GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 90)

Hey Mandy.  I'm doing avoidance behavior at work, so chiming in...
1)  I carry 2 Co2 cartridges, a spare tube, two tire levers and a dollar bill in case the tire tears and I need to plug a hole.  I've been considering strapping on a second tire and trying to wedge a third Co2 cartridge in there.  STEVE B - if you are out on an HIM or IM course, is there any support if you get multiple flats and run out of tubes, or are you screwed at that point?  On my first tri, I had a tear in my tire and was fortunate enough to have a very nice women toss me her spare after I went through my spare tube. 
2)  I just got a pair of Continental....somethings.  Supposedly a great race/training tire and durable.  But I also learned they make special trainer tires that have very thick rubber on them, and are only for use on a trainer.  IF you have a spare rear wheel from an old bike you can swap out, you may want to consider one.  I am thinking of going out and buying a really cheap trainer wheel just for that purpose. 
3)  No idea.  I think mine is pretty cheap, but it gets the job done.  LOL.
4)  I have the Profile Design Aero Bottle up front, a cage on the downtube, and a 2-bottle Profile Design Wing on the back.  STEVE B strongly suggested that I get the rear-mount bottles.  I've done several longer rides of 75+ miles and have yet to get into my 4th bottle.  I think it'll be just about perfect for an IM distance to have the 4 sources.  The only challenge I have now with the rear cages is that I didn't pop for the Gorilla Cages and have launched several water bottles.  I need to find an anti-launch holder that doesn't cost $80 a pop.  Any recommendations are appreciated.

Off to lunch!

Hi,

ok Steve, I made it up to 2000 yds swimming.  Once last Thursday and once today.  Pretty slow tho - 2:44/100.
Funny thing - my total time for last Thurs was 54'47" and today it was 54'45" - 2 seconds difference - am I consistent or what?  Now I need to start working on speed - especially since my 1st 2 tris are only 1/4 mile swims.

Denise

Hi,

SteveA - I'm getting very excited for your race - just a week and a half to go.  You seem to be peaking really well.

Diane - You have a great attitude - just keep pluggin away even when your body keeps giving you trouble.

Lisa - my 81 yo stepfather just had major heart surgery - all he's done for years is watch tv.  They can no longer live out in the boonies.  Next week I have to miss some training cuz I'm going with my Mom to Mpls. to look at "Independent" and "Assisted" living options.  My Mom, who is 83, is VERY active.  My biggest concern is that she doesn't give up her active lifestyle to become a caretaker.  It's very stressful.  Positive side of all this - I put my husband on my fitness club membership and he's been going pretty regularly for a few weeks - he walks on the treadmill and reads his Kindle - hopefully he'll stick with it.

Denise

Hey Diane, 
Thanks for the kudos.  Ever consider a camelback?  Not quite hands free as you'd need to reach up briefly to put the tube in your mouth, but it'd be less time off the handlebars than with a traditional bottle.  Check out http://www.camelbak.com/sports-recreation/hydration-packs.aspx/>

Thanks Steve A!  Thanks for avoiding work to answer my questions (I was avoiding work asking them)

Huh. A dollar bill. I never thought of that!  I have a CO2 cartridge, some spoony things (levers), a spare tube, and a small patch kit.  It is a pretty weak set-up right now, I need to beef it up some...I think the second tube is a good idea, just in case. I would be interested to hear the answer to your question about support during the race. 

I am definitely getting a special wheel/tire for the trainer next year. 

Sounds like a combo of aerobar/rear/downtube cage is the best bet - 4 water sources.  Right now I am geared up for one, I know it won't work for longer rides.  I figure I should think about this stuff now even though the HIM is 5 mos away.  I should be able to afford to gather all I need by then, piece by piece.  First: Tires.

LISA -

With the stuff you've been dealing with, you shouldn't feel the least bit bad about missing workouts. Those are some very serious situations you're having to work through, and it sounds as if you found the perfect way to de-stress, which was the marathon yard efforts. As much as I like to think that working out is THE best thing I can ever and always do for myself, the truth is that there have been times that a polar opposite of working out is what saves the day for me. Go figure?

