Todd's Tri Turtles 3 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10K) Basically Closed (Page 5)

Another solid middle of the pack finish. 30:20 with a stop to hug and kiss my boys mid race. I really wanted to be in under 30 minutes, but I'll take it.I don't have my rankings yet as this race is notoriously slow with getting results up on the web.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Melissa

Finished my half marathon today! It was the covered bridge half marathon in Quechee VT. Gorgeous day, mostly downhill course, well organized. The last couple miles were really hard, but I did it. 12:40/mile which is not unusual for me- I think I was doing better except for the last couple miles, when I think I slowed down a bunch, but I kept running for the whole thing.

Our tri training group did an other hill course and this one was worth mapping out. I had been with the beginners group for about 4 weeks at this point and felt it was time to move up a level. Probably NOT the best week to make the switch, but I did it! The hill (ironically named "Lord's Hill") was a killer. I made it without stopping but had to stand while pedaling a bunch of times.

http://www.mapmyfitness.com/routes/view/431366424

For as miserable as the hill was, there was a fantastic downhill section on the way out which is known as 13 curves. I've driven this in a car but never gone down it on a bike. At 7:30 in the morning it was perfect. I was just our pack of bikes with no cars to compete with!

All told that day we did just over 22 miles (1500 elevation gain). I was good NOTHING for about 4 hours after this.

Thanks to my fellow turtles for the advice on the bike. It makes sense to stick with my hybrid … it’s old … but will do what I need it to do… and the uber-competitive bits of me secretly think about overtaking people on their fancy bikes … leaving them in the dust with looks of disbelief on their faces (a girl can dream right!)

Melissa & Nancy congrats on the race results!

Well… two weeks ago I drew a line in the sand – and committed to my first tri (a sprint) … that same day I found all of you and joined this group … these last 12 days have been a test of sorts for me. Can I find the time to train (I mean really… can I? … four kids, working fulltime, finishing my thesis and grad school and so on...), do I have the passion and drive to see it through, do I really want to do this? I thought I’d see how it went the first two weeks and then re-evaluate.

I have survived the first two weeks … and have found that it is something that I can fit into my life … it takes a lot of time (as you already know)… but it is “me” time … and I like and need that! I have been training every day since then (well… one day of rest).

The deeper I get into this the more I find I need to learn! (that old adage about how you don’t know what you don’t know is so true!) … Today I spent some time learning about Total Immersion swimming. That was completely new to me! Very interesting!! I am a traditional swimmer… (did lessons every summer growing up – right up to bronze cross) … and here I had been thinking about perfecting my front crawl stroke and improving muscle strength and endurance to swim better – faster. Who knew!! Sigh… so much to learn… this brings me to a question I have for the group…

QUESTION: Do you use a total immersion swimming technique or a traditional technique? … and also if you do use a total immersion swim technique… how did you learn and perfect it? What do most longer distance triathletes use? (a sprint feels pretty short )

Wishing you all a productive and injury free week!

Jean

PS: I have loved following all the conversations! Feel like I have learned so much already.

Solid run indeed and congrats. I'd say not going under 30 for a kiss and hug is more than worth it.

Great job on the Half Mary finish. I find it amazing how no mater the fiancé the last mile is always the hardest but the last tenth of a mile is the easiest

Man that is one heck of a ride and you earned the crash time. Kudos for stepping up and keeping up. Great job

First and most important congrats on the first two weeks and deciding to stay with it, great choice

To your question, I just swim how i swim, I joined a masters club and got some great interval work in and enjoyed it . I tried to get things changed and improved to realize my body did not like some of the correct techniques. We worked and eventually even the coach told me just to keep doing what I wS doing. She felt it would take me back to far for to little gain . It is nobodies fault but when I kick properly it throws my body and stroke all out of wack and my stroke is by far my strong suit. Now I am just trying to increase and improve what I'm doing. I am a little lucky though that my swim puts me in the top 3rd normally around 1:50 per on race day. Not great but I'm good with it and can save way more time with run improvement, I'm slow!!!

Neva, sorry I almost went right past yours. Use you would be great in the group and we'd like to have you!

Great job! How the heck did you do that?!!

I rode 19.15 miles with a 1226 elevation gain today. I thought I would not make it. The downhills freaked me out and the uphills about killed me. My quads still hurt. My speed sucked. I was averaging 11 miles per hour the first couple miles then it was downhill from there.

But look how far you have come. I'm not seeing much fear or second guessing from you anymore Tracy, so your ride is every bit as accomplished!!!!

I completed my first triathlon!

