swbkrun's group- CLOSED (Page 64)

Just got back from volunteering at a tune-up tri.  1.4 mile run, 4 mile bike, 250M pool swim (yep done in reverse so you don't get as cold)

Was interesting to be on the other side of things, went from checking people in, to body marking to standing on the run course directing people.

Lookin good Steve, but with all that white...they are going to see you coming from a mile away!

I just got back from a nice ride.  The sun finally came out today after several rainy days.  The wind was blowing like he11 though.  We averaged 18 mph for 51 miles, but at one point coming back into about a 20 mph headwind I was grinding on a flat at only 9mph.  Had a good day though. 

I am about 3 weeks out from my first sprint.  Should I just keep up the same volume and intensity and just lay off a little the week of the event or is there anything special that should take place?  I do think I need to spend some extra time in the pool, as I have been slacking a little.

Generally speaking the week before competition is lighter on your workouts to let your body be fully recovered and ready for your race. Take a alook at any of the training programs which have a race at the end and you will see a significant decrease in physical activity the weekof the race.

Hey Barry

Is this an A race? While I am certainly not the tri expert,  you can continue to gain fitness that will apply to your first tri right up to 7-10 days before the event.  If it were me, I would train intensity more than distance on the bike and the run AND I would practice the transitions and get a routine locked and loaded.  I stink at them and even with practice I usually forget something.  Have you been in your wetsuit in either the pool or lake?  I would also do that if you are wearing one.  It is a very different beast.

Starting the taper, sort of.  Still have a 5m Tempo on Wednesday and 18m MP run this weekend, but a lot less running mileage.  Tapering= the love hate relationship.  

Enjoy the day.

Suzy

I agree with ^^ both of the above.  Make sure you tone it down a bit the week of the race but still get out and train a bit so you are ready.

So I got tested for allergies last year and they told me I wasn't allergic to anything.  So why every year at this time do I get a head/chest cold, caugh, snotty, and just feel downright miserable?

Good morning everyone.  Sounds like people had a wonderful weekend.

Suzy, great job on the run. WOW!

Jeremy - 40miles, bustin' out big time. Sorry I haven't checked your logs, was this the TT ride, or did you choose not to do it and just went out for a "spin?"

Steve - look at all that white!!!  (I still think pink looks better )

Kim,  I took pictures of my set-up this weekend and of course I forgot to post them. Sorry.  I'll do that tonight.  I have the Profile Design bars (the last picture in Steve's post) so there is no evenly spaced section of the bars (past the bottle) to mount a PVC pipe.  I'll figure something out.  And concerning your Garmin, your statement about it switching to auto pause threw me.  I was going to suggest checking your settings.  I had a similar problem and once I had a little chat with the Garmin about when to recognize the wheel it worked better.  Check your auto pause settings and how are you starting your bike workout?  It will default to run unless you change it.  I may not be doing this the best way, but what works for me is to press and hold the MODE button and then select BIKING and make sure it reads OUTSIDE USAGE on the bottom.  Then I scroll through the settings to the GENERAL- DATA FIELDS - then select  BIKING.  Which Garmin do you have?  Mine is the Forerunner 305.  If it is the same would you send me a PM with Garmin's response to your situation?  I've had dfficulties with my setup in the past as well and am interested in what they have to say.

I've got tickets to the Maryland women's regional championship basketball game tonight. They are right here in Raleigh and my husband is a Maryland grad.  We saw the semi-finals game Saturday and it was great fun.  I like exposing my girls to watching the women play as well.  They got a great kick out of it. 

You...Along with everybody else.  I think this time of year, unfortunately the crud come along with the blooms.

SUZY   Thanks for the advice.  I guess you are right in that this is an A race, being my first.  So I guess some shorter higher intensity workouts are in order for the next couple of weeks? 

Barry you will do great at your race!  You have done some serious miles, and training!  I will piggy back Rob, and Suzy!  Rest easy but keep it up! 

Happy Monday everyone!

all this talk about racing and preperation is making me feel a little anxious (in a good way)..  Just reading what you guys are going through and how everyone is preparing is helping me modify my training schedule as well.  You guys are machines!

