Hey Dave, your spadework and rest regime and really paying dividends, 55 wow!! It was not that long ago that kind of effort was a hopeful 59, and now that time is well back in the rear view mirror. Sounds barring anything funky, you should be on a great taper for your race, however one statement you made got my ears up. If they allow wetsuits, you still plan on not wearing one?

Big mistake, and all that hard work in the pool will be for naught. If you go with typical swimwear, the wetsuit folks are going to glom all over you. The couple minute advantage you would have had on a lot of dudes, just disappears, and you get to be in the traffic jams of the single tracks. Just put it on for one swim session before, do a 1k or so in it to get familiar with the stroke change, and bomb the swim with the pointy end leaders. Or depending on your wave, you could be that guy, only dont pull the cling ons, use that 55 pool speed!!!

Was super flat today, bad sleep, so decided on some 200's with a bunch of sluggish stroke thrown in there.

3x(5x200-2swim@3;10/breast@4;00/back@4;00/fly@4;00) swims-2;55;2;51- pulls@3;00(2;38/35/38/32) breast-3;14/3;11/46/47/45/45- 50's@1;00/ back(2;59/2;59/44/44/43/42- 50's@1;00/ fly(3;18/3;16/47/41/45/39 50's@1;00, odds one arm fly
3000SCY in 55 minutes

Just a gap filler workout to hopefully get to a good day where I can bomb some fly and IM

Age group time trial start he should just politely push his way to the front of the line. I have a feeling he will swim away from everyone regardless of what he wears but you don't know who will show up on any given day.

Hey Monty and Abergili (sp? sorry)

THanks for the kind words of encouragement and support.

Yes, just got word it is a time trial start and the course will be interesting there to see how they lay it out.
Their email said" you have to wear a mask to the start line and take it off or toss it in a barrel but it is prob best to tuck it into your suit as you need to put it on when you exit the water"

I emailed them to ask for clarification bc that really makes no sense unless we are then required to wear it on the bike and run and in transition..? very confusing email. I await a response.

As for the start, yeah I will be there early and ready to go. There will always be some non swimmer pushing their way to the front but I am not super concerned as long as I am one of the top few to go.

Monty, so about the swimming first. Yes, it is great to see 1:00 barrier in the rearview. At least for now. My last 100 on that set was actually the most IN CONTROL 100 of the day. I swam it alternate breathing and hitting good walls. Which is where people tend or i do, to get sloppy when tired. It felt strong and like if I wanted to really really go, i could have eeeeked a 57. I watned to pop a great 50 at the end, which i did. Super super happy with the progression and it is exactly what I was hoping when we started this back in feb.

As for the race... Yeah, look, I dont disagree with you. I have purchased the floaty short shorts and will have them with me. However, standing around in 70-75 degree morning in a wetsuit for 15-20min prior to start then swimming in near 75 + degree water in a full wetsuit plus the transition time.... It just doesnt work for me. The heat is a hard thing for me and so I have to balance it all. I think the floaty short would provide the necessary boost to help me get some advantage but not overheat at the same time. It feels like the right trade off. I am of course happy for more input.

Last tempo run this am and a mnt bike race tomorrow before I start to pack and open that shiny new bike case to see how that works.

Tuesday am I have one more swim w my buddy and he will do that set one more time (all 3 rounds) while I do 1 round (the middle one of the 3)... then wed/thur off, friday at race site just activating and then its race day and ha race home. 2:30 flight out !! no messin about when the wife is home w the twin 3 year olds solo and planning their b-day and inlaws coming tuesday... PHEW... trying to dose energy accordingly

Thanks guys.
Its been fun.
Havent felt this fighting fit in a very very long time

daved

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http://www.theundergroundcoach.com

Here is the exact quote from xterra....

Wear your mask to the swim start. Remove it before starting the swim, and tuck it in your suit or place it in the trash can provided. Note: You will be asked to wear your mask after crossing the line, so it is best to take it with you.


MAKES ABSOLUTELY ZERO SENSE....

but there you have it.

daved

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http://www.theundergroundcoach.com

By “crossing the line” they mean the finish line? If it’s that important they should have a volunteer handing every finisher a disposable mask. The alternative would be to tuck one in a small ziplock bag and tuck it in your run shorts. I can’t imagine anyone carrying one the whole race and it being usable afterward unless it in a ziplock or something waterproof.

