JohnnyKay's Group - FULL

JohnnyKay,

I'm hoping to hop into your mentoring program.  Here's some info:

Story:  I'm 32 year old and just beginning the triathlon lifestyle.  At one time or another I've dabbled in cycling and running - swimming has never been my strongsuit.  I'm former military and used to be in pretty good shape.  Left the service to go to lawschool.  During the 3 years of lawschool I gained about 25-28 pounds.  I recently graduated and have settled into my government job, so I have more time to train now.  This past fall finished my first 1/2 mary, just joined the Y, and am beginning serious tri training.

Family:  Married for 10 years and have a 5-year old daughter, with my wife expecting our son March 8th.  They are pretty supportive of me in my training, but I don't have a lot of free time.  Accordingly, I either train at lunch, or before every gets up or after my daughter goes to bed. 

Training:  I just started logging all of my training here on BT the first of November.  I'm pretty technical about my training.  I've got the Garmin 305, bike computers, etc.  I read Friel's Training Bible, Daniels' Running Formula, Total Immersion book/DVD, etc.  I'm planning on doing 2 sprint tris this spring and 2 olys this fall.  In between, I'm riding the Assault on Mt. Mitchell in June, and will likely do a fall/winter marathon this year.  I am self-coached and pretty disciplined (borderline anal-retentive).  My training goal for this year is to basically work mostly on building a strong base and finish my races MOP. 

Weight:  I'm down to 182, from a high of 203 about a year ago.  I was 195 on July 4th - when I started my 1/2 mary training.  I am starting to make the right eating choices into a habit, but still drink too much wine - my one vice.

Goals:  I'd like to get some general advice and pointers from others.  I have questions, like all newbies, and would love to hear wisdom from someone who has been there, done that.  And the power of teamwork/inspiration never ceases to amaze me.

Now, to finish working on the baby's room so I can squeeze in a bike ride this afternoon.  Train well, y'all.

I've left each of you an inspire already, but consider yourselves part of the group.  Sounds like we'll all be able to help one another out with the different backgrounds.  We can use this thread & the inspires to address questions and offer support to one another (you should add one another to your training blog--let me know if you don't know how to do this).  I'm pretty busy this weekend, but I'll try to follow up this week with everyone.

 We've got room for one more now!

OK, timberleaf rounds out our group by edging out JungleDoc.    (We would have snuck in him in as a sixth, but I think he's found another home already so it's all good.)

Looks like we've got plenty of experience here--swimming, running, some long course racing, etc.  And everyone seems to be enjoying the challenge of training while making sure we maintain our family life, so hopefully some things to share and learn from there as well.

So from here, we can start asking questions right in this thread.  Or feel free to use PM or the "inspire" feature in the training blogs if you'd rather keep something off the public forums.  I'll be keeping track of each of your training logs regularly and hope you'll each do the same for one another whenever you get the chance to do so.

I'll kick things off just by sharing how I manage to squeeze in my training around work and family since that seems to be a common issue.  (Sorry if I ramble a bit, these are just some thoughts off the top of my head.)

There's no one way to make it work for everbody.  But it seems that for most people in our situation (work/school + spouse & kids at home), it's hard to avoid the early am workouts.  When I started, I began getting in the routine of 2-3 mornings/wk.  Now, I workout most every morning before work--and this has become the majority of my work-week volume.  The biggest adjustment to do this was cutting out most evening TV and getting to bed earlier.  I typically make it to bed between 9-9:30 and wake up @5am, so still get a reasonable amount of sleep.

I usually manage to get another 1-2hrs/wk during the evenings, but have most of this overlap with other family plans when possible.  For example, during much of the fall I would take my son to his soccer clinnic and run while he was practicing.  Most Tuesdays the last several months I've been able to run on the treadmill at the Y while my daughter has her swim lesson there.  Some weeks my wife & kids will go to an evening "play group" and don't get home until near 7pm anyway, giving me another opportunity to get a workout done without missing any additional family time.

