MJEWEN Summer 2013 Mentor Group - OPEN (Page 9)

Ken, I really agree with Emile to get in at least one ows before the tri, and I would recommend it was with other people, too, not just out at a lake with friends or family there to watch. I mean other people actually getting in and being around you to get used to what it is like to be around other people while swimming. I agree with the sighting thing, too. It is much harder to do in the open water than the pool. Omaha (Lake Cunningham, and Lake Manawa in IA) have some organized ows that you can do, if there isn't anything in Lincoln. I thought some tri folks went out to Branched Oaks, sometimes? You might ask around. I am signed up for one group ows on July 8 at Fremont Lakes. Want me to let you know if they have any open spots? I also am thinking about doing one at Lake Manawa on Sat. AM. It is a swim, bike, run group brick.

Well, my husband still hasn't decided on which bike to get. He did go back to the bike shop he had originally gone to and they have a Jamis Coda Elite, 2010. He took it for a ride on the same route he had the other one on. He said it was ok, but I think he was hoping to feel more of a difference in the bikes. The Jamis is more expensive, but I now think he might be better off going with that one, mainly because of it being a sturdier bike for his large frame and weight, plus it has higher end components. It is really fun to go out riding with my best friend, so I am hoping he sticks with it.

I need to get to the pool, so gotta cut it short. (One thing I notice and like about logging my training, is that I can really see what areas I need to spend more time on....I need to get more purple on my little chart! (Purple is the swimming))

Melissa, Did you write up a race report for the sprint? If so I didn't see it. I read your report on the swim. Makes my stomach do flip-flops thinking about swimming in open water for that long and the swimming over/under people. Plus to have so many things to avoid for safety. Yikes. I would have swam it just like you, very comfortably. I think your overall pace was very good too. Great job!

Denise, I'm excited you got into the Mayor's Tri. We need to plan a meet up place/time pre or post race. I can't recall what age division you are in - or if you have even said. I can't remember how this race goes, if it's USAT age divisions or just age day of race division. I could be in the F35-39 or F40-44 (USAT) depending on how they do it.

Ken, I sent you a message to see if you want to practice open water swimming. I am thinking about getting a swim in this weekend at Wagon Train Lake. I don't know what my speed is in open water, and it would be good to get an idea of how long I will be out there swimming and to brush up on sighting and not getting freaking out by not seeing the line at the bottom of the pool (or my hands for that matter). I believe the swim area is 100M wide and can be swum a few times buoy to buoy. Have you thought about signing up for the Cornhusker State Games Tri? It is reasonably priced. I signed up. It's just 2 weeks after the Mayor's Tri.

My 12 hour Adventure Race went quite well. My team finished in 11:27 I believe. We were 2nd in our division. My husband's team also finished 2nd in their division and 2nd Overall. It was a very tough race, and I have some nasty bruises, but they were worth it! We rappelled, canoed, biked, ran, & trekked through 3' tall prairie grass, mud, river, sand, and cow-pies for miles and miles finding hidden check points all over the country side. It rained multiple times on us, so we were quite muddy. We tipped the canoe twice (I've never tipped a canoe or kayak before), and I got one heck of a jolt from an electric fence. Can't wait for the next one. :-)

Thanks for the feedback on my swim video. All things I noticed when I watch it too. Today I tried to focus on not flexing my hands upward at the wrists and rotating more. I tend to get dizzy when I rotate too much, even though my head doesn't rotate. I'm also working on a faster arm turnover, but they tire out after a few hundred yards. That will improve, I suppose, as I keep practicing more and more.

I also have an occasional problem when I breath on my right. I sink some, you can see my hips drop when I breathe to my right towards the end of the video (about 1:15). I think I'm trying to push down on the water (instinct to get head above water) with my left arm or lifting my head up. I need to get some footage of that to see if that's what I'm doing for sure.

Now to update my training log.

Chrissy - Congrats on the 2nd place finish in your adventure race! It sounds like the race was 12 hours of suffering!

Mike - Good luck this weekend! Look forward to reading your race report.

I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow evening when my wife gets off work. My plan is to get up early so I can hopefully get in a swim/bike/run before leaving.

Melissa just read your race report. Very nice report and congrats again on the PR! During your swim if that would have been me I would have started flutter kicking and I think she would have gotten the message.

I got in a great workout. Got up and went to the lake and got in a 1 mile ows and when I got home ran 4 miles and put in 25 miles on the bike.

Emile, you are a rock star! I'm dying thinking about getting a long bike in tomorrow morning and again on Sunday (a bike/run brick actually)- it's going to be a warm one.

Agreed!!! A Rock Star Beast You are a great motivator Mr. Emile... enjoy your holiday.

Nice workout! pretty much like a race day!

Hope everyone has a good weekend and if you are racing good luck!

I am continuing to hammer out bike miles, I will be running 3 days in a row early next week as I will be in NYC for work. Then off to the lake cabin with the family. I am hoping to get some early AM swim time in with evening runs or maybe a swim/run brick ( i am leaving the cycle at home). My sister and brother in law both have the running fever and contemplating a tri next season. Their first 5k is in July, It is all because of what led me to triathlon that they are now changing their lifestyle for the better!

