PNW Tri Novices

[Wahine]

It's true about the Pam breaking down neoprene, but it's OK for occasional use. It's a matter of convenience for some... Pam sprays on while body glide takes a lot longer to coat your legs etc. But if you want your wetsuit to last a really long time, I wouldn't use Pam. Hence the reason why I don't.

[Sprocket's Mom]

I just wanted people to be aware of the potential downside before they went to Costco and loaded up on cases of Pam!
Once ya know the scoop, then you can make informed decisions. Like you Wahine, I want my suit to last a long time. Of course at this rate I'm not the one getting the use out of it....but oh well, at least it's getting some good races in while I cheer from the far far off sidelines!

[Wahine]

But if you keep telling people this stuff my stock in Pam is going to go down in value!!

Seriously though, it's a really good point that I should have mentioned so thanks for catching it.

[salsabike]

I meant to post on here Sunday night to say that I'd gone that day to a Mary Meyer pool clinic in Seattle, and it was GREAT. Just what I needed. All the basics of what makes for an efficient freestyle, and drills for an hour. Uh, it really HAS changed since they taught me at good old Camp Yowochas in 1963. So that was an excellent thing to do.

Today I spent starting to create the muscle memories for all that. I didn't worry about fast or even about extending how many laps I can do without stopping. I just practiced everything they'd told me, probably about 18 laps' worth of practice. I plan to do that again Thursday, and then do the pool clinic one more time on Sunday. I don't have anyone to tell me exactly what to do, but I THINK that getting the stroke/form correct and into muscle memory comes before worrying about endurance, and that doing it correctly will help with endurance/pacing/breathing/whatever it is I'm trying to say! Then, I plan to do one of their OWS clinics on July 12.

Then I hiked down to the beach and back up, just a couple of miles. Set to take a four hour chi running workshop this coming Saturday. Still have no idea whether I'll like running or not, but will find out.

I would dearly love to hear from other newbies here on how they are doing with their training and what they're working one.

PS Arggh. Water in my right ear, staying longer every time. Earplug?

[dex]

Sounds like things are really on track for you, Salsa. Very cool.

(WARNING: Lots of whining ahead...)

I'm feeling a little blah about anything related to exercise lately. (Except weightlifting, but that's not going to help me much with the whole getting ready to swim-bike-run thing.)

I can't seem to get interested in the swimming. I think this is partly a logistics thing--it's a hassle to get to a pool--but also partly just a frustration thing. The last few times I went, I just felt uncoordinated and kind of, well, dumb. I'm not sure what happened. I didn't have these problems in the early part of the year (when swimming was all my PT was ok with me doing), they've just cropped up in the last few weeks. Maybe I should try one of those clinics. I mean, it can't hurt. (Except the embarrassment of looking like a way out of shape, uncoordinated dumb thing in front of other people.)

The bike. Eh. I'm riding occasionally, but not as often as I probably should. Definitely not as much as last year, but then again I'm not trying to get ready for the STP like I was last year. I'm not overly concerned about the bike part, I just wish it was more *fun*.

Running. Well, I try not to think too much about running. I walk. I have occasional short bits of jogging mixed into the walking. Realistically, that's probably about as good as it's going to get for me. If I try to walk too much (or mix in just a bit too much of the short jogging bursts), my knee gets cranky and starts to swell. So I just try to avoid that. Right now, three miles is my upper limit for walking without incurring the Wrath of Cranky Knee. My hope is that will improve a bit as summer progresses--the weird spring weather put a bit of a damper (no pun intended) on getting outside and doing these things earlier. But it is discouraging sometimes to think that I may *just* be able to complete this event, and it's probably going to hurt a little.

Ok, I'm done whining. Sorry 'bout that. I now return you to your regularly scheduled TE awesomeness.

[Wahine]

I don't have anyone to tell me exactly what to do, but I THINK that getting the stroke/form correct and into muscle memory comes before worrying about endurance, and that doing it correctly will help with endurance/pacing/breathing/whatever it is I'm trying to say! Then, I plan to do one of their OWS clinics on July 12.

....


PS Arggh. Water in my right ear, staying longer every time. Earplug?

If there's a question in there the answer is ... Yes, yes, yes and yes. Great plan.

[salsabike]

Thanks, Wahine. I am having a ton of fun, especially now that I am on vacation from both jobs until late August. I didn't have much vacation the last two years, so for the next month and a half I plan to train and weave. Weave and train. That's IT.

Dex, come to this Sunday's pool clinic with me! That way there will be at least two of us who feel overweight, uncoordinated and dumb. And we'll do it anyway and leave feeling better, which is what happened when I went last week. Remember, I'm 70 pounds overweight. I am just fixedly ignoring any thoughts about how I look.

