Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 48)

FWIW.....solid food does not work for me.  My stomach gets all tied up in knots.  It's liquid nutrition for me.

I think I'll hit Jorge's whole plan this coming winter. 

It is a double loop race.  I hadn't thought of that, but you're right that it means I'll pass each station twice.

Tracy - You are doing the Olympic at Rancho Seco right? If my knee is up to it by then my wife and I will be there the day before you to do the Sprint.

The course does have a couple of speed bumps and pedestrian crossings with many small reflectors while you are still in the park.  You might not want to be in aero position for those. Just as a word of caution so they don't surprise you on race day.

Ah....good to know!!  Thank you!!!  I'll scope out the bike course prior to the race.

We'll be there on Saturday, as well.  My husband might do the Sprint, however, he hasn't been swimming.  He might do the du instead.  Another friend of mine is going to do the du on Saturday.

Where do you guys stay?  Is Elk Grove feasible?

Looking forward to seeing you at the race!

Oh you guys are just petting our ego's  

Also, do just as Jeff and Warren are saying.  The near threshold work will keep you growing in endurance capacity.  I keep a hard effort up on all of my bikes except for the long rides I do each week.  The long efforts that Warren is talking about would be a good thing to do but I haven't practiced those as of yet.  The short stuff should be always hard and you could also try to stretch your overall distance at the same time.  My point is to keep all of your rides hard except for the long ride and try to get as much riding in as possible. 4-5 times a week will reap a lot of benefits.

x2 on this point.  If it makes you feel better tape a couple of gels on the top tube of your bike for a little extra security if that makes you feel better.  I usually have a couple there just in case I feel like I am going to crash.  I have an Oly a little over a week away and I plan on doing something similar.  If you have a race belt with loops on it you could even put one there for the run but you shouldn't need it there either.  The calories from the sports drink should be fine to get you through.

David is onto a really good point to all who don't feel quite comfortable in the water just yet.  Take your time and dril, drill, drill.  Over time your comfort level will increase and you will have the added benefit of having some really good technique that will be harder to erase when you start working on hard stuff with speed sets.  Good repetition makes things harder to screw up if your muscle memory is already correct.

Yes, Elk Grove is a good choice. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn there and it was great. Rates are $107 a night. It was about a 30 minute drive from the park.

There is also a Holiday Inn Express a little closer and rates there are around $96 a night.

Another option is camping at the park. It was $25 a night last year and we did that one weekend when we were volunteering at an event. They don't have a lot of spots though so call well in advance to reserve a site.

I have a busy day and a busy weekend ahead.  Heck I have a busy week or two ahead.  I have an abbreviated long run this morning followed (I hope) by an abbreviated long ride (probably only 30 miles, 20 less than I'd like) and then purchase material to build a porch over the back of our patio.  Once our girls get out of school we are headed for Ohio for a wedding and then back again Sunday afternoon.

Next week is a short work week for me and then I'll plan on putting on the porch for the back of our house, officially beginning Wednesday but I'll probably start in the evenings so I can get a jump start on it.  I still want to get some training in but next week is race week too so if I don't hit a normal volume for the first of the week it won't kill me.  (I would like to hit the same volume in the first few days of the week but I'm not seeing it because of the traveling and home project.)

This project kind of came out of nowhere really.  Lis and I were looking at something to put out behind our house to allow some good sitting and relaxing time when the weather is warm and cool enough.  We had something before but the wind destroyed it during a storm a year ago and I want something more permanent if we are doing it again.  It's rally going to be a bit of a Mother's Day gift to her, but just a little late.

Anyway, I'll stay in touch a little over the weekend but I may be a little more MIA than usual over this weekend.

thanks for posting swimsmooth video..exactly what the swim coach told me.

Dirk enjoy ur time off, U deserve it.

Everyone, enjoy ur weekend and if U R racing GOOD LUCK, otherwise, train HARD!!!!!!!!!

Dirk - Good luck with the porch my friend! That's a great mothers day gift.

Good luck to those racing this weekend. I'm heading for race three in three weeks tomorrow. I think that's too many. I can recover, but I can't really train between any of them (recovery day or two, then right into not blowing myself up for the next race!). Lesson learned, I'll avoid it in the future.

Having said that, I'm SUPER excited that the first tri of the season is tomorrow. I did have a few questions though...

In doing a short and gentle brick yesterday, I ended up with a MASSIVE side stitch going into the run... It hasn't really happened before, but are there any keys to managing this? Better hydration would be one (I was probably dehydrated going in), but I've also heard you can end up running hunched when you're running off the bike. Is that something I should watch out for?

Also, its going to be around 50 at start time... Should I wear a technical t-shirt (tight) under my wetsuit or add a slightly less tight sleeveless top in T1? Any thoughts?

John

The causes of side stitches are heavily debated, so it’s hard to say way actually causes them.  I have had them only once, and it was after I ate and drank an energy drink about an hour before a hard effort.  Not sure why you got it, but if it was dehydration make sure you hydrate well today.  In terms of the stitch itself, try taking deep relaxed breaths, and then pressing the stitch while breathing out while your opposite foot strikes the ground.  Not sure if this is an old wives tale, but my ultra runner friend has told me this is what he does.

