IronSteves Group Now FULL (Page 7)

Steve,
The June race is a sprint...300 m swim, 20K bike, 5 K run

August is also a sprint but the swim jumps to 750 m open water, with the bike and run legs staying the same. I need to check the maps for elevation on that one as it's upstate NY
j

Steve,
My nerves are getting the best of me so I scheduled a mock tri next Thurs with one of the trainers at the gym.(same disances will be covered) I went into triathalon to prove to myself I could do it and now I have to prove it to myself even before my race. Another staff member will be teaching me "bike 101" cause I know NOTHING about how to fix it if something goes wrong race day.
j

Steve,
Did the mock tri with a trainer at the gym today. I went out too fast on the swim and my stroke fell apart for a while while I was getting it together but total time was 1:14:24. Had to do the bike indoors since the gym is located in a heavy traffic area. Now I know I can do it...just have to pace myself better. breakdown : Swim 6:42
Bike 41:07
Run 21:45

Still trying to figure out the taper. Any thoughts?

J

Hi Steve and fellow BTs,
Well its been a while since I last reported in but still kicking away. Found myself a coach (good friend -3xironman who is doing his coaching certificate and needs someone to practice on!). This guy is really full on and has signed me up for a half ironman in September!....still I have a money back guarantee that if I miss any of the cuts he will personally refund my entry fee so really I have nothing to lose. My July tri will be a warm up to see if all the systems are working. If it turns out really bad I can still pull out of the 70.3.

Suffice to say that the workouts have got a bit more serious lately (nothing like a bit of fear to motivte) My goal is purely to finish within the 8.5 hour cut. Have the schedule all worked out and doing 7 sessions a week (3 endurance and 3 muscular endurance and one extra swim) so as long as I can keep it all up then should be ok.

Best thing is I can now justify buying some new toys.

Steve- one question on the bike. I have a comfortable road setup and I have been reading about aero set up. All seem to say that fit is even more important on an aerobar set up. Problem is that there is no-one where I live who does bike fitting so it would be a trial and error approach. Given that my goal is purely to finish thinking it may not be such a good idea to mess around with my current setup. Should I risk it or stick with what I have and what works at the moment. I would expect that I will be on the bike for about 3.5 hours (16 miles hour ave speed)- if an aero set up is only going to save say 5-10min then I think I will stick with what I have (20min plus might make it worthwhile!).

What do you think...

Hi zipp1,
That is good times! Which I could go that fast! Based on your overall time it is not a long event (hour plus) so would not get too worried about your taper. I am from a running background- an equivelent distance time wise would be between 10km and half marathon. Most of the people I know would probably start their taper only a week or so before the event. One idea I have seen people do is on the last week just take each part individually and complete the distance at a steady pace on the days beforehand.

Say Mon- run (40min easy pace)
Tue- swim (30min of easy swim, one interval of 300m)
Wed- bike (20km- but EASY)

Thursday- stretching, walk, just want to keep the blood moving
Fri- rest
Sat- show time

This should give you plenty of time to recover and put you in good position for the race. You are not going to gain anything in the last week- you have done all the work so be confident in that. You know you can do the distance so enjoy the day.

Good luck and let us know how it went

elmatto,
thanks for the input. I noticed you didn't include strength work in the taper plan. From what I've seen that's an optional thing on taper. My work schedule the week before the race is a bit crazy but I'm off 2 days prior to the event so I'll be rested from the insanity :-)
Judi

ZIpp,
SOrry abuot the delay in my responding. I am in the throws of Ironman Training, that paired with work, coaching track and baseball, I haven't had much time for much else. I hope you got some good advice, elmatto's was excellent, and you race well. Remember it is only a tri and you are still a great person no matter the outcome.

Steve

For those still coming to the group. Ironman Lake Placid is 45 days away! I am alive, barely, and hope each of you is still pursuing or has achieved you goal of joining the brotherhood/ sisterhood of triathletes. Just having the courage to start is the what it is all about!
Best wishes and Have fun training and racing!

Steve

Steve,
I did it...in the pouring rain on Sunday. Not crazy about my times but there was no point in a warm up since I had to stand in the rain waiting for my swim start. My bike chain fell off 2 miles in and I had to fix it. The run pace was same as my 8K and 10 K races so I'm back to doing intervals to try and pick up speed. Overall time 1:39:15. Rank 15/18 in age group overall. S 7:39, T1 2:51, B 57:02, T2 1:45, R 30:00. Now I'm starting to build for Ithaca with the 750 m open water. Buying a road bike the end of the month, what is good in the $1000-1200 range? I'm cashing in PTO time to buy it...
Judi

GOOD LUCK in Lake Placid!

Welcome to the club Zipp! It is great to hear you did a tri and beware it is addicting. But keep in mind it should also be fun!

Steve

guess I'm addicted then cause I'm looking for an OLY event for next year already...

I've come to the conclusion that I continue to work to pay for my gadgets and gear (does the person with the most worn out bathing suits and running shoes get an award somewhere? If they do I should be in line for something)