Full Vineman 2014 Triathlon : Official Thread (Page 7)

Jose, the way it looks now is exactly the way it looked at this time last year, so don't be too concerned as the dam did the dam job dam well and there was plenty of water

Training is starting to build, and I'm a feelin' it.  Last week was 14.5 hours of training, long ride this week is 4.5 hours and my swim today was a 3800 yard workout.  Times and HR are still good, but arms and legs are feeling a bit heavy.  Paying lots of attention to nutrition and hitting the 50-60% carb level each day with what should be sufficient calories, and also hitting my target of at least 150g of protein each day.  I'm hoping this is one of those things that you just have to overcome and notice one day that things are feeling lighter and faster.

The tight calves are still an issue, but I found a youtube self massage video that seems to be helping.  I talked to my bike fitter and we've dropped the seat by about 5 mm to see if that gives some relief as well; tomorrow's ride will be the test to see if that is the culprit.

Anyone else having issues that perhaps the group could help with?

Finally - Dan, how did your course ride go?

Kate - I hear you about the eating.  It is sometimes a challenge to get in enough high quality calories in a day.  The other day I was so far behind I went to Baskin Robbins and got a shake.  Lots of calories, perhaps not the best quality, but sure was good.  At the end of the day I often find I'm lacking carbs for the day and resort to a slice or two of whole wheat bread with jam or honey to help make up the deficit.  One thing I've learned during this nutrition cycle is how hard it is to eat out at restaurants and avoid high fat content meals!  There is so much data available on-line now it is possible to make wiser choices, but still I am amazed at how much fat is in that food.  I guess I shouldn't be as I've watched a lot of cooking shows in my time and the professional chefs repeat time after time, "Fat is flavor!".

Last year during the 70.3 I wore a full wetsuit and was comfortable.  As I recall, most swimmers were in fulls, but some were sleeveless.  Water temps will be in the 70's for sure (the concern becomes "Will it be wetsuit legal?"), so it really becomes a personal preference at that point.  Good luck on your 4500 this weekend, hope it goes well!  Take note of the water temp; maybe that'll help you decide on full vs. sleeveless.

Another week of training in the bag.  Yesterday was another combination day: 2100 swim/58 bike (3 hour)/6.7m run.  Interesting the way that my plan has this set up such that my "recovery" weeks (ie: fewer hours) all include these combo workouts - I like it.  Did the bike all in z2 to emulate race conditions so that I could see how the run would go.  Targeted a 9:00 pace and wanted to stay in z2 as long as possible.    Worked out pretty well with an average HR z2.5, but in the last couple of miles it was cresting z3.  Still have some training time left so feeling OK about it.

But the high point of the week was that my youngest daughter got married, completing the trio of daughters entering wedlock.  A beautiful day set in the towering redwoods, and a perfect event in all ways.  Definitely a proud Poppa here!

Tom that is one of the most stunning photographs I've ever seen! Congrats to you and your family!

Originally posted by akrenik Just popping in to encourage all of you. Vineman was my first full last year and it was AWESOME! There is a grocery store right near the swim and is a great place to take care of some morning bathroom needs. Swim is pretty crowded and shallow but fun. I would recommend that you have a mat or a junk towel to stand on in T1 because it was super muddy. Don't try and ride up the short steep hill at the mount line. Most of us that walked the 15 yards up it passed the people trying to clip in and ride up it. Enjoy the ride! It is beautiful! Lots of rolling hills. You are always going up or down. I will say it was super cold at first. Took me about 20 miles to stop shivering. The roads are super rough. Lots of ejected water bottles and broken chains. Just keep your hands on the bars and eyes on the road. Chalk hill is 3/4 mile. Just keep turning the pedals. Enjoy the challenge with those around you. It's kind of fun to get to the top and see everyone dressed up and cheering. The run sucked for me but that's because I hate running. Haha! It was all rolling mild hills. The nice thing is there are a lot of people cheering along the way. You guys will have a blast! Keep putting in those training hours!

I was out there with ya last year and SECOND all of this! Except coming from Kansas I would describe the hills on the run as exponentially harder than I imagined, ha! I walked a good bit of the run but part of that was that my IT Band quit working. 

I wore my arm warmers and gloves until mile 56 on the bike, I was that cold. 

Enjoying following ya'lls journeys in this thread and living vicariously through you this year
Keep on keeping on! It will be here before you know it.