Sink or SWIM! with WittyCityGirl - CLOSED (Page 9)

Wow, so much activity in 1 1/2 days.  Open water swims, wetsuits, not so great work meetings, oh my lol! 

Sara my tri is in Niagara region, Ontario, Canada! Can you say cold!! Although, I am now toying with possibly doing one on June 18th.  Decisions, decisions!

Itzia, love the new avatar pic!

Suzanne, compared to what you have been through, Kona will be a breeze !

There is some great discussions around OWS.  My first tri experience will be in open water. I have nightmares that I will be swimming and swimming my little heart out only to realize I am way off course and I'm the only one left in the water lol.  I am also definitely wearing a wetsuit.  I only want a small portion of my body exposed to Lake Ontario water.  And someone told me yesterday that there are leaches in the water.  Yuck!

Thanks to Sara and Johanne who gave me advice on purchasing my bike.  I finally bought one today and I had every intention of buying a hybrid.  I tried 2 different types and then I saw it!  It was standing up against a wall, trying to get my attention.  It was a ROAD BIKE!  I asked if I could try it.  It was love at first ride!  I was sold.  And to make it even sweeter, it was on sale and there was no tax! It was meant to be.

I have also decided which pool I am going to join.  Will sign up Friday.  All those posts on swim strokes I will be needing. 

Today is a rest day for me.  My new bike  is getting all tuned up and hubby put his in to get tuned up as well. 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Thanks - I'll just work on getting the distances in it over a month right now, lol

OWS… my first triathlon will take place where a river pours out into the sea, that’s what Boca del Río means.  These waters are very brown and you can’t see a thing precisely because it’s where the river and the sea meet.  I have no experience swimming at a place like that.  I just hope it’s not polluted… 

The other tri I plan to do is in Huatulco, where the sea is a bit rough but beautifully clean.  I have no idea how I would feel competing in the sea, although my father always swam with me to the buoys from a very early age when we were on holiday and I’ve continued to do that on my own.  I guess it’s just a question of remembering his words:

 “The sea will let you be in it if you accept that it is too powerful for you challenge it.  Never fight the sea.  Take it’s waves swimming in the direction you want to go to when it allows you to do it, and rest when it takes you another way.”

Is anybody else swimming in the sea? 

It seems a lot of people have trouble catching their breath.  My first job when I bought my wetsuit was to stretch out the neck so that I could breathe easier.  

I think some people put too much thought into inhaling and not enough into exhaling.  The next time you swim, pay attention to what you do when your face is in the water.  Are you exhaling out of your nose? Your mouth? Both?  Are you holding your breath?  

I encourage you to come up with a rhythm for breathing-this will help calm you down when you swim in open water.  When your face is in the water you can hear so much and it gives you something to focus.  So focus on hearing the bubbles leave your mouth/nose, hear the air enter your mouth when you turn your head to breathe.  Decide ahead of time if you are going to alternate side breathe (breathe on the right, pull, pull, pull, breathe on the left, pull, pull, pull...) or breathe on one side.  Breathing on one side is common for MANY swimmers and competitive swimmers.  I like to teach people to practice breathing on both sides during practice so that if you can't breathe on your regular side during a race you will still be confident that you can get air on the other side.

Make those breaths count.  If you don't get air deep in your lungs and you breathe every stroke, then it's not much different then hyperventilating-that's not good!

Don't forget that holding your breath changes the pH of your blood and not in a beneficial way, so exhale, exhale, exhale.

Confession.  I don't like OWS because of the critters!  I have a hard time swimming in the murky waters near me because I don't know how big the fish are or where the snapping turtles are-I'm POSITIVE they want to nibble on me!  So, I have vowed not to do an ocean swim.  I'm afraid a crab or shark will bite my toes off.

Two of my tri's last year were in the ocean. Both were fairly sheltered bay type areas so it really wasn't too rough. When we went to practice the first time, my niece took us. She's been racing for a few years. My husband always drifts the left so when we got to the first buoy we stopped to regroup.....except for Dave. He was swimming away out to sea. I was laughing and calling him at the same time not sure what I would do if he didn't hear me I think of the 3 sports the swimming takes the most to get used to because most of us swim in pools. One of our local race companies is putting on some swim races this summer and I think I'm going to do a couple just for more race type OP experiences. About those sharks...it always scares me when they bite somebody close to where I have to swim but I just try not to think about it when I'm in the water 

WittyCityGirl - 2011-04-13 8:51 PM Lori! I am so excited for you to have a new bike! Loved the description-"love at first ride".  NOW, you have to learn how to take care of it! I'm still learning.  I went to a bike maintenance class back in December and learned a bit, but I was still overwhelmed by learning the REAL names for bike parts instead of referring to "the tube-y thing" or "those circles in the front and back that have spikes on them".  