I want to get some fitting advice (for the bike).  I'm getting retro-fitted tomorrow on my road bike.  Is there specific questions or things I should point out/mention to the fitter?  I think one thing I'm definately mentioning is I'm using the my road bike for triathlons and go from there..  Can you guys think of anything else?  I'm mainly getting the fitting because i've been getting some pain in my rt knee and foot and I never was properly fitted for this bike (since I bought it used last oct).

Yes Barry, you are going to do great!  I ditto X3 the practicing the transitions...they have some good examples on this site of how to set up your area...after you practice, maybe you can do a few short bricks to simulate a race situation.  And time yourself.  I always seem to be flustered coming out of the water, but seem okay from bike to run (less to think about).

 Thanks everyone for the Garmin suggestions.  I do think the Master reset worked because today, it worked on my long ride!  I will copy and paste to your mailbox, Tracy!  And have fun at the game tonight!  I have the Stanford women (tv) tonight and I have Maryland picked in my final four bracket as well (I think if they win, they play Stanford).  

 I am beginning to see just how challenging the HIM distance is going to be...I ran 13 mi on Sat, then swam 3000yds this morning and biked 41 miles after that (which took me 3 hours!) and I am just about toast.  Right now, I cannot conceive of putting that together...but maybe in 4 months, it will come together... one can only hope the body will follow the mind.  

 Hope everyone is having a happy Monday!

A couple things... Have them look at your pedals/cleats and make sure you are aligned properly there.  If you have "play" in your pedals, and don't need/want it this can cause some knee problems.  I am slightly retarded (aka-pigeon toed) so I like a little play in my pedals. 

Let them know what distance's you are racing, and your cycling background.  They can vary your fit BIG TIME based on how agressive you want to be...

What kind of bike are you riding?  Do you already have your aerobars? 

 Thanks Steve.  I have a Cervelo R3-SL, I don't have aerobars yet.  I was debating to get them or not.  My goal this yr is to do at least 2 sprints and 1 olympic and next yr maybe treat myself to a new tri-bike (though that may depend on if this horrible financial market improves).

Again I will repeat that I am very jealous of your hockey playing ability. 

Tried to swim today, got in 1000M before I gave up, allergies and pool don't seem to mix well for me.  Doing some TT practice tonight on a 3.5 mile loop in DC.  It's right next to the Cherry blossoms so should be interesting to see if we can even ride at a decent pace with all the tourists around.  And interesting to see if I can literally have one of my lungs come out my mouth from the couging I will do after...

If you are not going to put aerobars on the bike then I don't know that the bike shop would adjust your bike too much... I know you can find used aerobars (they are really easy to take on and off)on craiglist, classifieds here, slowtwitch, or ebay... Not expensive at all... There are 2 very different riding positions between road and tri bikes.

Tony, I can only imagine what riding next to the Cherry blossoms will do for your allergies.  Might as well start snorting pollen and get it over with.

Got a little surprise on the scale this morning.  Apparently my percent body fat shot up to 42% over night.  I guess that means one of two things: I need to drop another 50 lbs to get to a healthy weight or the scale needs new batteries.

Well I am doing the Cherry Blossom 10 miler this weekend so should be a fun filled allergy week!

Hey Everyone!  I've been on my busy days for work and we've been busy!  So I'm a bit behind actually reading up on the past couple of pages, I will catch up.

I had my first TT Sunday.  It went great.  I was 38 degrees and snowing, but I felt like I kicked butt.  I didn't medal, but I felt good.  It was 17.3 miles (28k I think) and I did it in 54:34.  The winner of the race did it in 40 min.  The course was pretty hilly, with a starting 360 ft downhill.  I hit 39.6 mph.  Of course that did in fact mean that the end of the out and back course was a 360 ft uphill climb.

I caught up and passed the person who started 30 seconds before me, then passed a slower rider.  I kept jocky-ing for position with the rider who started just before me.  He'd start to pass me and I'd pick it up.  Then at the final hill, he blew past me.   I dropped to a speedy 8 mph nearing the top of the hill. Tried to keep my cadence and spin faster, but I didn't have it together enough to increase (or even maintain) a healthy uphill race pace.

Great race, I loved it.

This coming Sunday I have a 1/2 marathon.

Yeah, but Jeremy did you take the NEW BIKE IN THE SNOW?? Congrats on the race.  Actually sounds pretty intense.

Here is a good thread... http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=149090&posts=13#M2051126

I just bought a pair of shoes there.... CHEAP!

