Athena/ Clydesdale Official Mentor Group (Page 44)

Good luck in your race tomorrow CTDon, and have fun! Let us know how it goes.

Today was a 65 mile ride. The first 35 miles were the best I've ridden yet, the next 20 were about average, and the last 15 were terrible (feeling, pace not too bad). It took me just under 4 hours of riding time (16.4 mph) and just at 4.5 hours actual time. The ride had 3000 feet of elevation gain, with two really good hills, one long but steady climb, and a lot of rollers. I was planning only two stops where I got off the bike, but at about mile 57 I ran over a nail and had to fix my first flat of the year. 850 miles and this was my first flat. It was a terrible place to happen too, right along a busy highway with no shade. After I got it fixed, my legs were lead, it took me a good deal of spinning in an easy gear before my legs could take some resistance. But I settled in and got back to a decent enough pace, but at that point I was ready to be off the bike, it was more mental than physical.

That was my longest ride to date. I did 50 miles several weeks back and felt like I had a good 20 more in me, but then again, there was less than 700 feet elevation gain. My goal was to work on maintaining a good pace and nutrition during the ride, but the nutrition part didn't go well on the second half of the ride. I need to consume more calories. I'm think 100 cal/hr just isn't enough for a fella my size. I didn't count the very large bumblebee though (okay I spit him out). Anybody got any recommendations on how much to eat during a ride for a fella that's around 280lbs?

DBG, fantastic ride bro! I remember BikerGrrl telling me there was a BIG difference between 50 miles and 65. The most important thing I read in your post was that you stuck it out man. More often than not, it's not our bodies that stop us from attaining our goals, it's a minds allowing us to quit. And you overcame that! Way to go!!

Thanks gbswan and DBG. I'm looking forward to having a good time today. I got the athlete's informational email the other day and it took some wind out of my sail when it said the ride was considered "moderately hard". I have a feeling I'll be looking for some inspiration from the last line of my road ID: HTFU.

DBG, I don't have any advice for the nutrition issues on the ride...just encouragement! Nice job on that, even though the last 20 were tough. Way to push through it. Mental training is just as important as physical training (for any event).

Had a great time (meaning fun....not time for the race ) My swim time was terrible (13:32 for .25mi), but I knew that going into it. Just haven't been focusing on swimming and it really doesn't bother me. I was able to do the crawl for about a 1/3 of the distance and then just breast-stroked the rest. I enjoyed just swimming in the lake. My T1 was incredibly awful (4:02). I had a really hard time getting my bike shoes on....there is a latch that's on the outside of the feet and the strap doesn't have a lot of slack in it, so you have to be pretty precise. So both shoes gave me a bit of trouble. I need to work flexibility and getting those latched quickly.

The bike was a fun course (I thought). 13.6 miles in 52:35. I had in the back of my head about it being a "moderately difficult" course, per the race directors email so I held back some, waiting for the big hills and hard part. Frankly, it didn't come. Maybe I'm just used to the hills in my area? There was a steep (but short) hill at the end and I knew it as soon as I saw it that THAT was what the director was talking about. So I just switched gears to the small ring and cranked it out. It was at the very end of the ride, and saw a couple of people struggling with it so I just had fun with it and encouraging them up the hill. If I do this race next year I'll know I can expend more energy earlier and shave some time off here.

T2 wasn't great either (2:38). When I picked up my race belt it was all tangled so I had to spend some time getting it squared away before putting it on. It probably got jostled and tossed around in T1. But I took a bit of time to get a gel and some water before heading out...figured that was a few seconds well spent.

Run was okay (32:18). I'm actually surprised at that time as I thought I had a slower pace...just couldn't really get it going any faster than that. Dunno what to say about that other than I need to do more bricks.

The last 1/4 mile or so was a fairly wide chute in an open field. There was a woman only a couple of steps in front of me, I had been gaining on her over the last mile or so. At this point (maybe 100 yards from the finish) we were pretty much going at the pace, but I was contemplating passing her. I decided not to in the end, since it wouldn't have affected my standing and really, I was just out there for fun. So I stayed a few steps behind her and just finished where I was without a kick at then end.

Overall it was a great race...very well done and lots of great volunteers (I thanked them throughout the whole course). I got talking with one of the directors on the way out and he wanted some input (I guess they're deciding whether they need to cap the entries or if it could handle more). IMO, they could handle another hundred or so racers without any problem. He was happy to hear that!!

So my last planned tri event for the year is my backyard sprint that we're doing again (a couple of friends and I did it about a month ago). We recruited a couple of other people so we're going to do it again. After that it's a half marathon in September.

Congrats on finishing strong! That first one is the hardest...I hope. I have my first in 2.5 years on Saturday. So, excited... I am hoping it gets me motivated for the "offseason" work and a build toward next year.

