kenj's group closed, training hard and having fun!! (Page 56)

KeriKadi - 2011-08-07 8:07 PM

The race went OK. I am disappointed in my run  It was hot but they did a great job doing their best to keep us cool. They actually had ice on the run course in Houston!!! They also gave us sponges soaked in cold water which were lovely. I started with a calf cramp I had to stop and strech out and just past 3 miles I hit a wall and walked for a very short time. The slow start had a huge impact on my average.

The good news is I had a good swim, took a minute off last year, my bike speed goal was 19 and I went 18.91 but like I said it fell apart on the run and I was a minute/mile slower than I wanted to be with a 12:52 avg.

Next race is an Oly with the same RD September 25, looking forward to it but need to beef up the training.

Trout - 2011-08-06 4:44 PM

Hey everyone! I wanted to post a quick report from this morning. I finished 7th overall and 1st in age group (M30-34). No ideas of splits as the times aren't posted yet. I'll let you know when the race report is up to read. Going to enjoy the rest of today and then off to a kiddie park tomorrow with the boys/family.

1:06:28

 

KeriKadi - 2011-08-07 8:07 PM

The race went OK. I am disappointed in my run  It was hot but they did a great job doing their best to keep us cool. They actually had ice on the run course in Houston!!! They also gave us sponges soaked in cold water which were lovely. I started with a calf cramp I had to stop and strech out and just past 3 miles I hit a wall and walked for a very short time. The slow start had a huge impact on my average.

The good news is I had a good swim, took a minute off last year, my bike speed goal was 19 and I went 18.91 but like I said it fell apart on the run and I was a minute/mile slower than I wanted to be with a 12:52 avg.

Next race is an Oly with the same RD September 25, looking forward to it but need to beef up the training.

julta - 2011-08-07 9:02 PM So yea....that was hard. It was pretty toasty out there (95ish), but I feel like I did a really good job on managing nutrition/hydration and keeping cool, lots of ice, sponges and fluid. Although my sighting was not really that great I was pleased with my swim. Bike was going good then flat at mile 44...bummer! I had it mostly done when one of the "angles" showed up. Which was good, after he finished pumping it up I realized I had not looked for what caused it. He let the air out and went looking. Dug out several pieces of glass which probably came from a training ride. 15ish minutes later I was on my way. Kind of killed my bike average though. The run...well it was mostly a walk.. as I said not pretty 7:44 overall. Will let you know when I have a race report posted on my blog.

Kath2163 - 2011-08-07 9:12 PM

 

Hi All,

Here is a mini race report that I sent to my coach.

Well, I finished without any crashes or need for IVS so that is good!
Unlike last year where we at least had some cloud cover on the bike, there
wasn't a cloud in the sky and the winds got crazy during the run. My swim
was a couple of minutes slower for some reason, my bike was one second
slower (that is because I didn't have my mountain bike shoes on and still
struggle with the Speedplays a bit) and my run/walk was a few seconds
faster. It really was a minute or two faster but I needed to visit the
port-a-potty. It was blistering hot!!!! I spent a lot of time at each aid
station getting water, ice, sponges etc. By the second loop I dumped my
Infinite and relied on water, ice chips, GU chomps a couple of Salt Sticks.
I walked the hills and did the best I could on the run. I must admit that
there were a few times where the thought "I can't do an ironman" started
creeping into my head but I immediately put an end to that. The wind on the
second loop of the run was really strong! My hat almost blew off and the
dirt from the parking area was blowing into our faces. Even walking into the
wind was like running uphill.  As soon as I was done I went right to the reservior and got in.

I purchased some arm coolers yesterday and
used them on the run. I was skeptical but they were GREAT!

Thanks for the support everyone! I hope you all had great weekends.

 

marvintpa - 2011-08-08 9:29 AM

Results were just posted for my A race (sprint) yesterday. Looks like I missed my (ridiculous) target time of 1:30 by 12 seconds - can't be upset because my previous best was 1:37.05 which means I took off nearly 7 min. The the swim course was 50m shorter so that's a minute right there. There were also shorter distances into transitions which helped. Water was warm so I went sans wetsuit (also an experiment for speed comparison) so saved a little in transition.

The course was dead flat which accounts for a considerable amount of the change, my new (to me) tri bike is likely much of the rest.

Out of 243 finishers I was 209 on the swim, 87 on the bike, and 216 on the run, 174 overall. There were some seriously fast cyclists, I was in awe.

My average speeds in the swim and run were PR's, but not the bike. The course was 4 loops and I found out the 180 degree turn at the ends kill your speed. Still beat my bike speed for every race but one. Overall it was a great day.

IceManScott - 2011-08-08 7:32 AM

i've made three trips to Wisconsin now to ride the course.  Fun course but approaching it analytically now.  Where can I use my strength on relatively flat places, where do I have to just spin to get up the hills without burning many matches.  Where do you have to just gut it out.  All good.  I rode it in 6:15 Saturday.  Open course, lots of cars and bikes. so I was happy with that.  

