I did my Friday mini-tri today, and kept my distances and intensity down.
I had no training partners join me today, so I had a lot of time to think. And here's what I thought:
Swim: .7 mile, approx 30 minutes (nice and slow)
-- The water is now too warm, or at least it was today. I was uncomfortable in my full wetsuit. Maybe time to break out the Costco shortie?
-- The parking lot was FULL when I got there at 6:35 a.m. - which meant the water was full! It was cool - there were enough swimmers that it actually felt a little like a tri swim.
-- My goggles fog up after two laps (each lap is about 1/3 mile). Anyone have ideas on how to prevent goggle fog?
-- Swim transition: I walked. My HR skyrockets during the long run uphill to the parking lot, and I didn't want it to do that today.
T1:
-- My light but full-finger gloves will never work in a triathlon. Going to have to start trying the fingerless ones.
-- I need to ride my bike before I rack it. For some reason, my front brake always moves around and ends up rubbing - it's easy to fix, but it's annoying and requires that I pull over and stop. I think this happens because of where I put my bike in the van.
-- A polyester bike jersey doesn't slide on easily over a wet tri suit.
Bike: 10 miles, 40 minutes
-- I tried a new thing: always be able to accelerate (from BettyBetty's suggestion). So I kept the bike in a lower gear than I normally would use.
-- I also tried to keep my cadence over 90 at all times (the route is really flat, so it was a good test).
-- I noticed that when I was in the aero bars, it was MUCH harder to do a fast cadence - but sitting up, it was easy. Hey cyclists - I'm new to aero bars. Is this normal? Should I have my bike in a harder gear when I'm in the aeros and keep a lower cadence? That feels right, but since I never learned anything about how to use aeros effectively, I just don't know.
-- Some tiny dog almost got flattened by a woman who was walking on the right side of the trail, but letting her dog stray to the left. She pulled the dog to the right to let two cyclists ahead of me go by, but right as I was about to pass, she let the dog go left again. I yelled, and fortunately she reacted quickly enough. But seriously - there are TONS of bikes on that trail in the early morning, and it really bugs me when walkers/runners think they can go three abreast and take up the entire trail.
T2:
-- Nothing interesting to note here, except if I'm going to use an MP3 player on my training runs, it would be good to untangle the earphones before starting my run.
Run: 15 minutes (no idea on distance)
-- Oh my goodness, my legs felt AWFUL. I did not want to run. I felt like I was shuffling along!
-- My feet (some toes and patches on the bottom of my feet) went numb. They weren't numb on the run, though - so that was weird. And it was hot out by now, so I had no right to be numb.
-- I don' t know what's going on with my running. I feel like I forgot how or something. Blah.
So, here are today's data:
Food:
Pre-workout: Banana, 80 cals
Breakfast: Bagel and cream cheese, ham and cheese: 450 cals
Exercise:
Mini-triathlon, 700 cals burned
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5 comments:
Yeah on the cadence! How did it feel? I have never used aero bars because I've never time-trialed but I do not see why you couldn't keep your cadence the same...it is just a different hand position...hard to get used to I heard. Did you ever see Lance time trial? His cadence sure doesn't seem slower. I'll ask around and see what I can find out.
So on the cadence, it actually felt really bad for the first half-mile or so - then my legs got used to the higher cadence and actually I got up over 100 fairly easily (without going downhill) - so I did add one gear.
I'm not sure why I want to be in my big ring and slower in the aero position - it just feels right. It's more than just a different hand position - your upper body is much closer to your knees. Maybe that's why, I'm afraid to get kneed in the chest! :-)
That's a start. Yes, on a flat to rolling course once you get over 95 or below 85 that is generally an indication that you need to shift...that you are not pedaling optimally. We have a couple of Tri people that do our club rides. Do you belong to a riding club? You can learn alot that way. I met some riding friends for coffee tonight and I asked around about the aero bars and everyone said that your cadence shouldn't be any different...just like it wouldn't be if you went from the hoods to the drops (I realize it is a more extreme position). Everyone agreed that it takes awhile to get used to the position. Just a word of caution...they did say that you shouldn't use them in group or club rides...too dangerous. Not enough control and too hard to reach the brakes quickly. I'm sure you know that already from experience. Good luck with it!
Hey Jessica,
Try anti-fog for the goggles.
Where are you swimming that the water is full?
-Jessi
Idylwood Park, between 6 and 7 a.m. Friday mornings. There's a group from the Pro Sports Club (where I work out), a group from the YMCA, and possibly others, plus random people like me who just know others will be there and won't swim alone outside.
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