Mav's mentor group - CLOSED (Page 4)

Holy cow...I had to play catch up in here and instead of replying to everyone individually I will give a blanket post. I've had computer issues so I haven't been able to get on here the last few days which almost makes me feel like i'm going through withdrawals. If nothing else I always visit BT on a daily basis

Welcome to all the new peeps in here and congrats to those of you who have entered your first race. As for those of you who are starting to train but haven't signed up for a race I will say that I have to agree completely with what Marianne said ~ sign up for one. I kept saying I wanted to do a triathlon but once I signed up for one it kind of made it "real" for me!

Water challenge ~ I'm totally in! I carry a water bottle with me EVERYWHERE but it has become so common place for me that I sometimes actually forget to use it. This will keep me on track again as I also have found that I am often thirsty and not hungry.

Shoes - There are 3 styles; MTN, ROAD, and TRI, plus one other.  Get yourself a pair of mountain bike shoes for training and later get a pair of Tri specific shoes for race day.  If you get to the point where you want to shave a few minutes off your time. 

MTN Bike shoes have enough tread that you can walk indoors or on trails without damaging the floor of the house (important), the cleat on the bottom or slipping and falling.  The triple clamping mechanism is comfortable on a long ride but can be tricky to get off in a hurry.  The lugged sole make this style of shoe a bit heavy.  Not a problem in training, maybe something to think about on race day. 

ROAD Bike shoes - smooth on the bottom and made of light weight materials like carbon and kevlar.  The closure is very mechanical that cranks on tight and stays put.  These are stiff platforms and specially designed for Road Racing.  These are nice for group training ride and for that Century Ride every tri athlete has on the training schedule.  Every Cyclist who has more than 3 pair of shoes should have several of these.

TRI Specific shoes - smooth on the bottom and made of similar materials to ROAD but have velcro straps.  Closure is made of velcro so that you can have you shoes already attached to the bike. Run up, jump on, and ride away.  After the bike is at cruise speed you slip your feet inside the shoes and close the velcro one handed.  This can save about 45 seconds.  But it's important not to crash while you're putting your feet inside and pulling the velcro closed.

The other style of shoes look like tennis shoes but have a cleat mounting point on the bottom.  These very comfortable but are soft soled and don't provide a good platform for endurance rides.

WALKED THE DOGS THIS AM FOR 40 MIN - WARM UP BEFORE I RAN FOR 35 MIN = 3.5 MILES.

I'm trying to figure out what days are best to use as my rest days. Sounds crazy but my work schedule is not consistant everyday and it makes it difficult. I think I just need to commit to myself and go with it. f it doesn't work then be willing to change it up. My fear is that I'll just stop as I've done in the past. Now that you all know that maybe it will be easier.

Have a good day - I'll try the water challenge.
Julie Gibson

Day 4 water challenge complete.  Thank you Mav, may I have another?

We have a new coach at the pool today.  She's a former collegiate swimmer from Cal with some experience teaching age groupers.  So far she seems very quiet.  I'm very lucky to have found a good club with good coaches.  2800yard swim today.  Wished I'd had time for a 200 cool down, but as soon as the workout is done, I have to jump out of the pool, shower quick and drive fast to make it to work on time.

Tuesday's 60min swim workout.
wu:
  5x100 - Swim
  5x50 - Extra warmup
drill:
  6x75 - Fist,Tips,Swim
  1x400 - Paddles
mainset:
  3x400 - 1x200@4:10, 4x50@1:05
cd:
  zippo

Well I got my swim on and boy did it feel good to be back in the pool. I will know how my shoulder feels about it tonight or tomorrow I plan on doing it again Thursday but my daughters instructor said that Sammi kept calling for me and wasn't as happy as usual so if she is the same way Thurs then I will go back to watching as I don't think it's fair to Sam or her instructor.

As for water ~ I'm a little more than half way there so I know I will make it today. Now off to do school work. *Sigh*