Bonnie Crawford's Group - FULL (Page 6)

Julie, sometimes you can find a great deal on wetsuits on a site called slowtwitch.com. They have a classified section. There are a lot of pros and talented amateurs on the site, and I think they're probably more honest in their money dealings than the general population ... they have reputations to uphold. (and huge egos, good lord.) That's where I bought my tri bike at an exceedingly reasonable cost, and it was delivered with great care. Plus they have a terrific search engine. Put your search terms in, and it does all the work for you through whatever forum you list.

Nate, you continue to be my hero. You go, dude!

Well, I took my new labrador 16-month-old pup out for his first two-miler yesterday. It was difficult for the both of us. I don't think Cujo has ever been on leash, seen a car, played with a dog, walked by a human in his life. But by the end of our jaunt he was actually trotting along fairly placidly ... a huge triumph for him! And a good workout for me ... that hound-dog can MOVE!

Today I'm getting my big old butt into the pool for 1200 yards of something or another. Looks like plans for my half Ironman in May are all shot to h*ll, too, by my trial schedule. The Tax Court must have some kind of bad mojo against me or something. (smile) All that money ... and no transfers, no deferrals. Sigh. Maybe I'm just not meant to do the long stuff.

Everyone hang in there. Spring is on the way.
Kate

Julie - I'd definitely recommend the race in Hillsboro. It's a great intro to triathlon and will prepare you for the race in open water. I've done the Hawthorne Farms race before and it's great. I'll be doing it this year with several co-workers. Go for it!

Sarah - I use vaseline on both my feet and in the crotch area and then BodyGlide all over my neck, around the sports bra area and on the inside of my arms. This really helps.

Kate - Sorry to hear about the schedule. Keep your chin up

Had a very relaxing weekend with my best friend at a hot springs spa resort. We had mineral baths, wraps and massages plus fabulous food. Awesome!

Happy Training everyone, keep up the great work and reflect on how far you've all come as we come to the end of the 2nd month of training.

Thanks everyone for posting. Your perserverance motivates me. Rachel still here?

Bonnie, thanks for the skin care tips. My minor experience really motivates me to be proactive on prevention. Your spa weekend sounds fabulous.

Kate, you seem like someone who can accomplish anything. When you are up, you are inspiring. Your schedule may be absolutely impossible, but the dog's gotta exercise somehow right? :-)

Nate, 200 sit ups - that's not even a part of my long-range plan! Awesome! I'm with you on the bad workouts. I started my long swim last week and just didn't have it in me. I threw in the towel after 15 minutes.

GOOD NEWS -- The breathing technique I learned has transformed my running. I was able to run 53 minutes with a 2 minute walk somewhere in the middle. I think I will push ahead for a few weeks then go back to the 4/1 interval to increase speed, even though I don't think the word speed should be used at all when talking about my running, but I will get faster.

More good news -- I got a bicycle. Trek 1000, orange and yellow. It's great. It makes my schedule a little mixed up bc I'm now planning according to the 7-day forcast and trying to get out on the open road.

Hi everyone,

I got back from Spain this weekend and am finally getting caught up on jet lag. After the 20 hour day to get home it will take me awhile to forget the pain and want to go again. We had a wonderful trip LOVE southern Spain.

It looks like everyone is doing great on the training front.

I got me registration in yesterday for the Seattle Danskin in August, so better get down to serious weight loss and training. Did 700 m in the pool yesterday and am going to start adding a spinning class 2 days a week after swimming and continue my weight training on the other days.

Carol

Hey Carol, welcome back!

Any advice about trisuits? My local shopping options are limited so I would like to buy online.

One piece or two?

Compression shorts?

Wet suit? At what temperature will I really need a wetsuit?

Also, any general formula for converting my laps to open water time? Open water = double time and effort? One-and-a-half?

So far treadmill to trail and stationary bike to the road have been ego-deflating transitions. I'm working hard to catch up on my bike time/distance. I won't have the opportunity to do that in the swim.

Sarah

Sarah,
I found a trisuit at www.sportsbasement.com. Good deals!

Our local races have a guideline for wetsuits and water temp. Check out the websites for yours.

My husband said that his open swim took less time than the same distance in the pool, tho no wall to stop and take a breather. His wetsuit also made him more buoyant and he said his swim was easier (of course, low body fat needs extra buoyancy).

