Baowolf mentor group is [ Closed ] (Page 38)

I had a race yesterday (our local town sprint) and it raised many questions for me about racing, and the conditioning I need to work on between the ears. I finished the race, although not as well as I hoped. I'll post a link to the race report when done. . I had a few things not go well yesterday, but right out of the gate it was all Negative Nance attitude, and the gremlins just took over. Even half way through the swim I was already in downer mode about "geez, do I even want to finish?".  Honestly, I have no idea where this is coming from. And the prior week at the HIM, it was 180 degrees the other way, with nothing but positive vibes, and feeling good the whole way.

The mental thing is odd. I have some mental block that keeps me from going where I need to race wise. In these shorter races for some reason I won't/can't get myself to move faster. I'm in much better shape this year than I was last year for this race, but once I get moving there's a voice in my head that just seems to say "whoa, don't go any faster, you may get tired and...."  I'm baffled. It makes no sense, and it only feeds into the negative thoughts. Not sure what to do here. I don't think its as simple as a HTFU attitude adjustment. Maybe get more fit? I finished the race feeling like I could have left MUCH more out there, but for some reason when I'm out there, it doesn't happen. I don't get it.

Race report up

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=447590&posts=1&start=1

Mike, I actually think your mindset makes a lot of sense.  You have been training for and racing longer events.  So you've been conditioning your mind and your body to hold back, pace it, don't blow up...etc.  Then all of a sudden you're in a sprint race, which is now supposed to be "easy" for you.  But it's not that easy to shift gears like that mentally, and physically endurance <> speed.  Plus, you had a really challenging turn of events with your last race.  You seemed to bounce back mentally really fast, but sometimes I think we try to rush ourselves a bit in that regard because we WANT to bounce back really fast, and we are not quite "there" yet.  Perhaps not the case with you, but just throwing that out there for your consideration.

My race report is also up:     http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=447648&posts=1&start=1

Sucky, hot run this morning.  Dumped water on my head twice, and then just didn't have it.

Oh, and learned something new about my bike.  Took Kerry's in to be adjusted yesterday, and we learned from the mechanic that there is a "trim" on the gear shifters (shimano 105 -- same as mine).  Doesn't actually shift, but moves the deraieur over slightly so that if it starts to rub in one of the "far" gears on the cassette, you can click once and it will stop that.  Maybe this is bike 101, but it was news to me!

Mike, I have been there.  Running short races in what feels like flat out is a completely different kind of race than these longer ones.  It turns out that if you are fit you can run a race "as short" as a marathon just under LT.  I went from a 23:30 5k to a 17:58 3 miler 3 years later.  I had never even run sub 6:30 mpm in practice for anything, I had no idea that I could hold a 5:59 pace for 3 miles.  My body was like wow my legs don't even turn over any faster than this, but I should have the endurance to not crash and it worked.  Going from an 8:40 marathon pace to a 7:25 mpm pace was quite the mental jump.  When most of your long runs are 8:30, the thought that you can run 7:25 for 3+ hours is kind of mind boggling  One can even do a race "as short as" a HIM at a z3 pace if you are fit enough.  It is a really bad idea to go out that fast in a first HIM because you don't know how much it will hit you on the run.  On the second HIM you can hit it pretty hard and should have a thicker base to depend on. 

After my bike crash where I broke my collarbone, I was pretty iffy on the bike for a couple weeks after I was able to ride again.  I remember going down a hill at 35 mph with a cross wind and my mind was going .... um this is not good, you may want to slow down, bad vibes here. 

In IMCDA I had insufficient run base due to pulling a calf muscle 6 or 7 weeks before the race.  I was indifferent in the swim, had long transition times, indifferent on the bike and then tentative on the run.  I didn't think I would be able to run the entire marathon or that my leg would go boom at some point and I would no longer be even able to walk to the finish.  I was able to jog the entire marathon and then regretted having such a pissy attitude during the race.  I didn't leave anything on the course, however, it really did take a lot out of me to run that mary.  You have your own self-doubts for your own reasons.  As you get more races under your belt you will feel better about even the short stuff and put those self-doubters away.  You don't have to nail a race to enjoy it.  You can just be happy that you are out there doing something pretty awsome and not sitting on the couch eating nachos and drinking beer. 

