Jonathan22's group - CLOSED like your parents door during happy time. (Page 5)

Welcome, Bulldog! J's a riot...The idiot award?  My husband got one, too! (by driving to Portland to pick me up from a return flight;  He'd dropped me off for the trip @ the airport in Eugene, and that's where I flew back into...Imagine the heavy sigh after 15 hours of trip when I'm off the plane in Eugene and he's headed to Portland...) Funny, I didn't get a bike for it....

My road/tri bike is a LeMond Versailles; yeah, not the fancy tri bike, but I love it.  My mountain bike is an '07 Giant Cypher (womens version of the Trance)...Talk about plush.  Can't wait to get on the trail.

How much difference do your tri bikes make?

Huge difference in your wallet.

The main difference in road bikes and tri bikes

- you will generally go faster on a tri bike due to the aero position (assuming the course is not hilly and the tri bike is a good fit).

- your legs will be fresher coming off the bike.  There is a debate as to whether it is your quads or hamstrings that are saved.

Here are a few articles:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=938

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/bikes/difference.shtml

http://gearwestbike.com/page.cfm?pageID=54

I am lucky in that I have both.  When I do group rides and hilly rides, I'm on my road bike.  This time of the year, I ride my road bike exclusivley.  Starting in March, I will move to using my tri bike for for most of my riding.  Eventually, I will give some love to my mountain bike.

Courtney,
I was going to post this as an inspire but I'll post it here so it might help others.

A few things that come to mind regarding your "female issues":
- How much are you riding your bike?  Not a spin bike but your bike.  Looking at your logs (and given that it is winter), it usually takes a few weeks to get your seat-bones warmed up to riding long distances.  Getting a trainer and putting (Time In the Saddle) will help.  It usually takes about 3 weeks of regular riding (2-3 x per week) to get over the ouchy feeling.  Performance Bike has some great deals on trainers right now.

- What kind of saddle do you have?  If you have spent the time on your bike and it still hurts, it may be the saddle.  The saddle that came with my tri bike is awful (it's on Ninja's too and we will be replacing that).  I replaced mine in the first month and rode a different one all last year.  It still wasn't great so I recently changed to another saddle and will give that a year. Finding the right saddle can be like finding the right conditioner (I live in a house full of females).  Specialized has a program where they measure your sit bones to find the right size saddle for you.  You sit on a piece of memory foam for a while and they measure the indentation (I'd be happy to measure your sit bones without the memory foam LOL).  In Georgia, I just learned you can get this done at Outspokin in Woodstock.  Ninja and I will be visiting there as soon as her tri bike comes in.

- Have you been fit on your bike? Fit is critical on tri bikes and road bikes.  Mountain bikes not so much (although you still need the right size bike).  I have the name of number of someone local that is very cheap if you have not been fit.  I recently got fit on my road bike and refit on my tri bike.  My butt has having to learn the new position (even if it was a very slight change).

- What type of chamois cream are you using (or are you using any)? You mentioned using Glide (Body Glide I assume?).  Girlfriend, that is great for chaffing at the neckline on wetsuits and to prevent blisters on your feet during running BUT IT IS DOING NOTHING FOR YOUR BUTT.  Again, chamois cream is individual but the best I have found is called Bag Balm.  Comes in a little green tin that will last you about a season. Put it on the chamois of your bike shorts (apply liberally) on any ride longer than 1 hour.  It will reduce heat buildup and prevent chafing.  You can get it in the hand cream section of CVS or Walgreens. 

Yeah, really embarassing to fall over 'cause ya can't clip out easily. (done it too often to admit...)

Try dialing down the tension on the pedals; it'll help your ego and your knees!!!

After passing bowling balls (aka my kids), I've had a lot of issues w/ bike saddles. Finally taked to a guy @ my LBS while buying my mountain bike; measuring your "sit bones" is helpful, but counterintuitively, big/soft/plush isn't always going to be more comfortable.  E.g., a big soft one might be good for about 45 min-1 hr, but after that you'll get a lot of chafing. Been thru a lot o'saddles in my time; my favorite allows me to ride my mountain bike for HOURS and not be unduly painful. I'm pretty sure it's a Dolce gel, though in my supreme ignorance I don't know if that's the brand or model.....

Depending on the model, there should be a float adjustment and maybe a release adjustment.  Your local bike shop should be able to help you out here. 

Speedplays are great, I just have never used them. 

I'll get Mila to pop in also.  She has a fancy pink set.

You rang???

