Penn State's mentor group - CLOSED! (Page 99)

Pete,

Just curious...what was the rational for chosing 30 miles?

sounds like an amazing race though! i cant even imagine it....

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very true fred
I was trying to figure out what DNL was...just scanned the post before i read it.

I think they spelled it wrong. Just kidding. Looks great.

Covering Air Force One is one of my favorite things to do. You have to get there about 5 hours ahead of time to get through Secret Service and go through the sweep. It's a long day and you only get to see the President for a few minutes but to see that plane is magical. It really shows the power of the office. I actually like hanging out with the Secret Service Agents while the President is away. Really nice guys and gals.

This is in Tucson, AZ when President G.W. Bush went to tour a burnt out community on Mt Lemmon. I think I've covered the POTUS at least 20 times in 17 years. It doesn't matter who the President is, it is a real honor to be around the leader of the free world.

Edited by phxphotog 2010-08-13 5:55 PM

Cool Tat and good story about the outline prior, helps to keep you motivated to finish.  Looks like it worked!

Well it looks like he has a number of pacers, so I'm not on the hook for 30.  I'll likely do around 10-15 with him.  If I feel up to doing more I'll be able to, I also have another friend who's going to be out there so I can pace with him as well.

The reason for 30 is because of how slow the pace will be.  12minute/miles is considered fast during the second half of the race, he'll likely be more like a 15minute/mile pace by then, maybe even slower.  So it's almost like just walking 30 miles, not really "running" when you're on fresh legs. 

I just copied and pasted this off my training log. This was my first 50 mile ride and was more than I bargained for.

Here are some graphs: The first one is the whole ride and the second one is the wicked steep hills at the end of the ride (at least steep for me).





Rode with First Wave this morning over in Scottsdale. Let's just start off with the fact that this ride kicked my . It was 4x more climbing than I have ever done in a ride and 10 more miles than I have ever done. The distance really wasn't an issue but the hills and the speed of the ride are what wiped me out. I was fine until we were about 1/2 way up Pima and the speed to try to keep up was exhausting.

This was the "B" group ride and I couldn't even keep up. By the time I made it to the top of 9 mile hill I was starting to get tired. My neck was starting to get sore and I didn't realize how much effort it was to ride down the hill at 25-30 mph. I ate a small cliff bar on the way down the hill and I wasn't feeling thirsty or hungry at this time. By the time I got to the bottom of 9 mile hill I was tired. I had been riding by myself for virtually the entire ride and that was a bit disappointing. I got to the bottom and there were a lot of riders on the hill and around it so I was trying to lookout for our group and didn't see them until I was at the bottom. I rode over to the group but was having trouble getting my bike to stop. I rode into the gravel and fell down. Not the worst injuries but I was bleeding a bit and had a bruised ego for wrecking in front of everybody. Brushed myself off and grabbed some more water. I should have eaten something while I was stopped. Every time the group stopped to wait for me they were able to rest but as soon as I got there we took off again and I just wasn't getting anytime to catch my breath. I felt bad for slowing everybody down because it was starting to get hot.

The road into Fountain hills was some rollers and I was doing ok on them but very quickly I was by myself again. I ate another small cliff bar and a few other cyclist passed me. When I got into Fountain Hills I was looking around for our group but I didn't see them so I kept going on what I believed was the route. As I started to get into some pretty steep hills I stopped and looked at my map on my phone to see if I was lost. I actually was still on route but the hills were so steep at this point in the ride. I didn't know if I could make it to the end at this point. At the first major hill I actually had to get off and walk the last 1/3 of the hill because my thighs were starting to cramp up. By the second hill a First Wave member came back to look for me and he tried to get me up the second hill but my legs just wouldn't do it. I walked the last 1/3 of the hill again.

When I finally caught back up to the group at Shea I felt bad because they had probably been waiting for me for about 20 min or so and one of the members offered me some salt pills but my throat was so dry I couldn't get them down and I almost threw up. Needless to say I didn't get any in me and we headed off on the last big climb up Shea to the top by Palisades. I actually made it to the top on my bike but I was drained when I arrived. A FW member waited again for me at the top and I told him to go on and I would see them back at the cars. On the way down the hill is when I really started to feel bad. I didn't know if I could make it back to the cars and I was looking around for a place to stop in the shade. I saw a hotel by the Mayo clinic and stopped inside to get some more water and cool down. They actually had a little market and I got 2 waters and a Gatorade. I sat in the cool and drank some water and gatorade. I started to feel better so I hopped back on the bike and noticed that my rear brake pad was rubbing against the rim and I could hear it rubbing. Crap, how long had that been going on for? The only reason I could hear it was the overhang of the hotel bounced the sound off of it so I could hear. I pulled it apart and headed out for the last 5 miles.