So short story long, its ok to feel crappy in a race, fine to feel like you could have done better, iffy about racing after a crash.  Keep in mind that this is fun, that you are more fit, doing great things and living a lifestyle of competing rather than getting fat and unhealthy.  You are setting a great example for family and friends and you have a right to feel better about yourself for your good work.  Let go of what you can, go for a run with no watch, no garmin, no heart rate, do not do intervals or press yourself, just enjoy the scenery and feel the wind on your skin.  This is fun.  Us type A folks can get too serious about things sometimes and not enjoy them simply for the sake of being alive, being healthy and being able to play hard.  Enjoy your day... or you won't. 

hello everyone! Been busy traveling to a wedding, having friends in from out-of-town and volunteering at CDAIM. Been reading the posts, but no time to write. I hope the breakup with running has been talked through and y'all are back together!

Mike - I imagine crashing on your bike has impact on you mentally that you might not be aware of, so don't be hard on yourself. One small sprint in a world of triathlon's. Chalk it up to a lesson learned and one more under your belt. But I am sorry it was crappy!

Carol - Nice race. Your bike speed looked good to me too! yay for new bikes. I am glad to learn that little piece of info on the shifters so when I get a new bike I will know that much more

Steve - thanks for all the hill info. My bike will include hills at least once a week now. I am officially on the bike hunt. Can't buy yet due to money, but I'm gonna know what I want so when a good deal comes and I have the money I can jump. Great job on your run pace! I can't believe people run that fast. When you were talking about looking at yourself and thinking "I can't maintain a faster speed over that distance." That is what I think when I look at the speed some of y'all run distances at. However, in my short runs I am maintaing a 10+mph pace, which is fun to see.

Today I officially signed up for CDAIM....woohooo! My dream is coming true! Yesterday I was down volunteering and it was great! The bike course is new this year and it was kicking people's butts. Apparently Chris Lieto said it was tough..aahhh! If he thinks it is hard I don't know what to think. But I have a year and can experience the course as much as I want. I did see many DNF's and that was hard and somewhat discouraging. I really don't want that to be me. Train, train, train. The swim was also very cold again this year, then it was cloudy and cold for most of the bike. The sun came out and it warmed up just in time for the marathon :p; we were talking about how hard that is. One guy did the entire swim in nothing but a speedo.

The guy at the bike shop suggested I get bike shoes and pedals now so I can practice with them before I get a new bike. He siad trying to ride a tri bike for the first time and wearing clipless for the first time might be too big of a learning curve. So I have some purchases to make and not much money. hahaha!

Entering first build week. excited to get back to longer miles; at least today I am excited about it!

I went from K-Mart mountainbike to Tribike with clipless pedals.  Ya it takes a little getting used to, but not a big deal.  You can stay up on the horns until you feel more comfortable with the handling and then move down into the bars more.  Now having the cables stretch and not knowing how to tighten the little screws to keep the chain in the middle of the cogs... that is another issue entirely.  For new bike folks, you need to get your bike retooled/tightened up after about 500 miles when the cables and such stretch and settle in.  You can do it yourself, but if you ask your LBS when you buy the bike they will probably do it for free.  It only takes them like 5 minutes. 

I know they made CDA flatter last year than the previous year, not sure if it is worse now than it was in 2010.  But ya CDA has its hills that is for sure. The run is much easier than Vineman, but the hills on the bike are worse.  Definately a fun IM.  I wanted to be back there to race it with you next year, but Tahoe was just too tempting being only 300 miles away as aposed to 900 ish.  I may do CDA in 2014, not sure.

Yall know about the IM legacy program right?  Do 12 IMs and get a legacy spot for Kona.  That may be my only way in given my slowness on the bike and swim.  We shall see. 

Okay Steve, I totally get why you chose Tahoe. But the thought of you coming out here and running in the same IM with me created a whole ton of excitement. To complete my first IM with my mentor, who has had an extreme impact on my current success and ability to even look ahead and believe I can do it. Well, if you change your mind you can stay in the basement at my house! And I don't know what the elevation gain and loss for previous CDAIM, but the new course has a 2300 gain and loss. It goes south on Hwy 95 and the highway is fast and known around here as one of the most dangerous to drive on. I am just so thankful IM is going to stay in CDA because it almost left and went to Bend, Or. I would have been seriously dissappointed, but it is here for 5 more years. So when you do head out here again you will always be welcome to stay in my home!

