left.right.repeat group -closed - Full of a bunch of winners...YEAH! (Page 55)

WAEF, ended up deleting the PM.  Will explain later.

One question for the guys.  What do you wear under your wetsuit?  I was thinking my Tri shorts then put my shirt on after I remove the wetsuit or do you wear the shirt also?

Jennifer - what an amazing post about self-confidence!!!  Triathlon is absolutely all about self confidence and learning about oneself and our own limits.  You hit the nail on the freakin head with your post.  It is not about the swim, IT IS ABOUT YOU and your reaction to it.  Wow....you really put it into words very well.

Mav - what a difference a year makes....12 months ago you would not have typed "pee" now you are doing it on your bike....ROFLMAO....I did note however that you "rinsed" and was rolling again....Also, if you say it smells rosy, I trust you but I promise you must soak or you will stink.

Gary - Great idea to make the final decision later but if you will just accept finish with a smile on your face and don't puke as your goal....and (compliments of Jennifer) YOU will be okay with that....then you can do it...as far as losing count of laps, I will share with you my tried and true dual purpose water proof hydrating lap counter if you would like to hear about my invention....it never fails...unless I do.

FBP - trainer....shift gears.....for crying out loud...shift....keep it interesting....that weather looks brutal....I ran outside today in shorts and a t-shirt and then went to spin class....7 mile run tomorrow....3 weeks from my marathon....

Gary - I wear everything I am going to ride in under my wetsuit (except sox....).  I have found that it is just too time consuming to put a shirt on a wet body so I wear a very snug tri jersey in the swim even when it is not wetsuit legal....one caution however....say it all together now....be sure you practice in whatever you are going to wear...THE LAW...NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY...for example...my first tri jersey was just too loose to swim in and it caused a lot of drag....a couple of swims made me realize I couldn't swim in it without a wetsuit.  Under a wetsuit, I like having it all on so I just strip the suit and put on cycle shoes, sunglasses and helmet and off I go....remember, transitions are free speed....in fact....in the only triathlon in which I podiumed, I did because I beat the fourth place guy in T1 and T2....he beat me in the swim, in the bike and in the run (barely in each but he did nonetheless) but I gained enough time in T1 and T2 to bring home the third place medal....I am sure he was not happy....but I was.....

Have a great Sunday,

Bryan

"as far as losing count of laps, I will share with you my tried and true dual purpose water proof hydrating lap counter if you would like to hear about my invention....it never fails...unless I do."

Would love to hear about it!

Like the B-man I wore a tri jersey underneath my wetsuit. Too many horror stories about people having trouble getting a dry shirt onto a wet torso.

Bryan - you would have loved my Learn To Run student who when presented with new running clothes by her hubby the night before our first race said, "THanks, but Peter says I can't wear them .." . I suspect hubby was none too pleased 

FBP

Hey all. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

I'm on  vacation this week, so no bike for me and while I do need to practice flip turns not sure I'm going to get any swimming done. Pool is about 20 feet long and the ocean is pretty cold.

Did 4.5 miles running on the beach Friday, another 2.5 today. I could get used to this... 

 I'm waiting to hear about this too... I went out and bought a watch... although it's great for timing the laps, I can barely read it... the numbers are tiny... I'll sell it if I can get a better system.

FBP - I teared up a little when you told the story of no new running clothes prior to a race....I felt so proud....yeah, I have probably ruined the great spousal plans of more than one race participant but if you have ever seen someone with a new shirt at the end of a half marathon or marathon in which they never trained you know what I mean.  They will NEVER run in a new shirt on race day again.

"as far as losing count of laps, I will share with you my tried and true dual purpose water proof hydrating lap counter if you would like to hear about my invention....it never fails...unless I do." -- okay, here goes....

I really have a hard time counting laps...I can't remember if I have swam 50 yards/meters or two hundred or certainly 1500 so I had to come up with something.  There is a lap counter available that you suction to the wall at your pool and you touch it every time you complete a lap and it has a "50 Year Old Font" so it could be read but I thought that might look a little dweebish to all the cool triathletes who just pound mile after mile after mile in the pool so I needed to come up with something different.  When I was swimming a workout of say 20 x 50s I also couldn't remember how many I had swam so I found myself with a issue on long distance swims as well as multiple lap swims.  The watch thing didn't work well for me either....I would try to push a button or read the watch and end up at the bottom of the pool.  So what's a boy to do....

As I was standing at the end of the pool between laps taking a drink of water, I realized I was holding the answer.  At my indoor pool, the deck is made of 2 x 2 tiles with a depth tile from time to time.  I just count back from the depth tile (it's a different size and color) and move the water bottle one tile at the completion of each lap.  When I move the bottle onto the depth tile, I have completed that workout or portion thereof.  So for example, if you are swimming 1500, count over 30 tiles, place your water bottle and paddle away, every time you return to the wall, move the bottle to the next tile, shove off and paddle away....at the depth tile, you have completed your 1500 meter swim.  By the way, you do take water to drink during your swim workout, DON'T YOU???  In our outdoor pool, the deck is a little different design but it still gives me some slats to move the bottle along.  Also, it really takes no time to move the bottle so you don't lose much time or get much rest at all on a continuous swim. 