Anyhow, huge props of dealing with the yard so commandingly! (Up here, our garlic has emerged through the leaf-litter it's been warming under since November. That's it for "yard work" -- for now!)

Hang in there with those decisions -- tough calls, one and all!

Hiya STEVE B,

Below is a post I put on the IMSG board.  The first part is me poking the bear in the cage - addressing those that are panicking about wind, weather, etc. on race day.  Thought it might be good for a laugh. 

The second part I'd love to get your view based on your experience with 140.6 distance races (or HIM races for that matter.  Feel free to brain dump whatever comes to mind:

The great thing about being an IM newbie is having limited options.  I have one bike, one set of wheels, one wetsuit, one pair of tri shorts and one bib to wear (+/- rain gear and perhaps arm/leg warmers if it is particularly cold!). 

My plan for a windy day:  go faster when it's at my back, and slower when it's in my face, and likely drink more of Sand Hollow Reservoir when I'm swimming.  At least hydration will be less of an issue...how long does it take the "runs" to set in?  I wonder....

For those who are IM vets who have competed in races with similar logistics (bus into the swim, etc.), any advice to give on how these things work - particularly the bus into the swim?  Do you wear comfy clothes on the bus and carry your wetsuit, goggles and cap in a bag, or do you get on the bus ready to get into the water right away (wearing wetsuit, holding goggles/cap)?  Do you supply your own storage bag for these things if you do indeed wear comfy clothes and such?  Do they provide numbered/tagged bags?  If you supply your own, do you label them in any particular way?  What "extras" do you bring to the swim start, and what would you recommend that we leave back at the hotel?

Does anyone know any rules regarding assistance from friends and family along the course?  If my wife wants to hand me a water bottle or banana while I'm running, is that against the rules?

For those with clinchers, I assume most carry two tubes with them.  If, god forbid, you have multiple flats and run through two tubes, are you  S*&t out of luck, or is there some sort of Ironman Course AAA to help you out with a spare tube?  Or had I better bring a patch kit as well?

Any other, "if you are thinking (hoping) that the organizers are gonna XXX, you had better think again" type of advice for us newbies?

Hey all- I found this website, I thought it was really cool with tons of great information, a really great resource.  I am obviously on a bike obsession today....

http://bicycletutor.com/

NICE PICTURES.   I'm not much a techie either.   I have so many pictures I would like to post, but...........  

Hope you have a great time at the expo on Saturday.   It sounds great.    I think you will find the Chi running interesting.  My husband and I have taken 2 full days of training on it twice in the last few years, mainly because of injuries.   Got away from it and am thinking maybe we should have stuck with it.  

After being sidetracked, waylaid, and usurped yesterday and last night, I have a nice uninterrupted space in front of me this morning. Yippee!

The highlight was my first outdoor ride of the season, yesterday, and that was terrific. I wore just tri short with a cycling jersey over a light long-sleeve tech top, and no socks and gloves. It was beautiful, with just enough wind to give me an easier "back", but not enough to make the "out" difficult. If only every day in this area was like yesterday in terms of compassionate winds!

Onwards!

DIANE -

Well, I'm obviously very sorry to hear that your sciatica has kicked up again -- especially as it had settled down so nicely over the previous couple of weeks. Hopefully it will also recover quickly this time, too, although maybe not in time for a pain-free race this weekend. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Your experience with ladders and standing on a slope, and how they triggered your sciatica, is not dissimilar to how I respond to many things. There are so many miniscule movements that can cause me discomfort, that I am ultra-cautious about a lot of stuff I do. The angle of unusual car seats can activate my s-i joint, and reaching between my own car seats for something in the back seat can aggravate my shoulder. Sitting in a tight bus in Spain 16 months ago did something to my left groin/hip that still bothers me after about an hour or two of driving, and acuses me to have to stop for a few minutes and get out and walk around a bit.