Enjoy the taper and respite in training!!! That’s the best part in my opinion. I always hope to train enough to get the rest benefit

As for the race... Yeah, look, I dont disagree with you. I have purchased the floaty short shorts and will have them with me. However, standing around in 70-75 degree morning in a wetsuit for 15-20min prior to start then swimming in near 75 + degree water in a full wetsuit plus the transition time.... It just doesnt work for me. The heat is a hard thing for me and so I have to balance it all. I think the floaty short would provide the necessary boost to help me get some advantage but not overheat at the same time. It feels like the right trade off. I am of course happy for more input. //

Listen, I get the whole wetsuit really helps the worst swimmers the most, and it irks the hell out of us swimmers who get punked by a lot slower folks. But this is a case of you are just hurting yourself, and you seem to be justifying it with nonsense about water temps and transitions. Now if you just want to make a statement about this dynamic for yourself, then by all means go ahead and do it. You just have to know that you will give up 2, 5, or more places overall in the race and be good with that. Like I tell my 7 year old twins, no complaining after you have made a choice!!! (-;


At the very least, take you floaty pants to the last speed sesh, and keep up with your buddy!! Be good to get a feel for how much faster they are too, guessing maybe 2 seconds a 100? A good wetsuit will be 7 seconds, so that is the trade off you will be making..


But we all race for different reasons, my mentality back in the day(and still mostly) is that race day is a day for performance and competition. I want to do my best on the day given whatever circumstances are thrown at me, against the clock, but more importantly against my competitors. But I absolutely do not handicap myself by minutes before the race even starts, that would almost always be the difference in a possible win(AG now of course, but a lot of pro wins back in the day), or a very high placing and big$$ difference. But that is just me Dave, I dont presume to overlay my goals over yours. Have a great race, and who knows, perhaps you are a minute or two faster than the rest of the field and it won't make any difference.


And if you are really worried about the heat, couple things to do. First of all keep the suit peeled down while waiting in the shute, and just pull it up in the minutes before you go. What I always did/do in hot water, is let my cap fall off in the first couple hundred yards, put goggles under the cap, and just loosely put it on your head to where it will easily fall off. That is the spot where you heat up the most, and that fresh cool water on your head is a lifesaver to the rest of your body. A long John suit is also helpful if you have one, but gives up a second or two per 100 to a full suit...


Good luck man, super excited to see how you do, you have put in some really great work for a great result. I'm actually thinking about Xterra again for myself, it was the last triathlons I did about 5+ years ago. Kind of moving in the swim/run arena now, but it would not be that hard for me to get in MTB shape for a couple big races. Would like to go back to Hawaii and give that race a go again, just wish they would move the bike off the mud wrestling course first..

 I always hope to train enough to get the rest benefit //

Truer words were never spoken..(-; IT is tricky when you can only do 10k+ or so a week, with lots of interruptions during the lead up phase. How does one taper for swimming in a pool? I know when I have to be out of the water completely for 3 to 5 days, I always feel pretty good on that first workout back. So I always do like6 to 10 days of speedwork and about half the yardage, take a couple day off completely in there somewhere when I feel tired, and then cross my fingers!!


Got decent sleep last night, so felt better today in the hot water, and it was in the low 90's outside too!!


5x500 as(1 swim@7;30(6;58)1 IM kick@10;00(9;28)2 pull@7;00(6;17/6;06)1 IM kick@10;00(9;20)
10x50 sprint set@1;30- odds buoy descend/ evens fly or breast hard- buoys(38/37/36/35/32.9) fly's(35/35/35+) Breast(40/40)
3000SCY in 55 minutes

Thanks for posting the usms info.. l make the qt for 50 free is all.. need to check the altitude adjustments to see if that makes any difference..

Meantime still working back up to actually training..
4x200 moderate, 4x100im hard, 4x50 as 25 free hard, 25 back easy..
Biceps holding up so far..

Definitely check the altitude adjustments, as they are progressive depending on where you swim. I would bet you will get at least one more, especially if you can finally get in some good quality training. And keep in mind, even if you just have that one event, you get 3 more you can do anyway, so you got 4 right now..

And I dont know if you looked how they do it or not, but for everyone out there, they are pretty tough times in most AG's. They dont base it off of the last years nationals, but off the top 10 of the past 3 years. That is a lot tougher, as a lot of swimmers do not go to nationals who post top ten times. So dont be discouraged that the times may seem fast, it is not much under that has a chance to score or do really well at the actual meet. Plus it's just fun for some of us to post up our own individual times in events, that doesn't happen too often anymore and is nice to have those stats as you age up and become a mature swimmer..(notice I did not say slower)

Got vax #2 (Pfizer) yesterday so was ready for a recovery day, but no side effects at all ( my wife and nephew were each in bed for a day after #2 Moderna). So got a 45 minute slot at to pool.