I'll be doing and Olympic Distance tri in NYC in a few weeks..... if you happen to be able to run in central park, please let me know what to expect as afar as hills... thanks. The run, once we get into the park, is five miles

Today is a run day for me. 6 miles over three bridges (and three on the way back) in the morning.... then to the office for work... then the same route in the evening before I go home.

good luck for those racing today.....

Got my 90 minute ride in today on crushed Limestone on the mountain bike. Today's workout included 3 x 5 minutes at Z4 (threshold) and the remainder in Z2. I am trying to get better about using my HR monitor to ensure I'm in the right zone (I use the Zone 1-5 system). Wind was pretty strong on the return ride, blowing out of the East so the last couple miles were rough going. I'm also trying to get better about logging my workouts so I can visually see how I'm doing. Despite the wind, I was blessed by cloud cover this morning as a storm passed just to the North of us. Kept the temperatures in the lower 70's for the ride and it's always nice to not have the sun beating down on me. Can't complain about that!

I stopped half way through the ride and raised my seat about 5mm. I am riding a new mtb, so still dialing in on the proper seat position. Getting closer each time I ride it. I also ran into a couple friends out on the trail biking. Talked with them for a couple minutes then had to get back up to speed and finish my ride. I miss riding with them, but sometimes you just need to get your own work out in at the proper pace in order to see improvements. That's my goal these next few weeks.

I hope tomorrows ride goes as well as today's and hopefully the wind dies down. Might ride the cx bike tomorrow.

Nice bike ride, Chrissy. What's the difference between the mountain bike and the CX bike?

Wow, Emile, that is a nice workout you had there!

Hi Terry! So over three bridges, huh? Sounds like a hilly run.

Denise, did your husband pick a bike?

Tom, it's great that your love of sports is impacting your family in such a positive way! A great side effect :-)

My workout today was an 8 mile run up and over the big bridge and back again. It was nice out today - warm, but not too humid. Then I drove over to my youngest son's tennis tournament - what a hoot! These kids are all 8 and under, and the person chasing the balls gets the best workout of anyone, that's for sure! But they all had fun and hopefully learned a little more about keeping score, what side to stand on to serve, things like that. Now, it's work, pack and in 2 days - vacation!!

A CX bike looks like a road bike but with slightly bigger tires. That's all I have to ride in tri races with - at least it's a bit more aerodynamic than the mtb!
I would suspect tennis is much like volleyball at that age, if you have a good serve you'll make points as the ball is rarely returned. Enjoy your vacation! We leave for one next weekend. Off to the cooler mountains. I also, enjoyed your race report, I posted on the report page itself.

Well... I miscalculated. It was two bridges but back and forth over each so actually bridge repeats kind of.... it was pretty good. I could not get out to do it again later in the day, it was just too hot.... and i had to meet clients later in the early evening......

so... i went for a nice brick today.... one hour at about 17 mph then a 4 mile run... felt pretty good off the bike, but definitely need to get used to that bike to run leg transition..... i don't do many bricks, but can see the benefits from doing them from last week and this.

now, a nice break for a few hours, then back to work........

Bricks are rough. I have only done 1 brick in the last 2 months. I finally did a bike/run brick today, but cut my run really short. Really, really short. My plan called for 15 minutes of running after an hour of biking. I did 2 1/2 minutes of running. :-) Cut it short due to time constraints, not because I was too tired or too lazy. I agree with you, need more bike/run bricks. Oh how my legs felt like lead and I weighed 500 lbs. I was sure I was running at a 12 min/mile pace, but was surprised to see I had actually kept it under an 8:30 pace for the 1/3 mile I ran.

Edited by crissy_jo 2013-06-23 5:48 PM

I totally get that feeling too! I think it is a visual/mental thing after the speed of the bike, running just looks/feels so slow.

Got out later this afternoon/early evening for another run at the beach.... wife met me there and enjoyed the beach while I ran and swam.... it was really nice. She said, wow... you look really good running... usually she's "tolerant" with all my training and racing, she doesn't really go to any of my events...... (most of the morning training is before she even wakes up and on the weekends I'm getting home just after she wakes up) it was nice that we could hang out for a while .....

I am going to force myself to run three bricks a week until the July race - an hour or so on the bike trainer, then one mile at a fast pace..... next week I'll increase the distance. I really dislike bricks .... but I have to do something over and over again until it becomes second nature.....that doesn't mean I'll like it any better but there will be much less mental stress over that part of the event.

nice effort crissy_jo on the under 8:30 pace off the bike......

Monday's are my day off training. But I'll go to the gym and do some strength training focusing on core and easy dry-land exercises.......

