left.right.repeat group -closed - Full of a bunch of winners...YEAH! (Page 57)

So all this talk of finish lines has me debating about races this year. I'm not really into races. I just enjoy the training. I could train forever and never race and be as happy as a lark. Therefore, the most I've ever done in any given year is two races. But I'd like to do my part for our group goal. This year I hope to cross four finish lines:

A half marathon in Feb (already registered)

A sprint tri in August (convinced my girlfriend to do her first, so I'm supporting her)

MS ride in Sept (haven't signed up yet but joined a team)

Full marathon in October (won't register until everything is finalized. waiting to see how training goes, but it should be fine. we also have to work around some other dates. So if this one doesn't work out, then I'll shoot for a different Fall marathon, but my goal is one in October.)

I think that's about all our budget can handle. With travel, hotels, registration and fund raising for the MS ride, it adds up pretty quickly. So you can put me down for four finish lines. 

WAEF - looks like you have a full plate!

So far for me:

• Feb 14 - 10k
• March 1 - Duathlon (2miR / 10miB / 2miR)
• April 18 - Tri (Sprint)
• April 25th - Rookie Tri (mini-sprint) if I am not able to the 18th
• Aug-Sept - Tri
• Oct 17th - 1/2 marathon in NC
• Dec - Baton Rouge beach 1/2 (may be)

A few 5k's thrown in the mix and I would like to do at least one more Tri this year.  Turns out there are quite a few later in the year.  Now my one complaint, the only Tri in Baton rouge is women only!  May be I can do it in drag?

I believe 2010 will be the year of the Oly if I can find one.

Morning everyone!

Nice easy 29 minute run this morning.  

Finish lines -  I guess I'll have eight. Wow. That's more than I expected. But I am very goal oriented, so having an event keeps me focused.

Feb\March - 5k

April - Sprint Tri - registered

June - Sprit Tri

July - 10k?

August - Oly Tri - registered

September 10k?

October - Oly Tri

Dec - Half Marathon?

gtk- wow! that's an awesome list! Go for it!!!

Gary - That's great. Maybe we'll be able to come see you and Crystal. I'll see if we can make the dates work out. I will hopefully have a full in early October. Then we're going out of the country for a few weeks. But if there's anyway I can make to G'boro before we leave, I'd love to come cheer you on.

Add 1 to the cheering section.

I live just outside Charlotte. If we're putting together a group cheering section I'll be there!

All of your years sound great.....

Gary - if you tri in drag, I am going to try to be there to see it....but shouldn't you do that in New Orleans instead of Baton Rouge?  Also, there is a 70.3 race in April in New Orleans that you should try to volunteer at....it is their first year to branch a half Ironman in New Orleans....should be a cool event with some wicked fast pros to watch.

WAEF - no finish line requirements....I just LOVE the feeling of crossing the line.

Mine looks something like this:

Jan - Houston Marathon, Feb - maybe a duathlon (I did it last year), an indoor sprint Mar/Apr, an Oly in May, a sprint in June, sprint in Aug, Oly in Sept, 70.2 in Oct and the granddaddy of them all, Ironman Arizona in November....and I will probably throw in a few rides and maybe a couple of runs....wow....that looks like a busy year........

My daughter's last long run before we run in Houston is tomorrow, I am going to do 10 with her....she is planning to run 11 or 12...I am only "planned" to run 7 but I am going to go with her for most of her run....she is running her first half in Houston in two weeks while I run my first marathon.......should be an interesting day....my joints already hurt.

sTRIve,

Bryan

Quiet weekend as far as training is concerned. I think the 8-day run challenge wore me out a bit. I'm feeling a little burned out. So I'm skipping my planned swim today. Instead, I'm taking today to stretch and roll my calf muscles. They are tight and my knee is bugging me a bit too. So no running or biking today either.Just stretching and maybe a long walk. I ate tons over the weekend and need to burn off the calories somehow...

Hopefully by tomorrow I will feel like resuming training.

WAEF - never apologize for a day off....that plan doesn't allow for the world to get in the way.  Great choice to take the day off.

Had a nice run this morning with my daughter...she goes back to school at the end of the week and this was her last long run before she runs a half marathon in a couple of weeks.  She ran 11 and I ran 9 with her....there was a front coming through and when we turned around at the 1/2 point on our out and back the wind was howling...it was really beginning to get "cold" - that I know is a relative term for your Eskimos....but I was in shorts and a T-shirt so the high wind was cold...there I said it....let the flames fly.  Hey, I actually think it is below 50 F.  LOL....