I have a Part B to my philosophy of life as articulated last year (Part A: If I'm not feeling like an idiot regularly, then I'm just not being adventurous enough), and I actually identified this Part B while driving to the pool clinic last Sunday, having never gone before and feeling pretty nervous about it. Part B (small drumroll) is: Do everything you're afraid of. (Because often it works out well when you actually do it). (no, I don't mean EVERYTHING. I still plan on never sticking my finger into a cobra's mouth, or whatever).

Sadly, I told this Part B to Chris when I got home, all excited, from the pool clinic, and he now thinks I am obligated to go do Juanita Hill on my bike because I said I was afraid of it. Juanita Hill is not steep but it is very, very long, about 2 1/2 miles. It's a favorite among area cyclists. We've done it on the tandem several times. The pool I swim at--which, Dex, is really nice, by the way, in case you want to come there--is WHERE ELSE? Right at the dang top of Juanita Hill. I think that in a few more weeks, I will have to try it.

I'm not usually this yakketty online. It's all the adrenalin.

[Wahine]

Dex, come to this Sunday's pool clinic with me! That way there will be at least two of us who feel overweight, uncoordinated and dumb. And we'll do it anyway and leave feeling better, which is what happened when I went last week. Remember, I'm 70 pounds overweight. I am just fixedly ignoring any thoughts about how I look.

FABULOUS IDEA.

I have a Part B to my philosophy of life as articulated last year (Part A: If I'm not feeling like an idiot regularly, then I'm just not being adventurous enough), and I actually identified this Part B while driving to the pool clinic last Sunday, having never gone before and feeling pretty nervous about it. Part B (small drumroll) is: Do everything you're afraid of. (Because often it works out well when you actually do it). (no, I don't mean EVERYTHING. I still plan on never sticking my finger into a cobra's mouth, or whatever).

Excellent way to live.

Sadly, I told this Part B to Chris when I got home, all excited, from the pool clinic, and he now thinks I am obligated to go do Juanita Hill on my bike because I said I was afraid of it. Juanita Hill is not steep but it is very, very long, about 2 1/2 miles. It's a favorite among area cyclists. We've done it on the tandem several times. The pool I swim at--which, Dex, is really nice, by the way, in case you want to come there--is WHERE ELSE? Right at the dang top of Juanita Hill. I think that in a few more weeks, I will have to try it.

This will be an excellent warm-up for Snowden hill that is pretty much straight out my back yard. We'll be doing it on the Tri camp weekend. It's a 6 1/2 mile climb at mostly 6 to 8 % I'd guess. It's about a total of 1500 feet of elevation gain in that distance.



......



Just kidding. Well I wasn't kidding about the hill, it is there. I was kidding about making you ride up it.
Unless of course you want to. Then I'm more than happy to oblige.

[dex]

Dex, come to this Sunday's pool clinic with me!

Send me details and I'll be there. (I'm actually free on Sunday, so this can totally happen.)

I'm totally down with your Life Philosophy Part B. One of my tattoos is to remind me to do almost exactly that, and placed such that I can't escape seeing it many times a day. I suppose that's why I do things like moving cross-country without knowing anyone here, randomly taking up rowing, deciding to ride the STP before figuring out if I could even ride a bike farther than a mile or two, quitting my Very Stable Job with no plan other than Do Something Besides This, and signing up for this tri on a whim. Hah!

(I'm over my whining now. I think some of that was the product of a very long couple of days at work.)

[salsabike]

This will be an excellent warm-up for Snowden hill that is pretty much straight out my back yard. We'll be doing it on the Tri camp weekend. It's a 6 1/2 mile climb at mostly 6 to 8 % I'd guess. It's about a total of 1500 feet of elevation gain in that distance.

Just kidding. Well I wasn't kidding about the hill, it is there. I was kidding about making you ride up it.
Unless of course you want to. Then I'm more than happy to oblige.

Well, just fire up the pickup truck and get the tow rope attached to my Bianchi. Ms. Sadist.

Send me details and I'll be there. (I'm actually free on Sunday, so this can totally happen.)

I'm totally down with your Life Philosophy Part B. One of my tattoos is to remind me to do almost exactly that, and placed such that I can't escape seeing it many times a day. I suppose that's why I do things like moving cross-country without knowing anyone here, randomly taking up rowing, deciding to ride the STP before figuring out if I could even ride a bike farther than a mile or two, quitting my Very Stable Job with no plan other than Do Something Besides This, and signing up for this tri on a whim. Hah!

Yes!!! Will PM info. And I figured you were like that.

[teigyr]

Hrmm....the clinic is sounding like fun.

Anyone up for a small tri on Saturday? It isn't sold out yet, is womens only, and is limited to 500 people. The water looks NICE and will be around 68 deg. I'm actually excited about it.

