Slornow's and Wannabefaster's Summer Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 45)

I have a Kiwami Torpedo swimskin. I like it and will likely use it tomorrow in my race since it will be a non wetsuit race. One of the things I like about wearing the swimskin is I can wear it over my tri kit...remove it in T1 and be good to go. It would not be legal in a WTC (Ironman brand) event.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend.  

Nancy-Jason is spot on. When I looked at my hours for the first half of the year, which included 2 HIM and 4 other sprint races I averaged 10-11 hours a week training. My biggest week was maybe 13-14 hours. 

My wife is supportive and my children will both be in college next year so I don't have as many responsibilities with family activities as I used to. But, I try to adjust my training to make sure it has a minimal impact on family activities. During the week I typically train twice a day so that means early morning, lunch or evening. During my dayghter's HS soccer season I would do everything possible to get my workouts done early and at lunch. I might miss a workout if things didn't workout but getting to her games was the priority.  I'm fortunate that I can typically get a swim or run in at lunch and be home by 4:00pm to get my second workout in. When a lunch workout is out due to work commitments I'm at the pool or on the treadmill around 5:00am. I have my own small law practice and I have some flexibility in my schedule. I'm almost always at work by 7:00am and home around 4:00pm. Thats a luxury as I'm done with evening training by 6:00pm.

I could not have devoted this amount of time to the sport when my kids were young. I've always been very involved in their activities but as they get older they become more self suffcient time opens up.   Triathlon does not have to become all encompassing....although I sometimes (oftentimes) become obsessive about it. Its good to keep communication open with your spouse/partner because what we think may not cause a problem may in fact be a big problem.  As I'm sure you know balance is key.

I'm in Meridian, MS for a race tomorrow.....pretty hilly bike course for us flatlanders!    

Howdy all -- haven't checked in in a while, as I've been very busy preparing for (and going on) a road trip to Vancouver with the family.   Good news is, we timed the trip to coincide with a triathlon -- so I'll be a racer this weekend (Oly distance).  

Wish me luck!  And great luck to the other racers out there.

Scott.

Missed out on Grandmasters by about 30 seconds. 2nd in AG was about 2-3 minutes back. I'm headed to be the beach. No computer hook up so will check in tomorrow. Crush it racers!  

Hey all, 

I have been pretty busy with training and life and have been trying to balance my life a little bit more which requires less time on the computer. With that said here I am ... :-)

I am sitting on my couch and I am hurting ... today was a day of firsts ....

I had a X-50 Distance race today ... 1 mile swim, 40 miles on the bike and a 9 mile run. The swimming portion wasn't bad. I finished the swim in 25 minutes which isn't my best but acceptable. I was flying on the bike like I had never been before. I was averaging around 23.5 mph which is pretty fast for me and at mile 12 there was a right turn ... all I remember is my front wheel slipping away from under me and then I am looking at the cop at the turn stopping traffic. I think I hit the pavement at 17.9 mph according to my Garmin. I finished another 20 miles after a 10 minute break when the adrenaline started to wear off and the pain started setting in! I have some major road rash on my right side ankle, knee, hip, under the armpit, my complete arm and a little bit on my neck. It will be a painful couple of days ... can't wait. 

So today I crashed for the first time and I DNF'ed for the first time. Both are not feeling very good! I am not going to post pictures .... :-) 

Did anyone else race today?

Geez Michael... sorry to hear about the crash.  Hopefully road rash is the worst of it.

I raced this morning -- Vancouver Olympic.  Basically matched my time from last month (within 1 minute overall).  The swim was quite a bit slower -- swimming in the ocean is a different beast!  Luckily the waves were manageable but the current was noticeable -- many swimmers kept on veering off in the wrong direction.  

Bike was pretty good -- one killer hill (which I had to do twice... two lap course) but otherrwise OK.  

Run -- better than last time.  First 5K went reasonably well. Second 5K, fatigue and intense sun (in the Pacific Northwest... who'da thunk it??) took their toll.

Overall -- happy that I finished, happy that I survived the ocean swim, disappointed that I didn't improve more, but overall it went fine.    Looking forward to my next tri which is a Sprint distance... I should be well prepped for it!
Scott. 

Michael-hate to hear about the crash. Be cautious in pushing too hard getting back to training. I suspect you will be even more sore and stiff tomorrow. Something I found that really does a good job on road rash is tegaderm bandages. They are waterproof and hold up well for a day or more. The material is what they use to hold in IV lines and such. Glad you are not injured worse.

Scott-solid work in the race. You are right about swimming in the ocean. What looks like a small wave or swell looks and feels really big when you are down there swimming. 

Michael that sounds very scary.  Did you hit your head?  are you sure there isn't anything broken?  I really didn't know the answer to that question until the next few days after it happened.  Please be careful returning to SBR.

Scott, great job on the race.  what was the best part????

Randy, you never cease to amaze with your results.  Good stuff.

I was supposed to race a sprint in a town not far from our Summer home, but I woke to storms so after my experience two weeks prior, I bagged it.  I hate missing races no matter how small, but trying to keep my eye on the prize.

Randee-good job in the race. In my first tri the water was so shallow I ended up only having to swim about 50 yards......it was great! Glad to hear you are running pain free. Hope it continues.

Jamie-always great to see improvement in races from year to year. Solid splits in swim, bike and run. Keep at it for that final push to IM Louisville!

Suzy-smart decision. Very wise to keep in mind the big picture...something I'm not always very good at.

Melissa-great report. Outstanding accomplishment. That swim start would have been terrifying.

Easy spin on the bike for me this evening. 

Best part overall:  The race setting was spectacular.   Summertime in Vancouver does not disappoint.   The swim and the run had a gorgeous mountain backdrop -- the run had a bonus vista of the downtown skyline.   Much of the bike course was heavily forested, winding its way around the university campus, with occasional snippets of ocean view.   And the weather was phenomenal -- sunny, clear, mild breeze, warm but not hot.

Best part of my performance:  The swim, while slow, was good -- glad to have completed an ocean swim.  And the bike felt pretty solid overall, despite a couple of gnarly hills.

Worst part:  I have two words for you... nipple chafing.  First time experiencing this lovely phenomenon.  May it be the last.

Scott.

I'd say you had a really good experience, minus the pesky chafing!  I've not been to Vancouver, but if it is anything like Banff or Lake Louise, I bet it was spectacular.