BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! (Page 47)

Steve,

Great times and it appears that the bike gods smiled upon you this race.  Sorry to hear about the swim though. 

JK

Great ride and blazing fast run Steve.

stevebradley - 2011-09-13 7:41 PM JEFF - Merci beaucoup! It was an incredibly satisfying run/bike combo.....but it throws a few monkey wrenches into all my ruminations a few weeks ago about how going all-out on the bike might pay better dividends than to save some unknown amount for the run. I still have to think about this some, but for now: --I dialed it down on about the final 7-8km, maybe to the point of "losing" 1-2 minutes of bike-time. --I began the run feeling immediately fresh, really surprisingly so. --I was able to successfully "surge" several times along about miles three and four, and these might've helped me by close to a minute. --The surges are really just short "pick-ups", maybe 15-20 seconds each, and when I sense the HR is climbing, I drop back to my previous sustained effort. --I flagged some in the final half-mile; probably not perceptible to anyone else, but I could feel it. It was at its worst with about 200-300 yards to go, but I was able to dig deep for the last 150 or so yards. --Going 43:28 was phenomenal for me, but it didn't surprise me given how great i felt right from the run's start. --I had hoped for about 45'-46', so doing 43' was 2-3' better than hoped for. And if I actually did lose a minute or two in holding back some at the end of the bike ------- I might've gained a minute by having the stuff for a dtrong run. --Most races I am in the top 12-15% of the bike and the top 18-25% of the run. At Nation's, I was at 14% on the bike....and 10% on the run! I cannot remember the last time my run was comparably stronger than my bike, against the whole field, but on Sunday it was clear that somehting clicked, a new way (maybe???) of doing things?? All that good stuff aside, my nutrition was sketchy again, and I was saved some by having aid stations every mile on the run. Bless their little hearts!!

Well the race protocol you used worked very well.  No denying that!!

BTW:  What do you mean by "I flagged some"?  In the context of the sentences it sounds like you were getting near the cliff and slowing down but I'm not certain.

Going 43:28 is phenomenal for the vast majority of us.  I'm still trying to crack the 50 min. barrier FRESH.  Almost there

Hi everyone.....

Soooo.....I'm still a bit worried about water quality at Redman. There are still signs posted that say "Stay away from the water it'll make you sick," or something to that effect. Their FB page states that they're moving water into the lake, but again there isn't any water to be moved so I really do think they will end-up canceling the swim. Which leaves me with a 55 mile bike ride. Drove the course Monday night and it's not too hilly. Shouldn't be a problem. 

Got new running shoes! My old ones (Brooks Ariel) were super duper heavy. I went to okc's tony running store and they were all like "Those are too much for you....who put you in these?" Bought a new pair of Brooks Adrenaline and LOVE them...I feel like I've got feathers on my feet vs. bricks. My hip flexors don't hurt anymore. Hopefully this will continue to be the case.

I'm still a little confused about nutrition, but I think I'll just eat a light breakfast, eat one Gu and hydrate 1 bottle every 45 minutes along the bike and I'll be fine. Recovery meal will be light as it's only a 55 mile bike ride and no run (and probably no swim). 

I think I'm reaching burnout. I'm not excited about this race, and I kept having this strange dream about the swim portion. I'm praying that my attitude changes. I need some inspiration, so I'm going to head over to YouTube and look at triathlon videos....

Have a great day everyone!

Trina,

Glad you got "better" shoes.  I prefer light ones myself.

When is your race?  This weekend?

I'm suffering what I think is burnout also.  I've got a duathlon in 1 1/2 weeks and I just don't care about how I do.  Of course, my new bike will make up for my fewer training hours - haha.

Forecast is for 20s tonight - it's a little early for us to get that cold.  The forecasters keep saying "Unusually cool" - heck, that's not cool, that's cold.

Denise

Steve,

So - what a great way to end the season (it is your last, right?)  You must be flying high.  Do you think your lighter race season had anything to do with having such a great race?

You mentioned Lynn went mushrooming - did she bring any back?  She seems to do some interesting things - I should get a list from her for when I can't do this race stuff anymore.

Denise

Denise - 20 degrees?! Wow! That is cold!! We're still having lows in the high 70s. I was watching the weather channel and they're a bit worried about all of the foliage in New England not being as brilliant if it starts getting too cold at night. Hope it doesn't.

Yes, new bikes do make-up for a lack of enthusiasm. At least you feel cool when your riding it 

My race is next weekend. I don't even know if I have a number, yet. Guess I should meander over to the website and see. 

