TriAya's Group: SHUT like dog on steak, sorry! (Page 45)

As far as last years' times go, perhaps it was actually shorter than the given distance?  I hear that happens a lot (both ways) in swims, as they are harder to make accurate, especially smaller races.

For my tris last year, I had never been in a pool, only OW, and had no idea of how fast or how slow of a swimmer I was.  I had no idea if I'd swam the distance in training or not, just how long I could swim.  And, I didn't get much swimming in (which if you are so darn bored you read through my summer logs you will see I complain about that all the time) due to not having someone to watch the kids.  I ended up doing 'fine' in the races.  Not fast, not DFL, and I didn't struggle with it too badly.  The hardest thing was seeing how far it was once they put the buoys up.  Pretty incredible how far 1/4 mile looks in open water!  But once you are swimming it goes by really fast.

I had another thought about swim times while I was swimming this afternoon.....in the pool, if you can do flip turns, your times are faster (by how much, I don't know--anybody have a guess?) than those who don't flip.  I don't flip, so I assume when I am in an OWS swimming situation, I will be much more competition to the flippers!  I know when I am swimming pretty evenly with someone in the next lane who flips, they always get way ahead of me at the turns no matter how quickly I try to turn around and push off.  I don't know at what point it will behoove me to learn a flip turn vs just getting my swimming done, since usually I have limited pool time and try to use it for endurance.  This is my first time swimming in a pool (I started this fall).

I did swim longer and farther today than I have ever done! Woo hoo!  And I have a super early morning bike ride planned tomorrow, too.  I think I finally felt what it was like to actually use my body/hips to rotate while swimming.  I felt speedy now and then.

Erin....just do something to get your blood flowing.....you have the time during week after your tri to take a mental health day!    Can't wait to see how you do!  I know you will rock.

I rode 24 miles today on my mountain bike, so it was slow...I was trying to keep up my friend on her Cervelo in aero.....so I did ok.  My roadie is in the shop now and will be fixed by Friday.  Stupid derailleur.  No, stupid owner trying to d-i-y with no experience.    Had a fun outing anyway, despite the headwind and all.  Time for a little nappy.

Snooper job, Leslie! Wow! (and on the long-azz mtb ride, too ... I've NEVER ridden that far on a mtb).

Flip turns--pffft. Unless you're planning to join a master's group (maybe not even then, since most good ones are very triathlete-friendly), flip turns are a waste of time.

They require pretty good breath control and take up a fair bit of energy--especially if you're new to them--so really, unless you're planning to swim competitively, you're better off spending that breath and energy on your workout.

Speaking of swimming--Waterdog66 (he visits here ) talked me into doing the Pacific Open Water Challenge 5K (as a way of qualifying for ANOTHER 5K, what is he NUTS, I don't even like road 5Ks), so ... although I have done an approximate 5K OWS when I was 13 (on a dare, between islands, accompanied by a motorboat--great but long story) this will be a swimming first and PR for me--and I didn't think that was possible! Tri is great!

That sounds like one heck of a swim! When is it?  I am sure you will do fine at it, you are a superb swimmer.  Me, I'd be out there for days!!  Speaking of OWS in the ocean, have you read "Grayson"?  I picked it up randomly at the library and read the whole thing in about an hour yesterday, I couldn't put it down.  Very sweet story, and it all takes place in the water during one very long OWS.  I highly recommend it.

Ooh ooh ooh that looks wonderful! I LOVED Lynne Cox's autobiography and have watched as much footage of her as I can find--I am definitely going to read Grayson.

She's my hero.

I just reserved the autobiography at the library and will hopefully have it this week.  She is amazing, I agree!  You will LOVE this book.  It's takes place in your neck of the woods (or ocean, I should say) as well.

This topic has me thinking---what motivational books have you all read? They can be tri-related or not.....

I do like Slow, Fat, Triathlete by Jayne Williams.  She blogs on here once in a while.

I read a book about four women Ironman athletes from a decade ago...."The Triathletes: A season in the lives of four women in the toughest sport of all" by Jeff Cook.  Interesting view of a pro woman IM triathlete.