And in my last several years of teaching, I became a lump on a bump during recess duty. Up until about 2004 I was the guy who would actively play with the kids during recess -- kicking a ball with them, playing tag, just about anything. But it seemed to be comonplace to come in from recess with some hamstring/knee/shoulder/shin/hip problem of my own, that I just stopped being a kid with them (probably wise for dignity's sake, anyhow, as I was about 55 at the time!).

ANYhow, hang in there with the Sciatica Relief Effort. You've been there before and made it through the crisis phase pretty quickly, and with luck and hard work from your trainer, that will be the case this time, too. And on behalf of the runners at the race you volunteered for, huge thanks for being there and help make it all happen for them!

STEVE -

Great job on the swim and the run. "Boiled the frog"? That's a new one on me!

That was a huge swim session, and I'm anxious to hear how the follow-up in the outdoor 50m pool worked, especially if you were able to do the 25 laps with a happy body in tow.

Those moments of visualization are pretty sweet, aren't they? But that reminds me that I haven't remembered to go to the Showdown site and look at the maps and profiles and all. Make ....note....to....do....that. Okay!

MANDY -

I have some answers for you!

(1) I used to use a bag under the seat, but with the cages behind the seat it all got too crammed. At Brierman '08 I DNF because of a flat that I wasn't able to fix quickly enough to salvage my race. Part of the reason for this was that it took way too long to get my stuff out from the bag -- like about 2 minutes of struggling. Now I use a water bottle, the one that is in the cage on my down tube. In it I have my CO2 dispenser, two CO2 cartridges, a tube or two, my tire levers, an Allen key, and a $5 bill. There might be something else, but I can't think of it now. As I have two racks behind my seat and an aero bottle, I really don't need that extra cage for liquids; even during a half-iron, I am unlikely to drink even three bottles, and if I need to I can just grab a bottle of water at an aid station and pour it into the open top of my aero bottle. I know this is unorthodox, carrying my stuff in a water bottle, but it makes sense (I think). It certainly is quick and easy to get at, and while it may not be exactly aerodynamic or optimally weight-efficient.....well, neither is my whole body. I just have to think that the amount it affects my speed and performance is minimal. And as I said above, it is an extra bottle rack, so why not?

(2) I use Vittoria Open Corsa EVO-CX if I can find them. Last season I raced with Challenge Forte tires, and had no problems. The "threa count" of both is quite high, and that's a big factor in puncture prevention. HOWEVER, any tire can get penetrated, and beyond that the big culprit in flats is "pinch flats" -- which is why it is smart to inflate your tires regularly. I hear of people who do it before every ride, and while not quite that diligent about it, Ihave gotten pretty good -- at least every other ride. Having said that, though, I have a history of lots of flats, and I can't explain that. I'm maybe good for 2-4 a year, with last year being a "two-er"...or maybe just one? I have had one race a flat-caused DNF, and another race ruined (but completed) by two flats. I live in terror of flats during races -- but then who doesn't?

(3) I have a Blackburn for my at-home or pre-race pump, and it has a pressure gauge that seems to be very accurate. For years I had a simple frame pump that I used for my flats, but then I switched to CO2; this was only 2-3 years ago! I really recommend this as the way to go. The gizmo itself can be bought for under $30, I think, and cartridges run $3-5 each. I have just spent way too many aggravating minutes pumping away at one of those damn frame pumps --- and after 5 minutes of furious exertion, the new tube is STILL only at about 83PSI! Grrrr! But with the cartridges, it is - with practice - a 20-second operation at most. And when I say practice, I mean it. I actually practice that particular procedure -- designate some blind money to a few cartridges, deflate a tube, and set about filling it again. A lot of this is confidence for me -- I am not mechanically-minded at all, and I have a fear of blowing myslef up . But with practice I have learned that I will NOT blow myself up, and that even as the cartridge quickly gets very cold when inflation happens, my hand will not freeze to the side of it! I'm down with it!