Hey, I haven't been on BT for awhile but was catching up on some of this group. 100 calories an hour is low to me. I am 220 and I shoot for 200-300 an hour. The biggest thing is staying hydrated. For a 4 hour ride I would personally try and drink 3-4 bottles. Hope this helps, keep it up!!!

I think it's truly going to take some trial and error to figure this out. I don't have many long rides left so I'm going to have to get this figured out quick. This week is just going to be a few 30 mile rides, so nothing with a lot of distance that will require regular calorie intake. Next week I'm going to attempt 85-90. It will be most of the grand fondo course that I signed up for in September. I figure if I average 15mph it will take me around 6 hours. My plan will be to eat a cliff bar (~250 cal) for hours 1,2,4, and take a peanut butter sandwich for the halfway point (hour 3), and rely on caffeinated gels to carry me home for the last hour and a half. I noticed this weekend that my jaw was really sore towards the end of the ride, I must clench it a lot, and I don't think I could have chewed anything, hence the gels towards the end. I have two bottles on my bike and one is usually water and the other, nuun. I think the last half will be just nuun, and maybe a coke if I need it. I guess if that plan doesn't work I'll have to just go on another 90 mile ride and try it again.

if you see any flaws in this plan, or have any better ideas, please, let me know.

That looks good, two bottles is what I usually carry. If I know it will be hot I carry a third in my jersey. Try and drink one bottle an hour even if you are not thirsty. It don't matter if its nuun or water. I love a coke towards the end of a ride!!! Last week I did 100 miles in 5 1/2 and I drank 6 bottles. If I don't drink that much I start to slow down fast towards the end. You should work on that clenching thing to. You need to relax the entire upper body, if you have a tight grip or clench your teeth your heart rate will rise. You want all your energy to go to your legs. I know easier said then done but its something to think about. Oh and even on my 30 milers I practice drinking water about every 15 minutes. My garmin goes off at 5 miles and depending on the terrain it will be close to 15 minute and I will take a drink. You don't have to have a garmin to do this. Just watch the time on your bike computer.

Summer 2013 now goes down as a success. I finished my first and second Olympic distance races just four weeks apart.

A while ago I heard a Wall Street Journal report on a triathlete who died from a heart attack shortly after a race. They said he'd finished an Olympic distance in under four hours, and that it was a respectable time, so who am I to argue with the WSJ?

This second race had a lake swim, so no current assist like the first one. Add a bunch of hills and some oppressive 90+ St. Louis heat for the run, and I was glad to finish sub-4:00 without getting an ambulance ride. (There were ambulance rides.)

The swim was great - I stayed off to the outside of the lanes, but still had waves coming over the top of me. I was glad nobody was throwing punches. Bikes were racked by waves, and I correctly predicted that I'd about be the last bike off the rack. For some strange reason, the short course had Clyde/Athena divisions, but the long course did not. There were a few other obvious Clyde category participants in my wave, but my times are lumped in with the 40-44 folks who have something to prove. It would have been nice to split out at Clyde division even if they weren't going to give us our own wave.

The bike was just as I expected, but with one chain slip. Not a big deal. I never did find the mini Payday bars I stashed in my Camelbak, so that may have contributed to feeling bonked on the run. (Note for next time - fasten a bag with 3 or 4 of those things to the bike frame.)

I started the run thinking 9/1 intervals would be a good idea, like last time. That rapidly switched to 6/2, then 3/2, then standing in the sprinklers that nice homeowners set out at the side of the road, and moving from shady tree to shady tree.

But, I finished, and I now know that doing an Olympic distance isn't just a fluke or the result of a very easy course. It may very well be that Olympic is my upper limit, and I am just fine with that. I'm down 140 lbs now, and hope to drop another 35. That would put me firmly into the "overweight" section of the BMI charts. But, my doctor cried tears of joy and hugged me at my last checkup, so I have to assume that things are going well.

Best of races the rest of the year to all my brothers and sisters in spirit here. I have one sprint in a month, and then back to the local indoor series through the winter.

Nice job on the 22 finishes Merkin4. A finish without a ambulance ride is always a good thing About the Olympic being your limit, that will only be your limit if you want it to be. Losing 140 lbs takes alot of hard work!!! So I know you have it in you to go farther. But it has to be something you want. That way you are willing to fight for it. You never have to go farther, but don't count yourself out!!!!!

Nice work on the races and the weight loss, Merkin.

Tough weekend for me. I had originally planned to do an 85+ mile ride on Friday, but then my daughter got sick and I stayed home with her since I already had taken the day off. Then I woke up Saturday with a nasty cold, about as bad a cold as I have ever had. That pretty much wiped me out for the weekend. The weather was pretty terrible this morning, so I did a spinning class instead of riding in the rain. I thought at one point I was going to pass out because I just couldn't breathe from this damned cold. Oh well, I'll just have to postpone the long ride until Saturday.

