Razorxp & KC Mentor team RFP CLOSED (Page 6)

tim- please dont talk about 9mm in speedos. dave might pull out the picture of the bike group that  he shared with us in the winter. 

Don't wear red spandex!

Jason - wow, that image is permenently etched in my memory - for those of you new to the group - quick summary - 9mm was mentioned because I was complaining about a dog chasing me during a run a few weeks back - so I started to carry pepper spray. We started chatting about dangerous things that have happened to us during runs and bikes and how to protect ourselves. Fast forward to Jason's comment today about 9mm hidden in spandex and if you want to see the picture - go to the archives, Razorxp group, page 84 and you can see for yourself what Jason is talking about. WOW - make sure you shield your eyes for fear of permanent damage to your retinas.

Here is a link that will take you right there - but again - I caution you, this picture of the guys in red spandex is not for the faint of heart.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=236880&start=1661

Have a great day everyone.

KC

i have a topic for discussion.  i was reading on other threads about what is more important for a good race in longer distances- swim and bike fitness or a good run base.  i am starting to get the idea that a good swim and bike fitness will make the run a better experience than just good run fitness.  i feel like running is much harder after a few miles after a long ride than it is to run 10 or 12 miles alone.

there was a tri coach saying for an IM he does not want his athletes to run more than 16 - 18 miles for their long run.

any thoughts?

Hello again group!

Gosh, am I the only one living in sunny, I can run, bike,swim year 'round, Florida?  Wet suits? Is there such a thing?? lol, Actually my 16 yr old daughter has one to surf during our "winter".

Coach you asked if any of my sprints allow wet suits, No, none of them.  The only one that concerns me is the May 7 lake swim in Orlando.  Although we've had warm weather over 90 some days already (had to put that in hee hee) I don't think the lake will be very warm. dread.

Tim-congrats on #3.  I remember my doctor telling me, "You can go around the world with two, but you cannot even go around the corner with three!" Good luck!

I swam yesterday after viewing some of MR. Swim smooth.  I found it hard to think of everyithing: elbow up, turn hips, arm out, bend hand...wait no... keep it straight...breathe! Guess it will get better with time.

Thought I had a super swim, then realized I lost count of the laps..ugh.  How do you all keep track, especially when the ropes are on the short course (25yd)??

Thanks for the catch-up, KC.  That was really quite a humorous way to start off the day.  (note to self...no red)

BTW, for those interested, Amazon.com has a sale on swim wear.  Use the code: SWMTEE20 to get an extra 20% off.  I just picked up a pair of Speedo swim jammers for $29.  Best I could find was around $35 elsewhere.

Now, onto some running and biking...

Ok so I updated the list and made a couple minor changes:

The mentor group title is now linked to the actual forum and for the new members to the group their names will open up in a seperate window similiar to how the existing ones were.  Not a big deal if you have already put it on your page but I am picky when it comes to stupid stuff like that - haha

Also there are alot of people to track now -haha  It seems like we are going to have a great group again!!

"KC: I knew Coach would chime in on my insistence on doing bilateral breathing  but listen to him - what the hell do I know? seriously."

KC you know more about swimming than I will ever know.  I just go swim, if I want air I breath! :-) lol

Tim: nice to have you back, hopefully work is kicking your butt for the good! How are you feeling, is your body holding up? 9mm in a speedo that would be too funny! :-). When is your next band gig?  Your going to have your own tri relay team soon!

Heather: the best advice I can give is after every bike do some sort of run. It can be 5 minutes, the key is getting your legs used to running after a ride.  My boxer (kona) goes down the driveway at about a 4 minute mile then by 2 miles he is 20 yards behind (and I run slow). 

Deb its about time we have no idea who you are!! LOL   Hang in there on the weightloss, might need more calories if training too heavy. How is your coach/trainer/nutritionist doing?

George: its your choice but I have never seen anyone use the sandles.  I think they are geared for rec riders. I am not sure they would be all that much faster either.  I guess it depends on what you think you will be doing long term.

Naked kevin: have a blast over there. I have some friends to the med cruise in June.  I'm sure we will all have a question or two for your GF.  SOunds like a fun season with alot of racing, have a great trip!!!!!!

Mary: nice run, I know the feeling about being oncall it messes everything up. My wife is oncall every 3-4 days and every 4th weekend.  After 8 years I still jump everytime that damn pager goes off. lol

Scott:  Your already a biking machine now your doing track workouts..... Will you wait for me at the finish line?  Did that workout make your leg/hip sore?

Jen along those lines, I am just the opposite have pretty cool bike and wheels but this weekend have a race with almost no training so I will take my race wheels off. Nothing worse than getting blown by someone when your on a bike with full race wheels and aero helmet.  Believe me they notice (I sure do! LOL)

LOL Jason, that is my secret weapon if the group starts to slack :-)

KEVIN your going to make the new members run by showing them that !! LOL

Track run workouts, not bike.  My leg is holding up with the strap, rollers and yoga.   Religious about all three. 

