Funked Up Triathletes - Season 2 - Olympic/Sprint Focus - Closed (Page 9)

Happy Monday everybody!
So yesterday's race was, well, interesting. At packet pickup on Saturday, the weather was terrible...cold, windy, and the ocean was real choppy. On Sunday when I arrived I found out that the swim had actually been cancelled Saturday afternoon by beach patrol because of the conditions. In its place, they added in a 1.3 mile run to start, which made it definitely interesting. Also, I sent an email to the timing company because something doesn't seem right. Basically, all of my listed paces are considerably slower than I recorded on my garmin...I'm wondering if the distances being used for the results aren't totally accurate because I remember looking at my pace mid-race and they were definitely faster than the results reported.

Also, in my rush to get ready Saturday night, grabbed the wrong HR strap- the broken one. The good one was on top of the dryer but I grabbed the broken one out of my nightstand so I had zero HR feedback for this race. Surprisingly, this may have helped me run faster.

So, as for a RR:
1.3 mile run- According to my garmin, I completed this (as a 1.45 mile run) in 12:02 for a pace of 8:18. The results page listed my pace as 9:17 (same total time). The run went well but I was definitely winded as I pushed it hard.

T1: 1 minute- way too slow. Just had to switch shoes and hat, so it should have been faster.

Bike: 10 mile bike (garmin said 9.49 for speed of 17.5mph). results say 18.3mph for 32:48. Definitely didn't pedal as hard as I should have for the first half but I kicked it up for the second.

T2: 1:06- definitely too slow. May have been becuase I forgot which way to exit for the run.

Run2: 5K PR maybe . Garmin says 3.21 in 28:59 for 9:01/mile. results say 28:57 for 9:39/mile. Garmin had me faster than that the entire run. I was in the high 8s for a large part and sprinted the last .2 for 8:17/mile.

I know I'm definitely nitpicking about the times, but I feel like there's a huge discrepancy between my GPS data and the race results. Plus, my PE was way higher than 9:39/mile.

It was definitely a fun race but I certainly had complaints. People were using headphones, which are prohibited, and there were a lot of people clearly doing their first race who didn't know a thing about bike etiquette. definitely got cut off, or passed by people on the right or they refused to call out. There was also considerable drafting. One other thing was that the course should have had mileage markers, particularly on the bike to alert racers as to how much more they had to go. Oh yea, and the run 2 was on the Asbury Park boardwalk (the same one from Springsteen songs (if you've heard of Madam Marie- it's there), but the boardwalk wasn't closed at all to the public. At parts, you had to dodge walkers, joggers and bicylists. Made it tough at times.

Still deciding on the rest of my schedule for the year (tough mudder v 1/2 marathon). I also am determined to get faster in all 3 disciplines next year, especially swimming.

I was talking to somebody at the race who suggested that if I'm not getting a tri-bike now, I should consider the profile design fast forward seat post. It adjusts the angle from 75 to 78 degrees and is helpful when using aero bars. Anybody with any experience doing this?

Nice job Dave with the quintathlon, sounds like fun. I'm probably the opposite of you; very comfortable handling a bike (during my tri there was a section through downtown with fast 90 degree turns and I had a blast with that and dropped a number of people during that section), but my motor still needs some work. Getting better though.

Seth, glad your race went well, even if there seemed to be some timing issues. My results didn't match my tracking exactly either, but I think some of it can be explained by my starting and stopping the tracking at different times than the system would have seen me cross the mat. Some of my bike leg time was walking the bike to and from mount/dismount. It's also pretty annoying when people don't follow the rules of the road on the bike leg but I saw plenty of that too. Probably a consequence of my times being in the "not a serious contender" range.

Rest day today, and a busy week followed by a weekend today so getting in a ride will be tough. Maybe not a bad idea to be run focused this week anyways. I did get new shoes a week ago and so far very happy with them, so that helps my enthusiasm.

So this weekend I have another race.

There is a gated community about 1 miles from my house and they put on a small triathlon each year. It's cheap and considering it's so close, wife and I can't pass it up. It's this Saturday.

The distance is 500M swim, 10 mile bike (two laps around community) and 2.4M run. Should be real low key and it's not even a USAT event. I"m not sure if it's even chip timed or not.