GREAT NEWS! My orthopedist released me to resume full activity today, as tolerated. He cautioned me to progress slowly and if something hurts stop doing it. Back up a ways and try it at a reduced level.

With all the medical/family crap that happened this year I have been essentially inactive. So as far as I am concerned I am starting from ZERO. Effective tomorrow I will be starting the Couch to Sprint training plan, from Day 1 and following it just the way it is written. It is going to feel SO GOOD to get back in the pool and sauna. I think I am going to use the treadmills at the Y instead of counting my walks here as my run training. That way I can use that run/walk method.

I hope I won't be aggravating anyone but I'll be posting my daily workouts. I need to do this to maintain my mental accountability. BTW, all the inactivity has also cost me nearly 30 lbs. Tonight's weigh-in at WW's was 368. I have set an informal goal of hitting 350 by Halloween.

Great news indeed! I look forward to following along with your progress.

Well, today was the first day of my return to training for next year's triathlons. And I have mixed emotions about it.

First, it took all the willpower I could muster to even drag my reluctant butt to the YMCA.

Second, since I have been essentially sedentary since February's bronchitis, I knew that I was basically starting from ground zero. I just didn't realize how far down ground zero was! I was in the sub-basement. That was part of the motivation problem. I was dreading how far back I had slid, and boy have I backslid.

I was supposed to do a ten minute run on the treadmill. Although my plan was actually to walk a five minute warm-up; then run 3, walk 2, run 3, walk 2, run 3, and finish with a five minute cool-down walk. NOT EVEN CLOSE! I did the warm-up, managed to actually not die for 1 minute of jogging, and then decided not to overdo it the first day so I walked five minutes of cool-down.

Next came the pool. I was able to swim 50 yards non-stop. And I was able to repeat that 8 times for my planned 400 yard total. Times were less than stellar. It was taking me between 1:08 and 1:12 to do the 50's. Before February I was doing my 50's in 55-60 seconds.

I have a LONG way to go. But at least I made a start today. I figure that I have about 33-34 before my first one next year.

Leather, the point is "YOU DID IT MAN!" You got started again. The gains will come more quickly than they did the last time because you have done it before. Have patience. It will come. Besides, the journey, and all that comes with it, is the reward...events are just the icing.

Hoos, congrats on the Fondo. It sounds like way more than I would want to take on right now. I hear you on stretching out the time duration. I did a 90 miler a year ago...that 5 hours seemed like 10...but what a rush. Good luck on that sprint. Let us know how badly you BASH last year's time.

Glad to hear you're able to get back at it Leather. I bet you'll find that you get back to where you were a lot quicker than you think. Just don't pull my classic move and try to pick up where you left of several months ago. Yeah, I did that again this week with a run.

I finally got my long ride (85 mi) in today. I did most of the grand fondo course that I am doing in 3 weeks. It was a good opportunity to get a feel for the course and work on nutrition during the ride. The ride was tough, but not as bad as I was expecting. 85 miles and 5500 feet of elevation gain. I averaged 15.6 mph (moving time), but took a few more breaks than I was planning on the 2nd half. At this point I'm not aiming at 16.5mph anymore, I just want to finish and still have enough left in my legs to have a beer at the beer garden after the ride.

There were a couple of highlights and lowlights during the ride. Highlights: my nutrition was much better this time, meaning I didn't bonk. Another highlight was almost getting hit by an owl, and then said owl flying along side of me, only a few feet from my head, for about 30 yards. It was pretty cool, he was so close I could feel the wind from his wings. But the thing that really made my day was when I stopped at the gas station on the reservation, and some guy brought in a suitcase with wheels to carry out all of the cartons of cigarettes he was buying. This was at about mile 70, so maybe it wasn't actually that funny, but at that point I just needed something to laugh about.

Lowlights: I got stung again. This time by a wasp.

Bike (Friday's workout)

23m 30s
4.46 miles
11.39 Mi/hr

I think this might have been my slowest time ever on this relatively easy route. But, for my first ride in 10 months I guess I'm not complaining. I do have two matters of pride even on this slow ride. First, I stayed on the middle chain ring all the way, no granny ring at all. Second, I never stopped pedaling to coast, not once.

Sport #1 - Fishing - 5h 00m
Fishing the Susquehanna with Juan Vereute of Kayak Fish PA. It a very active style of fishing, doing a lot of paddling to position yourself and maintain position. I am REALLY sore today. All totaled we were on the water for nearly 10 hours. I took three hours out of my calculations for resting, instruction, taking pictures, lunch and such.