I'm sorry... didn't have time to look back in the thread but is this your first set of clipless pedals?  If so then the answer is that you really just need to practice clipping in and out .  I would recommend putting your bike on a trainer and just clipping in and out a little bit and then taking your bike to a flat road/parking lot and trying it there where there's no stress of traffic or concern about falling over into it.

Personally, I have found my Speedplays to be a lot easier than other pedals and most people that use them would likely agree. 

If you are used to clipping in and out but have just changed pedals I would recommend having a bike mechanic take a look at both your pedals AND shoes.  Speedplays don't have a lot of adjustability the way some pedals do, though this depends on the specific model of Speedplays you have.  However, it may be as simple as slightly adjusting your cleats.

Go see my man Curtis!!!!  He is cheap and fabulous (and it's who Jonathan was referring to, I feel certain).  While you are there for your fit, ask him to recommend a specific model of aerobars for your bike.  He made me take my first set back and get something more to his liking.  Yeah, he's particular, but he's goooood.

And yeah... time in the saddle outside or on your trainer as well as some sort of chamois cream (I'm a bag balm or butt paste girl m'self) should help your girl parts .

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Rachel and I are in full-on taper mode for our marathons.  Both are this Sunday.  Her's is the PF Changs and mine is Disney.  Be sure to follow our results online.  I think we both hope to break 4:15.

What does everyone else have going on?

This week I am going back to the Master's Swim class. I will pay big for my two weeks off since it was hard for me when I was going all the time!

Ok- I need some advice.

 Problem#1: The one tri I want to do well at in the Iron Girl in late June.  I would love to do at least one before that event but I can't find anything that has a swim I am capable of. Most seem like OLYs.  Because IronGirl is 6 months out I am not sure what plan to use.  The 12 week plan seems like I would be over training if I used it because I would "peak" at the wrong time. The 6 month plan seems too long if I can find an event the month or weeks before.   What plan should I use or how do I adapt them to fit this time schedule?

Problem#2: I am not sure if I can really use a plan at all.  My Master's Swim classes are already planned for me.  I know I do more in them than I would ever do on my own. I would add some open swimming when it gets closer to racing season.  So I don't really need to use the swim portion.  I tend to use spinning classes as well.  This cuts into the biking plans.  Do I throw all the classes out and just try to do the plans? Being that
I don't have a lot of cycling options outside it might be hard to use the biking plans anyway. I think you get the idea. Help!  Thanks, Grace

J--I know you'll kick , especially by looking @ your logs.  Time to relax & reap the rewards of all that training!

Bulldog--How long is IronGirl?  You could still use one of the 6 month plans if the races before are shorter or less of a priority; use them as a hard training session.  If you want to plan it out manually or have more than one peak, try checking out the Triathlete's Training Bible or TrainingPeaks.com.  They'll help you figure out how to schedule it.

As far as the type of workouts, make sure your swim/spinning classes aren't pushing you harder than you should be (i.e. make time for recovery, also).  I'm in Eugene (you'll remember the Oregon winter rains...) and getting in outside workouts is hit and miss.  I don't know about you, but I've found biking so much different than spinning that I would rec. getting on the bike as much as possible, even if only on a trainer.  That's another way to make sure classes don't have you going harder than you should be and that you can get in specific workouts...

I'm only a 2nd year triathlete, but I read voraciously, and am trying to learn to do the most efficient workouts I can 'cause I don't have a lot of time...I'm sure Jonathan has better advice, but that's my 2 cents...

Courtney,

First, there are several races you could do that are sprints prior to Ryka.  You can do the swim in a sprint.  Here are a few:

• John Tanner Sprint - April 26th
• Chattahooche Sprint - May 17th
• My First Tri - May 10th

There are others if you are willing to travel. Look at trifind.com, http://www.rungeorgia.com/tri_calendar.html, and (most importantly) http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/directory/index.asp

Second,  Having a plan is great but the more important thing you can do is to build a weekly schedule you can follow.  You might try something like this:

• Mon - masters swim
• Tue - spin class; 30 min run
• Wed - masters swim
• Thu - spin class; 30 min run (make this a longer run if Sun is your rest day)
• Fri - masters swim
• Sat - long bike ride (start with 1 hour for now)
• Sun - long run (start with 30 min for now) or rest day

You could do this schedule the whole year and do as many sprints as you want plus the century that you want to do.  Increase your long run each week by 10 min.  Stop when you get to 1 hour.  Every 3rd or 4th week, cut the long run back to 30 min for just that week.  The next week, pick up where you left off the prior week.  Don't worry about distance, get the time in.

