Meulen's 'Let's tri this Thing!' beginner mentor group-CLOSED (Page 45)

I know that it's probably over at this time, but I hope that the race went well!  Please share all of the fun details.  I don't care how many times that I have done a race, I will be disappointed the day the nerves go away. 

libramom - 2011-04-15 9:12 PM

Meulen - 2011-04-15 4:55 PM

GoGoGo - 2011-04-15 3:46 PM So Brian, you never did give the specs on your wheels & why you chose them.

Main reason was because they were CHEAP! Hed has a sponsorship deal through my team and cut me a fantastic deal. They are also the new C2 rim, which is wider. Wider is where everyone is moving too now. This is the latest and greatest after the original toridial design's patent expired. I've always considered Hed and Zipp the 2 best wheelmakers out there on the cutting edge. I was just happy my team had a deal with them. I went with the jet9's after consulting the people at Hed. After giving them my height/weight/avg speeds/typical elevation profile/terrain/bike handling experience they recommended the jet 9's. What you see in the pic is a Jet6, which I got for extra windy days that would make the 9's a little less handleable. So yes, I got 3 wheels! My team also has a deal with Saris. So I scored the Powertap SL+ on the cheap too. I ordered that first and sent it too Hed. They built the wheels for me on the powertap. They also made a mistake and gave me ceramic bearing hubs, which I didn't pay for!

 

i can imagine you're still spending a good deal for all that stuff. anne- you better be going all crazy with buying tons of dolce &gabbana and prada, etc. i totally would if i were you!

Oh Erin, don't even go there!  A purse that hangs in a closet for most of the year does not even come close to a nice set of wheels.  Silly girls....

Karen- how did your race go? I hope you didn't have to run in the pouring down rain! It's really coming down!!!

ps- I meant to say that I hope Anne gets as much training gear as Brian! (or some really expensive high end-designer shoes!) My humor looks bad in writing! lol.

Hi guys! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I just did my very first brick workout. WOW. That was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done....I got in the bike distance and half of the run that I'll do on race day. I can't even imagine doing 3 more miles and swimming! I still have a lot of work to do.

I biked 25 miles on some roads instead of just trails. Boy was it awesome flying down those hills! I was going 32mph at one point! It was the biggest adrenaline rush...made those killer climbs UP the hills totally worth it. I biked past a little boy playing riding a bike with his dad and he saw me in all my gear and goes "dad, is she a professional!?" it was so cute and made me feel good .

Then I got off the bike, took off my helmet and changed my shoes and off I went on the run. Woah. My legs were like "what the heck is going on here?!" It felt like they didn't want to move! I seriously felt like I was crawling and looked down at my Garmin expecting to see an 11 or 12 min/mi...boy was I surprised when I saw 8:48 for the first mile...what the heck!? I tried to slow down but I still ended up doing 3 miles with a 9:06 average...that is faster than I normally go. Is that normal?

It was definitely hard and now I am ready to EAT and sleep.

Well, I did my first 10k on Saturday.  I was excited to do it and yes a little nervous.  I think I will always be a little nervous before racing, no matter what the distance or how many times I have done it.  Here is my race report, if you are interested.  It was an interesting race.  I was so committed to doing the race as it was my first, that I didn't let any of the conditions stop me.  Maybe that was I bad call on my part, but I have a new PR for my efforts!  I actually called my parents and told them not to come - which I think was a smart idea!!  The weather was crazy, but I got it done, laughing at myself most of the time!

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=248804&posts=1&start=1   

My neighborhood actually had more damage from this storm than the tornado a couple weeks ago.  There are a lot of downed trees, and we lost our pole light that was in our front yard.  Actually, the pole is still there, but the light is gone!  Not sure what we are going to do yet with just a pole!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Karen

Karen, Woah! What a crazy race! I think you did great, especially given the circumstances! I was hoping to fit in my first 10K this season, but it's looking like I might wait until next year. I'll see how the end of the summer/early fall treats me and maybe sign up for one last minute.

This weekend was jam-packed for me. Saturday I drove 2 1/2 hours with my mom to see the route of the May 7 triathlon. We only ended up biking 8 out of the 13 miles of the bike route because it turned out my mom hadn't been on a bike in 2 years (she didn't tell me this in advance!) and by the 5 mile mark her legs were shaking and she was drenched in sweat. I didn't break a sweat the entire time, but since it was basically a scouting expedition it was well worth my time and we had FUN! We did drive the entire route so I know what to expect and feel completely prepared now. Having the route in my head definitely boosts my confidence. The route has a few very short, low, hills, but I consider it pretty flat and I could have flown around it twice on Saturday! I ride more hills biking to and from work on a regular basis.

