QuincyF and Oriolepwr's Magical Mys-tri Tour for Newbies Has Begun (CLOSED) (Page 38)

Tom

  Race as often as you like.   You are going to recover from your sprint tri's  after a couple of days.     You could race nearly every weekend.     I actually did that!  I think in 2010 I raced 30 times.  And that year even includes an achilles injury that kept me away from racing for a few months.    Crazy????  kinda   but it was a FUN time period, and I had a blast.   Of course I also drove my family crazy in the process  so there's that.   

Does racing that often mean you will not be at your absolute best on race day?  Yes.        Trust me I was going all out, and cared about my performance.  But not so much where I would not do events that I wanted to do   ya know???   Its about motivation.   If racing often will burn you out, then its a bad thing.      "If it makes you happy,  it can't be that bad"    heh Heard that somewhere before. 

I think the NYC tri would be so cool to do and I hope you do sign up and actually do it.    Olympic is a nice distance.    And for that one perhaps you should respect the distance and make sure to not race for a couple of weeks leading up to and after it.   But it will be quite the experience.   Go for it!

Welcome back from both of your vacations!  

Hello all -

Echoing a sentiment offered earlier - here on the west coast we just don't have tornadoes to worry about.  I sure hope all of you and your families are ok. 

Rats - Just somehow deleted all of the loooong catch-up thread I posted, so you'll just have to imagine its voice-filled brilliance.  Instead I'll give you the quick sum-up:  Went to Seattle for long President's Weekend.  Ate poorly and only got one run in (though it was a good one).  Returned with a headcold and a gimpy hamstring somehow.  Ran today and kept the hammie at bay - hoping for more success this week.  Props to all of you for your continued progress.  I look forward to back-reading the last 12 pages of posts!

-Kent

My thoughts for today...

Anyone effected by the tornados, I am glad you are safe. I could not imagine having to live with that fear. I might complain about the snow we get in New York State but I will take that over tornados any day.

Sorry to hear that injuries and colds are still effecting everyone.

I bought a Garmin 305 today on Ebay, very excited to get it.

Thanks to Quincy's idea of the calendar and workouts, I have one set up and am working great with it. I am thinking of getting a bike computer, any suggestions for a good cheap one? Also, at what speeds are all of you at? I did 6.6 miles the other day at the gym with an average speed of 12.5, not sure good bad or what.

I also bought a trainer for my bike, got it off of Craigslist for dirt cheap, Cyclops wind trainer. My GF was like, "oh you can ride that in the garage then. " My reply was, "Yes sometimes I might but I will be doing it in the living room and watching TV or something like that, however I would be more than happy to put it back in the garage when I am done" I added the last part because I knew she might be a little ticked off if I didn't.

My swimming...well class went kind of well. There are 2 other people in class, one doesn't know how to swim and the other is taking a class again. I am attempting to do my kicks with fins on due to my need to kick like I am riding a bike. Will be practicing more swim wednesday so I will see how it goes. Might look into immersion swim stuff.

I hope everyones training is going great!

TODAY'S QUESTION:

When to wear and not wear compression shorts and socks?  I recently bought a pair of shorts and socks from WalMart, $10 for the shorts, $7 for the socks (toes to over calf).  Not sure about the quality, but it was worth a try for the price.  $45 for socks at road runner was a little to pricey right now.  I will look when I go to the Expo on saturday for other choices, depending on the responses here.

(I really must be committed, not really, commit me) LOL

New Milestone Today:

Increased to 2.5 miles and 12 minutes of jogging. 

Yes welcome back!  I'm quite familiar with the feeling of needing a vacation from your vacation!  And...welcome back to training!

You know what?  Living in the midwest my whole life...tornados are just part of it.  You learn early on to pay attention to the forecasters and the radar.  Honestly, it's not very scary.  Although, it is just awful to watch the destruction...especially when you happen to be familiar with the area or know the people.  A colleague of mine is from Henryville, IN and knows people who lost everything.  That brings it closer to home and makes you remember that those people you are seeing on TV are real people just like you and me.  Definitely makes you remember what's important.