This is all about the coaches preferance and the athlete.  I guess it boyles down to are you racing or finishing. If you look at times of the 3k people under approx 500 actually Run the marathon (probably a high number more like 300), it turns more into a shuffle/walk for most.  I tend not to do long runs as they seem to injure me all the time but I have friends that work up to very long runs 25+.  I would say you need to find a plan for your body and be very flexible.

TIM - I am having trouble with these links - the group link works but the individual ones do not. Did you try the one I posted?

Coach - can you share that product information with everyone again on the OWS emergency floatation device that you can buy for around your waste again please. I want to order one on line and the rest of the group might like to look at it.

George, thanks for the heads up on amazon - I could use a new suit I think (one without a holster of course)

Thanks.

KC

Great question.  I found a great answer from a group called Endurance nation.  They are a handful of coaches who do triathlon. Their position is that the race in an IM distance really starts no sooner than mile 18 of the run. Before that what you are doing is pushing that wall back beyond mile 18 as far as you can by making the right choices in the swim and the bike. Before that you are doing the proper amount of training on all three so you are as fit as you can be while making the starting line as injury free as possible. So Dave is right about the long runs in my opinion.  EN says don't run long beyond 2.5 hours at a time.  After that, the fitness gain is offset by the chance to hurt yourself.

Now, I think this philosophy total holds true on shorter distances too.   The run comes last so we will be the most tired at the beginning of the run than the other sports.  The swim goal for me becomes getting out of the water as quick as possible without suffering any strain.  You can't lose that much time in the water and you can't gain that much.  Swim = quick and easy, survival.  The bike is where I have to watch it because I can go out too hard. You can make up the most time on the bike so I tend to want to be in the best bike shape I can be - not so I can overdo it, but so that going harder and faster for a longer time is easier.  So when I only give it 90% on a short race rather than 100, I am still kicking young butt (sorry to the youngsters but I love speeding passed.)  On longer races, I might only do 75%.  The goal is to get through it as well as I can while still holding out energy for the run.  My coach uses a matchbook analogy.  You workout hard to gain as many matches in your book as you can before race day.  Then you only have that many to burn before the end.  You can't make matches on the course.  So when you go out too hard on the swim, the bike or the run, you are burning matches you may need later.  Be smart.

I love strategy.  It is so important to the overall result.

Another question,

Sometimes when I swim (can you tell this is my area of concern??) I get cramps in the instep of my foot.  What can I do short of stopping to stretch, and how can I prevent it?

How much are you kicking?  If you minimize your kicking, your feet can be relaxed.  I've had this happen to me in the past and to get through it I will stop kicking altogether and try to stretch my foot using my leg muscles to pull my toes "up".

Did my second outdoor bike of the season.  Holy wind Batman!  The wind was kicking my behind for the first half of the ride.  Brutal!  And in the previous group's thread, I extolled the virtues of practicing on fixing flats.  Well, I got to use that experience today.  I moved over to a hard should of the road to get myself some space and all the sudden - flat rear tire.

So - if you haven't practiced changing inner tubes, DO IT.  And get the CO2 cartridges as well.  They are super super nice.  I got to use one for the first time today and it was a snap.

I think you need to hit quote, then copy it from there.  Like I said yours worked but half the member pop up in seperate window and other half stay in same window.  I prefer the seperate window so i can go right back t my log.  No big deal.

Yes I agree. You may be kicking too much or to hard. Get a Pull Bouy if you dont have one. It helps you learn how to swim with out kicking. I am by no means a expert but I had the same problem a few months ago. I stopped kicking as much and worked on by upper body and core strength and it has impacted my swimming.

>>Heather: the best advice I can give is after every bike do some sort of run. It can be 5 minutes, the key is getting your legs used to running after a ride.  My boxer (kona) goes down the driveway at about a 4 minute mile then by 2 miles he is 20 yards behind (and I run slow). 

Thanks for the advice, Dave.  It's so logical and simple.

>>My coach uses a matchbook analogy.  You workout hard to gain as many matches in your book as you can before race day.  Then you only have that many to burn before the end.  You can't make matches on the course.  So when you go out too hard on the swim, the bike or the run, you are burning matches you may need later.  Be smart.

I love this matchbook analogy, Ice Man.  Appreciate the inspiration.

Is that the thing you put between your legs?  I have one of those.  Thanks for the advice, I'll try not kicking so much, see if that helps.

It could also be that you are not kicking correctly.  Do you use kick board during your workout?  Are you tensing up your feet trying to keep them straight?  It is really weird that your foot cramps up.  Maybe try wiggling your feet every 100 yards or so just to stay loose.  I also jsut started using fins to help with my kick.  i think theere are mixed reviews on this but it helps me get the feel of it and strengthen my legs.

I always try and incorporate both the pull and the kickboard into every workout.  If you are going to use the pull you also might want to get some hand paddles to help strengthen your stroke.

Good luck.