After 5 months of training it was NOT easy… it was tough… and I loved it. I’m not saying my training was insufficient, but there are just some things you need to experience. And when I say “some things “, I mean swimming in a really cold ocean. OK, I’ll start from the beginning.

5:15 AM wake up call, arrived onsite at 6:30 AM and snagged a spot in the closest parking lot. This was a critical win for me, because the next parking lot is about a 10-minute walk away, and for some reason the logistics of traveling that distance terrified me. What if I forgot a sock… and then my sunglasses… and so forth. Well by 7:00 AM I was checked in, my TA station was setup, and I had forgotten nothing. Race didn’t start until 9:00 AM and I was OK with this.

8:30 AM I had my new wetsuit, goggles, and swim cap on and headed down to practice swimming in the ocean for the very first time. The water was 63 F. As I bravely sunk down into the water, I felt a little relieved, because my wetsuit and adrenaline seemed to be masking the cold quite well. Then I stuck my face in the water and had a panic attack. It might have lasted 20 seconds at most, but I had an internal monologue that went on for about 2 minutes. I’m sure there is a thermo-physicist who could explain how time bends like this when a warm object is submerged in really cold water. Well science aside, here are my general thoughts during that first second:

“I can’t see anything! Why can’t I see anything… is this sand floating everywhere… where is the ground… people said you can see fish during triathlons, I can’t see fish… where is my hand…I think my breath is being sucked out of my chest… is that possible… yup I’m out of air… I need air… I’m going to die.”

I started gasping for air to recover from the shock. Now someone told me to blow bubble to get over this shock, so I tried again and started to blow bubbles. Not really helpful, but nonetheless, I highly recommend this technique because I have no idea what else to do in this situation. After continued failed attempts I started to think, “well that’s it, I’m physically not able to put my face in this water.” So I stopped blowing bubbles and just floated for a minute. During this minute a switch went off in my head and I thought about nothing. Or at least nothingness is all I can remember, but when I came to I started to see that others were reacting the same way. And that was it. This was normal. So I put my face back in the water and started to swim.

9:00 AM the race started. I was in the first wave, which started in the water. I wasn’t nervous anymore, I was ready to go. I went to the edge of the pack to avoid the elites. Race started and I got into my groove for about 100 yards, and then chaos. Everyone was swimming at funny angles and kept running into me. There was a tough head wind, choppy waves, and the tide was rhythmically moving the floating sediments back and forth in the water, making me and everyone else a little dizzy. About a ¼ of the way in I reached the 1st of 4 buoys and I felt exhausted. I had already swallowed a few mouthfuls of sea water. I watched that buoy as I swam past it and it hardly seem to move. My bi-lateral breathing went out the door, my technique was foreign. I was watching my arms cut across my midline and I actually felt embarrassed for my arms, like “wow , they have no idea what they’re doing, I’m glad they are not my arms.” They are my arms. This was a really tough swim. Then some great advice slipped into my brain (thanks Todd) and I turned onto my back to look up at the sky for a few stokes. I repeated this a few more times throughout the swim to calm myself down, and in between I would turn over and swim several minutes nonstop.

After a 15 minute swim (586 yards, 2:34/100 yards) I got out of the water. Not running like I visualized… just walked out of the water, happy to be alive, REALLY happy to see my wife and girls… but mostly trying hide my dizziness and nausea in front of the crowd. Got to my station, wetsuit off, and then I sat down for a minute to put my shoes on. Slow transition, but I needed the time to get my feet back under me.

After that the race was basically over. Well yes, there was the bicycle and run, but I knew I could finish. And I did. I finished a 10-mile bike in 34 minutes (17.6 mph), and a 5K run in 27 minutes (8:44/mile). I was already injured before the race with a calf muscle strain, so I altered my running stride and was able to jog the whole thing. Definitely felt weird after the first mile of running when my cardio and legs felt restored, but I couldn’t turn up the pace without my calf muscle seizing up. Good news is that I didn’t do any serious aggravation to my injury by participating.

Overall I had a blast, and I can’t wait to heal up and keep training to get ready for the next one. Thanks to Todd and everyone else who has been so supportive in this group.


Edited by cassowary 2014-06-01 9:49 PM

Hi Todd and everyone

I really hope I'm not too late to join the group! I'm training for a sprint triathlon on 26 July and it would be brilliant to be in touch with others experiencing similar things over the next few weeks...

My name's Nat and I'm 43. Last year I started having a few sessions with a PT, and one day I told her I'd been for a dip in open water (a reservoir) the previous evening. Straight away she said "you could train for a triathlon!", and I think it was that belief in me (that I didn't have) that sent me a bit mad so I seized the moment and signed up! :-)

I'm several stones overweight so this is a long journey for me. My aim for this tri is to complete, and thankfully there aren't maximum times for each element (within reason) so fingers crossed I'll be ok! I have now run 5k several times (very slowly), and have covered the bike distance on a much hillier route than the tri course. This weekend just gone I did a couple of short bricks - 6k bike followed by 3k run - just to try that out. It went ok!