Did an open water swim this evening. Had planned to do one over the weekend but ran out of time. Wish I had taken the wetsuit. I swam around 400 meters I would guess. First 100 was rough then I got into a better groove. Swimming with the wind much better than against it. It sure is a different beast than the pool. Need to try and get one per week in I think. Followed it up with some kayaking.

yep, crissy_jo........ the open water swim (OWS) is definitely a different beast.... i usually get into my groove about 60-100 strokes into the swim (i don't really count, it's just an approximate distance) i try not to push it too hard at the beginning because my heart rate goes way up and it just takes too much time for the rate to go back down......

I ran to the gym, worked out and ran back home today, it's about 3.5 - 4 miles depending on cutting corners.... When i run in the morning i carry my bike headlight and clip on a blinking red light on the back of my shorts......... this is pretty routine for me so I wouldn't really post just this BUT.... on the way back home i notice out of the corner of my eye something moving, i shined my light on it and it was a possum. Now, I'm thinking that the possum will 'Play Dead' but no... it keeps running along with me about 8 feet away through the bushes for about 100 yards or so. I'm thinking that's a slow possum, but i looked at it's legs and they're pretty short, so it was making pretty good speed, i guess, for a possum, not that I've ever considered what a fast possum is or is not. most of the time i see them playing dead on my fence while my dog goes bat sh*t crazy barking at it at way to early thirty in the morning.......... And all I'm thinking after i passed the possum is that "I'm faster than a possum." woot woot......

have a great day everybody...

"Faster than a possum." Now that;s something to be proud of! Hahaha! Thanks for my morning chuckle!

Chrissy, all I can say is the swim part really freaked me out at my first Tri and I am bound and determined to not let it freak me out again. Since I found I am participating in the Papillion Tri, I have made it my mission to get out on open water as much as I can. I have gone three times in the last four days and each time it got increasingly better! I went out yesterday and I am guessing we went about 1200 yards total based on speed and eye-balling the distance. We did it in two sets. After the first one, I was like, "ok, I can do it let's move on to the part I really like...biking." But I willed myself to go again, and I am so glad I did, b/c now I know I can swim in the open water and not get freaked out. I am going to do at least one group swim before Tri so I can get the feel of all the bodies around me.

Training is going well. I took the day off on Saturday, and that felt good. I do not like the Nebraska heat and humidity, but I am trying to get out and run in it a bit during the day rather than early morning, so I will be a little more prepared for it, as I feel it is going to be a warm day in July for the Tri. I am doing a better job of logging my workouts which is good for me. I need to keep doing it, so it becomes a habit.

You are going to kick butt at the swim in a couple weeks. 1200M OWS? that's incredible. I don't think I could swim nonstop for that long. Partially because I'm a little too freaked out still, and partially because I just get tired swimming. Haven't quite discovered a pace/form/breathing pattern/fill in the blank, that I think I could maintain for that long. Might just be all in my head too. I think it would be better if I was swimming in open water with a small group. I wouldn't have that Jaws is Going to Eat Me feeling quite as bad. Stupid movie has scarred me for life.

denise... you are going to "kick butt." 1200 yards open water is awesome......

crissy-jo.... it's ll in you heard. you're body will do whatever your mind tells it to. give your self permission to be spectacular... geez louise, you kayak, ride, climb, run through tall grass, canoe, and probably countless other things you've already forgotten about........ you can do anything.....

Ah, shucks, thanks Terry for the vote of confidence. It is in my head. I had a great swim today (in the pool). I swam a 400 followed by I think a 350 - lost count on the last one, but it was eithe a 350 or a 400. Then followed it up with a few faster paced 50's at the end. Plan called for just a 400 & 200 today, but the first 400 felt so good I wanted to do it again! Now if only I could feel this great and confident in open water.

I received an email from Team Up/ Autism Speaks regarding the Chicago Marathon.... as of this afternoon they could still get you in the race :


The Bank of America Chicago Marathon Open Registration opened on Tuesday, February 19 and was sold out in a matter of days.

We can still get you and any of your friends in!

Secure your entry now for ONLY $31 and make this the year to remember!
We have 25 entries left that will expire on July 15.

Join us, or pass the note to another!

Already have your entry? Join us with no fundraising minimum requirement (but limited benefits), or call the office to discuss fundraising minimum requirements (with more benefits).

http://events.autismspeaks.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1048330

I hope this is interesting to you or anyone you know........

Leaving for vacation today. Won't have access to the boards to keep up with everything this week after today. Hope to get a lake swim in or 2 while out camping. There is also a pool where we are camping, but it's not very big, so lap swims seem a little pointless. So...I'm going to pack a wetsuit and try for a lake. Also taking a bike to get in a couple rides, and hopefully I'll get my 2 runs in over the next week. Crossing my fingers I can keep up with training while in the mountains.

I'm getting quite nervous for the Papillion Mayor's Tri on the 14th, the weekend after getting back from vacation. I looked at last year's times and they seem really good. I'm amazed at how fast people run their 5k off the bike! Also amazed at the bike times on what I read is supposed to be pretty hilly terrain. Must admit I am not sure on how the bike leg is supposed to work. Looks like several loops with some of it on a bike trail? Seems like it will be rather crowded with 200 people out there.