30 runs in 30 days - who's with us? (Page 182)

Just incredible..Allez! Allez!

Gulf Coast..ah, yes..Sufferfest. Good luck!

Thanks. Training for a spring Florida race while living in Michigan is interesting. I've been doing 95% or more of my training in our basement gym. I used to open the window next to my treadmill while running so I wouldn't overheat, but this entire year I have been running in there with just the wimpy little fan on the treadmill while keeping the window closed and the room light on. It's the closest way I could think of to easily simulate the heat and humidity I'll run into in Florida. I can tell you that 13.1 miles on that treadmill isn't a lot of fun, but I have caught up on a LOT of TV between that and long bike trainer sessions.

The Gulf Coast course is pretty flat, so at least the treadmill and trainer are decent for simulating that.



Edited by MSU_Brad 2024-04-12 9:01 AM

I did Gulf Coast 6x - it was my first Half and second ever tri all the way back in '04 - and what was 100% consistent was the weather. You'll be fine

Awesome! So how was the weather? Mid 70s and humid?

It was always a little warmer than that by the time I was running. Humidity I don't remember as much. Always wind but a couple of races it really helped. The earlier you get started, the better; there's plenty of room at the swim start(just sayin')..

It is rolling start now, so my plan will be to get somewhere in the front third.

Thanks for the background!

Today was an easy 2 miles in high humidity for #4022.

I crossed over the 11 year mark a few days ago.

Struggled through that Gulf Coast 70.3 back in May. The swim was nearly canceled, as it was double red flags (no swimming) due to rip currents the few days before the race, so I didn't even get in the ocean until race morning when it was only a single red. I also went to get a short ride to dial my bike in before dropoff on the day before the event, and blew a tube. Ended up figuring out my brand new tire had a slice in it, so had to panic run over to the expo to buy a new tire and install before dropping the bike off. Just felt like things weren't going my way at that point.

There was only a single red flag the next morning, so the swim was on. I had a so-so swim, as I was all over the place due to the current (they actually flipped the direction of the swim to go with vs against the current for a short time). Felt pretty good on the bike, but I knew it was getting warm. The run was murder for me. It was close to 80F when I started, and there is no shade on that course. It is a 3 lap course, and I had an okay pace for the first lap, but early in the second I was just hanging on and taking as much water as I could. It turned in to a long walk for me before it was over. I was quite a bit off my goal time. That's the danger of a spring Florida event when you can only really train in Michigan.

In June, we ran the Lake Tahoe Half Marathon. That was challenging. Again, not something I could train for well in Michigan; the race started at 7000+ feet and finished at ~6300, and there is almost no flat ground in the whole race. It was a beautiful course, but way more uphill and downhill than I am used to, which took its toll on me.

I was a little worried about my knee recently, as I have been experiencing some patellar tracking issues, but after a couple visits with my chiropractor, I think it is just relarted to a really tight adductor (which probably started to be aggravated during the LakeTahoe half).

Hope everyone else is doing well out there!

Thanks!

I'm a bit obsessive compulsive (if that wasn't obvious haha), so stopping is pretty tough for me. I don't have any plan on when I would stop at this point. I was really considering it with the tracking issues; or maybe it is better stated that I was growing concerned that it would become necessary. I'm not getting any younger, so I realize the end will come some day, but for now I'm keeping at it. Unless an injury gets me, I'm sure the end will come some day similar to how you mentioned it with Forrest Gump where I just realize I'm really tired!

86 degree water? Wow! I'm almost surprised they let you swim, but since it was only a sprint distance, I guess it isn't too bad. Seems potentially dangerous for anything longer though! Nice work getting through it!

Yesterday was #4102

Rolling on...

#484 on Streak Runners International
#392 for Men
#444 for US Running Streak Association

It takes a long time to climb the list on running streaks, because people don't drop out often!

(belated) Happy New Year, all!

Still going...about to get a tempo run in, which will be #4190.

Ramping up for Ironman 70.3 Texas in Galveston in early April. We just bought an infrared sauna which I should have installed in about two weeks. Hoping to use it for some heat adaption - just sitting in it immediately after a workout is supposed to help acclimate.

Are anyone else's knees tired? lol

No doubt. I already feel like I'm way behind in general training, and there's no way a Michigan spring is going to feel like a Galveston April day, so this one is going to be touch on me.

I'm hoping my sauna will arrive in the next two weeks.

About to go out for day #4261. Just over a week to my Half Ironman in Galveston. I'll be fine on the swim and bike, but a bit worried on the run.

