esc's Goonies Never Say Die mentor group - closed (Page 7)

Well - unfortunately, you've missed the awesome sale www.swimoutlet.com has had...I got some killer deals the first couple days after the new year.  But, they have everything...and great customer service too.  And BT pushes TriSports.com.  I've never ordered from them.  I try to support by LBS by purchasing my biking gear through them...but sometimes I just cringe knowing I can get a better deal online.  The bonus with using your LBS - you can try on/test everything before purchasing. 

My 2 cents worth anyway.

T.

Tambo - I live in Murfreesboro, so close enough to enjoy all that Nashville has to offer, but far enough away that I don't deal with traffic, have a much lower cost of living, and that small town feel.  Best of both worlds!  The only other place I would live would be somewhere in the Caribbean - where the temperature never drops below 70, but I don't see that happening anytime soon...

The F4 that ripped through town a couple of years ago missed our house by less than 1/4 mile.  I drove through the destruction for over a year.  I am so sorry to hear about your friend. Tornadoes are scary things!

Does the Parthenon steakhouse still exist?  In 1991 (it may have been 93) I was stuck in Murfressboro for the girls state basketball tournament...its snowed so much we couldn't leave...and since we didn't have any way to get anywhere - we had to eat at either the Shoney's or the Parthenon restuarant for 5 days in a row.  Crazy for a high school kid. HA!

Ha! Nice.  We had such a windy day that I felt like I was running in a tornado.  I almost got stood straight up a few times.  Wild.  Glad you made it home safe.

Another vote for Performance for cheap functional gear.  I also like to browse Amazon for deals.  I've purchased a good portion of my tri shorts and tops on clearance there.

Hey, all!  Just wanted to let you know that I made a little table that lists everyone's username, real name, and is linked to training logs.  I haven't had a chance to test all of the links but those that I did click worked out find.  You should be able to cut and paste the table right from my blog.  If you have any questions or troubles with it just let me know.

I'm working for the next three days so my posting my be a little sporadic.  For some reason the management frowns upon my surfing the web during work hours. 

WOW!  I don't know if the term is "Snowing Buckets" or "Raining Snowballs", but it is snowing like CRAZY in Boise.  Dry as a bone at 0630, now there are several inches on theground and coming down HARD.  Welcome Mr. Winter.  Time to brake out the XC skis.

Great Swim yesterday.  If you haven't heard of/used Mr. SwimSmooth, I highly recommend it.  It's a FREE, on-line, visual swim training aid.  I still need some professional lessons, but this program really makes you aware of your weak areas, so you can begin to address them.

"Time Crunched Triathlete".....yep, that's me.  I've heard that book mentioned several times on BT.  I'm gonna see if my library has a copy.

I'm gonna throw out an unsolicited 'plug' for Vibram Five Fingers, actually any of the barefoot running shoes can be included.  I'm am completely digging these things and I can honestly say my legs/feet are better because of them.  Might not be for everyone and I'm well aware of alot of marketing hype floated around about the whole "barefoot" craze, but I like mine.  Just my .02.

With all this snow, looks like an afternoon in the man-cave gym.  Enjoy your day, everyone.

Off to the pool in 30 minutes for only the second time since November. I still get nervous about it. Not because I am afraid of the water, or that I am afraid I might drown (though I respect the fact that its possible!) and its not that I care how I look in swim trunks(not too bad anyway) but because I am just so self-concious about myself once I am in there. There is usually a group of older women nearby that are doing aerobics and I feel they are always watching me and laughing when I can't hear them. And truth is, early in my swimming days--4 months ago--I did overhear one guy say to another "I thought that guy was drowning." I acknowldged that I overheard him with a nod and a smile and then struggled back to the other end.

Anyway, I guess I am just writing this because I have never told anyone this and I think some of you may understand a little bit of what I am going through. But if I sound doubtful and that perhaps I am not going to make it, check out my signature. There is no way I won't succeed...its just gonna suck until I do.

Got your notes, KatNWater and I will be using them. Thanks again.

Jamie-brother, I feel your pain about swimming.  I showed up at my pool, Total Immersion drills in hand, and proceeded to splash/thrash most of the water out of the pool.  But slowly, oh so slowly, I got a wee bit better.  Make your short term goals realistic and achievable; What will you accomplish in your NEXT workout?  Swim a 100 nonstop?  Swim 25 and feel like you might have 'got it' for just a few strokes.  Swimming is very much like golf.  Very technique driven.  However, any 'ol duffer (like me) can hit the links and shoot in the 90s.  But somewhere in that round of gold, you'll hit a GREAT shot.  That's when you'll stop and say "Hey, I get it...I can do this".   Look for those moments in your swimming.  Sometimes it flashes, and disappears, in a sec.  But recognize the moment and make it a template for your further growth.  Keep Swimming!....oh, my, that was the ramblings of an old man.  

Kristen-I got the VFFs as a gift, so I don't know if I would've bought them for myself, but I do LOVE them.  My son has the Adidas Adpure and he loves his as well.  I'm really more of a convert of the midfoot/forefoot strike and zero offset shoe design.  It has helped me with nagging calf injuries and tight periformas.   All the great things you love about being barefoot with none of the drawbacks. 

The free beginner HIM plan is a decent plan to get you to the finish line of a HIM.  If I remember correctly it is a little high on the swim volume so you might want to modify it a bit to spend less time on the swim and more time on the bike.

As far as swim workouts...if I ever manage to get myself in the pool I use Swim Workouts in Binder by Gale Bernhardt.  There is one that is geared towards triathletes.  The books is waterproof so you can have it next to you on the deck.  It keeps me focused and working hard and relieves me of the burden of having to write my own workouts.

Have fun with all that snow.  I hear shoveling is a great workout.

"I make my weaknesses my strengths and my strengths stronger." - Lisa Fernandez (3x olympic softball champ)

This quote popped up on my twitter timeline today.  I really like the "never stop working to improve" mentality of it.

Here is where you can say - "She really doesn't know how to ride her bike..." shakes head.  

I was looking at Spinervals, since I am a cold weather whimp, who has no cycling clothing on top of that.  

The free workout of the week is this:

Spinervals Key:
Bg = Big front chain ring
Sm = Small front chain ring
15 or other number = indicated cog on rear sprocket cluster
Sec. Rest = recovery phase; soft pedaling 
Rpm = Revolutions per Minute/cadence
LTHR = Lactate Threshold Heart Rate

What does it mean?????

Actually what I can't figure out is the "indicated cog on rear sprocket cluster"

I have determined that I have a Shimano Tiagra CS-HG50 9 Speed Cassette,  how does that translate to the numbers in the chart?

The number refers to the number of teeth on the cog (or is it called a sprocket?).  For your cassette - the smallest has 12 the largest has 25.  I couldn't find a chart that listed the in-betweens but I'll look at a few more sites and see what I can see.

edited to add: I think I found it...

12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 17 - 19 - 21 - 23 - 25