Matt Gilmartin's 2nd Quarter Group- back in the pool! FULL HOUSE (Page 4)

Melinda, this is awesome news!  So happy to see you progressing!  I'd highly recommend some weight training- start out with lots of reps at low weight, you'll get fast from that.  Strength is key in swimming.

Mariah, I saw this on FB but was busy.  Don't sweat these swims- in fact, these are the very types of swims that make you an outstanding OWS'er.  I remember my first OWS was in Lake Michigan and there were 3 foot waves.  It was terrifying, even for a guy that grew up in water.  Do not sweat poor performance in rough water.  Even when you are experienced it still can suck

Steve, I'm so glad to hear everything came back OK.  Health issues like that make you realize that things like triathlon are only for fun... don't sweat missing some training.

That being said- if you need some workouts to ramp up your training I'll be able to help you out :D

Welcome back!

Just got back from the drive (to check out the course I'm "supposed" to be doing this next weekend). OH MY GEE WHIZ!! It is SO hilly! I'm going to be working my rear off during the entire event (provided I make the entire ride)! There is one part that even says "Caution - extreme downhill"; I expected a downhill, but what it is is a very extreme downhill while the road snakes...very scary in a car, much less on the bike!

My husband believes I can do it; our LBS owner has faith in me; one of my buddies that is training for a 140.6 seems to think I can do it...I guess I just need to jump on the bandwagon and believe in myself too! 

I won't be on the bike much (if at all) this week, but will be in the water instead so as not to burn my legs out before next weekend!

I know you can do it, Mariah.  Have some faith in yourself!!!!  Handling that beautiful new bike on the hills will get your confidence up for sure   Good call on taking it easy this week- make sure you work out though, just a little bit- you don't want to lose fitness either.  I'd suggest some kick sets in the pool.

Mariah, I'm sure you can do it! Hope you share a race report afterward, my biggest goal on the bike right now is to ride hills and build endurance, I am pretty bad at it. I'd love to learn from your experience. Good luck and have fun on the ride! 

I went to a transition clinic this afternoon and was the only person there! That was fine with me because I got two-on-one advice from two very experienced teachers. I had a nightmare a week ago where I was at my first tri and forgot everything when I got to transition, so clearly I am sweating the transition part. They answered all my questions and then some, and helped me set up my space, so I feel much better now. It's hard being a complete beginner sometimes, but everyone is really helpful and friendly.

Still love reading everyone's posts!

Jen, transitions are truly the 4th sport in triathlon.  I actually took 2nd place in a race last summer, lost my AG by less than a minute.  Guy did his T2 in 39 seconds, mine was like 3 minutes due to shoes being in knots.  I kicked myself for weeks, nobody remembers who took 2nd.

Ouch, that would hurt to be so close! But second place, wow, that's still so good! The guys at the clinic had those shoes that you wear without socks and I guess you just slip in and pull a string or something at the back of the shoes, it tightens and off you go. I will be sitting down, drying my feet, putting on my socks and then my shoes and double-knotting the laces lol I can see how transition would be like the 4th sport!

Get some Yankz!- they're awesome.

However, if you have these shoes Yankz don't work that well. These are my racing shoes.  Yep, for real.

Oh wow, I bet those are easy to spot! Kinda funky, I like em.

It's time for some new shoes anyway so I might check this Yank stuff out, thanks to you both for the suggestion! Are they available at local shoe stores or do you order online? I am still running in $20 running shoes from Target. Can't believe they are still comfortable.

With my first tri in less than a month, I am really trying to catch up on the gear. I still need a wetsuit, and a tri suit or something besides old race t-shirts to wear, I'm still using an old bike helmet from college, and new shoes would be nice. But at least I have a road bike instead of a mountain bike now, I bought a race belt today after the clinic, I have a pair of padded bike shorts and some gloves, and I bought a great backpack with an outer compartment for wet stuff to use as my transition bag, so I am getting there. There's so much stuff to get!

Those are FABULOUS Matt!  Did you have to special order them?  I'm pretty devoted to my Newtons for running but would love to get a pair of these for work!

That sounds easy enough, thanks!

Robyn,

You can get them at Zappos.  They have a 2012 model that came out on April 1st, they're even cooler.  It takes a certain gravitas to wear them for sure

Did a 5K road race yesterday.  The Iowa State Triathlon Club puts on their annual Doughnut Run as a fundraiser.  They set up aid stations along the course and off your doughnuts, each one consumed gives you time off your finish time.  Some pretty crazy stuff.  (Link here)

This year I did not partake in any of the doughnut eating.  I was using this race as a warmup for the half marathon in two weeks.  Race course was pretty flat, and I ended up posting a decent time - 22:39 - despite asking for directions a couple of times as the course was not very well marked.  I really pushed myself through this one fitness wise as I'm sure my conditioning has not been the best.  Got 1 more solid week of training and a week of taper to prepare for the next race.  At this point I'm not getting my hopes up for a PR, but I'll give it a good shot.

OK, Christian.  I don't usually do 5K's unless it's a cause that means something to me.  Eating donuts is a cause I will gladly throw my considerable weight behind LOL.

Seriously??? How much time do you get off for each donut?  How many donuts did the winner eat?  This is freaking hilarious while being incredibly clever, too.

Second Yankz/Lock Laces.

Those shoes are pretty spectacular! Seems like you have the race times to match. I remember admiring them in the store but they were a little too pricey and I'm way too slow

Good luck on your hills, Mariah. Sounds like you've got it and you'll feel amazing when you cross the line. I don't even know what a hill or incline is anymore. I've been living in Florida too long where you get excited going over a speed bump.

There's so much more to triathlon then I initially thought. Any gals that can give rec's for race clothing (shorts, shirt)?

Ahh, if ONLY you were closer! I've been harassing anyone and everyone to join me in my race. No luck so far, especially at work. If you ever decide to take a trip or plan a race, let me know.  My parents live in D.C., I love that area, especially all the trails and paved bike paths. Maybe we can just temporarily switch lives

I too, made a career change and finished an accelerated BSN program a little over 2 yrs ago. I'm just working PRN nights (1-2 shifts/wk x 13.5 grueling hours) right now on a Med-Surg floor (blah!) while I'm in school to become a FNP. Excited about finishing but also dreading being the newbie again and the growing pains. I've always wanted to attach a pedometer during a shift. No workout has ever made my body ache quite nursing.

Hope you guys enjoyed your trip. Thanks for the laugh too.

I had a great race yesterday, I used the 2:00 pace group in the beginning to start "slow" and then pass them and increase the pace later in the race. Official time: 1:55:37.

Pace was:

HM: 28:20+27:13+26:47+27:24+5:53.

It was my first A race for the season, my next is a 1000m - 76 km - 20 km triathlon in August. As a former swimmer, I have always been a little afraid of the run part of a triathlon, but it seems that I can run quite good after all. So now I need to get the swim & bike training started

It is nice to read how people are training and having some of the same doubts as I have.

Live coverage of the Boston Marathon if you're near your computer:

http://universalsports.com/video/boston-marathon-april-16-2012/

Commentary if you can't live-stream:

http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/microsite/article/0,8029,s6-239-506-0-14256-0,00.html