Razorxp Group Is CLOSED (Page 8)

my bad-i did not make my question clear.  the gulf coast tri is a HIM in panama city and it is the first week in may.  the orlando half is the second week in may.  i am deciding between those.  eventually i want to do florida full.  i have read many reports on both and people continue to say the waves are tough in panama city. 

which would you pick as your first?  considering the courses and considering one being an 'ironman' event.

i am leaning toward panama city but have not committed yet.

Town is Normal...part of a twin city with Bloomington.  Been here 33 years.  Is within an hour of my hometown where my wife and I are from and where my mom lived until her death at age 92 on Halloween.  Write for the paper here.  Get to write recreation!  Love it.

Jason,
Obviously I have yet to actually do an Ironman event, but I am under the impression that many of the other 140.6 races are run extremely well.  I certainly wouldn't rule an event out simply because it isn't M.dot.  If in doubt, check race reports, see what others had to say about an event.


I have to say, being in a group seems to have motivated me. I feel like I 'must' get out and get something done, because now I have to log it!

Hi Y'all!

Hope everyone's having an awesome day! my last day on my unit in the hospital before I venture to the ICU for my new job and I got put on call today (!!!)

Now I'm off until jan 3

Brought my girlfriend for a run this am, she's training to do a 5k with me in february and a 10k with some of the other nurses I worked with on my stepdown unit at duke in april

we did about 3 miles in 35 min or so, not bad for having the pup with me and taking a couple of walk breaks!

at least that's what my new garmin 405 told me (thanks to santa HB)

Happy Hump day! Enjoy it!

I have two options....


CycleOps Mag +  for $60

CycleOps Fluid     for $150

which would you pick?

Erin - I also tend to lean toward everyone elses advice as far as getting your technique down first.  I was in the same situation last year as I had ZERO freestyle experience.  I pushed and plodded through my workouts for the first two months but wasn't making much progress.  I also was injuring myself and after some workouts it was too painful to even lift my arms!  I joined the Masters Swim group at my pool and the coach worked with me on my technique and before I knew it I was increasing my distances, deceasing my times and felt much more confident.  You need to have someone critique your form. Very important since with swimming you have no way to see yourself.

Good luck and just stick with it.

Just remember - You will fall and it will be when you are least expecting it!  I have fallen really good twice but the first was the worst.  It was at my first race in Galena and right out of T1 is a giant hill.  Well I was taking my bike out for a pre-race warmup and jumped on and was in the wrong gear and couldn't get going.  I had one foot clipped and the other slipped and down I went amongst many other racers.  How embarrasing is that?

The second time was over the summer and I was coming to a stop sign and went off on to a soft shoulder and leaned the wrong way. Down I went but the worst was that I was tied up like a pretzel and couldn't unclip.  I struggeld for about 30 seconds but people were getting out of their cars and asking if I was alright. haha

But like I said - don't worry about it too much.  Just practice and you'll be fine.  Another thing you can do is when you get out on the road make a habit of unclipping one foot as you come to any intersections, sharp turns, stop signs, or any situation where you might have to unclip fast.  Once you make it a habit you don't even think about it...until your tied up like a pretzel on the side of the road...

Caleb - This question might be more geared toward you with your nutrition background but if anyone else knows feel free to respond - I am reading this nutrition book and the section on vitamins and minerals is saying that one vitamin that endurance athletes should possibly supplement is Vitamin E because the body can't produce enough.  The other one I am considering is Vitamin D during the winter.  I currently take a One-A-Day multi-vitamin but should I consider supplementing Vitamin E?

Just my opinion and I know it is the costlier of the two, but they don't get better than a cycleops fluid.  You can reproduce everything you can do on a road with them.  The step up in power is seamless.  You shift just as you would on the road.  They are $300-$320 new.  You'll need a front wheel block...they run about $20.  See if they are tossing that in. 

If you are already taking a multivitamin, I would say you could probably pass on any extra vitamin supplements assuming you have a fairly well-rounded diet.  Most multivitamins provide 100% or close to of your daily allowance of each vitamin.  If you combine that with what you're getting in your food, you're probably doing alright.  I doubt you'll be hurting yourself either way though if you decide to give them a shot. 

