swbkrun Mentor Group II- CLOSED FOR BUSINESS!!! (Page 80)

Good idea....shoulda thought of that! 

No racing for me this weekend.  We start our Northeast tour on Saturday after the present opening extraveganza.  A few days with the in-laws in Scranton and a few days with my family in Long Island.  Possibly some running and swimming while gone but no biking.

Volume wise - I am pretty close to last year.  Lost a lot of steam in training when I got sick in August.  Looking to start fresh with the new year and the support of this MG!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the MG! 

I just got back from my swim and I set a new PR for 100 yds.: 1:21! I am stoked! I am looking forward to breaking 1:20 and then to extending the distance over which I can carry that speed.

Very cool Doug, congrats!

HAHA no that's the fun, I like using my 3 year old bio.

Hold it, hold it, hold it! Didn't your husband race his first tri this year? And didn't he swallow the Koolaid? I'd say that counts as a good year for you!

Very happy about my bike volume going over 3000 miles this year!  Last year ended with 2200.  Swim went up a little bit too, but since you said one positive, we'll leave it at the bike

Nice job, Doug!!!! 


btw, I am confused as to why Pamela Anderson or her lookalike was on the last page.  Is it Glen's fault again? 

Okay, but then you need to use a three year old pic of you as your avatar!

Very nice!

(but remember that time converts to a 1:07 when entering seed time for Rex)

I know nothing, I see nothing!

Can we still talk about REAL TRIATHLON TRAINING stuff in here?? (I know it's the holidays and off-season and all...)

If so, I have a REAL TRIATHLON TRAINING question:

So I've never been able to get the Garmin speed/cadence sensor working on my new bike on the trainer. Well, I have the cadence sensor working fine but the speed part doesn't work. I have a separate unit on my road and it's always worked fine (except for the fact that I think my trainer speeds are as slow as molasses but that just makes me work harder!).

Just finished putting a trainer tire on the tri bike for upping my riding levels and I really want to be able to track distance/speed... Not so much because I CARE particularly how far/fast I'm riding right now, but it gives me benchmarks for HR testing and the like.

I have the little sensor thingee on the spoke. I have that little arm thingee on the rail thingee on my bike. I have the sensor thingee set up so it lines up with and is close enough to the crank sensor so I am getting cadence. Somehow it's not working with the spoke thingee. My spokes sort-of alternate, so one is closer to the sensor on the rail thingee, and the next is farther away. I tried putting the little sensor thingee on the spoke that would be closer but the it rubs against the rail thingee on the bike. But I think the farther spoke doesn't allow it to get close enough to sense... when I get the arm closer then it clicks against the spokes. I've been working on this today for AWHILE and I'm frustrated. Harumph.

Anyone have any similar experiences or tips they can share? Sorry for my overly technical descriptions here...

Steve, I may be showing up on your doorstep over the next week or two, flashing my best puppy-dog-help-me-eyes to see if you can help. But really, I'd rather figure this out all by my lonesome.

Very happy about my bike volume going over 3000 miles this year!  Last year ended with 2200.  Swim went up a little bit too, but since you said one positive, we'll leave it at the bike

OK, so now I am guessing that perhaps my unit is faulty/broken (that's what he said). Lucky me, it's only about 8 months old (so under year-long warranty). I'm gonna contact Garmin tomorrow and see what they say. From what I've found on other forums, they are likely to say that if cadence works then speed works too... but that in reality that isn't necessarily the case!!!

given the description i'd rule out a few things before i declare the unit is faulty. 

did you reset the sensor and if so are you able to see the green and red lights?  the spoke issue is common.  the magnet on the spoke will work facing either direction, at the sensor arm or away from it. 

post a pic of the sensor arm with the spoke magnet in the frame. 


i'm curious about what ya'll think about using a trainer for heart rate bench marks. 



Edited by fattyfatfat 2010-12-22 6:57 PM

Mine was doing the same thing, Kyla, but we changed the battery and voila.  I am not sure how it was picking up the cadence and not the speed, but it was!  And when it was picking up cadence only, the green light was going on, so that threw me off a little bit....but I figured it was only 3 bucks or whatever for the 2032 battery. 

John, all of my HR bench marks are from tests we do on the trainer...and I use the same zones for indoors or outdoor rides.  I think they are pretty comparable unless it is super cold or rainy outside.  (in my experience).

Edited to add that I don't really ride outdoors much if it is super cold or rainy outside!  I am not hardcore like Kyla.

Edited by kt65 2010-12-22 7:15 PM

that's what is was wondering. i don't know how you, kyla, etc..  do it. my hr's are different outdoor v trainer.  maybe that's my bike problem, among others. ha!   i get "up to speed: hr wise so much faster and am able to maintain it much easier outside.  this is of course when i actually monitor it,  which isn't always.

There is no rest on the trainer, you are constantly pedaling pretty much at the same cadence and with the exact same pressure with no breeze other than possibly a fan to cool you off..  When you're out on the road you coast, stop, speed up, slow down, change cadence, stand up, constant breeze from you moving forward, etc.

Very different factors in each.

Pretty hard to compare a trainer ride vs an outdoor ride even if your outdoor ride is pancake flat.

Exactly.  it's just not the same, even on the CT downhills you still have some pretty decent pressure on the wheels, nothing like where you would be spinning out at 35mph on your bike on an outdoor hill.

I think it is pretty much impossible to get an acurate FTP test outdoors unless you had a perfectly flat course where you never had to turn, yield, etc.

Edited by dalessit 2010-12-22 8:10 PM

Hmm, since John asked about HR, I was not addressing watts, which I also find to be different.  But heartrate is pretty comparable, in my experience...Does that even make sense???  That is why I do continue to monitor HR and not just watts when we do indoors or outdoors.  151-158 (zone 4 heartrate) feels the same to me on the trainer or outside whether on flats or hills (really freaking hard!)...but I agree, John, it is much harder for me to maintain that on the trainer vs. outside...  I think it is because anything at a perfectly steady effort is different than when you have little changes in terrain, here and there.

btw, my dad got released from the hospital today!  Thanks everyone for your positive vibes, I am sure that they do make a difference.  Christmas at home will be much better than at the hospital. 

oops good point.  To be honest, I never ever look at my HR on the bike anymore, at least not when doing a Triathlon, I just stare at watts the whole time. 

And Congrats, great news about your dad!

uh-oh.  you peleton guys are amazing.  that is not true for me.   and some workouts, including when i had a coach, did not adhere to this. 

LOL, I meant that even when you lessen tension on a regular trainer it doesn't coast very well so you should be pedaling the whole time.  When you're outside if you have a computer on your bike it's amazing to see how much non-pedaling you end up doing.