McFuzz's New Athlete Group (CLOSED) (Page 5)

Welcome aboard Andrew.  Add everyone to your friends list and start inspiring and contributing! 

In reply of Jynxy's post about how this week was:

This week was supposed to be a week was all about building it up a bit more. Which parrtly succeeded untill real life kicked in. I planned a bike training on wednesday but it rained in the morning and i had to take care of my boy in the afternoon. In the evening i had some work to do which i couldn't recall. And yesterday i was supposed to do a long run but well... :D Now I have 1 hour of work left to do. After that I'm going home ASAP and try and do a long evening run in the cold.

Oh, and yesterday I contacted a tri-club here in the city and I decided I will join them. They have 3 swimtraining sessions/week and they work on technique. So thats excellent!

Sounds like you and your daughter has some real quality time! I have to admit I'm a bit jealous. I hope when Mini-Me is a bit older, we too can share such moments.

As for training, I'm very glad i pushed out another training after work. This is officially the most hours (5h32m) of training I ever did in one week (without counting bike training). Hurray for me! My goal for next week is to try and beat that! :D

Yeah, I know i can't beat it every week, but I do feel i had more then enough time to do another training. At the moment I'm training when I can and try to feel where my boundaries are. And my body still says I aint pushing it too hard. In fact last week I woke up every morning without feeling sore or exhausted.

Good morning all (we have a lot of time zones represented here). 

I inspired a few of you that log defaults can be set to metric rather than English units.  To do so go to your "Settings" (hover over your name in the red banner at the top of the page).  Then select "Training Log Settings" and then "General Log Settings."  You can select units for logging swim, bike, and run distances as well as weight, height, etc. 

Jo-Anne,

I'm not an expert on mountain bike components.  29 refers to the wheel size and I think is the same as 700C wheels.  They are obviously wider wheels/tires than road tires and that changes the outside diamter some.  Would a bike with 26" wheels be better for you?  (If you look at the tire size, 27.5x2.25 suggests this is the 27.5" wheel diameter even if they call it "29")  That is hard to say.  If you are purchasing the bike at a bike shop, the people in the shop should be knowledgable and get you the right size bike.  If you are purchasing from a "big box" store, the staff is generally less knowledgable so you'll need to do more research on your own. 

Frame size is the more important characteristic to having the right size bike, and I think you have the option of 17.5" or 19.5" frames.  You'd probably want the smaller frame.  I can't tell form what you've posted if the bike has an adjustible stem, but if it does, you can potentially change it to bring the handlebars closer to your seat and more vertical if the 15.5" frame is still too large.  If it doesn't have an adjustible stem, you can replace the stem with one that is adjustible.  Something like this:  http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1130996_-1___000000

I'm not a MTB expert by any means but I have some friends and I read a lot on bike forums. The choice of 29er or a 26er depends on the purpose you will use that bike for. A 29er gives more comfort, has better stability and overall is better in descending hills. A 26er is more agile and due to its smaller wheels, the acceleration is faster. So if your choice is competition with a lot of windy roads, a 26er is the way to go. If you're planning to do more road and longer distances or don't really care about the acceleration, then a 29er is your choice.

Overall, I would suggest a 29er. If someday you want to equip slicks to ride a nice tour on asphalt, the difference will be significant.

Kim did a great job answering this question.  I offer a slightly different take on race day. 

Keys to race day success:
1)  Remember you are doing this to have fun.  No matter what, you should be smiling and grinning. 
2)  Your race strategy needs to be consistent with your ACTUAL training. 
3)  Organization is your friend. 
4)  Be gracious.  Thank anyone who helps you with the race. 

These keys often overlap. 

You can find race day checklists elsewhere on this site or other online sights or you can make one yourself.  You might be surprised at how LITTLE you need to complete a triathlon.  You need a bicycle, helmet, and something to swim-bike-run in.  I consider shoes a necessity, but kids somehow manage to run all summer long barefoot.  I did my first two triathlons on a steel-frame mountain bike, wearing a pair of swim trunks and pulling on an old, cotton t-shirt and running shoes (and socks).  I did have goggles for swimming and sunglasses for the bike/run.  Now I did have a water bottle, pump, and tool kit for my bike, but I didn't use any of those.  I have more "stuff" now as well...

Consider what your training has been when devising your race-day strategy and then stick to a strategy supported by your training.  If you've been training well and feeling healthy, expect to go at or a little faster than your training paces.  If you've been shuffling along with a sore foot, (you guessed it...), you'll go at a similar pace.  Please don't expect to run 7 minute miles in a race if you're training at 9 minute miles!  It doesn't matter that maybe you ran 7 minute miles 3 months ago (or 10 years ago)...speed rarely shows up "miraculously."  You may find out "a little harder" can make a big difference, especially in longer races where nutrition becomes important. 

