Question:

HELLO, EMILIO DE SOTO HERE. THEY DID NOT MEDAL, BUT THEY ARE STILL OUR COUNTRY’S BEST.  ANY OF THEM COULD HAVE WON GIVEN THE UNEXPECTED RESULTS OF THIS WEEKEND’S OLYMPIC TRIATHLON.   I WILL BE SENDING AN EMAIL TO MICHELLE BLESSING, COACH OF THE US OLYMPIC TRIATHLON TEAM ON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 21 AT 4:45 PM PACIFIC TIME, CONGRATULATING THE TEAM FOR THEIR EFFORT AND TO SHOW THEM SUPPORT.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND ME IN AN EMAIL WITH YOUR CONGRATS OR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT,  I WILL INCLUDE YOUR LETTER IN THE BODY OF THE TEXT. PLEASE LIMIT IT TO NO MORE THAN 250 WORDS AND INCLUDE AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR MESSAGE, YOUR NAME, CITY AND STATE, AND EMAIL ADDRESS. DO NOT EXPECT A REPLY, BUT I WILL POST ANY REPLY FROM THE TEAM ON RST FOR ALL TO READ. EMILIO DE SOTO II www.desotosport.com       "The triathlon clothing company" www.tribuy.com               "buy and sell your own triathlon gear " Email me for a De Soto Sport free catalog

Response:

HELLO, THEY DID NOT MEDAL, BUT THEY ARE STILL OUR COUNTRY’S BEST.  ANY OF THEM COULD HAVE WON GIVEN THE UNEXPECTED RESULTS OF THIS WEEKEND’S OLYMPIC TRIATHLON. I WILL BE SENDING AN EMAIL TO MICHELLE BLESSING, COACH OF THE US OLYMPIC TRIATHLON TEAM ON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 21 AT 4:45 PM PACIFIC TIME, CONGRATULATING THE TEAM FOR THEIR EFFORT AND TO SHOW THEM SUPPORT.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND ME IN AN EMAIL WITH YOUR CONGRATS OR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT,  I WILL INCLUDE YOUR LETTER IN THE BODY OF THE TEXT.

… me seems your caps lock key has a defect … Frank

Response:

Not defective.  I just felt like writing in caps. Emilio www.desotosport.com       "The triathlon clothing company" www.tribuy.com               "buy and sell your own triathlon gear " www.t1wetsuits.com       "The new triathlon wetsuit coming in 2001" Email me for a De Soto Sport free catalog

Response:

Question:

What a delightful story. Everyone raves about how gracious you are. I hope we get to meet one of these days. Have a GREAT season, Wendy in St. Pete Beach

Response:

Hey Laurie, Think you can afford to bring us some home made brownies! Congrats!! Steve – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Just wanted to say what a terrific race Memphis in May was! I lucked out with a homestay. Occasional poster Stewart Cox (along with his lovely wife, Bonny) is one phat dude (ha!) for putting up with me and Penny Pecastaing.  We called him Dad as he drove us all over the place and helped us get prepared for the race. Was totally psyched that wetsuits were banned for pros since the water was 73F! The lake had a horrible stagnate smell though.  Essence de Port-a-Potty was preferable.  Apparently it was algae bloom.  The time trial start was great, much less stressful than the standard mass start.  It was fun trying to see how many people I could catch. One guy went flying by me around 1/2 way thru and I was able to get in his wake for about 200 yards.  COOL!  I haven’t been able to catch any sort of draft in the swim in a few years.  His pace was a bit too aggressive though and I knew it would be dumb to spend myself too much on the swim. For RSTers who are anti-draft you would *love* this race.  There is a strict no drafting policy on the bike course.  If you are caught drafting you are DQed.  The officials really take it seriously.  They were out in full force!  The bike was very lonely for the first 1/2.  I didn’t see a soul till around mile 9 when 2 guys I had passed in the swim went by.  Since it is an out an back I could check out the competition on the return.  Didn’t look like a big lead! Hard to tell with a time trial start exactly where you are though.  Coming back seemed a lot harder than going out! I entered the transition as the first woman but Jeanne Ann Krizman entered moments later.  She caught me around mile 1 on the run and I kept her in sight for the next couple miles.  Knowing she started 2 minutes ahead of me I figured I needed to stay within about 20 secs / mile of her run splits each mile.  Well that proved to be an impossible task after mile 3!  With a mile to go Candy Angle caught me.  She had started 45 secs ahead so I knew if I was able to keep the same pace going I should be ok.  She crossed ahead of me but ended up just 22 seconds back.  That is the one bad thing about the time trial start…you just don’t know how you placed! The hardest part of the race was the drug test afterwards!  The top 3 men and women were all escorted to an area behind the medical tent where we were asked to produce urine samples.  The men had no problems.  The women, well we were another story.  Usually I don’t have to pee for like 4 hours after a race.  We just kept drinking and drinking and drinking. After about an hour the other 2 girls successfully provided samples. However I just cannot pee on command.  It was humiliating to have someone watch!  I BEGGED to have a beer to help me relax but they said that it could affect the test.  Funny, I didn’t think beer was a banned substance! After FINALLY "producing" I got to join in the post race celebration. Great post race spread…at least what was left of it! And there was a terrific band providing the tunes. Found Ruth at the beer truck and she told me about her swim traumas.  She vowed to never wear a wetsuit again.  Don’t know what she was doing wearing a wetsuit anyhow.  That water was definitely comfy enough to swim without.  Oh, and don’t let her fool you when she says she has a bad race – she still won her age group by a significant margin!!  "Bad" is a relative term. So I ended up a very happy runner-up.  I thought *maybe* if I had a great race I’d finish 4th or 5th so I hadn’t even bothered to check out what the 2nd place prize $ was.  I nearly fell over when I saw it was $1000!  That definitely will help me get to travel to a few more races this summer!!! Finally a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers, officials,sponsors, Stewart & Bonnie and the race directors (Pam & Wyndell).  What a first class event! -hug Before you buy.

Response:

Laurie: Great race report. You can come back to Memphis with a guaranteed homestay. You too are "one Phat dude" Seriously, folks, hosting a Pro for a local Triathlon can be a lot of fun. Especially if you luck out and  have guests like Hug and Penny. Tri it sometime. It might even help your pre race jitters. You may be too busy to worry about the little things, and you’ll go out and have a great race. It worked for me. — Stewart "Dad" Cox – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Just wanted to say what a terrific race Memphis in May was! I lucked out with a homestay. Occasional poster Stewart Cox (along with his lovely wife, Bonny) is one phat dude (ha!) for putting up with me and Penny Pecastaing.  We called him Dad as he drove us all over the place and helped us get prepared for the race. Was totally psyched that wetsuits were banned for pros since the water was 73F! The lake had a horrible stagnate smell though.  Essence de Port-a-Potty was preferable.  Apparently it was algae bloom.  The time trial start was great, much less stressful than the standard mass start.  It was fun trying to see how many people I could catch. One guy went flying by me around 1/2 way thru and I was able to get in his wake for about 200 yards.  COOL!  I haven’t been able to catch any sort of draft in the swim in a few years.  His pace was a bit too aggressive though and I knew it would be dumb to spend myself too much on the swim. For RSTers who are anti-draft you would *love* this race.  There is a strict no drafting policy on the bike course.  If you are caught drafting you are DQed.  The officials really take it seriously.  They were out in full force!  The bike was very lonely for the first 1/2.  I didn’t see a soul till around mile 9 when 2 guys I had passed in the swim went by.  Since it is an out an back I could check out the competition on the return.  Didn’t look like a big lead! Hard to tell with a time trial start exactly where you are though.  Coming back seemed a lot harder than going out! I entered the transition as the first woman but Jeanne Ann Krizman entered moments later.  She caught me around mile 1 on the run and I kept her in sight for the next couple miles.  Knowing she started 2 minutes ahead of me I figured I needed to stay within about 20 secs / mile of her run splits each mile.  Well that proved to be an impossible task after mile 3!  With a mile to go Candy Angle caught me.  She had started 45 secs ahead so I knew if I was able to keep the same pace going I should be ok.  She crossed ahead of me but ended up just 22 seconds back.  That is the one bad thing about the time trial start…you just don’t know how you placed! The hardest part of the race was the drug test afterwards!  The top 3 men and women were all escorted to an area behind the medical tent where we were asked to produce urine samples.  The men had no problems.  The women, well we were another story.  Usually I don’t have to pee for like 4 hours after a race.  We just kept drinking and drinking and drinking. After about an hour the other 2 girls successfully provided samples. However I just cannot pee on command.  It was humiliating to have someone watch!  I BEGGED to have a beer to help me relax but they said that it could affect the test.  Funny, I didn’t think beer was a banned substance! After FINALLY "producing" I got to join in the post race celebration. Great post race spread…at least what was left of it! And there was a terrific band providing the tunes. Found Ruth at the beer truck and she told me about her swim traumas.  She vowed to never wear a wetsuit again.  Don’t know what she was doing wearing a wetsuit anyhow.  That water was definitely comfy enough to swim without.  Oh, and don’t let her fool you when she says she has a bad race – she still won her age group by a significant margin!!  "Bad" is a relative term. So I ended up a very happy runner-up.  I thought *maybe* if I had a great race I’d finish 4th or 5th so I hadn’t even bothered to check out what the 2nd place prize $ was.  I nearly fell over when I saw it was $1000!  That definitely will help me get to travel to a few more races this summer!!! Finally a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers, officials,sponsors, Stewart & Bonnie and the race directors (Pam & Wyndell).  What a first class event! -hug Before you buy.