I haven't used the lunch hour at work yet, but that's also a great option for many people.  If you can do that along with several am workouts, you may not need any evening sessions at all.

Weekends vary a bit more depending on what kind of family plans we have, but getting an early start is still usually the best way to get the workouts done that I'd like to do and not interfere (too much) with family time.  Again, during the fall I got in a 3hr bike ride on most Saturday's by leaving home at daylight and finishing the ride at the soccer field for my son's game at 9:45.  I missed breakfast with them, but not much else.

For this season, with IM training, I'm probably stretching this weekend time a bit and over-stepping what would be considered "healthy" for my family over the longer term.  I sat down with my wife before I signed up and explained all this to her.  She understands my desire to give this a shot and is (amazingly) supportive.  Of course, in exchange, I've promised that IM will not become an annual event and I'll likely go back to half-irons and under after this season for awhile.

For all of this, I've found planning to be critical.  Before the week begins I try to check with my wife about any plans she has for the week.  I have my "ideal" schedule which I'll then modify to give myself the best chance to get my workouts done.  Often, I try to figure out when I need to be "done" on a given day and then work backwards to see when I need to start.  This also helps at home, with my wife seeing what I'm trying to get done workout-wise while also seeing that I'm making the effort to keep family priorities.

The only downside to my strategy is that I'm forced to do most of my workouts alone.  There's rarely enough "buffer" time to drive to meet somebody or wait for somebody to show up.  And while it's nice to have someone to ride with or chat with during a run, I've grown to enjoy the personal time that training gives me.  Fortunately BT has been great for the support I miss by not having training partners.  Basically, I've got lots of "virtual" training partners here with which to share the challenges or victories (big and small) along the way (and not have to bore my wife with them all the time ).

Great post, JK.  I guess now it’s my turn …

I also work to squeeze in my training due to family and work.  I luckily have a job that gives me an hour and a half for lunch, so I do all of my weights and swimming then, as the Y is only a block from my office.  I occasionally will throw in an early morning workout, usually a trainer ride in the garage during the winter, but it is difficult for me.  I can often squeeze in an evening workout before dinner, but sometimes have to wait until after my daughter goes to bed before getting in a run.  I enjoy running at night, but don’t have the gumption to try and ride at night.  Like most folks, my long days are on the weekend.  I don’t like to train on Sundays, because of church, so Saturday is usually when I go long.  I definitely get the wife on board with my training plans for the week.  As the saying goes, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy.”  It’ll be interesting to see how our new baby, due the first of March, will affect my training. 

I do have a question or two for the group.  I usually rotate my long workouts – i.e. one Saturday is a long run, the next Saturday a long ride, etc.  As such, my mileage for the weeks various greatly, and as a consequence, I break the hallowed “only increase mileage by 10%” rule.  For example, one week I’ll only run twice and have 6-8 miles total, but then the next week, including my long run, I’ll end up with 10-15 – thus increasing my mileage from one week to the next by more than 10%  Should I be concerned?  So far, knock on wood, no real injuries.  Just wondering if I was doing more harm than good by rotating my training like this.  Any thoughts?  As it is, I like to go 2 weeks at a hard intensity, then slack off some the 3rd week, in order to let my body rest.

Sorry if this post rambles … I’m pretty bad about doing that.

Train well,

Tommy

Well, the new baby won't make your schedule any easier.   But my guess is that after a few weeks, you (and your family) will adapt and figure out what kind of new schedule works for everybody.

As far as the 10% rule, this is mostly solid general guidance.  But there's no reason why a training "block" can't be 10 days or 2 weeks either.  Just make sure you're gradually building both the "short" week and the "long" week and then stepping back every few weeks to let your body rest and absorb the training.  The "step-back" week is usually done by reducing volume rather than intensity.