My run today was pretty awesome. I did a 12.4 mile bike, then an hour later did 3.3 run. I thought I finished it much later than my planned time, but later realized I was 5 minutes faster. So 3.3 in 36:04; 10:52 min/mi. Bike was faster than the planned time as well. Of course, I am coming off a recovery week and three days with no training, but I will take what I get!

The CDA I did had around 6000 foot of elevation gain, so 2300 gain would be considered a flat course for me.  Or did you mean that the start elevation at CDA is 2300 feet?  Tahoe has 2 1000 foot climbs.  I train at 4500 feet so to tahoe it is a gain of 1700 feet to the lake and another 1k to the bike summit. I would also like to do Boise HIM again nice flat course for bike and run and really nice pavement.

I would like to do CDA again, I know I can do it faster. For my race the water was a nice and cozy 60F, but had 2 foot wind waves diagonal to the course.  Not a lot of fun. 

Samantha -- congrats on signing up for the IM!! Nice to have a race right there in your backyard! Good luck with everything over the next year. I'm sure it will be spectacular to hear Mike Reilly say those 4 words....

Steve -- Thank you for the post about the race. Great perspective. I've printed it out and posted a copy near my bike trainer so I can read it when necessary.

Speaking of bikes, here is what my ride is looking like now that she's all fixed up, and has some new shoes

(bike small.JPG)

The bike is great. I talk to it all the time. I apologize to it if I don't go for rides when planned . It is pure joy to ride. Its the finest mechanical thing I've ever owned.

Biggest impact of the wheels are how well it rolls now.  Really noticeable and very cool. It doesn't seem to lose speed when you are not pedaling. When you push it, seems like you move quicker. Ride is fine; tires are clinchers. Have not noticed any issues with crosswinds, but as I ride them more, I'll update.

Just need to work on the engine....

I would cry if I crashed that bike even if I didn't get hurt.  I might just want to hang it on the wall and look at it, tuck it in at night.
Bahahahahaha...I might laugh about this for a couple days!

Steve - thanks for the hill pearls - I really thought standing up was something to work toward even though I know every time I do I want to die. It is a tool for certain moments, but nothing more. Great to know! And I don't want to almost die every time I stand up. Train, train, train!

BTW, all of you will be welcome in my home if you want to come for CDAIM someday. The area is beautiful to visit. Your lodging would be free and we could work out food cost too. Meeting any of you in person would be sweet!

5m run today and nearly passed out at mile 2. Not enough calories; I have got to get that under control. Ate a GU and did walk/jog for the next two miles to recover. Then I kicked it the last mile. Ended up finishing 30 seconds faster than planned and felt great! 1200 yard swim after that at 2:13/100. My left shoulder is giving me grief. I feel it on the pull. Not sure what I am doing wrong, so I will be doing some research.

Mike - your ride is SICK! So glad new wheels are making a difference I am so excited to get out on a new bike and not have to take my hand off the bars to shift. Like you said, it is all in the engine and this engine is still a work in progress. I hope the bike is actually an improvement even with a weak engine.

While my journey continues to clear away the weeds from this new path, many hurdles appear that they will continue to resurface, like rocks or roots from a well laid path. Perhaps one thing to remember come race day is that it is only one day. Think of all the training that went into making that one day possible. This might raise some serious disappointment although it should allow us to be as resolute

Mike – Glad to see you are getting back on your feet so quick. Nothing but broken hardware can stop you from rocking your races. I can relate to your sprint frustrations. Feeling fully prepared and not knocking it out of the park is tough. Very nice bike!

Carol – Great news on the bike deal! The family support is a great bonus. My wife has been getting out more and doing some walking. I like to kid her some about being ready for a 5K in no time.

Steve – Thanks for the bike pearls. There is definitely some stuff I will use although biking 200-250 mile in a month might have to wait a while. Ok I am a bit behind on this but had what I thought was a great long run yesterday. When you had previously asked about long run split times, I did not have what I would call a long run, but I have been working it a bit the past few weeks.

Great long run last night of 6 mile, followed by a 1350 swim! I could see something change in my last 5.5 mile run Saturday but really feel some breakthrough coming here. See if you agree? Split times 10, 9:01, 10:16, 10:19, 10:30, 10:59, and 9:30 for the last .13.

