Tri/tbay group - CLOSED (Page 16)

Hi Everyone,

Well being sick didn't stop my Tri yesterday. I finished in1:20:54 came in 10th in ag out of 46. Very happy with that considering I have no voice and can't breathe! So the swim start was in the water something new for me, so I got in the back as I did not want to get a foot to the face. So we were off and it was hard to get around these slower swimmers, but once I got around and into somw clear water game on. Swim felt good, probably because the water wasn't 68 degrees lol! We had to run in the thick sand to T1 but all in all a good T1. Got on the bike and just took off. My goal was not to go slower than 18 mph which I accomplished, just kept pushing myself! T2 went smooth as well. The run was HOT of course no shocker there, could of done better I think but we will wait and see for the next one in July! I will post pics soon! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Hey guys.  Been a while since I've stopped in.  Dropped off the bike yesterday to be shipped out to Idaho.  I am now in taper madness mode

2 weeks from yesterday I'll be attempting to go 140.6 miles on my own power.  I keep alternating between excitement and sheer terror.

Sometimes I never notice if there are photographers out there.  I always like to look at the photos, but most times they are just so expensive.  I was fortunate to get some great shots from my wife with my last tri.  Just wish those professional photos did not cost an arm and a leg.

Hope everyone is having a great week so far.  Going well for me with training.  Went on a great 33 mile ride last Saturday with friends.  Awesome to get out there with a group.  Been to the pool twice this week with a 1200 yd continuous swim this morning.  Working on longer distances getting ready for my OWS sprint tri in 5 weeks.

Enjoy the remainder of the week everyone.

Well,

On the Facebook page for the Dunedin Tri they said that years' past they had professional photographers but the photographer didn't want to do it this year because of not enough orders last year. I think that if they made them more reasonable in price they wouldn't have a problem selling them. Especially to me when I don't have the pleasure of my hubbie coming to my races- he usually has to work and my friends are usually racing with me! lol! Anyway- Congrats on your Tri Brett and GREAT Pictures as well!

Roy- I just signed up for www.savagerace.com it is in your backyard- Clermont? It is a mud run 5k with obstacles and a 250 meter OWS! 11 am wave if your game? lol!!!!

Training is sparse but should be back on track next week when my son starts his camp 3x a week!!! Yeah!!!! 

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE TRIDADDY'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!! IM is definitely worthy!!! Oh HIM too!

Bret,

Enjoy the taper....

Roy/Chick

Its funny you guys are reading the Macca book. I just finished it coming back from Vegas 2 weeks ago. It would be good to hear your thoughts about it when you are done.

Racing: I am racing a sprint - fathers day - Assateague Assault Sprint Tri. I am excited. (This was the first tri I ever did) - ocean swim, wild ponies, fast flat course. Weather is looking awesome.

I have a question for the group. If you were comfortable/prefer swimming without a wetsuit, what would be the low temperature threshold you would swim without a wetsuit in (for a sprint .5 mile ocean swim) ? 

I am currently through chapter 6 of Macca's book.  I am just amazed at the amount of miles he put in each year.  Seeing that he runs on average over 2,000 miles a year and bikes over 10,000 miles sometimes in a year.....my jaw just dropped.  I know being a professional triathlete is his job, but still amazing numbers.

I am also intrigued at the mental side he speaks of.  So many times a negative thought will creep in your head and as Macca says, you're done mate!  So so true.  He is the unltimate in training his mind for the tasks at hand and understands his competitions strengths and weaknesses from head to toe.

So far, a great book.  I highly recommend it to everyone else.

Courtney,

Only my big races seem to have photogs.... I love pics too and I am sorry folks I have not posted any. I am for sure the guy who leaves all of his photos on his camera's memory card.

You are right though the prices are insane... more people would buy them if they were reasonable. I havent had a good one taken of me yet though.... always one with my mouth wide open or coming out of the swim looking like death.... rant......

Hey guys... It's been a while but things have been crazy busy.  Just got back late last week from my trip out to Idaho from IMCdA.  Here is my "short" race report.  This will be a bit abbreviated as there is so much to tell.

Got down to the swim about an hour before the start and got my bike all set up and special needs bags dropped off. Cherry, Max & my dad scouted out a god spot to watch and I got on my wetsuit and walked down to the beach.