Strike that...just looked at the long range forecast and now I'm a bit less enthusiastic about that portion. The bike course is known to be windy, and the long range forecast is calling for NW wins at 20 to 30 mph. It should be interesting, as the first half of the bike course is southwest, then turn around and ride back northeast. That could make for a long 28 miles back home, with winds pushing in my face and cross body.

At least the run shouldn't be *too* awful, as I'm looking at a high of 75F, but I'm expecting 85% humidity.

Well, this was an unmitigated disaster. I'd never flown my bike to a race before, so in February I bought a well reviewed soft side bike bag. A few of my friends have the same bag and had good experiences with it, so I felt pretty good about it. I packed up my bike early last week, and it looked like everything was going to be good. I flew down to Houston on Friday, and drove to Galveston that afternoon. After going to the race expo and athlete session, and then getting dinner, I didn't really have much time to open up my bike, so I figured I would do it on Saturday, the day before the race. We switched hotels on Saturday to the venue that the race was at, and couldn't get in until early afternoon, so we drove the bike course in the morning to check out any problem areas and get a feel for the wind, and then had lunch before finally getting in to our room.

I started unpacking my bike, and everything looked great until I realized my chain was hanging pretty loose. Then I suddenly noticed my derailleur was also loose. My bike is a Trek Speed Concept from the 2010 or so, so the frame design is a bit old. The derailleur mount point is actually just below the hole for the skewer, and isn't attached the same way more modern derailleurs are with a clip being attached there. THe carbon fiber extends a bit lower to the attach point. Unfortunately, it must have taken an impact during transit, and it snapped the carbon fiber. IT was mid afternoon with mandatory bike check in at 5:00PM, so by the time I got over my mental anguish, I couldn't find a place to rent. My race was officially off.

In the long run, I guess there was slight consolation, as they cancelled the swim at 5:30 AM due to high winds which were making it impossible for the kayakers to stay upright, and thus not having enough life saving protection on the water. A whole bunch of people DNS'ed the race due to the wind conditions (20-30mph with 40mph+ gusts). Whether this is accurate or not I don't know, but I read that there were ~2300 registered, with about 1500 finishers and only about 40 DNFs of those who started. If that is true, that means almost a third of the participants didn't start.

Anyway, now here I am about a month and a half away from my two sprint races I've done every year since their inception, and I don't have a bike. I'm probably going to buy a relatively cheap used road bike for training in the interim while looking to custom build a new tri bike. I just have to decide how much I want to spend on it.

Yesterday was #4272 before I headed to the airport in Houston to head home.

Well, this was an unmitigated disaster. I'd never flown my bike to a race before, so in February I bought a well reviewed soft side bike bag. A few of my friends have the same bag and had good experiences with it, so I felt pretty good about it. I packed up my bike early last week, and it looked like everything was going to be good. I flew down to Houston on Friday, and drove to Galveston that afternoon. After going to the race expo and athlete session, and then getting dinner, I didn't really have much time to open up my bike, so I figured I would do it on Saturday, the day before the race. We switched hotels on Saturday to the venue that the race was at, and couldn't get in until early afternoon, so we drove the bike course in the morning to check out any problem areas and get a feel for the wind, and then had lunch before finally getting in to our room.

I started unpacking my bike, and everything looked great until I realized my chain was hanging pretty loose. Then I suddenly noticed my derailleur was also loose. My bike is a Trek Speed Concept from the 2010 or so, so the frame design is a bit old. The derailleur mount point is actually just below the hole for the skewer, and isn't attached the same way more modern derailleurs are with a clip being attached there. THe carbon fiber extends a bit lower to the attach point. Unfortunately, it must have taken an impact during transit, and it snapped the carbon fiber. IT was mid afternoon with mandatory bike check in at 5:00PM, so by the time I got over my mental anguish, I couldn't find a place to rent. My race was officially off.

In the long run, I guess there was slight consolation, as they cancelled the swim at 5:30 AM due to high winds which were making it impossible for the kayakers to stay upright, and thus not having enough life saving protection on the water. A whole bunch of people DNS'ed the race due to the wind conditions (20-30mph with 40mph+ gusts). Whether this is accurate or not I don't know, but I read that there were ~2300 registered, with about 1500 finishers and only about 40 DNFs of those who started. If that is true, that means almost a third of the participants didn't start.

Anyway, now here I am about a month and a half away from my two sprint races I've done every year since their inception, and I don't have a bike. I'm probably going to buy a relatively cheap used road bike for training in the interim while looking to custom build a new tri bike. I just have to decide how much I want to spend on it.

Yesterday was #4272 before I headed to the airport in Houston to head home.

Thanks. I'm about to take the bike over to m LBS to see if they have any thoughts whatsoever. Tomorrow I am probably picking up a road bike off FB Marketplace.

The streak does indeed continue. Heading out momentarily for #4275.