Mad Manatee Mentors, Part 2! CLOSED (Page 86)

jobaxas - 2013-03-03 6:19 PM Cairns is June I will be there watching....... Just sayin

TriAya - 2013-03-03 9:26 PM

Jo, I think you just did a very, very, very bad thing

StaceyK - 2013-03-03 9:53 PMHey Yanti I am sorry that you and your trusty stead didn't fair so well yesterday. I hope you start feeling better soon. No Laughing it will make your ribs hurt too much.

does it mean you get to go bike shopping when you get to Oz, or is he repairable?

StaceyK - 2013-03-03 6:53 PM Hey Yanti I am sorry that you and your trusty stead didn't fair so well yesterday. I hope you start feeling better soon. No Laughing it will make your ribs hurt too much.does it mean you get to go bike shopping when you get to Oz, or is he repairable?

jobaxas - 2013-03-03 6:58 PM oh bike shopping... Take you to piglet lbs Jae....

TriAya - 2013-03-03 10:02 PM

I am a teeny tiny bit considering staying in Melbourne for the IM--but that's about a 2-3% chance right now.

TriAya - 2013-03-03 3:40 AM

Just a wee trailer of the race report and what actually happened:

- swim was fantastic

- there's a 500m uphill run and long flight of steep stairs to transition--that and doing a full dry and change and getting my bike, 19min in transition not too bad!

- First lap of bike fantastic. I had nailed the course simulation ride on the trainer and it was and went exactly as expected. It's about half hills; none of it is too bad although just out of town there's a 10km climb that averages 10% (I had it between 5-10% but that was a bit off). On pace to finish around 7:45 on the bike even accounting for slowing down a bit on the 2nd lap and still feeling fresh and strong ... although getting very warm.

- Because of (justified) semi-paranoia from IMWA and Melbourne, I had on a sports bra, tri top (3 warmers in the back pockets), black long-sleeved woolen thermal underwear top, a double-layer bike jersey on top of that, a warming do-rag under a non-ventilated aero helmet, and knee-high thick woolen socks (the kind you'd climb Everest with).

- It was a blazing hot day. Although I was getting really hot after lap one, there was no chance to discard clothing until Special Needs, which somewhat more than halfway through that 10km climb out of town at 95km. (ASININE). {This is where I should have gotten a clue and handed a bunch of layers to a spectator, any spectator, they were all so nice, and taken the woolen socks off since I'm used to long rides barefoot}.

- About 3km or so into the climb, I started feeling chilly and dizzy--sure signs of overheating so I tried to get off the bike. This did not go well at all and I fell heavily on one side, tumbled a bit down, and the bike hit hard as well and skidded. Anytime I tried to move, I got deep cramps in toes up to hips! A marvelous piglet came to my aid and got me doused in water, drinking sports drink and eventually (15-20min) I was able to get back up. Very sharp pains in the ribs and breathing hurt but figured ... well, nothing, I wasn't thinking.

- Managed to get back on the bike and to Special Needs, where I ditched all the hot crap.

- Jo's seen the roads around Taupo--I figured I'd ridden the IMWA course which is half chip-seal and it wasn't too bad--holy smokes it is NOTHING like the NZ chip-seal, and almost the entire course is that. It makes riding in aero difficult to control, especially at speed (I was wondering what SO MANY road bikes were doing in an IM transition area ... now I know). First lap was bearable but by the time I was at 110km or so, the ceaseless rattling was making my arthritic joints feel like they were being deep-stabbed. My side felt none too good either.

- Then my bike started falling apart. Once I was off the climb, the derailleur would only let me ride in the two easiest and two hardest gears. Pushing that hard with the joints already so unhappy was ... painful. My muscles were going strong, no more cramping, and I wasn't particularly tired. I was just in a crapload of pain. Half of one of the elbow rests had chipped off, so I kind of had to balance on the top bit that was left with the forearm, and that took quite a beating from banging on the hard edge (even padded) from the rough roads.

- My aerobars got loose and would simply not bolt down tight again, so I had to make several stops for those (the shifters are on them, so ... they were unfortunately essential). Then the handlebars came loose. That was just one stop. Unfortunately with every stop, and being in so much pain, getting off actually made the pain WORSE and made it so, so hard to get back on.

