Ironman Louisville : Official Thread (Page 53)

Hello. Before I get to my blah-blah...

NASHINAK- Aqua-jogging might be next. It may help fitness in another modality, but it's not running. Having said that, you do what you've got to do.

TRIRUN26- Thanks for the support.

REUBENMC- Yeah, Friday is the latest you can arrive. No Saturday Athlete Check-in.

CARRIE!- Our long lost sister. Welcome back!

SHOOT...SOMEBODY I DON'T RECALL- There was a questions about Amino something-er-other. Based on what I've said so far, you probably have guessed that I'm not ignoring your question as much as I have no friggin' clue, so I won't pretend.

My blah-blah can be characterized by The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Good- I finally had an inspired ride on my GURU! My position is back much closer to my previous bike and I feel like I'm getting my mojo back. I did a tempo, 20 mile ride ave. 22.4. I didn't know it was going to be a tempo ride when I started, but I just found myself picking up the pace. I didn't notice any arm issues of note during this ride. Apparently my legs were burning brighter than my arm. Bad-My goal was to ride 40 miles, so when I got back from my tempo ride I took a break and headed back out at a more relaxed pace, and within 1/2 mile my arm started to hurt. As a result, I went back and switched out my GURU for my road bike. OH! I forgot to mention, I had some gear slippage on my GURU. I'm hoping that had something to do with lowering my handlebars and slacking the cable or something that can simply be adjusted. Ugly-Attempted a 5-mile run (last week was 4mi), and my Achilles got quite sore. I'm now mentally mapping out a new plan that involves a lot of time away from running, but that will have to start after this coming week's duathlon...which I may very well cut short. The duathlon might actually be canceled due to weather anyway. Currently Sunday calls for rain and strong winds, with possible thunderstorms. We'll see.

Brightside: It's a new week! I started out this morning in the pool.

Get after everyone!

Peace,

~Sam

Hope everybody had a nice Easter weekend. After the kids found all the baskets and eggs I got to head out for a 2 1/2 hour ride. Chance of thunderstorms but decided I just couldn't take another long trainer ride. At about 19 miles in the skis opened and I got drenched. Thought about quit but decided that I may very well need to ride through a storm on race day.

Any way I kept plugging away for 45.2 miles, 17.8 mph average and 1470 feet of climbing. Followed that with a 15 minute run.

Trisam - I got a new Felt B14 last fall and I will say that it took me about 500 miles to get that "Zen" feeling with it. Several times I thought about selling it and getting something else. A couple of small tweaks and a new saddle and now I love it. One thing I came to realize is that the bike shop guys set a person up for maximum aero efficiency and that just didn't work for me. I really needed to widen out my elbows in order to be comfortable. Otherwise I was up in the bullhorns all the time. Now that my arm stance is 1/2 inch wider I prefer to be down in aero.

Peter 

I had a productive training weekend.  On Saturday, I rode the HIM course for my race on May 7th.  Did a 2 mile brick run afterwards just to see how my legs felt since I've also recently been working with a new bike fit.  Ride & run felt really good.

On Sunday, I was able to get in a 1.25 mile OWS with some training buddies late in the day.  Water was a little choppy but it felt good to get in a swim of that distance.  Now I'm watching the water temperature reports from the marina to see if the race is going to be wetsuit legal......

I had a pretty good weekend all things considered.  Friday I got in a 3000 yard swim and a 30 minute run to test the achilles.  Went slow, but felt ok. Iced the ankle as soon as I was done. 

Saturday, I woke up and the ankle was ok.  A little sore, but no pain.  So I hopped on the trainer for 2 hours.  I didn't go as hard as I would like to have, but still got in a good workout.  Yesterday I did an hour run followed by 30 minutes of easy spin on the trainer. 

My spirits are up and am excited about this week of training.  I'm not going to push too hard, but I plan on getting in all the hours that my plan calls for.

Have a great week, everyone.

Awesome jillian! You're going to love the wheels. I super envy you!

Are you planning on using them in Louisville?

Yes definitely, I can only afford 2 wheels, so after doing lots of research before getting the cash I chose this set because of the versatility. I had a hard time deciding on the 2 80s and the 60/80 setup, but since I am on the heavier side for a female triathlete (145 pounds at 5'6) I think the s80 setup will work well for me. I don't plan on sprinting up the hills on the Louisville bike course, so I know the extra weight won't bother me. I found the set brand new for $1299 no tax no shipping.

Great to hear that everyone's gettin' out on the bike!  Finally, I was able to take a nice ride, too, outdoors (imagine that?), Sunday evening. 

