Birkierunner's group - CLOSED (Page 8)

Great idea! We would love to get a paddleboard and this sounds like the best excuse to buy one.

I am nowhere near you guys at the 100x100 level. My longest swim workouts need to be upped from 2k to 3k and more, though, because I want to do this event in May. And I don't want to be the last out of the water!

HI..i just joined the site...are there any mentor groups still taking people?..

thanks

Mary

Looks like a cool swim race.  I wish I did not have a commitment on the 19th of May, or I would be there and I could be the last person out of the water and you would have nothing to worry about 

3rd time in the pool since I started this madness....a little hungover but got a mile in.  I forgot to start my watch so I do not have the time, which is sort of me off about right now.....but I figure there will be many more I can time!!

Hi Mary.  If you haven't found a group yet you're welcome to join us.  If so, please post your bio similar to what group members posted earlier in this thread.  Let us know how we can help!!!

Oh yes, I forgot to mention on Saturday my wife and I volunteered at the Icebreaker indoor marathon weekend.  We worked the chip pickup area as well as the finish line.  It's a unique race that is held indoors at the Pettit National Ice rink (in Milwaukee).  There is a running track around the ice rink that is a little larger than .25 mile.  Friday night was a 5K, Saturday were two half marathons and the marathon relay, and Sunday was the full marathon.  Kind of an interesting event to to be part of in the middle of winter:

http://www.indoormarathon.com/

Wow, I have heard of indoor marathons, but that is really something different! I hope that lots of spectators came to keep the runners motivated. Is there skating going on at the same time?

I ran 6.2 miles this morning and held a good pace for the whole thing. In mile 4, I added in my 1 min walk breaks every 3 minutes, but stopped again in mile 5 because I just felt I didn't need them. According to the Galloway method, I think I should keep up with them once I start, so I might do that on my next longer run. Kept the cadence high and felt really good overall.

I've used the race finder at the top of this page with good results. Last year I spent a lot of time looking for sites that listed triathlons in my area. I never found a site that listed everything near me, most of what I found was repeats. This season I'm using that time for activities that will help me reach my goals.

If you can't find a race online ask at your local tri shop. They will have information on races in your area. Googling the name and/or loction of a race may help you find what your looking for.

Yup....the ice rink had kid's skating lessons going on and there were also 2 hockey games going on as well.  It's a big facility and all that skating was occurring alongside the running events.  Personally I don't think I would want to run 13.1 or 26.2 indoors on a track, but the event is very popular and a sellout every year.

Oh...and nice job on the 6.2 miler!

What is the best "lube" to get for putting on and removing a tri wetsuit?  Received my first one today and some assistance in getting it situated would be greaat.

I've never needed lube to get in or out of my suit.  I do use some body glide at various chaffing spots on my body, but that is about it for me.  I know of a couple people who use the lube and I don't know if there is much difference in products.  It seems people prefer the spray type for convenience.

I love Tri-Slide. Easy on, easy off.  I used to use Body Glide and since switching have never looked back, works well for wetsuits, shoes, chafing, etc.

That xc skiing sounds like an amazing workout, even if cold. I love watching it on television... but that's about as close as I've gotten to the sport.

I'm experiencing a bit of torpor here. I have an ever-shrinking window of time to get to the pool and find that I can't tear myself away from work.

Hm, I just discovered a big drawback for me for the BT sprint plan that I put into my calendar. Some of the workouts are simply too short. A swim workout of 14 minutes? Please! Not worth washing my hair for! I have to swim for at least 20 minutes or I feel that I didn't get my 2$ worth.

I might go in and manually change all of those to a minimum of 20 minutes. Same for runs. Who goes running for 13 minutes? That's just crazy.

I did 2000 yards in the pool today. Half of it was slow with lots of attention to form, and then the second half faster.

melanfi.....i wouldnt feel like I got anything out of 14 minutes either!

Thanks for the info on Triglide.  Not sure I need it....but will read about it.

Alright, a few more questions.  The weather was great today, 60 and Sunny.  I was able to get my bike out for the second time....ever (remember I am new to this).  16 miles felt like nothing which was cool....way easier than the trainer.

1) Neck pain.  I only rode for an hour but the back of my neck started to ache a bit.  I stayed aero for as much of the ride as possible.  Am I weird....okay don't answer that.  I cant be the first person this has happened to....any advice?

2) Whenever cars would come up behind me and I tried to look behind me, the bike veered.  If I looked over my left shoulder....I would end up in the middle of the road.  If I looked over my right, I would be headed towards the curb/shoulder.  I am sure this gets better with practice......question is:  Is it dorky to use one of those rearview mirrors?  I have seen them on cyclists helmets before.  If you have any solution for my veering issue, I welcome comments.

3) Being in aero and looking up, I found myself going cross eyed and figured it was because of the nose piece of my Oakley Flak Jackets.  I am assuming why this is my buddy wears Oakley Radars....which does not have a nose piece that goes to the top of the frame.  Would assume this increases visibility.  Any thoughts?

4) Wore my Garmin and have the cadence sensor on my bike.  What the heck does this data tell me and what am I looking for or trying to do with it?

Thanks,

Mike

Although I am not one to give advice on biking - this one did help me quite a bit. Bend the elbow opposite from the shoulder that you are looking over. Try that out and it might help!

Thanks.....I guess my cadence in the 70's explains my slow 15 mph average.  Remember....first time on the bike!!  I was horrible going up hills and a little shaky when I hit 25+ mph going downhill, so I just coasted those parts.   I guess that all means I NEED TO GO FASTER!!!

Another thing to consider when you are out on the road are all the slow-downs and stops at intersections, too. So a 15 mph average doesn't sound terrible to me.

Some people avoid group rides, but I have found them helpful as a beginner. I figure the added visibility of 20 bikes on the road keeps me safer from cars. Also, I feel more confident on a certain route when I've ridden it with the group.

Do you have any triathlon training groups or rides organized by a bike shop?

Well, I finally managed to get a loaner laptop while mine is still getting the hard drive replaced.  So, hopefully I can do my job a little better as a mentor here.  Thanks for putting up with my infrequent appearances. 

Mike, I second the neck soreness advice...its just a matter of getting used to being in aero for extended periods.  I don't have experience with using any type of mirror.  If you feel like you need the assurance of a mirror for seeing what's behind you then experiment with a helmet mirror.  Seems like a handle bar mounted mirror is just asking to be broken.

Practice looking back on a road not travelled much by cars.  Even though I feel very comfortable looking back without veering off my line, one thing I like to do when in traffic is to do a slight look to my left and use my peripheral vision to see if a car is very close to me.  That way you don't risk veering off course if a car is very close to you.  After I do my quick glance I will then do a more complete look-around to see how far back the nearest car is behind me.  That way you'll get a feel for how long you have before you have to worry about being passed.  Its nice to be able to be on a country road and look back and not see anything for a mile and you can simply enjoy the ride for a while.  Let us know if you try out a mirror.