- Around the 3/4 mark, 135km or so, there's a very confusing intersection where athletes are coming from two directions but some need to merge one way and the others turn. This was neither on the maps provided, nor detailed in the road directions given by the race. No signage or arrows on the road, just volunteers pointing to you and yelling. I followed what the volunteer told me. She was wrong. I'd gotten about 5km down the road (and it was plausible since other athletes were going that way too) when a spectator started yelling at me and actually waved her arms into the road that I was going the wrong way and needed to turn back (she had noticed I was not wearing the right color armband). I stopped and she told me what to do and that many athletes had taken the wrong turn (so it's not just my usual idiocy).

- So I lost 10km there. What's galling is that when I got back to the same intersection, another volunteer yelled wrong directions again (and there was no one behind me so she could not have possibly been meaning it for another rider!)

- I knew there was a chance I could still make the cutoff, so I put in the ride of my life that last 40km of the course--right until 175km when the course director himself came and took my chip, saw what state I was in and suggested I take a ride in the SAG wagon which had also pulled up. I asked if I was allowed to ride my bike back into town, and he said yes, it's an open course, but it's not marshalled anymore so there would be many more cars and lots of pedestrians on foot. Right here, discretion was the better part of valour so I got into the SAG wagon.

So, that's what happened. I think any two, perhaps even three of the above might have been manageable, but not all of it. I would probably have done some serious or possibly permanent damage running anyway--punctured lung from the rib, stress fractures near the joints, etc. One day post-race with lots of treatment including steroids and I can see the tips of my elbows, but still have no knees and only cankles. Can type but not write well and am using cutlery like a caveman (fist grab only) or just eating with my hands.

Yeah, sorry, that was just the bad bits of my race report--and damn that was long --but I did have a grand time while it lasted and so many events and people around the race week were just amazing. PIIIIIIIGLETS ... and food! More of all the juicy good bits to come!

 

amd723 - 2013-03-03 4:26 AM

I had a number of comments I was going to make, but think they can all be summed up with one word - WOW. That is all.

ponderingfox - 2013-03-03 6:20 AM

Set a PR on my 5k this morning!  Read the race report to see how I almost won and would have set a faster PR (volunteer misdirection on last turn).

I almost pulled a Salty. :p

ponderingfox - 2013-03-03 7:20 AM

Set a PR on my 5k this morning!  Read the race report to see how I almost won and would have set a faster PR (volunteer misdirection on last turn).

I almost pulled a Salty. :p

Muskrat37 - 2013-03-04 7:28 AM

Yanti... so sorry to hear about the issues during the race.  I love your attitude about the whole thing though.  I think I would have cried.   Glad to have our fearless leader back.   Heal up soon, and have lot's of Yanti Style Fun in Melbourne!  

Congrats on the PR Tom

Muskrat37 - 2013-03-04 7:38 AM

OK Pod Mates... 

I am working on round 2 of TJ's swim video's / analysis.  In looking for a couple of drill video's to share with TJ.. I stumbled upon a couple new swim videos that I had to share.  

This one blew me away, because this guys "race pace" is un freaking real!  I can't imagine this being my race pace for an IM swim! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND1L8I2ZY5w - also, the analysis of his stroke is incredible.  Specifically, the "push down" comment at 3:50 of the video.  Hard to imagine that there is room for improvement for a guy that swims a 44:00 min IM swim  

The second video I wanted to share is an incredible video showing a great catch and pull.  The main thing to note hear is that most sprinters use more of a straight arm technique with a much higher stroke rate, and a much harder / faster kick.  WE TRIATHLETES SHOULD NOT DO THIS!  Our stroke rate is much slower, and given the distance of our swims, we need to be as efficient as possible with each and every stroke.  Also - the higher elbow catch and pull will use the muscle groups in your arms more, saving the legs for the bike / run.  You will also not elevate your heart rate as much, saving a lot of precious energy.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgPQRrEfUJk&list=PLZbLxnwF_5Ibsimgd2nv3XuB0SuAOKbev&index=2

TJ - your analysis and video's are going to follow this post.  

melbo55 - 2013-03-03 1:28 PM Someone please help me get my butt out the door for my long run.  It's cold and windy and my husband just brought home Chinese take-out and I have 6-7 miles to run.

melbo55 - 2013-03-03 1:28 PM Someone please help me get my butt out the door for my long run.  It's cold and windy and my husband just brought home Chinese take-out and I have 6-7 miles to run.

ponderingfox - 2013-03-03 7:20 AM

Set a PR on my 5k this morning!  Read the race report to see how I almost won and would have set a faster PR (volunteer misdirection on last turn).

I almost pulled a Salty. :p