I'm a bike maintenance know nothing. I need to figure out how to do just about everything. I was the recipient of a SUPER nice carbon tri bike for Christmas, and I'm totally itimidated by it, maintenace wise. I don't want to screw anything up. It is phenominal to ride, but I'm at a loss as to basic repairs, etc. Anyone have any suggestions on how to learn?

LOL  That's not very engouraging!!  LOL  The truth is that I'd be worried about sharks rather than anything else!!!  I might be losing a bit more than a toe!!! 

Mike – I see you are showing off the dungeon of doom.

Chet – I hope your daughter gets better

Sara – Thank you, the meeting went excellent.  I dared, and It worked.

Lori – Thanks.  Congrats on the new bike and club.  We’ll need a photo of the bike though…  :-)

All -  I read your experiences in OWS and I wonder how I’ll do… I hadn’t worried much about it.  Maybe I should prepare myself with more practice as some of you suggested.  Thanks!

I rode with the team this afternoon.  I’m the newest member, and the oldest woman training today.  On Wednesdays we do a 20km ride from Cuernavaca up a mountain.  Temperature and vegetation change as we go up.  Today we started at 102F(39 C).  April and May are the hottest months of the year here.

For the first time I overtook 3 members of the team and then they stopped at 10K.  I went on while they were taking their bikes on the team’s trailer.  I could have gone up that mountain... but they catched up with me at 13Km just as I was about to take the “pera”.  The most famous curve in Mexico because it’s shaped as a pair and it’s very dangerous.  I wish they hadn’t made me stop and get on the team's van, but we have to think of team A who was already at the top of the mountain feeling a little cold.  Getting there was a milestone for me... so much is going on at the moment, that I could feel my heart peddaling rather than my legs...  I just kept thinking "I can do this, just as I can do everything else!!"

Good night!! 

I agree, breathing is the biggest problem I have with swimming. Often when I work on technique (arm placement, turning the whole body, etc...) I will forget to breathe out in the water (hold my breath...) and then I get all uncomfortable and end up hyperventilating. Also, my coach has pointed out that I am angling my head wrong to take breaths--rather than just turning my face to the side, I move my whole head out of the water--I know I shouldn't do that, but I have this weird mental thing about inhaling water--I'm sure that I will...Is that a regular thing for other beginners?

We did a 10 mile bike ride followed by a 10 minute run tonight in my class. There were some pretty wicked hills, and on the way back, those hills we struggled to climb became VERY STEEP! Apparently my bike can go REALLY FAST when it wants to--especially going downhill....and of course, the one thing going through my mind was "the only thing covering my body is a helmet and spandex...that would hurt--a lot!" Thankfully, I stayed upright.

Mike_D - 2011-04-13 7:21 PM

WittyCityGirl - 2011-04-13 8:51 PM Lori! I am so excited for you to have a new bike! Loved the description-"love at first ride".  NOW, you have to learn how to take care of it! I'm still learning.  I went to a bike maintenance class back in December and learned a bit, but I was still overwhelmed by learning the REAL names for bike parts instead of referring to "the tube-y thing" or "those circles in the front and back that have spikes on them".  

I'm a bike maintenance know nothing. I need to figure out how to do just about everything. I was the recipient of a SUPER nice carbon tri bike for Christmas, and I'm totally itimidated by it, maintenace wise. I don't want to screw anything up. It is phenominal to ride, but I'm at a loss as to basic repairs, etc. Anyone have any suggestions on how to learn?

I think it is very important to know how to work on your own bike.  I had a bad crash on my tri bike (couldn't have been on my cheep roadie ) a couple years ago in the middle of no where with no cell reception.  I blew a tire on a curve.  I took me about 20 minutes but I got it rolling and somewhat shifting again to get home.  Boy does showering hurt with road rash!  

Mike - Youtube is a great resource.  They have videos on how to do just about everything to your bike.  I do take mine in about once a year to get a tune-up at the LBS but everything else I do myself.  Carbon is not forgiving but most everything you would be working on is in the drive train and the wheels.  Just be careful about tightening anything around or to the carbon.

