage!  Haha!  Getting a better fit may be some motivation to keep training....

Hope you're all doing well! - Ceril

For the bike rack.  First, are you going to put the bike on the roof or behind the vehicle.  We have an nice rack that just plugs into the towing hitch that we use for our boat.  You just put the unit into the hitch and then put up to 3 bikes on the back.  The top clap locks the bike frame in place and then I run a cable through the tires etc. so no one walks off with one of my wheeles.  I can get the brand later if you are interested in that.  Thule is a big name in bike carying devices.  I don't know much about the on the roof ones.  If you do  a search I know there have been threads about it.  One thing to be really careful of is that folks sometimes forget they have a bike on the roof and drive into things, garages, drivethrough signs, etc. 

Dennis the long runs are supposed to be at a slower pace than your shorter runs.  So you are doing the right thing.  One thing I would recommend though is pick a pace and try to stick with it.  So if your goal pace is 9:30 then start out at 9:30 and hold it rather than starting at 8:30 and drifting to 10:00 mpm at the end.  It is a really good way to test your fitness.  You can also calculate what your long run pace should be with McMillan's run calculator online.  You can either plug in a recent race time such as a 5k or whatever or you can plug in what you want to be racing at and then it will give you pacing info.  I put in current and goal and then start at current and try to move things up to goal pace over time. 

You can complete an IM on less training than I am doing by the way.  But to get faster at the IM distance... takes a lot more work.  In general you want to put in 2000 miles biked, 650 miles run and 80,000 yards swum in the 6 months prior to an IM.  I am over 3000 miles biked, 1000 miles run and 150,000 yards swum this year.  I was also coming off a broken collar bone last fall.  Hopefully next year I can be healthy and get a little more intensity in, especially on the bike.  I may have to skip a marathon this winter and just focus on Jorge's bike clinic here on BT.  I need to drop 60-90 minutes off my bike leg for IM's or go from average 17.5 to 20-20.5 mph on the bike.  After my bike is decent I will have to find a swim coach, even if it is just for a couple of months in the summer next year.  What really scares me is that some folks from BT are going in to the same ironman I am doing with way too little training.  It is going to be a really long day for them.  It doesn't have to be that bad if you train for it correctly, but it is prudent to allow 2-3 years to build to that level of fitness from nothing.  It is not that much of a stretch from the HIM level of training, but your long rides go from 65 miles to 115 on Saturdays and your long runs go from 13 to 18.      

For your Tri in hot weather, the key is really to pace yourself (slower) and to keep wet.  Often the races start eary enough that you are not HOT until the run.  Often the breeze on the bike from your speed produces a windchill that makes the temp tollerable.  On the run it is water on the outside, not on the inside that will cool you down.  Wear a hat, keep it wet, etc.  (no ice in the hat).      

Karen - Welcome back from a restful vacation. I am glad you rested so much it will probably make a sweet difference in your training abilities because your body is recovered. When is the Olympic you are considering? I was looking at a training plan for Olympic and I definitely have some work to do to be ready in just over 5 weeks. I think it will be good, but mans the Olympic distances really ups the annie.

Depends on what you want in a bike rack. I don't know much about differences for the ones that go on the back of your car. You can get the ones that strap on or go into a hitch if your car is set up for that. I have used one from walmart for years without any trouble.

Ceril - I am super excited that we are racing the same weekend. We can share war stories after its all finished. Though I would not be excited to race in the kind of heat you will be facing. Be sure you are plenty hydrated and I remember Steve telling someone who was gonna be in high heat to wear a hat and keep as much water on yourself as you can. Stay wet. Enjoy a lighter week of training; that's what I am doing. Not too light because the race is so short but my mindset is in more of a rest mode.

Steve - I talked with a guy at a LBS and he shared something about the tri bike vs. road bike difference that I found interesting. He said, because tri bikes are built more aerodynamically, they are heavier and when he rides a tri bike he burns up his legs significantly faster than when he is on a road bike. So unless I was going for speed the road bike is a better purchase is what I understood him to say. What do you think about that?

Also, I realize I am a beginner and you say people can train for an IM in two years so from where I am now, if I can continue putting in the necessary training, could I be ready for IM CDA in two years?  It is my dream to do that one particularly because that is where my passion for triathlons was sparked. I want to be realistic but also push myself to have a goal I am working towards.

