Madcow's Group- FULL! (Page 5)

I am not sure of the exact mil you need, but you do need a swimming wetsuit. Basically swimming suits are thin in the body and thicker in the legs. With the legs thicker, your legs will float, helping you get through the water easier. The biggest advantage of a wetsuit is not warmth as much as it is bouyancy (sp). If you want to be warm, double up on swim caps or wear a swim hood under your swim cap. Swimming wetsuits come in two different styles, full sleeve and sleeveless. I swim in a sleeveless suit and have had very little problems (some minor chaffing when I first bought my suit). Some brands of suits are Xterra and DeSoto. Desoto comes in 2 pieces, so you can wear just the top or just the bottom if you want and it supposed to be easier to remove. If you google triathlon wetsuits, you should be able to find a suit you like and right now would be a good time to buy one.

The problem with wetsuits is you have to weigh the benefit of added speed to the disadvantage of longer transition times. The rule of thumb (as I understand it) is, the worse your swim stroke is, the more your wetsuit will help. So, say you swim a 100 in 2:00 and your race is 500. Now, say you knock off 20 sec/ 100 with a wetsuit (Just a guess). Your swim would be 1:40 faster than without a wetsuit. If it takes you 1 minute to get that wetsuit off, it was a win/ win. If you swim a 100 in 1:40 and 1:30 with a wetsuit, then you would have lost 10 seconds in transition. You can also not wear a wetsuit at all if you can swim in 60 degree water. You will see plenty of people witout one.

With all of that said, I wouldn't be too concerned about transition times for your first tri or even first year of tris. You will have enough to worry about (like putting your helmet on the right way or not running with your helmet still on (yes, I have seen both).

For what to wear under your wetsuit. I wear tri shorts. They are like bike shorts with a smaller pad in them. The pad dries quickly and is small enough that you can run in it. Now for the shirt, you can wear a tri top which is like tri short material and dries quickly as well. I am too big for a tight fitting tri top (insert vision of a sausage) , so I wear a micro-fiber tanktop under the wetsuit. So, all I have to do is take my wetsuit off and put my bike shoes on. The shirt dries while I ride and is loose enough that I can run in it too.

For the women, they make tri tops that are similar to the shorts. My wife wears a sports bra under that and throws a tshirt on for the run.

The problem with trying to put a shirt on in transition is, I have seen my fair share of people "stuck" in their shirt because they are wet. Quite funny, actually. The other thing is socks. If you are going to use socks for the bike, make sure you practice putting dry socks on wet feet (not fun) and can take longer than trying to take off a wetsuit. But some people just aren't comfortable without socks.

Whcih brings up my next point. DON'T DO ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!!!!!!

Practice everything. In about a month or so, I will have you guys practicing your transitions. You should have plan for how you rack your bike and how you lay your stuff out, even what order you should put this stuff on. Transition times are not that important (right now) but you still shouldn't spend 1 hour putting clothes on.

Hey all,

I will have access to a pool sometime in FEB. I will be swimming with a master swim program starting up at our local Y then.  I will try to get to a bike this week.  So far this week hasn't started off very good for me, because I feel myself coming down with a chest cold.  I am taking airborne and anything else to boost my immune system, so it doesn't take hold for very long.  My mother has had bronchitis now for three weeks, and I am hoping to avoid that!  We are in for a big snow storm tonight and since I work this weekend my day off is Thurs. I hope to ski if I can stay well.

Shinsplints, or "tibial stress syndrome", can be a result of overtraining, overpronation, or too much downhill work. Without rest or treatment shinsplints will persist and can progress to stress fractures of the shin bone or tibia. Cutting back on your milage and intensity sometimes helps, along with ice, massage, and rest. Treated this way shinsplints will usually disappear in four to six weeks. Stretching exercises for the calf muscle and the muscle attached to the shin will also eliminate the cause.  If you have flat feet or week arches- which can leave you susceptible to shinsplints you may need a sneaker that prevents overpronation or possibly orthodics.  Right now I would rest and treat with ice. Come back easy until the pain is gone.  Sorry, I know how bad shinsplints hurt, so good luck!

Good morning everybody. Fungi take care of those shin splits. I don't get them (knock on wood), but they are a killer for my wife.

Is there any sort of challenge this group would like to do for either this week or next?

Hope everybody is feeling better

Run challenge sounds good to me too  I should be hearing from the Master Swim Coach soon.  I am a bit surprised I haven't heard from him already, since they said we were going to begin the program some time in Feb.  I have a 4mi race coming up in March (3/15) I am really nervous just about that so anything that can help improve my running would be great.  In April I start my tri training with the local Community College.  It is geared to train specifically for the Danskin Womens Triathlon.  I will keep everyone posted.

 Kip,

Dicks Sporting Goods had some wet suits listed for that weight, however the height was 5'11", I don't know if that would work for you???

 Hey Madcow,

What is our new challenge for the week?

I was hoping to get outside to run today, because it warmed up here (37 degrree).  But the road surfaces are very icy and wet so I guess it will be the treadmill for me today (yuck)!  I went to the YMCA yesterday to check in on the master swim program,  they are waiting for some more people to join before they start up, bummer.  I am still going to join next week so I can at least start swimming and biking on my own. My nutrition went off track last night, I over ate Chinnese food, I am scared to step on the scale, because I know I gained at least 3lbs.

OK, since we all can run right now and because we haven't had a challenge in a while, why don't we do two?

The first is a run challenge. We can focus on some speed.

On at least 1 run, start with a warm up (1/3 of your total distance)
Take this first part easy.
Then add in 5 x :30 sec hard steady effort. If you use a HR monitor add 15 BPM to your easy pace. If you are not, then just run at about 70%.
After the :30 hard, run :30 sec easy (same pace as your warm up
Rinse and repeat 5 times.
Then run a cool down (same pace as your warm up)
Since we are all at different run distances, adjust this to fit your planned workout.
Let me know how it worked for you.

Make sure you take it easy the day after your speed work as your body will need to get used to the different muscles used.

I see I am not the only one eating poorly lately, so how about a nutrition challenge?

I am in Jury duty all week, so my diet will be a little off, but I can drink water. So for the whole week (including the weekend) we will need to drink at least 2 liters of water. I will try to drink one before I go into the courtroom and another one after. Possibly even trying to drink as much as I can during the trial.
I will try to think of a prize for the winner(s)

Make sure you check in and let me know if when you finish your second liter.

Good luck on both challenges.

I got in my 2 liters yesterday and am starting my 2 for today. I think I will run at lunch so I will get in my speedwork for the week as well.

Have a great day everybody.

Finished my water for the day.  Did a short run tonight no speed work.  I will incorporate my speed work into my longer run tomorrow.

Question: Has anyone had a burning in their stomach while running.  Not a cramp, but a burning?