Sink or SWIM! with WittyCityGirl - CLOSED (Page 51)

50andgettingfit - 2011-07-28 2:35 PM We're going up to Sonoma County this weekend to cheer my nephew to his first iron distance at Vineman so I switched Saturday's workout to today so I can take Saturday off! I did a bike/run brick. 2 hours and 30 miles on the bike and 40 min and 4 miles running. I negative split both which was what the workout called for so I was really happy I was able to do it! I slowed my run going out so I could negative split it

I puffy heart negative splitting!

Hey Simon,

I was thinking of you because I saw that your race was the same day as Ironman Lake Placid.  You'll get 'em next time!

This is great to hear!  You'll be/you are a great source of inspiration for people.  My favorite part is that you're excited AND will be able to change your sig!

Hey group!!

I'm finally considering some swim/bike/run action of my own now that my Iron Fever broke.  I'll be on the hunt for a fall race to train for (since my high school reunion is coming up, it'll give me motivation to look better for that!) and I need to pick a training plan.

My main goal is to strength train 2 times/week and I got in a session tonight.  Woohoo!

Looks like everyone is doing well-love hearing your success stories and words of encouragement for each other. =)

Simon - sorry to hear the race didn't turn out like you hoped. I'm sure Sara would have far more insight into the IM distance needs  than I do. Maybe its best to step away for a bit, and reasses, rather than maybe just giving up? It must still be a fresh 'wound' of sorts, but hopefully it will heal quickly, and motivate you to go kick the race's arse next time!?

kgore - 2011-07-29 12:24 AM Its peak week! Tonight's workout was supposed to be a 4.5 mile run. As it was ridiculously hot outside, I hit the treadmill--I ended up running 4.67 miles instead! Mainly cause I reached 4.5 miles at 56 minutes or so, so I decided to finish out the hour. Great workout! Tomorrow its off to the pool for an 800 meter swim (timed), so we'll see how that goes!

Thats awesome! Go get 'em!!!  Swim like a fish!

Had a good day at the pool this AM. 2000 yards and again I managed to push myself when I didn't feel like finishing. Feels GREAT to do that.

The pictures from the race photographer from last Saturday's race were posted yesterday, and my lord, do I look awful in just about every one of them. No matter which one I look at, all I can think of its "Man, am I *fat*!". I look like the pillsbury doughboy riding a fancy bike. Spandex outfits don't help. Maybe I just take a bad picture while racing, because I don't think I'm fat (6' 1"; 215; 35/36 inch waist). OK, maybe drop 10-15, and smile nicely at the next race

Mike-at Syracuse 70.3 my 6'1" 240 lb hubby crossed the finish line with a big hole in the front of his tri shirt-the thread gave way and it looked like he busted through his clothes.  To add to it, his race belt broke and so his bib number was only hanging from one side-what a mess!  So, for his Ironman he included finish line training... making sure to check his hair and clothes at the end of the race before the finish, ha!

So I'm sitting in the basement at my parents house ready to turn in.  Went to the registration and scoped out the course.  The run's been altered from last year and features a lovely up hill finish -- no worries, I figured out my cramping issue and am confident that it will be a good finish.  Bike's also been altered.  Course looks fine except for one potential problem area.  They've got the sprint folks turning around on a straight away for the oly competitors.  The roads narrow and the longer distance boys are going to be screaming by the turn point.  Could make for some ugly incidents.

Got freaked out at the swim!!!!  Looked at the buoys in the water and they looked REALLY far.  Fortunately I had brought my golf range finder and shot them.  The one buoy half way out and different colored shot 251 yards.  And it looks close!!!!  The water temp says it is around 90 degrees here, but did not feel that bad today. 

After dinner we went out to a nice Italian place.  Had some awesome seafood ravioli with 4 HUGE scallops topping it.  Yummy.  Got the bags packed and the tires aired.  Nothing to do now but relax and sleep.

So I'm ready to take 'er on tomorrow.  I'll post the results/race report later tomorrow.  Again, appreciate all of the support and encouragement.

GO GET 'EM CURT!!!!!! You will do awesomely well, I just know it!

Tonight I did my 800m swim--My coach asked me to time it, I ended up getting my 800 in at 23 minutes! To put this into perspective, at my first tri (a mini sprint) my 500m swim time was 22 minutes--so I have almost DOUBLED my distance in that time! Speaking of which, I just saw the announcement--Auburn Triathlon--May 20, 2012! Oh yeah, I am SO doing that one again! Of course I will still be doing the mini, but only cause I have something to prove! I want do do well in that distance BEFORE I tackle the sprint distance at that race!

Thanks Kate.

Been watching your times and have noticed that in all three disciplines you're making steady progress.  That's the best thing that I have found -- since I started slow I can show gains with steady, regular effort.