Yay about the trainer!  And so begins your love/hate relationship with the trainer!  Make sure you lie a towel or 2 down under it to catch the sweat.  Your GF will def appreciate thate!

Glad to hear about the swim lessons.  Keep posting about that experience b/c I'm hoping it will motivate me to sign up for lessons!

Jacki

Like! 

Awesome job! Be very proud of yourself!

The socks are mainly used for recovery.   So put them on after running  or whenever your legs are sore.    Some people will wear them when they are racing. I have never worn them in an event.    But they do seem to help my legs recover a lil quicker  (or so I think)  f     But they are really hard to put on, so I only use them occasionally when I need a lil pick me up. 

Compression shorts.    Are you talking bike/tri shorts (with pad)   or without.   Cause if they are with pad  well,  run in them, bike in them whatever.     Compression running shorts  well,   again  where whenever you feel comfortable doing so.    I will say I love running in compression shorts.  The only issue  is sometimes they show a little too much  "Random man-parts"   so I'll make sure to wear a longer running shirt to obscure.       I used them in the Chicago Marathon last year and had a shorter shirt on and well  I did over hear a woman spectator say to another something like  "see there are benefits to spectating,  there is soft porn"  and pointed in my direction.   Ok  self conscience?  perhaps.    But I will make sure to wear the longer shirt next time.     Notice I did not say I will ditch the compression shorts.      Reason being,  there is no chafing, also my legs feel better in them  (maybe I should run in the socks???)      So if I'm racing damn it,  I'm just going to wear what makes me the most comfortable.   

Dunno if that answers your question or not.   But there it is.

Glad you are going to the expo.   Interested to hear what you have to say about it after you go.

And   CONGRATS on your run!            

Tornadoes-  Yes they do happen around here.    They do massive destruction but in a small area typically.    I have seen some in the sky,   scary stuff.     I'm not that far from Lake Michigan, I sort of think the lake protects where I live to some degree from Tornadoes .    There are some places in Illinois where tornadoes seem to rip through very often.   Glad it snot here!

Trainer-  That's great!   like Jacki said, have plenty of towels nearby! 

   Speed?  well that one is too hard to answer.  too many factors.    I always log spinning as 16 MPH     but all other training is for particular purposes.   Its like running,   have different run speeds or gears.   So speed is relative to what I'm trying to accomplish.    But I did average 22 MPH for a 90 mile bike race last year.  Of course it was draft legal.  so who knows?  

Swim-   So glad you are doing lessons and that its going well!  I bet you will have the other two thinking Triathlon shortly  right?

Compress everything as much as possible. 

No, not really...it's kind of a preference thing...I like the socks for achilles support and my favorite tri shorts are a pair of cwx 8 inch shorts...weirdly they don't give me a muffin top or sausage legs either. I have some compression tights too, but I don't wear them much...

Have fun at the expo...it's definitely a mix of awesome (great selection) and overwhelming (too much great selection). There's always a 'bargain' area where the deals can be really great...just try stuff on first.

THat's about where I'm at too! Congrats, and just think of how that would have sounded to you when you first started!

Hi guys,

I have to apologize about the swim clinic thing. I thought I had someone lined up, but it fell through, so I continue to look for a swim guru...it's like I keep it to myself and then when I think it's a sure thing and tell you guys, it falls through! 

It's kind of like that IRL too for my husband...we thought the masters team was going to be a great thing for him, but then started looking at the online reviews and got scared off by the negative ones. He's had individual coaching, but that's kind of run its course. I think he needs to get in the pool and just hammer some swim workouts, but he's not quite there yet.

What workouts are on tap for today?

I am going to try a shorter ride on the trainer...with about 15 minutes of intervals built in the middle! 