Afterwards we crashed the first restaurant we could find. It was only in the mid to upper 30's for our ride plus high gusts of wind, probably 27 or 28 mph (nothing like Karen's 40 mph winds though!). I had hot tea and actually found the healthiest entree I've ever seen on a diner menu: 2 grilled chicken breast and a giant bowl of steamed broccoli. Yum!

After driving back home we decided (completely insane) that we would go to the gym just before closing. Got in a short walk/jog introduction for my mom and then swam 600 meters before they kicked us out.

Sunday morning I ran a 5k in about 34:00 (they haven't posted times yet and I forgot to start my stopwatch). Slower than my PR, but faster than I've been training this season and it wore me out! I used most of the last 2 miles to do speed intervals and it was a real workout.

Then I went home, packed a picnic lunch, and biked 8 miles to a friend's house for lunch and then biked back home.

A bit chilly, but at least Sunday was blue skies and sunny, and all in all it was an awesome weekend!

Henry,  Way to go getting your mom to do the bike ride with you.  Maybe she will be inspired. 

Libra.  It's not that it's my farts that bother me.  Cause we all know that my farts don't stink.   It's the little old lady next to me that usually ate the can of beans. 

Brian,  If I had enough money to buy that bike of yours, I would buy a car.  haha.  Or a boat.

I am sorry I haven't been around for a few days.  Just super busy.  My wife has been wanting to run a lot so I haven't been able to do many solo runs lately.  Feeling pretty good though.  Love that she is starting to get into it.  I even saw a very slight interest in her eyes when I told her that she might want to try a sprint.  She is afraid of the swim mainly.  I did convince her to do a half marathon with me in December.

It's exciting seeing all of the races you guys are doing and are going to do.  Can't wait to hear more about them.  I especially can't wait for Henry's Sprint. 

Hey Dale! Yeah, she already is inspired! She's been swimming about a mile a couple times a week for the last several weeks (after having not swum laps in years - last month she started swimming again and could only do a couple laps before being totally exhausted) and I've got her on a modified couch-to-5k program too. I've been waiting until June when we're scheduled to run her first 5k before I started talking about her doing the Chain of Lakes Tri with me *next* year, but after biking on Saturday she brought it up herself! So cool. It's going to take a major committment on her part, because she tends to find really easy excuses why she didn't have time to workout or why she was too busy to eat properly or bother tracking her nutrition, but she has been doing really well this time around. She wants to lose 35 lbs and we keep telling her we've handed her the tools (my fiance & I keep sitting down and factoring her calorie goal & giving her tips & such) and now she is the only person who can do the work. So far so good and I'm trying to give her lots of encouragement and minimal pressure in the hopes that she'll see some pounds come off and find her own motivation from that!

oh, right here....observing from the sidelines.

Morning folks...Had a "little teaser" 10 miler, for a local race during the summer...

Did the run this morning with 300ish others..was snowing!!  WTF  Nevertheless, must perservere...

The course is 10 miles thru town.  Got a ride with from friends from finish to start, so I thought.  Found out they were only running 12k, so I thought, roll with the punches...ran 4k to start then the 10 miles.

Turned into a 20k run, which was not really planned.  Have not run that distance since Xmas, because of knee issues.  Oh well, a good test of my fitness I thought...

The 4k extra, at the start was into the wind, the snow was hurting my eyes...hate that.  the 10 miles, was much better.

Anyway, Happy with my effort today, just ran, never looked at my Garmin pace, tried to run on the edge & pace well.  I am a bad "race pacer"  Ran the first 10 miles without stopping, which is unusual for me.  Then took a walk for a couple minutes & then completed it.

1:40 minutes, in  a non-race situation, I was very happy with.

Met a buddy at the finish as a few of us were chatting.  Had a beer in the trunk of his car...Had one..tasted wonderful ...CARBS!!

Anyway, that's my exercise today.  Gonna trim the leg of lamb for dinner today...MMM

Hope everyone has a good day...

congrats! exciting!!!

