Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 75)

GANG --

Thanks for the commiserating about my mishap last night. I went to bed fairlybworried about the gash behind my kneee, as it seemed to easily gape open when I poked around it. But it didn't leak or seep during the night, and it felt mostly fine during a run and swim today. The swim was kind of ethically questionable, but honest! -- all wounds had scabbed over, and there was no risk of bleeding into the water.

When I had my big crash last year, that was a different story. I separated my shoulder so actual; swimming was out, but I was abvle to do kicking and sculling. Thing is, though, I was too scraped up and raw to even go near the pool for about ten days, lest people get really grossed out --- which would've been completely understandable. It was the closest I've ever felt to being a leper!

JOHANNE -

What --- no mention of your psychedness?? Are you cool as a cucumber, or what?

Anyhow......how cool are you feeling? that would be the mental part. As for the physical part -- feeling healed and hale and hearty? ITB twinges just a thing of the past, I hope?

Finally, what's your timeline for the race? I'm not even sure how far you have to go. You're in SanJose, which is south of S.F., which is south of Napa, yes? (No?) My shaky geography (can you tell?) says that Napa is about 30-60 minutes north of SF; am I getting warmer? Maybe I ought to go out to the garage and ferret around for a California map; possibly the race site would help me, too. (Now THERE'S a concept to deal with!) Do you know your race number yet? My transmission of mojo works SO much better when it has a specific number to zero in on!

CRAIG -

You're welcome!

I think that's the ghost of my parents speaking through me. They used to bug me (justifiably, I can see in hindsight.....) incessantly to clean my room, and now I have become a noodge with my groups about cleaning their bikes. (Warning: This is not the last time I will harp about that!)

Steve,
This whole taper business has me feeling fat and lazy! I'm just trying to rest up so I'm ready for Sunday

Napa is about a 2 hour drive from San Jose. I think we're leaving after breakfast on Saturday. We'll drive up to Calistoga (where the race starts) and drive down the Silverado Trail (the race course is a point to point, we'll get bused up to Calistoga on race morning) so I can wrap my mind around the course. Overall it is a downhill but there are some rollers so it'll be nice to see them ahead of time.

Then some lunch and the expo to get my race packet. No number yet. We're meeting some other racing friends for dinner then off to bed. The race starts at 7:00 on Sunday and the busses start rolling out at 5:30 I think. There's a 60% chance of rain and about 45 degrees at race start. I can deal with that.

My legs are feeling pretty good. They still get tight when I run but I've seen some big improvement. I'm sure I'm going to be pretty sore afterwards but overall I'm hoping to recover quickly! I still plan to write out a race plan for myself. I find it easier to stick to if I've written it down. My first goal is to stay ahead of the pick up bus. The course closes at 6 hours. My second goal is to get in at 5 hours. I'll have to keep at an 11:30 pace overall and with my walk breaks it might be tight but as long as I meet goal #1 I'll be happy

Afterwards, quick shower, a little lunch, a little wine tasting, lots of water, a little dinner and Dave and I are headed home. My friends are all spending the night but with leaving for Australia the following week, we have too much to do back in San Jose.

Should be lots of fun and a huge challenge for me
Johanne

Hey guys,

I am wondering what GPS/HR you all are using?  I currently have my Garmin Edge 305 from my cycling days, however this does not really allow me to use it for running.  I am looking to get a new unit as soon as money allows for it.

thanks.

I have the 305 and this last year got the 310xt. So far I love the 310. There are a few differences but the biggest one is the 310 is waterproof so I can wear it swimming. I still use the 305 but for my horse rides I got an adapter for the heart rate monitor and I monitor my horses heart rate on our long rides. Poor guy! Like Mama, like horse  

Here are some good reviews to compare the 2.
Johanne

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2007/11/review-of-garmin-forerunner-305.html

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/09/garmin-forerunner-310xt-in-depth-review.html 

Thanks.  The biggest thing I am noticing, according to garmin, the 305 allows the user to upload routes to the unit, the 310 does not.  It seams to me that if you have a gps unit you would want to be able to plan out your route in advance so you know where to turn at the glance of your wrist, right?  I also could have my termonology mixed up.

well now, certainly a chatty bunch the last couple of days...can't keep up with the posts.

