Ernesto's group (third season) - CLOSED (Page 97)

Found official results:

5 out of 7 in my age group (40-44). Swim: 7:58 (3/7), Bike: 39.03 (4/7), Run 32.03 (5/7).

As suspected, REALLY slow run. 4 minutes off my target, so should be easy to beat that next race. Surprise about the swim time, distance must have been short of 1/4 mile or I did my best in the distance by far (best in training 8:35). Hey, I did not drown, did not crash, and did not stumble, so I call it a success!

Samy, congratulations triathlete! I'm glad you enjoyed it and have much enthusiasm to do more of those. They are a bit complex things, those triathlons, and most people wouldn't be together enough to even attempt them. I'm glad you're not one of them. Well done getting so close to your goal time!

9 mile run yesterday and 50 mile bike today.  Tailwind on the way out (1:30) and headwind on the way back (2:30). 

Got to ride in the Major Taylor ride with Olympian Nelson Vails and about 20 others, including Sen Ellis from Houston, the other night.  The Major Taylor movement promotes cycling to African American minorities.  Major Taylor was a fascinating individual, as is Nelson Vails.

Gabe, congrats on the boy. 

Scott, congrats on the race in awful conditions.  I can only imagine.

Samy, so proud of you.  I remember my first tri like it was yesterday.  There will never be another first one.

Chris, your wife is awesome.  Make sure you tell her we all think so.

Joe, that is a nutty schedule.  Your persistence will pay off.

Steelfin, good race, especially for only your 3rd and with that many people.

Rachel, glad you had a better ride this time.

Ernesto, I'm planning on the Olympic on Apr 15 since the majority of the races that I won entry into are sprints until Sep and Oct when they have back to back HIM.  Do you see any problem with that?

Samy - congratulations!  That's a really good time, especially for your first attempt.  Now to learn from that one and see what you can do next time.

Scott - I know it's disappointing when you don't hit your targets, but it sounds like really rough conditions, and that's still a time to be proud of.  If I remember right, your A race is not at altitude, and somewhere with less snow?  If that's right, you're going to absolutely kill it.

Joe - I don't know how you find the motivation to cope with that schedule.  I'm so impressed that you're keeping that level of training going.  Is there an end in sight?

It's great to hear what everyone's up to.  I went for another bike ride yesterday.  Hilly 40 miles.  We had a bit of fun doing the Button's Bank challenge, and then headed out for a lovely ride.  Conditions were perfect for it.  My legs are tired today, after cycling a little over 60 miles over the weekend, but I'm pleased with how much we did.

Scott,

Only worry about the things within your control. Ice and snow are not in the list and it is obviously going to make your performance less than desirable. PRs are set in favorable conditions, races in bad weather are nothing but tempos.

Scott: I echo all the previous comments, great race and you can't control the conditions.

Samy: Awesome first race and glad to see you enjoyed yourself and you have the bug.

I took it easy this weekend.  Took Saturday morning off (planned long aerobic ride on Drainer) and kept running miles to 10 at easy pace on Sunday (I thought this run looked pretty from a HR and pace perspective, http://connect.garmin.com/activity/152716547).  Goal is to be fresh enough to perform a 20 minute time trial on my drainer tomorrow morning so that I can benchmark my current power levels.  The 20 minute test will be analyzed with a 5 minute effort on Thursday.  I'm dreading both tests.  Psychologically I find them so difficult because I know the agony and pain they entail.  I skipped the last one prescribed by my training program due to being sick and then once postponed not fresh enough to get an accurate result.  That being said, I am interested in seeing if I have achieved a material improvement in cycling power over the last 8 weeks.

Mark, enjoy the moment. Really cool experience and a great sense of accomplishment. I gave myself 3 targets, in order of importance: 1 - finish the race!; 2 (achievable)- 1:30 target; and 3 (aggressive)-1:20 target. Don't do anything to achieve target 3 that might get target 2 in jeopardy (and so forth). Also get there early - I cannot count how many times I went back to transition after setting up to make sure everything was set (almost forgot to turn on my Garmin and set the multisport function).

And yet, I am also somewhat disappointed at the run portion. Its a good thing, as it will keep me motivated for next race, but I guess i wanted a "perfect" race for my first one, but not sure if there is such a thing as a perfect race.

One cool thing about the race was that it had a special "collegiate" group. There were about 50 kids from local (and not so local) colleges doing the race, and I overheard that the USAT is trying to make triathlons part of the NCAA sports. That would be a great thing for the sport. And, especially since they started in a wave 3 minutes before mine, passing some of these whippersnappers made me fell good inside. Does that make me a bad person?

Also, there was a person with no arms (had one prosthetic arm), apparently he has done 50+ tris...he actually zoom by me on the bike, and I saw him later on the bike route - he got a flat and change the tire by himself! gave me a whole new perspective on the "challenges" that I have.

Thanks for the feedback...I was wondering if it was normal or if it was weird feeling that way. Althought I thought for a second on doing a race in April, I am going to stick to my plan and not do another race for at least 2 months, I want the time to continue my training and improve across all 3 disciplines. So I will start the training with the March challenge with a May/June race in my sights. My original plan calls for doing a race trilogy (June/July/August), but might find a minor race in May to quench my thirst.

Gabe - quick question.  Are you using the Endurance Nation training plan?  I ask because I got included in a free 8 week coached training program aimed at short course triathlons.  I know there will be many differences between short and long course plans but was just looking for your overall impressions if you are using them. -Mitch

(here is link to free offer: http://www.endurancenation.us/free-training-seminars/)

Two days from start of the March challenge. Keep in mind that the winner will be the one with the most workouts, I doubt that time will be a factor now so if you ask me, I'd say put a swim, bike and run session as often as you can, 30 minutes is one point.

I already have my schedule for the whole month, even though work is still very busy I will manage to get my exercise in. My training for the season has officially begun on Saturday.

I have moved my off day to tomorrow to account for the start of the challenge. My totals for the month of February were:

 This last month I did a number of swim/run workouts back to back.  It is great to run after having taxed your aerobic capacity in the pool but without the muscle fatigue of the legs.  Running taxed, but not tired really has improved my cardio capacity.

Looking forward to March.

MY Ironman Timex died.  It's time to get a HRM.  I like the idea of the Garmin 910XT, because of the ability to count laps, stroke per length as well has the features that come with the running and bike modes, but am having a hard time opening the wallet.  What other options are there?  Ernesto you liked the 305 before the 910 came out.  Are there any other HRM that can work in the water like the 910XT?

What are the rest of you using for a HRM?  I will eventually get the accessories for cadence, etc.  for whatever device I end up with.  Thoughts?

Thanks,

William

Nice balanced month!

William - I was a "polar guy" for years and recently switched over to Garmin with the 910xt.  I wanted a true multisport watch and I would argue it is the only one on the market at this point.  The Garmin 310xt was billed as multisport due to functionality where it could be used seamlessly in a tri race as you went from event to event.  It does not have the indoor swim capability of the 910xt.  Polar makes a multisport watch but you must buy a separate GPS if you desire that or use footpods and bike sensors.  It has no swim capability.

If money isn't the biggest issue and you really want the indoor swim capability then  say go for the 910xt.  I will direct you to dcrainmaker.com where you will find enough reviews and comparison's to answer almost every conceivable question.  Please feel free to ask me any questions.

-Mitch