The speed is not coming as fast as I would like but the path is solid. Many hurdles have been cleared, but the journey has just begin. Everyone's progress is impressive. Press on!

Joe, great to see you!  Nice run, and thank you for the reminder that it's about the journey.  Every obstacle overcome is a victory.

Samantha, YAY for you signing up for IMCDA!!!  Your training is looking great, and I think you might even be starting to like running .  Excited about your bike hunt as well.  Kerry & I got zero interest for 12 mos on our bikes from Trek.  We're not big fans of financing anything except a house, but zero interest makes it a good option.  Anyway, you could check into it if that makes sense for you.  Doubt I'll be doing the IM, but visiting you in CDA sounds pretty nice!

Steve, so how many more IM's do you need for that Kona legacy entry?  Thanks for the tips on new bike adjustment.  Bike shop will do free adjustments for life on our bikes and always seem to have plenty of mechanics working.

Mike, very nice bike and new wheels!  Just need some races now.  I'm not signed up for anything except a trail 20K in the fall right now, so am sort of raceless as well.  I'm sure that won't last long for either of us.

So Steve, I took your suggestion and decided to run earlier.  Woke up at 4:30 this morning and was greeted by the weather lady telling me it was 86 degrees w/ no wind.  Slogged through 5 miles, but really it's just about survival with this weather pattern.  I'm drinking and taking walk breaks just to get through.  Any thoughts of more quality runs are out the window.  However, I'm LOVING the new pool and having zero allergy issues.  Sticking with 2K yard workouts and experimenting around a bit.  Riding on my own a couple times during the week, and have a 35ish mile bike ride lined up for Saturday morning with a new group.       

Joe, the run looks good. I would try to pace for a 10:15 mpm and keep it between 10:15 and 10:30 the entire time.  Your upper end is 11:00 mpm.  When you go over 11 you know you are in your "growing miles" miles where your fitness is not as solid, but where you will grow into them and start holding your pace for more miles.  So a little slower at the start and then hold it tot he end.  Run speed comes slowly, first you get your base miles up to 25 to 35 a week for 4 months or so and then you can add speedwork in.  "Easy" speedwork would look like a tempo run and that is fine.  Something like 10:30,  10:00, 9:30, 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30 would be good for you or shorter depending on what your runs are like.  Also fun is to run faster on the downhills of your run.  On Monday my pace was a slow recovery run, but I sped up to a 6:00 mpm pace on the downhills.  It gets your legs used to turning over faster, but does not provide the stress that running that fast on the flat does.  Strides are also fine.  Start from a stop, lean forward and gradually increase your pace for 100 right foot strikes.  By the end you should be going pretty fast.  Rest and repeat.  You can throw these in the middle of any run.  Another thing you can do is just pick up the pace "some" between two telophone polls a couple times during your run. 

This year will be my 4th IM, but only 1 of those have been IM name branded because they are soo darn hard to get into and are significantly more expensive than other full distance tris.  So 11 more IM IMs to go.  That likely puts me up 2 age groups so I would be 57 years old if I do one per year.  I could "just complete" some IM's and do 2 a year, but what fun is that?  I guess I will just see what happens.  Who knows I might get some bike speed out of nowhere.  I am trying to add 1000-2000 miles to my biking this year with a couple rounds of bike focused training.  With running the speed just kind of happened after training long enough.  I am hoping that the bike is the same way.   

On Sunday there was a guy coming through bike to run transition and I told him "good job" and I could instantly see he was crying. It broke my heart to think he might walk away from the day feeling like he failed. Joe I agree with you about it being one day in the entire year of success after success. Even those who don't train as much were successful enough to make it to the start line. For all those who didn't make the finish line I hope they can see it for what it is. And I hope next year I will take my own advice if I am DNF .

On a sad note, there was a 44 year old man who was pulled from the swim after about 25 minutes, he was taken to the hospital and he did not make it. I am waiting to find out what happened; they are going to perform an autopsy. Please, fellow triathletes, if you are going to do a tri in a notoriously cold lake -- train in cold water!! I have no idea if that was the cause, but I know people don't make it past the swim cut-off because they develop hypothermia. I talked to a guy who was out here with several competitors and one gal refused to get in on any of the cold water swims during training and she was a DNF - heart breaking!

