Experior and Slornow's Spring/Summer Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 45)

Bikes:  Speed Concept, Orbea Ora (old tri bike), CAAD 9 road bike, commuter.  I think I've got a buyer for the Orbea.  I more or less giving it away, but to a friend of a good friend who got started in tri not too long ago and is eager to get a decent tri bike.  I spent a few hours cleaning it up -- you know, last few hours of quality time with the old bike.  Next bike:  A passable mountain bike.  THere are world-class (= scary, but fun) mountain bike trails just minutes from the cabin where we spend a lot of time.  I've ridden some of them on a borrowed bike, but would love to have my own.

Jason -- nice!  I look forward to hearing your impressions of the Shiv.

Jason-what group did you decide on?  Can't wait to see pics once you get it.

Randy

I'd like a nice touring bike.  Something like a Salsa Vaya or a Kona Sutra.  I'd like to try cycling/camping on the Great Allegany Passage some day.

You are a wise man, Randy.  At some point, I'm going to have to go through formal divorce proceedings from Strava, but right now, swimming tends to make me nauseous and my ability to run is very limited.  So, I'll take whatever artificial motivation to train the bike I can get...

The %FTP for Oly is actually very tricky, because of the distance (there is a pretty significant -- non-linear -- change that occurs between a <1 hour effort and a >1 hour effort, and the Oly bike split often is right around that breaking point).  So, if you are in the vicinity of managing an hour for that distance (which you are), then you are at a tough spot.  To illustrate:

* if you are clearly and easily going to go under an hour, then you should be very close to FTP -- not above, but not much below.  90-95% is often cited.  This assumes you didn't kill yourself in the swim and you have decent run fitness and have done plenty of 1-3 hour rides.

* if you are around an hour, still low 90% is a good goal.  Same caveats.

* if you are going to go over an hour, then back off to 85-90%.  1:05 is still more like 90%.  1:15 is more like 85%.  Same caveats.

I'm riding without power right now (soon to be changed, I hope), so I go by RPE and in Chattanooga (26 mile course rather than 40K, so I'll be slightly over an hour, assuming all is well) my plan is to allow it to hurt, but not so much that I start to wonder whether running will even be possible.

Michael-thanks for the  info on FTP in olympic distance.  I looked back on some of my previous races and I have been anywhere from 86-90% FTP.  Will probably shoot for 87-88% in Chattanooga since it is a bit longer and is likely to be a hot run.

What does everyone have planned for the weekend? Anyone racing?

Randy

Jason-VERY NICE! PT wheel is a BIG plus.

Randy

Sounds like an awesome setup Jason.

Bikes..

I have the purchase I shared a couple of weeks ago, a Lynskey Sportive Ti road bike, a Cannondale hardtail 29'er that is used for trails and as a commuter, and a Jamis Aurora touring bike (yes all my Training and Tris before the Lynskey were on a heavy steel touring bike).  New bike would have to be a Tri bike, a Cervelo maybe.

-Steve

Just got back from my bike ride, and holy %*$& it's hot out there! We hit 105 today, which was no fun. I did 23 miles, and made sure to drink the whole time, but was still parched when I got done. Went to Whole Foods and got a slice of pizza, a water, and a lemonade, and demolished it all pretty quickly. Whole Foods has the best pizza I've ever had, by the way. I then went and bought an insulated water bottle, since my water was hot the entire time. I figure if I can prolong that, I'll be happier. Also, I was drinking Gu Brew, which I like a lot. It's like gatorade, but with a little fizziness. 

This was by far my toughest training week yet, I have a rest day coming up this weekend and I am taking it!

Oh yeah, bike: I have just the one, my Trek 1.2 that I bought in February. It works...for now.

Yeah, it's hot.  High of 107 today here.  I ran at 4:00pm, so pretty much into the eye of the storm, so to speak.  5 mile felt like 10.

So let's talk about tips for riding in the heat.  (For running, basically you slow down, drink a lot, try to avoid the heat, and slow down.)  Here's a tip from me:  Freeze a bottle of iced coffee (with sugar for calories).  A couple of hours into the ride, it will taste OH so good.

For a one hour ride, one bottle should do.  In the awful heat we are having, it will leave you dehydrated, but it is still enough to get through the ride just fine.

For longer rides, you will of course need more nutrition and hydration.  Determining exactly what requires experimentation, but the basic points are that you need to take in water, electrolytes (often not as much as people say, however), and carbs.

I'm headed for 105 miles tomorrow in what will be 105 degrees by the end (and 85 at the beginning).  I'll have 5 bottles on the bike -- 1 with strong (4x strength) sports drink, 1 with frozen coffee (with sugar), and 3 with water (one frozen).  I'll also carry a lot of gel.  I won't be surprised if I have to stop and buy more water aroung mile 80 or so.  For most people, I'd also recommend some solid food, but I've been advised against that, so all gel and liquids for me.  I'll let you know how it goes.  I expect it to be a learning experience, especially given my current intestinal problems.

Easy 50 minute run for me this morning.  However, with the heat nothing seems very easy.  Tomorrow is a bit of a race rehearsal with a hard hour on the bike followed by 30 minute run at close to race pace.  Going to need to get an early start to beat the worst of the heat.

For those of you that train with power what device do use on the bike to track data.  I've been using the little yellow computer (LYC) that came with the Powertap wheel but thinking about trying one of the Garmin units.

Randy 

I used the LYC until I took the PT wheel off my bike.  (I did that somewhat prematurely -- I thought I had a deal on a used Quarq Cinquo but it fell through.)   I do plan on getting a new, wireless, PM soon, and when I do, I'll probably try the Garmin 500.

I managed a long ride today, with basically no nutrition issues.  Woohoo!  I took in a minimal amount, so next experiment is to try taking in more like IM levels of nutrition and see what happens.  103 miles.  It was 100 at the finish.  The last hour was rough...

Great ride Michael!

Randy

WoodrowCall - 2012-06-30 5:42 PM Great ride, Michael! That sort of distance is still unimaginable to me. Getting ready to head out for a short, but extremely hot, run. 

Hot?  Um Yeah.  Be careful out there.

So here's a story.  When I first started riding, I increased my long ride slowly from about 15 miles to about 40 miles.  Then I went out one day intending to do 40 or 45 and got lost.  By the time I limped home hardly able to turn the cranks I had ridden 75-80 miles.  I felt awful, but also, as a result of the experience, realized that going longer (on the bike -- not the run!) is mostly a matter of just doing it.

Having said that, especially in this heat, one definitely needs to be prepared for long rides.  Dehydration, heat exhaustion,  and bonking are definite possibilities if you aren't careful.