Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 41)

Jamie-that's a really nice week of running!

Cool here today with a 20-30mph North wind. Not great weather to play or watch soccer but we made it through. Was able to get my swim done first thing this morning and then my run around lunch time. Tomorrow is 2.5 hour ride with 3X30 intervals at HIM+ watts. I like to do these longer rides outside but it is suppose to be COLD here tonight and through the morning.....not sure I'm mentally up to 2.5 hours on the trainer. 

Jamie great work.  That's more than I will run tis month.

My LBS ride group is doing a 50 mile mountain climb tomorrow which is out of my league right now so I decdided to do my long ride today.  It's going to be 10+ degrees cooler so i thought I should take advantage of the high 60s weather while i could.

I put two of my favorite rides together to make a nice 37 mile figure 8.  Turned it in just over 2 hours.  I am a little tired but my backside is killing me.  I keep looking a new saddles but I have got to do it.  Anything over an hour on my current saddle is a pain in the arse.

The good news is I have 292 miles on the bike so far this month.  Hitting my goal should be almost anticlimatic.  Already thinking about a goal for next month.  BTW - no need to say it...yes I am crazy.

Stuart-good work. You should be well over 400 for the month!

Looks like I'm going to spend the morning on the trainer in the garage. 28 degrees out. Would love to go outside but I just don't have the gear for really cold weather riding. We just don't get all that much cold weather.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday.

Oh how I wish we had taken the same path! Jamie and I went on a ride this morning and it was the COLDEST ride ever. Well, at least on my hands. I had to ask Jamie to stop like 4 times so I could warm my hands up. They had gotten to the point where I couldn't feel them at all and it was difficult to change gears. Luckily, he was cold too, so I didn't feel too bad making us stop so often. Jamie's phone was also running out of batteries quickly due to the live direction tracking we were using on MapMyRide, so we called it. Made it about 2 hours instead of our planned 2:30.

We talked about cold weather gear, but living in SC just doesn't call for it all that often. Not sure it's worth it to spend the money. Although I'm really thinking about getting the ebst dang gloves money can buy after that ride

Jason-nice run. Turning into a Yeti up there in the snow?

Nate-I hear you. I'm good down to about 40 degrees. Toe covers for the shoes, fairly light gloves, tight thin beanie under the helmet, ususal bibs and a couple of layers under a long sleeved cycling jersey. Not sure its worth the money for me to get too much cold weather gear. Better to save for a portable air conditioner that follows me around on the bike and run during the Summer!

2.5 hour trainer ride done! Not terrible thanks to Netflix. I think thats a record for me....not sure I'm anxious to break it anythime soon.

I'm good for 40 degrees MTB but I HATE going out under 50 on the road!  Even with 50 it better be bright and sunny LOL

Took yesterday off.  I generally don't like to take 2 days off in 1 week but life does get in the way sometimes.  Trainer ride today and tomorrow starts a new week.  

Hope everyone is having a good day and I'm anxious to hear about Dave's race from yesterday!

When I first moved to Texas people here said "We never get snow" ... every year since I moved here (2007) we had snow in the Dallas area. Only for about half a day but that is enough for me. It usually doesn't get that cold here but in the last couple of weeks it has been in the upper 20's to lower 30's when we started our weekend rides at 8 am. I invested in a Pearl Izumi Cold Weather bootie that goes over the shoes and a little higher than the ankle. Since I bought those I haven't had cold feet. Two pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves some protection for the face and the neck and some thermal underwear under the cycling jersey and tri shorts ... I take the cold weather over the trainer any day!!!!!!!!!!

With that said ... today I did something new ... my coach called it a double brick! 1 Hour ride, 20 minutes run, 1 Hour ride, 20 minutes run ... now I am tired. Relaxing for the rest of the day ...

Mary-you are doing it the right way. Too much too soon and you end up injured. Keep it up and you will hit all of your goals.

I know several folks have upgraded from road bikes to tri bikes over the last few months. After getting my first tri bike I began thinking about how I could "buy" more speed to further increase speed on the bike. Lots of times people immediately think of carbon race wheels as an option. They do make a bike more aerodynamic but they are expensive. Here are some other, less expensive options, that will provide much of the benefit a set of aero wheels would.

http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/ITT-Time-Savings.jpg 

1. Aero helmet-relatively inexpensive and almost the same time savings as rear disc and aero front wheel.

2. Wheelcover for rear wheel. This adds a little weight but the aero advantages far outweigh the weight penalty. www.wheelbuilder.com   Around $100 but frequently on sale. They make different sizes for many popular wheels but there are some wheels that don't work. You need to remove the cassette to install it and they can be tricky to install correctly but give you most of the advantages of a disc wheel.