Response:

Just wanted to say what a terrific race Memphis in May was! I lucked out with a homestay. Occasional poster Stewart Cox (along with his lovely wife, Bonny) is one phat dude (ha!) for putting up with me and Penny Pecastaing.  We called him Dad as he drove us all over the place and helped us get prepared for the race. Was totally psyched that wetsuits were banned for pros since the water was 73F! The lake had a horrible stagnate smell though.  Essence de Port-a-Potty was preferable.  Apparently it was algae bloom.  The time trial start was great, much less stressful than the standard mass start.  It was fun trying to see how many people I could catch. One guy went flying by me around 1/2 way thru and I was able to get in his wake for about 200 yards.  COOL!  I haven’t been able to catch any sort of draft in the swim in a few years.  His pace was a bit too aggressive though and I knew it would be dumb to spend myself too much on the swim. For RSTers who are anti-draft you would *love* this race.  There is a strict no drafting policy on the bike course.  If you are caught drafting you are DQed.  The officials really take it seriously.  They were out in full force!  The bike was very lonely for the first 1/2.  I didn’t see a soul till around mile 9 when 2 guys I had passed in the swim went by.  Since it is an out an back I could check out the competition on the return.  Didn’t look like a big lead! Hard to tell with a time trial start exactly where you are though.  Coming back seemed a lot harder than going out! I entered the transition as the first woman but Jeanne Ann Krizman entered moments later.  She caught me around mile 1 on the run and I kept her in sight for the next couple miles.  Knowing she started 2 minutes ahead of me I figured I needed to stay within about 20 secs / mile of her run splits each mile.  Well that proved to be an impossible task after mile 3!  With a mile to go Candy Angle caught me.  She had started 45 secs ahead so I knew if I was able to keep the same pace going I should be ok.  She crossed ahead of me but ended up just 22 seconds back.  That is the one bad thing about the time trial start…you just don’t know how you placed! The hardest part of the race was the drug test afterwards!  The top 3 men and women were all escorted to an area behind the medical tent where we were asked to produce urine samples.  The men had no problems.  The women, well we were another story.  Usually I don’t have to pee for like 4 hours after a race.  We just kept drinking and drinking and drinking. After about an hour the other 2 girls successfully provided samples. However I just cannot pee on command.  It was humiliating to have someone watch!  I BEGGED to have a beer to help me relax but they said that it could affect the test.  Funny, I didn’t think beer was a banned substance! After FINALLY "producing" I got to join in the post race celebration. Great post race spread…at least what was left of it! And there was a terrific band providing the tunes. Found Ruth at the beer truck and she told me about her swim traumas.  She vowed to never wear a wetsuit again.  Don’t know what she was doing wearing a wetsuit anyhow.  That water was definitely comfy enough to swim without.  Oh, and don’t let her fool you when she says she has a bad race – she still won her age group by a significant margin!!  "Bad" is a relative term. So I ended up a very happy runner-up.  I thought *maybe* if I had a great race I’d finish 4th or 5th so I hadn’t even bothered to check out what the 2nd place prize $ was.  I nearly fell over when I saw it was $1000!  That definitely will help me get to travel to a few more races this summer!!! Finally a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers, officials,sponsors, Stewart & Bonnie and the race directors (Pam & Wyndell).  What a first class event! -hug Before you buy.

Response:

Question:

You’re lucky you’re university pool is empty: I have to share it with a lot of old folks (retirees I guess) who have nothing else to do (I’m envious !) and so there’s sometimes 6 or 7 people per lane.

Man, you have to change pools. 6 or 7 people? Doing different things? I can’t see a decent workout being done when slaloming around people like that. The lifeguard in my pool knows that I won’t allow more than one person in the lane with me at one time. I hope you can find a better place to train Ron. I guess I’ve got it pretty good here. I train mid-morning at Homebush, in Sydney. The complex has 2 x 50m pools. The competition pool (when not actually being used for competition) is always fully laned (10 full-size lanes)

Now this sounds like a beautiful setup. Not one, but 2 olympic-sized pools. I envy you Mike. Although the pool that I go to is very decent and not usually crowded, more oftn than not at some point in my workout I usually have to share the lane with one other person. And it is only 25 meters long. Well, I guess I can practice my flip turns more often. Still, I’m pretty satisfied with the setup I have now. It’s not ideal, but it’s definitely acceptable.                           |26      | IMC’96: 10:36:37          |   Fe   |   IMCAL, IMC Y2K IMC’99: 10:45:03          |        |                  "THE BEST ELEMENT OF RACING"

Response:

(Charlotte) writes: I need some help with swimming.  I read the Total Immersion book and was psyched to get into the pool for the first time for some laps. I go to the University pool where I work and find myself the only person there with 2 lifeguards staring at me.

As a lifeguard, and looking at your screen name, your swimming probably had less to do with the staring than you might think ; ) Butch

Response:

I am not a triathlete.  I have not yet admitted to myself that I am considering a triathlon, despite my running and biking every week. Somehow I find myself lurking on RST everyday reading your posts. Welcome!

Yeah. This is what happened to me. Your doomed Keep plugging away at the swimming, cos there is nothing like the buzz of really shifting in the water for the first time. Youll find if&when you improve that sweet spot feeling will come and go, but it becomes more frequent and longer each time you train. Brian P " newbie " Casey.

Response:

My advice is: -Get used to be in the pool, don’t make any expectations to swim 1000-2000 yards, see it as a relaxation to the other workouts you do! -If you have a local triathlon club it gives a lot to train with others;you get tips and maybe also a social reason to train! -If you race chose a competition at start with short distance for the swim part! -Don’t give up, it takes time to become a decent swimmer! Good luck! Gerry  Homepage

Response:

I go to the University pool where I work and find myself the only person there with 2 lifeguards staring at me.   Since I use the (free) University pool that is vacant most of the time, I can’t really see hooking up with any veterans either.

Charlotte’s received lots of other good advice so I won’t offer any more of that here, but just want to chime in with the others who have said, I AM SO JEALOUS!!  An *empty* university pool— nirvana!  Charlotte, what university is this??  An uncrowded 50-meter lap swim pool is ambrosia, it’s the stuff of dreams.  Sigh.   However, I must say that there might yet be some hope ’round this neck of the woods because they’re currently building an additional pool over at the aquatics center on campus.  Now we just have to hope that they can staff it adequately with lifeguards so that the additional capacity actually does some GOOD!   Pea green with envy— — Tri-Baby                                      _                                   –    o      ’             –  __o       –    </_  `     ‘         –    <         – __/    /o_         – (()) (())        -  / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon?  Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips:  http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html    

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am not a triathlete.  I have not yet admitted to myself that I am considering a triathlon, despite my running and biking every week. Somehow I find myself lurking on RST everyday reading your posts. I am not interested in spending a lot of money on coaches, camps, etc. since I haven’t even really decided to take the plunge into triathloning. If I can’t get the swimming going it’ll never happen. Since I use the (free) University pool that is vacant most of the time, I can’t really see hooking up with any veterans either. Does your University have a swim team? Or a Physical Education/Kinesiology degree? Often times, there are some assistant coaches/very good swimmers in the degree programs that are willing to help. Also, if your Univ. has a gym, they often have boards where one can advertise for workout partners, etc. All you need is a swimmer that has a talent for helping others with their stroke work.

Great suggestion.  This is how I learned to swim and got into triathlon. The Phys Ed department offered a 1 credit hour swimming "course".  It was essentially a university sponsored Masters team.  Okay, it was a bit more legitimate than that because they used us as guinea pigs by doing a series of tests on us at the beginning and end of the semester.  The coach/teacher wrote all the workouts and made us keep a log so that our progress could be tracked.  She even video taped our stroke to help us improve.  I took that course pass/fail every semester for about 4 years. Seems to me that even without this sort of class, a university is the perfect place for a Masters group or at least a swim club of some sort. Free or cheap access to a pool on campus and plenty of ex-high school swimmers.  Check it out, Charlotte, you just might find such a group.  And don’t be intimidated by all the real swimmers.  Groups like this usually welcome all comers. — Stacy Hills Reston, VA

Response:

Hello, Charlotte: My  experience several years ago was similar.  Lots of good advice has already been given, so I’ll give just a few observations.  Feeling comfortable while swimming takes a combination of skill and fitness — the fitness will come with practice (and quicker than you’ll expect), but the skill will take longer.  I found that the Total Immersion program was somewhat helpful, but after you start feeling more comfortable in the water, the Total Immersion program doesn’t give much help in actual stroke mechanics — and its hard to develop a good stroke when you don’t know what it’s supposed to look like, or why.  An hour with a master’s swim coach (or the university swim coach, or a team member, or an assistant) will get you specific feedback that will go a LONG way in allowing you to start with good stroke mechanics from the beginning, increase your confidence, and keep you from developing bad stroke habits that will cause you injury, and slow your progress.  Check back intermittantly for more pointers.  Go to the university library, or the P.E. department and read books on freestyle strokes if you can’t find the coach-type person.  If you’ve a friend that has a half-hour and a video camera, bribe him or her to video you from the front and the side while you swim a few laps.  You’ll see the areas where you need to change your approach in ways that you can’t identify yourself while in the water. Promise yourself that you’ll give it 10 sessions, and you’ll be hooked and feeling much more comfortable.   Best of luck! Mike – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am not a triathlete.  I have not yet admitted to myself that I am considering a triathlon, despite my running and biking every week. Somehow I find myself lurking on RST everyday reading your posts. I need some help with swimming.  I read the Total Immersion book and was psyched to get into the pool for the first time for some laps. I go to the University pool where I work and find myself the only person there with 2 lifeguards staring at me.  I miserably churn out 250 yards and could have done more except that I was so downhearted.  I felt that I was trying to do everything at once (make my body l-o-n-g, breathe from both sides, swim downhill, etc.) and succeeded at nothing. Also, those 250 yards were a lot harder to come by than I thought they would be. Any suggestions?  I will try to focus on one drill at a time but it is VERY hard when I can feel the rest of my, ahem, form, go down the tubes. I am not interested in spending a lot of money on coaches, camps, etc. since I haven’t even really decided to take the plunge into triathloning. If I can’t get the swimming going it’ll never happen. Since I use the (free) University pool that is vacant most of the time, I can’t really see hooking up with any veterans either. Any suggestions, please??? Charlotte

Response:

You’re lucky you’re university pool is empty: I have to share it with a lot of old folks (retirees I guess) who have nothing else to do (I’m envious !) and so there’s sometimes 6 or 7 people per lane.

Tell me about it!! I mean, I don’t mind sharing the pool, but – SHARE THE POOL!! Only half the pool at my local Y is set aside for laps, and *still* there’s more water walkers in each lane than swimmers. I never woulda thought 8mos back when I started swimming that I’d ever have to swim a slalom around others. TriathRon

Response:

I guess I’ve got it pretty good here. I train mid-morning at Homebush, in Sydney. The complex has 2 x 50m pools. The competition pool (when not actually being used for competition) is always fully laned (10 full-size lanes) and the notice at the entrance states in no uncertain terms "lap swimming only" — each lane has boards indicating what is acceptable in each lane and everyone seems to play by the rules. The "training pool" as it’s called, has 3 lanes allocated without lane-ropes — for recreational swimming. The remainder is all laned and again with boards indicating what’s expected. It’s only when competitions are on that we all have to squeeze into the training pool, but normally I can do my entire session in the competition pool without having to share the lane. — MB.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You’re lucky you’re university pool is empty: I have to share it with a lot of old folks (retirees I guess) who have nothing else to do (I’m envious !) and so there’s sometimes 6 or 7 people per lane. Tell me about it!! I mean, I don’t mind sharing the pool, but – SHARE THE POOL!! Only half the pool at my local Y is set aside for laps, and *still* there’s more water walkers in each lane than swimmers. I never woulda thought 8mos back when I started swimming that I’d ever have to swim a slalom around others. TriathRon

Response:

I am not a triathlete.  I have not yet admitted to myself that I am considering a triathlon, despite my running and biking every week. Somehow I find myself lurking on RST everyday reading your posts.

Welcome! I need some help with swimming.  I read the Total Immersion book and was psyched to get into the pool for the first time for some laps. I go to the University pool where I work and find myself the only person there with 2 lifeguards staring at me.  I miserably churn out 250 yards and could have done more except that I was so downhearted.  I felt that I was trying to do everything at once (make my body l-o-n-g, breathe from both sides, swim downhill, etc.) and succeeded at nothing. Also, those 250 yards were a lot harder to come by than I thought they would be.

That’s probably because you havent swum a lot before. Once you get some workouts under your belt, things get a little easier. Any suggestions?  I will try to focus on one drill at a time but it is VERY hard when I can feel the rest of my, ahem, form, go down the tubes.

Use flotation devices. For example, use the leg floats to concentrate on arm drills, use a kickboard extended out in front of you for kick drills, etc. I am not interested in spending a lot of money on coaches, camps, etc. since I haven’t even really decided to take the plunge into triathloning.   If I can’t get the swimming going it’ll never happen. Since I use the (free) University pool that is vacant most of the time, I can’t really see hooking up with any veterans either.

Does your University have a swim team? Or a Physical Education/Kinesiology degree? Often times, there are some assistant coaches/very good swimmers in the degree programs that are willing to help. Also, if your Univ. has a gym, they often have boards where one can advertise for workout partners, etc. All you need is a swimmer that has a talent for helping others with their stroke work. Charlotte

Once again, welcome Charlotte! John "Ad astra per aspera" "A rough road leads to the stars"

Response:

I was in your situation 3 years ago… I could hardly make it a length of the pool swimming freestyle (crawl).  Luckily I could swim breaststroke forever, so my first season I did breaststroke for all my races. I also started doing the drills in the Total Immersion book, and they helped me a lot — after a few weeks of practice I had something like a freestyle stroke, and after a many months more I was able to swim a mile freestyle without stopping. I’m still working on it, and believe it or not, swimming can be fun!  I recently took the Total Immersion workshop and that helped a lot.  It got me past things that just the book & video tapes couldn’t. Having an empty pool is a luxury, so enjoy it!  Also, you probably don’t need to work on endurance so much… form is much more important when starting out with swimming. Seattle

Response:

Work on one thing at a time.  I am an ex-state champion swimmer and still to this day have to do lots of drill to keep my technique up.  I usually go into a workout thinking, today i am going to work just on my midphase or recovery, etc. you can only work on one thing at once and then things will start to come together as you improve technique. hope this helps

Response:

My advice, for what it’s worth — stick on a set of fins and practice those basic TI balance drills (especially the "glide on your side" ones) until you learn to relax and actually enjoy the experience. Trying to rip through all the drills and learn it all at once is what made it hard for me. I found I needed to slow it down and "fully" learn one thing at a time — and fins made it just that much easier to work it out in the beginning — however, you eventually have to wean yourself off them. — MB.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am not a triathlete.  I have not yet admitted to myself that I am considering a triathlon, despite my running and biking every week. Somehow I find myself lurking on RST everyday reading your posts. I need some help with swimming.  I read the Total Immersion book and was psyched to get into the pool for the first time for some laps. I go to the University pool where I work and find myself the only person there with 2 lifeguards staring at me.  I miserably churn out 250 yards and could have done more except that I was so downhearted.  I felt that I was trying to do everything at once (make my body l-o-n-g, breathe from both sides, swim downhill, etc.) and succeeded at nothing. Also, those 250 yards were a lot harder to come by than I thought they would be. Any suggestions?  I will try to focus on one drill at a time but it is VERY hard when I can feel the rest of my, ahem, form, go down the tubes. I am not interested in spending a lot of money on coaches, camps, etc. since I haven’t even really decided to take the plunge into triathloning. If I can’t get the swimming going it’ll never happen. Since I use the (free) University pool that is vacant most of the time, I can’t really see hooking up with any veterans either. Any suggestions, please??? Charlotte

Response:

Just another tri person who started where you are and now does Ironman distance (albeit slowly).  Keep it up, do the TI drills, and you will find it easier to go the distance. –Lee Crumbaugh (Tri-Hard)

Response:

I did the total immersion video drills one-at-a-time and in two months (swimming 6X a week) I went from not being able to swim at all to my first sprint tri (okay, I hyperventilated on the swim but did a half-mile in 16 minutes and most importantly made it to my bike without drowning!)  I just signed up for a master’s class a few weeks ago.  I am the least able swimmer by far, but the people are kind and helpful – I am improving by leaps and bounds!  I’ve even learned how to butterfly (which believe it or not really helps with your freestyle stroke.) Good luck. The Phys Ed department offered a 1 credit hour swimming "course".  It was essentially a university sponsored Masters team.  Check it out, Charlotte,

you just might find such a group.  And – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – don’t be intimidated by all the real swimmers.  Groups like this usually welcome all comers.

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Charlotte, Everyone has given great advice. IMHO the key being keep at it and go at your own pace. I found it helpful to concentrate on intervals. Try swimming 250 yds worth of 25 or 50 yd intervals and rest 20 to 30 seconds between each one.  Keep good form and concentrate on one thing each workout (i.e.. swim downhill, glide on your side, etc.) After a couple of workouts  increase the number of intervals or cut the rest time by 5 or 10 seconds. After you a few weeks add one or two 75s etc. Your one step ahead of me when I first started, I didn’t know about RST until after I stumbled through my first sprint distance. Good Luck Jeff

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I know this will go against the grain around here, but for now,forget everything you read in the TI book and just get to the pool and swim some laps in your own less than perfect way.  Work up to at least a half mile without resting, to get accustomed to it.

Hmmm…  interesting.  The way I figure it, 1/2 mile is about 35 laps? (25 yards per lap, 880 yards per 1/2 mile).  That doesn’t seem too unreachable. You also have to convince your inner self that you can keep swimming, that you’re not going to collapse and drown.  If you’re miserable, you haven’t overcome the natural instincts of a land mammal yet.

Yes, even though I KNEW I could stand up at any time in the 4 foot deep water, there was something in the back of my head whispering "you could drown, you’re too tired…"  I will not have that luxury in open water, so you’re right, I better get used to it. Thanks. Charlotte

Response:

I need some help with swimming.  I read the Total Immersion book and was psyched to get into the pool for the first time for some laps. I go to the University pool where I work and find myself the only person there with 2 lifeguards staring at me.  I miserably churn out 250 yards and could have done more except that I was so downhearted.  I felt that I was trying to do everything at once (make my body l-o-n-g, breathe from both sides, swim downhill, etc.) and succeeded at nothing. Also, those 250 yards were a lot harder to come by than I thought they would be. Any suggestions, please???

        I know this will go against the grain around here, but for now, forget everything you read in the TI book and just get to the pool and swim some laps in your own less than perfect way.  Work up to at least a half mile without resting, to get accustomed to it.  I’m not a swim coach, but I teach SCUBA, and a lot of the professional literature I read deals with the psychology of learning to dive, much of which applies to any aquatic activity.  The water is not your natural environment.  It is inherently hostile to a land based organism.  There are several changes, like prolonged exercise where you cannot just breathe naturally.  We also have a built in reflex to be upright in the water that must be overcome.  You also have to convince your inner self that you can keep swimming, that you’re not going to collapse and drown.  If you’re miserable, you haven’t overcome the natural instincts of a land mammal yet.         Once I had gotten used to the idea of spending an hour in the pool doing doing more than just goofing off, I found it far easier to do the TI drills and improve my form.  Also, once the lifeguards have seen you swim a half mile a few times, they are much less likely to interpret some of the TI balance drills as the behavior of a non-swimmer in distress.         There are all sorts of sophisticated tools for imporving one’s running form as well, but we’ve all been running in some form or another since we were toddlers.  That’s not the case with swimming.

Response:

Any suggestions, please??? Charlotte

My suggestion? Don’t worry about it and enjoy tri’s at whatever level you can. I’m a lousy swimmer. I’ve always been a lousy swimmer. I was lousy when I started 15 years ago and I’m lousy now. Pathetic, even. But you know what? I don’t really care anymore. <g  I still love triathlon and I’ve even managed to do an Ironman the last two years. I’m not saying not to try to improve. Just accept whatever level you manage to get to and don’t get obsessed about it. Mike "from the back of the pack" Tennent "IronPenguin" Ironman Canada ‘98 16:17:03 Great Floridian ‘99, 17:13:38

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<big snip I AM SO JEALOUS!!  An *empty* university pool— nirvana!  Charlotte, what university is this??  An uncrowded 50-meter lap swim pool is ambrosia, it’s the stuff of dreams.  Sigh.  

Yes, it was empty or close to it the few times I’ve been there.  The hours are pretty awful but from your posts I should be thankful for what I have. If someone lives in central Ohio, wants a _very_ newbie swimming partner and access to this pristene pool for free, send me an email.  Be forewarned, the email address is munged. Charlotte P.S.  Thanks for all the great advice!  I called the pool today and I can use the kick boards, fins, etc. for free!  We’ll see how it goes…

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Any suggestions?  I will try to focus on one drill at a time but it is VERY hard when I can feel the rest of my, ahem, form, go down the tubes.

I feel your pain.  I’ve been doing triathlons since 1991, am well acquainted with all the Total Immersion stuff, and still am one of the world’s worst pool swimmers.  (Just ask the coach of my master’s team!)  I’ll tell you what, psychologically, convinced me that I could actually do triathlons.  I bought a triathlon wetsuit, and started wearing it occasionally when swimming in the pool.  I still remember as though it were yesterday the amazing feeling I had when wearing the wetsuit for the first time.  Hey, this makes swimming easy and fun!  I can float!  I’m not getting as tired as before!  I’m much faster!  That feeling gave me the motivation to keep trying to get to the point where I could swim like that without the suit.  I haven’t ever really succeeded at that goal but hey, I’m still doing triathlons and having fun 8 years later.  (And most triathlons let you wear a wetsuit anyway–I wouldn’t consider for a second doing an open-water swim without one) Good luck! –Steve Gregg

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Charlotte At the risk of repeating what others have said: 1. take it one step at a time – drils to work on specific parts of the storke 2. don’t do drills when tired – you’ll just reinforce bad habits 3. persevere. Swimming is a co-ordination and balance sport. You might liken learning it to learning to ski, row, or on a more sedentary level, drive a manual (stickshift) car. All of them require you to make fine body movements in a particular order with a particular timing. It’s not going to come together overnight, but it won’t take as long as you think. Good Luck – aim high Greg Banner

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Charlotte,     Like you, I wanted to compete in triathlon, but was (and still am) a weak swimmer.  For the first couple years in the sport, I limited myself to 1/4 mi. swims because anything longer and I’d be so far behind…  However, the Ironman bug bit and I needed at least enough endurance to swim 2.4 miles within 2:20.  As it worked out, I began swimming with a group of younger swimmers and this helped me develop the endurance (if not speed) that I needed.    Now I’ve done an IM swim in wetsuit (1:30) and without (1:45).  I still have a ways to go, but the perseverance allowed me the opportunity to explore new areas in triathlon.     My advice is to stick with it; the endurance and efficiency improve with practice.  Swim with others if you can; this really helps with the motivation.  Finally, set swimming goals to fuel your motivation.     Good luck. Jim Bruckart

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I am not a triathlete.  I have not yet admitted to myself that I am considering a triathlon, despite my running and biking every week. Somehow I find myself lurking on RST everyday reading your posts. I need some help with swimming. Any suggestions, please???

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Any suggestions, please???

Charlotte, I was once exactly where you are now and got some great advice right here on RST. The best piece of advice I can give you is to stop when your form begins to deteriorate, take a break, catch your breath, think about what you are working on, and then start again. Also don’t worry about what you look like or what people think of you, that is only counterproductive. Swimming is something that you must simply stick with and do regularly and over time you will improve. It is also very important that you not worry about how fast you are going. At this point just go slow, relaxed, and easy, and work on form. A pull buoy can be a great tool to allow you to concentrate only on your breathing and/or arm stroke. Sorry about the rambling, It’s the end of a long day. I Hope this helps                Steve Fredericks                Oceanside, CA

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I am not a triathlete.  I have not yet admitted to myself that I am considering a triathlon, despite my running and biking every week. Somehow I find myself lurking on RST everyday reading your posts. I need some help with swimming.  I read the Total Immersion book and was psyched to get into the pool for the first time for some laps. I go to the University pool where I work and find myself the only person there with 2 lifeguards staring at me.  I miserably churn out 250 yards and could have done more except that I was so downhearted.  I felt that I was trying to do everything at once (make my body l-o-n-g, breathe from both sides, swim downhill, etc.) and succeeded at nothing. Also, those 250 yards were a lot harder to come by than I thought they would be. Any suggestions?  I will try to focus on one drill at a time but it is VERY hard when I can feel the rest of my, ahem, form, go down the tubes. I am not interested in spending a lot of money on coaches, camps, etc. since I haven’t even really decided to take the plunge into triathloning.   If I can’t get the swimming going it’ll never happen. Since I use the (free) University pool that is vacant most of the time, I can’t really see hooking up with any veterans either. Any suggestions, please??? Charlotte

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Question:

I have been reading about triathlon wetsuit this and triathlon wetsuit that….What is the difference between a tri wetsuit and one for windsurfing.  If they are both the same thickness then what could be different?  Also, are tri wetsuits more expensive then other types? Thanks, Alastair

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A tri-wetsuit is made specifically for swimming, and as such will have design features to optimize body position in the water, water flow over the outside, etc. I think the primary difference is that the outer layer of a tri-suit is rubber, rather than neoprene. — TriathRon                                      _                                   –    o      ’             –  __o       –    </_ `     ‘         –    <         – __/    /o_         – (()) (())        -  / (ASCII art blatantly plagiarized from TriBaby’s sig . . . ) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have been reading about triathlon wetsuit this and triathlon wetsuit that….What is the difference between a tri wetsuit and one for windsurfing.  If they are both the same thickness then what could be different?  Also, are tri wetsuits more expensive then other types? Thanks, Alastair

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I have been reading about triathlon wetsuit this and triathlon wetsuit that….What is the difference between a tri wetsuit and one for windsurfing.  If they are both the same thickness then what could be different?  Also, are tri wetsuits more expensive then other types? Thanks, Alastair

Surfing wetsuits typically have nylon on the outside, where swimming suits are smooth neoprene, which is not as durable but creates less drag.  Surf wetsuits are not constructed to allow the degree of repetitive arm movement that swimming wetsuits do, especially sleeveless swimming wetsuits.  Swimming wetsuits are also constructed to distribut buoyancy for a better attitude in the water.

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Question:

: Im not sure but finishing well under 4 hours would probably be a world : record.  I haven’t heard of anyone finishing under 4….including : pros….good luck and let us know how it goes. last year Mika Luoto, (who was 9th in World championships in Sweden last weekend) did something like 3.45.. Porbably the course is little bit too short.. But think about those pros that have done ironman under 8hours.. half of that is 4hours.. (well.. yes you have to swim 2,5km not 1,9km.. but then again you are riding only 80km not 90km) I’ll let you know how I did.. Janne                                

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: Hello.. : I should be able to complete it in well under 4 hours.. : (the bike section is probably couple kilometers too short) : So times could be something like: Swim 2,5km -35min (or less) :                             Bike 80km  -2h5min (or less) :                             Run 20km   -1h20min (or less) : : Im not sure but finishing well under 4 hours would probably be a world : record.  I haven’t heard of anyone finishing under 4….including : pros….good luck and let us know how it goes. Well here it comes.. I don’t have the official resulst, so times that I have are those that are in my timex. Swim: Swim went actually pretty well. There was small waves and little bit wind, but I managed to keep up the same speed all the way and came to T1 on under 35 minutes.(12th out of the water). When I left the transition area I heard that there was big pack of swimmers coming out of the water. (I didn’t think that at all that time, but I should have..) Bike 80km-(2×40km): well this was perhaps the best part of the race. (actually the first 55km)..   I started riding and everything seemed to go pretty well.  After 8km Anssi Lehtinen(2nd? in Lanzarote Ironman) went past me.. and he was going FAST.. there were also some other guys that passed me and around 15km I saw that there was small pack(3-4 guys) of riders just 200-300m ahead of me but I thought that they are going so fast that I shouldn’t try to catch them.. first 20km I did in 32minutes.. Then came the turning point and on that time I was 14th.. On that time I saw big pack of riders coming to the turn and they were about 1minute after me (same big pack wich was in the swim also).. Next 20km went pretty well and I keeping up the same speed. I came to end of the first lap and noticed that the small group (3-4guys) were just 1 minute ahead of me. Well the big pack was still  the same 1minute behind me. Actually it was even bigger than last time.. perhaps about 20 riders. On that time I knew that they probably will catch me, and they did.. next 10-15km I was alone, but then the "train" came. Well I started riding with them and I was Sooooo EASY!.. Of course we were keeping the 10m cap between the bikes, but still it felt almost like a training ride. (only that, we were going 40km/h).. Actually I was pretty mad and sad, because I had been working alone about 55km and at the same time these guys had been riding together. Well anyway we finished the bike section.. by the way It was raining the almost the whole time.. not so nice.. result..80km in 2h 9min.. .. Run 21km(2×10.5km):.. ok.. kids don’t read this.. The first couple kilometers I run really slowly, just to try to get to rythm.. Already I knew that I didn’t have a chance to get top 10 because those guys that were in the pack were pretty fresh (well they were riding together almost 80km).. Running should be my best part, but on that day..Also I was really worried, because It felt that my stomach is full of fluids.. so stuff that I had taken didn’t go to futher.  The first 10,5km went fairly well in 41minutes. but I allready knew that I should REALLY get some energy.. After 13km I started being in really bad shape.. I took loads of stuff from aid station, but still I was slowing down. On 15km mark I thought that no way I could finish. I started seeing "lights" or "stars" or whatever.. I mean that It was so close that I didn’t just collapse. On 16km mark I stopped the first time.. walked  little bit.. and started again.. run a 200-300m and stopped.. and run 400-500m and stopped.. there were competitors going past me and trying to cheer me up. "FIGHT!!".. "JUST COUPLE KMS!!" yeah right.. I thought.. well I managed to get to the next aid station.. I started feeling little bit better, but still really weak.. run a little bit.. walked little bit.. run again.. Last kilometer I managed to run little bit better and finished in 4.20.. result from the run 1h 36minutes (1st: 10,5km 41minutes 2nd: 55minutes).. by the way the last 5km was something like 33-34 minutes.. So What did I eat: 3*gel packs. those gliff gels (24g carbo/pack) 1,5l of Dexal (5g carbo/dl) 0.8l of extran (4g carbo/dl).. also about 1,5l water well this was That I took.. Or at least I toughted.. I couldn’t hold everything inside.. Oh yeas.. Mika Luoto won in 3.45.. (he has the same coach that Pauli Kiuru had.. so                           look out for this guy! He was already 17th in                           Hawaiji last year) Anssi Lehtinen was second Janne Hast was third     .. me.. well 24th… Thank you for all the information. Perhaps I should have asked those questions little bit earlier..

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Hello.. I should be able to complete it in well under 4 hours.. (the bike section is probably couple kilometers too short) So times could be something like: Swim 2,5km -35min (or less)                              Bike 80km  -2h5min (or less)                              Run 20km   -1h20min (or less)

Im not sure but finishing well under 4 hours would probably be a world record.  I haven’t heard of anyone finishing under 4….including pros….good luck and let us know how it goes. Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.

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Hello.. I have Finnish half- ironman championships next saturday and I am not so sure how much energy do I need to take during that race.

The problem is finding how much you are able to comfortably consume, rather than what you need to consume. You will always run an energy deficit in a race, the trick is finding the form of calories that allows your body to keep the defict as low as possible. For some thats gels, others its carbo drinks, for some strange people it seems to be pop-tarts. For most its a mixture. The concensus seems to be that for someone of your weight (pretty similar to mine), your body is able to digest about 70grammes of carbohydrate per hour. You may well be able to consume a lot more than that, but it’ll probably just pile up in your digestive tract. Only by trying it out before hand in training can you find out how much you can eat. If you end up feeling bloated or totally unable to eat, your taking on too much, or the wrong type of food. Try eating less or something different. Usually though you find that 70g is actually quite an effort to consume when racing. The other half of the consumption equation is how much you need to drink with it. You want to be looking at a total of 6-7% carbohydrate/water, which implies about 1 litre of water an hour plus the 70g of carb I just mentioned. This is in total – if you use sports drink, then the carbohydrate contained in it is part of the 70g. Again, this is not what your body needs, but what Mr Average is able to digest. 70g of carbohydrate is approx… 2 power bars    or half a malt loaf    or 2 bagels    or 3 bananas   or 3 leppin gels, gu etc     or 1000ml of gatorade       or 750ml HiFive ‘Endurance’ or 500ml of Coke (! – excellent late in an Ironman run!) If your going to take sports drink at the aid stations, then 1 cup (6oz) is about 11g of carb. Personally I drink only water offered at the aid stations, that way I know how much carb I’m consuming (I don’t think most races pay too much attention to the strength of the drink they supply). I take a couple of bottles of sports drink with me on the bike, which allow me to rehydrate quickly after the swim. Once my stomach has settled down from the swim, I then eat real food on the bike (malt loaf, bananas, bagels etc), with a few gels thrown in, and take on water at the aid stations. I can stomach gels and water and nothing else on the run. Unfortunatly is doesn’t look like you’ll have time to try all this out before hand. Good luck Joel — Joel Sylvester Longest Day ‘98 12:10:33 Edinburgh Triathletes: www.edintri.u-net.com

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If you can do the half-ironman distance in under 4 hours and have not yet figured out a proper nutrition plan you undoubtedly have great potential ! It might even pay off to hire a coach anyway. Congratulations, you should definetly come to the U.S. and race the pro-circuit around here ! trInIc – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello.. I have Finnish half- ironman championships next saturday and I am not so sure how much energy do I need to take during that race. So how much do you people think that I should eat during half ironman? I am talking about the amount of kJ or calories.. My weight is 67kg,181cm, fat% about 8.. I was thinking to take some gels, one or two bars and rest  would be just gatorade and good luck I should be able to complete it in well under 4 hours.. (the bike section is probably couple kilometers too short) So times could be something like: Swim 2,5km -35min (or less)                              Bike 80km  -2h5min (or less)                              Run 20km   -1h20min (or less) Last time that I did this kind of race, my enrgy intake was way too low.. What happened was that on the run my first 10km was about 37minutes and last 10km about 55min.. (well I was 19 years old that time..) Thanks for any information that you can give.. AND GOOD LUCK FOR THOSE RACES!!    Janne Kallio

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You will always run an energy deficit in a race, the trick is finding the form of calories that allows your body to keep the defict as low as possible. For some thats gels, others its carbo drinks, for some strange people it seems to be pop-tarts.

Hey, I resent that! — Tri-Baby                                      _                                   –    o      ’             –  __o       –    </_  `     ‘         –    <         – __/    /o_         – (()) (())        -  / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon?  Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips:  http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html    

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Hello.. I have Finnish half- ironman championships next saturday and I am not so sure how much energy do I need to take during that race. So how much do you people think that I should eat during half ironman? I am talking about the amount of kJ or calories.. My weight is 67kg,181cm, fat% about 8.. I was thinking to take some gels, one or two bars and rest  would be just gatorade and good luck I should be able to complete it in well under 4 hours.. (the bike section is probably couple kilometers too short) So times could be something like: Swim 2,5km -35min (or less)                                   Bike 80km  -2h5min (or less)                                   Run 20km   -1h20min (or less) Last time that I did this kind of race, my enrgy intake was way too low.. What happened was that on the run my first 10km was about 37minutes and last 10km about 55min.. (well I was 19 years old that time..) Thanks for any information that you can give.. AND GOOD LUCK FOR THOSE RACES!!         Janne Kallio

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Question:

: All right, all right!  You’ve guilted me into it! Let me be the first to say "Woo Hoo!" and to beg you (PLEASE!  PLEASE!) to keep it coming!  Love reading these at this time of the year, when training seems futile, but the IMC countdown in Jason’s e-mail keeps ticking down …. Mike in DC

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I have a RST memory.  Didnt sometime LONG ago Tr-Baby say she was going to write a IMH race report? Thought we had forgot?  =). All right, all right!  You’ve guilted me into it! Here, completely unproofed, unedited, and unrepentant, is Part I of my Hawaii saga.  The rest has not yet been written, but if I don’t start putting this out there soon, it’s just never gonna happen!

Ahhh… the queen of race reports blesses us with part one of her dream come true. Tri-baby, you should write a book of race reports I make no promises when the rest will appear…..

I guess we’ll just have to keep nagging you… David / FEY2K — anxiously awaiting parts II and III (remove spaces) at att dot net

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The DC-10 glided gracefully downward along the western edge of the Big Island.

Lyrical alliteration, as always, but I’ve never yet ridden in a DC-10 that "glided gracefully." The glide characteristics of a DC-10 are similar to that fractured black rock below. I flew to Tokyo on one of those beasts last March. A 777? Graceful. A DC-10? Brick with wings. I try to stay asleep as much as possible. I once got motion sickness swimming in a 30-foot-long hotel pool. Your description of the ocean is not encouraging. Are the waves big enough to swim over? The one lake swim in my experience consisted of two-foot choppy waves that you had to swim through, rather than over. The memories are evil. Of course, that was in Texas, where it was too warm to use that full-body pull-bu^H^H^H^H^H^H^H wetsuit. Did you feel added flotation from the salt water? Did you get to use the wetsuit in Hawaii? I think that had I done IMH I would still be wearing the bracelet, too. I’ve always stoutly rejected any justification for tattoos, until I saw Jason’s IMC tattoo. If Mike Tennant can consent to be so marked, then I suppose I can as well. Doing so in the middle of my forehead would probably be over the top, however. Rick "Wondering if I can spectate at IMC and resist filing an application" Denney

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Here’s a view from ‘92 and admitted I’ve become pretty much a non-contributor for the past couple of years… #1.1     larry chapman, former chair of the rules and safety committee, who started this whole thing in ‘92 #1.2     first flames:  when poor Steve Harad posted an ad, without first putting "ad" in the subject line #1.3     first irony: Terry Laughlin did the same thing (post ads for swim camp with no "ad" in the subject line) & no-one said a thing.  This also marked the END for all the swim technique posts as well. #1.4     lots of european, australian & new zealand r.s.t.ers early on. #1.5     the guy from Florida who did an IM on 10 hrs of training a week & now posts about the deca-IM in Mexico #1.6     no duplicate threads #1.7     Team R.S.T. graphics contest– t-shirts, swim suits… Heck, a saw an RSTers at nationals two years ago since he was wearing a "rec.sport.triathlon racing team" suit. #1.8     No one "hand-waving" physics #1.9    formation of the USAT Rules and Safety committee– largely from R.S.T. #1.10  chance to debate political issues with the decision-makers– although they didn’t hang around too long. #1.11  second flames:  is a chiropractor a doctor… which was directed at Maffetone by other M.D.’s Regards, Pat Brug

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#3 Rick Denny I believe was around, but Rick "insert something here" Denny wasn’t.

No, I wasn’t around in ‘93. Everone’s just so sick of me that it seems that way. In ‘93 my hobbies were photography and antique clocks and I weighed 270 pounds. My vintage road bike from my racing days was in the garage under a pile of boxes and stale grease, and I spent my weekends playing polka music at a theme park in San Antonio. I starting using an internym about a year ago–I got tired of my old sig ("Take what you want and leave the rest"). Tri-Baby has been here since she was 13. #13 This wheel book I’ve used to build all my wheels is by this Jobst Brandt guy who hangs out here too.

No, Jobst hangs out on rec.bicycles.tech. He only appears here when a thread is cross-posted. Rick "I appeared in ‘96" Denney

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Remember Matt Mahoney?  (TV – Drug of the Nation)  He moved on to ultra running I believe,

You are correct!  You win a new car!  He’s pretty active in the ultra world these days. Ray

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yes, yes, you guys and gals have menitoned a bunch of stuff i forgot. I also remember the first 40-30-30 diet threads when that hit the news and the  slamming of draft legal racing for age groupers… can’t believe we haven’t had drafting pop up this winter, or maybe I missed another round There was the first wave of rst clothing which got people excited and is how I met my first rst’sr in Nova Scotia and PEI triathlons. In another post I asked about rst’rs in Dallas and had one person call me. It was neat cause although we’ve never met and the other person is new to triathlon we actually talked about rst for a bit. I’ll add that to my rst memories. Though we aren’t all physically connected we are still here in some sense (lurking or posting) which is pretty neat. The group has really become a community with  boundries and people here have maintained a good place to share ideas and ask questions. I say cheers and good job to everyone. All these memories have put a smile on my face today so I hope everyone else thinks of some rst memories and gets a little smile too. cheers -jason Jason MacDonald in Dallas, from Ottawa, Nova Scotian at heart.

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: I knew it!  I knew it!  I KNEW there had to be a conspiracy!  There was no : other possible explanation for a dazzling babe like myself to remain so : very single for so very long.  Jason, you’d better not show your face in : Penticton, unless you want it rearranged. What if I bring my good-looking mob henchmen with me?  Of course, under strict orders to stay *far* away from the evil temptress…  :)

Ha!  I’ll just seduce them into cooperating with my nefarious schemes to bring you down.  Won’t take much to make them turn traitor, I assure you… Jason "last I heard in Penticton it was in Tribaby’s fruit.  We won’t discuss when Skippy and I lei’d (ooh bad pun) hands on tri-babys flowers in Kona….."

Great, I’m nothing but a pair of pants full of fruit and flowers with some stupidly expensive sunglasses stuck on top.  That’s all anybody ever thinks of me as.  *sniff* But hey, at least Larry and Brian were on the verge of a duel over me. That was pretty kyewl! Tri("Love the ratio of men to women in this sport—now if it would only do me some good")Baby — Tri-Baby                                      _                                   –    o      ’             –  __o       –    </_  `     ‘         –    <         – __/    /o_         – (()) (())        -  / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon?  Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips:  http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html    

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yes, yes, you guys and gals have menitoned a bunch of stuff i forgot. I also remember the first 40-30-30 diet threads when that hit the news and the  slamming of draft legal racing for age groupers… can’t believe we haven’t had drafting pop up this winter

I think there’s a sense of resignation about that ugly topic.  But what the hell:  Death to the ITU and their bastardized version of our sport! I continue to "boycott" draft legal racing by refusing to read anything that appears in print about such races.  I don’t give a tinker’s damn who’s doing what in the World Cup.  Have no interest whatsoever.  Care even less about who’s going to the Olympics.  I get the Triathlon Digest but find I can skip over large segments because it’s very World Cup-oriented. Just curious—does anybody out there on RST really pay much attention to the World Cup?  I’m not as antagonistic about the F1 series in Oz because it’s not ITU, but I’m still not interested in it.  Just wondering. Doesn’t matter.  Let them have their version of the sport.  As long as the original version remains strong among age-groupers triathlon will be just fine. There, there’s a fine anti-drafting tirade for you! — Tri-Baby                                      _                                   –    o      ’             –  __o       –    </_  `     ‘         –    <         – __/    /o_         – (()) (())        -  / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon?  Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips:  http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html    

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And when I first delurked three years ago it was to complain that this group was clickish and seemed to spurn irregular posters, like I was at the time. That unleashed a flood of replies which showed me the keen insights held by RSTers and that they have long memories (or big hard drives!). John Laninga

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -yes, yes, you guys and gals have menitoned a bunch of stuff i forgot. I also remember the first 40-30-30 diet threads when that hit the news and the  slamming of draft legal racing for age groupers… can’t believe we haven’t had drafting pop up this winter, or maybe I missed another round There was the first wave of rst clothing which got people excited and is how I met my first rst’sr in Nova Scotia and PEI triathlons. In another post I asked about rst’rs in Dallas and had one person call me. It was neat cause although we’ve never met and the other person is new to triathlon we actually talked about rst for a bit. I’ll add that to my rst memories. Though we aren’t all physically connected we are still here in some sense (lurking or posting) which is pretty neat. The group has really become a community with  boundries and people here have maintained a good place to share ideas and ask questions. I say cheers and good job to everyone. All these memories have put a smile on my face today so I hope everyone else thinks of some rst memories and gets a little smile too. cheers -jason Jason MacDonald in Dallas, from Ottawa, Nova Scotian at heart.

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After just writing another post and indicating i’ve been around here (on rst) since sometime in ‘93 a flood of memories came back… here’s some that I have, any other good ones?

As a long-time viewer of Letterman, one of my favourite threads from a couple of years ago was "Brushes with Triathlon Greatness".  Here’s one from several years ago: At the 1992 World Championships in Muskoka Canada, I spotted Mike Pigg warming up along a stretch of road.  Although I wasn’t competing in the event (no kidding), I dropped my camera bag and ran with him for a short while and then picked up the pace….so…I can honestly say that I ran past Mike Pigg at the 1992 World’s. Any other recent "Brushes with Triathlon Greatness? Derek

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I have a RST memory.  Didnt sometime LONG ago Tr-Baby say she was going to write a IMH race report? Thought we had forgot?  =). Rob

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Nah, I find soccer pretty boring. David – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Just curious—does anybody out there on RST really pay much attention to the World Cup?

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I continue to "boycott" draft legal racing by refusing to read anything that appears in print about such races.  I don’t give a tinker’s damn who’s doing what in the World Cup.  Have no interest whatsoever.  Care even less about who’s going to the Olympics.  I get the Triathlon Digest but find I can skip over large segments because it’s very World Cup-oriented. Just curious—does anybody out there on RST really pay much attention to the World Cup?  I’m not as antagonistic about the F1 series in Oz because it’s not ITU, but I’m still not interested in it.  Just wondering.

I agree Trish. I have no interest in draft legals or their outcome. Mike & Christy Mauldin Charlotte, NC

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As a long-time viewer of Letterman, one of my favourite threads from a couple of years ago was "Brushes with Triathlon Greatness".

Yeah, I remember that too. That was one of the first threads in which I participated in 1996. David / FEY2K (remove spaces) at att dot net

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3.    The Hooter’s Triathlon

Well, actually, it was the Hootersman Triathlon. The sponsor was questionable, but it had the best race bag of goodies of any sprint I have done — and only $35 to enter. One of my brushes with greatness was there — Mark Allen, the year he won IMH. David / FEY2K (remove spaces) at att dot net

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Only ‘94 for me. I miss TriDork.

It was late 1995 for me. I entered RST proclaiming IMH dead when the ITU announced that pros who race IMH would not be allowed in ITU races. Silly me. Oh, while we’re remembering names from the past, anyone heard from Paul "Big Ears" what-was-his-last-name? David / FEY2K (remove spaces) at att dot net

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  And wasn’t there a guy named David Scott who wasn’t The Man and never pretended to be The Man but was actually just a junior with the same name but people still didn’t believe he was himself and his mom wound up sending somebody some Glycobars? (Yes, this post is a wind sprint itself)

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There, there’s a fine anti-drafting tirade for you!

But the all volunteer force has forced us to be defended by illiterates and incompetents, and student deferrals made people keep their grades up in college, and … Oh, that kind of drafting.  Never mind!

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I have a RST memory.  Didnt sometime LONG ago Tr-Baby say she was going to write a IMH race report? Thought we had forgot?  =). Rob

All right, all right!  You’ve guilted me into it! Here, completely unproofed, unedited, and unrepentant, is Part I of my Hawaii saga.  The rest has not yet been written, but if I don’t start putting this out there soon, it’s just never gonna happen! It’s stupidly long, so be forewarned. I make no promises when the rest will appear….. Five months.  That’s how long this ugly orange bracelet has been on my wrist.  It’s cracked and ragged and stiff, and the word "Ironman", complete with the M-dot, has long since worn away.  But my number is still clearly visible in dot-matrix purplish-black against the bright orange plastic:  0326. I can’t bring myself to take the thing off, despite the occasional cracks from friends about looking like I’ve just escaped from Bellevue.  But then again, perhaps the joke is not too far off the mark. The bracelet tells me that it did indeed happen—I was there, I did Ironman Hawaii.  Preposterous as seems, I did do it.  The unlikeliness of *me* taking part in the biggest event in triathlon lent a surreal tinge to the whole affair, even as I slogged my way through Kailua Bay, up the Queen K, and down Alii Drive.  The sense that this couldn’t possibly be real never left me.  I floated through the whole race, indeed, through the entire week in Kona, as though in a delightfully absurd dream. Don’t get me wrong—the pain of the race was no dream.  But a giddiness not unlike what I felt at my first Ironman Canada took hold of me and never let go all week.  Giddiness and Nervousness took joint custody, actually.  Now, Giddy and I are very old friends and get along splendidly.  Nerves, on the other hand, was an acquaintance I hadn’t kept up since that first Wildflower Long Course back in ‘96.  I hadn’t really expected him to make an appearance, but under the circumstances I shouldn’t have been surprised. "A fractured black rock…" The DC-10 glided gracefully downward along the western edge of the Big Island.   I strained excitedly to see what I could through the tiny window as we approached the airport.  "A fractured black rock."  That single line of commentary, delivered by Adrian Karsten in an appropriately jagged staccato, echoed vibrantly in my head.  Yes, that’s exactly what it is. And cutting a determined path south-to-north through it, a narrow ribbon of whitish grey asphalt—the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. We were touching down in Kona a mere four weeks after the insanity that was Ironman Canada ‘98.  On an epic day in an epic race I was blessed with an improbable and unplanned finish.  But it was a finish that, as the plane’s wheels bounced gently on the tarmac at Keahole Airport, now made my stomach a little queasy.  Did I leave my Kona finish back there with the heat and the winds in the Okanagan and Similkimeen Valleys? Two Ironmans in five weeks.  That’s insane, that’s nuts, that’s just plain stupid.   The fatigue that still lingered in my body from Canada could be neither denied nor ignored.  But could it be overcome?  Woody Allen once quipped that "90% of life is just showing up."  Well, here I am.  Now let the magic of Kona work its wonders on me. One of the last people with whom I spoke while standing on the shore at Dig Me Beach on October 3rd was Natascha Badmann.  "Good luck, Natascha." "And to you," she smiled, that serene and beatific smile that trigeeks everywhere have come to know and love.  I wondered what kind of a day she would have. As the media helicopters spin dizzily overhead I wade through throngs of yellow- and orange-headed athletes to find Augie, Carlos, and Jim Mersinger.  The thwacka-thwacka-thwacka of the helicopter blades, the race announcer booming over the PA system, the gentle hiss, splash, and thud of the surf, the nervous chatter of fifteen hundred nervous athletes and hundreds more spectators and volunteers surrounds me.  The cool Pacific rushes lazily in and out, up and down the tiny strip of sand beside Kailua pier, utterly indifferent to all the fuss and the unusual number of human bodies it encounters.  Just anudduh day in Paradise, bruddah. Here I am.  It must be real, ’cause there’s the Body Glove boat out there marking the starting line.  All these people are wearing swim caps that say "Ironman".  And I’ve heard that voice on the loudspeaker enough times while glued to the TV to know that this has got to be real.  Here I am, here it is, this is….BOOM…. the start!  Hell, how was I to know that they always start a little early at Kona?  Cut the contemplation, kid, it’s time to get off the beach. The infamous free-for-all of the Kona start presents no problem for TriBaby.  Finding myself on the beach at the gun was only partly an accident; I had every intention of starting WAY back, as befits a 1:12:00 IM swimmer who got into IMH by Lottery.  I just didn’t mean to start quite *this* far back.  But what the heck, open water is a good thing, and who’s in a hurry anyway?  Suck it up, girl, savor every moment—this is Kona. In the bewildering fog of disbelief at my presence here and doubts about my fitness to complete the race, I hadn’t come up with much of a race strategy.  Early on in the swim, however, my "strategy" for the moment unfolds all on its own.  Oddy, I feel like a spectator enjoying a play in which I also happen to play the starring role.  Take what comes, use what’s there, make it work.  OK, so what have we got here? The Pacific is balmy, salty, rolly, playful.  The first 200 meters feature rocks, coral, and fish for the swimmer’s amusement.  After that the water deepens to perhaps 20 feet for the majority of the swim, and peering straight down reveals little besides a white sandy bottom.  Swells roll gently in from the wide open ocean on your right, so you breathe mostly to the left, catching glimpses of palm trees, condos, the Kona Surf, that tiny white chapel, and the sun rising majestically behind Hualalai.  The sun quickly becomes so dazzling that you end up seeing very little of the shoreline after the first few minutes of swimming. Most of your attention is caught up in the swimmers around you.  Who looks fast, who looks slow, who looks just right?  Goldilocks tries out a few bowls of porridge before finding one that’s Just Right.  A pair of feet attached to a fellow in a dark blue Speedo look very inviting.  I could actually swim a little faster than those feet are moving right now, but the first couple hundred meters have told me that the wisest course of action at present is to conserve energy on the swim.  Swimming faster than this fellow would take more effort than feels prudent at the moment.  He’s a good medium pace, so I’ll let him save me some juice. I slip in behind those feet and relax.  Ah, very nice.  He can navigate, he can pull.  I’ll just tuck right in here and enjoy the ride.  Nice easy strokes, body roll, breathe, follow the bubbles.  This is good.  And hey, I’m not last! The sun shoots ghostly shafts of light dancing down through the depths. Tiny particles of sand, salt, and whatever else floats randomly through the ocean catch the light and sparkle merrily before us, shimmering like a handful of glitter tossed wantonly into the water.  It reminds me of my first swim off the rocks of our condo a few days ago. Many of the triathletes staying at the Sea Village clambered over the rough, sharp lava rocks jutting into the ocean where the condo perches on the shore to get in early morning swims.  The first morning that I awoke in Kona I poked my head out on our lanai and looked down to see Peter Reid and Lori Bowden working their way over the black rocks back toward the pool.  The second morning I strolled across the rocks myself in the wake of Heather Fuhr and Roch Frey.  Timing my entry to avoid an uncomfortable menage a trois with both the rocks and the waves, I slipped into the warm blue Pacific. Ah!  Right at home.  I love playing in the ocean in Hawaii.  I gradually began noodling my way out to the swim course turnaround buoy which bobbed orangely along some 200 meters offshore from the Sea Village.  Something about the morning light, the way it danced in the water and bounced off my hands as they slipped in at the entry and hooked at the catch, filled me with joy.  Each stroke bisected a shaft of light that immediately became whole again as my hand moved down and back for the pull. It was too beautiful, I couldn’t keep swimming purposefully, I had to play.  I began dophining and butterflying, chasing fish and behaving in generally silly fashion.  The joy of the moment combined with the knowledge and significance of where I was and the people with whom I was (from a distance—they were probably way PAST the buoy by then) sharing a piece of the Pacific, made that swim absolutely magical. *DANGER, DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!* Warning signals go off, jolting me from my reverie.  The swim in which I am currently engaged is decidedly more purposeful than that one was, and I’d better pay attention—especially when somebody is trying to horn in on what I have come to regard as "my" feet.  Nuh-uh, no way, you ain’t gettin’ ‘em, sucker—these are MY feet.  I found ‘em first, and I’m keepin’ ‘em. My faithful Feet lead me through odd knots of swimmers, and right now one of those knots is coming untied.  Bodies jostle and bump and splash, and a couple of them threaten to come between me and My Feet.  I muscle my way through the confusion, making it plain that I will not be disengaged. Don’t even THINK about it, guys.  I stroke aggressively to hold

… read more »

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Only ‘94 for me. I miss TriDork. David – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – After just writing another post and indicating i’ve been around here (on rst) since sometime in ‘93 a flood of memories came back… here’s some that I have, any other good ones?

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#2 I don’t remember TriBaby… were you around then(‘93′)? You look 21 from your website so maybe you weren’t on the net yet.      …. do I get points for that?

Oooo, you get MONDO points for that, my man!  Thank you!  :) And as a matter of fact, I was on RST in ‘92, but wasn’t here much in ‘93 (an off season for me, battling illness).  I didn’t get the "TriBaby" moniker until ‘95, when a thread went around in which a bunch of us were trying to come up with appropriate "tri-handles" for ourselves.  I recall there was a "TriTurtle", a "TriGal", and, of course, our beloved "TriDork", Marcus Perry (when the hell is that repatriated Kiwi gonna get back on the ‘net??). #3 Rick Denny I believe was around, but Rick "insert something here" Denny wasn’t.

No, I don’t think he was.  I believe Mr. Denney is a relatively recent addition to the fold.  Am I right, Rick?  Unless you are thinking of the REALLY old days before RST, when there was just RBR.  Yes, I was around back when the trigeeks very first split off from RBR.  At the time I hadn’t yet made the switch myself, still doing bike racing.   #9 There was a time when people were not as interested competing in Ironman length races. Much more IM hype now.

This is very, very true.  Sometime in the past year I posted something to the effect that the explosion of interest in long distance racing on RST has coincided with the maturation of the careers of a number of RST regulars who have moved up to the distance over time. #10 Marty Miller’s Triathlete’s Web and Pat Brug’s team rst page.

Yeah, Marty had said he was going to attempt to actually update the Triathlete’s Web this year, but I’ve seen nothing as of yet.  A real pity, ’cause it was a truly fabulous resource. #13 This wheel book I’ve used to build all my wheels is by this Jobst Brandt guy who hangs out here too.

Jobst actually does not hang around here.  There just happened to be that one recent thread that (unfortunately) got crossposted and would not die. Remember Matt Mahoney?  (TV – Drug of the Nation)  He moved on to ultra running I believe, and rarely visits us here any more.  Todd Jensen used to post a lot more too.  Kurian Davis led some really lively discussions, but has been offline for about 3 years now.  And tri-writer extraordinaire Timothy Carlson used to spend a lot more time on RST than he does now. Ah, the good ol’ days! — Tri-Baby                                      _                                   –    o      ’             –  __o       –    </_  `     ‘         –    <         – __/    /o_         – (()) (())        -  / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon?  Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips:  http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html    

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My latest confessions: Oh yeah, I started the Oakleys thread I cause ethnic unrest in Kosovo I hide all the single men from tri-baby

I knew it!  I knew it!  I KNEW there had to be a conspiracy!  There was no other possible explanation for a dazzling babe like myself to remain so very single for so very long.  Jason, you’d better not show your face in Penticton, unless you want it rearranged. :#

– Tri-Baby                                      _                                   –    o      ’             –  __o       –    </_  `     ‘         –    <         – __/    /o_         – (()) (())        -  / "Real triathletes don’t draft." http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie *New to triathlon?  Check out Hulaman’s Simple TriTips:  http://www.hulaman.com/triathlon/tritips.html    

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After just writing another post and indicating i’ve been around here (on rst) since sometime in ‘93 a flood of memories came back… here’s some that I have, any other good ones? I’m tired of aero vs non aero, bike positioning and Oakley posts at the moment. Most of these are newer memories, most of my university memories (during which time i followed rst for about 4 years) have little to do with rst #1 Back in ‘93 I was involved in a thread with some qrman guy… had no idea who he was (I do now) let alone heard of QR up in Cananda. We were arguing over forward tri positioning vs rr positions and how seat angles affect muscle usage and how that translates to running and how rested your legs might or might not be. Anyway, this qrman, whoever he was, was quite serious about his views on the forward position. Eventually I saw he had a web page and checked it out. i know know who Dan is. #2 I don’t remember TriBaby… were you around then(‘93′)? You look 21 from your website so maybe you weren’t on the net yet.      …. do I get points for that? #3 Rick Denny I believe was around, but Rick "insert something here" Denny wasn’t. #4 We did have threads which went on and on with people flaming other people over silly things (a recent thread sun glasses thread comes to mind), but (see#5) #5 There are a lot of funny people on rst. (qrman has recently inspirsed me to have nads when I train) #6 Never, never, mis spellllll on rst. #7 Jason Mayfield is to blame for everything. #9 There was a time when people were not as interested competing in Ironman length races. Much more IM hype now. #10 Marty Miller’s Triathlete’s Web and Pat Brug’s team rst page. #11 Cervelo and QR and Andrew Coggan will always keep up informed on tri positioning or aero stuff. #13 This wheel book I’ve used to build all my wheels is by this Jobst Brandt guy who hangs out here too. #14 It’s neat to meet rst’r at races as I got to do three or four times. that’s all i have for now, cheers- jason Jason MacDonald, visiting Dallas, from Ottawa, Nova Scotian at heart.

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I’ve been back and forth here since about that time as well. 1.    Let’s see, how about Jeffery Justice trying to be objective about Triathlete magazine when it appeared he’d really like to bomb their headquarters?  This was right around they parted company. 2.    And there was a thread questioning if Phil Maffetone was really a physician. 3.    The Hooter’s Triathlon 4.    What ever became of JoAnne Lehrman? 5.    A thread about bathroom breaks shocked everyone by revealing that pro’s pee’d while riding.  Now everyone does it.  Except me. 6.    USAT was TriFed got slammed every now and then. 7.    Triathlete magazine was another frequent object of scorn. Larry – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – After just writing another post and indicating i’ve been around here (on rst) since sometime in ‘93 a flood of memories came back… here’s some that I have, any other good ones? Jason MacDonald, visiting Dallas, from Ottawa, Nova Scotian at heart.

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Question:

Anyone know where I can find a profile of the IMC bike course ? there used to be a Computrainer version of the profile on the Computrainer web site. If not, ask Jason Mayfield, I am fairly sure that when he actually trained, he used one on his.

The course profile on the site, if I’m not mistaken (and I’ve ridden both the ‘real’ and the CT course in the past two months) is the old course (pre 1997).  Does anyone have a line on when/ if they will be putting up a new profile that reflects the McClean Creek Rd. and Upper Bench Rd. sections? – Art

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Anyone know where I can find a profile of the IMC bike course ? — Diane Wynne IMUK98 13:30 "You are only limited by your imagination"

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Anyone know where I can find a profile of the IMC bike course ?

Yup: http://www.math.princeton.edu/~maejohns/athletics/imcbike.html Cheers— Tri-Baby                                      _                                   –    o      ’             –  __o       –    </_  `     ‘         –    <         – __/    /o_         – (()) (())        -  / "REAL Triathletes don’t draft." *** Ironman Canada 1997 – 13:04:09 *** http://www.stanford.edu/~brooksie        

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I think we have a bad case of acute ironmanitis here. Most of us have the checks and balances of non-triathlete partners/relatives/friends to keep us from straying too far down the path towards compulsive ironman disorder, where ironman exists to the exclusion of everything else. However, I think Mrs Wynne (IMUK98 13:30) has been talking with Mr Wynne (IMUK98 12:19) too much, and the disorder has bitten deep. Diane – IMC isn’t for ANOTHER TWELVE MONTHS! Calm down, take a deep breath, and go and watch some television or something normal. — Joel Sylvester Longest Day ‘98 12:10:33 Me: www.roe.ac.uk/jswww/ Edinburgh Triathletes: www.roe.ac.uk/jswww/edin_tri – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Anyone know where I can find a profile of the IMC bike course ? — Diane Wynne IMUK98 13:30 "You are only limited by your imagination"

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Diane – IMC isn’t for ANOTHER TWELVE MONTHS! Calm down, take a deep breath, and go and watch some television or something normal.

There-there Diane, yes let us do watch TV, I’ll pack up my IMC tapes and ship themn off to the UK. heh. Joe Joseph C. Foster .. . . and of course I train hard, very hard. – T. Hellreigel

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Actually I’ve watched loads of T.V. this week – The commonwealth Games on BBC2. There’s been loads of swimming and yesterday morning they showed the women’s time trial. Even played back the swimming that I videoed – in slow motion to watch the strokes! Diane Wynne IMUK98 13:30 "You are only limited by your imagination" – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

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Actually I’ve watched loads of T.V. this week – The commonwealth Games on BBC2. There’s been loads of swimming and yesterday morning they showed the women’s time trial. Even played back the swimming that I videoed – in slow motion to watch the strokes!

It’s true. Pity me, people! Diane Wynne IMUK98 13:30 "You are only limited by your imagination"

adrian IMUK98 12:19                         Dare to dream !

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Adrian Wynne It’s true. Pity me, people!

Don’t give me that – you wetre the one controlling the buttons!  Diane Wynne  IMUK98 13:30  "You are only limited by your imagination"

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Anyone know where I can find a profile of the IMC bike course ?

there used to be a Computrainer version of the profile on the Computrainer web site. If not, ask Jason Mayfield, I am fairly sure that when he actually trained, he used one on his. Rob — Rob Blomquist aka TriDog Seattle, WA http://www2.jps.net/~robbo

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Anyone know where I can find a profile of the IMC bike course ? there used to be a Computrainer version of the profile on the Computrainer web site. If not, ask Jason Mayfield, I am fairly sure that when he actually trained, he used one on his. Rob

Yes, there is a Computrainer version, and it’s pretty accurate in my opinion. Just point your browser to www.computrainer .com and go to the courses menu. The IMC course should be there.                           |26      | IMC’96: 10:36:37          |   Fe   |   IMC’97: 10:42:53          |        |                  "THE BEST ELEMENT OF RACING"

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Anyone know where I can find a profile of the IMC bike course ? there used to be a Computrainer version of the profile on the Computrainer web site. If not, ask Jason Mayfield, I am fairly sure that when he actually trained, he used one on his. Rob Yes, there is a Computrainer version, and it’s pretty accurate in my opinion. Just point your browser to www.computrainer .com and go to the courses menu. The IMC course should be there.

Now let me try and understand this. These people actually ride indoors on an indoor trainer for 5 or more hours over a simulated version of the IMC course with the aide of a Computrainer. These people are truely Ironmen! Steve Fleck

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Now let me try and understand this. These people actually ride indoors on an indoor trainer for 5 or more hours over a simulated version of the IMC course with the aide of a Computrainer. These people are truely Ironmen! Steve Fleck

I did it once. I don’t know if I would do it again though, because it *was* a long day. Anyway, what I usually do is take parts of that course and use it . The Richter Pass segment and the heavy rollers beyond that are an extremely good simulated hill workout which takes about an hour to an hour and a half. I told my brother that if I ever do the entire course again, he can shoot me. the worst part about it is, if he takes me literally, my days are extremely numbered.                           |26      | IMC’96: 10:36:37          |   Fe   |   IMC’97: 10:42:53          |        |                  "THE BEST ELEMENT OF RACING"

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Hi there,   I live in Alberta and planning on having a competing summer vacation.   So to speak.  And I was wondering if anyone out there knows of any triathlons this summer between say last week of June and first couple of weeks of July.  Or even say last week of Auguest.  Heck I would be most appreciated of a schedule for BC or even in Washington(state), Montana or Oregon.  I would appreciate any help.  Thanks Daniel

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DA=Hi there,   =  I live in Alberta and planning on having a competing summer vacation.   =So to speak.  And I was wondering if anyone out there knows of any   =triathlons this summer between say last week of June and first couple of   =weeks of July.  Or even say last week of Auguest.  Heck I would be most   =appreciated of a schedule for BC or even in Washington(state), Montana or   =Oregon.  I would appreciate any help.  Thanks Daniel Don’t miss the Sri Chinmoy Triathlon in Victoria on the August long weekend.  Its Canada’s oldest triathlon, and has a 1.6k lake swim, 35k ride over rolling hills and a great 10k trail run.  Plus, the volunteers and organization are excellent. My favourite race.                                                         Don Devenney —  * SLMR 2.1a * I’m in shape … round’s a shape isn’t it?

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Question:

Can anyone reccomend a bike shop that has the triathlon in mind in or near Baltimore?  Heck, I’d be happy to have a shop with competent mechanics and more than two road bikes on the floor.   Thanks for any info… Scott. p.s.  I agreed with the Baltimore "City Paper"’s Best Bike Shop in Baltimore: none. — S. MacDougall-Shackleton Dept. of Psychology               -another Canadian stranded in Baltimore- Johns Hopkins University      

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(Scott MacDougall-Shackleton) writes:

<<bike shop that has the triathlon in mind in or near Baltimore? None there.  However, there is a great one not too too far away in College Park, aptly named College Park.  Our beloved Ruth Kazez shops there, I believe.  The shop is owned by very enthusiastic Larry Black, and managed by very accomplished age-group triathlete Maryanne Zuckerman.   QRman

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Can anyone reccomend a bike shop that has the triathlon in mind in or near Baltimore?  Heck, I’d be happy to have a shop with competent mechanics and more than two road bikes on the floor.   Thanks for any info… Scott. p.s.  I agreed with the Baltimore "City Paper"’s Best Bike Shop in Baltimore: none.

guess you didn’t like race pace (assuming they’re still alive).

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Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –        - The "Use it or Lose It" dilemma is real.  after six weeks of total inactivity, you are physiologically indistinguishable from a lifelong sedentary. I’ve read stuff like this before and I find it a bit hard to believe. If the above were true, then how can I lay off for 6 weeks (or more) due to injury and still be able to run 3-4 easy miles on return? Furthermore, within a month or so 10 miles is no problem.  I quickly feel as good as new.  A touch slower maybe, but not much. Can a lifelong sedentary person do that? Mark Harris UUCP: …!uunet!mjbtn!raider!omhftre!harrism

Please turn off the flames, people, I mistyped.  I meant to say six MONTHS of inactivity. This is based on results of laboratory tests reported by David Costill in "Inside Running:  Basics of Sports Physiology" ,  Benchmark Press, Indianapolis, 1986. Some further results reported in this book (p. 145 ff):         – A well-trained runner accumulates very little blood lactate during long runs.  By the fourth week of detraining, blood lactate is well on its way to reaching the untrained level during aerobic-anaerobic running.  With six to eight weeks of detraining, Costill estimates that the endurance advantage gained from five months of training will have been lost.         – Runners who are well-trained, rested, and properly fed have 50 to 100 percent more muscle glycogen than untrained individuals.  By the fourth week of inactivity, muscle glycogen levels in an idle athlete may be no better than those in an untrained individual.  Such a change would be noticed by the runner as an inability to do a long run or to train hard on two or more consecutive days, although he or she might be able to do one run and feel fine.         – The rate of retraining seems to be affected by the status of conditioning prior to the lapse.  In one study, a group of runners experienced an average 26 percent decrease in vo2 max after 20 days of bed rest.  The two most active subjects required one to two months of retraining to regain their aerobic capacities.  The least active subjects returned to the initial levels with only 10 to 15 days of training.         – In general, there is no loss of performance for five to seven days layoff.  After more than a couple of weeks, expect to return to your previous level of fitness over a two to four week period. — St. John’s, Newfoundland A1C 5S7 Canada

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Can a lifelong sedentary person do that? Mark Harris UUCP: …!uunet!mjbtn!raider!omhftre!harrism Please turn off the flames, people, I mistyped.  I meant to say six MONTHS of inactivity.

Ooops, you did get beat up by the masses a bit much.  Sorry, no flame intended. Mark Harris UUCP: …!uunet!mjbtn!raider!omhftre!harrism

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   - The "Use it or Lose It" dilemma is real.  after six weeks of total inactivity, you are physiologically indistinguishable from a lifelong sedentary.

    This is contrary to what happens when one goes from being lifelong     sedentary to fit.  One change, which can indeed revert to pre-training     levels, is red blood cell count.  These little guys are produced at a     rate proportional to your training level.  They last a relatively short     time (120 days?  It’s been so long…) before needing to be replaced.     As you become inactive, the rate of replacement decreases.     However, it is my understanding that another effect of training is the     opening of ancillary networks of blood pathways – more capillary     networks, widening of major veins and arteries, etc.  You are suggesting     that these will somehow shrivel up/shrink in six weeks to the     pre-training state.  I would be curious to know how this occurs, since     it frequently takes considerably longer than six weeks to achieve that     condition.  I suspect this is not the case.     For anecdotal evidence, I submit the following: every year I go through     a period of inactivity in the winter.  My major (sole?) source of     exercise is running.  I typically run 5 miles, 4-5 times a week.  This     tends to stop after the first lasting snowfall – I had a bad experience     slipping on uncleared sidewalks during a couple of runs after snow fell,     and it kind of soured me on winter running.     In the spring, I begin again.  I admit, the first few weeks are tough,     and it sure feels like I’ve never done it before.  But I’m typically     back up to 5 miles in a month.  It took me far longer to achieve that     distance when I first started running, suggesting that some long term     changes have taken place.  I suspect someone who was sedentary all their     lives would probably take longer to reach my range and speed than a     month.  (And I’m not that fast!)     Fitness doesn’t disappear in six weeks.  You lose some, surely, but you     are still distinguishable from "a lifelong sedentary."     – Scott     Open Software Foundation      |  are you?"

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   - The "Use it or Lose It" dilemma is real.  after six weeks of total inactivity, you are physiologically indistinguishable from a lifelong sedentary.

I’ve read stuff like this before and I find it a bit hard to believe. If the above were true, then how can I lay off for 6 weeks (or more) due to injury and still be able to run 3-4 easy miles on return? Furthermore, within a month or so 10 miles is no problem.  I quickly feel as good as new.  A touch slower maybe, but not much. Can a lifelong sedentary person do that? Mark Harris UUCP: …!uunet!mjbtn!raider!omhftre!harrism

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       - The "Use it or Lose It" dilemma is real.  after six weeks of total inactivity, you are physiologically indistinguishable from a lifelong sedentary. I find this hard to believe.  I can believe you loose some fitness but not that you loose all of it unless by "total inactivity" you mean having to just lie in bed for 6 weeks.  Any other knowledgeable comments from other netters? Les Brodie

I disagree.  While long spells of inactivity definitely have a major impact on overall fitness, there are talents you learn through training that you do not forget.  One is form.  I have run on and off for the past ten years and not for the last year.  When I go out for a brief jog now, my experience of running and my form are absolutely a different event from when I first started in 1980.  I think the thing that had the most significant long-lasting impact was doing speed work on the track (I was primarily an LSD runner, using weekly to monthly 10k’s to enhance my speed.  In 1986, I set a specific training and performance goal of breaking 40 minutes in the 10k.  An experienced friend designed my training program and included a weekly workout on the track doing something like 10×440 (can’t remember the interval.) Anyway, I did break 40 at the end of the period but the point is, during that fast work, my running changed and is still changed to this day.    - Tom Fredericks      Ithaca, New York

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       - The "Use it or Lose It" dilemma is real.  after six weeks of total inactivity, you are physiologically indistinguishable from a lifelong sedentary.

I must strongly disagree with this statement as well.  A former roommate of mine is an elite triathlete. He had to stop training for quite a few weeks to recover from a hernia.  Yet, his physiology was far from being life long sedentary. This may be an unfair comparison for some, because of the level of training for a triathlete.  But from my own experience (I train nowhere near as much) this was not the case.  Weight training suffers the most for me, when I am away from it for a while. But I have never gone back to the shape I was in before weight training.  I was really surprised though at the speed I run when I haven’t run for a while.  Of course my endurance is down, and I don’t run at my quickest paced, but I certainly don’t run as if I were sedentary all my life. Of course the longer one, stops training, the harder and longer it is to reach the previos levels of fitness. But I would say for most people this is substantially longer than 6 weeks. — Tom Kuchar Department of Astronomy Boston Univerity

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   - The "Use it or Lose It" dilemma is real.  after six weeks of total inactivity, you are physiologically indistinguishable from a lifelong sedentary. I must strongly disagree with this statement as well.  A former roommate of mine is an elite triathlete. He had to stop training for quite a few weeks to recover from a hernia.  Yet, his physiology was far from being life long sedentary.

And I disagree with with your assessment.  I suggest everyone has different innate athletic abilities and most people can go a long way toward improving them.  Age makes a differce too.  Some teenage college boys here can build up to the hour endurance needed to run the Bay-to-breakers in a week or two. Other people take months.  Be glad if you are one of the lucky former.

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Generally, a couple of weeks is enough for me to "get back into it" after an illness.  However, if it takes more time, then so be it. There’s no need to rush. Mark Harris UUCP: …!uunet!mjbtn!raider!omhftre!harrism

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   - The "Use it or Lose It" dilemma is real.  after six weeks of total inactivity, you are physiologically indistinguishable from a lifelong sedentary.

I find this hard to believe.  I can believe you loose some fitness but not that you loose all of it unless by "total inactivity" you mean having to just lie in bed for 6 weeks.  Any other knowledgeable comments from other netters? Les Brodie

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  I would like to solicit net.wisdom on resuming running after a layoff.   I started running in the beginning of summer and had worked my way   to 5 mile (40 minutes) runs every other day. I had to take 2-3 weeks   off because of cold/flu and associated problems. For a seasoned runner   it may not be such a big deal but I find that after 2 miles I can’t go   any farther, which is approx the same level where I was when I started   running four months back. How long does it take (on an average) to reach   one’s earlier state of fitness after such a gap? I sure hope it won’t   take me another four months to regain that level. Are there any thumb   rules for training after sickness, so that one does not push oneself   too hard too early. BTW, "listen to your body" stuff doesn’t work too   well for me.

I don’t have a direct answer to your question.  However, we do know the following:         – The "Use it or Lose It" dilemma is real.  after six weeks of total inactivity, you are physiologically indistinguishable from a lifelong sedentary.         – The better shape you were to begin with, the LONGER it takes to restore your previous fitness. I have found that for me, average daily mileage in the previous month is a good indicator of what I can do safely.  Allow 5-10 percent increments a week. This is probably pretty conservative advice.      Thanks for any help,    Sanjay

– St. John’s, Newfoundland A1C 5S7 Canada

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  I had to take 2-3 weeks  off because of cold/flu and associated problems. Interesting.  I ‘ve noticed that regular running has greatly reduced my frequency of colds to about one per year.  Furthermore, exercising during a cold, though at a reduced amount, seems to help it go away faster.

I think there’s a dual effect here.  On the one hand, running raises your internal body temperature, much as a fever does (an excellent reason, by the way, not to run when sick — body temp get raised both ways, perhaps to dangerous levels).  Anyway, the effect of this is the same as a fever — some of your internal nasties get killed off. On the other hand, it is undeniable that really heavy training stresses the immune system — leaving you more vulnerable to infection.  A regular part of my Boston Buildup is my March Flu.  I haven’t run Boston healthy in years. — St. John’s, Newfoundland A1C 5S7 Canada

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