There will be more from me, it just takes me a while to remember them--I read a ton of books, and since I do it really fast I often don't absorb the titles, just the message!  Currently I am reading a lot about Afghanistan and how terrible it is there. Wishing I could help change it, being thankful I live where I do, when I do.

Hey All!  No time to catchup right now, but thought I'd stop by . . .

I FINALLY (after about a month break) got back in the pool last night . . . I probably could have a week ago, but kept finding excuses not to.  Boy do I have some work to do.  I didn't lose speed on my 50's, but lost about 10sec on my 100's.  Plus, swimming more than that at a time was a bit of a struggle.  I only went for 25 min as I didn't want to push my arm just yet.  I also got in a 45min run, almost all of which was at my target HR - at a 10min/mi pace - faster than usual when aiming to keep the HR down.  I must admit, I sped up and pushed it the last 7 min or so and so did my HR . . . is that ok??

Today I did a spin class this AM and will be meeting a friend who is in from out of town tonight to get a workout in at the gym.  Not sure what all I will do, but definately need to get a strength workout in!

I'm ready to get back to my training plan!  Life has just been too busy and I've been letting workouts slide - really need to put an end to that!

Ok, better go do some work   Will catchup later . . . Renee

Great job getting back into the workouts, Renee!  It's one day at a time, for sure!

I signed up for a 10.2K trail run this Saturday.  I did the same one last fall, so hopefully I will beat my time.  I had terrible blister issues for that run, so this time I am wearing my non-blistering shoes!  Today I ran 48 min but had bad rubbing yet again from my new shoes.  I think they may need to be replaced, unfortunately. I don't know what to do about it.  I wore good socks, body glide, laced them well....sigh.

I hope everyone has a great day today!  What's on the agenda??

I think tapering is a good thing!  You won't add any fitness at this point, so slow it down and keep the blood flowing, don't injure yourself! Cannot wait to read the RR.

Re my shoes--I am getting a blister over and over again on the inside arch of my right foot. It seems there must be something rubbing in my shoe, not the arch support.  I need to investigate a little bit.  If there's something wrong with the shoe I might try to return it for a new pair, since I really love the shoes.  Nike Air Triax.  They are 1/2 size bigger than my old pair, but the fit is fine, so that's not it.  The left foot is fine, too, which leads me to believe that it is an irregularity in the shoe.  Hopefully, since I bought them at a running store, they will help me work through it.  We shall see....

Poor pookie! Definitely take the shoes back--and insist on a refund or exchange. That's what running stores are for. Explain clearly the issue and ask to be re-shoed by someone who's really experienced in fitting and is a runner.

You might need a wider shoe. Also, Triax does correct slightly for pronation, which means it's going to be built up a little more on the inside. Unless you indeed are an overpronator (and many runners get misdiagnosed as such, especially women), you could think about a neutral running shoe.

Just thoughts, that's all.

Hopefully I can get to the running store this weekend, after the trail run and all that.  It's supposed to be rainy and thunderstormy, so it will be interesting!  It's also right under the airport takeoff and landing area, so it's a trip to run there!

Good news, I was accepted to Team Javelin today, so I get a uniform, woo woo!  That makes us on the same team, Shawn!  My friend Lynne also got in, and a few others I know from BT, which is fun!

What are you all up to today?  It's been awfully silent on here.  I am biking (spin) and swimming since I didn't get to yesterday.   My kids are driving me insane today.

Again, Erin ... you are HARD CORE. I've never taken off work to train, although I have taken off work to recover/rest.

CONGRATS TO THE JAVELINITES!

And now ... a shameless pitch for the March Peep Wars bike challenge ...

Leslie, Shawn, Will (and myself, I always hold back and lurk to see if I really wanna do it ... then I always do ) are signed up ... remember, it's about YOUR cycling goals, so you set the number at whatever's realistic (and then subtract a bunch for illnesses, life, family, etc).

The link is in my signature beneath if you wish to sign up.