3. Low rolling resistance tires/latex tubes-not mentioned in the link above but good tires/tubes can result in substantial savings. To get an idea of some of the better tires in terms of rolling resistance you can look on www.slowtwitch.com and do a search. The Continental Grand Prix 4000S always scores well and is a good combination of a "fast" and durable tire. Its been my training tire choice for the last couple of years and they are well made. For race day I use Vittoria Open Corsa Evo Clincher with Vittoria Latex tubes. There are mixed reports on the durabilty of latex tubes but I believe that deals more with whether they are installed correctly. The Vittoria tires will not give you the miles the Continentals will but I believe the Vittoria's are a little faster.    

4. Monitor your chain and cassette wear. Keep them clean and replace them when they get worn.

5. Clean up your bike and only carry what you REALLY need. I'm not big on shaving grams but organizing the brake/shifter cables on the front of the bike and cutting down on what you carry in a race will make you faster at the same effort level. 

6. Race wheels are great and do work but they are expensive. If you have a big race and don't want to drop to much money to have fast wheels for the race looking at renting a set. If you have to buy a set look at the used market. Lots of nice wheels out there with plenty of good miles left in them.

Hope this helps as we head into race season!   

Lately I'll have an awesome week of training followed by a not-so-awesome, and sometimes pretty aweful one. This is why I think I cannot go beyond the Olympic distance anytime soon and it makes me mad.

Today I'll do something. Don't know what yet because I'm aggravated with myself.

Rene: Thanks for the kind words. Sometimes I'm such a crybaby. Can't wait to see the damage you did to your tire!

Did my strength training today. I plan to swim at lunch and run in the evening tomorrow unless I'm super motivated and get up in the morning to do the run.

I have another sprint triathlon this weekend. My plan is to go as hard as I can without hurting myself. Go hard until something feels off, ease up, then go hard again. I will NOT go hard the last mile of the bike this time. I will put it on the front end and not worry about passing someone only to be passed by them again (I'm always embarrassed about having that happen). I will not bring the watch and worry about time, and I'm going to have my clippy pedals from my MTB put on my road bike while the MTB bike is in the shop. Maybe that'll give me a little more bike speed too. The running I just go as hard as I can, as usual. Oh, and HYDRATE!!!

Have a great Monday.

I second this - I use them skiing all the time.  We actually get them by the BOX at Costco in the fall.  I have a few I can drop in the mail if you want to try them!  Just message me your address

Today I'm off and running.  Pup gets to come to work with me today because DH can't help her up the stairs after she goes out.  She hates coming to my office but she'll have to suck it up! LOL

I went to the gym today - first time in I don't know how long..... and I ran on the treadmill.  I ran .25mi at a blistering 12:00 pace.  Gotta start somewhere I guess.  Then I finished out my morning on the elliptical.

Ok have a great day all.  

Hi Everyone! Just checking in before I go away. I'm slowly feeling better and beginning to be more hopeful that I can get to a more normal training schedule this spring. I'm really hoping a week in warmer weather will be just what I need to start feeling right again. Also, it's really cold here. I went out to run last night in only one layer of cold gear and regretted it as soon as I hit a headwind. Brrrrrrrrrr. It took me hours to get warm again.

Have a great week and try to stay warm!

I can't help the least bit, but I like the topic! My craving: juice. I've stopped drinking it because of the high sugar content, but I find that my mouth just waters at the thought of apple juice...

Weekend Report: 

The sprint tri on Saturday went ok. I finished about 1 minute faster. Most of the gain was on the running leg even though it felt the worse of the three. I drank half the volume of water this time on the bike and I didn't have the nausea I did with the first race. I only had about 4 hours of sleep that night because I was on trauma backup call and I had to go in to help with a "knife and gun club" member. I'm going to have to remember to ask for the night off before the race when it comes to my main race this summer. Sunday, I climbed in the gym and had a cardio rest day. Bummed out about the season finale of Downton Abby!

Monday Report:

Today I rode to work. It was windy and cold but dry and sunny. I'd rather be a little cold than be tortured on the trainer. Got in a short swim and a run at the gym before work. Tomorrow I have the day off, so I'll get in some strength training in addition to the scheduled activities. 

Sounds like the majority of the rest of you guys had a productive training weekend. Remember to spend time with your families, too. That is a reminder to me, especially. Have a great week and I look forward to hearing the progress of the group!

Dave-good work at the tri. You will everything dialed in heading into the season. Great to have the opportunity to do those types of events over the Winter.

Yesterday was a rest day for me and I was out of pocket for the day. Easy 30 minutes on the treadmill this morning now headed out on the road for the day. Another easy run this evening. Will check in tonight. Have a good day everyone.