The dance - Triathlon Week

sfricks · 09-23-2006, 03:56 PM

Tomorrow is my last Sprint before Iron. As luck would have it, I'm 3 days into a NASTY head cold. Hopefully it'll break tonight 'cause I'm racin' come hell or high water.

Look for times tomorrow (if I have enough presence of mind to keep up with my watch!).

hmullett · 09-23-2006, 07:49 PM

Scott,
Sending you good vibes for your race! Hope everything goes well and you feel good. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Heather

sfricks · 09-24-2006, 11:08 AM

Iron Mom, your virtual hugs did the trick for me. Thanks for the love!

Despite waking up at 2:35AM with an awful sinus headache, I felt rather good.

After a short warm up swim, we toed the line and went off at 7AM. The ocaen is a toasty 85ish right now and visability is good. After a relaxing 14:30 snorkel it was into T1 for a relatively slow :55 T1. The 15 mile hilly ride was a blast. I had legs for miles. Picked up about a dozen positions, obviously because I'm a S_L_O_W swimmer and some of those cyclists - like wifey - were relayers but mostly because I had legs for miles. I dumped two elite cyclists about 2/3 into the race. After a faster :25 T2 I hammered out the 3.1 mile run in 22:42. Lost 1 position & gained 1 position on the run. Over all I finished 9th in 1:23 and change but again, some of those in front of me were relayers so probably 7th-ish. It'll be a few days for the final results.

So there you have it. Not a terrible performance for me. It's a new couse for this old venue but I'd certainly call it a PB. God knows I didn't leave much if anything on the course.

This event was a barometer for my Ironman and I'd say I'm more prepared this year than last. one more 13 miler, one more 10 miler, and one more century in the next 2 weeks. Then T_A_P_E_R! Heather, I know you're jealous, but yours is coming.

Last snipit to make everyone jealous... Post race party tonight at 6PM. Menu: Fresh lobster (hand caught by yours truely), lamb, flank steak, and for desert... Bananas Foster! Then of course its not a party without Patron taquila shots :)

hmullett · 09-25-2006, 12:55 PM

Oh, I can't wait for the taper! I'm finding it sooooo hard to motivate myself to get out there and do my workouts. Is this normal?

Scott~ you da man! Your race sounded great! Glad I could be of assistance! I'll need lots of warm fuzzies before my IM. I'm really starting to get apprehensive again. Things just keep getting in the way of work outs (or maybe I'm just making excuses), kids, work, and sheer exhaustion. So, whenever I think about "that day" I get really nervous and my stomach gets a little queasy.

This is hell run week. I have a 20 miler on Thursday, and I know next week will be bike week with a century in there. Tonight is 60 mile spin, tomorrow 10 mile run and 3500 pool. Wednesday is 60/10 brick, Thursday 20 run, Fri 4000 pool and Sat 40/8 brick. Man, I'm already tired and the week hasn't even started. To top it off, work has been hell lately. As a controller, weather affects our lives drastically, and the weather in the midwest/east coast has been brutal this past week. But, I have 6 weeks left, and I need to make the most of it. I'm also in the mindset of race to complete, I have 17 hours, right? Oh, what is wrong with me today?! Just tell me to suck it up and get my a%! on the bike! By the way, I bid on some Spinergy wheels on ebay, we'll see how it goes. I currently have Mavic Cosmo's that are great for all around training/riding, but I want race wheels! Wish I could afford the goooood ones!

Enough pity party! I'm getting dinner ready for the family and then I'm off! I'll post later!

Heather

DOUBLE DOWN · 09-25-2006, 01:19 PM

Hey Scott,
Where was this sprint at? I'm jealous of your 5K run time.

sfricks · 09-25-2006, 01:24 PM

I'm impressed with your regiment. I still can't pull out more than 10-11 hours/week out of my life to train and I'll do mine in 13~. I'd bet a <12 hour Ironman for you. Let's see... 1:10 swim, :08 T1, 6:00 bike, :05 T2, 4:00 run. Just over 11 hours. That sounds like you girl. The gloves are off, the gauntlet thrown. There's your motivation. Now just shut up and run!\

PS. Final results are in. Officially 7th. I'm happy with the results. I've decided to re-gear for the Ironman. My cycling has improved tremendously so bring on the pain!

hmullett · 09-25-2006, 05:22 PM

Thanks for the push, Scott. Just did a 55 (it got dark, and I'm a scaredy cat) and it felt really good! So, thanks for the kick in the a@#, I needed it.

By the way, super congrats on the race! You rock! You should be so happy with that finish. How did your wife's relay team do? And how was her portion of the race?

