Tri/tbay group - CLOSED (Page 11)

Carol,

Congratulations on overcoming all those obstacles!  It takes grit doing these long distance events.  From my perspective, your 4:43 is GREAT!  I just got in from an hour run at a 12:30 pace, LOL. 

I have been experimenting with Gu gels and Heed drink.  So far so good as far as keeping it down.  I am planning to take a gel before the swim, a gel before the bike, Heed drink in my aero bottle, a gel after mile 1 on the run and water/aid stations the rest of the way.

Mona glad you had a good time at Ft. Desoto always a good event. There is a local race in my area now that makes more sense than doing Ft. Desoto, but I've enjoyed it the few times I did the race. Now you've just got to finish up a few more of weeks of training and its time for Florida 70.3, stay healthy and trust your training plan.

Andy I thought I would share a couple of thoughts for St. Anthony's. On race day, even though you don't start until 8:45ish or so you still have to be in and out of transition by 6:30ish that morning. Which will make both of our mornings kind of long, the morning nutrition will be even more important to have planned. I'll be up around 4:00-4:15, breakfast, 1 cup of coffee and begin to get ready to head to transition. I'm staying walking distance away which will nice this time. Sipping on some fluids through this process. Come to transition ready to set up, they won't let you keep a large bag or pump in transition during the race so you'll need to hand off or take to you car after your set up. You might go watch the pro waves go off, then get off of your feet and continue to hydrate and take in some more nutrition but don't over due it. About 15 minutes before start I"ll take a G2prime, what I've been using lately. Then its show time, after the swim I'll wait about 10-15 min. before first gel and then about mile 20 or so another gel, hydrating all throughout the bike. Once on the run hit the aid stations quickly and take in whatever nutrition you have planned one gel during run should be fine. And then look forward to that Ice cold blue towel and medal. Note of caution on the bike, the brick road on the start and return is bumpy, so make sure you have water bottle secure of if your using an aero bottle you can get some splash out if you don't have the one with a top. When your in the neighborhood at the south end of the bike there are some speed bumps, nothing unusual about them just make sure you are aware and see them. I saw a guy take a nasty spill last year, ambulance required.

Hope this helps a bit also need to take in some electrolytes as well, salt stick tabs, hammer enduralytes, maybe before the race and during the bike/run.

Thank you very much all of the nutrition help has been very helpful.  I was planning on being there around 430-5 to set up and get my barrings in the transition area.  

I worry about taking gels on the bike, still a bit wobbly but hopefully I can iron that out this weekend.

I am glad we are getting the crappy weather out of the way this weekend so it will hopefully be nice for the race.  I swam 2000 yards this morning in around 50 minutes.  Not so good but at least I know I can do it.  Now to translate that into open water swimming and I will be happy.

Roy, thanks for your comments.  And good luck racing this weekend!!!!

Andy, I don't know if you want to make any nutrition changes at this point, but I tape shot blocks to the bar on my bike.  Just a little scotch tape directly over each one, and I can pull it off and pop it in my mouth easily.  They are especially yummy once a little road grit gets on them

I feel pretty recovered from the marathon.  First 2 days quads very sore, then swam a little Wed, short spin on the bike last night.  Was going to run a little this morning, but had a conflict.  Do feel ready though. 

Hey Roy and Andy, 

Looking forward to meeting you guys...St Anthony's is in the air around here.  I swam with Mad Dogs Wed and it was all the talk. 

Carol, first marathon is the hardest in many ways..impressed you are already feeling good and ready to go! 

Andy-so your head must be buzzing by now with all the advice and all.  Trust me, we've all "been there". My final word is:  STAY RELAXED, HAVE FUN, let the day unfold...and keep moving toward your goal.  We are excited for you because we know that there is nothing like the high of finishing a triathlon :-)  

Well I hope to get in 60 mile ride tomorrow before the weather turns in the afternoon. I wonder now if I should take the time to go up  to Lake Eva and drive the course...my husband thinks I'm nuts. I've given up the idea of riding the course because I haven't found anyone to ride with and I don't think it's a good idea to go alone.  Opinions everyone?  Thanks.  

Mona

Thank you ladies!

I hope you got your ride in because this weather in pretty intense right now.  I definitely would not want to be caught out on the bike right now.

Well its race week for us doing St. Anthony's hope everyone is feeling good, getting the taper workouts in and getting rested. Looks like the weather is going to be nice, and its dipping into wetsuit conditions. Looks probable.

So I raced last weekend a little sprint warm up for this weekend. Placed 4th in my agegroup, felt pretty good did not  rest for this  and my legs felt like it the first part of the bike, but then settled in and did better on the second lap of the bike. The run was encouraging, the run has some elevation to deal with, once I settled in after the bike I was on par for what I feel like I can do this weekend so encouraged about that. Good times, felt good to race and suffer a little.