You'll see lots of talk on BT (and elsewhere) about base, LSD and zone 1-2 work.  Basically, the consensus is that most people will make more progress by keeping the intensity of most of their workouts fairly modest, especially in the off-season.  By doing this, you get most of the benefits of the higher intensity workouts with much less injury risk and a much better chance of completing all of your workouts.  And with only doing 2-3 runs per week, you probably don't really have the base to do a lot of intensity.  I'd save most of that for when it will really benefit you--as you get close to your A-races.

Most of my am workouts are about an hour, give or take.  But I've done 2hr runs leaving the house @4:30 with just enough time to shower, change and grab a quick snack before heading off to catch my train.  I keep oatmeal in my office desk that I use for any breakfasts that I don't have time for at home.

My plan for this year is to do the long runs during the week (in the morning) and the long bikes on the weekend (though I haven't had many problems doing both on the same weekend either which is what I have been doing recently).  But I do know that some people follow the alternating long run week/long bike week.  In fact, I believe one of the IM plans available on BT uses exactly this design (not aware of any HIM plans that do this, but sure it could be structured).

The 10% could be either miles or time, but usually spoken of in time as that is more of a "common currency".  One person may run 8 miles in an hour at a steady effort while another person goes 6 at the same relative effort.  Yet they each run for 1 hour.  But you can't say, I increased my bike volume last week so it's OK to increase my run volume this week.  They're seperate sports and you need to respect the building of volume for each seperately (though personally, I find that I can "stretch" the 10% rule more in swimming or biking vs. running).  There's some cardio-related carry-over from sport-to-sport, but it's the sport-specific conditioning that the 10% rule is covering.

Hope that answered some of your question.

Hello all!!

I too follow an early morning workout routine.  On my basic week, i try to get in 1 to 2 hours per morning.  I find that if I wait until the evening, then it takes me to long to relax and get a good nights sleep. then my next morning is ruined from the lack of restorative sleep.  see the cycle.  If i do work out in the evening, which will come as i ramp up for my ironman, i try to finish by 7pm.  gotta earn family points now to cash in later in the spring.

Here is what works for me:  set the coffee pot for a quick cup as i dress for the morning session, wash down the coffee with a bottle from the fridge.  I set my clothes out the night before.  usually in the garage.  actually,  I have considered putting a dresser in the garage for my workout clothes.  I grease the tracks on the garage door so they do not wake the house.  I'll ride the trainer in the garage or head out the door for a run or drive up to the y for a swim

In an ideal week, i'll get in a workout every morning. 

Breakfast happens in the car, Usually a home made smoothie, pre-made on sundays for the week.

You realize you're taunting jeepgil now, right? 

He's strong!  I know he can do it. 

Actually I need to follow his lead.....all in due time.  I could not go cold turkey.  I'll follow the down titration method. 

Good evening all!

I have some bike parts that i am about to list for sale, but i thought i would ask you guys first.

Profile T2 cobra aero bars, almost brand new.  I say almost because i mounted them on my road bike for a fit session, but decided to buy a tri bike which came with aero bars.  There is minor scratches on the back end of the bars and the pads have not been mounted, they are still new in the bag.

shamino 105, 10 speed rear derail, brand new, still in box

Sorry if i am breaking any ethics code by asking on the group page.

Wow, I think I would go nuts swimming in a 20y pool (assuming I didn't get dizzy first)! 

But, you could still do the same thing.  All you're doing is tracking your own progress so it doesn't really matter what distance you use as long as it's the same for you.  So choose 40y or 60y and use that as your benchmark.

If you go as slow as I do, you don't get dizzy.  ;-)

I'll try some swim golf maybe next month or so.  I'm still trying to focus on technique and learn how to swim.  That and build up swim endurance.  That to me so far is the hard part.

Swimming is hard to pick up because there is so much technique involved.  If you can get some coaching, that is your best bet.  But here are 2 links that might help.  The second one is a drill progression that I used to teach myself to swim (before then getting some additional help through coaching).

http://www.cruciblefitness.com/etips/swimtechnique1.htm

http://www.cruciblefitness.com/etips/swimming-drills.htm