Baowolf's Create your Own Saga Triathlon Group (OPEN!!!) (Page 5)

forgot to mention above I had a great run today though I'm still being cautious with my right hamstring and IT. I went out for a comfortable distance OAB run on a nice flat gravel trail near me, and although it was pretty cold (32F) and windy here, I ended up doing 10+ miles since I felt good. The surprising thing was that with a headwind on the way back I picked up my pace to come back a little stronger into the wind and without intending to I ended up running estimated PR's for the 5k, 10k, 15k, and 10 mile distances! Once my leg is fully healed I'm getting excited to see what I can do on a strong run! Hope training is going well for everyone else too.

Legs still iffy from the half mary, so walk jogged 5 miles then did a good 4000 yard swim with main sets of 1000 yard repeats at 1:46/100, 1:48/100, 1:49/100. I am pretty happy that the pace didn't drop off much across the sets. Not fast by all means, but feeling a little better about the swim for the first time in years. The trick appears to be that I wasn't swimming enough weekly yards to ever get in shape for as solid a IM swim as I would like.

We have the state auditing my whole program all week, which is pretty important for my continued employment, but I think things are going well enough.

Edited by Baowolf 2016-03-23 12:07 AM

Awesome to see old faces and new here. I hope I am still invited to the party.

NAME: Brad

STORY: Up and decided to do a triathlon in 2014. To this day I have no idea why. Been at it since.

FAMILY STATUS: Married with a 16 y/o daughter.

CURRENT TRAINING: Haha, good one.

THIS YEARS RACES: Wife wants to do the Army 10-Miler in October. I will be the pace man for her I have been told. Will evaluate month to month on triathlon events for now.

2015 RACES: Israman, Eagleman

Had to step away from Triathlon in November 2015 for unforeseen reasons. Just started back this week weighing ~60 pounds heavier then when I stopped. I love food. The pizza, french fries, hamburger kind. So I am on the road to getting back to where I left off with training and it is about zero fun...lol. My pool closed on me during this time so will be looking for a new pool to accommodate lap swimming. Fingers crossed the one I look at tomorrow is still open/usable.

Easing back into training for now. Priority on weight loss to base phase number and no injuries while carrying this extra weight.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: Always open to ideas, suggestions, and advice. I am enjoying the journey (even with over 4 months off and zero fitness at this time).

B

I'd like to join this group if there's still room! Definitely need some mentoring/support.

NAME: SJ

STORY: High school and college sprinter, tore hamstrings, started "jogging"...worked my way from my first 5K in 2003 to my first ultras in 2014. I've run 10 marathons, 15+ half marathons, and tons of shorter stuff. Did a Tri training program a few years back but life got in the way. Wanna jump in and do a HIM, just to finish, in late August.

FAMILY STATUS: 37 y/o female, single

CURRENT TRAINING: Was training for a 50 miler, scrapped it because my endurance was not coming on fast enough and I tweaked a hamstring. Reading for a new adventure. Trying to start back at square one and build a more solid base. Have been working with a personal trainer to get back into regular strength training.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: Want to complete a local HIM in late August. Possible half marathon or marathon for fun in June. Hopefully shorter Tris this summer.

2015 RACES: Lots of shorter stuff. A few half marathons and a marathon. None of them were done with any reasonable level of fitness. I've gotten to the point where I can "fake it" and show up...and I'd like to get out of that habit.

OTHER: Put on about 20 lbs in late 2014 - 2015 and haven't been able to get it off. :/

Biggest problem: Swimming. Open water. Nightmare. I really just learned how to swim for fitness (in a pool) in 2012. Do have a wetsuit. Used it once.
Bike: Still a total newbie but fairly comfortable and natural. Needs a lot of work, but doable. Trek 2300 road bike.
Run: My area of most experience. Not worried about it.



Edited by sjb78 2016-03-30 7:46 PM

Back again. Been sick all week, but training begins tomorrow!
Joined a local tri club and see how they all stay in shape throughout the year. I've been preparing to start training, in better shape then this time last year, but have got to get that this is a full time lifestyle.

Needing some tri company (and can't keep up with the locals yet) so glad to see faces here. Will read over what I've been missing and will post my bio again shortly.