2700 SCY
1500 (21:16) and definitely held back a bit
4x100K on 2;15
[2x200P on 3:00 (2:35-37), 4x100P on 1:30 (1:17-8s]

Felt fine so did 32 minute trail run right after. The workout I would do last summer when I could only get 45 minutes in the pool.

Will find out tomorrow if this was stupid or smart.

Glad you were ok after shot #2, I too had no ill affects other than a sore arm in the days after. But I'm thinking I may have had a bit of a delayed reaction, and I started hammering right after the shots too. But no way to really know, just that I was not sick, but felt what a lot of folks feel who did have bad reactions.. Hell, for all I know, I got Covid and it was the super mild case you are supposed to get while fully vaccinated.

Went to the cooler(82), and lower pool today, after a complete day off yesterday. So was looking for a mini taper, and got it:

10x100swim@1;40(1;26 to 1;18 first 5/1;17/16/16/16/1;11+ last 5) 200IM kick(3;52)
11x100 #3/#6/#11 IM's super hard@2;00/ others pull@1;45 steady- pulls(1;12/11/15/14/16/14/14/14) IM's(1;16/1;16/ took extra minute and from blocks with dan timing; 1;13;69 new yearly PR)
1000pull strong descend(12;32---6;21/6;11)
3300SCY in 60 minutes

Used up every last second of swim time, and felt really good after first 500. Can really feel the extra O2 at this pool, and all those extra red blood cells got put to work today. Started the 1k pull very soon after my new PR in the IM, and was pleasantly surprised that it took just a couple 100 to blow the lactate out and get into a hard groove again. I may be able to taper after all!!!!

Hey Monty,

Sorry for the delayed response.. nanny was out and is out all week so, its just lil ol me and 2 nearly 3 year olds.

I appreciate and respect your perspective and for sharing it. It is food for thought and I have batted it around quite a bit.

I actually looked for my wetsuit, which is 8 years old now.. so no luck there. I will try my floaty shorts. Im good. And I will report back on them.

Please dont take my response as not respecting nor understanding your view. However, the most I am going to travel w down there is a pair of the floaty shorts. Having spoken w a few folks, the feedback has been that rarely over the years has bama been wetsuit legal. At all. Even for amatuers.

And while I have put a ton of work in, I dont necessarily disagree w your time assesments but its all trade offs and no one has the one right answer. I need to do whats best for me in my heart and especially my head. I have done TONS of wetsuit swims in my day and I just really dislike them. Even shorty wetsuits. Shoulders/chest are restrictive and the heat issue is a real one for me. I hear you on the cap and who knows (wink wink) that may happen as well....

So, seriously, thank you. I am feeling good. Got through that last push last week of my super hard intervals in the pool thursday, did my 1/2mile tempo efforts (under 6min pace) friday and a solid 90min mnt bike race on sat. Took yesterday off. Ran this am easy w drills and was running 7:30 pace w a 119 hr.... so... assuming I can not get too stressed w travel and bike packing (that box better be great!!) haha there is not much to do... except get there and rest and make sure my equip is ready.

There was a post about "getting in shape to actually taper" and I think, for the first time in a super long time, I am in that boat. My weight is down too. Its been a solid build up and save for having some 80-90 degree days to train in, I dont think I am missing much.

will post on final speed sesh tomorrow.

daved

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http://www.theundergroundcoach.com

Follow up re face masks.

I know someone on staff at Xterra and they said. Yes. Mask to swim start. But post swim no.
Post race... yes. Mask back on.

So I hope they offer a clarification on that to everyone.
I’ll toss my mask at swim start and have others in transition for post race.

Daved

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http://www.theundergroundcoach.com

Hey Dave, glad your last race prep is going really well, just stay healthy and don't let those kids mingle with other ones yet!

And my post to you was not to convince you, or belittle you, hope you did not take it that way. I actually am in awe of folks like you, that walk the walk so to speak. You are willing to pay the price for what you feel is right for you, and I have nothing but respect for that. I was just giving you my perspective on how "I" like to race. But it has always been that way for me, ever since I made the first trisuit, lace locks for shoes, and didnt do anything in transition that did not take a second off my overall time. No gloves, no socks, rode in and out with helmet in my mouth(allowed in the old days), and did as much as possible while the bike was rolling.

From day one for me I just never wanted to be at the awards ceremony and thinking, what if I had just done/not done this one thing, and I would have won the race!!! Suppose all that still sticks with me, my type A competitive nature hard wired..

Have a great race Dave, and report back to us each and every single detail. Racing has been so rare for a very long time, so it will be fun to follow one vicariously through some of our buddies here who are the first to pitch up..