Anyhow.. just want to report that I've FINALLY committed to at least one race - registered for a duathlon being held on May 1st. Weather can be anything from warm 60s to low 40's... just hoping no snow or rain.
Ah...feels good to have a plan  

JOHANNE -

Tapers are insidious that way, aren't they? They get one feeling fat and lazy, and then that person goes out and crams in a workout or three and blows the whole taper. They're kind of kamikaze-like, I think.

Anyhow, don't succumb to squeezing in a last workout! You're done ALL the work, and the taper is designed to be your reward and subtle final prep -- a nice little two-for-one package. Happy Napaday to you!

Your entire trip sounds fabulous, just about the perfect way to do a "destination" race. Seeing as how it's mostly downhill, if you have a chance pre-race for a quick maasage (maybe tables at the expo?), avail yourself of the service to get some really gentle stuff done on your quads. Quad-pounding can be a problem on downhill marathons; doesn't mean it will be for you (it wasn't for me at Boston), but just in case......

Speaking of Boston, if there is a staging area you'll be at for quite a while before the race, once the busses drop you off, it is best to take the earliest bus you can. I evoke Boston here because the early arrivals at Hopkinton H.S. get the best spots behind the school, which means places with back-rests (trees, chain-link fences, etc). Or if it's a gym at Napa, you want the top row of the bleachers so you can lean back, maybe even grab a few winks. Just a thought.

Those conditions sound absolutely ideal. I'll call in some favors that the weather gods owe me and see if they can guarantee that forecast will last through the race!

Your plan sounds smart, and once you get it all written down it will be even smarter. The best I've ever managed with a marathon plan is to keep to a pretty simple pace. I've had no concrete back-up plan if things go south, other than wing it, which isn't wise several hours into a thing like that when the brain is hardly working better than the body (and may in fact be working worse). So whatever you can get down by ay of a plan is wise, and then some!

Stay in touch as you see fit, okay?

SARAH -

Congrats on forging ahead! Which du is it, and where?

Great minds must think alike, because just a few hours ago I signed up for race #2 for '11 -- this one is West Point Tri, August 14. I will be doing it this year for redemption, as last year had me flat on the bike and take way too long (9-11 minutes) to get the #@*#!* thing changed.

So, right now it's a financial commitment to:
Aug 7 --- Cayuga Lake Tri (oly)
Aug 14 -- West Point Tri (sprint)

Next one I will commit to will be The Nations Tri on Sept 11, and then likely Tupper Lake on June 25. I am mostly trying to keep a short step ahead of predicted close-out dates for registrations!








Edited by stevebradley 2011-03-02 10:38 PM

Ouch Steve... that sounds like a painful shot to the ego.  :P

Well, new baby has had me busier than I would like, but then again, loving every minute of it.  Even getting up at 5am is alright as I get quiet time with Lizzie while I feed her.  It has, however, completely destroyed my 'training'.  Things seem to be finally calming down a little at school, BUT recruitment season (they joys of working at a private school) is just around the corner. 

I got out for my first bike ride in over a month on Monday and it was great.  I felt wonderful, it was a good ride, and I did it in record speed.  I averaged over 23 km/h on a 25+ km ride.  That's my best yet!  It also got me excited about getting a new bike all over again.

Soooooo, last night I stopped by the LBS to check out their bikes, again, and I ended up pulling the trigger.  Just ordered my bike!!!

I ordered a Giant TCR SL100.  Aluminum Frame, SRAM Apex components, and a cool paint job commemorating Taiwan's 100th year!  When I get this back to Canada it will be a completely unique ride!  Anyway, the bike will arrive at the shop in a week, and then as soon as I can scrape together enough cash (I'm about 200 USD short now) I'll be taking it home.  Pictures will follow soon.

Haha... my Monday evening private lesson just requested 3 extra classes in March (he's preparing for a speech competition) and paid in advance for the month... 300 USD... so next Wednesday my bike is coming home with me.