The air temp was actually a bit lower than the water temp (55F) so it was a bit chilly. Waited on the beach for about 10 mins with 2500 of my closest friends and then BOOM the cannon went off. 2500 people all entering the water at one time is quite an experience. It's more of a wresting match than a swim. For the entire 2.4 miles I do not think I swam more than 4-5 strokes w/o someone touching my leg, getting hit in the head with a hand or me hitting someone else's leg.

The swim is 2 loops (1.2 miles each). First loop was fine, but crowded. I really was not cold at all as I had on a full wetsuit and was pretty warmed up. On the second loop the cold began to creep in and I began to get an ice cream headache. My nose, ears and hands were numb at this point. Got out in about 1:22 which was below my goal of 1-1/2 hours.

Made my way to the changing tent and grabbed by bike bag. I sat down to change and bean to shake uncontrollably. I could only must 30 seconds of stability before the shakes would start again. The volunteers in the changing tent were great however, getting things out of the bag for me and loading my wetsuit and goggles back into the bag.

Off on the bike. I had already ridden the "hilly" part of the bike course the day before. The course first went out along the lake. I had figured it would be relatively flat. Boy was I wrong. It had two big hills as well. So I ground past them and then went off into the hills. Cherry & crew were at the start of the hills to give me some moral support. The first loop went well with an avg speed of 17.5 mph. After the halfway point (mile 56) things got a bit uglier. The second loop was a lot harder. My avg fell to 16.5mph and my back began to HURT. My rides in San Antonio were no preparation for these hills. They just went on forever.

The second loop got better about 1/2 way through however with only one major cramp going up the steepest hill (14% grade). Saw the support crew 3 more times on the bike and I cruised into T2. 112 miles on the bike down. 26.2 left to run.

Changed into my run clothes and headed out for the longest run of my life to date. In training I had only ever gone 19 miles.

The first 1/2 of the marathon was OK. I was already pretty tired and knew I would not be able to run the entire thing. I settled on a 3/1 interval and kept a 12:xx min/mile pace. Slow but acceptable. At the 1/2 way point however things went south. Everything hut, I had no energy, my stomach was telling me it was not going to accept anything w/o a fight and general felt like crap. I had LONG stretches of walking at this point. This kept up till about mile 19.

I'm not sure what happened at this point but I began to run. And I kept running for the next 7 miles. I think my brain decided that it hurt the same walking or running so I might as well get it over with as quickly as possible. I did about a 10:xx pace for the last 7 miles.

I passed a ton of people who were walking and then made the final turn onto Sherman street. I could see the finish line about 6 blocks down the road. The sun had just set so the finish was all lit up. One spectator shouted "run to the light!" which made me smile. It was a gentle downhill slope the whole way and I picked up the pace. There were 1000s of people all lining the roads cheering us on, and I had this huge grin on my face the entire way. As I got close to the finish I saw Cherry and my family and gave them a wave. As I got close to the line I heard Mike Riley announce: "Sean Dotson, you are an Ironman". Those 6 words I had been training for 6 months to hear.

My final time was 14:19:41, well below my goal of 15 hours. While my bike and run could have been better this was a tough course. A bucket list item has been checked off. Will I ever do one again? Ask me in a few weeks...

And some pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/sdotson/IronmanCoeurDAlene?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Sean,

Congratualtions on becoming an Ironman!  I was thinking about you as I was watching Ironman Live for part of the day.  Absolutely inspiring!  I can just picture that scene you described coming to the finish line.  I bet the adrenaline kicked in with those spectors cheering you on.  I got emotional just reading it and picturing that moment!

Looking forward to checking out your pictures.

Again, congratulations!

Hope the summer has treated everyone well!!!

Look what I got this week:

(Scott bike 2.bmp)

Hi All,

I signed up for St Anthony's - deferred my last years entry to this year due to my ski crash. That will not happen again I promise. Let me know if any of the FLA folks are planning on doing it again this year. General registration opens December 1st. Hope everyone is well.

Also - nice bike

- Vin

I am planning to register for the White Lake HIM on May 5. 

I wanted to ask the group if it is a good idea to enter a race the weekend before (4/28) and treat it as prepartion for the HIM?

Thinking of either a sprint or olympic distance nearby.

Figured it may not be a bad idea to get a race in before the HIM to work out the offseason cobwebs and get ready for race conditions.

What are your thoughts?

That might be a bit too close.......

I did a sprint one weekend and then a oly the next..... that wasnt too bad, but I dont think I would attempt anything for a HIM...... I would want to be fully fresh for that race.