SBR Utopia Season II - OPEN (Page 6)

Originally posted by tri808

Originally posted by axteraa

Originally posted by ChrisM 

I haven't yet broken the news to coach (although I said I was considering it).  Depending on (1) recovery from Canada and (2) the weather and temps, i'd like to take a stab at sub 5 here.  All the other HIMs I do are too hilly for that time right now

I've heard Miami is a bit flat...

Yeah...but they got lots of bridges... One of us mortals needs to crack 5 hours this year. Ben and Marc don't count! LOL.

Fyi, I haven't actually done it. Poconos doesn't count, but likely would have if there was a swim. Interestingly enough, Quassy was the closest, so yes, it can be a PR course.

I plan to start in on getting there by actually racing a HIM.  

We'll see from there.  

Matt

Go somewhere flat like Miami!     However, with a no wetsuit swim and likely a hot run, it's a tough sell.

Yeah, if I can find 18 minutes I can go sub 5 at Oceanside, which is legit.  Still looking.....

ETA - not that sub 5 on other courses is not legit.

I have my Retul Fitting scheduled for this Monday morning. I have not been properly fit (or even improperly, really) for my bike, so I am hoping to gain a little speed and a lot of comfort.

I have a bike helmet question -- assuming no crashes, how long do you use a helmet before replacing it?

It is a nice goal, but I'm still picking courses based on how much I'll enjoy doing the event as opposed to the time I'll get.  Especially with the length of these I'd rather have at least some hills for something to do as opposed to continuously hammering away on an all flat course.

Haha - when I initially glanced at this, I thought you were referring to a 5 hour IM bike

Greetings from Scotland! I almost couldn't find the group!

Having a great time here...catching up with family and friends. Still adjusting to the time change and the drastic weather change (from 100 plus degrees in Phoenix to 50 degrees here). I have managed a few short workouts, just got around to updating my log here on BT. I borrowed an old steel bike (circa 1970) which is a bit rusty but seems to fit me OK. Would love to ride more but the weather has been crappy....I know most people here just get out and ride in it but I am a wimp. Running here is awesome, and I made it to the community pool today for a swim. It's definitely not going to be a good training month for me but it was probably time for a little break anyways.

Hope all is well in SBR Utopia land....going to read back through this thread real quick while I still have WiFi (my parents don't have it at their house).

That's pretty much how I pick courses too - something that interests me.  That said, what interested me about Miami was the cruise ship port right beside it with a 4 day Bahamas cruise leaving the next day.  

I think the manufacture has a guideline, and I want to say most recommend 5 years but not sure why that number is in my head.  Course I never change them that often.  My last one was in horrible shape before I replaced it and it took my friend falling and cracking her head and getting memory loss to do it.  Scariest thing I have ever been though and had her helmet been crap like mine would have been much worse.

Hey Arend (or other resident fish), quick question.

Yesterday I went for an OWS sans wetsuit to see how much it affects my time (figured I'd take the pool out of the equation).  Aside from bone chilling temps - blue nails and numb digits on getting out, not cool - my time was 15-25" per 100 slower at what felt like a higher effort level.

Does the suit really make THAT much difference?  Going from easy 1:20's to hard 1:40's (or worse) per hundred, and from an almost "zero beat kick" to a two or four beat kick?

Really, what I'm wondering is if this difference says something particular about my lack of form (low hips? rotation a problem? etc.) that shows up more with the wetsuit off - or iow, is the wetsuit best at correcting a particular fault (or, conversely, that I'm just a mess all around)?

Thanks for any thoughts/opinions!

Matt

Even though the Savageman course is short?

Matt, the wetsuit can make a really big difference depending on what your stroke flaws are.  However, if you are capable of swimming 1:20/100s I doubt you have any massive stroke flaws that would result in that much of a difference.

How are you determining your distance and pace in the OWS?  Unless you have two fixed points to go between, are really good at swimming straight and don't have any other outside contributing factors (such as wind and/or current) it's really hard to compare the two.  I think the only legitimate way would be to swim between the same two points multiple times (like 10 or more) to really get a good idea.

Now to answer my own question about how you are determining distance and pace, I see the two swims you posted on Strava using your Garmin 910.  I would take that data with a big giant lumpy grain of salt.    Having the Garmin on your wrist still has a lot of margin for error when swimming.  I swam with two people last week who both wore 910s and over a fairly short distance, one of them had a distance of 180 meters while the other was around 220m.  I know they swim in more or less straight lines (enough that it wouldn't be off by 40 meters).

I guess I'm hoping mine is due for replacement. It's only two years old, but I really want a new one. I'm looking for permission an excuse. I really wanted someone to say, "Oh, you need to replace that thing every year!"

ETA: Now that I think about it, this is the third season with that helmet. Hmmmm. I think it's time for a new one!!

Caution: I am a shopping enabler.  I would add that extreme heat probably accelerates the breakdown of the material used. Since you live in Kansas where it's freaking hot, the helmet has no doubt been exposed to extreme temperatures (left in car, whatever), then you "need" a new one.  Go for it.