I expect only about 100 participants and I'm going in just for fun. Except for one (huge) caveat. My buddy is doing it as well as his first triathlon. I HAVE to beat him. Now, this should not be a worry as he can barely swim and I'm stronger on the bike. However, he's one of those little string-beans that can really fly on the run. Fortunately, it's only a short run. I figure if I run at 8:30 pace (hopefully faster as that is my better 10K time) and he goes 6:00 minute miles...it could be tough on me to get enough space. I should do the swim in under 10 minutes easily. I would expect 14 minutes for him. The bike is a huge unknown, as the course is curvey, not closed to traffic and has a few speed bumps along the way. If I knew I could get out and just lay down power I'm confident I could stretch out a big lead. Having never done this before, I have no idea how it will turn out.

So, that's my race weekend. I can't let a first timer beat me. Even if he is a 'fast' runner. I think I'm putting a little pressure on myself...but that's part of the fun, right?

Ha! I think that's great!! Don't count out those first timers! They'll sneak up on you!! I was a first timer a few weeks ago and did a sprint tri with a friend, her husband, and her brother in law - they have all done Olys, and HIM and I beat all except my friend's husband and he only beat me by less than a minute! LOL! Kick butt and have fun!! If your friend takes to it maybe he'll get sucked in and you'll have a training partner.

I'd like to say I'll be thinking of you, and maybe I will, but I'll be racing Saturday at the Oly. Yikes, I'm nervous. The last time I saw the lake it was very wavey - that will suck the life out of me. We shall see what we shall see.
Weather looks to be decent - about 66 at start and mid-70's by end on its way up to low 80's. I'm hoping it doesn't get too hot, it's a hilly course.

So cheers all! You may not hear from me until Monday - not sure yet. I may check back in tomorrow night as I panic silently.

Oh believe me. I'm not counting anyone out. That's why I'm stressed! Ha ha. Should be fun!

Good luck to you both on your races this weekend

Oly done! 2:58 and change. They'll have the breakdown tomorrow probably. The run was brutal. Going off grid to camp until Monday - beer and hammock.
Cheers all!

I think my swim was about 32 minutes or so. Have to wait and see. There wasa very long run up the beach, aacross a green and across the road before you hit the mat for T1 so I'll be curious to see what they have me down for.

Quick check in.... I had a lot of fun yesterday. There was a bit of clock confusion but I think I finished 7th overall so I'm pretty pleased. I'll do a more thorough report tomorrow!

Okay, my race report is below.

All in all I am satisfied with the race in that I figured it would take me 3 hours based on my training (or lack thereof haha) and I pretty much guessed right. I was not happy with my swim start but midway and end of the swim I was happy with. The bike was fun and the hills for last 5 - 8 or so miles were killers and I am very happy I rode this course prior to the race and knew they were coming. T2 went well and my feeling is I can do it faster. My run I'd like to work on. I could have easily knocked quite a few minutes off it if I had I prepared the run better - but then again, with not having planned on these distances this year and the hilly course with last minute changes, I'll take it. The best part was the fact that I felt pretty good after and no major aches or pains. My rest for the calf on the run was probably needed and I avoided a major cramp/pull so I can't regret it.


http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...






(lake george oly tri 2014 3.jpg)



Edited by aviatrix802 2014-09-02 8:25 PM

Forgot to throw in the finish line chute. LOL





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lake george oly tri 2014 3.jpg (111KB - 5 downloads)

Nice report Jenn! Also,your link doesn't work. I find the report by going to your profile.

I finally finished my most two recent race reports. This past weekend was fun. I finished 8th overall so not a bad time at all!

On another note, I had lunch with a buddy of mine who is in Tech. He was wearing the 920XT. Yes, it's real and I held it in my hand and snapped a picture of it. It should be out in the next month, I believe. It looks fantastic.

Two more races. I'm on a down week this week before next week's peak week for 70.3. Yippee!!!!

Nice!! What kind of price tag are they looking at for the 920xt? I'm guessing about $550. What are your friend's feelings about the 920xt vs the 910xt? I'm pretty tempted to go with the 910xt when the price drops on it in a month. I've heard the 920xt is sleeker and does cadence for running (do I really need that? - probably not at my level) but what else???? So exciting.