Bonus info - if you have a swim workout that is multiple different lengths, I usually write out my workout on a piece of paper, take it to the pool and "glue" it to the pool deck by splashing water on it.  It remains where you stuck it as long as it is wet.  By the way, don't use a felt tip pen obviously.

Run today was 10k.....FBP, I used the metric system just for you....smile

GTKelly - it is never nice to rub vacation and beach running into the frozen portions of the team....did you see the pics FBP posted....Mav or Leston - any snow on the ground.....here today I ran in shorts and a t-shirt in 50 degree Farenheit temp - that's 10 degrees Celsius FBP....

have a great Sunday ---- sTRIve

Bryan

Hmm, water bottle at pool.  I have to admit I have not been bringing one.  I guess I will now, thanks for the tip LRR. 

Rain stopped, temps dropping but was 53 so I went for a ride.   Hid the Garmin so I wasn't watching the speed but kept counting to keep the RPM's up in the 90 range.   8.43 miles with average speed of 13.4 mph.  Would have gone longer but the rain returned with lightning and I beat it home.   Luckily I was wearing a rain jacket buy my lower half was soaked.  Ahh for those old bikes with fenders!

One question on the biking, when my foot is at the lowest point on the stroke should the heels be pointing down, level, or the toes pointing down?

FYI, slowly reading the early pages, up to page 18.  Good stuff.

Gary - thanks for reading the first pages....as you said, there is a LOT of good information in there...I think we should have a reading requirement for ALL of us...me included...to read three pages a day...that way, by the end of January we would have read up to the current pages and we would be brilliant....

Pedal....at the lowest point the heel to toe alignment should be flat and parallel to the road....a bit heel up or down is no problem but extremes can cause pain and even injury.  Also, technique wise, be sure you are pedalling the whole circle...while this seems simple it usually requires some concentration.  I focus on "wiping mud" off the ball of my foot at the bottom of the stroke and "skating" the foot forward from about 10 or 11 through 1 or two oclock...this keeps the stroke strong around the circle....also, the up seems to require more focus than the down (since we have been doing that since the tricycle days....I still don't pedal the whole circle 100% of the time but when I do, it really feels smooth, strong and fast.

Bryan

on my way to swim now. I'll have to see if that tile method will work where I swim.

I use my ironman timex but find myself going too fast because I get obsessed with beating my best time. So I'd love another method. 

Funny you mention hydration. I find I hydrate more in the pool than on my run. I don't like carrying the bottle when I run, but it's easy when swimming. It's just sitting there waiting for me. 

gtkelly, flip turns. Wow! I'm impressed. I'm a long long way from those. I'm still working on my push off technique.  

WAEF - Swim a lap for me!  Hopefully swim time for me tomorrow morning (and I get to try out the new zoomers/aqua gloves, and goggles).

LRR - Thanks that helps, I am trying to emphasize the complete pedal.  If the gear is too low or too high I have issues but as long as the RPM's stay 60-100 I can feel it.  Adding the buckets easily added some mph and I want to take full advantage of it.

My quads are dead.  I am putting up ceiling molding and every time I climb up or down I feel it.  But I am still with you folks in the challenge!  Knee seems to have passed the test.  I will probably do another run Weds as I have swimming Mon/Tues.

Oh well, the gym was open but the pool was closed. Decided to go back home. Have a good evening all.

Freddy Beach Pete's Rules for Pool Etiquette:

1. No peeing
2. No drowning ('cause the lifeguards have to get everyone else out of the water and that interferes with their workouts, etc. 
3. No male thongs (a la Borat) allowed. But more seriously:
   
4. Start in a lane below the level that you think you are at on the theory that it is better to be fastest in a slow lane than slowest in a fast lane. Move to the next fastest lane when you are comfortable
   
5. Be familiar with the pattern that the pool employs - down the middle and up the sides or down the sides and up the middle - and follow it
6.  When standing at the end between reps, move to a spot where you are not in the way of those continuing to swim. At our pool that means to the very outside of the lane (ie. beside the rope) since we go down the side and up the middle.
7. Say excuse me and smile if/when you bump into people or when people bump into you.
   

Hey all, morning swim with the new toys.

New goggles worked great except for one item, look to the end of this for more info.

Zoomers - after using regular fins the zoomers were a let down.  Had to concentrate way to much on kicking when doing gliding.  Probably for the best but I was trying to give my legs a rest today.

Aqua Gloves - Gave extra pull.  Didn't use them a lot after the warnings but an interesting training tool.