On a positive note, I did my long ride yesterday, 32.17m and maintained a 16:19 pace. The course has some decent rolling hills, but would be considered flat. I am saving my medium ride for my hill climbing until I get a new bike.

Steve - Too bad about you have four down and only one counts. So I tried the stretch you told me about. Either I am doing it wrong, I am more flexible than you or your giant arm muscles get in your way . I actually am really flexible. Today I am going to focus on entry and catch.

Carol - A local bike shop near me sells trek exclusively and I would love to buy from them; however, the cheapest carbon tri bike is $2900. If I find a used one I think I can get a smokin deal. Right now there is a Cervelo P2 for $1800 with lots of extra's. I don't have that money, but I am seeing good deals. NOt to mention, another bike shop has a brand new quintana roo for $1800. All of which are cheaper than the trek's. I had been considering their interest free for 6months as a viable option since I also don't use credit. I believe the Lord will provide!

2000 yard swim and 19 mile bike today.

Larry, that made my heart skip a beat as well.  So very glad it's not a crack in your fork! 

Steve, wow, the IM organization has got it going on with the $$'s to get those legacy spots. So in the end it costs like $7K, not to mention travel costs, to secure one?  If you "invest" that much in Vegas, at least they put you up in a suite!

Samantha, hear you on Trek not being such a great deal given that you're going the tri bike route.  I think they are a bit more in line on their road bikes.  And you are right, if God is for it, you will have a bike in His timing.

So I heard a rumor that they MIGHT move IMTX to Grapevine.  When I heard that I realized that I just might have some latent desire to do it.  They will likely get things worked out to have it in the Woodlands again, in which case I wouldn't even think about it.  But if they do move it to my backyard, I will have an interesting delimma.  Maybe voluteer in 2013 and grab a spot for 2014.

Solo bike this morning, and probably ride with my hubby a little more this evening, so skipping my mid-day swim in favor of billing some hours and paying for those bikes!

Hi everybody, today I am 30 days out from Vineman! Honestly, I'm a bit concerned! I knew going into this that everything needed to be spot on for me to finish. Last week was a very busy week for me, I was trying to run 2 practices 120 miles apart and vacation with my family all at the same time and even squeeze in some good training when I could! For the most part I did great! I got my long run and rides in but when I returned Friday I was empty! I ran 15 miles Saturday morning and felt pretty strong for most of it, but that night felt ill. Sunday I was supposed to ride 112 miles with my Tri Club and I passed so I could sleep in. After a good sleep in, I ended up getting in about 60 miles that day.

I took Monday and Tuesday off to recover and ran 5 miles Wednesday, had a really good run. Today I was supposed to swim/bike, but again felt ill when I got up so I skipped the swim and did a 30 bike. Mitch is still laid out, so I've been solo in my efforts! :-(

I've got 2 more weeks at best of training before I need to taper and I'm afraid if I can't get the mileage in this weekend, I need to call it and just focus on HITS Palm Springs in December. I don't want to be a no show for a race but this is a very challenging course and I DNF'd it last year and I definitely don't want that again. 

So Steve, I'm definitely open for your advice on this. I don't always follow but I do always listen and you guys are a great group and I enjoy keeping up on everyone's adventures!!

I will have to work on training in the heat because what little I have done so far has not been fun. Add to that the pool where I swim had a water temp of 90-92 one day and that was equally unenjoyable.

Carol - What would typical open water temps be?

I had my own bike saga last night. After getting on the road feeling good and looking to go long. A bit of a head wind but no problem still averaged of15mph for the first 6 mile. I drove over some debry nothing too unusual when I notice something must be on the tire. Maybe a bit of glass or something. I stop to check only to find out some how a tack had found its way into my tire. Who even used tacks anymore? Not sure what to do and figuring I could not really leave it  in I pulled it out and thus ended my long ride because I had no pump with me.

Impromtu repair time. I remember most of what to do except when I finally got to a pump I was not careful enough to make sure the tire did not pinch the tube. Now it is time for a trip to the LBS for a tube and a spare.

What kind of experience do you all have with the CO2 pumps? I have a small hand pump but it worked better for the Mtn bike than getting road tires up to 100PSI.