So I am feeling exhausted again today. Yesterday was the same. I am thinking it is due to my protein levels being low. I give plasma twice a week and every time I go in they check my protein and today it was too low to give plasma. So I am working to build it back up before the race on Sunday.

Also I found out the swim is actually .66 miles and the river is moving very slowly because the damn is now closed. Should be good anyway, but interesting. Plus the spread from my seat to my handle bars is pretty far and I struggle to be comfortable. For a short distance I will be fine, but now sure what to do about going further until I can think about a new bike. I looked into shortening my stem and it would be about $40-$45. It is really hard to invest money into this bike because I know it is too big for me. Anyway, i am just rambling. Gonna go bike the race course tonight and potentially do the run course as well.

Alright I looked at some Felt bikes, the road version was 1 pound lighter than the tri version at around the same price/level.  So if that one pound is going to burn up his leggs I guess it is.  However, the geometry of the tri bike and aero bars makes it more aerodynamic (faster for the same effort) opens up your body more (breath easier) support your weight with your forarms instead of your wrists (lest wrist strain, less shoulder strain (more neck strain)) and angles your body such that you use slightly different muscle balance to move you forward making the bike run transition easier on your leggs (less of a brick feeling) and you use less core muscle strength to stay upright.  So for triathlons there is an advantage to a tri bike.  However, you give up manuverability so group rides are harder and you may have to stay up on the horns rather than in aero position unless you are out front.  The downside is that if you do not stay aero, you are less aerodynamic on the horns than you are on a road bike (unless of course you are not down on the rams horns of the road bike either).   

I run better off the tri bike than off an upright position bike.  Studies I have read say that even without the decreased wind resistance of the tri bike, people go faster on a tri bike (stationary setup for comparision).  So the LBS guy probably just likes road bikes better than tri bikes.  If he rides a road bike more, he may be more comfortable and judge his ride as easier on the road bike.  The longer the race the bigger the advantage.  The curvier and more technical, and hilier the course the less the advantage of a tri bike. 

I went from couch to IM in 2 years.  You are in much better shape then I was when I first started.  So for a 2 year plan, sprints and Oly end of this year.  1 Sprint, 1 Oly and 1 HIM next year, and 1 HIM and one IM the following year.  Boise HIM is a nice race, good roads, relatively close... kinda to CDA and the swim will be similar (wind and waves).  You can look at my race logs to see my progression and the time of year of my races.  But... I took no time off in those two years.    

Hi there!  Still feel like I'm catching up from the weekend whilst trying to not let training slip too much.

Looks like we have at least two of us racing this weekend.  Ceril and Samantha, know you are going to have a blast and do great at your tri's!  Can't wait to hear how it goes.  Anyone else??

Ceril - Steve is right...your only heat issue will be the run.  Time to throw vanity to the wind and dump water on your head.  And yes, drinking on the bike does not come naturually, definitely a learned thing and I'm still kinda shaky at it.  And noooooo.....you can't sell the glamper!!  Unless of course it is to finance a bike.

Samantha - I think it's awesome that you have a goal of IMCDA!  Fun to think that you are starting to lay that foundatin now.  Reminds me of Matt 7 - building your house on the rock as opposed to sand. Vital in life as well as training .

Dennis - #1 could be me...almost forgot to take my helmet off this last weekend.  Good job getting out there for that long run with a sunburn and some lingering fatigue.  Your brick mod seems perfectly reasonable.

Karen - so glad you had a good vacation!  Ha, you and my hubby agree about the camping being at the holiday inn.  On the bike rack, only tip I have is to make sure your bike will fit on it!  Hubby bought me one that attaches to the trunk with straps, but my bike was too small to fit on it without buying some kind of adapter.  And c'mon, you KNOW you want to do an OLY ! 

Lisa - your post reminded me of the DFL>DNF>DNS.  Your version is Solo Run > Stroller Run > Treadmill run.

Steve - glad you are feeling better!  Only a week and a half to go for you.  It's been wonderful to get to hear about your training, and provides a wonderful perspective on perseverance.  I'm curious....do you do any strength or core work, or stick solely to S/B/R?