Thanks for the heads up on the link. I checked it when I first posted it and it was fine, now I can't get it either. I'll see if I can remedy that.

Enjoy (and respect) the taper!! You'll do great! Cheering you on from here! I'll be doing a HIM next year so I'll be looking forward to your report! I love to learn!

Cheers!

Edited by aviatrix802 2014-09-03 7:31 PM

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

that should work....

Unfortunately, I don't have pricing or even a release date yet. I'm sure I'll get it soon. My buddy is in development, not marketing so he doesn't even know yet. Also, he didn't really share any opinion at all. He told me he literally grabbed it as he walked out the door since he knows I'd be interested and hadn't played with it much. I think he works very much on the Garmin Connect software side, so I don't know his involvement with this specific product. I can tell you that it looks nicer than the 910, and it is quite a bit thinner. It looks more like something you'd wear on your wrist as an everyday watch (although it is still on the larger size). If you know what the Garmin 620 looks like, imagine that with a rectangle form factor, instead of round (black with a torquise trim).

He was also wearing something called a vivosmart band that was pretty slick, but not sure it's much in the way of a triathlon tool.

Funny as that was announced today. Looks pretty cool, and probably more useful then my fitbit. Anybody else wear a daily tracker? At this point I don't see the use for it other than that it acts as my silent alarm so as not to wake the wifey

Hope everybody's been doing well. Great hearing about the racing this weekend. I've been back to dedicating a lot of time to running. I'm leaning toward the October 1/2 marathon over the mud run as there's a $150 difference in price. I also really want to keep building my running base.

I've never really paid too much attention to those trackers just because I haven't seen an immediate use for them. That said, as we were eating lunch, he was glancing at it to see text messages, email, etc. It also controls a media player via Bluetooth. This may be standard issue stuff for these gadgets, but I couldn't help think it was pretty nice. I used to wear an armband for my S4, but over the summer have taken to carrying it in my hand (in a plastic baggy) and I actually prefer it. I can more easily glance at messages I receive, switch playlists, etc. It would be pretty nice to pack the phone away and be able to do that stuff on the watch/band.

I'm pretty sure the 920 also does this stuff.

Regarding the HM vs. mud run.....uh what? How much is the HM and how much is the mud run? I've done a number of these mud runs (warrior dash, rugged maniac, etc) and have never paid more than $50 (they are always on deal sites out here like Groupon and Living social). As far as a training thing, the HM and mud run are not mutually exlcusive. Those mud runs are fun but not intense at all. They are built for the masses and there is usually alot of walking between obstacles. If you are Olympic Tri fit, you'll definitely be able to handle it just fine (although you WILL be quite sore the next day from using muscles you don't use often and have lots of bumps and bruises). While money is always an issue, I'd say do both (fi you can). I don't know what events you're talking about, but to me a premier half marathon event (in KC, that would be something like the Kansas City Marathon) would be worth more than a mud run. That's just me though.

It would be the NJ Tough Mudder versus the Seaside Heights 1/2 marathon- definitley not a particularly prestigious one. I've actually done a rugged maniac which was a 5K distance so I'm somewhat familiar with the concept. My biggest problem is that I'm fairly short, 5'7" so some of the walls are tough. They are on consecutive weekends so I won't burden the wife with doing both, she barely tolerates my hobby as it is

Ah, Tuff Mudder is like 10-11 miles...right? That may be a different deal. And I can appreciate not getting the schedule too crowded. I"ve successfully dragged my wife into the sport and it's greatly increased my race options. : ) (of course, it has also complicated things too with 4 kids and 2 racers!).

Oh...one other exciting note I failed to mention....

Yesterday I officially entered the Escape From Alcatraz lottery! I'm pretty excited. I"ll be nervous as heck if I get in. I should know in October and at that point my 2015 race schedule will start getting penciled together.

I'm also looking into an interesting relay race here. Called the Bison 50....I'm looking at getting 5 teammates together (one is my wife) and each run a 10 mile leg. That is late October. We'll see how it turns out.

