Ironman Louisville : Official Thread (Page 62)

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend. Saturday kicked off my race season with with a short sprint in Martinsburg, PA. Age groups were set up a bit strange but I still ended up 4 out of 26 in the 40-49 group. Total time was 52:38 for a 200 yd swim, 9 mile bike and 5K run. No issues at all and everything seemed to go smoothly. Next race will be the Moutaineer HIM, in Morgantown, WV at the end of June.

Plan was then to ride 60 on Sunday with a 30 min run brick. That eneded 5 miles from home with my second flat of the ride. Cut the sidewall on a stone so the spare tube stuck right out and blew after about tens yds. I knew it would happen but was hoping to get a bit closer to home. Had to call the wife for a ride home.

Of course the local bike shop has a crappy tire selection so I opted to pull a pire off the spare roadie and the 60 miler was done yesterday. It worked out to 60.4 miles with 2400 feet elevation gain and a 16.9 mph average.

All in all a pretty decent weekend.

Peter B

Peter- Nice work!

I had a similar situation. I ran over some glass at 12.5 mi into what was going to be an 80-mile ride. I changed the tube, but it exploded. After my wife picked me up and got me home, I left on my road bike and went 76.5 miles.

I've done the race in Morgantown that you are heading to. They've changed the course a few times since I've been there, but I enjoyed my experience. We stayed at the host hotel and my family could watch the swim from the 9th floor. I think the swim goes the other direction now however. Good luck!

I've got my second race of the season coming up on Sunday by way of the Grand Rapids Triathlon. I am registered to do the half-iron distance, but due to my Achilles, I may turn it into a training day and do an aqua-bike. If P.T. goes well and my Achilles feels good, I might do the first half of the run...with a lot of walking, and then drop out. It will be a game time decision.

Swam in open water this morning before work (1000 yds. roughly) and I'm allergic to something in the water. I came out and sneezed up a storm. I've been sniffling and sneezing ever since. It's likely in conjuction with what seasonal allergies that are airborne as well.

Order my bike decal: Go Tri Sam! I've never had anything like this before, but I thought it might be fun. We'll see how it turns out. Hopefully it will look good on my GURU.

I was thinking the same thing, but it's so hard for me to not rest/taper a teensy bit for it. 

rafikichapman - I had a similar dilemma recently: to play my annual paintball game with my brothers and friends, or to play it safe and have to listen to their crap for the next year about me wussing out. I love paintball but I tend to get hurt every time I play. Like you, I can't play 'conservatively,' but I decided to go for it anyway. I re-arranged my workout schedule so I would have the next day off (which meant a 14 mile run before the game), threw on some hard-core ankle braces and had a blast! However, the next 2 weeks were pretty rough because I over did it (naturally) and pulled a calf muscle. But it was only a minor setback and I would say it was well worth it in the end! But wait, can't you break your neck playing polo? Try water polo instead, great swim workout and minimal chance of neck breaking

Speaking of swim workouts, I finally broke my month-long swimming slump today and had a great workout at 5am! Main set was 12x200s, 4 @ 2:45 interval, 4 @ 2:40, and 4 @ 2:30, splits were 2:25, :24, :22, :24, :22, :21, :21, :20, :17, :18, :14, :13! I haven't been able to get under 2:20 no matter how hard I pushed in weeks, and my 30 minute time trial on Monday was 150 yards less than my last one, so I was really excited to see something positive in the water again. My glide is back!

Keep pushing it.

Peter B. wrote:

Plan was then to ride 60 on Sunday with a 30 min run brick. That eneded 5 miles from home with my second flat of the ride. Cut the sidewall on a stone so the spare tube stuck right out and blew after about tens yds.

Sorry to hear that.  I've had to make the call to the wife for a ride more times that I'd like to admit.  Here's a tip that will save you if this happens again.  Carry a couple dollar bills with you when you ride and if you get a cut in your tire line it with the dollar bill (doubled over).  It will prevent the tube from bulging and allow inflation to normal levels. 

Kevin

klauser-Test ride some bikes. See how they feel. Do the feel like they make a difference? If it feels good/better than your current bike, I would certainly consider it, particularly if you are going to be doing triathlon for a while. Make sure you have a good fit, and it is sure to spice up your training.