Got my bike overhauled, and bought a new seat. New sneakers waiting to get broken in. The pool I used for free at one of my schools is closed for repairs, so I'm payed up to use the pool at the university closer to home - no excuses!

Mitzi

Mitzi glad to see you. We're putting the band back together!

So all last week was the state audit of my program (for our new comers I took over as the Director of Special Education for a district in the 5th poorest county in the country this school year with roughly 75 staff). The state team reported that our program kinda sucked before I took over (paraphrased that), but they said that this year it was the most solid program they have every evaluated. Makes me so proud how far the gang at work has come in just 6 months ish. That said they are about half way to where I want them to be, but there is time. Building programs to take care of kids is like triathlon, it is a lifestyle, not something you master. If you could, then what fun would it be, right?

In all aspects of life, take care of yourself, family and friends, care for everyone you work with and for and try to make the world a better place for you having been on it. That is my strategy anyway. It turns out it is much easier to say than to do.

Steve - Excellent job to you and your team on the audit.

On another good note, I have found a pool to swim at. After a couple swim sessions I am started to 'feel' the water again. No fitness but that will come. Just slowly ramping (no intensity) meters in the pool, saddle time, and miles on the roads/trails. When I figure out a race to do at the latter part of the year I will start to figure out the annual training plan (ATP).

Since I use power on the bike I have an FTP test coming up and not looking forward to seeing how much power I have lost. If I am within 20% I will be overjoyed.

Hope everyone is having a good week.

B

Steve, that is absolutely awesome!!!! You excel on and off the course, don't you?

Welcome to SJ and glad to see Brad and Mitzi back.

A couple of months ago, hubby talked me into doing a 25K trail race. Previously I had sworn not to do any more longish trail races since I had taken a hard fall on a 10K trail race. But I was stupid and signed up. Then I saw the elevation chart. Ouch, ouch, ouch. 14 climbs and descents in ravines and cliffs. And best of all.....rain, rain, rain, and more rain. I think I'll be singing Jimmy Buffet's "Barefoot Children in the Rain" all day. Bet I'll get lapped by the 50K winner. Oh well, the guy that will probably win it is adorable and I love him so I'll just enjoy the view for the 4 seconds I will be able to keep him in site.

Glad to see that so many people are getting into the training now. Keep up the good work.

hey team good to see everyone progressing. been busy: decided to take the reins of my company's tri club (PTO Tri Club) as president and had our first season event last night. over 40 people showed up, which i think made it our biggest event ever. excited to be working with the club this season. the club has access to tons of races nationwide so let me know if youre interested and ill PM you the paassword to our discounts page

got a 17.75k this weekend but i was battling a little cold over the weekend, and ran off to puerto rico 2 weeks ago for a bachelor party so i'm not in as fine a form as id like. big one for me is the half IM coming mid-may. my swim/run are progressing well but i definitely need to put more miles on the bike.

whew 50s 100s is nuts. i was average in high school and only managed 24.xx 50y. ironically i posted a 24.xx 50y at a masters swim a few years ago.

meloday, great 4mi race, and congrats on the shiny new bike! always so exciting getting new gear

hello again brad. are you local to DMV?

sj, good luck with yojur goals!



Edited by phifatech 2016-03-30 1:05 PM

Pam - enjoy the "adorable" sight on your upcoming 25k! Is the race in FL? I was unaware NWF had ravines

Phil - I will move back to the DMV area in Sept of this year. Taking the reigns of a tri-club. From the March 29th social turnout look as if you are on the right path!

Easy 22' run for me today. Slowly increasing time on my feet while keeping hr low. Time to do the spring take the bike apart (crankset, headset, new brake wires, etc) and clean/lube. First road ride of the year this Saturday.

Fellow Triathletes

Name: Carlo 42 yo

Family: Father and Husband with one son.

Activities: Swim,Bike,Run

I am back again i have been in a Hiatus for a while. I am only planning one race this year racing again with my last Mentor Steve at
IRONMAN VINEMAN. I am currently at starting Month 3/6 Training. I am doing most of my training indoors my dreadmill that i love and my new found addiction ZWIFT riding indoors.

My improvement this year is i finally found my "rhythm in swimming" while I was with you guys i could not swim frontcrawl straight i always switch back to breast stroke then freestyle again. Now i can comfortably do freestyle in the pool and OWS, With my improvement i am looking to PR this IM.