Heather

sfricks · 09-25-2006, 05:39 PM

DD,
This was the Sprint my company (Toyota of St Croix) sponsors every year. It's held the third week of September on St. Croix US Virgin Islands' beautiful north shore. See: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] for pictures. It was an 800m swim, 15 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run. Other than being incredibly hot - probably close to 90 on the run - it was a fantastic event.

Placing was Swim 12/40, Bike 3/40, Run 10/40, Overall 7/40. Unfortunately only 29 seconds kept me from 5th. There was three of us hammering it out in the last 400 meters. That's what makes the sport so great and why we're all hooked :)

The count down is on to my Ironman. 13 days to taper. 26 days to Iron. YEAH BABY :)

Spike10 · 09-26-2006, 03:36 PM

Scott, sorry the good luck charm didn't arrive for your race, it sounds like it wasen't needed, it's on the way and you should have it within a day or so. I can taste the lobster at my end just reading your post :), well my race schedule is set for 07 and maybe I can slide in more as the long winter months start to arrive.
Heather, keep that hammer down!, your comming into the home stretch and we are all behind you, I only wish I could join in this year, maybe next ;)
By the way Scott, those pics on the dive site are awsome!!!
Keep on trainin.
Spike.

sfricks · 09-26-2006, 06:05 PM

Thanks Spike. The good luck thoughts were all I needed.

I had a bit of an epiphany today. One of my many job functions is to do sales training and of course no sales trainer would be worth a salt without letting his class know that attitude and confidence are everything. I say that to say this: I changed my rear cassette from my normal climbing gear cassette 12-25 tooth to a higher gear ratio 11-23 tooth. This change was much more psychological than physical. I probably could have raced as well with the 12-25 but told myself I’d be faster with the 11-23. Subsequently I crushed people I normally can't touch. In sales vernacular we'd say, “If you think you CAN you’re right. If you think you CAN’T you’re right.” Don’t forget the power of the mind on race day.

hmullett · 09-27-2006, 05:50 AM

Good morning everyone! I'm off for a 40/10 brick. I'm in a much better mood today, thanks for the hugs and support. Man, I just get a little wound up about this whole thing!

Scott, changing the gears! Sweet! And, I agree, that the mind is a powerful tool on race day.

Off to train! Have a good day, I'll post later.

Heather

chappy · 09-28-2006, 08:28 PM

Hey guys, It sounds (or reads) like everyone is working hard besides me. I've been in Arkansas and Minnesota since last Friday. So here is my run up to my first triathlon. I got a sinus infection on Thursday and drove the fam to arkansas for my daughter's second birthday.

I tried to push through a 3.5 mile run on Saturday morning. I actually had to walk twice and it took me 35 minutes. I felt better Saturday night so I decided to try an open water swim at my Dad's lake house. I Swam about 1500 meters in the lake at dusk. The water was pretty cold so I dropped a thermometer in the water and planned on another swim in the morning.

A cold front passed through and it was 58 degrees out the next morning. My dad said I was crazy and I went down to the water at about 8:00 a.m. Checked the temperature and it was 66 degrees. The water in Texas shouldn't be near that cold. I jumped in and swam for 16 minutes.

I wanted to get in a hard workout on Monday in Minnesota, but only managed an 8 mile bike. I ran around 3 miles on Wednesay and did 6 miles on the mountain bike tonight. I never got in a last hard workout, but hopefully I'll make it through on Sunday.

Great race last week, Scott. I might change my goal to beat your time. I got 50 m less swim and 3 miles less bike so I might be able to come close. My run time won't be that good for sure.

What do you guys think the last 2 days before the race should look like? I'm going to do a 6 mile loop on Saturday on the road bike I'm renting, but didn't really plan on much else besides pasta.

sfricks · 09-29-2006, 03:36 AM

Thanks Chappy. :35 @ 3.5 is not a bad run. Remember, in a Sprint, unless you neglect to hydrate, there's virtually no chance of bonking so poor it on. It might hurt but you won't die.

Two days before just keep the muscles firing. Short easy rides/runs are ok with a few short hard sprints but noting to make you sore. Make sure you warm up before the race. Give your bike a quick spin to make sure it's OK. Put on the tennies and go out for a 400m easy kick. 15 minutes before the gun do a light warm up swim with a few very short moderate pick ups to get the blood in your arms & sholders moving. A lot of people "save" the arms just to find out their out of breath within the first 200 meters. This is a result of not warming up.

Finally, PLEASE PLEASE don't forget that the transition (1&2) is part of the race. T1 & T2 are not places to catch your breath, take a drink, chat with your friends, etc. Get in, get out, period. If you'd like more pointers on this, search the forum for my detailed post on the subject.

Good luck & let us know how you do.

chappy · 09-29-2006, 07:38 AM

I've already read all of your stuff on transition. I got the easy laces and I'll be backing in my bike. There should be plenty of time to catch my breath after the race.