When I first went to the pool clinic (my only time, actually) I didn't even know how to put on a swim cap I had it on backwards meaning the side to side part was forward to back. It was a lesson in humility. That and I was mortified that someone was seeing me in a swimsuit.

I greatly agree with Part B unless it has something to do with Snowden Hill

[salsabike]

Anyone up for a small tri on Saturday? It isn't sold out yet, is womens only, and is limited to 500 people. The water looks NICE and will be around 68 deg. I'm actually excited about it.

When I first went to the pool clinic (my only time, actually) I didn't even know how to put on a swim cap I had it on backwards meaning the side to side part was forward to back. It was a lesson in humility. That and I was mortified that someone was seeing me in a swimsuit.

I greatly agree with Part B unless it has something to do with Snowden Hill

Wish I was ready, because it sounds like a nice one, but know I'm not yet.

[NbyNW]

Salsa, re: what other newbies are doing:

My goal for my first tri is for 2009. I fractured my sacrum nearly two years ago, and I am still dealing with some soft-tissue trauma and muscle pain in my right hip and lower back. I do pilates 1-2x a week plus my home PT exercises 2-3x a week for that. And lots of stretching.

Getting back to pre-injury fitness is like building a sandcastle. I make a little progress, and then something will flare up which forces me to rest and back off and lose the base I've built.

I've started bike commuting 1-2 times a week, it's about 5 miles each way. Cycling is pretty much the only cardio I've been able to do since my injury. Hoping I can work up to 3-4 times a week by end of summer.

Swimming is a little less convenient. I bought a pass for the city pools, but I can't seem to get to the pool during lap swim hours. Maybe I'll have more energy as the days get longer.

I'm not sure when I'll be ready to start running again. It's partly a question of when my body tells me it's ready, and then I have to get over my fear of doing too much too fast and setting myself back.

This week I'm resting. I had spent Saturday planting seedlings in my garden and woke up Sunday with lots of overly tight muscles in my back and hip. Trouble going from sitting to standing and standing to sitting. Sunday night I took an epsom salt bath, Monday night I took a muscle relaxant, and today I went to see my massage therapist, who did a lot of work around my piriformis, psoas, glutes, and lateral rotaters. I think I have control of my muscles again, but I'm gonna take a couple more days before starting on my next sandcastle.

Where is Juanita Hill?

[MM_QFC!]

Thanks, Wahine. I am having a ton of fun, especially now that I am on vacation from both jobs until late August. I didn't have much vacation the last two years, so for the next month and a half I plan to train and weave. Weave and train. That's IT.

Dex, come to this Sunday's pool clinic with me! That way there will be at least two of us who feel overweight, uncoordinated and dumb. And we'll do it anyway and leave feeling better, which is what happened when I went last week. Remember, I'm 70 pounds overweight. I am just fixedly ignoring any thoughts about how I look.

I have a Part B to my philosophy of life as articulated last year (Part A: If I'm not feeling like an idiot regularly, then I'm just not being adventurous enough), and I actually identified this Part B while driving to the pool clinic last Sunday, having never gone before and feeling pretty nervous about it. Part B (small drumroll) is: Do everything you're afraid of. (Because often it works out well when you actually do it). (no, I don't mean EVERYTHING. I still plan on never sticking my finger into a cobra's mouth, or whatever).

Sadly, I told this Part B to Chris when I got home, all excited, from the pool clinic, and he now thinks I am obligated to go do Juanita Hill on my bike because I said I was afraid of it. Juanita Hill is not steep but it is very, very long, about 2 1/2 miles. It's a favorite among area cyclists. We've done it on the tandem several times. The pool I swim at--which, Dex, is really nice, by the way, in case you want to come there--is WHERE ELSE? Right at the dang top of Juanita Hill. I think that in a few more weeks, I will have to try it.

I'm not usually this yakketty online. It's all the adrenalin.

Hey adrenalin-woman!
Yep, Eleanor Roosevelt is known for advocating your Plan B: "We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot."

I've done Juanita Hill in both directions more times than I can count and you'll do just fine. Yes, it's a bit longer when you ride north from Juanita Beach park, however it's not as steep a grade as riding south, up and over it from the Kenmore side - plus it has some gentle 'shelves' built in and a good-sized bike lane. Just take your time, get in a rhythm, with an easy gear to relax and spin, sit back in your saddle, open up your chest/lungs to breathe freely and roll on up there!
Then when Ms. Sadist Yoda starts yammerin' on about Snowden hill, you can just smile sweetly and impress the he!! out of her!
Tailwinds!
Mary

[Wahine]

Did I mention that I like to pull the wings off of flies.

JK.