Marina & Bopper's Mah-velous Mentor Group - Closed & Kickin it hard! (Page 7)

Kevin's answer was awesome! As a newbie, I gobbled up anything tri-related. There is so much information online too. There are tons of little tips and tricks you'll be able to pick up by reading others race reports and articles. As well, experience makes all the difference too. Even going to watch (or even better volunteer for) a race before your big day will let you see a live demo and all the different ways that people go about their transitions. It is always a good idea to go to the pre-race meeting, especially if it's held the day before the race because the organizers will be best able to answer your questions. In larger races that I've been in, the race director even went through in detail as to rules and transition and tips with a group of newbies.

I second getting a spot at the end of your age group rack along the edge of the transition area - get there early and if a spot is taken, don't  move anyone's stuff (bad form!). If the racks are lined up against a fence, I've always like getting a spot closest to the fence where I can hang a towel or whatever and make it easy to find.

Finding your transition area is another issue. I've seen people with helium balloons or ribbons tied to the rack. I have a huge yellow beach towel that I lay my stuff on - it stands out pretty well. After you set up, it's a good idea to do a practice run through from/to the bike and run courses - the entrances may be different and a race-time perspective is valuable to find key landmarks to help you get to your transition sooner (count the racks, spot someone else's loud towel/blanket, pavement markings, rack numbers...).

And, yes smile! Actually, "to finish smiling" has become a key goal for me in all of my races even when things don't go according to plan wrt goal race times or whatever.

Here's a photo montage of me during my first tri - I had a silly grin on my face nearly the whole race and lots of people commented on it too!

What are your weekend plans?

Well..my mum is here until Sunday so I'll be entertaining her a bit. She did bring homemade food with her - pasta sauce, homemade noodles and wedding soup so I don't have to cook for her. Yesterday's supper was a $10 rotisserie chicken meal deal from the grocery store...won't be losing any weight anytime soon...LOL.

Tomorrow, I'll get myself to the gym and then weather the cold for a run. Right now it's -28°C, but feels like -40°C with the wind...gotta love Saskatchewan (I keep reminding myself that I chose to move back). Then, Saturday evening, I'm going to an organization meeting for a new roller derby league in the city - how cool is that? As a hockey (inline and ice) and former rugby player, the sport suits me to a T!

Sunday holds in store, a trainer workout with the bike club crowd and swim with the multisport crowd.

LOL...last summer I borrowed hired bribed my neighbour's grandkids to help me clean up my backyard.

Other than working on the bike............

Saturday go to the gym. Run 3 miles, do a stint on the expresso bike and then swim some laps. Hit the jacuzzi and suana.

Sunday is the same. What makes it nice is that my workout partner is my wife and that makes a very enjoyable time for me (and her).

All through the weekend: clean the house(our kids are grown and moved out so I cant get them to do it), play with the dog, do the grocery shopping. Play with the cats. Blah blah blah......

Talk to y'all as the weekend goes on!

J 

Weekend (3 Day Weekend-Off from School Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Observance Day):

Fri- Games, pizza, and drinks w/ friends

Sat- Bike, yoga, abs, ballet; Practice guitar; Homework; BF (who is my MoH) coming to visit and get to know my fiance better

Sun-Yoga, Tai Chi; BF & I are going up to my dad's to get some of my stuff and to give my sis a college pep talk (shes a senior and doesn't know what to do about college)

Mon-Run & Tai Chi; BF & I plan, scheme,  and address save the date cards; finish any left over homework; practice guitar

And who knows what else will pop up...

Have a good weekend everyone! 

Friday: Run+Gym.Relax watch a movie and try not to fall asleep on the couch.

Saturday: work half a day,bike and take dog for walk.

Sunday: Ski at Mt Baker...................relax in hot tub with a beer.

Happy Sunday!

Ian - Enjoy your ski day! Nothing is better than a hot tub apres ski...or after any workout.

Jenn - You're a busy lady! Ballet, guitar, good big sister example?? Talk about all-round goodness! BTW, what's MoH? Oh yeah. Monday is a US holiday...lucky duck!

Jim - You are the bike dude! Downhill bike? Do you race? How many bikes do you have? People not in the sport think I'm odd travelling with both my tri and mtn bike...and I'm considering getting a road bike. Hope you had fun tinkering and playing with your bike parts!