I'm happy and confident in the water but am not really great at freestyle. I can't sustain it for long, so I think I'll be doing a mixture of strokes when the time comes! It's great to read tips on here about people taking a few strokes of back stroke just to chill out for a minute - just the kind of thing that will help me to complete. I need to prioritise the swim training now. I've had to order a made to measure wetsuit which should arrive within the next ten days or so, so then I'll need to get to the beach.

Although I'm nervous I'm incredibly excited! I'm positive that this first tri won't be my last - just the first step :-)



Edited by Natflute 2014-06-02 7:59 AM

Ever have one of those mornings where you're sore, you're tired, you have to clean up cat puke, it's already humid out, you didn't sleep well, you have to "recycle" running clothes and you just know you're already running late for work? Basically the world is conspiring against you? Well that was this morning for me. I had every reason NOT to run. (But I did anyway.)

It wasn't a great run, it wasn't a fun run, and I did not do my typical distance. But I ran. And I just logged it here.

Again, my accomplishment - I didn't NOT run today.

:-/

awesome! Some days getting it done is a huge victory in and of itself.

I know the feeling. This morning was especially tough coming off a weekend, and I am feeling tired since I did train all weekend. I could have taken the day off, but I still dragged my butt to the gym! This is my last workout before my first Triathlon on June 8th (Keuka Lake Triathlon). This will give me 5 days of rest before raceday.

On this note, what would be the recommended rest time before and after raceday? I am thinking of doing another tri in either August or October. Getting the bike tuned up, making my equipment checklist, and am really excited and nervous at the same time!

Mike

Cassowary,

Thanks for the race report. I enjoyed reading it. I am not looking forward to my first ocean swim, much less it being cold too. Great Job

Shane

Hey good luck Mike! I'm in CNY too and have registered for the Cazenovia Tri on Aug 10th. That'll be my 1st!

http://cnytriathlon.org/cazenovia-triathlon/

Edited by mbcoulter 2014-06-02 9:28 AM

I would like to added to your mentor program if possible. You will understand after I explain a bit of my story. I am a 54 year old female, empty nester, single. On April 28, 2014 I quit smoking cigarettes after a 40 year habit beginning at the age of 13. When I quit, I was up to over a pack a day. Quitting has provided free time, and I decided I would start exercising. I was an athlete in high school so I thought it might be a relatively easy transition. It's been everything but easy. I reached out to local groups in my area to no avail. The day after I quit smoking, I joined the gym and jumped in the pool. I wasn't able to complete one lap in freestyle because I couldn't breathe. So disappointed in myself and it was almost a defeating moment. Since then, I swam a few times, got on the tread mill, and picked up a cheap FUJI bicycle. My knees are aching. I bought the bike on Saturday and rode 17.57 miles on Sunday....probaby too much too soon. If I had my druthers, I would like to do the PINK POWER sprint tri in Richmond Virginia on August 9. I've always been an overachiever and this might be a lofty goal. Oh....the weight thing....I've been blessed with being relatively thin. I need to work on muscle development and endurance. I'm 5 ft 7 inch, and probably weigh in around 125. I would love to know your thoughts and appreciate your time. Thank you, Suzanne oh yeah, heres a photo of me after my first bike ride....my knees are aching today!

This user's post has been ignored.

Congrats on your finish! Thank you for going through your thought process in the water. I can get a bit panicky swimming in open water and it's nice to know I'm not the only one.

This report made my day...I didn't know whether to laugh or cry or cheer so I did a little bit of all three. Good job.

Cool! Congrats on signing up for that one, it looks like a good race.

I am currently living in Western Maryland, but I grew up in Penn Yan, right on that lake as a matter of fact. I know the course well, as I had friends who went to that school, so I thought this might be a good first race since I will have friends and family in the area.

Here is the link for anyone wants to know a little more.

http://score-this.com/web/scorethis/strassburg-sock-keuka-lake-tria...

The water temp will be cold this year as the winter was very cold and the lake had ice on it until about 2 months ago.

Nat welcome to the group and Tri. You really seem to be working in the right direction for your first tri and will be fine for that day as long as you keep going at things like you are. Again Welcome

Thanks Cassowary for the entertaining and descriptive report. I give you props for swimming in such cold water. I've had a recent open water swim practice that was wavy like yours and it's hard to move forward when the water is moving you back and forth. Congrats and thanks again for sharing.