I just got a new bike this year after having had my other triathlon bike for years. I've had some issues with it, but we are starting to become one. A nice bike is a beautiful thing and a fantastic motivator. If it is in your budget, give it a go. Try out different brands as well. The Trek is a great bike, but see what feels best for you. It might be the Trek, but it might not be.

Good luck.

tsoule- Thanks. I'm probably going to swim, bike, and drop out. My Achilles is making progress, but I don't want to risk it. The G.R. race isn't worth it. I did have a good "run" today, but I'm a long way from 13 miles...or even 6.5.

Others racing this weekend...good luck, enjoy, go get 'em!

I'm following suit with several others here and doing a 70.3 training race for in prep for IM Lou (I'm doing the Cardinal triathlon in Louisville on 7/9).  I'm not planning to do much of a taper.  I'll probably keep the volume the same but drop the intensity way down the week leading up to the 70.3.  The bike course will be part of the actual IM Lou course so it will be a good opportunity to practice race day nutrition.

So is anyone else completely unmotivated to train or race? I was running with a friend this last weekend and I have been training for 5 years for an Ironman and I have no motivation to go out and ride or run. I have been in the pool a couple times even raced once but have nothing. I have officially withdrawn from 2 races already this year and have composed the letter to WTC but just have not had the courage to send withdrawing from Lou.

What do you all do to stay motivated?

Jhouse,

My $0.02. I was feeling the same way you were but then I started a donation fund with the American Diabetes Association-Team Diabetes "Team Noah". Find a cause to tri for and the motivation is brought on by the non-profit you believe in and others pulling for you...

http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/Events/TeamDiabetes?px=6665678&pg=personal&fr_id=7090

...if I didn't have this, I would of withdrawn.

Had a little of the same myself, I joined up with NF Ednurance to raise money for the NChildren's Tumor Foundation.  This seemed to recharge my enthusiasm.

Adam

jhouse

I'm not nearly the competitor I was when I was younger (i.e., high mileage, hard intervals, sprinting to the finish line, lots of "no pain, no gain," etc., etc.)  Since I'm getting close to half a century in age, I enjoy the travel, ambience, food and drink, event, and most of all, the people involved.  Though I sometimes get disappointed in not having trained enough for events, I try to remind myself (frequently) that I'm really a runner/cyclist/swimmer/xc skier/cyclo-cross racer mainly for the experiences and healthy lifestyle more than the numbers I can generate in time, age group placement, etc.  Look around during the race, enjoy what can be enjoyed, and (this is a big one for me, at times) don't second-guess everything you could have done.

Just my two-cents, as well.  Hang in there!

Tailwinds,

Todd

jhouse...tsoule- x2. Well said.

It also inspires me to watch youtube videos of the average age-grouper doing various IM events. IMLOU in particular.

What keeps me motivated is that I love the journey.

Jhouse--think back to your previous Ironman experiences and see if this is a pattern.  I have read that the Ironman journey has its peaks and valleys and that keeping the motivation is the hardest part of all.  Maybe you were having these same thoughts 12-15 weeks out from your previous races.

As a future Ironman finisher, the fear of the unknown and the fear of failure have me motivated.  But I will admit that I am still having a hard time a) getting myself to the pool, and b) completing my entire swim workout.  Not exactly sure why that is, but I think it has something to do with the swim being the "easiest" of the 3 disciplines for me. 

But back to your concern-- I would suggest NOT droping out of upcoming races.  Or at the very least, be sure you volunteer at those races.  I suspect you will find motivation just being involved in a race on race day.  you may get inspired by an 85 year old lady finishing an Oly, or you may be inspired by seeing one of your peers set amazing PR's. 

Last summer Macca spoke at an event here in town and he mentioned that he races a lot in order to keep himself motivated.  In his opinion, if you plan for just one or two races per year and don't have benchmarks, you will "get in your own head".  In other words, you might get complacent, or you might feed your brain with unnecessary doubts.  This may or may not be what is happening to you. 

Best of luck.  and best of luck to all of you out there racing.