St. Anthony's meet and greet, what time are you all looking to get there on Saturday to check in? Lets find a mutual time and find a place to meet up. For me I'm going to come over between 2-3pm. but I"m flexible.

Hi Roy,

Can't believe it's finally here..St A's! It sounds like you are READY for a great race! Congratulations on your excellent results in the sprint.  I'm looking forward to swimming with the Mad Dogs this evening, which will be a huge group this week.  

As for this Saturday, I will be getting in one last long ride on the Suncoast Trail which starts in Lutz going north then driving back to the expo. We're starting at 7:00 am so to be safe let's meet by around 3:00.  Hope that's not too late for you.  On Sunday I am running with some friends, starting at a friend's house on Snell Island and going to the start of St A's then running back to volunteer at a water stop.  I hope to see you as you go by to cheer you on!  

So where to meet?  The only thing I can picture is the entrance to the expo where they have a big blow-up archway every year.  However, I wouldn't want to either one of us standing there forever if we're not exactly on time...so, shall we exchange cell numbers and text our whereabouts at 3:00?  Also, how will we recognize each other? How about I wear my pink Ironman cap.  I'm 5'4" 125 lbs dark short hair..how does one describe oneself anyway? LOL.  my cell is 206-550-2942 and leave a message if I don't answer because I don't always hear it.  

If you have any other suggestions, let me know.  

Mona

Hey Roy, congrats on a great sprint race!  4th in AG is awesome, and glad you had a good race based on your own expectations.

Good luck to all racing at St. Anthony's!  Time to trust the training and take in the experience. 

Still training away here in TX.  Run legs still a bit cranky post marathon.  Nothing injured, just stiff and not very springy.  But I'm back to work on the biking, and had a nice swim today that inclued 2K straight through at 2:08/100.  Not fast for the fishies, but for me an improvement over last yr.  Nice to feel like I could just keep on swimming for the first time in a while. 

No turning back now!  

My cell is 727-612-7799 and I will be heading over early to swim.  I am getting a wetsuit off of craigslist this week and need to try it out.  I will see you guys around 230-3!  Not sure what I am wearing but I will have a backwards blue Yankees hat on.

PS- We just found out we are having a GIRL!

Andy,

Congratulations!  A baby girl!  

Got your number in my iPhone..see you soon.  Be sure to try that wetsuit in open water..not in the pool..you can damage the suit that way.  Then there's always practicing getting it off :-) Do you know to wear "glide" around the ankles and neck? It helps to get it off.  Wish I could meet you beforehand to give you some tips.

Well off now to bike/run an easy brick today: 22 miles bike/30 min run.  I'm still very slow running...more like a shuffle, so this is still my biggest concern.  

Carol,

Great that your swimming is showing such improvement..not an easy thing to master!  Take it easy and enjoy the summer..you deserve it.  I have a friend, 69 yrs old, running the Flying Pig in a couple of weeks. It gives me hope..she's been running 20 mile runs in training.  I am quite humbled because I am dying at around 9-10 miles of my 12:30 shuffle.

Thanks Carol, felt good to race. Now just to finish it off this weekend with a solid performance. Your legs will come around but it is amazing how heavy they can feel for some time.

Andy and Mona 3:00 sounds good at the entrance of the Expo, I'll most likely be wearing last years St. Anthony's shirt and a Newtons hat. I'm looking forward to saying Hello. See you on Saturday.

Andy congrats on the girl

Hey Carol,

I met both Roy and Andy at the expo the day before the race..both looked good and fit and ready to go.  I'll let them tell the story, but both finished in fine form.  I was at a water stop for 3 hours in the hot blazing sun..tough run...but didn't manage to see either one of them among the 4500 or so athletes :-) 

Waiting for the race reports, guys!

Mona

Yap, the heads hanging low after that bike and run.  Mostly because I know I did not train hard enough for the bike and it took everything out of me for the run.  I know it is an accomplishment to finish my first but boy did I want to be faster.  

Race report to follow.....  So nice to meet you both!

Roy, thanks for the pep talk before the swim.  I was starting to panic the closer we got to my wave.

Well first off it was great meeting Andy and Mona on Saturday PM. We had a nice chat about the mission ahead of us all, that was one of the highlights of the weekend for sure. I ran into Andy a little later and we walked down toward the swim start, and I got to see him again on Sunday just before our waves were about to go and we wished each other well.