Still haven't posted my race report, but I am happy to report my friend has signed up for the US Open OLY.  I had all weekend to nag encourage her and I guess that works better with friends than with husbands   My race pics are here http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/SearchBibNumber.aspx?_AccountNumber=20098&EventID=1008596   (bib #88) if you want to see the good, bad and ugly of it.  Happy they got a shot of Beck and me racing to the finish line. 

Quick question before I go to bed.  I know most of you are in a later time zone than me, so I'm hoping for some advice wating for me tomorrow.  I've laid off swimming for over 5 days, due to the vaca but also, my left shoulder has been acting up.  Don't know if it is brusitis (sp?) It hurts seemingly between the front muscle and the second. Like a fine line right down the middle of my, under equipped, arms. Today's only 1200 at a pace that even the 70+year old lady next to me passed me, got my arm hurting more than ever. It is really just a dull ache but constant.  So, Steve mentioned Kinetic tape...My question is should I get it, would it help, how do you know where/how to put it on??

PS I, along with Ceril and Samantha, have a race this weekend, just a sprint, but still, the ache is bothersome.  Ideas?? What should I do??   Night guys... -Karen

Racing this weekend (so far):  Karen, Samantha, Ceril, and me.  Fun!

On bike carriers:  we have the Thule Helium that plugs into the hitch on the back of our car.  We liked it best for a couple of reasons.  First, it's lighter than the usual bike racks, which means I can easily attach it myself.  Secondly, I'm really short (4'11"), so a roof rack would mean always bringing something to stand on or standing half in the car in order to put the bike on.  Um, no.  The only thing I don't like has more to do with my bike and car than anything else:  when I attach my bike to the rack, the front wheel hangs so low that I need to take it off and put it in the trunk.  It rides just fine like that.  I have a Buick though, so it's not like we have high clearance to begin with.  I think it would be perfect if we had an Outback, but alas, we do not.  Also, the Thule Helium has a lock cable built in, so you don't need an extra cable to lock it.  That part is awesome, actually.  We have a 100-mile trek when we go up to the mountains and the bike has ridden great each time. 

Karen - Sorry about the shoulder!  I don't know anything about kinetic tape or how that helps in a race/healing situation.  My swim coach last night talked about doing a wider stroke entry to put less stress on the shoulder. 

Last night I went to my swim class as usual - my last swim before the race, we were doing a kick exercise and "twang!" behind my right knee, on the upstroke of my kick.  I guess it's a sensation on the back of my leg behind my knee if that makes sense.  I got this same feeling once before when I first started swimming and I took a few easy days and it seemed to resolve.  I elevated and iced when I got home, but today I can still feel it when I do that motion - like pushing that leg behind me.  Just gonna rest up the next couple days and try not to overthink it.

Also, for bike racks, I have a hitch mount on the glamper that has more of a tray for each wheel to sit in.  My daughter's bike didn't fit on the traditional carrier with two arms so we got this one because it was adjustable to each individual bike length.  I have a regular walmart special for the convertible

As far as glamping goes, we're not great at camping and that's why we "glamp".  I mean the camper has air-conditioning, a fridge, a microwave and stove, a bathroom and shower and our own comfy beds. But, like I said the kids are getting bigger and the vote is still out as to whether we'll be getting some kind of camping trailer to replace it....but I'm pushing for new road bike out of the deal....haha. (Carol - I like the way you think!)

This is a big race weekend for alot of our group - how cool is that?!  

Bike racks: This is what I have, a Walmart Allen Sport 4 bike. It does it's job, but I don't a few things about it and the style. 

1. My break/derailer cables run along where my bike rests on the arms of the rack.  I feel this could damage my cables over time. 
2. Nothing keeps the bike from rocking on the arm and slamming the frame into the long vertical bar.
3. the from tire is free the left/right, slamming the tire into my bumper.

I've cured 2 & 3 by tying a small towel around the bike where it can hit the vertical bar and by using bungee cords to keep the front wheel straight.

If I had it to do over again, and I want to, I would go with a hitch that holds the bike from the wheels.  Something like this Thule one.

Workouts: Last night I went to the pool and had a wonderful session.  I used my tempo trainer to guide me to 54 strokes per minute in the pool and a new all time low of 2:17/100 yd. pace over 1700 yds.  The trainer helped keep me from getting zoned out and slowing down.

This morning I did a nice and easy 22 mile bike ride.  I should've done 30 but it was getting late and i needed to get to work.