(4) Kind of covered this in #1, but will set it out here on its own. My bike can accommodate four bottles -- two behind the seat, one on my down tube, and an aero bottle between the aerobars. The down tube cage is already accounted for with my tubes and stuff. As for the other three, this is what happens to those:
sprints: no aero bottle in place, and behind the seat an 18-oz bottle 1/3 to 1/2 filled with HEED
olympics: no aero bottle, and behind the seat an 18-oz bottle 3/4 full of HEED and another small bottle 1/2 full of water
Half-iron: aero bottle with water, and behind the seat a full 24-oz bottle of HEED and a 24-oz bottle of Perpetuem
(I use the smaller bottles when possible just so there is more "clearance" for when I swing my right leg over as part of my "flying dismount"!)

DIANE -

Some people use one of the Camelbak units on the bike leg. These are the things that strap on to you and perch on your back. I've never tried one, so I can't say much about how they feel or work.

Another option is to go out and get aerobars installed, if for no other rason than to provide a mount for an aero bottle. This may sound ludicrous, but I think it makes sense. One of the members of my group last year went through her entire first race, which had a 29-mile bike, stopping every time she wanted to drink. She hated losing so much time doing that, but that was the only way she could drink at all.

Beyond that, though, aerobars ARE a good thing to get comfortable with. They provide a whole new world of comfort options for your back/shoulders/triceps/wrists/hands, and while seeming unstable at the outset, most people get confident on them pretty quickly. Profile Design carries a model called "Century" and these cost about $50, so it's not too prohibitive. An aero bottle runs about $15, i think, so you can get set up hands-free for not too much money. And if you have places near you where there is open road with fairly wide shoulders, that is a great place to just "get down" in the aero position and let your forearms carry the weight-load.

Just a thought!

DENISE -

How did the ride go? Huh? Huh? Did you manage to stay upright for the whole thing -- even when coming to a stop at an intersection? I'm not sure there is a semi-serious cyclist in existence who has not come to a stop.....and teetered over because they forgot to unclip. (For me, it's happened at least twice --- and I think a third time [slow learner, you think? ].)

I mentioned to Mandy practicing with CO2 cartridges, but I have also practiced chsanging out tubes. In fact, before Timberman half-iron '01, which was my first HIM, I took my daughter on a tour of colleges for a few days, and with me I had a tire and my levers and a pump. Each night in the motel I would sit there and while she was watching TV I was deflating the tire, removing the tube, reinstalling the tube, and then reinflating it. Over and over and over. So, I can do it --- but still not fast! I enter into panic mode and simply lose my cool --- and of course no place is this worse than in a race, where I have been stricken twice.

As I siad to mandy, above, puncture-resistant tires are good, but not infallible. And ALWAY beware of pinch flats, which have nothing to do with punctures are everything to do with low inflation and/or hitting a huge object or pothole HARD and/or installing them incorrectly, so that part of the tube is caught between the rim and the tire. There is a technique for safe-guarding against this happening, so ask your bike guy to explain it to you. (It involves a quick pull down and push up on the valve before you begin inflating -- but is otherwise hard to explain!)

MANDY again -

I say yes to both an extra tube and extra CO2 cartridges. In the heat of the moment, a tube can be installed improperly and a pinch flat can happen. Or, just more bad luck can happen.

And as for CO2, sometimes they can leak and you end up using one that has no C02 in it. Or you mis-manage the inflation nd need more. Or, with tubes --- just more bad luck can happen.

I have never patched a tube. Given that I'm a klutz and that tubes are relatively inexpensive, I just opt for keeping myself supplied with tubes. But in the face of "just more bad luck", I should have a patch kit for the I-hope-it-never-happens time when I have blown all my tubes --- and am still way far from home.

SteveA, I am living your race vicariously!  It was very fun listening to the guy this weekend describe his first tri swim and his first open water swim.  It was a stark comparison to his doing the two IMs last year.  I considered the camelback system but it seemed like overkill for the short sprint distances I am doing now, no?

SteveB, thanks for you note, it is nice to know that I am not the only one with things that are triggered by almost anything.  I must admit I had gotten cocky after not having any problems for six months no matter what I did.  And it was so nice after the years of being so careful.  But I will be more careful in the future.