I can go farther and longer if I have a buddy. I actually ran 2 miles w/only 5x walking a few yards when my husband took me to the track, vs frequent walks when I'm there alone (20min vs 27 mins!). Also, I can go 2+hours on an outside ride with him vs. only about an hour on the trainer/spin bike.

Good luck w/ your transitions.

Julie

I have the same questions about what to wear. If I wear a wetsuit, what do you wear under it, and how do you change in the transition area??

I don't have any mile to mile comparison for stationary bike to on the road, but I know from experience that I can ride about three times as long on the road for the same effort. You have to take into consideration that on the road you can coast for rest and you have multiple gears to make it easier.
Carol

Sarah - I'd definitely go for a 1 piece if you're doing shorter races and a 2 piece if you intend to do longer races or if you use the facilities a lot

Most people wear whatever they are racing in under their wetsuits, so you'll want to practice that before the race. It's very difficult to get much more than a jersey on when wet. I usually wear my tri or cycling shorts and a sports bra under my wetsuit and then pull a tank on in T1 which I'll wear for the rest of the race.

Carol/Julie - Distances are relatively fickle. Usually what you run on the treadmill should be fairly similar to the road although I can usually go faster on the road because I don't have to push a button. On my bike (I ride my triathlon bike on a trainer inside right now) I have a fairly good idea that the effort is harder on the stationary because I can't coast, stand up, go downhill etc. Swimming is the toughest one. For me having the wetsuit and no walls to turn around at usually speeds me up but it's pretty minimal. I am within a minute or 2 of my pool time in the openwater.

Julie - I would completely recommend trying the Hawthorne Farms race though. A lot of people panic the first time in a race in open water, it'd be a great opportunity to try things out, practice biking wet, doing transitions and then see how you feel for Blue Lake

Lost another 2.6 yesterday which shocked me. I've lost almost 10lbs in 6 weeks so I'm psyched!!!!

Does anyone have any races coming up? 5ks, duathlons etc?

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Bonnie,

I've decided against Blue Lake as my husb. (DH) will be entered and I want to cheer him as well as have someone cheer ME. The Farm may be my best bet. Then possibly Hagg Lake. DH has suggested a tri-it, so I'm considering that.

Congrats on your 2.6! My scale hasn't budged, but I've lost a few inches in my waist...I guess muscle does weigh more than adipose tissue.

The tri-skin I ordered was out of stock so I'm looking for another. I've read that some of the one piece skins have built in shelf bras and others require a sports bra. I don't know if I want to mess w/trying to get a jersey on at T1. Would a skin work at the Farm race???? or should I slip on bike shorts over by Speedo????

Have a great weekend!!

Bonnie,

I've decided against Blue Lake as my husb. (DH) will be entered and I want to cheer him as well as have someone cheer ME. The Farm may be my best bet. Then possibly Hagg Lake. DH has suggested a tri-it, so I'm considering that.

Congrats on your 2.6! My scale hasn't budged, but I've lost a few inches in my waist...I guess muscle does weigh more than adipose tissue.

The tri-skin I ordered was out of stock so I'm looking for another. I've read that some of the one piece skins have built in shelf bras and others require a sports bra. I don't know if I want to mess w/trying to get a jersey on at T1. Would a skin work at the Farm race???? or should I slip on bike shorts over by Speedo????

Have a great weekend!!

Yippee Bonnie, 2.6 is huge. Can I have your hand-me-downs? :-)

Carol - what am I missing on the bike? The open road is 3xs easier for you and 2xs harder for me!! I've decided I just wasn't working as hard as I should have been in the gym. The downhills go by way too fast and the uphills seem really long. Also, I never coast or stand. I'll be adding that. Any other tips?

March 18 is my next race. It's a 5k/30k/5k duathlon. I signed up thinking it would be good training leading up to my June Sprint. Now I think it will be much harder for me than the Sprint will be. I road 19 miles today - my longest ride to date. It was grueling and satisfying.

I've had trouble increasing training times this month. My daughter was sick for a week in the middle and I missed several workouts. Then I wasn't ready for the next week. This week is my recovery week, then I'm going to repeat this month's training plan. I feel good about that.

Thank you for the fashion tips. I really needed some guidance.

