SBR Utopia - OPEN (Page 84)

Ah, sleep, that sure does sound wonderful.  What is it like?  I am on day 3 of nothing but cat naps due to work issues.  I love being a DBA. 

Truer words have not been spoken. It is really good that you know your bike pace - because then you will know when you are getting caught up in the excitement of the race that something isn't quite right (believe me now - I speak from experience)...but you won't know until you are well into the run. It *is* fantastic that you can do a 50 mile bike ride. It *is* fantastic that you can even contemplate putting your foot to the starting line.

On my first HIM at the start of the second loop of the bike I experienced this almost euphoric state when I realized I *could* finish this, I could complete the distance...I wasn't fast, I wasn't even in the MOP (they were giving out the awards when I crossed the finish line), but I was so, so happy that I was able to finish the entire distance of my own accord.

(and as a completely unrelated aside - Yay! about the clean margins...that's some good news right there)

My husband was a DBA for years. My sympathies to you. 

One easy hour on the trainer this morning. I'm still trying to recover from Saturday. I think I'm just about there, so I'm going to hit the road this afternoon for a 3-5 mile run.

I happened to be up at 3:00 (codeine induced sleep was over) and saw the exchange with Arend and Jason. LOL I knew why Arend was up -- I love that you get up so early to get to the pool.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day.

Ah, but the flip-side is that when everything is working as it should you don't have to work at all....

Sally - very good news on the foot indeed - happy you read you are being smart in getting back to running as well.

Neil - sorry to read that the Achilles is still not cooperating. My best advice (from experience) is to make it priority one relative to your training. 10 years ago I had a debilitating Achilles injury that I thought would keep me from ever running again. I fiddle-farted around with it for a YEAR before I actually went to see a doctor. The doc had me running a little bit within 10 days and back in full swing within a month. It took a lot of work but I did EVERYTHING exactly as he prescribed, which meant missing a lot of regular workouts during that time. I still kick myself when I think about that lost year....

Nicole - I agree with others in that you should recover a bit after the TOS before you get too worried about the knee and hip. Just a little latent fatigue can cause those linkages to really act wonky. The shoulder thing is tricky - if your mechanics have not changed then I would just attribute it to simply swimming more than usual. The trick with that is to be able to discern the difference between a little tendon stress from an increase in yardage (manageable) and an actual injury (yuck).

Kate - no worries - you are going to do great! If you have been following your training plan then it is perfectly normal to be your slowest one month out. You just cannot underestimate the fatigue you are carrying. You will be amazed at what you will feel like come race day if you get your taper right. That is probably the biggest reason folks overpaced the bike - with an appropriate taper you just feel so awesome after traing for months with a pretty significant fatigue buildup.

Keri - awesome job on both the 5k and the 10 miler! That is definitly the kind of results you want to see at the very beginning of the season!

Safe travels, Brian.

Enjoy our sunshine state! 

We r suppose to get some ran hopefully we won't have 5K on Saturday morning.

Brian, thanks u r in the part of the state that actually gets seasons, we get summer and mild winter and that's it.  I can't even call it winter its more like a cool breeze for a couple of days

Today's training - Day off!!!  Yahoo! 

Yesterdays training -

 Have a great day guys!!!

Late start at work today, so I'm glad to get caught up on this thread:

Kate: I agree, you will do great at the HIM. Don't discount that you will feel better after a nice taper and add in some race day magic, it will all be fine!

Keri: Congrats on the run times! Nice!

Rob: I'd be so sore from that ST! Nice workouts!

Rusty: That's a LOT of climbing. Well done

Thanks for the kind words everyone...a health scare like that really puts things into perspective! My foot feels better everyday but the time out of the water and not running means that I am not going to sign up for the Leadman Tri in April. It's expensive and I would only want to do it if I was at the start line healthy....and in good shape. I know that I can't rush my running. Luckily there are several Tris in May here and we are planning a family trip to Show Low for a weekend of racing in June (hubby and kids will race too). 

One thing I have really struggled with this past year is finding my desire to race...actually I sometimes have the desire, it's the confidence that I lack. I don't want to sound vain but it's hard for me to tow the line knowing I am slower than I used to be. Anyone else been through this? I did pretty well at the local races 2-3 years ago and I have a hard time imagining doing those same races and not doing so well. It sounds petty when I type it, and I really am appreciative that I can still do so much (bad bike crash 2 years ago= long term injuries), but I just can't seem to pull the trigger on registering for races. Maybe I need to just get over myself? LOL or maybe I just need more time off from racing?

?

I get where you're coming frame - I have the same mindset.  I don't think it's vanity, I think it's that you're a very competitive individual who raced at a high level, and it's difficult to accept you may not be able to achieve similar results in the future.

At this point, I think you need to sign up for a race, and then give everything to that race.  No matter the result, you'll know where you stand afterwards.  Do you need to check your future expectations, maybe.  Or, perhaps you'll find that you surprised yourself as to how competitive you remain, even if if not at the same level as previously.

You won't know till you sign up and race.

I never get tired of heartwarming tales in which dedicated athletes employ lateral thinking to overcome adversity. Way to go, Ben!

Vacation sounds great! I agree with Neil. Find a cool event and just go for it. 

Awesome

Have a great trip!

Well Kim, you know the old saying: You don't have to be faster than the lion, you just have to be able to outrun the people you are with. So with all of your recent training I am sure you will be just fine! Hope you are able to get a little rest on the plane and enjoy the vacation - you have certainly earned it this past week.

I totally get where you're coming from....and I don't think it's vanity, but more a huge desire to improve and prove to yourself that the hard work is paying off.

I was going to suggest racing a distance that you haven't done before, so you have an automatic PR....and then continue racing that distance to see your improvements.  Then I looked at your race log and it looks like you've done them all! 

Another thing you could consider is racing a courses different from what you've raced in the past (I don't know if the courses you've raced previously have all been flat/hilly/windy/hot/humid/whatever).  Honestly, I find triathlons hard to compare -- my time in one may be significantly slower than in another one, but I may feel that the slower race was executed better, but slower for reasons like the course or weather or whatever. 

And now I feel like I'm on a roll (and maybe giving myself some advice as well) -- maybe your future races should focus less on how fast you are, and more on how well you executed your race plan.  Figure out what things you can do to make the race feel good the entire time (pacing correctly, good nutrition plan, smooth transitions, etc).  Sometimes it's less about how fast you are and more about how well you feel your race is being executed.

Have a great vacation!  You may have mentioned it, but I can't recall....where are you going?  Hope you don't have to run from any mountain lions, but if you do, I suspect your training will help

Enjoy the time off.  You deserve it!

I am going to Africa (Tazina) on Safari.  No way for work to get a hold of me there.