Marvelous Manatees - Stronger than Ever! (Page 30)

Maybe? They are saying the date range is January 2012 through August 2023 and it could be that you had work done and parts replaced.  I'd still check it.

I'm not overly concerned but I don't want to ignore it either. I mean, it does not seem to be a high percentage of failure but it could be really bad if it happened to you.

Happy Friday, Manatees!!!

Is anyone racing or doing anything else fun this weekend?

One of these Fridays I will be able to answer something other than "nothing special"!

Haha! My big plans involve picking Kevin up from the airport so I'm right there with you.

I lived in Laramie between 1997-2005. I like the Rockies and am happy to be back this time I am in Casper, Wy.  I think altitude is over rated.  It is much easier to run in the mountains at 8,100' asl than it is to run in heat and humidity at sea level.  :-)

I use the following:

1) Strava - **Free Version** - I was upgraded to the paid version for month.  I didn't get any benefit out of the premium graphs & analytics.  The only feature that I miss was being able to slide the curser to get the best power for 5-second, 2-minute, 5 minute, 12 minute section of FTP tests.  Without the slide with best power for each duration of the bike workout I have to zoom in and get my best estimate for each of those values to plug into the Critical Power formulas to see what the new FTP is. 

2) TrainingPeaks- **Free Version** - got two months of the pair version with my USAT renewal a few years ago.  I really like that version because I could plan all my workouts a week in advance, add all my workouts that I had structured to my workout library, etc.  The calculations for Form, Readiness, TSS, etc were nice.  This did show me if I was moving in the right direction with training every week, but I really only use TSS to plan my training and the calculation for the other metrics are easy to run if I want to see them. So I have just stuck with staging all my workouts for the week on Sunday (I have like 15 sessions on that day) and then moving each day's workouts to the correct day the night before. 

3) TrainerRoads- $15.75/mo (Billed Annually) - I was required to sign up for this to get my workouts when I was coached.  I stick with it because I use virtual power and so my dumb trainer is pretty useless with out a bike app.  Over the past 7 years I have gone through the full Base/Build/Specialty Phases for 70.3, Olympic, and Sprint plans as well as use the Train Now, adaptive training (not a fan of this) and created a full 12 weeks FTP plan in the customer workouts with the TR software.  I am not using the platform very much right now. Especially since the speed/cadence sensors that I had died last month.  This is one that I will keep or replace by another bike app because indoor training is something I use a lot to make training safer at 5:30 AM in the morning (used to ride outside with a headlight) and it coaches me at a price I couldn't get a coach for.

4) Rouvy -  I did the 2-week **free** trial during covid.  I signed up so I could do one of the 56-mile IM course with my ambassador team which we paired with a video conference.  After the virtual team ride I used it to complete the bike legs of the USAT standard distance and sprint distance Virtual Duathlons during covid.  I loved the simulation on real work courses and being about to do virtual races.  TrainerRoads is better for every day training with its structured training plans, but this is great for getting a preview of a race course and for virtual races.

5) Garmin Connect - **Free**  The local Tri Club from Oklahoma does monthly challenges on here.  I don't really use it for much but to upload my data and sync it with TrainingPeaks, Beginner Triathlete, and Strava.  I have made some race course there and played with their place plan tool but that is about it.  

6) TriDot - I have done the Free PreSeason Program three times.  The First Time I did an 8 week Triathlon preseason program. That went well.  The second time I did the program they had changed things and I just got their standard AI training for 8 months with no real "pre-season" focus that I could see.  I went into the 2nd season after 6 weeks off and the AI was giving me workouts that I didn't have the base fitness to complete and I got injured twice in the first two weeks so I aborted the program went back to base training for the rest of my "pre-season".  The third time through they had totally made over the app to give you a score for every workout based on you HR data and the prescribed HR training.  That was something that I was really getting into.  I learned how to manipulate the workouts to get higher scores (even if it meant doing the workout less correct per the instructions, etc).  I became a game for me but I was getting fit at the same time.  I used the training the third time through to train for a half marathon and a Marathon.  I don't feel that it a very good IA app for long distance running events.  If you are going to do a non-competitive running event in the Triathlon off season it is okay, but I feel that the triathlon training is all you should really be doing with the TriDot app.   The prices for the full TriDot app were $15 a month for the a limited plan that only had you training for one short distance race (Sprint or Oly).  For $25 you could do one long distance race (70.3 or 140.6), then the jump was pretty steep after that.  The free trial was for the $150/month plan that had video instruction for workouts done by Mark Allen, and then there was an options for a personal coach which I thing was something like $200-$250 a month.  At $15/month I might try it for a short distance race plan.  The other options were to much $ for me.  I can write my own workouts for free and get results that are good. 

The Wrightsville Beach Triathlon is a very fun event!  I'm not surprised that it sucked you in!  I'm sure that you'll enjoy the IM NC relay as well.  Is Kiawah still on the calendar as well this fall?

Congrats on racing in the advanced division and on the PR! 

Well, this is unfortunate news. I suppose we might want to discuss the future of the Manatees as well. We've been together for more than 10 years.  How would we like to handle this?  I don't think that the 15 of us will make or break BT.  I suppose we could Google Group + Strava if all else fails.

ETA: Bronze is $50/yr. 

The only thing that surprises me about this announcement is that it isn't just saying the site is being shut down! I'm not sure what to think as it seems there is a possibility that if we pay for a membership that may still not be enough to keep the site running.  My use of BT has morphed into this group and the log. I'd hate to lose either.

Yeah, her post was not very clear.  Like you, I'd really hate to lose this group or the training log/race reports.  That would be very sad.

Again, I don't think the $750/yr that the site would get if all 15 of us subscribed would make or break it.  It does sound like we may want a Plan B -- where it's something like a Google Group or Geneva, well...

Edited to correct typo.

I think that you are OK on The Sufferfest front for now at least.  They discontinued RGT but kept The Sufferfest.

Lately, Ive been using Zwift and TrainerRoad. TR is just a screen with numbers, I run that on my iPad and use Zwift for the entertainment portion.  You could use Netflix or something instead but I can't focus on a workout and a TV program at the same time. I end up no knowing what is going on with the TV program. 

I also do quite a bit of "robo pacer" rides.  You pick the pacer bot that does the watts/kg that you want to ride and keep up. There is usually a decent sized group with the bot so it's relatively entertaining.

I had some Zwift groups that I rode with a lot over the winter -- so much so that we follow each other on Strava -- but that may be more of a winter thing for me.  For now, I kind of like riding on my schedule (as opposed to when the group is riding).

Regarding BT, I don't think there is a direct replacement. I am hopeful that we can keep the group together in some way. I mean, assuming that people are receptive/interested.

I think that you'll have a blast doing that half.  The bonus is that you be recovered enough to cheer for the people running the full.They will be SO JEALOUS of you on race day!

Thanks!