Sarah

Sarah, Part of what makes riding outside easier for me may be phychological. Always something different to look at. I can barely tolerate the boredom of riding a stationary bike. Also when riding outside, when you get really good at using all of your gears it is much easier to keep a steady pace on the small ups and downs. Everyone grinds down to a crawl on the long steep hills.

I am going to start a cycling class at the gym tomorrow, maybe that will help the hour go faster.

Carol

Yes, practicing my gears will probably help. Also, I need to go get my computer installed. The bike shop was out of them when I picked my bike up. I'm thinking watching my cadence will help me with better gear shifting?

Thanks,
Sarah

Hey where is everyone????? Are you all too tired from training to post ?

I have increased my swim to 850m three times a week with biking after two days and walking everyother.

Tomorrow we are going shopping for new bikes Yea!!

Carol

Yeah Carol!!! That is awesome about your swimming progress. What kind of bike are you shopping for?

I've been traveling this week so I haven't had a lot of time to post. I wonder where everyone else is....

I'm still steadily losing weight which is so cool. I'm down 15 from late December and am currently sitting at 200.4. WOO HOO!

3.5 hour bike followed by a 30 min for me tomorrow. I felt like I was in the science lab trying to plan out my nutrition. If I'm riding X hours how much salt, carbs and fluids do I need to perform well?

Right now I'm aiming for about 650g of sodium, 60-80 g of carbs and 32oz of fluids.

How's everyone else doing?

Hey y'all,

I've only been spinning the last 2 weeks, tho I've added a yoga class to try to increase my flexibility that has slowly diminished over the past 20 yrs. I'm hoping to be back in the pool next week as well as back to running. My club is cutting 3 spinning classes, so I may be shopping for another club or getting brave enough to road-bike alone.

You go, Bonnie!!! What an inspiration. How do you know what to figure nutrionally??

Same to you, Carol. I wish I could get into a routine that works as well for me as yours does for you!!

I'm also trying to figure out the tri-clothing matter. Skin-suit or bike shorts/sports bra w/singlet? or any other suggestions???

Happy St. Pattie's Day!
Julie

Hi Guys,

Way to go on weight loss Bonnie. What is your best weight loss tool? Motivation?

Carol when is your Danskin event? Sounds like you are swim ready.

Julie, I'm way more intimidated by spin class than biking alone! Keep it up. I love my weekly yoga class for core, strength and flexibility. It's the only thing I do that really makes me sore on a regular basis.

I've been race-focused on tomorrow's duathlon. Last week I rode the 30k bike course and was encouraged because there were far less hills than I'm accustom to. Roads are very rough however.

This is my first big race. I am still uncertain about nutrition during the race, hoping I follow the bike rules correctly, and not satisfied with my race attire (just got the tri-shorts I e-ordered. is there a purpose for that chamois?) I'm sure I will learn a lot tomorrow.

I plan to get back to my tri-training schedule this week.

Sarah

Good luck on your race Sarah, I can't wait to hear how it all went. I am registered for the Seattle Danskin on Aug 19th.

Great work on the weight loss Bonnie, you are a motivation.

I am looking at the Specialized Dolce comp bike. It is a women's specific model with a shorter top post. I am not a small person, 5'8", but still think the shorter reach to the handlebars will be less stressful on my back, shoulders and hands. After riding a street modified mountain bike for years all the bikes I have tried feel like I am flying.

Still have the same indicision about what to wear, they have one piece tri suits for $80 on the Danskin website, but don't know if that is going to be warm enough for swimming in Lake Washington. Guess I have a few months to figure this out.

Happy St. Patricks Day.. yesterday.

Carol

GOOOOO SARAH!!!!! Can't wait to hear how the first race went! So excited for you

Let me see if I can remember all your questions.

The chamois is to protect and cushion the nether region while biking but in tri shorts they are usually very light and quick drying since they assume you will be swimming in the same shorts. People take the chamois' for granted but I have like 6 pairs with different types, thicknesses etc and I can only ride for long or short distances in certain ones.

Carol - Lake Washington is pretty warm actually by August. I wore cycling shorts with a bathing suit over them and was fine for my first race. I'd recommend a 1 pc tri suit for a sprint or olympic distance but once you go longer a 2 pc outfit is great for the many bathroom stops.

