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The 2009 Triathlon Motivation Thread
- Thread starter itri
- Start date
ski.like.a.girl
Certified Ski Diva
ski.like.a.girl
Certified Ski Diva
I just started using runningAHEAD. So far I like it. I can track running, swimming, biking, and strength training all in one place. It comes up with some cool charts and graphs to show progress. Can also link it with Garmin Forerunner. It has a running route mapper but it doesn't work with my trail runs.
Snowflower
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Itri how did it go?
Shannon D
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So, I did my first brick of the season yesterday. Short bike ride for two reasons. One: the Glenwood Canyon bike path is closed at Shoshone due to high water and my parent's house in about 5 miles from Shoshone. Two: I was ill prepared for cold weather and it decided to rain on me the whole way back in from the turnaround. I ended up with a 10 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run off the bike. I was amazed at how good my legs felt. I could have run another mile easily.
Also got into the pool for the first time this weekend (I know, I'm naughty). Again, I was blown away that I felt so strong. My thoughts kept going back to, "Why have I been avoiding the pool?" My swimming is strong, I just have to get over my irrational open water freak out. A friend and I are planning to do an OWS at Grant Ranch this Sunday, so hopefully it goes well. Has anyone been out yet this summer? I'd love some beta on water temps.
Only 3 weeks til the Danskin!!! I'm excited, anyone else?
Also got into the pool for the first time this weekend (I know, I'm naughty). Again, I was blown away that I felt so strong. My thoughts kept going back to, "Why have I been avoiding the pool?" My swimming is strong, I just have to get over my irrational open water freak out. A friend and I are planning to do an OWS at Grant Ranch this Sunday, so hopefully it goes well. Has anyone been out yet this summer? I'd love some beta on water temps.
Only 3 weeks til the Danskin!!! I'm excited, anyone else?
Robyn
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Shannon, I know Aurora Res is wavering between 60-65 degrees depending on the day and the rain in the previous couple of days. Not horrid. I was in up to about my but last weekend when I was out there for a brick. FYI - Aurora Res has a 100 meter OWS course set up monitored by lifeguards. I know the secret place to park and walk in so you don't have to pay if you're interested.
Yep, I'm excited about Danskin as well. My mom and step father are coming in to watch and cheer me on so that's especially cool!
Yep, I'm excited about Danskin as well. My mom and step father are coming in to watch and cheer me on so that's especially cool!
amanda
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hey Robyn,
I would love to know the secret place to get into the Aurora Res for free! We did an OWS at the Cherry Creek Res on Sunday and there were so many people it was a bit of a nightmare. It would be awesome to be able to practice on an actual OWS course!
I would love to know the secret place to get into the Aurora Res for free! We did an OWS at the Cherry Creek Res on Sunday and there were so many people it was a bit of a nightmare. It would be awesome to be able to practice on an actual OWS course!
Shannon D
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Amanda - We swam at Grant Ranch a couple of weeks ago and I can't stop raving about what a good experience it was.
Downside - it is $10 per person each time you go and the water is not quite as nice as Aurora Res
Upsides - it was super low key, nobody swimming over the top of you, bouys set up for 500, 750, and 1500 meter courses, locker room with bathrooms and showers, and did I mention nobody swimming over the top of you.
Mile High Multisport runs the whole thing. The couple who runs it are really nice and helpful. You don't have to feel bad being a newbie. You can google them to get to the website. If you live on the west side of town, it might be more convenient, it's a few miles north of C-470 between Wadsworth and Santa Fe.
Downside - it is $10 per person each time you go and the water is not quite as nice as Aurora Res
Upsides - it was super low key, nobody swimming over the top of you, bouys set up for 500, 750, and 1500 meter courses, locker room with bathrooms and showers, and did I mention nobody swimming over the top of you.
Mile High Multisport runs the whole thing. The couple who runs it are really nice and helpful. You don't have to feel bad being a newbie. You can google them to get to the website. If you live on the west side of town, it might be more convenient, it's a few miles north of C-470 between Wadsworth and Santa Fe.
Robyn
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'd be happy to show you. I'm pretty open for weekends for the next couple of weeks and can show you (although can't swim for awhile after next Monday). Just let me know when you're available.
So I did my first open water swim this morning, and I'm super glad I got one in before the race. It wasn't part of the training program I'm in; I signed up through another local tri club.
Man, for the first 20 minutes or so, I was just a total mess. The water was cold-ish (low 60's), and I think that combined with trying to swim faster than I should have been and getting out of breath, and I was having the hardest time breathing properly and getting my head in the water AT ALL. By the end, after about 45 minutes, maybe half a mile of swimming, and the coach basically just telling me to chill out, I was finally getting the hang of it.
I also probably swallowed five big mouthfuls of Brighton Beach water, which made me a little queasy. I'm undecided on whether swallowing Hudson water will be better (less salty!) or worse (more who knows what else!). One definite upside: less surf.
Anyways, it was great once I got in the groove, and really nice to be out actually swimming at the beach on a gorgeous day.
Man, for the first 20 minutes or so, I was just a total mess. The water was cold-ish (low 60's), and I think that combined with trying to swim faster than I should have been and getting out of breath, and I was having the hardest time breathing properly and getting my head in the water AT ALL. By the end, after about 45 minutes, maybe half a mile of swimming, and the coach basically just telling me to chill out, I was finally getting the hang of it.
