Slornow's and Wannabefaster's Summer Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 74)

Bikes.

2007 Specialized Stumpjumper, aluminum frame, SRAM X-7? components. First new bike since 1990. Bought it in 2008 for a discount.

2009 Cervelo P2, Ultegra. I don't use this any more so I am thinking about putting road bars and shifters on and making it a road bike of sorts. I rode this bike in Kona and it still has the stickers on it so it is never getting sold. It may become wall art in my workout room some day. I would love to get rid of it to someone who needs a really nice bike but I just can't quite give it up.

2012 Specialized Shiv, SRAM Red. When in race trim it has a Zipp 808 rear with cover and a Zipp 404 front. Love this bike. So nice.

2013 Specialized Crux, Shimano 105. Just bought this one this week and it is really fun so far.

I really like this collection of bikes. Like I said, the Cervelo might get shoe-horned in to being a road bike. Alternatively I could just put slicks on the cyclocross bike and it would be a very serviceable road bike. If I were to show up at home with another bike in the next couple years, things would not go well.


September totals, including about 1.5 weeks of taper and one post race week of almost absolutely nothing


Swim: 10h 55m 11s - 35524 Yd

Bike: 20h 18m 48s - 383.26 Mi

Run: 14h 06m 56s - 104.62 M

Well the good news is there is no structural bone damage in my shoulder, the bad news is he isn't sure what is wrong so I have been told not to swim for all of October, for fear it maybe an overuse injury. I get to start running again since my doc is pretty sure it won't hurt anything and I get to ride so all in all not a terrible loss.

Bikes:

2009 Gary Fisher mountain bike no idea what components are on it but its fun to ride.
2012 Trek 1.1 105 components bought this one early this year and still have a blast on it
2011 Cervelo P2C DA found this one this year also couldn't pass up the deal love love love this bike

OH I love talking about my bikes

1. 2009 Trek Madone 5.2 WSD Project one - she's all white with black lettering and red accents. This is actually my second Madone, because the DAY I picked up the first one from the shop (reverse colors, all black with white lettering and red accents) I was hit by a 20 year old who was "not paying attention" 1.96 miles from my house. Carbon fiber doesn't bounce well. So Liberty Mutual bought me a new one.

2. 2007 Titus Moto Lite - LUV LUV LUV this bike. Another interesting story....I had bought a 2006 in blue - well aware of the paint problems Titus had with some of their frames earlier that year but was assured the issue had been resolved. Well, guess what? Paint started flaking of my bike at an alarming rate. Fast forward through 6 months of going back and forth between my shop and Titus, it took an Internet storm to get Titus to do the right thing and replace the frame. My black anodized has no paint so there's no chipping. And that bike freakin ROCKS.

3. 1995 Specialized Rockhopper which has been turned into a commuter of sorts - although I don't commute LOL but it's used to volunteer at running events etc as an on course marshall.

4. ?? Placeholder for future tri bike perhaps?!

Sorry I was out for a couple days. I got home and my internet was out, which sucks! I don't even have cable, so it's pretty Stone Age here without it, but I got it fixed tonight.

Here's my Race Report from Sunday, couldn't be much happier with how I did. I'm still thrilled about it!
http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid...

I did an hour run this morning, and had a good swimming session this evening. I'm trying to stay sharp for my HIM race two weeks from now!


September Totals:

SWIM 4h 25m 02s - 9855.08 M
BIKE 17h 41m 07s - 292.40 Mi
RUN14h 46m 02s - 99.50 Mi

Finally getting around to thinking about this:

1. What are you most proud of so far this year/season?

Finishing my first 70.3 obviously is a pretty proud moment (even if Augusta is one of the 'easiest' HIM venues.) That said, I feel the best about my overall performance in the Olympic distance race I did 3 weeks before the HIM.

1a. Rate your season in terms of how you feel about what you accomplished. 1-10 with 1 being low.

I'd give myself a 8.99. IF I'd been a little more consistent with my training plan in August, I would've given myself a 9.5.