Bryan

WOW Pete..Congrats on the first race of the season. Looks a little chilly. I bought a pair of studed snow tires for my running shoes. They arent YAK's but similar. They look incredibly dangerous but they work great. I ran 4.5 miles in them yesterday and they worked great. I am not a big fan of running on snow and ice but I feel alot safer now. Boston is having a very snowy winter so far.

I havent really made out a race schedule yet..but its on my "TO DO " list! I am running my first 1/2 Marathon on Feb 22...I'm a little nervous...but I know I can do it.

My plans so far include:

5/09 Season opener sprint

 6/09 Mooseman HIM relay...I will be the swimmer and runner

6/09 Patriot 1/2 IM all by myself!!!!! YIKES

7/09 Danskin sprint Goal is top 10 in my AG this year

8/09 Plymouth Ironman aqua bike

9/09 title 9 Sprint

 11/09 Volunteer and sign up for Ironman Fla

It seems like a reasonable plan....now all I have to do is sign up !!!!

Hey all,

Ran 1.4 miles then biked 5 miles.  BTW, if you have a Garmin and do a multi-sport with your Garmin you cannot upload to BT.  BT gives you a message saying Sorry, it's silly but we don't support Multisport yet. Grr! Next time I am hitting reset then switch mode.

WAEF - the BT plan I am using (Couch to Tri) has me working out 6 days a week.  I am designating one day a week as optional so I can have 2 days a week off.  You train hard, you can take a couple of days off as you have earned them.

Bryan - it is so cool your family is involved in running.  I am swimming with the kids tomorrow.  My son is getting ready for his 2nd Tetrathlon in March (Swim, run, shoot, Horseback Ride, horse management)

DS had a soccer game, played cross town rival school 6th graders (his team is 4th/5th).  They won 1-0! 

That sounds like a lot of fun!  I love when I get out and do things my kid's friends never thought someone as "old as dirt" could do lol. 

Mav- the relay sounds like fun. A friend of mine is doing her first HIM as a relay this year. I'm very excited for her.  Can't wait to hear how both your relay and your solo HIM go. I have a half marathon the week before yours. I'm obsessing about it. Obsessing and overtraining like I do before every race. One day, I'll learn to calm down.

Gary - Yipeeee on the soccer win. That's so cool. 

LRR - I hate running in the wind and cold. Although for me, temps in the low 20s are when I start to feel cold. Above that is perfect running weather. But wind, well that's just another matter all together.

Shark (first time I've ever called you that) - dirt bike sounds like mega fun.

As for me, I'm still hurting. My left knee is really bugging me. I worked out with my personal trainer today. He forbade me to run today so I did the elliptical and then we did weights. He's working on my quads which should stabilize my knee better. 

It's so hard for me not to run, or even run/walk. It's been a staple on my Monday schedule for two years. So this feels weird. And the weather is perfect. I'm so tempted. But every time I go up and down stairs I'm reminded as to why. So I'll work on my core today and swim with Masters tonight. Hopefully I'll be back out there running again later in the week. 

Masters coach brought an excellent swim workout tonight. I posted the details on my log. What I like about it is that it called for a 30x100 swim but every 300 we were working on a different element of the stroke.

I didn't do the whole thing. I'm too slow to get through that much in an hour. And too new of a swimmer to do that kind of yardage. But the concept is pretty cool. I am going to modify it and work on the stroke elements every 25. Maybe that way I can get through the whole thing. 

 It's long and I didn't want to type it twice. But if you're curious you can find it on my swim log for today.

Good night all. 

Sat up late reading one of my TI books. Couldn't put it down. Wow! It is so well written, so precisely descriptive. I only had a vague idea of some of the concepts from the DVD. But the book is really helping to fill in my understanding.

I'm late to meet my swim coach. Gotta get the pool. But had to let LRR know about the book and how excited I am!!!

You know, the funny thing is my swim coach, although not TI, practices a lot of TI techniques. Much of this is the same thing she's been trying to tell me. Tricks she learned in her own experience as a national level competitor. 

Hmmm this workshop idea is starting to interest me now. But our finances haven't changed so I think I'll keep working with the book, the videos and the drill cards until we can afford it. 

 ***

Back from the pool. What a crazy morning!  Everything felt so off. I think I'm thinking too much. TI book overload. Tried working on too many different things at once, lost my rhythm and almost choked on water. Crazy! So my coach told me to just go back to basics and find control again. Head position and zipper drill. That's what we did most of the session. Then by the end, I was able to do three count breathing.

Lesson learned: introduce only one concept at a time. Stay with it get it right. Better to do one thing well than five things wrong. 