I am looking forward to posting my second journey to Ironman

First question to Steve how do you suggest i taper my every 4th week of the month so i can recover better. I am looking for how should i lower my mileage in hours in run and bike. Swim i guess does not impact our body that bad,

Happy Training to all of you.

March. Totals
SWIM 4h 53m 13s - 14682.00 Yd
BIKE 23h 37m 29s - 407.43 Mi
RUN 14h 05m 01s - 78.82



Edited by strykergt 2016-04-02 2:32 AM

March Totals
Run: 17h 25m - 92.7 Mi
Core Training: 1h 55m
Walking: 8h 30m
Yoga: 6h 45m

March totals -- pretty happy with this. I've ramped up to about 10 hours a week recently on my way to first HIM in August.
Swim: 4h 07m 04s - 13250 Yd
Bike: 15h 11m 04s - 198.48 Mi
Run: 14h 57m 20s - 89.64 Mi



Steve, how many miles do you recommend when replacing running shoes?

I've got two pairs of the same shoe with about 250 miles on each pair. Pair #1 is probably more worn out because i ran in them before I lost my extra weight last year (~50lbs!). I recently switched from pair #2 back to pair #1 and my ankle started to hurt mildly during my next couple runs, kind of like a bruise or pinched nerve. Then I switched back to pair #2 and it seems to feel better... Wondering if it might be the older shoes??? Experienced runners I know say to replace closer to 400-500. What do you think?

Argh, finished trail 25K. RR report later. Better - and worse - than I thought. It stormed all last night so we had more water crossings than normal. I must say that I enjoyed it but Lord, I was so happy to be done.

Brian, I know Steve will give you a good answer but IMO, if the shoes are causing problems for you, stop using them. You will get lots of answers as to how long shoes will last but one of the factors is extra weight carried. Others are surfaces run upon and type of shoe (more cushioned versus more minimal). I've a light weight woman running on roads and while sometimes I can get away with 400 miles on my shoes, the cutoff for me lately (because I'm using less cushioning than previously) is usually 350 or even less. When they start bothering me, I switch out because if I don't, I find myself sidelined and in doctor's offices.

Short answer if shoe hurts your body is a bad shoe. Shoes last 350 ish miles, some models more some less, but if a shoe has been on the shelf for a year it will last less long due to rubber losing its form faster. Try a new pair for 2 weeks and see if you feel a difference.

Thanks Steve and Pink, that makes more sense to me. I did my long run today (11+ miles) in my slightly younger #2 pair and ankle is still feeling better. I will replace my #1 pair and report back after a couple weeks. I'm really coming to appreciate how carefully we should listen to our body during training, and how easy it can be to ignore those signals when they're subtle!

Weather today was pretty crazy in northeast today. Started out in the low 30's with a dusting of snow, 20-30 mph winds bringing the wind chill back into the lower 20's. Fortunately my trail run route is mostly through the trees and was relatively sheltered or it would have been a struggle! The sun even came out on my last couple miles Still I dressed same as my runs in Jan and Feb!

In other news with our better weather last week (until today haha) I've been taking out my tri bike again and I averaged 2-3+ mph faster on it than recent rides on my road bike with clip on bars. I'm still trying to understand how much of that difference is position (I feel better on the tri bike), aero design, mechanical (tri bike is newer and better maintained), or just placebo since it looks and feels fast

Hope everyone's training is going well!

Hey all...  Just popping in real quick..  will come back and comment more later..  (time for bed really..)

Race went well..  VERY well.. Here were my goals:

Finish healthy and with a smile
Beat last year's time - sub 3:00 hour
Finish under 12:00 min/mile (2:40)
Performance / stretch goal - sub 2:30 (11:30 min / mile)

... and the results...

Finished in 2:33 a 30 minute PR over last year..  and almost cracked my performance goal of sub 2:30!

Left on vacation (cruise) the next morning very early..  so I was running, then running around.. The cruise left from San Juan and guess what..  Ironman 70.3 was running that day..  got to cheer on a few athletes and spoke to quite a few post race. Met 2 guys on the cruise that had done the race. Heard a new term "Tri-cation" - sorta what I did last year at Martha's Vineyard..  