Good luck on the lottery. Escape from Alcatraz sounds pretty incredible, and challenging. I lived in the San Francisco area for a number of years growing up and it's where I started cycling, and it's a great place for riding if you don't mind climbing some hills. If you've never spent much time out there it would make a good family vacation.

I've had a Fitbit for a little over a year now, and it's been a good tool for losing weight. Being an engineering type, the calories in - calories out approach of it makes sense to me more than some kind of diet and if I'm disciplined it's effective. I'm down about 15 pounds since I started using it. My pants sure fit better.

The Vivosmart does look interesting. I bought a bluetooth enabled watch earlier this year called a Casio Omnisync. It might be the most poorly marketed product I've ever seen, but it's basically like a Magellan Echo in that you can connect it to your phone and then have the display on the watch show whatever metrics you'd like. I'd been using a Wahoo RFLKT on the bike for a while and the Omnisync is the same thing but for running. I just connect the watch and a heart rate monitor to my iPhone and then have the watch display heart rate, pace, distance or whatever from the Wahoo Fitness or Strava app. It works well but the downside is a have to have my phone on me, and as I haven't been listening to music while running lately it would be nice to not have to keep it on me. The Casio was only $79 though, so much cheaper than a full GPS watch. And it's fully waterproof so I use the basic stopwatch functions in the pool too.

While I bought the watch for running, it also does smartphone notifications, so it will beep or vibrate when you get a text message, email, phone call or whatever and show you some info on it. I started wearing the watch more on weekends because I'm one of those terrible husbands who can never seem to hear his phone ring or beep in a store when his wife is trying to find him. The watch alerts are better at getting my attention, so I make my wife a little less angry. It's also nice to be able to tell the email I just got is junk without fishing the phone out of my pocket.

I'm sure a lot of this stuff will be more commonplace in a couple of years, especially if Apple launches a watch.

Hi all!
Not much happening here. My back threatened to go out on my Tuesday so I've been laying low all week. It's still sore - try to hit the chiropractor Monday. I'm supposed to ride 40 Tuesday with a friend but wondering if that's wise with my back. Play it by ear.

Hey, question: About Monday or Tuesday of last week (couple of days after the race) my ankles - right in particular - were swelling up. They aren't quite back to normal even now. In the past when I've put out a good effort this will occasionally happen and I usually remedy it by going for a long run - re-disperses the lymphatic fluid. Am I a good candidate for those compression socks/sleeves I see people wearing on their legs? I'm thinking I may have to go that route. This happened last fall too when I hiked a mountain here on a Thursday at quite a fast pace and had a Half Mary on Sunday. My ankles were so swollen I feared I wouldn't be able to race but gave it a shot anyway, PR'd my race time and the swelling was completely gone. Interesting.

I've never experienced swelling like you're talking about. But the compression sleeves may be a good thing to try. I have some and will occasionally wear them after long runs for recovery. They are supposed to foster increased circulation to aid the recovery process. You may also just consider some elevation (put your feet up and relax!).

I don't know that any particular type of compression is really any better than others. I have some Skins, some other brand that I can't remember (Cep?) and also some "old man" compression socks. I really think they all do about the same job. I only mention this because, like anything, you can probably spend as much money as you want finding a pair. If I was going to buy some today, I'd probably buy some I saw on Groupon Goods recently.

What??!! Put my feet up and relax??! LOL My husband tells me that all the time. I virtually never sit down but did actually do a little of that this past week (between my back and ankle).
I may see what I can pick up on sale someplace. Fall is approaching so sometimes the sales on summer stuff start to take place. I figure it doesn't hurt to try. I saw a lot of people with them on even the day before the race. I would have gone for a run to get rid of it but again, the back was going out.

Thanks for the input!

Compression sock sale - 40% off on Active.com! Pink argyles are on their way! LOL
Ironically I own almost nothing pink....not my typical color but I figure what the heck, my family will easily spot me now.

Hey, has anyone heard from Jesse? How the heck did he do in his race? I never saw a race report or heard anything.

Edited by aviatrix802 2014-09-09 10:40 PM

Jesse never made it back from Detroit. He retired from triathlon and is now a professional blackjack player.