IM training... and the beat goes on..

[mommelisa]

But now I have to head outside, my bike is next on the tool stand for a wash down! She got awfully dirty yesterday... The cassette is covered in gritty sandy dusty stuff. Desert dirt!

Ok, I need help with this! I am very embarrased to admit that right before my 1/2IM, I took my bike to the lbs because I wasn't sure exactly what parts I was supposed to clean and how to clean it myself! I always end up getting grease all over the place. Now, I do wipe her down all the time, but everything else???

Can we get together and do bike cleaning 101?? And can we add in practicing how to change a flat??

[mommelisa]

Hey, I have plenty of room here, Lise, if you come down! I know Tracy has a hotel and her kids with her, but if you come down, you can stay here!

[Running Mommy]

Ok, so I thought I'd give Y'all a little update. I woke up Sunday morning w/ absolutely NO soreness whatsoever in my legs. My shoulders.. Now that was a different story. I think the combo long swim friday and being in the aerobars for 6+ hours saturday did me in. Tony was nice enough to massage out the kinks though. He really is SUPER that way.
But I was amazed that from the waist down I had no soreness AT ALL! Occasionaly I'd feel my quads a bit when I was doing a deep knee bend, but that's it. I attribute that to a good long soak in my 60 degree pool right after I finished. I basically stretch out the legs, grab a powerbar and go stand in the freezing pool.
I always take Sunday off, but today is usually an hour in the pool and a short 3-4 mile run. I only ended up doing a half hour in the pool because I still have a bit of residual shoulder soreness. I then ran 5 miles. My left hammy is giving me some problems and I'm a bit concerned about it. It didn't bother me at all this weekend or on my long run last week, but the weekend before it cramped on my long brick. Well tonight that spot started acting up again. I took the run slow- didn't push the pace AT all! And shut er down at 5 miles. I really wanted to do 6... Oh well. I'd rather take it a bit easier now and have strong legs for the long hard stuff. Anyway, lots of ice and some advil are in order I'm afraid.
Tomorrow morning I'm going to try to drag my butt out of bed early to get my hour in the saddle done before my dentist appt to finish my root canal! Fun stuff I'm sure! UGH!
Everyone have a great week!
Denise
oh- MM- Tony- the grand sherpa- is my bike mechanic/washer.. I've done it before but I always fight w/ the chain cleaning thingy. He gets frustrated watching me struggle w/it and goes "oh just let ME do it!".. No problem HONEY! ha ha
As for the tire changing... sigh... I'm not that good either. Actually if the tire is supple I have no problem, but a supple tire such as the Vredsteins I used to run are also prone to pick up road debris and thus FLAT! So Now I'm running michelin carbons and haven't had a flat since(fingers crossed) but thank god because the stronger tires tend to be harder to get off the rim. My other issue is always getting that last little bit of tire seeded back on the rim after you change it. My fingers just aren't strong enough or something? My new bike has 650's and I'm on the hunt for bomb proof tires for her. It came w/ Rubinos I think? Rudy at trisports said they are good tires. But I don't want "good" for the beeline- I need BOMB PROOF!!!

[tprevost]

Hi Denise!

Its so interesting the way our bodies react to the stresses we put on them. I'm sorry you've got twinges/soreness going on; I'm sure it is a bit disconcerting. It sounds like you are doing everything right as far as not pushing too hard, ice, advil etc. It could just be a delayed reaction to the posture change on the bike in combo with your other workouts. I'm just learning about this cold water after the workout thing. I'm going to try that one once I get to the point of actually working hard on the bike. Maybe you should go get yourself a sports massage It also sounds like your hour in the saddle tomorrow should be very gentle as well. Take good care of your body; its doing a great job for you!!!!

AND, you are so lucky Tony will get those kinks out! I'm lucky if I get a few quick squeezes on the shoulders!

I ended up getting some type of kevlar tires on my bike. I'm sure they weigh a ton but I will be riding solo a lot and I do not want to get stuck with a flat out in the boonies! Too scary! I'd like to know what you end up chosing for your bike and how you like them!

Keep us posted!

Tracy

[mommelisa]

RM - have you tried using one of those foam rollers? They work really well, especially on the quads, IT band and hamstrings. It helps to work out some of the kinks that build up. Stretch gently and take good care and try to go easy on it the next few days, they're the worst to rehab in my opinion.

I agree with you on the pool thing. After a long run or a marathon, I always get into the pool. I had two friends who came down to do the RNR in January from Boston. It was the first marathon for both of them. When I brought them home, I made them sit in the pool for about 15 minutes. They were calling me some names, but they felt really good the next day vs. being sore. It helps relieve the inflammation, for sure.

One of the nice things about buying my bike at BR is that I have free service there... Maybe I'll just keep taking her there for baths! ;-) I had Bontrager tires and they were terrible, they kept splitting all over the place. I replaced them with Continentals and haven't had any problems. I didn't care if they were heavy, I was just so afraid to flat that I'd take anything. I know that I'm going to have to try to be prepared for IMFL, though. I told my dh that we need to practice it the last day of every month. (kind of like buddy check 12 day!) I guess that's today.

Hope the root canal is going well.
Melisa

[tprevost]

Denise,

How are you feeling today? Hopefully the dentist was uneventful...

Just wanted to see how your bod' is doing?!?!

Tracy

[Running Mommy]

Dentist went ok, root canals are never fun..
I received my new selle strike saddle so I put that on the road bike to try her out. I think she's going to work out fine but I need to fine tune the position a bit. I still have a few sore "areas" from last weeks 100 miler.. ugh. Gotta love saddles and that tender soft tissue..
My hammy is fine today, but of course I didn't run, so we'll see tomorrow. Actually we'll see thursday- my long run day. Tomorrow is 1-2 hours in the saddle and an hour swim.
Thanks for checking in with me. I can't wait to meet you in person! Just over a month away! OY!!! Next week is the Bon Jovi concert and I realized that it's exactly one month from IMAZ. - Did I mention that I'm a HUGE Bon Jovi fan??!! Jon Bon Jovi mmm mmm mmm- he's one fine specimen of a human being...
Oh- also got wind that they are changing the run course from two loops to three. It will be more spectator friendly thats for sure.

[KSH]

Oh... and I added two pic's from my ride today on my photo page, though I'm not happy w/ my big ol GUT hanging out!

Well, if you ask me... you look healthy! Like an athlete.

What has really surprised me, is that all triathletes do NOT have the same body type.

Just because you (general you) aren't stick skinny, doesn't mean that you won't kick some skinny gal's butt.

It's all about training and what your body can do.

And, let's face it, even when you (not you directly, a general "you") don't have a *perfect* body, training makes you feel lighter... and a couple of extra pounds don't matter... because you (general "you") know that you can kick butt!

Congrats on all the training! Sounds like you are going to a great job! You will FINISH!