Ken Nail's Group -- Closed (Page 7)

Fokker, great race report and good to read.  Always enlightening to see how others rate themselves.  Appears you did very well.  The more races I do, the more I get addicted to triathlon.  Only wish I could continue to improve.   But, having fun, in the prep, and in the race, makes it all worth it.

Congratulations and good job.  All the training seems to continue paying off.

Rich

Got the first race in, Gotta say i am disappointed i didn't do very well. I got a panic attack 200 yd into the swim and had to rest a min. then i was ok finished 97th out of 126 with a 20:14/2:17pace.

The bike was very tough with the hybrid, it was the first time i have ever seen real road bikes being used live and up close and if you ride anything else it is a joke if you want to compete i am sure of this  that i pushed as hard as anyone else my time of 1hr 12min was the 99th place with a 15.66mph pace. My route maker says there was over 2300ft of climbing in 18.4 mi.

The run was better with a 67th place and a 8:09 pace this was a trail run with lots of hills and uneven terrain and lots of water on the trail

First transition was a complete disaster over 4min. but the 2nd one was great at 37 seconds. 

I got a cheap t-shirt for my efforts and can guarantee i will never do this race again. It sucked

I found out the hard way about the hybrid bikes. In my race the wind was a killer and every one passed me well it seemed like it. I did get a cheap road bike (bikes direct) and I can feel the difference.  I rode it today on the trainer my wife got me.

It seems that you picked it up on the run. You'll kick arse on the next one! What is your next one and how will you train for it? How did your training match your output?

Jim,  well I wanted to swim at a 2min/100 pace but got a 2:17 mostly because of a CO2 buildup that was caused by not exhaling enough which i think was just nerves after i stopped i was fine. Now i think my bike ride was max effort, i did this loop 2 weeks before to see what i was up against and i did it in about 80min this time i did it in 72 so i went faster but a road bike has to be in my future to compete especially on the hills and i acknowledge more training on hills would help. i wanted sub 8s on the run because i ran 7:45s in training but that was on the road and this was a trail run with pretty crappy terrain to deal with. My back really hurt for the first 1.5mi still not over my injury there but i felt a little better the second half.  I don't know yet what race i am going to do i am looking for an Olympic distance race late in july or early Aug.

I will say the positive part of this whole experience has been the support of my family. They came to the race and i was the only guy with a "Go Pappy Go" sign in the crowd, my 3 year old grandson was holding that. So my kids and there family's along with my wife really made my day. Its just that i am a competitive person and i sometimes struggle with the big picture of being blessed with good health and a great family. 
  

Bill, as a competitive person, I understand where you're coming from.  But, one of the great things I love about triathlon is the only person I compete against is myself.  Set personal goals and go with those.  From the sound of it, you blew away your bike time.  You understand about your swim and run ... and how to continue working towards your goal.  Each race will be different and the times/ performances will be different.  I've come to the point I don't "race" triathlons, I "run" triathlons, for the fun of it!

A road bike will certainly help.  An 8 min mile after the bike is great, especially for an off-road race.  Now the first race is out of the way, you know what to expect for future endeavors, and how to train for them.  For me, I really enjoy the Olympic distance races.  I'm still looking for one around here which will fit into my schedule.  Good Luck with your next race!!!

Rich

Thanks Rich,

Appreciate the pick me up and some insight on how to approach this whole thing.   I went to the chiropractor today and the physical therapist they have recommended a 3 week rest from running and biking  with swimming being ok. I am going to rest until i feel my back is healing.

Man, it's great to read all these race reports.  It sounds like all your hard work is paying off.  I have to say, you guys are way fast.  9, 8, 7 minute mile pace on foot! 18 mph on a bike!  I only wish I could pull that off.

I'm 5 weeks out from my first triathlon, 3 more weeks of training and about 2 weeks for a taper.  I feel good about having done the full distance for each of my events separately and my bricks have been getting easier, but I'm nervous about what I'll do when I put all of them together back to back. Mostly I'm nervous that they'll shut the course down before I finish!  If I go my training pace, I should finish the swim in 35 minutes, bike in 100 minutes, run in 100 minutes.  Does that seem excessively slow for an olympic-length race?

As always, great to see you guys make progress.  It's helping me get through some of these slumps I've been hitting lately.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!!!!

Got in the pool today.  I'm not a very fast swimmer.  I average around a 2:00/100yd pace for longer intervals.  I'm doing my drills, thinking about form, and I'm set to do a good long workout today.  A little more than half way through my main set I found it.  Or as least I think I found it.  I put myself in a body position where I FEEL faster.  It was a good pace where I was able to keep it going, but it really felt like the water was moving by at a faster pace.  Well let's prove it.  I start a 300 planning on staying in that position and pace and finish my first 100 and start to turn.................

"Sorry sir, we saw lightning.  You gotta come out."

Of course by the time I stopped, stood up, and forgot to look, I don't know what my time was.

I guess the pursuit continues......... 

Had to vent.

hey everyone,

i am looking for an oly. distance some time end of july onward in the pa., md., ny., maybe wv, vir. area if anyone has a recommendation i could check out  i would appreciate  that.

