jszat's group- closed (Page 9)

Hey I'll try anything for the swim.

I am comfortable with my stroke now but I was not always that way. I threw in bilateral breathing and straight leg kicking... I can always see how a change in my pull works. If I don't see any improvement I'll just revert back.

So that would make Joe a Shark Donkey...? Do you think you could put a fin on your avatar Joe?

I've gotten lazy this week. It's supposed to be a light week but I keep sliding my scheduled run 'just one more day'.

I did get a new set of aero-bars last night. The elbow pads on my old ones sat in front of my handle bars and I felt too stretched out. The new ones set on top of my handle bars. I feel much better but I do sit up higher now. I also got a Profile Design aero bottle. I have no excuses now for not drinking more while riding.

Anyone racing this weekend?

I have a sprint on Sunday. I really don't know what to expect, I'm as fit as I've ever been, but haven't really made a point of preparing myself mentally. I've actually been busy building up road bikes and spending a lot of time mingling in that scene, including perhaps doing a time trial a week from Sunday.

I have however decided to take a different approach nutritionally for the 2 days leading up to the race (starting this morning). I'm going with an extremely low-fiber diet (compared to my usual high-fiber diet) in hopes that it will help with the upset-stomach issues I tend to flirt with before and during races. In order to still get the carbs I'm consuming fluids and gels. I think I might plan a high-in-iron dinner for tonight as well, as I think I've always been very slightly anemic. I've been supplementing Iron for about 6 months now, which helped at first, but hasn't appeared to have had the same effect as of late. A lot of iron-rich foods can also be high in fiber (like potatoes), so it's looking like steak for me tonight... [sarcasm]DARN[/sarcasm]!

I learned my lesson in June about eating before and on the course (or the effect of NOT eating), and apparently corrected it in July with a little experimentation, so I'll try to expand on that by doing the same, and maybe a little more, which means probably eating something while on the bike (GU).

This particular race has a slightly longer bike leg than did my last sprint, and they sound to be similarly flat, but I think I'm more fit, so I would like to see a similar time, around 1:29:00, which would put me in the top 3rd. That might be considered optimistic. Participants received an email the other day informing us the lake is in great shape, but very shallow this year, 4-5 feet deep mostly, which should boost my comfort level, as I'm still dealing with a deep-water phobia.

I realized I pretty much missed the ship on the swim discussion, but for what it's worth, my hands enter the water just in front of my crown, thumbs down, then I reach straight out for a long glide before pulling with about a 45* bend until I get to the hip and the I stretch them out again for the finish. My fingers are snuggly together and I make a slight cup. I only kick for balance when I rotate. I'm not fast, but I've found it to be efficient. I don't feel any particular muscle group suffering more, but my rotator cuff gets sore, especially on the left, because I breath/rotate right. I have stronger-than-average upper body strength, which might help me make this the most efficient method I've found, but I honestly don't know enough about swimming to tell you if it's good, bad, normal, or odd. It certainly doesn't look the same as a lot of the folks around me at the pool. It's a much slower cadence then most.

Alrighty then! I won 4 Texas Rangers baseball ticket vouchers a few weeks ago and someone at my office just bought them. I am now signed up for an open water sprint in September (16th to be exact). This should be a good test for me before the October race.

Probably the best Ken... being that all my tris have been wave OWS you need to experince one. Nothing like jumping in the blender with everyone else. Things calm down of course but the starts are always very interesting.

I know what you are feeling Ken about pushing things off and just not being motivated. That was the end of June and the beginning of July for me. Just try your best and try and get out there. I turned around when I started getting fed up with being a slacker... hense my good end to July and good start to August.

Jason... Best of luck this weekend. Make sure you listen to your body with the change in diet. I know that has been part of my problem the last week... eating out way too much. Your body might not like the change more than what you think.

How'd it go?

How does everyone fuel while on the bike? Continuing riding while ripping open a packet? Stop and do it? Gel flask? Etc?

