Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed (Page 39)

We also had cooler and less humid weather this past weekend.  Was able top put in a 68 mile and 10k foot climbing day on Saturday with really good power throughout.  Yesterday did more of a rolling route to shake the legs out a bit and still felt decent considering. 

I "feel" similar to Nicole in that I don't really notice a difference between indoor and outdoor power.

Been absent lately, and wish I could say it was just BT.  Work travel + sick and I'm now way behind for Tremblant 70.3 training.  Hope that I can put in some solid weeks at the end, but I'm still sick and not putting in much in the way of efforts.  We'll just have to see how this all plays out.

Love getting a good deal.  My wife went to an "athletic outlet" that's only around for a few days, and wouldn't you know it she left with three pairs of Hokas for me @ $50 each.  I'm now set for a while!

Hey Neil, is the outlet sale in the GTA area?  Always looking to stock up on discounted gear!

On the training front, I ran 7 kms on the treadmill last night after taking a few weeks off to rest my heel/foot.  Not sure if its plantar fasciitis as I don't have all of the symptoms but I don't want to take any chances.  

Felt good last night and this morning, but after my last run 2 weeks ago the pain came back later in the day so I'll have to see how it goes.

Will be putting speedwork on the back burner until this is totally resolved, but was wondering if hills work is a decent substitution and will improve speed?

The incline may actually help as it moves the pressure towards the front of the foot and away from my heel.

Also, received my LG M2 tri jersey last night.  I was in between sizes but on the advice of LG's customer service went with the larger size and glad I did.

It is tight!!!  I will have to test it out in the water, but I don't think it will impact my swim any more than a wetsuit. For those who wear sleeved tri tops, I have heard that some will only wear it pulled down around the waist underneath a wetsuit and then slip the sleeves on during the run to transition?

For most of the local races, the distance to T1 is quite short and would likely cut into transition time to get the jersey on. 

When I raced in January, I hadn't raced since the previous June.  I should have practiced transitions on my own (with the gear I planned to race in), but I didn't.  They were a bit rough (T2 mostly).  That said, I think if you're willing to actually practice transitions on your own, racing isn't that big of a deal.  I think you'd be more than fine with one race leading up to your "A" race.  

And for what it's worth, I'd much rather go into my "A" race healthy than have a tune up race where I hurt myself just to practice transitions. 

Ben-I suspect a "solo race" like that is also good for building mental toughness. Just focusing on what you are doing rather than what is going on with other racers.  Sounds like you are in a good place heading into the season.

Sorry I have been absent.  I have been following along.  Had my 3rd race of the season on May 14th.   It was a super sprint and I got to go off in the "elite" first wave of 15.  Not sure that I qualify as elite in any way but it was fun to race head to head with the really fast guys.  Ended up 8th in the wave so didn't embarass myself despite the limited running. 5K effort was about 30 seconds off from the prior year.

We have our big local race coming up on June 4th.  Swim is blah, bike is good and run is meh.  Right knee was doing great after the cortisone shot earlier this month but after a hard 5K run effort at the 5/14 race it is bothering me again. So, I have an MRI next Tuesday and we will see what is going on.  I suspect a torn meniscus.  My ortho is a buddy from my tri team so hope to hear back quickly after the MRI.  I suspect I will likely get scoped in early June and hopefully be fit enough for some decent race efforts in Sept/Oct.

Have to admit that my motivation has been low this year.  I hope that I can still bike over the Summer as I have really enjoyed getting out on the road bike this year.  I suspect my bike fitness is pretty good but I need to get out on the tri bike a bit more.  Have to admit that I am curious as to what improvements I  could make cycling without all the distractions of swimming and running.  I should have a better idea of what the rest of the year holds after the MRI....seems that recovery from meniscus scope varies a good bit.  I know Jason mad a quick recovery and didn't lose a step...not sure the same will hold true for an old man like me.

Anyone have big weekend plans? 

I think / hope that's the problem with my swimming.  It has been a constant struggle for me all year (and late last year), which fits in perfectly with when I was able to start running again.  My old "cruise" pace is now my "fast, feel like I might die" pace, and that's been really disappointing, but I'm hoping that if I lose five minutes in the swim, it's because I made up a few on the bike and 10+ on the run (yeah, that's how bad of a runner I am/was!).

It was warm (78F) and humid (100%) for my long run on Sunday -- I had some tempo work in there, which I finished successfully, and then promptly proceeded to implode!  I spent the rest of the day being lazy and hydrating, but my HRV was in the dumps on Monday morning, which prompted some schedule rearrangement.  I took an easy day on Monday, did the harder of my two bike sessions on Tuesday morning (after the easy day), hill repeats on the treadmill Wednesday evening, and then the easier of my bike sessions (which is NOT easy, just easier than the other session) on Thursday morning -- needless to say, my legs hated me by the end, but came around nicely for an easy afternoon run.  All that to say, my MWF morning swims were all a struggle this week!

Has anyone else been listening to the Tower 26 Be Race Ready podcasts?  They've been really interesting and I'm trying to incorporate some of the things they do (and tools they use) to hopefully help improve my swimming.  If you haven't listened, I highly recommend it.  They're only nine episodes in, and each is less than 30 minutes: http://tower26radio.libsyn.com/ 

Had a great weekend of bike racing.  Didn't feel my best for the first race which was a 16 mile hill climb, but managed 6th overall and 3rd in my division.  Somehow felt a lot better the next morning for a 10.8 mile flat TT and set a new 25 minute peak power to finish 4th overall and again 3rd in my division.  Last race was a crit in the afternoon and won in a sprint to the line that also led to me taking the overall points win.