2. What is your weakness/where do you see room for the most improvement?

I'd have to say mental toughness on the run. I'm not a fast runner...any time I can run under a 10 minute mile, I'm happy. When things get tough, though, I tend to bail mentally which means I walk. I don't walk because physically I HAVE to, I walk because my brain talks me into it. I need to get much tougher and suck it up when my brain says it's okay to stop running.

3. Where have you made the most progress?

It's hard for me to pinpoint one exact thing. Considering that I have NEVER in my life swam laps, nor have I ever swam any further than one side of the pool to the other (and haven't been in the pool but a handful of times since I was 14), I've made tremendous strides in this area. That said, I've also made tremendous gains with the bike. I hadn't even ridden a bike since I lived on campus at Ohio State in 1990, and I did nothing more than ride from my apartment to my class across campus. Even with regards to my running...sure, I've run a handful of half marathons and one full marathon, but my running wasn't anything I'd write home about. I made great progress in all areas.

If forced to pick one, I'd have to say that I'm most proud of my improvement on the bike. I went from riding a 14 mph average back in April (and thought I was fast!! LOL), to averaging 18.2 mph at the Augusta HIM.

4. Biggest dissappointment, if any, of the season?

I can't say that any aspect of this season has been disappointing. It was definitely a learning year. But disappointments...they didn't really exist unless you include the difficulty in balancing triathlon in my marriage with someone who really despises the sport. He seems to be coming around after the HIM, though.

5. Were there any things you learned during the season/year that were really key to racing/training better? Kind of an "Aha" moment?

How to keep running during training runs when my brains says to stop. I mastered this in training about 4 weeks before Augusta 70.3 during an 11 mile run. First time I've run that distance with no stopping. That was huge. It really is about keeping my heartrate down. If I can do that, I can control my breathing, and I can keep running. Now I just have to transfer that to racing.

The other thing was with swimming technique. I switched to a 2 beat kick...1 kick each time the opposite arm hits the water after using a 6 beat kick at the beginning of the season. That change totally transformed my ability to swim longer distances very quickly.

6. What are your goals through the rest of 2013?

This fall and winter, I'm focusing on my running. I'm signed up for two half marathons (one in December, another in Feb) and may do another marathon in March. I'd like to be able to run shorter distances (6 miles and less) at a 9 minute/mile pace by the spring, and my Dec. half marathon in the 2:05-2:10 range. A dream would be to run my Feb. half marathon in 2:00 or less. I'm just not certain how to get that speed. Now that I have the base, I clearly need to include more speed work and tempo runs.

For 2014...I've got my eye on Raleigh 70.3 in June and Augusta 70.3 in Sept.

Nothing this weekend but my two weeks of relative inactivity have given me plenty of time to tinker with next year's schedule. I think I must be at least psychologically recovered if I can start thinking about racing again.


2014 race schedule-tentative

April 12-Martian HM.
May 16-18-American TTT Ohio.
June 1-Dexter/Ann Arbor HM.
June 15-Motor City Olympic.
June 28-29 Chicago ITU Olympic.
July 12-Muncie HIM.
July 27-Lumberman Olympic or HIM.
August 9 AG-Olympic Nationals or August 10-Steelhead HIM.
September 7-Muskoka HIM (or 70.3 WC at MT if I qualify).
September 13-CP HIM (if previous weekend doesn't work out).

More racing than I did this year but no IM to suck all of my effort for the whole year.

Anyone else planning for next year?

goal 1: stay healthy

winter training goals:
get my 1.2 mile OWS under 40 minutes
get my run time down (tbd based on the next few events)

race goals:
June 2014 - swim for a relay HIM
July 2014 OLY distance
September 2014 - Pumpkinman HIM

and a bunch of random sprints in between I'm sure

Jason...I had considered Muncie, as a cycling friend of mine lives nearby and she is considering a half distance. She refused to do Muncie because of the road conditions on the bike course.

Strange.... I did Muncie two years ago and actually thought the bike portion was great. It is a really fast cycling course. I don't remember any particularly rough portions, in fact it seems like it was pretty smooth. Maybe I am remembering it wrong?

Muncie is a small place but it is the home of Ball State University so there are some college-type eateries and the campus is pretty. We actually have very fond memories of our weekend at that race. It was the first time we ever traveled for a triathlon.