Had a tube blowout 6 miles into the bike. Fantastic swim and was crushing the bike at a 21.8 avg when it went. Hitched ride and called it a day. I won't carry a spare in a sprint, so "yeah", I'm risking it.

Signed up for another on the 25th.

I pull gel from jersey pocket, tear open with teeth, squeeze, and put back into pocket (never littering). I still dribble a bit.

Yikes, another victim of the flat.  I will be wearning my unfashionable fanny pack for Ironman bike with extra tubes, nutrition etc, etc so we have as few suprises that cant be remedied.  Always good to have something out there.

Oh definitely for an IM you need to be prepared for flats, etc., even a half.

I store all my food in my bike jersey with my cellphone, id, cash, house keys... It can get a little bulky but I don't care.

If it are gels I do basically the same as Jason. Pull out of pocket... tear open with teeth. Gulp it down with a splash of water or gatorade, put back into pocket.

If they are cliff blocks or sports beans... I cut the package open before the ride place in my jersey pocket so they are easy to grab.

Granola/protein bars... Make sure they are chewy. The hard ones are just too diffcult to eat

I also agree with Joe. It takes a while to get comfortable eating on the bike. I haven't experimented with eating on the run but after my long run yesterday I need to look into a fuel belt and start experimenting.

Wait... so the one that I wear all the time went out of style?

Picked up a new saddle bag/flat kit after my DNF. Thinking about getting a hand pump v. CO2 cartridges. I will never DNF due to a flat again... just like not using wire hangers for my clothes. Lesson learned.

Gels and liquids... Nothing more. In the past during races I do not stop and hydrate during the run and with the Oly on my heals I think I will need something. I just started working on hydration on the run in between laps which I really have not liked. I will be picking up a fuel belt this weekend for carrying the liquids with me.

With an Oly I will not fuel on the run but with a half mary I would probably need something.

I am no means an expert on hydration or fueling but I have a bento box on my bike with a powerbar and some blocks, I love those things.  GU makes me nauseous.  When I have a long run I carry a fuel belt because there aren't many usable fountains around me.  Does anyone use a hydration pack?  Also during a tri, how do you keep your drinks cool in transition.  I hate warm water.  Should I freeze a water bottle and when I set up my transition spot let it melt during the swim??

I don't know if this was mentioned yet, but it's a little trick I learned somewhere here. Tape the top of your gel to your bike's top tube with electrical tape. (rip it slightly first.) It will be easy to rip off and suck down. Then I put the spent gel in my jersey pocket.

I would say just add some crushed ice cubes to your bottle. I should keep it cold enough from your ride to the race and sitting in transition during your swim. IMO, if it's frozen it might not have enough time to really melt down enough for you to use.

Cliff also makes gels called Cliff Shots which I would compare to the Power Bar gels. I agree with Joe that they are a lot less "vicious" the GU.

Well I would expect that from you since you bike and run at 900 miles an hour. Gotta cool some of the wind burn off

Don't get me wrong... I sweat my fair share but the few days before a race I am a water and gatorade hog and with usually finishing a bottle ~16oz of gatorade on the bike I don't need much more. My usually sprint intake is a gel and a bottle of gatorade on the bike and I'm done with fuel.

Hydration wise on a normal day I drink 4-5 liters (128 to 160oz. or about a gallon) of water alone... So I am usually just fine for any physical activity without much liquid.

Yesterday, a health club came to my work to sign people up and they gave free massages.  The masseuse (??) told me right off that I wasn't properly hydrated.  Now I drink tons of water after giving up diet Coke but apparently to her (and she said she is writing a book on it) that most people should drink an average of 2 1/2 - 3 GALLONS of water!  She said she could tell by my skin and the fact that she couldn't fit two fingers underneath my scapula (or shoulder blade).  My skin is fine for a 40 year old and I don't want anyone putting their fingers underneath my scapula.  Plus if I drank that much water I might as well have a catheter attached because I would never be able to make it to the bathroom all the time.  Thoughts??

That sounds like a ton of water!