The transition area is where you'll switch from one activity to another, and you'll have the equipment from each activity in that area.  Again, combine organization, graciousness, and fun.  Pack the gear you NEED for the race into a small bag.  You'll generally get a swim cap, race numbers, and timing chip from the race (either the day before, or the morning of the race).  You'll bring your bicycle, helmet, shoes, sunglasses, goggles, race belt, swimsuit/tri-suit, etc. in that small bag (unless you are wearing your swimsuit/tri-suit).  Try to limit the stuff you bring in to just what is needed for the race.  Bring anything else you can imagine might help if catestrophe hits (bike pump, spare tires, tools, etc.) and leave it in the car.  Why organize like this?  It should reduce race-day stress!  While each person is unique, consider that you can get bye in a short race (sprint/oly) without extra nutrition.  You should be able to do a 1-3 hour race with just water and some sports drink which is often provided on the course.  (If you know what sports drink they will have, try some in training.)  The less gear you have to track, the more you will enjoy the day.  Theft does happen (many races secure the transition area), but more commonly, your neighbors in transition are so focused on their own activity that they don't realize they bumped your bike and knocked your sunglasses into the grass or dripped all over your socks while getting their own shoes/socks on. 

Remember the first key.  You're there to have fun.  Your finish time is unlikely to jeopardize your job or your house.  Your finish time won't change how your spouse, parents, children, dog (he'll love you anyways), cat (he won't love you regardless) feel about you.  Your triathlon friends know enough to realize the finish time doesn't tell the whole story (you can read my IMCdA race report for an example) and your non-tri friends don't care (harsh, but true).  What can and does matter is your attitude throughout the day.  If it takes you 2 minutes to pull a shirt on in T1, I say "so what?"  Is it fun to ride your bike in 60F (15C) air while wearing a dripping wet shirt?  (I don't like it...)  For me, it's worth quickly drying off and putting a dry shirt on and *enjoy* the ride.  (Yes, I have a tri-top, and I sometimes wear it for racing.)  If you find yourself getting stressed or anxious and ready to unleash on someone for the time you're standing in line or because you spent an hour making your transition home just perfect and someone scattered your gear, remember, you're there to have fun.  Take time to say "Thank you" to race volunteers, police officers, spectators, other participants, and your family. 

After the race, I like to bring a change of clothes, gallon jug of water, and a washcloth/bandana so I can sponge off and get out of my sweaty, stinky clothes ASAP.  Naps are always good later in the day, and sometimes a celebratory drink or dinner

Dimitri,

Drills and kicking are part of what "swimmers" do to get faster and better.  We triathletes can benefit from doing them also.  I've never swam competitively, but I have participated in some coached swimming and I've learned a few of the drills.  Swimmers also do a lot more shorter sets (25, 50, 75, or 100 yard efforts) and not as many 300-500 yard efforts.  Why?  Doing 6x50 and resting between efforts lets you "reset" your fatigue and swim with better form.  Pay attention to how your form changes between the first 50 and the last 50.  That is more important than the increased time.  Done right, you should be (barely) able to do the last interval in the same time you did the first interval...As such, 20% devoted to drills isn't unusual. 

Here are some acryonyms/drills:
FTD-Fingertip Drag:  Drag your fingertips through the water close to your sides during the recovery.  It forces you to have high elbows and good rotation. 
CU-Catch Up:  Your hand "catches up" with your other hand during the cycle.  Pull and recover with your left hand, and when your left hand is extended in front of you, pull and recover with the right hand. 
Pencil:  Similar to CU, but you transfer a pencil or stick from hand to hand. 
Zipper:  Similar to FTD, but focus on dragging your fingers along your side during the recovery.  (Requires a lot of rotation and elbow lift.) 
Flipper:  At the end of your pull, focus on flipping your hand (think of Flipper the dolphin) so your thumb drags against your hip/thigh. 
Pull:  Place a pull-bouy between your thighs and use arm motion only.  This is often done with paddles, but could be done without. 
Switchover:  Start on one side in a glide position, kick 6 times, recover arm, rotate, and pull to glide on other side.  kick 6 times.  Repeat, repeat, repeat...

Thank you for the info. In fact I do remember most of these drills from way back. I'll change my training plan a bit and add a bit more drills. I'm prone to keep the 200m sets for the moment though. I have some other plans too and will take a look around on the site as well. I also have contact with a local triathlete club and probably will join them starting next week. I live in a bit of luxury situation as there are 3 clubs all next to each other but I chose the one who has more swim training because I feel thats the most important part to have a coach looking at you.

Originally posted by [email protected] Hi Gang, a lot of great info for us first timers, thank you! I'm beginning to think I'm the greenest beginner here. I have to take everything so slow because I tend to break everything, haha. I've got my bike up to 7-10 miles this week but still haven't set foot in the pool I am running but nothing over 2-3 miles I have a long way to go before I'm race ready.

Don't be discouraged! We are all at different places in our training and experience. Be proud that you are out there doing anything! Running 2-3 miles is a lot!