After a week out of the pool I just wanted to swim.  Breathing to left did not go well but breathing to right is almost a breeze.  Tried breathing on different strokes but I think a 3 stroke cadence will be best once I get my breathing on the left down.  Spent at least half the time with no zoomers or gloves.  Concentrated on not being flat, rotate the body.  Overall good workout.

Now for a good laugh.  Put new goggles on and did a length, no leak!  Only issue was when out of the water they weren't super clear.  In water they were fine. No biggie I thought.  So after swim I head to the shower and I bring my stuff in the shower to rinse.  I noticed on my goggles there was something on the side of the lense.  It was the protective covering I was supposed to remove before swimming.  I can see out of them much better now!

I have been reading the past pages.  Upto 21 or 22.  BTW belated congrats to Mav on your podium Tri!  Cool pics also.   Also to you Sticka for your (and Misses Sticka) 1/2.  I can't wait to see how the story goes on.  Also page 19-21 had some really great info from a guest!

Gary's questions of the day:

1. Are most Tri's chip timed?  Seems the amount of info they collect would be hard to do manually.
1. Answer - Seems to be based upon the RR's on this thread
2. Do most Tri's (Sprints in particular) just release everyone at once or do they have waves (groups, etc)?
1. Answer (partial) I did read (page 24?) about the races where you can mark yourself as a beginner and they start you in a different group after everyone else starts (with no time penalty).  Is this common?

I guess before I post anymore questions I need to read more!

Gary - I would think that almost all tri's are chip timed now given how common the chip timing technology has become. We have a company here in Fredericton called Atlantic Chip Timing that has all the gear and travels around eastern Canada (and the northeastern US I believe too) doing races - running, du's, tri's, adventure, etc. large and small. I expect there are many similar firms around N. America.

As for "wave" starts I suspect that is principally a function of the race site logistics - can they physically deal with the expected number of participants all at once or only in smaller groups. So manythings would factor in - entry site for the water, size of transition zones, room on run/cycle course, etc. My bet would be that most races have at least some sort of wave system.

Sad faces today because our 14 year old Plymouth minivan with 300,000 km on the odometer appears to have reached the end of its life . As we waited for it to be towed from my son's friends house (where it died) my wife was in tears recalling the various family trips (including 3 cross-canada voyages) done in that vehicle.  We will have to wait until early Jan when our mechanic returns from vacation to get a final prognosis. For the past 5 years it has been essentially the kids' vehicle so we still have transport but sad nevertheless.

Today is race kit pickup day for our January 1st "Resolution Run 5k". Yippee. Swag is a jacket with zip off sleeves. Of course, the jacket will not be worn until after the race !!

Hey Mav - our UNB Varsity Reds hockey team plays a 2 game exhibition against Boston College on Friday/Saturday that I'm going to see. BC were the national champs last year while we were 2nd nationaly last year and champs the year before.

Big swim breakthrough this morning. I finally got breathing to be easy. That's the key. When breathing is easy, I can go forever. When I'm hyperventilating and huffing and puffing it's no fun. Today was mega fun!

I used the TI skating drill and made sure my shoulder was out of the water when it was time to breathe. Wow! What a difference. What fun!

1800 yards of fun. Yipeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Left side breathing is much better too. I did a few hundred yards breathing only to the left. The focus on the left side really helped when I went back to three-stroke. Again, I think the skating drill helped here. Man, and that was only one drill. TI is AMAZING!!!

The last 800 yards were beyond words. I didn't want it to stop. I could have gone forever. Forever. Push off, swim, touch wall, push off, swim. It was by far the best swim session I've had since I started this adventure a year ago. 

It just clicked. This morning, every piece just fell into place and swimming was the easiest most natural thing to me. I am loving this. Just loving it. Is it TI? Does it make that big a difference?! I don't know. But I do know swimming this morning was unlike anything I've ever experienced before.

Gary, I know the same will happen for you. And when it does, it will make all this work worth it.

 In the meantime, ...just keep swimming!

This is hilarious!  As a scuba diver I'm very familiar with wet suits and we have a saying about this matter.  "There are only 2 kinds of divers, those who pee in their wetsuit and those who lie about it!" 

Ok finally read through the last few days.  Wow you guys are busy.  I spent the weekend visiting with family etc.  It was absolutely gorgeous here on Saturday, up to almost 70 degrees (after 10 degrees earlier in the week) but I didn't get to go outside at all.  Too many family members visiting that you only see once a year. 

Gary that's great on signing up for the Tri.  You can do it! 

Everyone's discussion on peeing in the wetsuit and on the bike had me rolling. 

Did an hour swim yesterday with my masters team.  Going to run some today and maybe do some weights.    Brought clothes to run outside or inside.  Suppose to be one last day today of decent weather (50 I believe and no rain) probably should take advantage of it before it gets cold and rains/snows again. 

(Oh and I feel like I've put on 10 lbs in the past week.  UGH!!!  I ate way too much!)