Also learned about breath timing this morning. She told me to start the breath when the recovery arm leaves the water and glide and breath until just before it reenters the water. It allows me to relax, which in turn gave me more control. If I feel out of control, I can't swim. I just can't. Nothing works. I have to be relaxed and in control. Then it just starts to flow.

WARNING - LONG POST AHEAD

OK, lets start with some Non Tri Related info:

1. Mav - my UNB Varsity Reds hockey team split their weekend series with Boston College. Great result for us as BC is a powerhouse.
2. Canada WON  its fifth straight world junior (up to age 20) hockey championship last night. Defeated the USA in an exciting quarter final game on New Years Eve then beat Russia (our perennial arch rivals, sort of a Sox-Yankees thing or maybe a Texas-OU thing) in the semis on Saturday night in an overtime shootout now being called perhaps the best junior hockey game ever played and wrapped it up by beating Sweden in the final last night. Next to the Stanley Cup (NHL) and the Olympic Gold, this is the most high profile hockey event in the world.

With that out of the way, here's something I picked off of a blog that I read from time to time:

THIS IS A TIP THAT APPLIES TO ALL WETSUITS

It is the start of the season. Just before your first race you pull out your wetsuit. You have not worn it in months. You put it on and it just plain feels tighter than you remember it feeling.

• Did it shrink?
• Is the rubber less flexible?
• Do you need a new wetsuit?

NO, NO, and NO

…well, more like

sort of, sort of, and yes unless you already own a T1 (just kidding).

The Tip: Soak your wetsuit a few days before the race. Soak it in a tub with 3 inches of water for about 5 minutes a few days before your race.

The Reason: Wetsuits are kind of like sponges. When they are moist they are supple and flexible. Believe it or not, your wetsuits stay moist for days, even weeks between uses, though appear dry… just like a sponge. Over time, as it gets really dry, it gets stiff and not-so-supple, thus feeling like it shrunk…like the way a sponge shrinks up. More wetsuits rip at the start of the season, than any other time of the year.  But your wetsuit will last longer if you wet it before you wear it!

I was interested in this post because my wetsuit, purchased in November, looks AWFULLY small on its hanger!!

Signed up now for a once per week tri oriented adult swim program that starts on Jan 21st. Off to the pool at lunch today to start back into a routine. Also found out that they are holding the second annual UNB indoor tri on Feb 22nd so I will be signing up for that.

Managed to get in a 40 minute ride on the trainer yesterday after work and before heading off for my church choir practise. I love the fact that I can do this now - squeeze in at least a modest workout on a day when I would otherwise have been "slack and idle".

Cheers,

FBP 

Since we're talking about wetsuits.  I have a question about whether I should buy a new one or not.

What is the thickness of tri wetsuits? Do they vary much from scuba wet suits?  I have a 3 mil shortie that I don't wear much any more, it was my beginner learning suit and it's actually just a a bit large now.  I also have a 7 mil farm john that is 2 pieces.  I wear it usually here in the quarries in ohio that get up to no more than 70 degrees and it's perfect for me.  But I'm sure I'll be swimming much more quickly during a tri than I am during diving so I'm wondering if that may be too warm.  Oh and I have a .5 mil that I usually just wear in the caribbean, thinking it won't do anything to keep me warm in the water here in Ohio. 

I could take off the top layer and just wear the sleaveless pants part.  If I do a tri in June the water temp here probably will still be around 65 degrees...and I won't be in the water that long...so I'm thinking I shouldn't get over heated with the top off. 

 Or should I just go and buy a 3 mil  full body wet suit. 

So what mil do you wear for what temp?  Are wetsuits for tri's different from my diving suits?  Do I need to go out and buy a specific type?

Was going to go for spin class tonight but I have a scheduled long run in the morning. So I'm resting up. My knee was bugging me earlier (ok it was hurting pretty badly over the weekend.) Feel better now. Even so, I'm a little nervous about tomorrow's run.

Gary, I did your exercises. They helped. And resting helped too. My personal trainer forbade me to run for 48 hrs. Tomorrow's the test. I'll let you guys know how it goes. 

WAEF - that knee bothers me but if your trainer thinks 48 hrs is enough so be it.  I am probably being overly concerned but if there is any doubt take as much time as you need.

Dan - good point, that is why I am going to rent my first one.  I will probably spend more money in the long run but I think I have a better chance of find one that I like.

Trying to get a ride in tonight, no trainer here , but the rain hasn't completely stopped and I want traffic to die down some before I attempt.  Luckily the plan only calls for a short ride tonight.  Tomorrow morning is a run, tomorrow night swim (assuming the pool is open).

Bryan - based upon your recommendation I am checking into volunteering for the HIM in New Orleans.  Not sure I can make it but will give it a try.