I did a workout on the bike trainer using just one leg at a time.  With this workout on the trainer I can plainly see that my left leg is much weaker than the right.  I am weak at the upper part of the rotation on both legs. Any ideas on how to improve my technique and strength?

I have what they term as arthritic gout and I have had it for about 10 years. I get it in my ankles and knees mostly and have had one knee operation due to it. With me it is brought on by stress mostly and then by diet. So, my training has to be tailored to the stress I put on my body. This brings on unwanted days off or light workouts when I feel the gout coming on. I'm doing a cleaning week now where I use mostly a juicer and only one solid meal per day. That works for me but it will cause stress so I will keep the workouts very light. I will say to listen to how you body reacts to different things and get to know your  Dr's well.  ~ Jim

I am juicing fruits and vegies. in the am I do oranges, apples and sometimes protein and for lunch I juice carrots,celery, a green like parsley, red beet apples and protein.   I eat a good meal at night usually chicken, vegies and potatoes (it is the mid-west). I use this just to clean out my system for about a week or two.

Gout runs in my family also and my uric acid levels are always above the high. It can be controlled easily with med's. For me working out has caused fewer annoying attacks because it gets rid of the crap in your body. For me excess stress on my body will trigger the start of an attack but I can use med's to kick it out before it gets too bad. That's when I have to ease up on the workouts.  The foods I avoid are hotdogs and processed meats. It will take a day or two after I eat that stuff then my body goes "what the hell are you doing" and gives me some pain and inflammation in a joint just to let me know to cut it out.

Jim and pvfd304

Thanks for responding, with good detail and some clues. I started eating more bacon about 6 weeks ago with more eggs in the morning trying to get some more protein in the diet, so perhaps the pork thing should be curtailed. As far as processed meats, i am scheduled to pick up my first order of grass fed only beef products about 75lbs shortly and hope that is better for me also. I will also do more juicing it sounds like good stuff.

Jim, whadya think of the road bike??  From the first time I was on one, I fell in love.  Something about the "snap" when the pedal engages.  Now, it's just hard to get me off the bike.

The neck pain comes from looking up all the time ... your handlebars are lower than a normal bike, so you have to look higher.  This will overcome.

As for the traps (and I would guess, some lats, as well), this comes from 1.  Pulling back on the bars as you hit the hills and wind (you feel you get more power from your legs when you pull back) and 2. Not being completely comfortable, and a bit stiff (if not tense) on the bike.  As you get more comfortable with your bike (and the narrow tires, responsiveness, and greater speed), you will relax more and feel more comfortable.  The muscle soreness will go away.

In the mean time, enjoy your toy.  I'm still trying to get my daughter back on her road bike (she's scared because she tips with the clip-in shoes whenever she stops).  

Jim, 

I am ordering from bikedirect next week and i am going to get fitted ASAP, kinda feels like Christmas and i am guessing this will be my Christmas present, birthday present, and thats ok with me. Did someone fit u up? 

Which bike are you getting? The one I got was the Dawes DLX with the carbon fork. I did get it cheeper because I ordered a different bike from a seller on ebay and they ended up not having my size so they offered the Dawes at the same price ($320) It looks like bikes direct have some real nice bikes but I'll have to save up for one of those. Maybe next year. I really enjoy riding.

One thing I may have done wrong on the new bike was ride longer then I should have. I went about 18+ miles ( my longest ride so far) but the excitement of the roadie took over. I was not relaxed on the bike because it was all new, the shifters are on the brakes and clipless. I haven't tipped yet. I am very conscious of my stops, at least right now. I had cages on the hybrid and I had to have some assistance from someones car on a hill and the window at the LBS (didnt break).

So, just finished my second race of the season.  Much better than the first (though, not happy with my placing ... the field including the Dutch national championships, so I really didn't set my sights too high in placing).  My swim was OK, but my bike just felt really good (for the most part ... wound around through the town for part of the loop, and I am NOT a technical rider).  And the run was just too short ... started getting comfortable about two miles into the run.

For me, this was a victory.  I ran this same race (slight changes to the bike and run routes, but generally the same) two years ago.  I still consider it the worst race I have done, to date.  However, today  I took off over 4 minutes in my swim, finished with the same run time, and my bike speed was much better over last time (the course was about 5km longer this year, so it's hard to compare overall times).  And, I had so much more fun!!  My son (12 y/o) came with me on this one and said he really enjoyed watching.  Maybe I can talk him into participating in one, some day.

Overall, really had a good time and am looking forward to my "A" race, the Galway (Ireland) half-ironman in September.  My next race is another Tough-Mudder (Scotland), and am looking for an Olympic in July.  Will do one more Olympic in August.

How is everyone else doing with their summer season??  I hope people are coming along well, and having fun with their triathlon endeavors.

It sounds like you did great in your race! Having family there is a big plus. Your next are in Ireland and Scotland, it sounds exotic to me. I have only been to Mexico (TJ). What is the water temp over there? It seems that I have a lot of dumb questions about those areas. I have some unknown family in Ireland (Catholic priests) and have seen a lot of beautiful pictures of Ireland. I'd like to visit someday.

As for the triathlon training, I took some time off but now I am back at it. I need to build my base more so I have one more sprint planed in August.