March totals:

Swim: 2h 39m 51s - 4125 Yd
Bike: 9h 24m 10s - 119.31 Mi
Run: 11h 20m 08s - 55.24 Mi
Strength: 1h 33m

Nursing more sinus issues and cold..  also hurt my PF the evening after that half marathon. Today's run was cold (35 degrees) windy and snowy..  

Nice to see more of the old gang back...  Feels like a home coming..  

Peace,
-Dennis

 

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Nice picture Dennis! Love the term tri-cation. Glad you got to watch the 70.3.

I'm not going to do an official RR on the 25k this weekend. There is an informal write-up in my log if any want to be bored. Short version tho is that we had severe thunderstorms the night before. The rain stopped for the race but much of the trail was muddy and slippery. Since I knew that it would be muddy, I wore a pair of retired shoes so I could toss them afterwards. When reading this, if you aren't already laughing, stop before reading on and think about it......... Once you realize my stupidity, continue reading.

Yep, wearing a pair of worn-out, slick-bottom shoes is not a good idea. I was sliding all over the place - especially on the steep downhills and even the uphills where I feared I'd slide back down. But I must admit, I don't think I stopped smiling during race. Some places were exactly like places where I played as a kid so I became 10 years old ago and just splashed around. I even crossed a marsh. My time was ridiculously slow but I probably only got in 4 or 5 miles of running and the rest was hiking and surviving. And although the 50K winner did not lap me, I did get my hug from him when he finished ten minutes after I finished the 25K. I was surprised to find a GF and her hubby waiting at the finish line. They gave both my hubby and me (Hubby finished well before me) homemade awards - a toy donkey with a sign around it's neck saying "Badass". Loved it!!! Found out that hubby and my GF had bets on whether I would dogcuss the RD or cuss at hubby all the way home. Happy to say that I did neither because I really did have fun. It was hard but I just wanted to see if I could do it. Once. Probably not again tho. I do think that 25K on those trails was equivalent to a hard 21 - 23 miles or an easy road marathon. My hat is off to all trail runners.

And Brad, this particular park has ravines - or dips - but not so much cliffs but high ground. While the hills weren't mountains but we had to go from the high ground of about 280 ft to lows of 160 ft (9x) and then other 80-100 ft climbs (6x). The elevation climb wasn't that bad but it was just the pitch of each. I must admit that a few times, I was gasping for breathe even walking up the hill.

Steve

On the month of March of IM trainjng i was just averaging 2Hrs45mins to 3 hrs on the trainer for my long rides. I wanted to see how am i on century rides. I decided to UP my long rides from my original TP instead of 3.5 hrs to 4+ hrs this April to get me ready for a May 2 century.

Let me know what you think ?

Carlo

P.S. my trainer rides are all hill repeats the Century ride is flat with winds.

DENNIS - great job on the PR! Totally awesome to see that. Great picture also!

CARLO - me personally I would not worry about 30' of extra riding on a long ride. An extra ~25 points of training stress isn't going to affect much. I am a Training Peaks guy so for my training plan I watch my training stress/acute & chronic fatigue/ramp rates fairly closely to make sure I am not overdoing it in any given time period. Has worked well for me in the past in my opinion so I will keep with that. Have fun with the century ride! Is it a solo ride you are doing or a group century?

BRIAN - change of shoes help the issue?

PAM - nice work on the 25k! Sounds like it was quite the day. Good job. I lived in the panhandle for some time is why I asked about the 'hills'

As for me looks like I will be doing the Miami 70.3 in Oct. If Florida 70.3 goes well this year will be my first race of 2017 then back to Eagleman next summer as my "A" race. Last years showing needs to be improved on.

Nothing but base work for ~10 more weeks or so then will start the build for Miami. Weight is coming off quickly with what appears no detriment to training sessions. I am tracking calories in/burned so I do not go into too deep of a calorie deficit and bonk a Base 1 session.

Hope all had a good week.

B

Thanks Brad

ITs a group ride with aid stations every 10 miles but I'm carrying enough hydration and nutrition for 30 miles. I will post a report how it goes i don't plan to hammer it just keep at Zone 2 ill do it like you said "Have Fun"

I would have to land on the side of doing longer rides for your long rides. 100 miles is long and part of it is having your body be able to stay in the saddle that long. Neck, shoulders, back and bum all can really affect your race even if your legs and cardio are solid.