Regarding bike setup issues, I concur with the idea of comfort balanced with aero positioning.  Pretty easy to grind through a ride on a sprint/Olympic course, but at 1/2 and Full IM, if you can't hold the aero position mostly the whole way, something's gotta give, and you don't want it to be your body.  Tweaking up, down, back and forth is necessary w/ the saddle, cockpit, etc., regardless of any "rules" you've read/heard at bike shops, etc. 

I've had success coming "up" in front more and moving "back," just a bit.  If you're not balanced fore/aft on the bike, you might end up pretty stiff/sore from sliding or bearing too much weight on the front end.

Just my two-cents, of couse.  And it sounds like y'all know this already, so I'm probably just thinking out loud.  Sooooo impressed with the credentials and experience here!  I'm still relatively new to Tri and have to keep to a pretty restricted budget for it (four of us in college, a wedding for one daughter in June, only working part-time, blah, blah, blah), but I'm inspired by y'all.

Tailwinds,

Todd

Thanks Cube, I hope one day I will have a bike as awesome as yours! Your rig is truly a thing of beauty.

Sounds like you guys are doing great.  Keep it up.

I have a silly question for those using the Be Iron Fit Plan.  What week are we on?!?!?

I've had to adapt my taining so much over the last several weeks, that I have lost track.  I know tuesdays call for a swim and a bike, but I just don't know which week we are on

I can do the time, but i can't push the run and bike just yet. 

Thanks in advance

Nathan

Update on my IMLOU "Options". There is no option. I will be on the start line in August. The finish line remains to be seen (for all of us of course), but it remains the goal.

I just received the e-mail I've been waiting for from IM stating that "no transfers or deferals" refers to between athletes and to other events including the same event for the following year. The italicized portion was not clear in the withdraw policy. So, there is no rollover option. If it comes to it, I would rather swim, bike, and attempt the run rather than withdraw before I even start.

Rock on everyone!

I'm really happy to hear you will be at the start line Sam. Remember that lady at the 2010 Ironman Kona who walked the marathon wearing a boot? She finished.

Really glad you will be there, and hope I get to meet you before the start gun goes off, because honestly, while riding a bike or running, people really aren't that interested in conversation at that point.

I am sure I can speak for all of us hear, Sam.  We are happy you will be joining us in Louisville.  Jillian is right.  You seem like you have the swim and bike in order.  Just walk the marathon.

As for the lady that walked in the boot in Kona--I don't know her, but she is in my triathlon club.  I just checked results from a race last August and she beat me!!!  Obviously she didn't have the stress fracture during that Olympic race.  She's darn fast for a lady in the 45-49 age group.

Thanks everyone for your support. You are too much.

I'll be posting my thoughts on these issues, my busy a** schedule this week, an interesting development with my swim coach, and more when I finally get a chance to spend time on my blog.

My brain is fried. I just got done correcting 27 really awful compare and contrast writings from my third graders. One student wrote in her paragraph,  "Cats can have kittens and dogs can't." (This is true, but...). You see, this is why I shave my head. I don't have to go through the trouble of pulling my hair out this way.

Nathan

Just started week 13. Only 17 to go!!

Peter

Hah, hah!  Very funny, Sam!  I was a suffering middle school English teacher for twenty years.  I really miss some of those profound observations from young folks : )

And I lost all my hair in 1993.  I'd like to say it had something to do with adolescent fatigue syndrome, but it was alopecia.  I'd also like to say it makes me faster in the water, but  . . . oh, well.

Hello All.  I have been a lurker long enough.  I am a TRI newbie but at least got my first spring under my belt a week ago.  It was all about learning the logistics...and the cold!  I am running the Derby marathon on Saturday and then the focus is all on the bike and swim.  I am a marathoner at heart and am enjoying the anxiousness of being a beginner in two of the three disciplines.  I live right off of the bike course and right now, the OHIO isn't fit for boating, let alone swimming. 

I look forward to sharing the next 4 months and 140.6 with you.

That's too funny sam.  I'm sure you hear lots of funny stuff like that from the third graders. 

I was at Kona this year (watching a friend compete) and I saw that girl with the boot.  I was amazed not only that she was walking the entire marathon but that she was walking at a decent clip for having a boot on. 

TRISAM!

All I have to say to you is WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!! and SEE YOU and the start line ;-)

Sending positive energy to all who need some "healing" at the moment!

Alicia

Belted- I was feeling lately like someone was looking over my shoulder. Glad you came out of the shadows. Good take. Furthermore, good luck Saturday. Let us know how it went.

Carrie-As most teachers say, "I should write this stuff down," because silly things happen every single day.

Carrie & NashinAK- Regarding the boot girl...yes, there is a fine line we walk when in comes to sanity for we that tread the path of IM.

Trirun- Positive energy received. Thank you!