Motivation is having days like yesterday where I feel like I could go out and kick red bike against anyone. It's feeling athletic and tough and remembering that I want to keep feeling this way and what I put into my mouth puts me closer or takes me further away from my goal. There really isn't a magic bullet or a particular thing that motivates me. I used to think it was the Ironman but that's just 1 day.

Nutritionally I've had some recent revelations which seem to be working. At 200lbs I need about 1800 calories a day with no exercise. So I try to stick to that and make sure that that 1800 is coming from whole, healthy foods. If I'm exercising between 30-60 min I'll have an additional 100 maybe 200 calories of sports food like a gel or a bottle of GU20. When I'm going longer than 60 min I take in 300 calories an hour starting with the first hour and going til the workout is over. I also follow a hard or long workout with approx 200 calories of a recovery meal which for me is 1/2 c Pumpkin Flax Granola with a few oz of Rice Milk. Yummy!

I use my BT logs to track all of my nutrition so feel free to check it out, maybe it will give you some ideas

Keep up the great work everyone! Other than Sarah does anyone have any races planned the next 2 weekends?

Wow, the novel I could write about yesterday! I'll leave out the funny little stories to save space.

I raced with a new attitude yesterday. New compared to my vast race experience from February's 5 mile run. I do not have to always be the slowest. Sounds simple, but consider that I always have been the slowest. Slowest in my family, slowest on the volleytball team, slowest on the track team. My nickname was turtle. My preacher exclaimed I "run like a dry creek" after he watch a basketball game his daughter and I played in together. It has always been a part of my identity (also like being the biggest, but that is another psychology session). So after 'just finishing' the 5 mile run bc that's what I thought I could do and letting 2 competitiors pass me at the finish when I had juice left to prevent them from overtaking me bc I didn't mind finishing behind them and it was obviously important to them, I decided to compete in the duathlon. I vowed there would be no juice left at the end and if I finished last it would not be because I accepted that position without my best effort.

The first 5k run was fast. I ran in 31:18 ahead of 8 people of the group of 110. The 30k bike is where I really raced. I went all out from start to finish in 30 mph head winds and cross winds (of course it was at my back for a portion but that part goes by so quickly) and overtook 7 others in 74 minutes. All of the cool videos I watched about leaping off of the bike and running into T2 were but visuals somewhere in my mind as I came to a complete stop, put one leg on the ground, tested it for weight-baring ability, did not seem too good, slowly brought the other leg over to join it and staggered into T2.

The second 5k lasted nearly 40 minutes. Initially running seemed extremely impossible. My quads felt so tight it was like I was a puppet on a string that forced my legs to go up and down at a fast, jerky pace. After 1/2 mile of puppetteering I noticed a truck parked on the route and leaned on it to stretch my muscles. Miracle - now my legs couldn't stop running, but alas, that feeling didn't last forever. I walk/jogged the remaining portion of the race and finished with absolutely no juice left.

I placed 3rd in my age group and received a fabulous running cap for my efforts. What a glorious feeling!

The feeling of glory was replace by nausea during the hour drive home and remained into the evening. I could not move much of yesterday afternoon, but I am so proud to have left it all on the course. Tired and sore is way better than placing myself according to my distant past.

Sarah

P.S. Bonnie, My chamois question was meant a bit sarcastically bc it was pretty non-existent in the new tri shorts I ordered, and wore, and suffered in. I'm so glad you answered it seriously so that I can look for something more substantial in the future.

Way to go Sarah, it sounds like you had a good race and a whole new mental outlook. You will be in the front of the pack soon....
Carol

I got out on the road today...it was very nice....I only rode a few miles, but I had my daughter in tow in the trailer. we rode a couple of miles to the park and then home after playing

just checking in again...I haven't been real motivated to work out lately...I think it was related to my cold a week ago. yesterday I got out on the trail and it was great! 14 miles - 68 minutes

it went really well...I was hoping to get out again today, but had a bunch of work around the house to do.

things I need:

rear view mirror for my helmet
aerobars (sitting upright, I notice the discomfort in my hands and then my shoulders and neck were sore afterwards)
pedals with straps
bigger water bottles
smaller bike bag
frame pump


this is stuff that I will use regardless of whether I only do 1 tri or not....now I need some coin...

Sarah,
You are awe inspiring!! Thanks for the detailed account. I may now have the nerve to actually enter the Hagg Lake tri.........thanks!!
Julie