Heading out in about 30 minutes.  Best thing about this one is it's only 10 minutes from my parent's place.

That is a fantastic improvement, congrats Kate!

So... I thought it'd be fun to come up with a Sink or Swim workout play list... if our mentor group comes up with 12-20 songs that can motivate us during training, before a race, and/or during a race I'll download them and mail a copy to everyone in the group... even Suzanne allll the way in Australia.

What do you guys think?

Well the good news is that I survived the OWS!!!  The bad is that survived is probably a pretty good description.  I've got a draft race report entered that you can check out for the details.  But, here's the highlights.  The OWS started great.  At around 100 yards I realized I was WAY off course and kicked it in gear to get back to the proper side of the buoys.  This was a big mistake as I should have relaxed and continued on.  At around 175 yards I was struggling / form was breaking down and I was tiring badly.  On to the surf board I go.  Man was I pissed -- and discouraged.  I looked at the life guard and asked her to take me in.  Fortunately, she was a bad listener.  After about 15 seconds I looked around and realized that I was only 75 yards from the half way point.  Asked my friendly life guard if she'd stay close and off I went.  Had to stop 5-6 times for the rest of the swim and probably put in 700 yards with my poor sighting, but made it!!!  A less than stellar 22 minutes for the 500 yards.

The rest of the race was one of my most satisfying and frustrating experiences ever.  As I got to T1, my left calve locked up hard.  For the rest of the race I had to nurse the legs while my cardio system felt awesome.  I averaged 18.3 on the bike -- which was ABOVE my expectations even with the legs.  Run was around 9:20 pace, but felt good about it given that I was nearly dying several times when the legs cramped.

So the good news is that I got another one in the book, did better than last year, and learned where I need to focus. AND....

My son kicked some serious aXX in the race.   My guess is that there were around 300 people in the sprint and he finished 14th overall and 2nd in his age group.  His total time was just under 1:06.  He killed the swim, averaged around 22 mph on the bike (roadie w/o aero bars), and did a 21 minute 5k.  He was happy with everything but the run.  He should have hit about 18 minutes, BUT he did no brick training and the efforts in the first two disciplines cost him more than he realized.  This was the third year for him.  He's gone from 115th to 55th to 14th.  He should be in the top 5 next year and competing for the win the following year.

I'll post a link to the race report as soon as I get the official result and finish it off.  Again, thanks to all for the support.

Way to stick with it Curt!  I hope you continue to progress with OWS-is your rock star son able to OWS with you sometime?

Exxxxxcellent.  I'll get it downloaded!

Great work Kate. Sorry about the mini breathing issue, but congrats on finishing the whole route. The inhaler does take a little bit of figuring out sometimes - I've been on it my whole life (almost) and I still haven't got the hang of how long before workouts I need to use it.

Mike - Thanks for the info on Jammers

WTG on the speed improvement. You'll smash that mini distance.

Sara - Since I currently can't find my ipod I don't actually use music right now so all my songs are too slow - I used them during my walking days - to really workout to. So I currently don't have any - sorry.

Curt - Great race. Sorry about the swim issues but you'll get better with practice. Your son is doing great. 21 min 5k is pretty good on it's own without the other 2 disciplines done before it. I'm sure if he does some brick training it'll come down for next year though.

A bit of irony here in that I'm primarily a country music fan, but I'm recommending (and I hope I don't offend anyone with this one!) Nickelback's "Animal".

 My music preferences are all over the map, but I usually find my get-up-and-go with either hard rock or good dance music...okay, right now, Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory" or  Rob Zombie's "Feel So Numb".

Tonight's 25 mile ride went great! The farthest I've ever ridden in one ride was 16 miles, so I wasn't sure how it would go or how long it may take. I was aiming for an hour and 30 minutes for the full ride. I ended up completing the ride in 1 hour 50 minutes--Honestly, that's probably ignoring the fact I had to hop off the bike to go around some barriers (and up a dirt bank) to get through a bridge crossing (they've been 'improving' the bridge for well over a year now!)--So I might have actually made this in 1:45 had I not had to stop both times! No matter, it felt great and I am happy with my results...I hate to admit it, cause it might just mean that I need to go harder, but I've actually enjoyed training through 'peak week'....or I am just odd.

Great work on the ride. I'm sure the improvements will make the next ride way better. Enjoy the rest to your training program after peak week

Curt - sorry about the swim frustrations. It will come w/ some practice. The rest of your race sounds great, though! Your son should start practicing his wave from the podium based on this race as well!

5.1 mile run this AM @ 9:05 pace. Felt slow, but it wasn't too bad, I guess. Off to the pool w/ the family. The kids want to have some family swim races, so that should be fun