Denise, for races, do you just hydrate during transition?  I seem to need so much water that it is hard to imagine only hydrating then.  Congrats on your second long swim and maintaining the consistency!

Swam this morning and am still struggling with the breathing so focused on that.  Still need another day or two but I am maintaining the buoyance.  One of these days it will all come together I hope.  My back still hurts but not as bad as Monday.  I hope to get a nice bike ride in today and then let my back rest for the next two days before the race. 

DENISE -

You're a swimming endurance machine! Really --- you're ready for an HIM with those swim distances! As for the consistency, I think that is a very good sign. Based on a sample of two, it indicates that you can hold your form for that much distance and those many minutes.

Yeah, given that your scheduled races are about 1/5 the swim distnce of your 2000 yard efforts, it's time to mix in some shorter stuff of greater intensity. You might try some ladders, and od it during a session designated for short -- maybe just a 30-minute swim toatl, warm-up and cool-down included. I can post a couple of speed-based workouts if you don't have any of your own at hand. Let me know, okay?

And once more -- for you distance work at this point, speed doesn't matter at all. It is very impressive that you are knocking off those distances, and seemingly with impunity. That will pay some big dividends further down the road, especially if you decide to try going longer. But even if you don't, once you start doing longer swims in a wetsuit in open water you will be amazed at how small the swim course at sprints will seem. I mean, your long open water swims will have you swimming Way Out There.......and then on race day the buoys for the sprint swim will seem like they're in spittin' distance from you. Bonus!

You machine, you!

SteveB,

Thanks and Thanks! And for only $8 for me, Fitz seems to be great plans that I can colour outside the lines on.

Injuries are a part of all sports (including golf, I've been a victim of golfer's elbow which is similar to tennis elbow just rotated around the arm) and hence my uber caution on running. I hope I never do go through a major injury or a long term nagging one or any other for that matter. Just more reason to be slightly cautious.

Went for another run last night...33 minutes @ 8:49 mi/mile with a 1 degree incline. Had the endorphins running pretty good after that one!!

Tracey, sounds like a great schedule at the Expo!

This week around here there are a few meetings/seminars/intros.

Last night one of the local tri clubs had an intro to triathlons that was good. Not a lot of new information for me but informative to find out how much training as a group they do. Ideas on where to open water swim. I'll probably join them a few times as I'm sure I'll learn a lot. Plus a bunch of them go to the same gym I do. One of the members is now a full time coach and one of their best swimmers. Talked to her about if she does any swim training with people to work on technique, which she does.

Friday night is a session at 'Michigan Institute for Human Performance' http://www.mihp.net/  coinicidently, the above club has them as a partner/sponsor. http://www.tweakedathlete.com/mihp.pdf is the flyer. Planning on going to this one as well.

Then on Saturday a local running store (Running Fit) is having triathlon event...Can't find the flyer right now but I recall there being vendors, free swag, a group run, group ride, some pro triathlete show off and store specials. Planning on going to check this out as well...More info is good info.

Hey STEVE A-

Check this cage out - $24, cheaper than Gorilla Grip and seems to have some good reviews.  $22/piece instead of @$54.

http://www.trisports.com/tataowaca.html

Steve B & Steve A-

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! I love the idea of the drop cage waterbottle (that I can hardly reach anyway) for tools.  Also, awesome in the bottle gear list (I think I will add in, PLEASE no flat. PLEASE no flat), and smart advice on practicing changing tires more...

Why a $5 bill instead of $1?  Do you get what you pay for? Just kidding.

I am going to make an effort to practice changing a tire at least once a week, only doing the rear one to boot so I get better at that mess of gears and stuff.  With luck, it won't happen, but if it does I would rather be as efficient at it as I can.

Looking for tires now.  Have a call into my LBS to see what we can find, although I might still order something instead.

So, yeah, basically, I am taking your advice on all accounts!  Thanks!

Cheers,
Mandy