jsiegs and slornow's Train Hard and Have Fun group - CLOSED for Training (Page 45)

Christy-I rarely get yelled at.  When I do, I pretend they say something like "Nice butt!"

You weren't wearing a yellow jersey, were you?

negative.  Red/orangy argyle. 

Well.....I just signed up for a sprint on August 14th.  Not sure I'm ready.  But it should be fun.  I think I'm going to have to go alone.  Never been to a race alone.  Any tips? 

Joe-Isn't your wedding soon?? 

Christy

We're all out training!

For serious, I'm sequestered at work up until the day before my wedding (Aug 20, btw) for a project, so I only get to sneek into my office for an hour in the morning sometimes.  Since I do most of my posting from work, this has really hampered my posting stats.  It seems like work/personal life in general just picked up like crazy when this group started and I've not been available nearly as much as I'd have liked, and I apologize for that.  Special projects, weddings, moving, holes in my head...crazy!

I'm hopefully getting in a "heat aclimatization" ride today after work.  Just some intervals around post (but it will be flattish for once!).

I'm here!  Busy week at work before traveling to Chattanooga Wed. night.  Picking up son from xc camp tomorrow.  Heading back home on Sunday.  Did a long run yesterday and longish run this morning.  May do a local 5k with my son Tuesday night.  UGH!  Maybe  I'll just caddy for him if I can't find the motivation to do it myself.

Anxious to get a Fall schedule put together...feel like I'm just training...need some focus.  Unfortunately, don't know what is on the kids schedule for the Fall so I'm just waiting.

Christy..congrats on signing up for the sprint.  I though you might move to WVA, marry a mountainman, raise younguns and learn to make corn liquor.  Guess its still a possibility after the sprint?

Randy 

In my taper phase for my half next weekend! Doing an open water swim on Sunday and hopefully spending some time scouting out the course over this weekend.

Congrats Christy on signing up for the sprint. I am sure the experience without family support will be a little different but maybe beneficial for you. I have found that I race a lot more focused and relaxed when I am not worrying about where my family is or who might be watching my performance. Good luck!

We're hiding

I've been keeping up with the threads via email or phone. I am 2 weeks out from my next tri and I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Today I FINALLY got the bike outside, and it felt great. I felt like a superstar, lol! I've been on the trainer messing with gears and getting used to the size. It's HUGE compared to the hybrid, but so much more comfy.

Anyway - tough ride today. I only planned for 11 miles simply to see where my pace is. In a perfect scenario, there would be no people on the trail, and even less leisure riders! ha! I ride at a park with paved trails, one portion is winding, so it makes passing difficult because you can't see around the bends - I got stuck behind two chicks who were going about 10-11 mph. Once I got to the other side where it's a straight path, I all of a sudden hit headwinds like crazy! I was pumping it pretty hard and could only get up to 14, 16 if I were down on the aero bars.

Tomorrow is a scheduled day off, then I have a pretty full week of workouts planned.

Hope everyone is doing great!! Happy Weekend

Hi guys! I have a lot of posts to catch up with but I wanted to let you know I'm alive and well! I took some time off from training because work got super crazy and my brother had a baby (so I'm an aunt!). Plus it's been SUPER hot here so working out is just totally uncomfortable. I've been opting to do things like house cleaning that can happen indoors with minimal effort vs. going out into the heatwave.

I decided my next big adventure is going to be a half-marathon. I have possibilities three in mind, but it's looking like I'm going to do the St. Louis Rock-and-Roll 1/2 in October. Training starts tomorrow and I'll be using a 12-week Hal Higdon plan. I'm a little nervous because every other time I've tried to train for a half, injuries have stopped me mid-way through - and my knee hasn't been feeling pain-free in a few weeks -- but I'm going to start running again anyway. 

I have a few smaller races to do between now and then - even a 5K thursday night in Chicago -- so I better really get back on board!  Good luck to everyone with your training and i'm looking forward to catching up!

I've done a few races (not triathlons) alone. As my distance increases, I feel like I'm bothering my friends and family by asking them to come out and "support" me while they're all busy with their kids and families, so I've had to adjust to racing with little to no fanfair.  I don't entirely love it. I usually get far too nervous by myself and then very annoyed by the strangers around me just before starting. However, now that I'm doing more races, I've found a bit of "running community" - the last several races I've done solo I have run into folks at the race that I know. Turns out the running community is really small, and when you're alone you're a little more open to meeting and/or recognizing folks that you might have missed otherwise. But, I still really miss having someone waiting for me at the finish line. 