OK I'm going to keep this fairly short, but didn't have a good day at all which was/is puzzling, 15 minutes off of what should have a been a solid day(2:55.20). But it is what it is. Had a decent swim certainly not one that would derail the day, down current for about 5-700 yards, then we turn to the left into more open water and across current and it got pretty choppy and rough at times. This is where St. Anthony's has had trouble in the past. But this was not that kind of bad you just knew is was slowing you down. Then across and turned in toward the exit with about 400-500 yds to go. Got surprised one time with a big old gulp of Sea Water, didn't swallow it but it did choke me briefly. You have to change your timing a bit when the conditions get like that. But up the stairs I go and all is well, onto the bike(there is more to the story), just didn't seem to be able to get going no matter which way we were going, didn't understand at all how I was going to end up 6 min. slower than last year, NO Way. But it happend and it felt like I was working hard the entire time. So onto the run but by that time the goal was missed and I pretty much became a mental midget. Never got comfortable with pace, walked short bits way to much and was having a nice little pity party. Ended up 6  min slower than last year on the run. But I did enjoy the ice cold towel at the end. I didn't even feel like wearing the finishers medal thats how I felt about it.

My body felt great, there was no reason to be 15-20 off your goal time. So we are at home later and I decide to have a look at my trusty steed(the bike). When a discovery was made( which will certainly account for some time lost) Front wheel looks good no issues to the eye. I touch the rear wheel and something doesn't feel right, I have used a wheel cover in the past but on the BLUE bikes the chainstays are extremely close and it can rub(always felt it was more of a cosmetic run not continous around the entire wheel). I noticed a very obvious rub on the non drive side and now I'm thinking what has happened. This isn't right, upon grabbing hold of the wheel it feels loose side to side, and sure enough it is really loose side to side but no issue front to back. Now if I knew how it got so loose, I raced last weekend didn't seem to have a very good bike ride then either. I guees I just overlooked something and it really cost me. The entire non drive side of the tire had a rub on that side along with the wheel cover. Thats most likely the end of the wheel cover for this bike.

But non the less the mission is to always finish, chalk it up to lesson learned and prepare for the next opportunity on Fathers Day.

No head hanging allowed! Just remember of 95%  of the population can't do what you just did.  It's just a learning experience..it ain't as easy as some make it look :-)  and now your in the know...daily consistent training is the key to success! 

Fun meeting you two as well.  I'll eventually take a crack at posting that photo I took of you both so Carol can see what you guys look like.

Mona, sounds like you had a volunteer endurance even going on!  Very nice that you got to meet Roy & Andy.  Always fun to meet other BT'ers.

Andy, I agree w/ Mona, no head hanging!  Both of my OLY's last yr. left me feeling very deflated immediately after.  After I had time to reflect a bit more, I realized that they were great learning opportunities.  You did just fine, and will be a smarter, stronger triathlete for the experience.

Yes, it sure is!  Glad you found out about your bike issue.... a loose wheel sounds dangerous.  I really know what you mean about the mental thing when your goals pass you by early on in a race.  Forgive me if I've shared this before.  Last yr in my A race, I left my insulin pump on the swim out table, didn't realize it until I was ready to hop on my bike, and had to backtrack and repeat a very long T1. I was the VERY LAST bike out for the OLY.  Came very close to quitting, but thankfully did not.  Wish I could say I stayed focused after that, but it took the whole bike leg to stop being on the verge of tears, and the run became more of a social run than a race.  But you are very right, finishing, learning, and leaning into the next goal is what so much of this journey is about.   

Hi All,

Would you believe after a 4 hour brick on Saturday, I ended up going to the hospital in an ambulance with heat stroke!  I sure thought I had this hydration thing down, but it was that much more humid and I got careless, thinking back. I only drank 2.5 bottles of gatorade and had enough EFS, I thought (which contains electrolytes).  Apparently, it wasn't near enough. I think i was dehydrated going into the workout because the day before we did a lot of running around after my swim.  

Anyway, I took it easy yesterday (drove the 70.3 course in Haines City-not as easy as I thought it would be but very doable) and today did an easy swim workout and am still feeling a bit tired.  Hopefully this will pass in time for my event.  My taper is starting a little earlier than planned, but oh well. I am lucky that I wasn't alone (my friend actually caught me as I fainted), and the parking lot was full of helpful cyclists that poured ice water on me while waiting for the paramedics.  I didn't want to go to the hospital, feeling rather foolish, but then I fainted a second time and they wouldn't take no for an answer!

Hope everyone is well and well underway into recovery!  

Mona

Yikes Mona!  I'm glad you're OK.  Heat stroke is nothing to mess around with.  Glad you were surrounded by people who knew how to help.  Seems like I read somewhere that once you have one, you are more likely to have another.  Maybe just a dream, but either way, be careful out there.