Gary's Mentor Group - Re-OPENED for Training (Page 76)

David,  Enjoy South Beach!  It has been a long time since I've been there.  I remember we used to head over to Biscayne Bay while we were visiting family too, as a little getaway from the Miami scene.

Dorm,  Racing with family does sound fun!  Good luck on the 16th.  I may be racing that weekend too, but haven't been informed one way or the other just yet.  Work event.  I'm ready to go if I get picked though.  And thanks for the checklist.  I've already printed off that version.  Going to modify it up a bit and put it to use.

Been a busy week for me, and school started up yesterday.  The good Lord doesn't even know what I was thinking.  Two online classes for summer session which is only 8 weeks = 2 chapters + assignment each week for EACH class.  I will get through it, and never do it again.

Was going to shoot for a 25 mile Mon-Fri, but screw it.  May just go for 30.  The run has been a good stress reliever.  6 yesterday, and 6.2 today, so I'm on pace for it.  

Looking forward to my trip at the end of the month to Durango, CO.  My cousin is a pro MTB rider out there.  He's getting married, so I'm loading up my neighbor (an avid MTB guy) and we're headed out for a few days of riding the Hermosa Creek Trail.  May even get to see a wedding!

Hey all!

Training going okay, had a ride that went well but the hour run the next day was a sufferfest.  Yesterday some pretty strong storms came thru with some areas predicted to get up to 9 inches.  More rain today.  Last night my sons choir had their production which included scenes from Fiddler on the roof, Godspell, etc.  Was great, to see my son sing and perform was amazing.  Very proud Dad.

Found out there is a new HIM planned for Louisiana, just north of here.  Unfortunately its 13 days after Austin.  If they hold it next year I am going to do that instead of Austin.  Still planning on doing Austin this year.

Went to the LBS this evening to look for a new pair of shoes ... the spin cycle shoes were too big, stunk to hi-heaven, and it was just time for these to go in the trash.  Walked in the LBS and saw these:  Pearl Izumi X- Road Fuel.  These are like a running shoe, but with a hard sole in the midfoot area. So sort of a bike-running shoe hybrid.

My thought was to stick some 'yanks' in these and with the soles you can easily run in-out of transition ... easy 20-30 second gain for me.  One drawback is these only accept an SPD or Eggbeater clip, so limited on the type pedals I can use.  I don't think I'd use these for anything greater than a sprint distance.  Anyway, I bought a pair and the current tri shoes will move into the spin cycle shoe slot. 

I'll let the group know how these work out.

Awesome Gary.  Glad you had a great time at the performance!

And Dorm, those shoes look pretty darn cool.  Any clue on how much they weigh?

4.8 miles for lunch tomorrow and I hit my goal of 30 miles!

And I was selected for the corporate challenge tri on Father's Day.  I need to get in a pool or the lake ASAP!

Left - it happens, you did what you could do.  Now for the fun of racing.

Well the last 6 weeks I have been using Chris Carmichaels "Time Crunched Triathlete's" Advanced sprint plan to train for the super sprint next week.  I wanted to see how I could do in a sprint with slightly less training time but more intense workouts.  Well this is the end of week 5 and after a long workout tomorrow its taper time.  So this is what I have found:

For the sprint its only 4 days a week for workouts but lots of doubling up and towards the end its more time per day.

You have to really pay attention to each workout and do the prescribed workout exactly.

• For riding its been a bit of a killer and I think it will make a difference.  Lots of various types of intervals where I push 21-22 mph for 3-4 minutes.
• Running has some tough workouts but not enough but  I think for my the 2 mile run I am set
• Swimming - you only swim 2 days a week and that has helped and hurt.  Lots of drill and my speed is picking up a little but I have lost endurance.  I tried to follow the workouts exactly and they can burn, especially the paddles.  My warmups are now typically in the high 1:40's or low 1:50's.  Used to be high 1:50's.  Interesting to see if I see an improvement in the race.

My recommendation, actually a pretty good plan IF you add one long swim into the mix (or you have been swimming for 10-15 years). 

Although the book has a HIM plan it is simply about finishing.  The other plans (Sprint and Oly) are about turning in strong performances.  So for Austin I am going back to the BT HIM plan.

Rob ... you have GOT  to calm down and quit second guessing yourself.  Please ... stop looking at what you could have done and instead look at all that you HAVE done.  One more long ride, long swim and/or long run at this point does not amount to a fart in a hurricane.  Instead all of the long rides, long runs and long swims you've put in thus far DO amount to being uber prepared. 

You know what you can do ...  now do what you can do and quit looking back.  Only other comment - stick to your plan; stick to your pace ... resist the urge to go out too fast. 

Now go kick some ......

David ... sounds like an enjoyable vacation.  Might want to check Nikki's Beach club for lunch while there ... real nice patio setup, the Mojito's are FINE, and the water is in sight.

Look at it as you were doing core work for a couple of days!  Glad you are better!

Oufly - nice job!

Dorm - ready for the 16th? 

As for me, both race wheels have latex tubes and switched cassettes but I need a test ride on them but the rain has killed that.  I now have training wheels and race wheels, whats the difference?  Actually the front wheels are the same brand (stock wheels) but the race version has better tire and latex tube.  Race rear is just a stock rim with wheel cover, better tire and latex tube.  Traning rear wheel is my wired powertap (would love a wireless version but can't justify the cost as of now).

I bought the spare front and another rear for $75 while ago and finally got it setup.  I still have a spare rear wheel.  Anyone want to buy a rear (training)?  No cassette but $35 plus shipping. 

Make us proud!!!!

I know you'll do well ...

Got on the bike early yesterday and rode 28.5 miles.  I decided to ride with a new pair of 2xU Tri-shorts instead of the usual bike shorts ... big mistake.  At about mile 20 that little 'patch' area (yeah ... you know the spot) was burning like fire and no amount of standing would bring relief.  I was fully prepared to go for 35 miles or so, but it was just not happening.

Regardless, I was disappointed with the avg speed ... 14.4 is turtle pacing.  However, once I looked at the changes in elevation, I understood.  Total of ~4,500 ft in elevation changes and the up-down elevation change profile looks worse than an EKG chart; i.e. hardly any flat at all. From that perspective - not too bad of a ride. 

Working to taper down a bit this week, but the race Saturday is just sprint distance so overall I'm ready.

Rob, I know you are proud and to be able to state the above says it all.  Great job ...