Mad Manatees 2015.4 CLOSED (or Poptart/pet pic ticket) (Page 49)

Careful thinking it's one or the other. A lot of getting faster is going to be swimming better, which will be farther and more efficient. It's not just making more power. Really, more of it will be learning what to do. A number of issues in the back actually originate up front. Arms reach more in front of your head than the shoulder (crossing over), your legs can scissor and go wide to counter balance. Or your body might fishtail some. Start trying to pull too soon and the force is directed downward. This slows you down and tips your body. Front tries to lift, rear goes down.

Originally posted by Jet Black

Originally posted by marysia83 Hey Sean and Jen, great to see you Today was my first more-winter-than-summer bike ride (I have never biked with temp lower than 50, so were a little freaked about the ride). I enjoyed it a lot. Forgot headband, but it was not windy, so I did not really feel it. The jacket I had was a huge mistake and I was about to bake myself it felt so hot. Lesson learned: no winter jacket when it’s not windy and 41 degrees. I shall probably see how it feels at night, when I come back, but I can imagine I will definitely not freeze. Thank you for your feedback on Total Immersion. Since I am not an experienced swimmer, I rather treat this book as some additional guidance, some helpful tips. My goal at this point is not to get faster, but to keep the balance and not carry those heavy iron legs behind my body when trying to swim. I am half way through and I like some ideas. My plan for now is to finish the book and see if it helps. If by February I do not see any progress with my front crawl, I will go with personal coach (I already got some recommendations). In the meantime I will be just working on the distance with breaststroke – worst case scenario, I will have a strong plan B. And who said running was the hardest part of triathlon……? Have a great week everyone! Mary

I too learned the hard way that less is more when dressing for cold rides. Cover your ears, fingers & toes and you can put up with the rest. I'd rather be a little cold for the first 5 miles than be too hot for the rest of the ride.

I wouldn't call it less is more, but learning what is going on. On the roads I think most everyone here is almost guaranteed to see a wind of 15 and maybe 20 mph. Look at wind chill for those speeds. It's rather substantial. Cover some more to block it. Then insulate as needed. That part can be made more fun by figuring out how hard you'll be riding. I used nothing extra for a sprint tri at 45F and was fine. Arm warmers & gloves for a duathlon at 38-41. However, for a longer easy ride it would have been head to toe coverage. Sweat removal can make this even more fun. It has to have somewhere to go. That's where feet can run into trouble as it has to get out of the shoe.

Seems weird, but on some of the cooler rides I'll actually warm up more when I come to a stop. Running will go the other way.

Woohoo! Almost 108mi!

hehehe...Congrats on hitting such a running milestone    

Um, i think we need a report back and photo on this. While the concept sounds a bit weird your flavour combination sounds AWESOME! 

x2 - here 's to many more happy trails ... :D 

While we are (kind of) on the subject of bikes, I'd like to share the bike-y part of my weekend.  I finally switched out Rico's (my tri bike) rear wheel to put the stock wheel back on while he's inside on the trainer.  I also needed to switch the tire that was on the stock rim.  Tuned it up successfully myself (figured I ought to put the advanced mechanic class I took at the LBS to good use, finally and not be chicken).  Next up, I put the road bike (aka The Felt) on to clean/lube it up to head outside for the winter.  I also finished installing Dad's steer head and also added my new Nite Rider lights, man, are they crazy bright!  

I rode outside for the first time since late Aug or early Sept. - clarification - this was my first bike ride of any kind since then.  It was the ugliest 19 miles I've done in a long time.  It was humbling to realize how much bike fitness was lost, and a bit frustrating, too, but I'm choosing to not let it get me down but to use it as inspiration to get back where I was.  Overall it was fun to be back on the bike (although my butt may disagree) and great to be outside.

About a month ago, I treated myself to a bike work stand, and it made ALL the difference in the world for working on the bikes.  It felt so incredibly good to have all the tools and cleaners and lubes I need right there at my disposal.  Back when I first got The Felt I asked DH for a good set of tools to work on my bike and I've added some to it since.  Good times!

Dreams of long days and warm mornings...

I haven't been on my bike in forever either.  I expect a very ugly first few rides too!!

I've thought about getting a bike stand from time to time, but have just never pulled the trigger.  Maybe once I actually start riding again I'll get one

I admire your getting outside on the bike this time of year.  Sounds like you are well prepared for it all.  You are right, a good bike stand makes a huge difference.  I got a very nice one for Christmas last year.  I'm hoping you inspire me to get out on the bike I bought last year specifically for off season riding. 

Yeah, it's pretty dark shortly after 4 around here and I HATE it.  There is a little sun peeking out today so I may sneak out during lunch to get my run in.  We've had some pretty fierce storms roll through but there is a bit of a lull now.

Ah, I'm so jealous!  Sunset was 4:40 pm today here.  Bleh.

Quick drop-by here.  Hope you're all doing well.  I'm not up to going back a few pages to catch up; I'm  not feeling so great today.  

My concussion symptoms are about the same: computers and reading suck, night driving isn't great, and swimming is off the table.  I'm going to a neuro-optometrist tomorrow.  Who knew such a specialty existed?!  I'm hoping he can give me a treatment plan other than rest and maybe an idea about when I can return to work.  Sometimes I think I'm just being a wimp and then I try to do something like fill out some paperwork or some such.  That gives me a big fat reality check that yes, there really is something wrong and no, there's no way I could work at my current job or in my current profession.  I'm trying to stay positive but it gets hard sometimes. Maybe I'll just become a professional dog-walker or something.

On the positive side, my HM training is going well and I get to do all my running in the daylight, for which I'm *very* grateful!!  Tri team weekly workouts start this weekend and I'm also going to join RWB folks for weekly runs. The team kick-off meeting was last week and it's a pretty cool bunch of people. I like the coach a lot and am looking forward to getting to know folks more than just on FB. If I'm not able to get back to swimming in time to do tris next year, I know of at least one person who will do a relay with me. We might even tackle a HIM!!

I miss all the Manatee chatter and think about you lots.

(((Hugs)))

I'll trade you.  7:50 - 4:13