I am right here too.  It's been a very busy and depressing time.  Erin's mom is threatening to come visit tonight and stay for 3 weeks, which is actually a short stay for her.  It's also been raining here nonstop, which makes it impossible to ever get out to ride.  This Monday I am heading back to the doctor for my legs, and I am praying that I can start running again.  I have my fingers crossed, but I don't have any good feelings on this one.

Henry - That's great that your mom is getting into riding.  I wish my parents would become more active again.  They are older, so riding would be out at this point.  Actually, Erin and I got our mountain bikes after their failed attempt at riding again about 15 years ago.  They had great intentions, but not great ability.  After their second ride mom ended up doing an endo, having surgery, and still has a nice steel plate in her wrist to show for her efforts.  They nicely handed over their bikes after that experience.  Seriously though, that is so cool to have your mom as a riding buddy!

Brian - Sorry, that really sucks about the mountain bike.  Did it crack in the same place as last time (it sounds like there was a last time)?  Did it crack when you were bounding off of some major rock formation?  Because that would be my story       Do they fix things like that? 

I'm crossing my fingers that my mom's return to activity & fitness are longer-lasting. She used to be very active when I was young, but work & taking care of my elderly father created excellent excuses to stop exercising. My dad is 22 years older than my mom, and while he was forced to be active as a young man (commuting 40+ miles to school & work on his bicycle, and later serving in the British army where he had to run marathon distances while carrying a full pack & rifle), he never seemed to enjoy it and has never been what I would consider "active" in my lifetime. In fact he practically bullies my mom about being out of the house to exercise. Even at 86 he's nowhere near invalid, so I told her that if he starts yelling at her about something to just tell him "if you keep yelling I'm going to go into town and workout" and that if that just pisses him off more, she should just go! LOL He can always call me and my sister if he needs anything, so she shouldn't feel bad about trying to be healthy herself. Her running program is going really well - I have her currently jogging for 30 seconds, walking for 1:30-2:00. She is actually excited about it and having fun! Very cool to see. She never knew "run/walking" was a legitimate way of training.

Brian, major bummer about your frame! That is such a drag. My brakes & a couple gears were acting up yesterday, so I am going to get my bike tuned up in the next week or so for the race.

This afternoon is my Key Run. 6x800 meters w/ 2:00 recovery. My training schedule says I should be able to do that in 50:00 so I'm going to aim for 6:00 1/2 miles, which is about 30 seconds/mile faster than my average pace.

henry- another thing we have in common- my dad is also 20 years older than my mom.

so, i feel confident in my swimming and running, but SO not confident in my biking abilities. everytime i go down a hill, i want to brake and michael said that in the race, you've got to keep pedaling as hard as you can because there is another hill right after the downgrade. i'm afraid that i'm going to fall or flip over the handle bars. my hands have been hurting too, which brian reminded me that i need to relax my ears away from my shoulders, which is probably exactly what i need to do since i'm so afraid to fly down hills (but also funny, because that's something i preach to others when i teach yoga). i guess i need to keep practicing outside, but there is still this fear i have with riding. plus, i'm just plain slow outside. i have awhile until my first race so i've got time on my side, it's just slightly frustrating.

Funny! It's rare that I meet anyone else who's parents have that much age difference! Even when my oldest sister (who is 15 years older than me!) was a little kid, other people often mistook our dad for her grandpa! LOL And that was back when he was still dying his hair. Most of my life he's looked like a cross between Jerry Garcia & Santa Clause. More than once small children have approached him in the grocery store with wide eyes and whispered their Christmas wishes to him! 

I'm feeling really slow on the bike too. Being a bike commuter I think I was mentally neglecting my bike training. I thought for sure the run was my weakest link, but the last several weeks as I picked up the bike workouts have been *hard* and discouraging. I have to keep reminding myself that for my first race all that really matters is finishing and having fun. I can worry about *improving* next time! My wrists and hands suck too. I have a history of carpal tunnel problems and when I ride my hands go numb. It sucks! I decided not to try getting used to the aero bars with only 2 weeks to race day, but I know that will help when I start using them. Sometimes I ride just balancing my elbows on the bars and my hands stop hurting almost immediately.

Erin - I just want to correct you a bit.  I wouldn't say to pedal as fast as you can down the hills.  You don't want to wear out your legs because you are going to need them desperately for the 6 miles of uphill riding during your race.  You have to keep it in your comfort level, and slowly you will get use to going faster.  Don't push yourself to much out of your comfort zone because you don't want to panic.   Your biking will get a lot better as you get more time in the saddle.