As far as race prep - I'd suggest hydrating well today, eating normally, and then have your last meal (carb high and fiber low, and stuff you know you can safely eat) tomorrow at least 2 hours prior.  Get some water an hour before and again half hour before.  And since this is a sprint I wouldn't try to take in too much, if anything, during the race.  I really think there’s no need at all for anything other than water for race times ~2 hours or less.  Try to get some water on the bike and maybe a little on the way out of T2, but you really don’t need much.  At the efforts you put out in a sprint it’s hard to get much in.

This sounds overly complex, so when in doubt keep it simple!  Good luck, but mostly just enjoy.  You only do your first one once.

Dirk that is a great mother's day gift I'm sure your wife is going to enjoy and appreciate it when you finish it. Be careful putting it together and I hope you and your family have a safe trip to OH and you get to squeeze in some training.

John good luck with your Sprint Tri tomorrow hope it goes well fo you. Three races already man I envy you guys who are racing already.

Recovery week - I did swim Tuesday and Thursday - but still having pain in the rt side of my back. Bike is impossible. Running has been ok - ran Wed, easy 30 min with a few strides at the end - tomorrow - plan on an EZ 7 miles, then jump in the car and take my youngest for a soccer tournament weekend.....South Bend, IN here we come....

Today, saw the doctor, and looks like there is hope - yes, I have some degernation in L1,2,3,4,5.....but, nothing serious ..yet.

The pain is from...shingles...and with some really good meds...should be over in a week.

So....I look forward to riding my bikes again, sometime after 5/20.

Hope all the asphalt junkie's have great races this weekend!

Usually I would say stitches come from a general lack of fitness related to the pace you are running but since you said it was a gentle brick that may not be the cause.  I have not suffered any cramping related to cycling and running during any of my races or brick workout either.  I would say it is more likely a general lack of hydration than anything else. 

If you think you are hunching over during a run, go ahead and focus on a strong running form, upright, shoulders back, head high, etc.....and see if that fixes any of the issues you had. I have never heard of this except that I could see it for a few steps right off the bike but then it should be back to an upright position due to the simple mechanics of running.

For clothing during the race I would suggest normal gear.  Once the race gets underway you'll probably not sotice much discomfort from a cooler temp and by the time you hit the run segment you'll probably be thankful that you don't have the extra apparel on and it won't cost you in T2.

I can see some of the back issues being related to rotation and the general stroke and stretch that you would get during your swims if you are trying to do anything that is even slightly above an easy effort for your swims.  I have had a couple of comments about how strong my back looks from people that have watched me swim in a pool and the only real reason for this is the amount of work your back does during the swim, so there is a lot of work that your back does in the pool.  Don't discount the fact that there is no impact from swimming, there is all kinds of work that goes on throughout the body.

If you think the swimming is an issue for you try doing drills and very easy efforts and see how it goes.

Agree with Dirk. Took me forever to realize that swimming was the activity that was irritating my back the most.

Okay, so who's an expert in predicting water temps??  I just really would prefer not to be swimming in cold water, so I'm trying to figure out if I want to do the Memorial Day weekend tri.  Currently, the estimated water temp of the lake the tri is going to be at is 56 degrees.  I checked accuweather.com (let's pretend extended forecasts are accurate!) and in the whole week leading up to the race, the high temps are in the 80s, lows in the mid-50s.  Any guesses as to what the water temperature may be for race day?!

Also, if you don't know about this website, check it out! http://fishingnotes.com Gives you water temps of lakes!  I saw one person say she's consistently found fishingnotes to be a few degrees cooler than what's reported by race directors on race day, but at least it gives you a baseline!

I wish I had the answer re: the side stitch.  In nearly EVERY triathlon I've done, I develop a side stitch during the run.  And I don't know why!  Part of me says it's when I have an unsmooth swim, but I really don't know.  I did a 5k open water swim a couple years ago, and literally within like 5 minutes, I started to develop a side stitch!  I couldn't believe it. (But then it went away.)  Clearly this wasn't your problem here since I don't think you had a swim involved, but I would love to figure out how to avoid it... I did finally figure out though after multiple triathlons of dealing with this, that when I press against the side stitch with my fingers it wasn't bothersome (just annoying to have to continue to press down)... so if in the future I encounter the side stitch problem, I intend on doing that... because I feel it's inevitable that it will crop up...

Having done this race before, I should know the answer to this, but I don't, sorry!  I would e-mail the race director to find out.  It's always good to know what will be available during the race so you can plan accordingly!  [email protected]

btw, what city are you in?  I'm in Novi.

Actually, it says 1 aid station for the sprint, and 2 for the olympic! (I think this means there is just one aid station set up, which you will pass twice doing the olympic.)

I'm in Kent, Ohio.  I just picked the Island Lake Tri because I wanted something around May/June within a few hours drive from home.  And it works out great because my brother lives in FlatRock, so I can stay with him and only be about an hour away.