Is that the sea in your sinuses...

[andygates]

Open-water swim followed by a barbie at the literally palatial pad of one of Exeter Tri's chaps today. A good educational (if short) swim in which I discover some useful things, like:

* Much of my OW swim problem comes from all the seawater getting down the back of my nose. If I trump like an heffalump, this doesn't happen and I can concentrate on my stroke (zipperskate, young Jedi).

* It's not just me, it happens to the other OW newbie too and she's a stronger pool swimmer. Seems that seawater cheats and gets in where freshwater doesn't. I wonder why?

* Tri totty. Say no more. well, I could, but this is public. Visions of loveliness.

* You think you're lean? You think you're ripped? You're a soft squishy plush toy. Ripped is when your sixpack is vsible through your wetsuit. He's young and I hate him even if he does tell filthy jokes.

* You are naked without your HRM.

Comments

[andygates.livejournal.com]

...and why I've found I like tri: it's not interpersonally competitive and there isn't much aplha-male bollocks. So I can kick back into Bishop of Bath and Wells mode and enjoy the boy-candy ;)

(Gymwise, where that's distracting, I just trained at odd hours. 7am, 11am, and 10pm are ideal!)

[skean.livejournal.com]

Nose plugs maybe?

And they wear their HRM's in the sea too? I thought they weren't supposed to be great in salt water.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Nose clips work but it feels like working around a weakness rather than beating it. Plus I keep losing them!

You know, the HRMs weren't in evidence in the water (surely more of a transmission than a corrosion problem?). I'd spot the VTL (visible transponder line) easily. Which means - and this really is obsessive - some of them put their HRMS on after the swim to track their barbecue heart rate.

The mind boggles. Clearly if I were to pose the question, "Do you wear that while having sex?" the response would be a confused, "well, yeah, doesn't everyone?"

[skean.livejournal.com]

Mine doesn't preculde operation in saltwater, it just says that it might not work very well, because of the transmission thing.

VTL under a white T-shirt is very amusing. I got asked what cup size I was.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

And what did you answer? Mmm, man-boobs.

Must get a HRM. Next paycheque's toy, I think.

[skean.livejournal.com]

I'm a 40B (up from a 38A when I got married. Happens to all of us)

I've been pretty impressed with the Polar S625x. It does your HR, and more importantly for me, Speed and Distance using a dinky little foot "pod". So far, I'd agree with all the claims they make on their site. Accruate, light, reliable. I haven't used the exercise sets, for doing interval training or staying in HR zone stuff, but the London tri even had a training plan you can download to the Polar series. I started too late to make it worth it. Nice graphs on the PC too, showing how pussy you were.

Only issue I have is I got the optional bike sensor recently, fitted it, and it works...kind of. The range doesn't seem to reach from the sensor on the fork to the handlebars, so I have to ride with one hand down by the front wheel.

[skean.livejournal.com]

Sorted. Polar Helpdesk good. V. useful motivational device. Would recommend, if you don't want GPS for some other reason.

Xeeny and I have a bet to do an Ironman before 40. Want in?

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Glad your toy is fixed... a bit pricey for me just now as I've sprung for a new lappy but maybe in the winter season (currently pencilled to be olympic lifting, fell running and velodrome racing, honest).

Ironman? Doesn't appeal other than the fetishistic gold standard. A centruy ride I can do, a marathon would be a hideous reach and the swim is still fabulously off my radar.

But that may change. Excessive exposure to triathletes makes Ironman seem less and less silly. Currrent plan is an Oly - maybe London - next year. Ask me after that.

Seawater up the nose

[gedhrel.livejournal.com]

Yes, I bloody hate this, and it certainly happens more than in the pool just as you bob up and down with the waves: you're moving more relative to the water. Seawater makes me sick to puking in no time flat. Think the only thing to do is to breathe out through your nose more-or-less continually. Might mean you're breathing more frequently, but at least you're not vomiting*. My personal approach is to sit on a dinghy and avoid submerging.

* This was my least favourite part of the coasteering event.

Re: Seawater up the nose

[alacerus.livejournal.com]

You'll be glad you didn't jump from the high jump then - right up there:-)