Go ST Louis Marathon April
Duathlon April
Memphis in May Olympic Tri
June sprint Tri
July sprint tri
August sprint tri
September bike MS 150
September trail run 30 miles
October Century ride

I am excited already!

There is something about a 16 mile section (out & back) on cracked, bumpy chip & seal road. This section is also both proceeded and followed by a one mile strict no passing zone. Perhaps they changes the course a smidge last year? I read a handful of race reports and all mentioned this section.

Mary-I think I would have to vote you "Most Improved" as well. Lots of impressive accomplishments. You are an excellent example of the "right" way to do it. Gradually building your fitness through consistency.  I love stories like yours where people get into the sport and achieve things they would have previously never thought possible. Very happy for you! 

I had a pretty good weekend. Did a 56-mile ride yesterday to get ready for my HIM-distance race next weekend. I did well with nutrition: I'm trying Perpetuem, and I made 3-one hour bottles, and then supplemented with water from my Speedfil up front. It's a perfect system for my race; I won't even have to stop at an aid station. I was still a little light headed after the ride, which I'm still puzzled about. It has to be the bike that's doing it, maybe it's motion sickness? It's not effort or fitness; my HR was low the whole time. Not sure yet...
Then, this morning I decided to push it on my long run, and ended up setting a PB on my HM-distance, 1:50. I feel really good about this since it was with a manageable HR and after a week of hard training.
I hope everyone else had a great weekend!

Nancy. I don't remember that at all so it must have been different from when I did it. The race director there is supposed to be very good so I would expect them to react to course criticisms and try to improve.

Mike. How's the shoulder/arm doing?

Jamie. Nice work on the ride and the training in general. Not sure what to make of the light headed/dizziness off the bike. Maybe just the position change from aero to upright?

Shoulder seems to feel fine but I have been told to still lay off of any swimming with it so I have decided to just work on my kick for the rest of the month. I decided to take a week off of anything tri related and I have to say I am not digging it at all I'm ready to get back to training. I've deided that my schedule for the rest of this year/next year will look something like this.

Thanksgiving 2013 some kind of turkey trot.
Early spring 2014 HM
May 10, 2014 Folsom Lake international Oly
June 7, 2014 HIM 70.3 Boise
August 24, 2014 Lake Tahoe Oly
and a mixture of odd reverse sprints and 5K's I'm sure

So I'm finally getting around to this:

1.What are you most proud of so far this year/season?

Actually getting through the races I did when I started this adventure I asn't so sure I'd be able to finish a sprint, but I was and I was competitive So I'm really proud of that now time to get faster.

1a. Rate your season in terms of how you feel about what you accomplished. 1-10 with 1 being low.

A solid 7 I think I could have been faster if I pushed a little harder but I wasn't sure where my limitations were.

2. What is your weakness/where do you see room for the most improvement?

Two places the run and the swim being an adult onset swimmer is difficult so that is more technique driven whereas my running is just HTFU and get better.

3. Where have you made the most progress?

The swim I went from struggling through 500 yards in half an hour to swimming a continus 1500 in about the same time.

4. Biggest disappointment, if any, of the season?

I wish I would have pushed a little harder through my crazy month of August.

5. Were there any things you learned during the season/year that were really key to racing/training better? Kind of an "Aha" moment?

Running.... You don't have to run all out everytime while training in order to make gains. This little bit of information actually made running enjoyable for me.

6. What are your goals through the rest of 2013?

Consistancy and the ability to balance life and triathlon, also I want to stay healthy and make sure I don't reinjure my shoulder.

Feeling pretty lost since my final race of the season is over...

Signed up for a 10k at the end of the month, and going on a final long ride with my gal pal, Julie, before she starts tapering for IMFL. Need to sign up for something biggish so I don't lose myself to slothness (is that a word?)

Nancy.

That is why I start thinking about next years season so early. I want to get something planned so there are races to motivate me over the winter. Fitness is so hard to gain and I am loathe to give up those gains. Putting races on the schedule forces one to develop some sort of off-season plan and serves as both the motivational stick and carrot when it comes to doing the work outs during those long winter months in Michigan.