Others may differ and this is only my opinion, but form plus distance.    They complement each other.   Form helps reduce unnecessary work, which is the entire goal of going to masters for me for two years.   I won't win any age group competition in the water.  But I have to survive it in good shape so I can ride and run well.    Best comment I've read is that triathletes have a certain number of heart beats between start and exhaustion, so whatever can be saved in thw ater are left to spend on the bike and run.  So I focus my two/wk workouts with the coach on improving stroke, reducing stroke count, kicking well but just enough to keep my rear up.   The conservation of energy has made it possible for me to swim as far as I need.  1.2 miles so far in races and 2.4 miles coming up.  I don't doubt I can do it.  I like open water swimming way more than the pool.  No turns so you can get into a tempo, shut the brain off, sight every 10 strokes and enjoy the trip.   Good luck, it's fun!

I take Vitamin D-3 in the winter months because I specifically require it.  I suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) pretty badly and the Vitamin D-3 helps me tremendously to get through the long dark months.  It provides me with a sense of energy and in turn helps motivate me to get to the gym.  D-3 also gets synthesized through the body with cancer fighting properties which will help come the hot summer months with sun exposure.  As far as vitamin E goes, you don't need it as long as you have a good nutrition plan.  A multivitamin will suffice.

Sounds like a great price for a fluid, unless the extra $90 is a big deal I would lean that way.  Either will give you a workout. 


Scott you are so right as far as saving all your energy for the bike/run.  My best IM swim is around 1:07wetsuit and 1:15 no suit so I am pretty slow but I never push in the swim. If my HR monitor worked I would guess I would be around 115max vrs my bike hr is around 135-140. 
Someone else had a great analogy in that your body is like a book of matches every time you spike or push alittle you burn one, goal is to burn your last one at the finish line. 

Just to throw my 2cents in; I take vit D in drop form as well. But I totally recommend having your levels checked by doc and/or blood test. Mine runs low even in the summer. They continue to link more and more issues to low vit D. But as  vital as it is, vit D is not something to mess with, expert advice is worth the cost on this one. Vitamin E is usually a no brainer, but research pros and cons.
One last piece of free advice If you are going to take supplements get pharmaceutical grade. Don't waste your money on cheap walmart brands. These are unregulated and it is a crap shoot as to what you are actually getting.
disclaimer: I'm not a doc, I've just been around awhile and most of what i've learned has been the hard way
For what it's worth

Dave that is a great match analogy. 

D3 is great.  I take it plus a multi, potassium and calcium for muscle firing, C for a disease fighter, glucosomine for joint health, betalinine to assimilate lactic acid plus claritin.  I also use a neti pot.   I've only had one minor cold in 2.5 years.
  

Thanks for the advice on working on technique first. Here is my dilemma however. I barely have a pool - let alone a coach anywhere near me. Like within 3 - 4 hours one way. There is no Masters swim. The city pool only has four hours of lap swim a week - none of which are convenient for me. So I use the pool at the gym - usually by myself. So what's the best method? Is going down to the valley once a month for a swim coach worth it? Can I be taught enough in one session that it carries through a month - or would I be better self coaching/video taping myself and posting for help, or a combination of both?

 As far as what I'm doing for New Years? Not much. Probably going to church and hitting the sack around 10 or 11. I've never really done anything for New Years. Maybe this year I should start a new tradition?

Keeping a low profile on New Year's.  I've had my fun and simply not into it any more...so with that said, hope someone out there will have an extra drink for me!

Again, this is just my opinion...take it for what it's worth.  Someone who is isolated from coaches and clubs can overcome that these days to an extent with the many great videos available.   There are terrific swim techniques out there like Total Immersion.  There are videos for free on YouTube.  There is a great Australian swim coaching group called Mr. Smooth (no kidding) that lets you download an avatar right o your desktop.  It is the "perfect" stroke.  You can watch from top to bottom, sides, front and back.  Believe me that kind of visualization works for me.   There are bnooks on TI and other techniques too.  The basics are the same in all of them that I can see.  Check out those sources for input.  That said, there is nothing as good as immediate face to face feedback from a good coach.  Are you certain there aren't any in the neighborhood?  Even a school coach who might take you on?  A really good swimmer at the pool who you could approach, explain what you are doing and see if they can give input?  The Masters offers weekend workshops.  I attended one on open water and learned plenty.