Sport #2 - Kayaking - 5h 00m
There were times when we did a lot more paddling than fishing. Juan moved us quickly through pools because the fish aren't usually holding in those areas at this time of year.

BOY, AM I SORE!

I had my last "real" triathlon of the year yesterday. Sprint distance at my local municipal gym, 500 meters pool, nearly 22 on the bike, and a five-mile run.

This race doesn't have a Clydesdale category, so I got lumped in with the little guys. I was last for my sex/age group, but it wasn't by a huge margin. Out of three online pages of results, I made the second page. This was also the first race I've done where I wasn't in the bottom 25%. I suppose this makes me either back-of-middle-of-the-pack, or firmly at the head-of-the-back-of-the-pack.

I went into this with one private goal - you know, that goal you don't tell anyone about until afterwards. I try to focus on controlling the things I can control. So, the goal was to do the run with no walking. I nailed it. I've been running the course at least once a week for most of the summer, so I knew where I was going to take a drink, regardless of any water stations set up.

I couldn't be any happier if I won the whole thing. I was DNF at the spring race (blew a back tire, not just a tube), so this feels like a vindication of sorts.

On top of it all, my doctor cried and hugged me at my last appointment.

Just five weeks until the start of the indoor triathlon season. I plan to do some great recreational fall bike rides between now and then. Time to get out of this 40K rut.

I haven't checked in in a while, but it looks like I am not the only one. I think it's been well over a month, but I don't have much to update. The last month and a half have been a struggle. It seems like my kids have brought every illness under the sun home from daycare, I had a stomach bug in September, and then a lingering cold that developed into a sinus infection but not until after I came down with strept throat at the same time. In the middle of this I had my grand fondo disaster.

The fondo was at the end of September when the inland northwest is usually enjoying great weather. Well this year we were getting the inland effects of a typhoon. The weather report at the beginning of the week looked promising, but as it got closer to the weekend the forecast called for rain, then cold, then wind, then all three. On the morning of the race it was pouring and mid 40s. Only about 1/3 of the over 1400 people that signed up actually showed up. I felt pretty good during the first 25 miles and then the rain picked up, and then the wind. I wasn't necessarily dry, but warm until I came out of the shelter of the trees and really got hit by the wind and rain. I was instantly chilled to the bone and the rest of my ride was downhill (not literally) from there. I couldn't overcome the cold, not even on the long hill before my first stop. My first stop at an aid station was about 40 miles, and I figured I would stop and get something to eat and drink and decide whether I wanted to keep on with the 108 mile course or just do the 85 mile course. Luckily this was also the point where the 40 mile course ended and caught the ferry back to town. I was so cold at this point, and the rain and wind had picked up even more, and I knew there was no way I was going to finish. So I painfully walked my bike to the ferry and headed back to town. There were about 50 cyclists on the ferry, and every single one I talked to or overheard was supposed to do the 108 mile ride. So I didn't feel so bad for quitting.

Well, I'm back at it this week and looking forward to getting some gym time in once again. I'm really going to focus on running this off season and am going to start the 5k-10k training plan after a couple more weeks of running consistently.

Hope all is going well with the rest of you. Would be interested in hearing all of your off season plans.

Hello everyone!

I am new to this site and forum, and just signed up for my first tri in June, 2014, day after my 45th birthday! I have a feeling I am going to be on this site a lot to glean information the next 6 months! My current athletic endeavors include running, volleyball and crossfit. I have biked and hiked in the past but my achilles heel is swimming... have a lot of work to do in that area! I am 5-8, 230 lbs and hoping to get down to at least 200 by the tri. I am a bariatric (lapband) and already had lost 70 lbs in the past three years. I am still amazed at how far I've come with my workouts, and so stoked about this new adventure!

Hope to learn from all and look forward to hearing your adventures as well!

Susan

Welcome Susan. Congrats on the weight loss so far, and the decision to do a tri. I completed my first sprint in August and had a blast. I am hoping to do that same sprint again in 2014 and an Olympic as well.

From the looks of it, things have been pretty slow on this thread. I'm sure that things will pick up on here after the holidays. Hopefully before, I'm needing a bit of inspiration through the holidays. Good luck with the swimming! It is a totally different beast than running and biking, it is all about technique and not as much about the fitness. Looking forward to hearing about your journey!

Hi all, it has been very quiet on this group and suspect that it is mostly due to crazy schedules. Mike and I have signed up to be mentors on BT for the new mentor session. Hope that once it goes live that you all will join us there. Here is the name of the group and once it goes live, I will be sure to let you know. "Clyde/Athena Tri-N-4- Weight Loss Mentor Group - Open". If you want to check it out, it is currently filed under the 2014 mentor staging thread. Hope to see you all there!