I just kept peddling in the bike lane but the cars were whizzing by me so close that I opted for the sidewalk the rest of the way back. I was wondering if anyone would still be there when I got back and to my surprise there was. I pulled in and thanked everyone for keeping an eye on me and I was awarded the "Hardest Worker" Ironcare hat for the ride. That made me feel good. We took a quick picture and I packed up to go home. By this point I was completely done and my knees were really bothering me. The stupid 101 was closed due to an accident so it took me a long time to make it home.

4 hours later and I still feel like . My hip is sore from falling down and my body feels like I just got done with the UFC championship fight but I'm glad that I did it. I was way out of my league but I finished and that was my goal. I'll probably try to find a slower group to go with next time so it will be more enjoyable for me and everyone else.

101 miles on the bike this week.

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X3, Way to push through a tough ride.  This brings to mind a saying we use in the military quite often, that which does not kill you only makes you stronger.  Keep up the good work, at some point in the future this ride will seem easy to you.  I have found that riding with stronger riders truly push me harder than I would by myself and I get better gains than training alone.  Think about it, how likely would you have been to turn around early if you were by yourself.  By having the group waiting, you pushed yourself and ended up with your longest ride and most climbing.  Congrats.

That's quite an impressive ride Todd.  I'm not sure how hot it was but be hydrated out there, the heat is just as dangerous as overtraining. 

I wouldn't be too concerned about your performance out there;  people expect the new guy to get destroyed.  In a year when you're pulling them up that hill you can look back on this day and laugh.

I also wanted to ask you (and anyone else who's done IMAZ) is the bike loop a good place to train or is it a 100 mph / no shoulder deathtrap? 

Edited by furiousferret 2010-08-14 10:44 PM

We are in an excessive heat warning through this weekend here in Phoenix. It was 111 degrees yesterday and 113 today and there is some humidity so it's making it brutal. I did learn yesterday the importance of salt and electrolite replacement. The strap on my bike helmet turned white because I was sweating out all my salts during my ride. I'm learning a lot during my long rides and am getting comfortable with listening to my body and reacting early. I just didn't have any HEED with me which was my mistake. As I said earlier, I learned and that was the important thing about that ride. Thanks for the nice words.

The IMAZ bike route is pretty flat and easy to ride any day of the week. It's a little difficult actually in Tempe but the ride up the Bee Line Hwy has a huge shoulder and tons of us ride it. It's a gentle hill up towards Shea Blvd where the turnaround for the loop is. I think it's 3 loops for the 112 miles. I think if you drove the first part and just rode the Bee Line you would have an idea of what o expect. The bike at IMAZ is very fast without the hills.





I'll be at run aid station #4 with First Wave Tri Club.



Every year they do a theme. 2009 was First Wave High School



They even had bad prom attire that you could take pictures with.

X4

now thats what i like to hear

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Yeah i saw how nice Bryan was to you and the wife

just out of curiosity..what do you think WOULD be ur ideal kona course?

Looks even better filled in!!!  I love how it gives you that inspiration every day.  I'm still looking around for ideas for my artwork.  Wish I lived closer to the LA Ink folks!

Random question:

Would you put your Ironman finish on a resume? Unfortunately, I don't think I can/should put it on my CV, but was curious what y'all thought.. 

No, but I think its good to mention it during the interview.   Of course the tough thing about being young is that a resume is pretty unimpressive, so maybe use it as filler?  My last 3 interviews I got job offers, and part of the reason was researching the people who are making the decisions and 'adjusting' my resume and answers.  If they're triathletes, it would be good to find a way to mention it. 

I'm not trying to be condescending about the unimpressive part, but most people usually don't have an eye popping resume with all the experience and education required until 35-40.

Edited by furiousferret 2010-08-15 11:43 PM

There is actually a thread going on about the resume topic now:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=222022&posts=51&start=1

enjoy