Increase your long bike by 15min every week.  Like the run, every 3rd or 4th week, cut it back to 1 hour.  You could keep increasing your long bike up to where you are riding for 6 hours and this will get you to a century. 

You could use this training outline until you are 12 weeks out from Ryka.  Then start the "Intermediate Sprint - 12 Week, 1 Race"  and have it end at Ryka.  Alternatively, you could use the "Intermediate Sprint - 26 Week, 6 Race Series" (again, count backwards from Ryka and start the plan then).

You had a great finishing time at Emerald Point given only 4 weeks to train, but looking at your logs [tough love time] the biggest thing you need to work on right now is maintaining consistency in your training.  This means week-in and week-out getting in 2 or 3 workouts per discipline in.  Don't overthink training.  Just get in 6 to 9 workouts in per week.

Third, when you do start the plan, ignore the swim stuff and continue doing Masters.  Review what the plan says about biking and use your best judgement regarding your spin classes.  I would do the longest bike ride prescribed for that week and then your two spin classes. 

Fourth, for sprints, you don't need a whole lot of open water swim training.  Maybe 2 times prior to the race.  But honestly you are in the water for such a short time and you have already done an open water swim in a race, so I would not sweat it.  The bigger deal for you, I think, is to make sure you are biking outside on the weekends.  Spin classes are great but you need to make sure you are getting real-world experience.  And it goes without saying that running outside is much, much better than on a treadmill.

Finally, I'm not a coach (and I don't play one on TV - nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn last night).  For $60 per month, The Sport Factory can design you a plan from today all the way up to Ryka.  Well worth it in my opinion.  I was told last year "Get a coach. Get a coach. Get a coach." and that is the best advice I have gotten so far.

Thank you for such detailed advice. You are correct on so many levels.  When I don't have something specific to plan for I am like a flag flapping around in the wind.  When I am in the groove I work hard and am very consistant.  Not hard to guess that I am in "flag" mode at the moment but ready to move on.

 I will talk to Lisa Marshall about helping me with a plan if I can afford it. I need to pay for private swim lessons for my oldest that can't handle group lessons.  Swimming is the only physical activity that he is willing to do outside of scootering. It is going to set me back $160 a month. That sure cuts into my "fun account".  Again, it is what it is.

Love the tris you set out for me.  I think I want to do them all.  The full 800 yd. swim is a goal of mine but scares me.  I have some head noise around open water swimming.  I practice in the pool with my eyes closes to mimic the claustrophobic feeling I get in the open water.  It really helped in the last event.  I don't doubt being a better swimmer will help too.  My first race was just so horrible it has taken me a little while to get over it.  I heard they are scaling Ryka back to shorter distances but I don't know if it is true.

My weekly plan looks something like this:

Monday: Master Swim

Tuesday: Spin class, short run

Wednesday: Master's Swim, weights

Thursday: Yoga Fitness, short run

Friday: Long ride

Saturday: Off

Sunday: Long run, weights

I think this plan should keep me honest while I try to learn the specific of what I should be doing within those time frames. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for all of your advice.  It is so very helpful.

A few more points specific to you Courtney:

Lisa is awesome as you know.  She is one of 3 coaches that were recommended to me (Brett Daniels, who I use, was one, and John Adamson, who I talked too but wasn't taking clients when I needed a coach, was the other).  

You could offer to buy her lunch/dinner if she will layout a plan for you.

Second, join NAMC.  We will be doing group open water swims. 

Third, I would do all those tris I listed except for the "My First Tri".  I did it as my first triathlon. It's not bad; it's just that the price is steep.   

Finally, I have not heard about Ryka.  I'd be surprised if they did cut the distances unless they change the format.  Last year they had so many folks that, I heard, the reason they did a 19 mile bike course was to spread people out. 

Your schedule looks good. 

Yes, I have a "long" run planned tomorrow. 

I read that thing about 90% also and am planning on doing almost all of my runs this year on soft surfaces if I have a choice. 

Thanks for all the well wishes.  I did my race report.  Rachel has hers up too. 

Speaking of race reports, I'm sure you guys know this, but reading race reports from last year is an excellent way to check out a race and course that you are planning on doing. That probably doesn't help you out Erika with the HIM but........ LOL.

Julie, when you get a chance, read my race report.  As an MD, I'd like to get your take on the stuff I was on and also any thoughts you might have on cold prevention/symptom reduction.  Post to the group; we all could use your K-nowledge.