Team Polar British Columbia Blog

RE: Haney to Harrison - or - H2H!

mike ruhland — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:45:33 GMT

I will not being taking part in it this year. We have put a team in for for the last 6yrs but I found it to be too expensive these days. If we were thinking we could have put a polar team in, 8 legs and we have 8 people.

RE: Blog victory

scottjacobsen — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:52:04 GMT

Way to go guys! We do have an awesome blog! Thanks Tim for keeping it going!

RE: Lots of racing left this season

scottjacobsen — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:50:34 GMT

I'll be running at Haney to Harrison on a team - anyone else going out for that one?

The run is almost ALWAYS pouring rain. However, I have never in my life been to a better after-race party. It is an absolute blast.

RE: Compression socks

scottjacobsen — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:48:18 GMT

Triathletes really will try any gadget or device. They are more tricked out than roadies on the bike. Now it is becoming evident on the run as well. You don't see very many marathoners wearing compression socks. But a quarter of the athletes at the Ironman World Championship are wearing them. And it is not restricted to the elite or the pros. Here is an example of some of the gadgets a friend of mine has, a recreational, 14 hr ironman type of guy.

Trek Equinox TT bike

ZIPP 404 wheelset

vision carbon bars

garmin 305 (uses on the bike)

garmin 405 (for the run)

SwimP3 (to listen to music while training in the pool or the lake).

Compression tights (I expect to see the socks next year).

TACX trainer with wattage etc.

Swim tub (the kind with jets) in the back yard

Newton Running Shoes

I am sure I am forgetting something . . .

So, either we triathletes are WAY ahead of the curve, and the rest of the athletic world just needs to catch up. Or, we as a group just tend to have a lot of disposable cash.

I must admit though, I love my CS 200 on the bike, and breaking down all the numbers after the ride. I think I will give the compression socks a pass though.

RE: Olympics, Kelowna and IMC

scottjacobsen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 22:33:42 GMT

Holy cow, I am cringing just reading the bit about the chafing - I absolutely hate that! I hope it is feeling better!

That's interesting about the swim, I must have lucked out the two years I did this race. I didn't start in the same place as last time though. I stand on the beach, and wait until a minute before the gun goes and watch to see where everyone migrates to, then find a spot where it is thinner and wade in there. This year my "thin spot" was over to the right of center, a few rows back of the front. A lot of people started from the left. It sounds like my theory needs a little work though . . .

Anyways, great finish Carolyn, pain and all. Talk to you soon . . .Scott

RE: Random ramblings

scottjacobsen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:33:16 GMT

HA HA - that is funny because I was thinking the exact same thing at IMC, when I saw someone with the number "666."

. . .incidentally, I saw the number as the person was passing me . . .so it was good for them, bad for me

RE: Two great weekends in Triathlon (part 2)

scottjacobsen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:00:36 GMT

Hey Duncan - sorry I missed you at the apple.

Re: the swim - I actually have a little theory on the swim that I put on my race report on facebook. I have found that the swim in ironman, despite the thousands of people all starting at once, is relatively tame. For the most part, everyone gives you space, if people start crashing into one another, they usually just back off, and the only really congested areas are the turns. In contrast to some of the smaller starts and races, which I have found to be full of sharp elbows, and the odd punch etc. So my thought is that in the ironman swim, most people know they are going to be out there for many hours after the swim, and they don't bother expending the energy to engage in the "fisti-cuffs." Even in the short races, I think it is a waste of energy, and takes away from race focus to engage in that kind of stuff. It's frustrating though . . .

And re: the CBC commentator - yeah, I think he was giving Simon a bum deal . . .I was screaming at the TV too, and thought he was going to pull out the gold, it was a great race.

Great posts . . . talk to you soon . . . .Scott

RE: IMC !!!

scottjacobsen — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:01:39 GMT

Comment #1 - I am tired! It was a fun day though. I will put up a new post with some comments and pictures later today hopefully.

I saw a few red polar rain-ponchos out there, and my "catcher" at the finish line happened to be Richelle from Polar - Team Alberta.

RE: Swimming . . .

scottjacobsen — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:33:05 GMT

OK - water is warming up. I went for a quick swim this am and it was much more tolerable, apparently it was about 19 degrees . . .

RE: Heart Rates for Tour de France riders

aireyb123 — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:47:58 GMT

I agree that it would be more useful to show each riders' max heartrate. However, differences in overall fitness levels will also affect this output. Thus, if two riders with max heart rates of 200 who are doing an identical amount of work have heart rates of 168 and 186, it can somewhat safely assumed that the rider with a heart rate of 186 is less fit than the rider with a heart rate of 168. Now this won't always be true because of several factors, but more often than not, this is the case.

In reference to your max heart rate on the bike being 163, I don't think this is correct. Your max heart rate is the same across all disciplines. However, the amount of work required to reach that heart rate in each discipline will vary. For instance, I have seen a max heart rate of 205 bpm while in a sprint on the bicycle. And I've seen 203 bpm in a running sprint to close out a race. It took a lot more work for me to get my heart rate that high on the run than it did on the bike. However, this shows that the max heart rate is the same across disciplines. Thus, if you have noticed a higher max heart rate in a different discipline, then you should be able to achieve that same max heart rate on the bicycle. If you are having trouble with this, try going to your nearest mountain and climb it as fast as you can. Remember to spin your legs quickly and push as big a gear as you can while still spinning quickly (at least 85-90 rpm). If this doesn't get your heart rate up, I don't know what will.