I can't do barefoot by where I live (it's very urban) but I do have a pair of vibrams and I really like them. I can't wear them for more than three miles but if ever I need my knee or hip to 'realign' itself, I run in the vibrams and it seems to help. Plus, it's just FUN to run in vibrams. 

I need some energy too!!!  I did some hill repeats with a friend yesterday.  It was fun.  Nice to switch things up a little.  I was going to go to spin class this morning, but I didn't make it.  My son's birthday is Saturday so I'm running around trying to get everything ready to have 40 people over.  Not a really good excuse, but that's what i'm going with

An evening 5k sounds like fun.  I hear you on the heat.  It has been gross here too.  I went for a 5 mile run Saturday afternoon.  It turned into a 3 mile run because of the heat.  That's what I get for hitting snooze at 6am. I had to run at 3 in the afternoon. 

Hope everyone is doing well!

Hey all,

Sorry for be away from the group. Been very busy (but extremely productive) the last week or so, especially with my summer semester culminating this week. Have spent a decent amount of time running and biking the last week or so, and knocked a great mid-day (AKA HOT!) hour run. At the end of the run I felt like I had sat in a sauna, great run to really test my endurance and nutrition on. My running has drastically improved since getting my new shoes, they feel to match my running style much more than my last pair of shoes. Other than that, got a few good rides in last week on the bike, and plan to ride on Wednesday and Thursday in the am for a few hours each day as my schedule allows me to do so this week. Going to hop on the trainer in a little bit and get some pedal work done while I watch the news...

Keep training hard guys (and of course, our lovely ladies).

Matt when I was a baby, I guess I used to spend a lot of time in Cour D Alene - my aunt lived there and my mom lived with her for a while before she was married, so when she got married and had me we spent weeks at a time there. I have pictures of me as a 2 year old riding horses but no memory of it. What's it like there now? I bet beautiful.

OK, I pulled the trigger and REGISTERED for the St. Louis Rock and Roll half. Should be fun. It's Oct. 23.  I also registered for Thursday night's Terrapin 5K, which features tie-dye technical shirts and jam bands at the end. It will be a different 30 minute training run, that's for sure

Question for you guys -- what is the benefit of registering with USAT? They emailed me today so I was wondering... 

And one more question: are any of you members of local tri clubs? Any benefit to those? 

Coeur D Alene is awesome! There are several triathlon shops that opened up recently and there are several clubs popping up, making it a great triathlon town. It is definitely beautiful with all the pines trees, rolling hills, and clean water.

I am joining a triathlon club in town this fall. It's only $5 a month to join and they have a masters swim class, group training sessions, and winter training camps, plus carpooling to out of town races. I have been told it is a lot like BT with beginners and very experienced mixing together to motivate and encourage each other. I am really looking forward to the experience! As far as joining USAT, you don't have to pay a $10 fee for every race to sign up for you just pay a once a year $39 fee. So if you are doing more than 4 races a year it would be cheaper to get a license. You are also eligible for their ranking system and qualifaction for national championships.

Thanks for the feedback on the barefoot running. I think I might give it a try this fall once my half ironman is done. Taper is going well!

Good luck to everyone else racing soon!

Hey everyone! Staying cool?! It's nice and blistering this week with 4 days forecasted over 100, and about 85% humidity. Ridiculous.

I pumped it out in spin today, it felt great. Tomorrow I am doing a small brick with my trainer to work on transition. My bike is a little intimidating with size - I mean, it's huge! I do not have clips, I have the cage, and right now I'm a little worried about doing a running start and not being able to get my shoe in. If push comes to shove, the cage is coming off and I will just use a flat pedal.

I am hoping a praying for A. Rain. or B. a cold front to move in before my race! unlikely, but I can dream! I really hope I am able to push through the heat and have a great race. I feel good, WAY more prepared than my last, but the heat is killing me. I don't know who signs up for a Tri in August in Houston... crazy people for sure

Hope you are all having a great week!