The big point is the bike is working perfectly now after three bike shops.  Finally found someone who knows what he is doing with TT bikes. The fit is OK.  I'm sitting up where being aero makes do no difference on slow areas in the hills and that made a huge improvement.

Nutrition is coming along.  

Ran 90 mins after the ride.  Hot, too little water on the course I ran.  Felt like crap at the end.  I knew I would do to hydration and nutrition falling apart.  Wont be that way race day. 

Swam an hour Sunday, 1.5 miles.  Bought myself a new sleeveless wet suit.  Looking forward to trying it in open water.

Plan calls for staying home this weekend and riding 112 around here, running and swimming, then heading back to Madison the weekend after that for the Masters OWS at the lake and ride the course.

Feeling strong.  The main problem is the rest.  Always feel like I could use more sleep and food.  Trying to keep up with both. 

Have a great week. Cooler temps coming.  WooHoo!

Ice.

KeriKadi - 2011-08-08 4:56 PM Race Report

kenj - 2011-08-09 11:21 AM Here is something to think about for your swimming.

After maybe 5 years or so of training for and competing in triathlons of every distance I really became frustrated with my swim and lack of progress.  The sprint tri I did in early June where I had probably the worse swim time per 100 since I started racing was the straw that broke the camels back.

The friday before the race I had received an e-mail from the YMCA that I belong to and swim at about a new under water video stroke analysis that they were offering.  By noon Monday I had an appointment later in the week.  The lady that did the video taping immediately gave me some things to work on with each lap and right away I started improving.  I talked to her about lessons and how that program worked.  Basically it is 7 weekly lessons of 30 minutes with a follow up workout for homework.  Plus a couple of times they video camera comes back out to track progress.  Friday will be my 7th lesson.

It would appear from this weeks workout that I will have picked up about 15 - 20 seconds per hundred in short sprints that should grow some and extend to the longer distance as I work to build back the endurance with the new technique.  Some of the low hanging fruit she found was that my kick was a liability at best, at worse it was pulling me backwards.  I had almost zero body rotation at all and I was crossing my arms over center on my pull.  

Why do I bring this up here?  I think most of realize now that with this sport there is an opportunity to spend money to get some additional speed.  By the time I am done I will have about $175.00 including the video work.  When the workouts specific to my short comings are included and when compared to some of the other expenditures I have made in the pursuit of being a faster triathlete, I waited far too long to do this.  Besides, I may actually enjoy swimming enough now to do it as often as I should!

IceManScott - 2011-08-10 8:26 AM

I did a windy 25 mile time trial last night with the club.  Right at 21` mph with a 20 mph headwind for much of the time.  Good with that. 

Been riding the IM Moo course a lot.  Doing centuries around here when I'm not in Wis.  I have 112 miles this weekend, Saturday I think.

Runs (x3/week, 2 plus hours each) have been harsh in the heat.  It is cool here today, 70 something for the first time in weeks and I get to run 2.5 hours so it will be good to see the difference.   There will be one, I know that.  85 plus and it saps me.

Swimming has been good. Bought a sleeveless wetsuit to try.  I think I will like it as long as I'm warm enough.  Having my arms constrained really plays on my mind and I would think buoyancy on my arms isnt a good thing when I have to push hard to get them through the water.  Wouldn't buoyancy push back?  Also, I'm thinking a 2.4 mile swim is going to heat my core up.  The arms free should help cool me.  I'll take both up to Madison next weekend for the Masters OWS there and try them out.  Same set up as the IM Moo.  Great chance to see the course in race conditions, learn the sighting and get a feel for the green water.

Mind games are not playing too heavily on me.  22 years in 12 step programs living a moment at a time is helping to stay focused on the day at hand.  Let the future take care of itself.

 

julta - 2011-08-09 11:07 PM Ken that is great info on the swim. I think it's something I should consider in the winter. Having really just learned how to swim in the last couple of years I can use some help. I did post a race report on my blog if anyone is interested. It's almost as long as the race.

kenj - 2011-08-10 9:50 AM



I read your report, very well done!

Too bad about the bike tire issue, knock on wood, so far I have avoided that!

kenj - 2011-08-09 12:21 PM Here is something to think about for your swimming.

It would appear from this weeks workout that I will have picked up about 15 - 20 seconds per hundred in short sprints that should grow some and extend to the longer distance as I work to build back the endurance with the new technique.  Some of the low hanging fruit she found was that my kick was a liability at best, at worse it was pulling me backwards.  I had almost zero body rotation at all and I was crossing my arms over center on my pull.  

Why do I bring this up here?  I think most of realize now that with this sport there is an opportunity to spend money to get some additional speed.  By the time I am done I will have about $175.00 including the video work.  When the workouts specific to my short comings are included and when compared to some of the other expenditures I have made in the pursuit of being a faster triathlete, I waited far too long to do this.  Besides, I may actually enjoy swimming enough now to do it as often as I should!