Are there no clubs nearby?  I can tell you our clubs, the triathlon, cycling and running clubs plus masters have taught me incredible amounts.  My bike coach is an absolute lifesaver.  I've invested a lot, but I'm on a mission after cancer and weight loss to show myself and other, especially the babyboomers, we can overcome obstacles and live long happy lives, so the investment has been worth it to me.

Just my thoughts. 
ice.

Recovering alcoholic here, 22 years.  New Years Eve is movie/dinner night just like every other Friday date night with Kathy.  It is critical for me to put quality time with her high on the agenda.  We have date night, weekend breakfasts, shopping trips together to make sure we are and especially I am keeping priorities straight.  

New years Eve will be a normal day in our house.  I let most everyone else off from work, so I will be there on the "eve" and the 1st.  Be safe everyone and call a buddy if you need one!

Scott, 

Thanks for the response. No there really are no clubs around here. I'm in a town of about 6000 in the winter and 12000 in the summer. Probably half the population at any given time is over the age of 60. We're a real booming metropolis I know! There are no cycling clubs, no swimming clubs, no running clubs, and definitely no tri clubs. While we do have two triathlon's here through the year they are put on by tri-sports - which is based about 4 hours away and is raced by out of towners for the most part. I volunteered last year and only met 2 or 3 people that were from the White Mountains. Most were valley folk escaping Pheonix heat to get a race in. But you have given a few ideas. I know in the summer the pool offers lessons for 12 and under. I think I'll give them a call and see if they can recommend an instructor that would like to take on some side work this winter. It's worth a shot. The high schools around here do not have a swim program. We're a football, basketball, baseball kind of town. But the community college is supposed to offer swim classes. They haven't in the last two years but I'll give them a call and see if they have any Phys Ed instructors with a swim background. 

Thanks for the help!

Erin: Since you have limited resources around you I would take Scotts advice and find some drills to work on and if possible video tape yourself.  I had mine taped the 1st time last season and it is so easy to see your stroke flaws.  As for drill some real basic ones are (kick board/paddles, swim buoy just working on catch/pull, catchup, zipper, side to side rotation) Most of these are on BT video series so you can see how to do them.  I would say most beginners struggle most with the kicking side of the swim.  We have a girl that won the U23 National championship and is on the 2012 Olympic training team and she will do sets of 500 or more just kicking.

Pretty much same here for new years eve/day just dinner with some friends and relax alittle.


Is everyone starting a workout plan next week?

Erin, you might try calling that triathlon company that puts on the events there.  They may be able to give you leads in the neighborhood.   Just because there isn't a tri club doesn't mean you can't start one.

I really would pursue the idea off the phys ed departments.  You might strike it rich with a former college swimmer or something.  What I've found?  If you want to learn and are persistent in finding teachers, people are more the than willing to help.  And there is so much great stuff to learn.  Triathlon is terrific in that the basics are simple and there for everyone to learn.   Swim, ride a bike and run.  But each one can be fine tuned to a point to shave minutes off your results.  I know the key is to finish.  Robbie Ventura who used to ride with Lance Armstrong and now owns my coaching group called Vision Quest in the Chicago area, said to ask whether you want to be a completer or a competer.  Both are great.  When i started, I wanted to be a completer.  Now I want to do my very best and be a competer.  I love to race, especially on the bike, but with triathlon, factoring in every event is the challenge.   

Also Dave is right. BT has videos.  I guess I assume people know that.  Good instruction here.  (I used the ones on transitions and setting up my transition area for my first race.  Really helped.)   

All I've used to learn to swim is videos on here, YouTube, a Total Immersion book and DVD.  I haven't had any coaching so it's possible.  I'm not the first one out of the water but I'm typically ahead of most in my wave.  Do what you can with what you got.


I was going to a NYE party but I've come down with the flu so I'm going to watch the ball drop at home