TR - Hope you enjoy the yoga and rest day! Since I'm on a regular weekday schedule, I have to do my longest days on weekend but a whole restful day without work or training is a real treat. Good luck with the rats!

I know that Kevin has been spending the weekend indulging his SO and catering to every whim as she so deserves AND getting some training in AND finding the time to butt-kick inspire me at length. What a good mentor, huh?

Salma, Lindsay, Shannon, Paul?? Where are you!

Hey, don't forget to check out eachother's blogs and to use yours...once you get the hang of it, BT is an immensely valuable training tool.

Marina = Marina
Kevin = Bopper
Jennifer = Jenni4
Paul = begining triathlete
Trina-Rae= SpiritFire
Jim = jblt4
Shannon = smh 23
Ian = ILowe
Salma = Salma
Lindsay = luckylinds

Marina wrote:

Jim - You are the bike dude! Downhill bike? Do you race? How many bikes do you have? People not in the sport think I'm odd travelling with both my tri and mtn bike...and I'm considering getting a road bike. Hope you had fun tinkering and playing with your bike parts!

I reply:

I have three bikes that I use consistently.

The downhill/freeride bike is an IRONHORSE SGS Freeride. Full Suspension, 7 inches front and rear, hyrdrolic disk brakes, weighs 43 lbs. Heavy yes but what a great ride!

The commuter, another Ironhorse. The urban. This is a basic bike with only 8 gears, 80mm front suspension fork, fenders. The stuff that gets me to work. It's still too cold for riding to work here.

 Then the road bike which is an older Bianchi. This will be what I will use for the tri. Nice, very retro. This bike has been good to me as it's what I use for centuries here in New England.

I use to race downhill, but not any more. Very expensive to replace parts which do break quite often. Then I shattered my left arm and had to have it pined and plated together and that ended the racing. I still go downhilling but it's for pleasure.

J 

I agree with Bopper. Why spend the money on a tri bike. Yes it would be nice to have a newer bike, but with the economy here in the US (thanks Greenspan and Bush) i would rather keep my cash on hand.

Jenn - You're a busy lady! Ballet, guitar, good big sister example?? Talk about all-round goodness! BTW, what's MoH? Oh yeah. Monday is a US holiday...lucky duck!

Well, the weekend didn't turn out quite as planned. I didn't get any homework or reading done, but I can get it all done today since its rainy and I don't have to work. Ended up goung all over West Tenn looking for a wireless keyboard and mouse for our home computer (we have a Mac). And some new toy for my fiance's guitar. But I had a fun weekend hanging out with my best friend(MoH=Maid of Honor) and talking over plans. Plus it was nice to see my dad and sister. My dad is feeling a lot better (he's up walikng around which is much better than the last time I saw him). My sister is still clueless, but I'm going to email her some info and help pointer in some direction. Short week this week with the holiday on Monday and me missing class Friday afternoon so we can go to Kansas to see the KU basketball game.

Hey all!

TR brings up a typical triathlon dilemma. TR,don't stress about sticking with the Sprint races. Managing the training schedule no matter what the distance we train for is half the battle - really, think about time to get to the pool, change into running clothes and shower after a run, and finding a good chunk of time to get on the bike. Never mind, all the time hanging around BT (some of us are worse than others ). It's tough. Good for you on recognizing what you can do.

I train with a gang of people around me training for IM Canada putting in incredible hours already. This year my goal is a couple of half IMs, with the eventual goal of the full...but I think that may be longer down the road than I once thought. want to get better at the middle distances and gosh, I have so much room for improvement possible with respect to technique, power and speed, that aiming for higher endurance over quality workouts just isn't my priority right now. Time isn't an issue for me since I'm single with dog and in a stable 8-to-5 job. I can put in lots of time training but balance is a real priority because I want to invest my time in other non-fitness stuff while it's there (not that I see myself getting hitched or having a kid anytime soon).

So...how's the week looking troops?

What is your biggest challenge this week?

I've had a decent start. My challenge this week is to do some strength training and get back on plan with that. Going to the gym is the first thing that I can talk/rationalize myself out of.