I also probably swallowed five big mouthfuls of Brighton Beach water, which made me a little queasy. I'm undecided on whether swallowing Hudson water will be better (less salty!) or worse (more who knows what else!). One definite upside: less surf.
Anyways, it was great once I got in the groove, and really nice to be out actually swimming at the beach on a gorgeous day.
Severine
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Way to go, Rachel! The thought of swimming in the Hudson does sound a bit icky, though. 
Good luck!
It's a definite that I'm out for the tri I signed up for on 7/31. I will just have to recover and do one next year. Right now, my knee is still not tolerating cycling movements, even though it will let me run, so I have a bit of a ways to go. I haven't even tried swimming since that's usually the worst on my knee. I'll get there, just not this year. Good luck ladies!
Good luck!It's a definite that I'm out for the tri I signed up for on 7/31. I will just have to recover and do one next year. Right now, my knee is still not tolerating cycling movements, even though it will let me run, so I have a bit of a ways to go. I haven't even tried swimming since that's usually the worst on my knee. I'll get there, just not this year. Good luck ladies!
itri
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So, um, yeah...I had the race from hell yesterday. It's a really good thing my check was already in the mail for the long course, or yesterday probably would have made me change my mind about registering for it.
Actually, the swim and bike weren't even that bad, just the run. Although my swim was REALLY slow. As in 11 minutes slower than last year (but rumor has it last year's course was short and this year's was long, but still...). My bike was actually 7 minutes faster (and NO knee pain, which is awesome!). It all fell apart on the run, though.
Awful, awful run. I've never had such a bad run. Foot pain, hip pain, side stitches. I honestly barely managed to run across the finish line. It was kind of more of a shuffle, and the only reason I probably managed that was because there was no way in hell I was going to walk across the finish with that many people watching (LOTS of spectators at this race). It was ugly. 7 minutes slower than last year.
I came home, had a root beer float, and got over it. Mostly, at least. I was probably due to have a really bad race, but that doesn't make it feel any better. Hopefully I got it out of my system, since I have another Oly in a month. Oh yeah, and I'm leaving for Ohio tomorrow morning for nearly two weeks where there will be very little swimming or biking, and probably not nearly as much running as I would like. That'll help, I'm sure.
Actually, the swim and bike weren't even that bad, just the run. Although my swim was REALLY slow. As in 11 minutes slower than last year (but rumor has it last year's course was short and this year's was long, but still...). My bike was actually 7 minutes faster (and NO knee pain, which is awesome!). It all fell apart on the run, though.
Awful, awful run. I've never had such a bad run. Foot pain, hip pain, side stitches. I honestly barely managed to run across the finish line. It was kind of more of a shuffle, and the only reason I probably managed that was because there was no way in hell I was going to walk across the finish with that many people watching (LOTS of spectators at this race). It was ugly. 7 minutes slower than last year.
I came home, had a root beer float, and got over it. Mostly, at least. I was probably due to have a really bad race, but that doesn't make it feel any better. Hopefully I got it out of my system, since I have another Oly in a month. Oh yeah, and I'm leaving for Ohio tomorrow morning for nearly two weeks where there will be very little swimming or biking, and probably not nearly as much running as I would like. That'll help, I'm sure.
Don't let the stress get to you. I think knowing you have somethign big coming up adds more and more stress and internal pressure. Once you start setting artificial "I need to be ____ fast right now" or "I should be____" it can start making you a little crazy. And that's really tempting to do to yourself when you just registered for a big race. (Heh, I can tell you ALL about it). I used to make myself fairly nuts with "I HAVE to do this!" (and would be crushed when I didn't) whether it was how fast I was compared to last year, or hitting a certain line or obstacle on my bike... and really - that often doesn't have anything to do with anything in the long run.
Like you said where the swim course may have been longer - maybe the weather was different (for me, the course can be wet or dry or more blown out than in the past) - maybe you're dealing with injuries you didn't have before. Maybe there were other extenuating circumstances. All you can do is look at the course in front of you and focus on doing as well as you can right at that moment.
Focus on the positive - your bike was faster and you pushed through a lot of pain to keep running through the finish when your brain was telling you to quit. That's an accomplishment in itself. And now you can stick that in your memory log - next time you aren't feeling great, you know that even when you are miserable, you know that are tough enough to stick it out and push on through.
So it sounds like you did a great job to me! Toughing out the rough ones is probably even more valuable an experience than sailing through an event when you're feeling great. You get more learning opportunities that way.
Like you said where the swim course may have been longer - maybe the weather was different (for me, the course can be wet or dry or more blown out than in the past) - maybe you're dealing with injuries you didn't have before. Maybe there were other extenuating circumstances. All you can do is look at the course in front of you and focus on doing as well as you can right at that moment.
Focus on the positive - your bike was faster and you pushed through a lot of pain to keep running through the finish when your brain was telling you to quit. That's an accomplishment in itself. And now you can stick that in your memory log - next time you aren't feeling great, you know that even when you are miserable, you know that are tough enough to stick it out and push on through.
So it sounds like you did a great job to me!
Toughing out the rough ones is probably even more valuable an experience than sailing through an event when you're feeling great. You get more learning opportunities that way. 