I plan on another mile pool swim tonight with the tempo moved up to 57 SPM and a nice 6 mile run tomorrow morning before the long ride on Saturday.

Races: It looks to be race weekend around here.  I even have a short 5k on Sunday.  Good luck everybody.

Wow, so many racers this weekend!  And I love it, Karen used the phrase "only a sprint".  Not too long ago that was a BIG deal for all of us, so we are making great progress

Karen - for sports related injuries, I have become a big fan of my sports chiropractor.  Don't know if you have access to a good one who also has P/T as part of the services, or a sports medicine doc.  You can always throw some OTC anti-inflammatories at it, which might help break the inflammation cycle.  Betting Steve will have some good input for you since he has what sound like similar issues. 

Dennis - that tempo trainer sounds interesting.  Know what you mean about zoning out in the pool!  Nice workouts you are logging! 

OK, I had a first this morning.  Mid run, I stopped by a convenience store to buy some cold water, hit the ice machine there, and dumped ice in my sprorts bra.  My fastest mile of the morning came right after that.  Also bought a new helmet today....replacing the one I bought probably 10 years ago with the insides peeling.  Hopefully will prevent me from becoming roadkill, and feel a lot more comfortable too.

 Mid run, I stopped by a convenience store to buy some cold water, hit the ice machine there, and dumped ice in my sprorts bra.  My fastest mile of the morning came right after that-  Seriously Carol? That is way too funny! I can  only  imagine how your sports bra looked with "extra bumps" lol, must have been a hoot for the clerk! But, I have to admit my run today was so hot I poured some of my precious water I carry in the fuel belt on my head.  I try not to do that, as I need it to drink.  Guess I'll do the icy bra trick next run! lol That just made my day.

Thanks all for the advice on the bike rack.  I should have been more specific, I do not have a hitch, nor do I want to struggle putting the bike on the roof.  I was looking at a carrier for the hatch.

Good advice Carol about the chiro, my son goes to one. With his gymnastics and all he needs up keep.  I'll ask if they have a PT there.  Thanks-

This is the first weekend many of us have a race, next week's posts will be fun to read! Good luck to all our racers! -Karen

Yes, seriously!  But I did have the "decency" to do the actual...er...placement....outside and hopefully out of sight.  I sounded a bit like a drink being shaken up for a while after that, but it was totally worth it.  Oh and dumping water on your head is the first step to losing all sense of vanity.  You're on your way

It sounds like the shoulder needs some rest.  If you have to race on it go slow.  You could be building too fast, swimming too much, or you could have an issue with your stroke.  There are stretches and trigger point things you can do, but I am not sure if they help without the direction of a pt.  I have swum this week, givnig my shoulder a big break before vineman. 

I hate trout.  They are so fickle.. way to much time in the sun today, still only half way to a fish dinner.  At least we each caught a fish.  Had a 5 pound trout follow up my lure 20 x and never hit it.  I am starting to name the trout in the lake. 

The bike issue is personal.  If you always ride alone like me, and don't have a zillion turns the decision is easy, tri bike cuz i can run off it better.  If you do group rides, have lots of hills and lots of turns probably road bike.  If you crash due to no balance, probably road bike.  If you are not going to do HIM or longer it probably does not matter very much time wise or comfort wise.  Many folks have both 8). 

My friend and I have had that delimma/discussion as well.  We decided that in tri's it just doesn't make sense to try to stick together.  Kind of pulls each person down to the other's weakness instead of building each other up.  We have, however, done three 1/2 marathons together.  Went into all of them undertrained and just wanted to complete them, so sticking together made more sense for that.  Sadly, this year, I'll probably be doing a couple of 1/2's alone.  My friend's spine doc says nothing over a 10K running wise for her.  So I woudn't trade for those halfs we slogged through together.

Steve, sorry the fishing is slow.  But the trick to trout fishing is to follow the stocking truck with your gear .  We used to camp in CO as a kid, and my parents actually did that once.  Yep, we had a nice fish dinner out of it!

Good luck to all of our racers this weekend!  Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

Carol--where did you camp?

Bike is on the car and I'm in the process of packing my bag (interrupted by a baby who wanted to nurse).  I'm mostly ready, except that I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with this:

Does it go on my bike?  And if so, where?  This is my bike: