Ran a 10k - Official Thread (3 Viewers)

[Nigel]

In for FF also

 

[MAC_32]

This wasn't my normal race morning, but it wasn't supposed to be. Our 6 year old was running his first 5k, so he was the focus point. I was still the first up and had the usual morning fuel, but instead years of relaxing and reading until shower time it was closer to every other morning. Controlled chaos trying to get get three small humans out of the house within 15 minso of the goal time. A different race day experience!

Between car entertainment and group pictures once we got down there (about 15 of us) I never even thought about the race until 20 mins prior to the start when my wife turned and said - 'so you going to warm up?' Oh, right. I'm racing too. 

I got done with my warm up about three mins before the gun, wandered near the start line, and was happy to see a dozen or so high school/college age kids that looked like runners. Alright, people to push me. And they did. I was in at least 20th 100 m in and in pack two losing touch with pack one. Hadn't seen anything like that before, and it wasn't standard 5k Sprinters. 

(7 hour pause in this report to deck drink and eat Mexican)

So these ####ers had me thinking I started slow. Best thing that could have ####in happened. I made sure not to lose that pack but I mostly ran my race. Little by little I picked them off but there were two of them way too far out in front. I kinda stalled behind third place but as planned I picked up the effort during mile two, popped a couple chews, then blew by him on the downhill at 2.5. I wanted to die but I was running by all the walkers and that kept me from showing weakness. Lord help me I'm not strong enough. It got me to the final straight away when I hoped to see a 16. Did not expect that 16 to be accompanied by a 14 though. 

It's been a long road but I am now 5k satisfied. 16:27, beating my high school pr by 28 seconds. 

More importantly, my son finished without ever walking in 37:11. Watching him cross the line was the best moment of the day.

 

[FUBAR]

ff right now includes Fubar, Ned, pbm107, duck,  juxt, Nigel 

That's 6. Good start, I think 10-16 works. 

Add steel, sand, tri = 9

 

[FUBAR]

Outstanding ru  @MAC_32!

 

[Sand]

I'll do it again.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Congrats Mac! It's wonderful how everything seems to be coming together for you this year!  Keep it up!

 

[tri-man 47]

Suck index = 170 here right now.  About the highest I've ever seen.  

I'm watching the Olympics.  Watching the cycling counts, right?

Those last miles of the bike race were crazy!

And: I'm in for the fantasy football again.

 

[Hang 10]

@MAC_32 16:27?! Are you effing kidding me?? Bruh...that is legit. You're seriously on your way to being an elite. 

 

[SteelCurtain]

By the way, is anyone interested in the fantasy football league again this year? 

I'm in again for this year!

 

[SteelCurtain]

Hanson week 5 training for NYC Marathon

M: 6 recovery @ 9:39/128. Sunny and humid.  Still working on my cadence as well.  Good form in this run with my vertical oscillation (the bounce with each step).

T: 8.48 @ 8:06/148.  Speed workout.  Did five 3/4 mile repeats with 1/4 mile jog (and added an extra 600 Meter interval at the end).   The repeats should be done at 6:38 pace.  Mine were 6:36, 6:35, 6:39, 6:33, 6:37, 6:38  Also had a 1.5 warmup and cool down..
W: Scheduled Day Off
T: 8 @ 7:53/147.  This had 6 at marathon pace (7:38).  Those 6 were 7:36, 7:39, 7:27, 7:40, 7:24, 7:37.  This run felt harder than it should have, however, my pace was faster than last week and my heart rate lower, so perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me.
F: 8 easy at 9:39/125.  Another warm one. Steady run in the humid.  cadence lagged a bit (182....want to hit closer to 185)
S: 14 @ 8:17/150.  This was 12 miles at MP + 30 seconds so 8:08 for me.  All 12 miles were between 8:01 and 8:08 with one mile at 8:11.  GRRRR.   Also had a warmup and cool down mile in this run.  Cadence was 186.  Perfect!  This run was a bit harder than I would have liked but it was originally scheduled for Sunday but I'm moving some runs around due to travel for work this week. 

S: 7 @ 9:20/130.  Recovery run as I tried to keep working on form and cadence.  Struggled a bit to maintain but it was a great morning for a run.  Bright sun, low humidity.  Perfect weather for August!

Week total -- 51.48 miles

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

Doing my first Olympic distance triathlon tomorrow.  Looking forward to it.  

So this went well, I'll write something up later.  

Question for the knowledgeable - how much of a difference does a fancy bike make?  My bike is 15 years old, not really in great condition, no clip-in pedals or drop-down handlebars.  It's a road bike but not really a racing bike.

In a 26+ mile bike course, how much faster would I go with one of them fancy bikes that most people had?  One minute faster? Ten minutes?  More?

Just curious.

 

[tri-man 47]

So this went well, I'll write something up later.  

Question for the knowledgeable - how much of a difference does a fancy bike make?  My bike is 15 years old, not really in great condition, no clip-in pedals or drop-down handlebars.  It's a road bike but not really a racing bike.

In a 26+ mile bike course, how much faster would I go with one of them fancy bikes that most people had?  One minute faster? Ten minutes?  More?

Just curious.

Others can probably answer the bike question better than me.  I have a road bike, but it's not very expensive or fast.  Clip-in pedals definitely are a big help ...you're working through the whole rotation.  Depending on the bike, you could shave a few to several minutes depending on how fancy the bike is.  But that's the beauty of a triathlon - it's you against yourself. Competitors have different gear (wetsuits; bikes) and vastly different training schedules, so it's hard to measure against others (and the staggered starts make the in-race comparisons very difficult).

 

[FUBAR]

Others can probably answer the bike question better than me.  I have a road bike, but it's not very expensive or fast.  Clip-in pedals definitely are a big help ...you're working through the whole rotation.  Depending on the bike, you could shave a few to several minutes depending on how fancy the bike is.  But that's the beauty of a triathlon - it's you against yourself. Competitors have different gear (wetsuits; bikes) and vastly different training schedules, so it's hard to measure against others (and the staggered starts make the in-race comparisons very difficult).

I don't know the time difference but the pedals are the best thing you can do, other than train well, on the bike. Then aero bars, a good bike fit, aero helmet... the list is long and gets expensive.  Like tri said, unless you're looking to podium or set pr, you can get by with the minimum.

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

OK, so here's some highlights from my first Olympic distance triathlon:

Woke up at like 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep.  Ate breakfast and fussed around until I left for the race at 5:30.  Race started at 7:00.

I know I said it was a tiny race, but it turned out to be even tinier than I thought.  There were only 25 people total doing the Olympic Distance race -- 17 men and 8 women.  It was so small we didn't even have a staggered start -- all 25 just got in the water and started at the same time. 

Swim went pretty smoothly.  I had trouble, like, swimming in a straight line.  Went off the ideal course right at the start.  When I got back on track I tried to stay near some guy who seemed like he knew what he was doing, but he kicked me a few times so i figured I better give him a little space.  Near the end I totally collided with some woman, we both popped our heads out of the water and said sorry.  I was pretty disoriented about where I was in the pack -- I knew some folks were ahead of me and some behind me, but I really had no idea what place I was in after the swim.  Looking at the race results now, it looks like I was in 7th overall after the swim.

First transition was OK.  Drank some water, threw a shirt, socks, shoes and helmet on as quickly as I could and took off. 

Bike felt OK to me.  I passed one woman but got passed by like 4 guys.  I really did feel like my bike put me at a big disadvantage, though.  Just seemed like the people passing me weren't pedaling faster or harder than me, just had better bikes.   At about mile 15 I drank some water, tried to put my water bottle back in the holder, missed and dropped it on the ground.  Didn't want to stop to pick it up so it's gone forever and I didn't get to drink for the last 10+ miles.  Oh well.

Second transition I was feeling a little weak.  Drank some water and grabbed a banana and apple and started out of the transition area.  Whoops, still have helmet on.  Threw it back where my bike was and got moving.

Run did not feel good at all.  Legs were cramping up for the first mile or two and I could feel myself moving really slowly.  Apple and banana and water stations helped with some of the low energy and leg cramps but my stomach started feeling a little bloated. Whatever, I just kept running very slowly.  Got passed by a 19-year-old girl, but actually passed some guy that was alternating walking and running.  We were so spread out that I didn't see anyone in front or behind me for almost the entire run.  Tried to pick up the pace a little near the end but wasn't exactly motoring.  Still it felt good to cross the finish line at something resembling a running pace.

Coolest thing at the race was a mother who did the whole thing dragging her disabled kid behind her.  Kid had a little boogie board for the swim and this three-wheeled bike contraption for the other legs of the race.  Really impressive.

It was possible to check the times and standings in real time, so after I was done and I recovered a little I checked the info.  Looked like I had finished in 9th place overall, 7th place among men, and 3rd place for my age group (40-49).  Oh well, only the top two for each age group get medals so I missed out.  Or did I?  Somehow between the time that I checked my phone and when they announced winners, some guy that finished ahead of me got disqualified.  Really curious what disqualified him, but anyway, I got a second place medal for my age group (out of 6 participants in my age group).

Here were my times:

Swim -- 00:25:24 (I'm pretty sure this was somewhat less than a full mile.  It's faster than I swim in the pool and some other guy I talked to said that his time was significantly faster than he normally swims a mile)

T1 -- 00:01:23

Bike -- 01:29:18 (this was supposed to be 25 miles but it actually was 26.8 or something)

T2 -- 00:00:45

Run -- 00:59:32 (10k)

Elapsed -- 02:56:24

ETA:  I just looked at the times again and it looks like the guy that beat me but got DQed was about a minute behind me after the bike but then did the run in 29 minutes.   I'm guessing he ran the 5K course (for the sprint tri) instead of the 10K course.

 

[Sand]

Question for the knowledgeable - how much of a difference does a fancy bike make?  My bike is 15 years old, not really in great condition, no clip-in pedals or drop-down handlebars.  It's a road bike but not really a racing bike.

Probably 3mph or so, to make it simple.  For you it would have made a 5 minute difference or so.  Given your time likely not enough to make a huge amount of difference.

BTW you can take a huge chunk out of that by putting on a set of clip on aerobars (and using them!).  The position makes, by far, the biggest difference.

 

[Sand]

To add to my comments - read this.   Biggest difference is the TT suit and position.  Assuming you were in a tri-suit that takes care of that to a large extent.   As far as buying speed the cheapest thing to buy is an aero helmet.  The rest I wouldn't bother with.  One thing not in there is good tires.  If you're running Armadillos those are anchors.  Next time you buy tires just buy some Continental 4000s and forget about it.  

But, really, other than clip-on aerobars and maybe an aero helmet ( I bought mine cheap on ebay) I wouldn't sweat the rest of it.

 

[FUBAR]

OK, so here's some highlights from my first Olympic distance triathlon:

Woke up at like 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep.  Ate breakfast and fussed around until I left for the race at 5:30.  Race started at 7:00.

I know I said it was a tiny race, but it turned out to be even tinier than I thought.  There were only 25 people total doing the Olympic Distance race -- 17 men and 8 women.  It was so small we didn't even have a staggered start -- all 25 just got in the water and started at the same time. 

Swim went pretty smoothly.  I had trouble, like, swimming in a straight line.  Went off the ideal course right at the start.  When I got back on track I tried to stay near some guy who seemed like he knew what he was doing, but he kicked me a few times so i figured I better give him a little space.  Near the end I totally collided with some woman, we both popped our heads out of the water and said sorry.  I was pretty disoriented about where I was in the pack -- I knew some folks were ahead of me and some behind me, but I really had no idea what place I was in after the swim.  Looking at the race results now, it looks like I was in 7th overall after the swim.

First transition was OK.  Drank some water, threw a shirt, socks, shoes and helmet on as quickly as I could and took off. 

Bike felt OK to me.  I passed one woman but got passed by like 4 guys.  I really did feel like my bike put me at a big disadvantage, though.  Just seemed like the people passing me weren't pedaling faster or harder than me, just had better bikes.   At about mile 15 I drank some water, tried to put my water bottle back in the holder, missed and dropped it on the ground.  Didn't want to stop to pick it up so it's gone forever and I didn't get to drink for the last 10+ miles.  Oh well.

Second transition I was feeling a little weak.  Drank some water and grabbed a banana and apple and started out of the transition area.  Whoops, still have helmet on.  Threw it back where my bike was and got moving.

Run did not feel good at all.  Legs were cramping up for the first mile or two and I could feel myself moving really slowly.  Apple and banana and water stations helped with some of the low energy and leg cramps but my stomach started feeling a little bloated. Whatever, I just kept running very slowly.  Got passed by a 19-year-old girl, but actually passed some guy that was alternating walking and running.  We were so spread out that I didn't see anyone in front or behind me for almost the entire run.  Tried to pick up the pace a little near the end but wasn't exactly motoring.  Still it felt good to cross the finish line at something resembling a running pace.

Coolest thing at the race was a mother who did the whole thing dragging her disabled kid behind her.  Kid had a little boogie board for the swim and this three-wheeled bike contraption for the other legs of the race.  Really impressive.

It was possible to check the times and standings in real time, so after I was done and I recovered a little I checked the info.  Looked like I had finished in 9th place overall, 7th place among men, and 3rd place for my age group (40-49).  Oh well, only the top two for each age group get medals so I missed out.  Or did I?  Somehow between the time that I checked my phone and when they announced winners, some guy that finished ahead of me got disqualified.  Really curious what disqualified him, but anyway, I got a second place medal for my age group (out of 6 participants in my age group).

Here were my times:

Swim -- 00:25:24 (I'm pretty sure this was somewhat less than a full mile.  It's faster than I swim in the pool and some other guy I talked to said that his time was significantly faster than he normally swims a mile)

T1 -- 00:01:23

Bike -- 01:29:18 (this was supposed to be 25 miles but it actually was 26.8 or something)

T2 -- 00:00:45

Run -- 00:59:32 (10k)

Elapsed -- 02:56:24

ETA:  I just looked at the times again and it looks like the guy that beat me but got DQed was about a minute behind me after the bike but then did the run in 29 minutes.   I'm guessing he ran the 5K course (for the sprint tri) instead of the 10K course.

That swim time is really fast for a mile.  Like, river with current fast.  

Great job overall, it's always nice to podium especially in your first foray into the event.  Your transitions look good. I bet most triathletes remember doing most of the things you mention.  Leaving the helmet on is better than forgetting your helmet like I did in my first tri (in 1996).  

 

[FUBAR]

To add to my comments - read this.   Biggest difference is the TT suit and position.  Assuming you were in a tri-suit that takes care of that to a large extent.   As far as buying speed the cheapest thing to buy is an aero helmet.  The rest I wouldn't bother with.  One thing not in there is good tires.  If you're running Armadillos those are anchors.  Next time you buy tires just buy some Continental 4000s and forget about it.  

But, really, other than clip-on aerobars and maybe an aero helmet ( I bought mine cheap on ebay) I wouldn't sweat the rest of it.

Good stuff, but you're skipping over the pedals. Are you just assuming he'll get those or am I greatly overestimating their impact?  (I don't think so, but you're more smarter on this)

 

[tri-man 47]

OK, so here's some highlights from my first Olympic distance triathlon:

First transition was OK.  Drank some water   

Bike felt OK to me.  At about mile 15 I drank some water

Second transition I was feeling a little weak.  Drank some water

Nice job!!!  So if you were only drinking water - you could instead drink a sports drink, like Gatorade.  Or my favorite for longer events is Accelerade.

Neat story about the woman racing with her kid.  

 

[Sand]

Good stuff, but you're skipping over the pedals. Are you just assuming he'll get those or am I greatly overestimating their impact?  (I don't think so, but you're more smarter on this)

Makes a big difference with hills, on flats not too much.  If he does get them I'd recommend something inexpensive.  I've been wearing the same Shimano tri shoes for at least 5 years now.  Think I paid $100 for them.  

The other thing to remember in flat races (which most tri courses are) - weight means nothing.  Buy the cheapest pedals in a class (Look Keo should work well).  All you get with expensive pedals is weight reduction - gains you nothing in tris.

 

[Sand]

Swim went pretty smoothly.  I had trouble, like, swimming in a straight line.  Went off the ideal course right at the start.  When I got back on track I tried to stay near some guy who seemed like he knew what he was doing, but he kicked me a few times so i figured I better give him a little space.  Near the end I totally collided with some woman, we both popped our heads out of the water and said sorry.  I was pretty disoriented about where I was in the pack -- I knew some folks were ahead of me and some behind me, but I really had no idea what place I was in after the swim.  Looking at the race results now, it looks like I was in 7th overall after the swim.

So, so common.  Open water swimming is completely different than pool swimming.  By which I mean it's about a zillion times more awesome.

But it is very easy to lose track of where you are and where you're going.  I'm sure you've seen stuff on how to sight (like this) - the key is to practice it every time you get in the water.  I'm not sure how much you swim per practice, but I'd recommend about 10% of it being sighting practice.  When I was heavily swimming I'd do at least a bit every time I got in.  25 minutes is a very respectable time and you could have likely cut a minute or two off of that.

(Just for the record even though I've been answering bike questions I'm a much, much better swimmer than biker.)

 

[FUBAR]

Makes a big difference with hills, on flats not too much.  If he does get them I'd recommend something inexpensive.  I've been wearing the same Shimano tri shoes for at least 5 years now.  Think I paid $100 for them.  

The other thing to remember in flat races (which most tri courses are) - weight means nothing.  Buy the cheapest pedals in a class (Look Keo should work well).  All you get with expensive pedals is weight reduction - gains you nothing in tris.

Interesting, goes against what I think I've experienced and virtually everyone has them, but you seem to be right. 

The Pedaling Technique of Elite Endurance Cyclists: Changes With Increasing Workload at Constant Cadencewas published in the International Journal of Sport Biometrics 7:29-53, 1991. However, it seems to come to the conclusion that they don't really make any difference as far as pedaling efficiency goes.

"...while torque during the upstroke did reduce the total positive work required during the downstroke, it did not contribute significantly to the external work done because 98.6% and 96.3% of the total work done at the low and high workloads, respectively, was done during the downstroke."

This is echoed in Physiological and biochemical determinants of elite endurance cycling performance published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 23:93-107, 1991. There are numerous graphs showing that pedal force is only exerted between the top and bottom of the downstroke, represented by a very sharp parabola spiking at 90 degrees from vertical.

That said, I think it's obvious to anyone who has ever done any particularly technical riding that with and without clipless pedals that clipless pedals significantly improve the handling of a bicycle. A fact which is probably more difficult to verify through scientific studies.

 

[Sand]

Interesting, goes against what I think I've experienced and virtually everyone has them, but you seem to be right. 

I agree with the handling comment.  I also have found that clipless do help on steep hills (10%+) as you do pull up there rather than just push.  Other than that it isn't that massive a thing.  In a tri I've seen folks in short ones purposely use running shoes so they don't have to change a second time.

 

[FUBAR]

I agree with the handling comment.  I also have found that clipless do help on steep hills (10%+) as you do pull up there rather than just push.  Other than that it isn't that massive a thing.  In a tri I've seen folks in short ones purposely use running shoes so they don't have to change a second time.

I can see doing it in a flat sprint.  But dang, it's like you're telling me I'm adopted.  My life is a lie  

 

[ChiefD]

See, this is what is so great about this thread. Reading Sand and Fubar going back and forth on biking and techniques and such, and there is rational discussion. No "I'm right and you are wrong" arguments.

Just true rational discussion that leads to learning something new. Refreshing. 

 

[Sand]

See, this is what is so great about this thread. Reading Sand and Fubar going back and forth on biking and techniques and such, and there is rational discussion. No "I'm right and you are wrong" arguments.

Just true rational discussion that leads to learning something new. Refreshing. 

Dude - you're ruining my hard earned reputation around here.

(For the record, I've always done tris with clipless.)

 

[FUBAR]

See, this is what is so great about this thread. Reading Sand and Fubar going back and forth on biking and techniques and such, and there is rational discussion. No "I'm right and you are wrong" arguments.

Just true rational discussion that leads to learning something new. Refreshing. 

  I'm getting schooled here, but yes, the discussion is always great in this thread.

 

[Ned]

See, this is what is so great about this thread. Reading Sand and Fubar going back and forth on biking and techniques and such, and there is rational discussion. No "I'm right and you are wrong" arguments.

Just true rational discussion that leads to learning something new. Refreshing. 

Shut up, #######.  

Spoiler

 

[Ned]

Week 1 of training went better than I'd ever ask for...

M: 6 recovery @ 8:50/131 151 SI didn't bother me much.
T: 9/4 LT @ 6:26/170.  Fastest LT I've ever put down.  139 SI felt awesome.  Splits - 6:34/161, 6:30/170, 6:23/173, 6:15/177 
W: 12 MLR @ 8:04/136.  Lowest HR avg ever for an MLR.  What in the world is going on?
T: 6 recovery @ 9:01/129
F: 10 GA @ 7:50/145.  I rarely do this, but I felt good so I decided to just let the HR go, but not break 150.  I was rollin'.
S: 6 recovery @ 8:58/133 - didn't feel good at all.  Almost felt hung over, but I didn't drink.  
S: 17 LR @ 8:08/141.  Damn I felt good.  At mile 14 my HR was still below 140, so at 14.5 I started to open my stride up a bit.  Which turned into a strong finish with the last 2 miles at 7:41/154 & 7:27/157.  

66mi for the week.

This week is going to be really challenging since I'm leaving for the archery world champs tomorrow morning and won't be home until Sunday.  Not sure what the heck I'm going to do, but I'll be packing enough running gear to run every day.

 

[Ned]

ff right now includes Fubar, Ned, pbm107, duck,  juxt, Nigel 

That's 6. Good start, I think 10-16 works. 

Add steel, sand, tri = 9

There were some complaints about the thin WW last year.  Cap the # of teams at 12 this time?

ETA: text sent to @gruecd to see if he wants in.

 

[phatdawg]

There were some complaints about the thin WW last year.  Cap the # of teams at 12 this time?

ETA: text sent to @gruecd to see if he wants in.

I played last year, but I am out this year. I am trimming my leagues to 3 this year.

 

[FUBAR]

There were some complaints about the thin WW last year.  Cap the # of teams at 12 this time?

ETA: text sent to @gruecd to see if he wants in.

that's fine.  we can also add flex positions and remove the 2nd RB and 3rd receiver.  Something like QRWWTFFKD?  PPR?

 

[Ned]

Lets move this to a separate thread again to keep the chatter down in here. 

https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/745339-ran-a-10k-ffl-season-iii-whos-in/

 

[MAC_32]

Well, that was some week.

Monday - 5 miles @ 8:10

Tuesday - 4 miles @ 8:12 w/a stop at the gym in the middle over lunch, C25K w/the fam + 6 recovery miles @ 8:14 after work.

Wednesday - Vigorous hill workout on the trails (9 miles) in the morning then golfed all day

Thursday - Strength training over lunch then a short MLR while my oldest was at flag football practice at practice that night.  I wanted to do 12, but it was 90+ degrees and apparently I chose a hilly route.  10 miles @ 7:29.

Friday - First rest day in a month, I mentioned it at the time in here but I was very surprised how good I felt given my regimen for the week.

Saturday - 16:27 5K  

Sunday - 17 miles @ 7:36, as awesome as that 5K the day before was I may have been happier with this run.  We were deck drinking and eating various mexican dishes at a friend of ours from about 3 pm until 10 pm the day before, which led to a rather challenging morning.  Once all business was (finally) taken care of I got ready to go about 11 or so.  I hoped for something north of 15, but mentally prepared myself for cutting it off early and dragging myself up in the 5's Monday for a real long run if my stomach screamed uncle or my body wasn't recovered from Saturday's 5K.  I was kinda surprised my stomach behaved itself and very surprised how effortless things seemed throughout the run.  I was actually thinking about going for 20 until during mile 13, but things started to get a little difficult/hot so I started meandering my way back home.  

Another 57 mile week, but my real takeaway was the quality of those miles (7:40 pace) at a new elevation high (first one over 2K feet).

Given all that I expected this morning's recovery 5 to be rather painful, but I woke up feeling fresh and instead had to remind myself a few times to slow it down.  I'm suddenly very curious how this next week is going to play out...

 

[MAC_32]

T: 6 recovery @ 9:01/129
F: 10 GA @ 7:50/145.  I rarely do this, but I felt good so I decided to just let the HR go, but not break 150.  I was rollin'.
S: 6 recovery @ 8:58/133 - didn't feel good at all.  Almost felt hung over, but I didn't drink.  
S: 17 LR @ 8:08/141.  Damn I felt good.  At mile 14 my HR was still below 140, so at 14.5 I started to open my stride up a bit.  Which turned into a strong finish with the last 2 miles at 7:41/154 & 7:27/157.  

Since it clearly did not impact Sunday's run I love what you did Friday.  

 

[tri-man 47]

I agree with the handling comment.  I also have found that clipless do help on steep hills (10%+) as you do pull up there rather than just push.  Other than that it isn't that massive a thing.  In a tri I've seen folks in short ones purposely use running shoes so they don't have to change a second time.

For many years, I had stirrups.  What was great with those, as Sand notes, was the ability to put on running shoes after the swim and avoid one of the shoe changes ...just bike in the running shoes (while still getting good pedal control via the stirrups).  An added benefit was being able to bike around town or to work, which doesn't work with clips and the special shoes.

 

[tri-man 47]

Still building back up with a 36 mile training week (and some strength work at night):

M:  off

T: 8 miles w/ 10 x 800 @ 3:20-25

W: off

Th: 9 miles easy (high SI all week)

F: 6 miles easy

S: 7 miles easy, some hills

S: 6 miles w/ 12 x 400 @ :90

Too hot for productive tempo runs, so focused on the intervals instead.  Fine with me, 'cause I really enjoy the track work.  Very pleased with the number of reps.  Now I just need to bring down the times.

 

[FUBAR]

Still building back up with a 36 mile training week (and some strength work at night):

T: 8 miles w/ 10 x 800 @ 3:20-25

S: 6 miles w/ 12 x 400 @ :90

  just curious - how well do your 800s match your 200s swim?  400 vs. 100?  I think mine are pretty close to equal, maybe a little fast running but within 5%

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

For many years, I had stirrups.  What was great with those, as Sand notes, was the ability to put on running shoes after the swim and avoid one of the shoe changes ...just bike in the running shoes (while still getting good pedal control via the stirrups).  An added benefit was being able to bike around town or to work, which doesn't work with clips and the special shoes.

Yes, I have these and this is what I did on Saturday.  One drawback though was that I was sweating a lot and probably didn't dry my feet off enough after swimming, so when I started my run my socks were all wet and squishy.  Probably should have done it with no socks but maybe then my shoes would have been wet and squishy.

 

[tri-man 47]

  just curious - how well do your 800s match your 200s swim?  400 vs. 100?  I think mine are pretty close to equal, maybe a little fast running but within 5%

Well that's a different kind of question.  When in 'normal' swim shape, my 100s (two laps) would be about 110 seconds and my 200s would be about 3:45 ...definitely faster run splits when comparing those two measures.  <SNL> I'm not that ..strong.. a swimmer </SNL>

 

[tri-man 47]

Yes, I have these and this is what I did on Saturday.  One drawback though was that I was sweating a lot and probably didn't dry my feet off enough after swimming, so when I started my run my socks were all wet and squishy.  Probably should have done it with no socks but maybe then my shoes would have been wet and squishy.

It depends to some degree on the socks and the shoes.  My lightweight racing shoes (Asics DS Racer 10) are quite porous, so any water gets squished right back out. 

 

[Sand]

Yes, I have these and this is what I did on Saturday.  One drawback though was that I was sweating a lot and probably didn't dry my feet off enough after swimming, so when I started my run my socks were all wet and squishy.  Probably should have done it with no socks but maybe then my shoes would have been wet and squishy.

Yep - done that!

 

[ThreeThousand]

Yes, I have these and this is what I did on Saturday.  One drawback though was that I was sweating a lot and probably didn't dry my feet off enough after swimming, so when I started my run my socks were all wet and squishy.  Probably should have done it with no socks but maybe then my shoes would have been wet and squishy.

If you're going to run without socks, make sure you get in a couple training runs beforehand without them.  I know that for me personally, running without socks doesn't work, as I get pretty bad hotspots/blisters that even Body Glide won't solve.

 

[ThreeThousand]

Good stuff, but you're skipping over the pedals. Are you just assuming he'll get those or am I greatly overestimating their impact?  (I don't think so, but you're more smarter on this)

I personally don't think there is any bigger impact on bike times than clipless pedals, especially in a sprint.  You definitely lose a couple seconds in transitions (each way) with the shoe change, but IMO it's a huge boon to your efficiency and cadence.  Tack on that you can likely run off the bike better with less-tired legs, and I think they're the best $120ish ($80 for shoes, $40 for pedals) you'll spend in triathlon.  At the very least they're up there with my $50, used wetsuit that I still use today

 

[FUBAR]

If you're going to run without socks, make sure you get in a couple training runs beforehand without them.  I know that for me personally, running without socks doesn't work, as I get pretty bad hotspots/blisters that even Body Glide won't solve.

and run in the shoes you'll wear during the race!  I have two pairs I can run in without issue, but I need socks if I'm going more than a sprint in most of my other pairs.  Zoot shoes are great for tri, sockless and slip-on.

 

[Sand]

Well that's a different kind of question.  When in 'normal' swim shape, my 100s (two laps) would be about 110 seconds and my 200s would be about 3:45 ...definitely faster run splits when comparing those two measures.  <SNL> I'm not that ..strong.. a swimmer </SNL>

Funny - I'd be exactly the opposite.   No way I'd ever be able to do 400m repeats at 1:10-12.  I'd be way (way) slower.

(Tri-man is a heck of a runner, though, so it doesn't surprise me at all he's beastly there).

 

[Hang 10]

Sooo....

I was looking back at old training logs to see what progress I've made compared to this time last year. Basically I'm about 6-7 bpm a minute better at the same speed as last year. Anyone have a clue what that should translate to when it comes to racing? 

 

[pbm107]

Sooo....

I was looking back at old training logs to see what progress I've made compared to this time last year. Basically I'm about 6-7 bpm a minute better at the same speed as last year. Anyone have a clue what that should translate to when it comes to racing? 

Excellent, I read somewhere that each bpm = 3 sec/mile.  I have found this to be fairly accurate for me. For example if my monthly running totals shows that I average 8 min/mile at a HR of 145 and my marathon pace HR is 165 I am fairly confident that I can run a marathon at 7 min/mile pace.  This is all assuming that I am running the necessary mileage.  

 

[Hang 10]

Excellent, I read somewhere that each bpm = 3 sec/mile.  I have found this to be fairly accurate for me. For example if my monthly running totals shows that I average 8 min/mile at a HR of 145 and my marathon pace HR is 165 I am fairly confident that I can run a marathon at 7 min/mile pace.  This is all assuming that I am running the necessary mileage.  

Interesting...

So if I averaged 7:10 a mile last year for my marathon and this year I'm 6 bpm a minute better, that should translate into around 18 seconds and 6:52 (3:00:02). I'm gonna need to get 1 more BPM better at least... 

 

[MAC_32]

Interesting...

So if I averaged 7:10 a mile last year for my marathon and this year I'm 6 bpm a minute better, that should translate into around 18 seconds and 6:52 (3:00:02). I'm gonna need to get 1 more BPM better at least... 

Nah, you just need to light a fire under your ### at mile 26.15 and squeeze out those extra 3 seconds.

Piece o' cake, right?