And here is a good article...

http://coastalsportsmedicine.com/blog/2009/03/do-triathletes-have-a-higher-risk-of-heart-attacks/comment-page-1/#comment-43

Flurries, nothing on the ground.  It was that really nice rain snow mix that sticks to your face.  The temperature that let's your legs stay on the verge of freezing, but not actually freeze.  So when you stand up on the climbs you're not so sure you actually have legs. 

The conditions were that when you are done you take off your socks just to make sure your toes aren't frost bitten.

It really was a lot of fun.  I washed down the bike and cleaned the components, lubed the parts that needed lube.  My wife thinks I spent more time cleaning the bike than racing it.

Ok, it is time to start the debate.  Aerobars vs no aerobars.   We have two highly regarded bikeshops in Madison.  When thinking of hilly courses like IM WI or IM LP, one shop says ride the road bike, the other shop says ride the tri bike.  My bike coach is using her road bike for her upcoming 70.3 in St. Croix because of the dramatic hills.  She agrees that ability to climb hills using a road bike is well worth the trade-off for losing aero in some of the flat parts (of which there are few).  What do you think?

Here is my second dilemma.  Do I take my swimming coach back or not?  I basically fired him yesterday for not showing up for three lessons in three months and being late for about as many.  He sent me a LOOOOOONG apology email and wants another chance.  Part of me thinks taking him back would help my swimming, part of me wonders if maybe we have reached a point where another coach might help me more. We have worked together for over a year.  I have pre-purchased a dozen lessons with him and MIGHT get a refund if I quit.  What to do, Help!

Regarding the aerobars on the roadbike, I have enjoyed having mine for both flats and rollers and I have some serious hills here.  When climbing, I just get up in the hoods like I would on my old roadie set up and have not found a drop off in my ability to keep up with my riding buddies.  I think the seat is just a little forward and a bit higher than it used to be.  And they took out a spacer.  I think it would be worth it to get fitted for them and have the fitters let you know both the road position and tri position for seat and spacers.  My bars were used and came with my used bike but I did the pro fit for both road and had the aerobars fit about 6 months later.

Suzy-in the apology, does your coach give you any indication that he will be less flaky?  I would have to say you need to draw up some serious groundrules if you do take him back.  Sure, he can help you but there are limits.  I am a total hard a$$ when it comes to stuff like that.  I charge my patients if they no-show and if they do it more that twice, I tell them we cannot continue a business relationship without respect for each other's time.  Sometimes people respond quite well when there is a financial component to being flaky.  You could perhaps charge him when he is late or doesn't show up.  It might just help him to become more professional.

Good luck! 

Suzy,

I'd go with the aerobars because of the level of overall comfort I'd have during a 56 mile ride.  Maximize your ability to transition into a long run after a long ride.

For the swim, I would give him the chance.  Excuses for a no show/no call from a coach are not acceptable.  But since you already paid I would explain to him that you will not tolerate another absence.  You are an athlete paying for a professional service.  With races coming up you cannot afford to have a coach that does not do his/her job.  If you like him as a coach, give him 1 more chance with the stipulation that there if there are any more tardy or absences, you'll drop him and expect a reufnd of your money.

The 1 thing I would consider, is finding another coach before you drop the one you have.  If you cannot find a new coach, you'd be screwed.

I just came back from my 2 hr bike fitting.  If anyone is in NYC or Philly, I definitely recommend Cadence Cycling and Multi sport.  Started out filling out this questionnaire identifying any major problems, what type of riding i do (miles, time on the bike, group riding, triathlon, leisure, competitive etc..), body problems etc..  Then I warmed-up a bit, then he measured my body and had me do some stretching exercises to see how flexible I was and how tense some of my major muscles are and to see if there is any uneveness.  He then had me ride a little and video taped a 30 second interval.  Next was the actual fitting.  He explained everything as we went along and even took out a skeleton to show how making the correct placement corrects posture and pressure on certain pts.  Finally he video taped another 30 second interval and morphed them together.  Even to my untrained eye there was a pretty big difference.  Mainly to foot  angle and position, posture and body alignment to the bike.  The bike feels totally different to me now and as I rode home the bike felt so good I rode an extra 12 miles.  He gave me a copy of the video.. I'll try to upload it..