GI issues are the worst.Seems like a good week of training even with the GI difficulties on your Saturday run. I've had that happen before too and it's truly miserable.
Your tri-club bike ride sounds good though and glad you enjoyed it. Hope you can keep riding with them.
@DopeyBadger - For tomorrow, is the CD 1.5 mi or 2 mi? The text and boxes show different things.
Hi guys! No update this week because I'm getting on the Wonder today!! I ran in Vancouver twice while I was here (and even saw the Wonder docked from across Stanley Park) and I'll be making an effort to run on the ship as well. Real updates when I come back!
I'm comfortable changing gears but I'm not smooth when doing so. I often change gears when going up a hill too early and end up spinning out and then switching back and losing my momentum and other such things.
Thank you!Great job on your tri!!
I have not. I'll have to get one. Thanks for the advice.Buy a Garmin speed and cadence sensor package if you don't already have one. Then keep an eye on your cadence as you reach a hill. Change gears when your cadence starts to drop to keep your pedaling smooth as you ascend. A smooth & steady cadence will keep you from spinning out and keep you from using too much energy during the hill.
Thanks!Great job on your tri!!! Congratulations!
Once I got up and moving I felt much better and was glad to get the run in. I always feel so successful after a morning run because I accomplished something before I even left for work.
In general biggest challenge with the runs that have a WU and a CD is I always have a harder time getting back down to CD pace after.
I can't wait until Fall so it's cool enough to run in the afternoon and I can sleep that extra hour. That feeling of accomplishment is not worth the agony of waking up early no matter what I try to tell myself.Yes! I always grumble when my alarm goes off, but I'm always SO GLAD when I finish that I got up and did it. Plus, it makes me that much more grateful for the days I don't run, because I get an extra hour+ of sleep.
See when I have to stop for traffic I always end up going faster when I restart. I think it has to do with the feeling that I'm not running and so it's delaying my return home. I do find if I walk for a minute just to get my heart rate down it helps sometimes with getting into the CV mindset because I'm still moving, just slower. I also have the advantage of my CD being mostly flat with a short downhill followed by an uphill section.ME TOO! I'm terrible at CD pace. I end up doing it somewhere between LR and EB. Usually my CD is also on a downhill, which makes it even worse. One thing that sometimes helps: There's a part of my route where I often have to stop running for traffic. Sometimes just stopping at restarting breaks the momentum and allows me to slow down.
Great work on the tri! Figuring out all of those little bike nuances is a challenge but you will find what works for you eventually...it just takes time in the saddle to get to that comfort level. Just be thankful that you didn't drop a chain while changing gears (been there)...focus on the little victories with the bike and you have some pretty big victories to focus on as well with that rockin' swim and strong run to the finish. Way to go!Week 17 (8/7-8/13):
Tuesday - 4mi @ EA
Thursday - 1 mile @ WU + 3 miles @ Tempo + 1 mile @ CD
Saturday - 3mi @ EB
Sunday - Autumn Lake Tri (0.4mi swim, 13 mi bike, 4km run)
So this week I wanted one more day of post vacation rest so I switched to Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday/Sunday for the week. All runs went pretty well though, Tuesday was exhausting as my first run back and also sunny because I didn't do it early in the morning. The rest of the runs went better though my pace was a bit slower because I had taken off.
More important is Sunday. It was my first triathlon and my goal was finishing (spoiler: I did). When I registered they asked if I was Athena division (165+ lbs) which I am. I didn't realize at the time that under USAT you could either be in that or your age division, or at least only win awards in one of the two. Not that it mattered too much since I placed the same in both but it's definitely something to consider for the future if I ever miraculously become good at triathlons. I wasn't able to get my packet the day before so I picked it up early on Sunday morning (5:45am) and had a good amount of time to pick my bike rack (they weren't assigned) and set up my little square in transition before the start of the race.