Congratulations on the new bike. I look forward to the pics.

Well its pretty quite in here so I figure I might as well post something. We are going to be Grandparents again. Our youngest daughter is due in mid October. She is in the Air Force and is stationed in England so a vacation is in the works. I think Kathy may go in October and stay for a bit then I'll come later for a week or two.

I have a question on swimming.  I start Monday and I have 1 question, how do you keep up with your distance.  The pool I will be using is 25 yards so that is a lot of laps to keep track off, along with the swimming..  I need to find an underwater ticker that I can click on every lap.  I have a really had short memory.  I will do a lap and then start thinking of other things and next thing you know I forgot what lap I was on...

)

DUNCAN -

Great ride you had on Monday, and REALLY great on getting a bike! (See? Wasn't that easy? Looking forward to the photos ---- and the accounts from your first ride (the stuff from which memories are made.....)!

CRAIG -

Hey! Congrats on the soon-to-be new addition to the clan! And congrats too on steering your daughter into the Air Force so she could get stationed in England so you could have excuses to go over there. Well-played indeed!!

GEORGE -

I hear ya, but.......

For now, pay no attention to lengths or speed -- unless you are floowing a specific plan that calls for detail to either or both. But even if that's the case, psotpone that plan for a couple of weeks, maybe for the first 5 or 6 swims.

Your focus for now should be on getting comfortable and efficient in the water. Now, i can't remember your swimming history, but I think it's neither anything really structured or recent. (And that is not a criticism at all, as almost all of us who come to triathlon as adults have no background at all in serious swimming.)

The real hazard you will face (and I speak from experience here!! ) is that if you jump into a speed/distance focus before you develop decent form, you will establish bad habits that are very difficult to rehabilitate. For me, the big bugaboo was dropped elbows on my pull, and to this day, 11-12 years into this stuff, I still ave to work mightily to get them up. Add to that a second problem with my pull --- not using my hands and forearms as truly effective water-pushers --- and those are two biggies to keep working at and trying to overcome.

My advice would be to treat each 25 as a separate entity. That is, do it and then stop at the end and think about how it felt. Try to find a fault, and focus on that for the next length. Stop. Repeat. And so on.

If you are going to count anything, count strokes. In swimming, this is done EVERY time a hand enters the water. (This is opposed to cadence in cycling and running, where it's just based on one side for a minute.) If you find that your stroke count is over 25, work at lowering it to 21-23, which would involve more glide and maing yourself "taller" in the water. If your stroke count is over 25, there is a good chance that you are being a "churnmaster", and thta's usually not really advantageous -- just way too much work!

It's been years -- literally -- since I kept track of distance in the pool. When I open-water swim I ahve a sense of my distance, but in the pool I'm mostly focused on swimming WELL. I used to count my laps and tally total distance, but that did nothing for me in terms of making me a better swimmer. Total time swimming might count for more for you, especially now --- but by now I mean in a couple of weeks, once you have a few "mindful" swims behind you.

George, I apologize for being such a noodge and wet blanket, but I just know how much my handful of bad habits have haunted me year after year after year --- from about this time in '00 right about until now, for some of 'em!

To answer your question, though, I do it by fours, every hundred meters (That's up here, and it's yeards for you down there). That involves a little bit of math at the end (do a count of ten, and that's 10x4.......um, uh......40 lengths!!!) Also, although you preceive a problem now, swim enough and you'll get good at multi-task counting --- strokes per length AND total lengths. You'll feel positively brilliant!!

Glub-glub!

Thanks for the post on the swimming laps, everyone had a good suggestion.  I do have a training plan but it does not include distance, just time.  I have it setup where Im swimming 2 days a week and will look at doing 3 if needed.  As for my swimming, I know how to swim (Keeping from going under) as for technique or anything like that I have none. I just move the arms and go.  This weekend I will check out the videos that everyone has posted in the past to see what is the best swim technique and try to duplicate it next week.  I just found out there is a local tri on 4/16 its 440 yard swim, 17 mile bike and 4 mile run.  I would love to do it but I will have to see how the next 2-3 weeks go.