Daughter off to school today!  Swim this morning then travel day to Southern California for my relay.  I have a 7 mile run at about 11 am Friday, a 8 miler about 11 pm on Friday night, and a 10 miler about 6 am on Saturday morning.  Whole race should take us about 30 hours.  Then it is fun in the sun for 4 more days !!  

I know what you mean... glad to know she's better!

Hi Group!

I'm hoping this works today-I've left a couple of different messages but they have been eaten by the internet monster. Anyone else having problems?

Congrats on the new bike Lori, I'll be doing my first race on my MTB. I want to see if I really like doing this before I spend lots of money, but I have this crazy feeling that I'm going to become addicted.

MIke-I'm with you on the bike maintance, I've been trying to find information too. I'm wondering if anyone knows if bike shops have classes or anything?

Itzia-no plans on any races at the sea. I'm hoping to do one on Lake Michigan. I perfer Lake Michigan over the ocean anyway, because it's fresh water. You would be surprised but Michigan has some great beaches, and no sharks. You get the ocean feel without all the bad stuff.

Thanks for all the swimming info. My plans where to go swimming Tues. and Thrus. Had to change things up and I'm going tonight, and hopefully tomorrow morning (if I can get up that early).  I really wanted to start getting 2 swim workouts a week, but you know, sometimes life gets in the way. I think I'm going to try the golf game. My goal for tonight is to go 100 meters before I rest. Wish me luck.

Sara and group, any suggestions on clothing for racing. Which do people perfer, wet suit or bathing suit?

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the support, it has really helped me stay motivated for training.

Tracie

I'm also on facebook-Tracie Gregson Whittum

Chet-

 Daughter off to school today! Swim this morning then travel day to Southern California for my relay. I have a 7 mile run atbout 11 am Friday, a 8 miler about 11 pm on Friday night, and a 10 miler about 6 am on Saturday morning. Whole race should take us about 30 hours. Then it is fun in the sun for 4 more days !!

Good Luck! Have a great time!

Tracie

WOW!  That sounds like a full weekend!  Good luck and enjoy yourself Tracie!

WOW! That sounds like a full weekend! Good luck and enjoy yourself Tracie!

Had my first ART treatment on my injured foot today. Very interesting time. The guys office is in the spa at the Ritz Carleton in Boston, so it was by far the nicest doctors office I've ever seen . Not only that, the spa is adjacent to the LA Sports Club/gym at the hotel, so the whole area is just a gorgeous space. Anyway....

He had me do a few things with standing on one foot, leg bends, walking, etc to see how my feet/legs moved. He checked my feet to isolate the painful areas, we talked about the injury, etc. After a minute of checking things out, he told me he didn't think it was plantar fasciitis. He is thinking it was more likely a pulled/strain/small tear in a muscle in the foot near the arch.  He proceeded with a couple more treatments on the foot. The poking, etc hurt a bit when a tender spot was found, but overall, I felt OK. He gave me a small arch support thing to wear on my foot which seems (so far) to be a great thing. No pain.  Not going to go all crazy, but I'm hopeful. He thinks a couple more sessions will get me on the right road. going back Monday for session 2.

One of the places I will be swimming is a large lake is just a little bit icky .  That is why I will definitely wear a wetsuit.  Don't want any creatures touching me.

Where you are swimming your second race sounds beautiful.  I have been to Cozumel 2x's and the water was so clear and beautiful.  It had a lot of pretty big waves though.  Will you be getting any OWS in before the race?

Thanks for this info Sara.  I find I tend to hold my breath all the time and need to tell myself to exhale.  I will also try alternating my breathing as I usually do the left.  I don't know if this was already answered and it may be a stupid question but is there a magic # of breaths to take while doing front crawl? 

WittyCityGirl - 2011-04-13 9:51 PM Lori! I am so excited for you to have a new bike! Loved the description-"love at first ride".  NOW, you have to learn how to take care of it! I'm still learning.  I went to a bike maintenance class back in December and learned a bit, but I was still overwhelmed by learning the REAL names for bike parts instead of referring to "the tube-y thing" or "those circles in the front and back that have spikes on them".  

Thanks !  I have been watching all kinds of videos on bike maintenance and almost wanted to take hubby's apart and put it back together for practice . 

Johanne, I just got a visual of your husband drifting in the sea .  I have this recurring nightmare that I will be so into my swimming and when I finally look up, I am way off course and I am the only one left in the water .  To hear this actually happens?  Oh no, now I'm scared!