Hate it that you're feeling burnout, too. I really don't care how I do at Redman. I'm actually kind of dreading the whole affair. I ordered a new "shortie" wetsuit for Redman and it arrived today. I'm too tall for it.... it feels like its pulling my shoulders down to where my armpits should be.  And my chest is a little too large, also. So I guess I'll try a different brand. Do they carry wetsuits for tall chicks with sizable ta-tas? Or I guess I could just take the wetsuit I have now and cut the legs off above the knee. Has anybody ever had any experience doing this? Will it roll-up on my leg? Look stupid? Only thing is that it chafes the underside of my arms, so that's really the main reason I purchased a new wetsuit. 

Hard to believe most of us were complaining just recently of the hot temps and humidity - it rained all day and never reached 60 degrees here in the Midwest.  Almost perfect running weather (went 6 and had an extra spring in my step i haven't felt all summer) but makes for tough biking conditions.  I've got a 5/22 biathlon Sunday.  It has rained 3 of last 4 years and the forecast is threatening again.  Goal is to break 2 hours which, weather permitting, should be doable.  Riding the tri bike this year which should help considerably although there are 6 doozy hills and the roads are pretty rough.  Dry pavement and little headwind might make all the difference.

Still planning on my first century ride next month and was just signed up to run a 10K the weekend before.  Haven't swam in nearly a month but really need to force myself to get into the pool at least once a week this winter.  A riding buddy advised me that Memphis puts on a wonderful Oly tri in May, particularly for first timers.  I'm looking to move up but the early point in the season might be more of a challenge than I am ready for (primarily due to the nearly mile OWS).  It will be wetsuit legal but I've never swam in a wetsuit or in an open water competition.  Any early insights and/or training advise is much appreciated.

Steve, nice job last weekend.  Trina, enjoy the bike ride and stay out of fetid water.

Thanks for the input, Steve. I will call about the wetsuit. I think I need live customer service support regarding the purchase of a new one. It's a little late to try and get one for Redman now, so I will use copious amounts of body glide and hope for the best.

Yes, I my plan was to Gu AND hydrate one bottle every 45'. I think I will heed your advice and carry a Cliff Bar in my bento box, too. Probably pop a couple of Endurolytes every two hours if it's hot and I'm sweating a lot. 

I think you are also spot-on as to why I'm not excited about the race. I am just assuming they will cancel the swim, and getting stoked about a 55 mile ride is hard for me. The aquabike was supposed to serve as a stepping stone to a HIM next year, and if I don't get the mass swim start "experience" then it just doesn't seem worth the $ or the trouble. Spoke with coach about this last night and he seems to think that my excite-o-meter will rev-up during packet pickup and its electric atmosphere. We'll see.

Thanks again for the advice!

stevebradley - 2011-09-15 8:43 AM DENISE again - The bind I'm in now is getting in quality races for USAT points. My first one, at West Point, doesn't help me at all because of the bike crash; I got only 73 points for that. So, it is essentailly a "wash" for me in my quest for All-American. Mossman netted me 78-something, and that's where I need at least two of my remaining races to be, minimally. If Nation's is counted as a triathlon*, that will be there, and likely into the 80s. That leaves the two in Buffalo and the one in NJ to fill in any gaps. So, had I stopped at Nation's, that would've given me an average of -- just speculating here -- about 77-something, which might be good enough for borderline Honorable Mention. Too close to risk settling it all right there! * In previous years, USAT has counted as a triathlon everything that was designated/planned as a triathlon, even if conditions caused segments of it to be cancelled (as with Nations), or switched to a run, or shortened. I haven't heard otherwise (and am afraid to look! ), but I'm assuming that it will enter the rankings as a triathlon.

Interesting hearing you write about USAT rankings.  It sounds like that is one of your triathlon goals (i.e.. making ALL-USA or HM-USA).  I'll have to look into what it all means on the USAT website.  Sounds like a neat concept.  Has qualifying for WTC Worlds (like 70.3) ever been a goal of yours?  You certainly appear to be fast enough.

I've gone back and forth on which bike to ride on the century (10/9).  I've ridden the tri bike almost exclusively since June and have become more and more comfortable on it, so I anticipate I'll ride it.  But part of me continues to return to the maxim that the roadie will be more comfortable, etc.  However, I road the tri bike 65 miles last weekend and felt fine.  Plus its simply a nicer bike!

The 10K is a week later on the 16th.  I was going to run the Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon in St. Louis the following weekend with a buddy who talked me into it but, alas, I have a family wedding that weekend out of town.