My mom had come out with me and my one aunt (also a triathlete) stopped by a little before the start to watch with her. My aunt had swam in the lake before (it's used by one of the local tri clubs to practice) and compared it to the Caribbean with regards to how light and clean the water was. I personally like clean lake water or water so dirty I can't see the bottom. If I see things like lake plants or movement of fishes I get kind of grossed out. This was also a rolling start with an athlete entering the water every five seconds or so. Women from my triclub were there which was good because I swim faster than most of them and therefore was able to estimate where to start. The swim is probably my best of the three and I was towards the top of the results (25th for all women, 2nd in both divisions).
I can transition pretty quickly because I wear a tri-suit and I don't have clip ins so while my first transition is slow while I dry off and slip on sneakers (my On Clouds because they don't have laces) my second one is fast because I just re-rack my bike and remove my helmet.
Then came the bike ride. I am the worst at the bike ride. It's because I don't practice as much as I should for bikes. To be fair when I started training I wasn't confident I could ride a bike so my slowness is an improvement. I had driven the course in advance once and it seemed flat but in fact it was a series of slight slow inclines and declines that were imperceptible from the car. I'm comfortable changing gears but I'm not smooth when doing so. I often change gears when going up a hill too early and end up spinning out and then switching back and losing my momentum and other such things. I didn't pass a single person on the bike and in fact I came in last in both divisions for the bike ride. Also my butt hurt more than usual but perhaps that was because I was trying to push harder.
Finally the run. I had practiced bricks a few times but it's one of those things I still hate the feel of. As I ran more my legs felt better (and my privates felt worse since the edge of the padding for the bike in that area of my tri-suit tends to chafe and I forgot that happened before too) and I was able to pass a few people on the run portion which felt good. I was able to hit about 13:15 which was pretty good after the bike ride from hell (though I call all bike rides that) and I finished with a clock time of 2:00:57 and a chip time of 1:53:10. I was 5/6 in my age group and 5/10 in Athena division so not bad for my first tri.
I think in the future I need to train more on the bike. I think if I got faster and more comfortable on the bike I might be able to do an Olympic distance next year because the swim and run weren't bad at all.
Most importantly after the tri I got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (a rare treat) and had a sundae with 3 scoops of vanilla peanut butter swirl, bananas, hot fudge, peanut butter sauce, peanuts, crushed reeses, and whipped cream (I took off the cherries) and then a 2.5 hour nap.
Yes. That's next on the list. I also need to get park tickets first but I have a few more weeks for that.Nice that you were able to get the 2 day ChEAR package for your mom and yay on booking flights. I stalled a long time too hoping flights would drop in price, but finally just got tired of worrying about it and bought them at the higher price. It's nice though to have everything squared away though (except FP as you said). Now I can start stressing about getting a FoP FP+
Thanks! I'm very glad I didn't drop a chain. I'm still learning the ins and outs of bike maintenance as well so I probably would have been totally out if something like that happened. I definitely look forward to doing more tris next year. I just need to shift my focus back to running until Dopey is over.Great work on the tri! Figuring out all of those little bike nuances is a challenge but you will find what works for you eventually...it just takes time in the saddle to get to that comfort level. Just be thankful that you didn't drop a chain while changing gears (been there)...focus on the little victories with the bike and you have some pretty big victories to focus on as well with that rockin' swim and strong run to the finish. Way to go!
My wife is hopeless when it comes to bike maintenance and she dropped a chain way back in our second triathlon ever. She had no idea how to fix it but one of the medics saw her and came to her rescue. That was probably about 5 years ago and I don't think she has shifted gears since!Thanks! I'm very glad I didn't drop a chain. I'm still learning the ins and outs of bike maintenance as well so I probably would have been totally out if something like that happened. I definitely look forward to doing more tris next year. I just need to shift my focus back to running until Dopey is over.
I can see where I would lose all desire to shift gears after that. I can't wait to hear about your last tri.My wife is hopeless when it comes to bike maintenance and she dropped a chain way back in our second triathlon ever. She had no idea how to fix it but one of the medics saw her and came to her rescue. That was probably about 5 years ago and I don't think she has shifted gears since!
I have one tri left in my season but totally hear you about shifting back to a run focus...I've had about enough biking for now and I'm looking forward to just running again.