Oddly this year my swim as slow as it is is better than my run or bike due to leg issues after those two races back to back. I will make a point to not do that again. Hopefully I can get the legs under control soon. I had a nice base in place and those two races have set me back like 2 months. I did a solid 4200 yards on Sunday after my 10 mile run.

Well I am pretty much a total newbie, and this is week 1 of my HIM training program. A crazy endeavor...but that's just kinda how I roll. For these first 6 weeks I am just working on base building in all 3 disciplines. I am starting with a reasonable level of underlying fitness (could be better) so it's a matter of getting comfortable on my bike and in the pool.

I have so many dorky, simplistic, and, well, seemingly dumb total newbie questions. Apologies in advance. I feel a little bit out of my element here...I've realized that all the "beginner triathletes" on this site seem to have a LOT of experience! Poking around...I haven't found too many newbies. Alas.

First question:
I am using my bike on the trainer until I can get outside. (Also using spin bikes a the gym). Does the trainer "wear out" your bike tires? After using the trainer, by back tire is coated with a layer of black tire dust. Like it's wearing it right off. If I touch it with my hand it's a big old mess. Is that normal?

I have a plain old road bike (Trek 2300) and not a Tri Bike. Are there any upgrades or changes I might think about making to this bike between now at the race? Right now I just need to get comfortable on it after about 3-4 years without using it. But just curious...do people use those clip on tri aero bar things? I find that, right now, my arms and wrists are getting super sore and tired during my rides in my living room.

OK, that's it for now! Thanks in advance for any advice.

SJ

Hi SJ - no apology needed as there are no dumb questions in my opinion. I feel confident in saying no one in this group thinks this way either.

As for your questions 1) it is normal for the trainer to chew through most tires. I bought a trainer tire ~750 hours ago and it is still going strong. Not to be used on the road but I have a dedicated wheel with the trainer tire on it so i am not changing tires/wheels all the time when I ride outside/inside.


2) The bike you have is fine for your first HIM (and second, third, etc if you want). You will see all kinds of bikes there. I wouldn't invest much more into "upgrades" on it personally if it is mechanically sound. Get your first one done and go from there. What HIM race are you doing? I would look at what cassette/gearing you are using if it has many sustained climbs though. Saddle as well. Get one you are comfortable on.

Clip on aero bars can be nice for a couple of reasons. It will allow you to change your position during the ride if you need to. More importantly (to me anyways) it will reduce your drag coefficient (CdA) which will result in a faster split time on less power than if you didn't use them.

As you mentioned, you will need to get comfortable on your bike to have a more enjoyable race. To help with this I would be sure your bike fit is what you want. I personally don't think you need to pay for a bike fit. Lot's of info on the net, apps to film yourself, to get you in the 'norm' of fits. In the end it is all personal anyways. With your prior hamstring issues I would definitely be sure your seat height is not too high.

I know Steve will look at training logs to see how we are all doing. I tried to look at yours but it said 'restricted'. Totally up to you but Steve is spot on with training plan advice.

Enjoy the process/training. It can be a fun time if you let it be.

SJ you can use clip on tri bars if you want, but you can do a HIM or an IM for that case on a road bike with no areo bars, it is a personal preference. Trainers tend to eat tires a bit. I usually just put on old tires that I don't really want to be out on the road with, but are fine on the trainer and grind them down before throwing them out. There are trainer specific tires that have a harder rubber, you just don't want to ride them outside. Generally, you can just use old tires.

Feeling uncomfortable/insecure about jumping into a HIM is a normal human feeling. Just work your training plan, take in 300 ish calories per hour on the bike and 200 ish calories per hour on the run with appropriate fluids and you should be fine on race day. If it is hot, keep wet or even put ice down your shirt (Hot is like 95-105 or high humidity in my book).

No need for special race tires unless you are just that fast. There are tires that are more puncture resistant like gatorskins or slightly faster tires that are more fragile like conti 4000 or whatever or mecheline Pro race 3/4. Race tires may save you like 30 seconds to 60 seconds on your HIM.

No stupid questions we were all new at one point and I have learned a ton on this website.