Q

Hey everone! Been outa commision for about a week w/some kinda nasty virus w/a fever and balance problems whenever I exerted myself. Doin alot better now, took the dog for a long walk yesterday and felt pretty good so I did a short slow run that I porbably shoulda waited another day for but things are looking up. Hopefully, I'll get a trainer ride in tonight. The Marine Corp Marathon registration opens at 3pm today and I think it sold out in a few hours last year so I'll have the CC ready to go promptly at 3.

Tom - Congrats on the milestone! That's awesome, take that win and make it your new foundation to build on. BTW, are you still doing the Souffolk County 5k? Let me know if you need a scouting report.

Jacki - So glad to hear your ok, tornados scare the cr@p outa me. So powerful and so little warning, we get the rare one here on LI but they're nothing like what you guys get.

Dave - Thanks for the input on the bike. I'm leaning towards the tri bike for the very reasons you stated. I hit some local LBS's and even Bikes Direct(I'll get a professional fitting if I go that route) and hope to make a decision soon. Bonus check from work this week is making this decision alot easier

Hey Ted,  I decided to drop the 5k 'cause it is less than 3 weeks and I still haven't got to 5K in my training.  However, I am planning on doing the Deep Pond Tri in Wading River on Aug 18th.  I am a Boy Scout leader and I hope to bring some of my scouts for the youth portion the day before and stay at my cousins in East Shoreham.  They are haveing a $10 discount before the end of March if I sign up now, so I think I will.

Tom

Tracking equipment really does help.  Jan 6th, avg mph on bike was 13.48 -  TODAY  15.98 MPH  Woo Hoo

Going for Sushi tonight!  Protein  hehehe

Q, What I thought of in January is what I still think of today -  "Jane, GET ME OFF THIS CRAZY THING!"  (Jetsons)

May the Legs be with You!

Sounds like a great weekend and a nice way to get the kids involved. That race is really in my neck of the woods. I think it's a first year event but the swim and the run are probably the same as the Xterra Schiff Scout tri they've been doing there for years.  Here'e a link to some race reports for some local dudes who have done the Xterra http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/directory/link-detail.asp?linkid=2127

Good Luck!!

I know, I am the same way...I have to be listening to music, playing a game, and eating jellybeans to even get on the dumb thing. It's a bit out of hand...close to 16 is excellent...great job! MMM, Sushi!

Q

How are the arms feeling this morning? Did you do your swim all at once or did you break it down into smaller segments?

I had one of Jacki's days; Didn't feel like it, went anyway, only 2 miles, what the hey!  Massage tomorrow - deep tissue for my legs, expo on Saturday in NY city

I'm actually glad the swim guru didn't show yet.  Procrastination wins again!  My question is, how long/far do folks practice in the pool without touching the bottom of the pool or holding on to the side - what should I aim for?  I'm currently doing 100s with 20 second standing/gasping breaks and having a difficult time imagining more.  What should I try to build towards?  Also - any suggestions for how to break up my pool time?  I'm currently doing a short swim of 30+ min and a long of 54+ min.  I did my first shot at speedwork last swim - doing a few 25s trying to see what my time across the pool was (21 seconds.  Felt like a champ, but realized that every kid in the 7-8s on my kids' swim team could smoke me).  I see, however, looming out there, the need to leave the pool and get out in the open water.  Also also also, I'm really only swimming by breathing every other stroke - that's every right arm stroke or every left arm stroke.  I can manage that, but trying to do more just geeks me out with my breathing - primarily the difference between a long exhale and a quick inhale.  My breathing seems to regulate more evenly - should I fix this? 

That oughta keep the swim guru busy - whenever s/he does appear. 

Had a great run today.  4 miles of pushing it and coming in at a speed that I just usually can't do.  I won't embarass myself here by offering up a pace, but I'll say that for me it felt really good.  So I hope you all find a good run in the days to come.  I'm going to bed feeling satisfied tonight.

-Kent