JohnnyKay and Fred Doucette's HIM/IM focused Mentor group-CLOSED (Page 56)

So what is up next for everyone? Who is next to race? My training friends are already after me to do another local HIM in September. I say NO WAY. I hurt worse today than yesterday and I didn't think that was possible!

Even though I live in a rural farm community we sure do have a lot of opportunities to race. Maybe they are easier to plan here with all the miles of country road. There are three more HIM's I could do between now and October that are less than an hour drive away.

Interesting thread on how to finish the run strong over on slowtwitch. Would love to hear people chime in here and with their own experiences.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/how_to_finish_strong_on_the_run_P3395463/

Fred...I actually have been feeling the same way the past 2 months or so.  I love my power meter for training...especially on the trainer...and when I'm doing solo rides where short 5-15 minute intervals are the focus.  Because that's when it's a good motivater...when it hurts really bad, you just suck it up knowing you have to keep that power number up for just a few more minutes.  I would never sell my power tap for these reasons.

But for longer rides...I actually don't pay much attention to it...like you said, it takes away some of the "fun" of riding if you're constantly looking down at it over a 2-3 hour period.  I just kind of glance down at it from time to time just to make sure I'm not riding "WAY" too hard or easy.

As for racing with it...I think it's awesome for individual time trials...because again...when you finish the race...you're done.  You don't have to worry about running afterwards...so you use the power meter to pace yourself in the beginning, and to hold on for dear life at the end.

For tris...I haven't yet seen how it's any more beneficial than riding by HR or RPE.  Maybe useful if you're riding a really hilly course to keep your power in check...but for flatter courses, I don't think it's necessary.

What it is also great for is just collecting data though...if you're into that like me.  Even on training rides, I can compare how much power I put out on certain hills, certain sprints, etc...and I can see my improvements over time.  So in that respect...it's not helping me ride harder/faster...but at least reinforcing my belief that the training I'm putting in is paying off.

You can! 

Bunch of races coming up.

7/24 Pineapple Hill Road Race (cycling).  Four 12 mile laps of a pretty decent hill.  Hard climbing and white knukle descents.  Doing it just for fun/training...I'll probably get dropped by the lead group by the 2nd lap.  I'll be flying back from Atlanta and getting back to Honolulu the afternoon before...so jet lag will be a factor...LOL.

7/31 Tinman Tri (750m/40k/10k).  Did this race last year...hoping to crack 2:10.

8/20 Cycle to the Sun.  10k climb I mentioned before

9/4 Dick Evans Memorial Road Race (112 miles).  We get team points for the top 5 men and top 3 women finishers of each team.  I'm not near the top 5 on our team...so my job becomes to work with other guys to pull one of our girls.

9/5 Waikiki Rough Water swim (2.4 miles).  Not sure on this one yet.  I won't be trained to race...may just do it for fun...and just for bragging rights that I did all 3 legs of the "original" Ironman.

12/11 Honolulu Marathon

I think some of it may just be your Eagleman experience still (compounded by a crappy CSR at Quark).  But, you're right that if at the end of your 'project' you've found things that suck the joy out of training and/or racing then get rid of them.  This is all for fun.  (Recognizing, that part of the 'fun' for most of us includes overcoming challenges and working through those 'bad' spots.)

I know there have been several threads about it in tri talk already...but if you have not had a chance to read Macca's new book, I highly recommend it. 

I was able to get outside for my ride this morning.  But, it was so humid that it was not much better than doing it on the trainer!

It's quiet around here this week! I'm just taking an easy week for recovery. I'm keeping my swim/bike workouts to 30 minutes max for the week. No running or just deep water jogging for a while to let my foot heal completely. It feels better every day so now I will  just have to figure out how long I should lay off. 

I'm running into some motivation issues swimming since the Y pool is closed for the next 6 weeks for repairs. I'm getting tired of swimming in my friends pond with all the catfish . I can go to the public pool but I get sick to my stomach watching all the high school kids make out while they hang on the lap lane.

Just rambling this morning......

On another subject,

What is the proper technique for a turn around? I am a scaredy cat for many reasons. My first year on my road bike I fell over 3 different times while turning in gravel. Last year in a race a friend of mine took the turn around too fast and wiped out right behind me missing my tire by an inch or two.

So now I clip totally out of both pedals so if I wipe out at least my feet are free. I know this wastes a lot of time. I hate that feeling of falling and being stuck in your shoes though.

So, is it more steering or leaning into the turn? I slow waaaay down, sit straight up and turn without much lean.

Honestly, I think it's about practising and getting comfortable.  On courses that have a turnaround, I typically just slow down so I'm comfortable, take the turn a little wide to keep momentum and get going quickly again.  I do see far too many people slow right down to the point they may fall over they are going so slowly.  They also hug the inside line, which is a mistake since you need to go slower and turn more sharply.

Just find a spot on your road (or another near by), and just practice going round that spot.  Ride up to it, slow down, make the turn around and repeat.  You'll be comfortable in no time.

I agree it's just practice.  Find a nice smooth piece of road to and slowly start getting more aggressive with your turns.  You have to learn to trust that your tire will not slip out.

I agree though...if there's gravel, you should take the turn pretty slow.  You shouldn't need to unclip, but you shouldn't really be leaning into the turn either.

I'd like to think that I'm smarter than a 5th grader...but I think you just proved that I swim slower than 3rd grader.

You should be proud.  But what's the over/under on the amount of years (months maybe???) before she starts beating you in the pool?  LOL