Brian and the Tri Tarts Group - Full (Page 23)

I cannot answer the tri taper question, but I can add another question for the tri-experienced:

Can we talk OWS sighting?  I have read a couple of articles that suggest you should look up just before you are ready to breathe, but it seems easier to look up after you have finished breathing.  I tried this at the pool today, what a mess! What do the rest of you do? what other tips can you provide?

PS Does anyone else think Brian joined another mentor group?

Suzy,

 Interesting article.  It looks to me like he basically says keep your eye on the faster goal but have one slightly slower goal as opposed to 2.  So my happy with goal for the half mary was 2:20 but the faster goal was 2:15 and in his frame of thinking I should have stuck with the 2:15 pace crew no matter what it took to keep me there.

Judi

I'm sticking around.  I don't think they ever really dump a thread unless there's funny business going on.

I'd stick with your overall plan.  You may want to drop back a bit the final 4-5 days leading up to the race.  However, complete rest is sometimes not helpful.  I find that I sleep better and, in general, feel better if I stay active.   And sleep is a big priority in the week leading up to the race; especially since one rarely gets a solid 8-hours the night before a triathlon.

I'm not a good person for OWS sighting.  It's a skill that I certainly have not mastered.

No, I'm not going anywhere!!!  Well, at least in regard to this mentor thread.  Although, you gals seemed to be doing fine w/o me checking in. 

Hey Tartlettes......and Brian

I signed up for my first OWS class today.  We meet every Wednesday 12-1pm starting on 5/28.  Now all I need is for the weather to warm up and the float gods to smile on me!

Later.

sweet!  i can't wait til my first swim session with my coach on sunday!  we had to move it, so i'm doign that instead of the race.  i just picked it at random, and i think the swim lesson will do me more good.  and maybe i can get 100% well this weekend.  right now, i'm kind of 80% and i want to get all the way there before june.  when i get sick it seems to linger so i'm trying to prevent that. 

I have a couple of bike questions for the group.

As most of you know I spent a fair amount of time with Coach Troy over the winter.  He had me work alot in the big chain ring which was new to me. After two outdoor rides, I can see that this training made a lot of difference in my leg strength.  The one thing he didn't teach me is when to use the BCR vs LCR.  So far, I find myself using BCR most of the time including some uphills.  Is that a good idea? should cadence guide me?

Give me your two cents!

Suzy

I only have two chain rings, big and middle I guess. So use the smaller one only as a last resort on hills?

You want to err on higher cadence for most rides and racing.  There's talk on what the best number is, but that is very individualistic, like running.  Suzy, you've got an extremely efficient aerobic engine from all that running.  You could probably "spin" for 25/56 miles and feel fresh transitioning to a run  However, by "mashing" at a lower cadence, you would burnout your quads prior to the run.

Do you have a cadence monitor on your bike computer?  If so, see what you average on a common route.  Say you get "88."  Next ride, trying bumping that to 95, then 100, then 105, 110...  See how your average speed, HR and probably most importantly your legs feel after the ride.  At a higher cadence, your HR may be a few beats higher, but the localized muscular fatigue would be lower.  Adding a 3-mile transition run to these "test rides" may be the best indicator of what the proper cadence target should be.

For my races, I generally up the cadence another notch during the last few miles.  This spins out the legs, releiving some lactic acid build-up and gets my legs accustomed to a high-turnover once the run begins.

Here's an article I pulled from Slowtwich that I found helpful.

Neuromuscular versus aerobic fatigue

i have a brick question.

my workouts don't ever seem to be bricked.  i think i should do them though.  my question - how long should each part of the work out be so it's valuable?  should i do a full bike and just a short run?  is the swim/bike brick important?  i never see people really talk about it.   

With only one duathlon under my belt I am no expert, but I do the bike/run brick at least once a week to get used to that feeling. In the beginning your legs are going to feel like sticks, but if you take it slow you can work through that pretty easily.  As far as distance goes, I bike more than the race calls for and then start the season by doing a 1-3m after the run.   By the middle of the season I have worked up to 6m but that may be overkill for the distance you are planning to race.

If you are planning a duathlon I would also do a run/bike and then a run/bike/run brick to get used to that experience.

I asked the swim/bike question a while back.  Brian answered the question in this thread.  Once OWS starts I am going to give it a whirl to see how it feels and to see how I deal with taking off a wet suit and the rest of the transition.

I agree with Suzy.  The bike to run is most important.  I'd start with a bike close to or equal to race distance and a 0.5mi run.  Then do bricks 1-2X per week building your run to about 1/2 the race distance.  So, for a Sprint, the longest brick run you'd need to do is 1.5-2mi.  For an Oly, 3-3.5mi is fine.

I like to incorporate a brick (1/2 bike distance + 1/3 run distance at race pace) a week before the race.  For an Oly, that would be a 12-13mi ride at Z3/Z4 followed by a 2mi run at Z4.  This is not a work-out you do often and should warm-up with easy riding and cool-down with a light jog.

This gets me used to the idea of executing at race intensity and makes race day less of a shock to the system.

For the swim to bike transition, it's less about training your muscles and more about making that transition happen quickly/smoothly and getting your HR down.