Thx for the welcome, and the awful pun -- my brother insists that a half-ironman should just be an aluminumman.
With four weeks, you'll be fine... remind yourself of that over and over again, and remember 'hurt not harm' as you ease back in to running. Your running store may be able to suggest ankle supports or strategies for the rough track.
The most important advice, though, is to smile and thumbs-up the course photogs :)
I've done a bunch of triathlons (sprints, one olympic, one half-ironman, several adventure races); I'm very much a casual participant, though, and the only person I race is myself.
Shoe Recommendations? You need to ignore us and instead find the high-quality running store near you (ask your trainer or a marathoner). Pay a fair piece more for your sneakers to save on physical therapy in the long run. There's a *huge* qualitative difference between the Athlete's Foots (bad) and the RunTex's (good).
Training? Listen to your therapist. Most victims of a use injury come back too quickly and wind up healing from it twice. As a rule of thumb: once you think you're at full strength, be prepared to wait that long again. (Tri|Du)athlons are sports of psychology and training, not running or biking; one of the main skills to succeed is don't get injured, and be smart about recovery when you do. This may mean skipping your race.
Advice for first-time? When you pass the course photographer, compose yourself, smile, and maybe even flash a "Thumbs-up". Coach yourself: be encouraging; compare your state to how you felt during workouts; remind yourself that you're well prepared for this. You're really just doing a few easy workouts in a row, so *don't* gauge your progress against the whole race distance, just water station to water station. If possible, do a coupla workouts along the actual race route (or at least pre-drive it); picture yourself there on race day.
When you start hurting during the race, it's "Check in Check out" / "Hurt, not Harm". Check in: Hurting? Good! This leaves you stronger after recovery; remind yourself of that, then stop thinking about it (check out). Harm? Be strong -- stop the race (check out).
Transitions? Don't worry about the transitions. For your first race make yourself waste some transition time: catch your breath, use the can, eat a powerbar. You're getting your personal best no matter what your time!
With that said, get in 1 or 2 "brick" workouts: bike/run, bike/run, called "bricks" for how your legs feel going to the run. Find a 1/4mi track near bikeable streets, set up as you will at the race, and do two reps, with full rest between reps, of 3 mi bike / 0.75 mile run with no rest from bike to run. This will be a very hard workout: scale back if needed, but do two reps. The main thing is to find out what you need for the transition and are ready for the brick feeling.
Bike Toys? Don't do anything in the race that you haven't done in training. If the bike is working for you now, it'll work for you then. Carry a spare tube, a powerbar, buy/borrow a CO2 inflator, and most importantly learn how to change a tire. You damsure want to finish this race, so be ready to fix a flat on the road. *Don't* just train on either stationary bike or treadmill. Get in some road training, and perhaps a couple bricks.
Anyone else go thru this? I struggled with shin splints for a while, until the right shoes, a custom orthotic, and a long long break from running fixed it. You may also need all three. Shoes+orthotics are expensive but cost *way* less than physical therapy. Don't do this race if you haven't fully recovered: there are races all spring and summer. Consider doing this race as a relay, since it sounds like you're in good biking shape (most race organizers will allow this): talk a friend into taking the run leg, then sign you both up for a duathlon next month.
Joker is better than most. I use it and sometime soon plan to bite the bullet and move the rest of my domains over to it.
The interface is straightforward and uncluttered but still somewhat opaque and balky. Still, better than the disastrous Geocities feel of GoDaddy or eNom. I'm surprised no one I've seen has made a nice fluid interface for DNS configuration -- a straightforward but jargon-laden process.
Thx for the welcome, and the awful pun -- my brother insists that a half-ironman should just be an aluminumman. With four weeks, you'll be fine... remind yourself of that over and over again, and remember 'hurt not harm' as you ease back in to running. Your running store may be able to suggest ankle supports or strategies for the rough track. The most important advice, though, is to smile and thumbs-up the course photogs :)
posted by mrflip 16 years ago
I've done a bunch of triathlons (sprints, one olympic, one half-ironman, several adventure races); I'm very much a casual participant, though, and the only person I race is myself.
- Shoe Recommendations?
- Training?
- Advice for first-time?
- Transitions?
- Bike Toys?
- Anyone else go thru this?
More good stuff here and hereYou need to ignore us and instead find the high-quality running store near you (ask your trainer or a marathoner). Pay a fair piece more for your sneakers to save on physical therapy in the long run. There's a *huge* qualitative difference between the Athlete's Foots (bad) and the RunTex's (good).
Listen to your therapist. Most victims of a use injury come back too quickly and wind up healing from it twice. As a rule of thumb: once you think you're at full strength, be prepared to wait that long again. (Tri|Du)athlons are sports of psychology and training, not running or biking; one of the main skills to succeed is don't get injured, and be smart about recovery when you do. This may mean skipping your race.
When you pass the course photographer, compose yourself, smile, and maybe even flash a "Thumbs-up". Coach yourself: be encouraging; compare your state to how you felt during workouts; remind yourself that you're well prepared for this. You're really just doing a few easy workouts in a row, so *don't* gauge your progress against the whole race distance, just water station to water station. If possible, do a coupla workouts along the actual race route (or at least pre-drive it); picture yourself there on race day. When you start hurting during the race, it's "Check in Check out" / "Hurt, not Harm". Check in: Hurting? Good! This leaves you stronger after recovery; remind yourself of that, then stop thinking about it (check out). Harm? Be strong -- stop the race (check out).
Don't worry about the transitions. For your first race make yourself waste some transition time: catch your breath, use the can, eat a powerbar. You're getting your personal best no matter what your time! With that said, get in 1 or 2 "brick" workouts: bike/run, bike/run, called "bricks" for how your legs feel going to the run. Find a 1/4mi track near bikeable streets, set up as you will at the race, and do two reps, with full rest between reps, of 3 mi bike / 0.75 mile run with no rest from bike to run. This will be a very hard workout: scale back if needed, but do two reps. The main thing is to find out what you need for the transition and are ready for the brick feeling.
Don't do anything in the race that you haven't done in training. If the bike is working for you now, it'll work for you then. Carry a spare tube, a powerbar, buy/borrow a CO2 inflator, and most importantly learn how to change a tire. You damsure want to finish this race, so be ready to fix a flat on the road. *Don't* just train on either stationary bike or treadmill. Get in some road training, and perhaps a couple bricks.
I struggled with shin splints for a while, until the right shoes, a custom orthotic, and a long long break from running fixed it. You may also need all three. Shoes+orthotics are expensive but cost *way* less than physical therapy. Don't do this race if you haven't fully recovered: there are races all spring and summer. Consider doing this race as a relay, since it sounds like you're in good biking shape (most race organizers will allow this): talk a friend into taking the run leg, then sign you both up for a duathlon next month.
posted by mrflip 16 years ago
In "Curious George: I need a new Domain Registrar"
Joker is better than most. I use it and sometime soon plan to bite the bullet and move the rest of my domains over to it. The interface is straightforward and uncluttered but still somewhat opaque and balky. Still, better than the disastrous Geocities feel of GoDaddy or eNom. I'm surprised no one I've seen has made a nice fluid interface for DNS configuration -- a straightforward but jargon-laden process.
posted by mrflip 16 years ago
(limited to the most recent 20 comments)