Gray Guys/Girls Masters Focus Triathlete Forum--OPEN! (Page 6)

Originally posted by Beach_Gurlz

Fantastic!

I go by Beach though some folks call me BG or BeachGurlz, whatever works.

Originally posted by k9car363

Yep!  Unless someone lost 100+ pounds and worked out 1,000+ minutes since the last update!

Congrats Judi.  You certainly raised the bar on workout time!

Welcome back James!

Originally posted by k9car363

Yep!  Unless someone lost 100+ pounds and worked out 1,000+ minutes since the last update!

Congrats Judi.  You certainly raised the bar on workout time!

Welcome back James!

Originally posted by ok2try

Thanks for the good wishes! I'm pretty happy with the 5k. The weather was a perfect 62 degrees, low humidity & sunny. I rode my bike to the race, 3.75 miles, high cadence low HR. Really, nothing makes me happier than cycling, especially when the weather is fine.
At the site: checked in, did some running warm-up about 12 minutes; had intended to do 4 strides but my legs started feeling shaky so cut them short at 2; still had 1/2 hour, walked around, ate a gel, did my Chi Running joint looseners.
My goal was just to equal last year's time of 28:12, a pace of 9:06. My strategy was to run a little slower than that for miles 1 & 2, then pick it up. The course is pretty flat.
It's funny how at the race start everyone's adrenaline is high & you can be carried along, but I kept my eye on my pace, willing myself to slow down; it took about a minute to get down to my goal pace. I really felt great running; none of the ankle or knee problems were plaguing me; it didn't feel like work like some workouts often do. In mile 3 I tried to kick it up but couldn't. I was tired. I passed some people walking and thought " I could do that" but quickly banished the thought. I did have a little in the tank for the last tenth mile. Here are the splits:
9:10 HR average Zone 3
9:07 HR average Zone 5a
9:14 HR average Zone 5b
(for the fraction) pace 8:14 Zone 5c
Total time 28:25, which is 13 seconds off my goal, but I don't think I could have found those 13 anywhere! Maybe if I had willed myself to run 1 & 2 even slower I could have blasted 3.
First & only in my age group; 34th of 68 in the race. Ate 1/2 Hammer Recoverite bar & a banana; drank some Fizz & more water; rode my bike home, high cadence low HR; ate lunch & stretched. Spent most of the afternoon lying on an inner tube in the pond, listening to the munchkins laughing in the water... oops! the only thing really that makes me happier than cycling!

Originally posted by ok2try

. . . I did have a little in the tank for the last tenth mile. Here are the splits:

9:10 HR average Zone 3

9:07 HR average Zone 5a

9:14 HR average Zone 5b

(for the fraction) pace 8:14 Zone 5c 

Originally posted by DJP_19

I'm happy to say that I finished my first sprint tri event today. I really enjoyed it. Short version of my race report is: weak swim, bike ok despite chain coming off at start, ok run. I didn't finish last.

QUOTE]

Great Job Dave! Most important part was you had fun, but nice results also.

Originally posted by DJP_19

I'm happy to say that I finished my first sprint tri event today. I really enjoyed it. Short version of my race report is: weak swim, bike ok despite chain coming off at start, ok run. I didn't finish last.

For those who care to read a bit more:

I had some pre race insomnia Sat night, but not too bad. Woke up before the alarm at 4am. Ate breakfast, loaded up and made the hour drive to the race site arriving just before 6am for a 7am start. It was a beautiful weather day and a well run event. I set up my gear, did some stretching, then on with the wetsuit for a warmup swim. Air was cool at 53, but the water was nice. There were 5 waves, I was in wave 3.

Swim: A couple practice swims this week helped a bit. I started near the back and outside the pack, and ground out the swim very slowly in 20:53. Had some trouble with goggles fogging and some orientation challenges causing me to go into breaststroke to re-align myself. I clearly need more OWS practice.

T1: I felt smooth with wetsuit removal, but took too long getting dressed Time was merely ok at 3:21

Bike: I had trouble at the start. Trotted out of transition feeling pretty good, jumped on the bike and promptly knocked the chain off the sprocket. Spent 3-4 minutes fixing it cause I just couldn't get the d**n thing back on. Arrrggghh! Finally got it re-attached and up the hill I went. I felt pretty strong on the bike, but in hindsight, this may have cost me. I tried to make up too much time lost due to the chain incident. On a hilly course, this probably took more out of my legs than I should have allowed. Time 43:22

T2: I felt good here, completing in 1:09

Run: I paid the price for being too aggressive on the bike. Not enough legs left on the hilly run. Slogged out a 27:55, a 9:01pace. This was below my expectations.


Overall: My goal was to complete my first event to see how much I would enjoy a sprint tri. I also hoped to finish before at least 20% of finishers. I loved the experience and was able to finish at #209 out of 308, so those goals were met.

A good reference point for me is that I was #11 of 15 in my age group (55-59), so I clearly have LOTS of work to do if I want to be successful in this sport.

In summary, I had fun and learned a lot today. I have a couple simple next steps mapped out. They are open water swim races at my local tri club on Tuesday nights to make me more comfortable as opposed to just surviving the swim. Secondly, I'll need to do more bike/run work to improve my ability to regain running form and increase speed on the final segment. No huge surprises, but plenty of work to do.

Back to training tomorrow.

Dave

Originally posted by k9car363

Hi Deborah,

Good race!

I have an observation and a question. 

My observation is that your HR zones are set too low.  18+ minutes in Zone 5 - by definition, that's virtually impossible, at the very least your legs should have been in knots, or in EXTREME discomfort/pain.  The temperatures were cool enough that I am not sure cardiac drift could have accounted for HR up in to high zone 5.

I am wondering what your HR zones are, how did you arrive at the specific numbers for the ranges, and finally, when was the last time you did a field lactate threshold test, or have you done a field LT test?

Here is an excellent article (found right here on BT) that runs through the process to perform a proper LT field test. http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=633http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=633  The article goes through how to determine LT for both run and bike.

I apologize if you have already seen the article.  Just seems your HR zones are not set correctly.  If your HR zones are too low (which it appears to me they are), you may think you are on a zone 2/3 long training run and in actuality be on a long recovery run - which would have the net effect of . . . not a whole lot.

Just my humble two cents.

Originally posted by golfgirl88

I would love to join this group if not too late. Just signed up for my first sprint tri in September. Can swim but not a swimmer. Would love the accountability and insights of the group.

Originally posted by mknoonan06

Hoping I can join this group. I'm 57 with 1 Sprint under my belt last year and getting ready for round 2 later this month. Typical story of mostly running as a "grown up" but have been inspired by some tri-friends. Since I am much older than them though this age specific forum is much appreciated!

Originally posted by dogwoman

This sounds like I might belong here but maybe not..... let me know. I am soon to be 59 with a swimming background. I am way out of shape and overweight. I want to be an ironman in 2016. I have a swimming background and thought I was pretty good until I swam today. I run like Egore (Frankenstine). and I own a bike but am terrible at that. Please help me if you can. or guide me to where I should go. Thanks for your help!

Originally posted by ok2try

First & only in my age group; 34th of 68 in the race. ........

Spent most of the afternoon lying on an inner tube in the pond, listening to the munchkins laughing in the water... oops! the only thing really that makes me happier than cycling!