SBR Utopia - OPEN (Page 99)

Well if it makes you feel any better, you are somewhat right.  Most roadies don't ride their TT bike much, and some of them just suck at TTing because all they like to do is cruise in the pack, then attack hills.  Good for draft legal road racing...not so much for TTing.  I know a guy who's an awesome road racer...but he admits he just hates TTing because it's boring.

One more tip: look ahead but keep your head down

The U-turn is really important and you should also scout the course ahead of time.  Last one I did, the turn-around was a small cone with lots of people standing in close proximity to take photos.  I didn't see it in time, made a terrible turn AND was past the cone a bit.  It dropped me from MOP to BOP in cat5.

We have a lot of strong riders in my area so it's easy to feel intimidated.  I think cat4 here, dead middle of the pack was 26mph at the 20k I did.  Just go out there and do your thing.  The folks are competitive, yeah, but no one's going to get down on you for being there.

I gave it some more thought - and this post confirms where my head is at.  I'm not going to do the HM.  I missed it last year due to injury, and now I'll miss it again.  I have a specific time goal for that race, and I don't have enough time to be prepared for it, so I'm not going to do it this year.  Hopefully I'll find something after Tri season.

I remember reading somewhere about some decent running coaches sending their teams into the mountains to just hike a ton. Not run them, just hike. Certainly wouldn't start with that when hurt, but maybe build up towards it as one progresses?

Nice job with the pictures! Looks like a great trip.

That's a good idea.  If only I still lived in CA where there are decent hiking options.  Here in the Houston area, our idea of "hills" are bridges and parking garages

Used to do a decent amount of hiking/backpacking -- definitely a great workout.  Ragnar just recently announced that they're doing trail relays and a few of my friends and I are strongly considering getting in on the Socal one in November this year.

I have a metric century ride on Saturday and then on Sunday, there are some dirt trails (flat) that I'm going to try a bit of running.  I'm really looking forward to it....should be a nice weekend.  Also just got back from a really good master's swim session

Hi Utopians! Thanks for all the awesome well wishes. Will be starting IMNZ in 14 hours! Internet spotty here at this gobstoppingly gorgeous remote mountain/lake area.

I WENT SWIMMING WITH NO WETSUIT AND ONE LATEX CAP and it was *awesome*. Not too cold. YAY!!!!! That's the major worry out of the way.

Also, my replacement saddle finally arrived this afternoon--got that (and several other things that broke or went missing last-minute! Crazy) on the bike and into transition check-in four minutes before deadline

Hey everyone.  Just got done catching up with everything here.  It's been a pretty hectic few weeks for me -- for a while kid stuff hung in the balance, and then once that was sorted out, I got sick (possibly related...).  Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good, now, and hope you all are well.  I hope I can be a better participant in the group, at least until the next disaster strikes.

I've re-assessed my season, and decided that I'm going to focus on some Fall race.  I'm signed up for two spring HIMs, but I will probably not do them, for much the same reasons that Bryan mentions above.  I could finish a HIM in my sleep at this point, even untrained, and that's just not something I'm interested in doing any more.  If I cannot race up to a reasonable standard, I'd rather just train.  So train it is.  Consistency first, then we'll see.

Unless I can count hours spent in lawyers' offices and doctors' offices, I think I'll take a pass on posting February totals...

Jason -- love the '5 minutes left' thought.  Good stuff.

And thanks to all of the well-wishers.  I appreciate it.

I'm kinda in the same frame of mind.  I don't know about racing a reasonable standard (for myself) this year.  But my goal is to get to the start line of my "A" race -- in September -- without injury along the way.  So I'm passing up on the usual offers I get - no cold weather St. Patty's Day run, no short-distance running races where I go too hard.  Everything I do this year is going to be controlled and cautious.

Yeah for the water not being too cold.  That's a darn good sign right there

Welcome to March everyone.  Hoping my training is a bit better this month then it was last month.  Taking two weeks off really hurts those numbers.    Still feeling a bit jet legged but getting some workouts in regardless.  Work itself is a major drag though.  Hoping to be myself by Monday again. 

Not sure what to do about my running.  I went from a 100 mile month to a 28 mile month.  I think I should be ok with a week of little miles daily and start my build again next week.  I should be able to go back to 20-30mpw without worrying about injury since I had a solid base before the horrible month right?

Welcome back Kim! I just got the chance to look at all of your stunning photos (after masters, at the coffee shop). What a fantastic, remarkable once-in-a-lifetime trip that must have been!? Looks like you got up close with a whole Noah's ark worth of animals - I think the birds are my favorite - the images show some real photographic skill.

I think I may have picked up on the issue with your leg cramps - it looks like you guys only drank beer the whole time you were there?

And that sign that says "Do not take liberties with wild animals." Now those are some words to live by, whether you are on safari or not...

With your base I think you should be fine getting right back in the swing of things. I would probably not worry about going right back to my mileage, but only via base-pace stuff for a couple of weeks. If I was off completely for two weeks my HR would be a little uncoupled from effort.

I got on the bike for the first time in 2 months yesterday. It was a short shake down, just a few miles making sure that everything was running right. It got me thinking about the variety of bike discussions in here over the past couple of months. So, thanks all for that. I will be adjusting my riding once mid-March hits and I can get out a bit more. There will be more intervals, more push to hit top end type of things. In reviewing my riding for the past year, I believe this will really help me out.

Thanks again!

Ha, yeah, there was a beer or two consumed.    And for the most part they only sold the bigger bottles.  Those pictures are a combo of ones both Tina and I took but I can guarantee all the bird ones are hers so I will pass along the complement. 

I've noticed my HR having issues.  Good to hear that it is probably normal.  We were up pretty high a lot in Africa so I don't think it is coming back to 5000ft.

Off to the track for progressive 400s later today... I am going to be channeling Salty - I need some of her get-up-and-go!

Go, Yanti, Go!

Edited - ignore all that weather info - that was from LAST YEARS Live blog. Trying to find the current one now, but WTC has not thought it important enough to make their website very friendly to portable devices...

Edited by TankBoy 2013-03-01 9:23 AM

Their website is not even friendly to regular computers.  I am super excited as well, especially with the news that the water temps are favorable for her

I looked at a graph of my last 4 years training.  I've never done more than 42k in a month....

I'll be watching too, I hope their tracker behaves.