Mndymond and Disturbed275's Awesome SBR Group--- Phase 2--CLOSED! (Page 10)

Wow, that is exactly how I feel coming out of the water! I thought it was just me and my wetsuit cutting the circulation off to my head... I hope to do more open water swim practices this year to alleviate the problem!

Yeah, after looking again at the training plans on the site - I was trying to do more than that! I don't feel guilty about my decision to go easier now, at least for the next few weeks. However: It is hard for me to imagine being ready for my race if I only do what the 13 week sprint plan says.  I need to find a happy medium.

Good to know - I get orthostatic hypotension! This is definitely something I'll have to be prepared for.

That's why I did the custom plan and played with it.  The sprint plans didn't suit my talents or plans.  So, I chose Olympic and increased the swim (since I'm doing a HIM relay) and decreased the bike and run a little.  Then I chose the middle option for how hard I wanted it to be.  I actually spent a lot of time creating a plan and going back and tweaking it by changing the distances I told it my race was to get a plan that aligned to where I was starting and a ramp I was comfortable with.  I was surprised how customized it could get - which was good b/c my A race is an Xterra which has more running than a sprint would and the bike will take longer since it's a mountain bike.

Mt Wachusetts in Princeton.  The Mt is only a 600-700 foot gain... It was the lap around the mountain that got my up to that number...  Whatever doesn't kill you makes me stronger.

First off - you're not whining.  It's really frustrating when you want to go farther and longer and your body won't cooperate.

I agree that you should be listening to your body and I think you have the right mindset - if you workout too hard today it may mean not working out for 3 days or longer.  So, I would listen to your body right now.  I would also decrease my exertion level... I'm constantly pushing myself during my workouts and sometimes it gets in my way.  If you can exercise for the same amount of time but push yourself a little less - that might ease that muscle soreness.  You might also want to stretch more and make the most of ice to decrease your pain.  Finally, know that while you may have to take it slowly now in order to gain that base - once you have it, you will be able to take off.

Good luck this weekend.  Starting out slow sounds like the best option... Having a negative repeat (where you run the second half faster than the first) might be a good call.  Just figure out how slow you have to jog to finish strong at the end.

I'd love to do a trail run - there aren't that many out here.  I'd love to hear what it's like.

OK - So here is my issue... For the last couple of weeks I have been toying with the idea of doing a half iron man sometime this year.  The mileage is not that much more than what I am doing now.  I want to do it to prove to myself how far I have come.

The thing holding me back is 1) the $$$, 2) finding one nearby, 3) finding one on a day that doesn't conflict with my duties as a dad or father, and 4) Finding on that doesn't conflict with my primary primary primary primary of riding a century that ends at a brewery (see what I'm talking about in terms of motivation). Nothing really seemed to line up so I decided against it.

Then on Wednesday when I was swimming endless laps in the pool - I had the idea that I would do an HIM solo.  No race - just go out there and get it done.  I could swim the 1.2 miles in the lake where my families cottage is, I could do the biking along some pretty deserted roads, and best of all, the run would be a lap around the lake.  Great idea.  One problem - it's in 13 weeks and that would really be pushing it.  It would be an increase of more than 20 percent.  The think what worries me is that I'd end up hurting myself.

So, the only other idea I can think of isto do it solo here in MA in September.  While this fits into the training schedule - there is nothing special other than just getting it done.  No medal, no crowds, no beer at the end of the race.  Just the accomplishment.  I wonder if that is enough.

Thoughts?

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Do you wear ear plugs?  I find this helps a lot with dizziness coming out of the water.

I have trained using a spin bike. You get more miles in, but because of the weight of the fly wheel I don't think it is the same.  I actually think the bike trainer is harder than riding outdoors.  You can do some great spinning on the Spin Bike as well as power and intervals which is mainly what I used it for.  It is better than not riding at all.

I use cadance or HRM to determine how hard.  So for my Wed. I forgot my HRM so I used cadance and put it on the big ring up front found a cadance that I felt I could handle, looked at the speed with that cadance and tried not to go below that.  18.4 MPH to 19.4.  I think the cadance was around 70 or so.

Nope, have never wore earplugs. I will experiment this summer. I want to do more then 3 OWS training sessions this year so I will experiment.

Would it be enough to just do it solo?

Anyone out there that has just done their first?

I know with my first oly, I don't think I would have been satisified just doing the whole thing on my own.. but that is just me....

I will also add a 3a) finding time to spend with family and do all the training necessary. 

If you can get over those then go for it!

_{Although I'm pretty happy with progress on endurance and ability to complete parts, I haven't been happy that there hasn't been much weight loss, and the next step up is modifying the diet. I have two die hard fitness nut friends, and one advocates an intermittent fasting program (the main points I takeaway from it are: you have a 6-7 hour window to eat every day and you don't eat outside that, and to avoid carbs as much as possible), while the other advocates an eat many small meals during the day program.}

Any thoughts on which of these is superior?

I'm a small meals person- you just have to be able to control portions.

I got a nice bike ride in at lunch.  Need to start riding my road bike more.  My mountain bike is just more fun (and no cars.)

From experience, I was hovering around 300lb 2 years ago. I started on a site called livestrong. I tracked everything I ate and drank. 

I was at a low of around 205 at the height of my first year of triathlons last year. i am around 210 now. I want to be 190 for july!

What I learned is it has to be sustainable! Fasting=yoyo, deleting carbs? Are you willing to do this for the rest of your life? it is all about moderation and portion control. Canadian tire always has a digital food scale on sale  evey month. Buy it start tracking.

I  will not give up beer, pizza, perogies or any other food I love. I just eat less of it and more of the rabbit food. Pick your spots! Today I biked and swam. Today I will probably indulge in 3-4 beers. 

Good luck, it will come!

First and foremost - your "lack of weight loss" is probably a result of added muscle which weighs more... So give yourself some time.  The pounds will come off...

As far as which approach to take - I'm not a big fan of fasting because it leave you hungry and at risk for pigging out late night.  I think eating small meals is a good approach because it keeps you from being hungry.

The thing that has worked for me is keeping track of my calories in and my calories out.  Since I know exactly how many calories I have left, I can make better choices about how to spend them.  For example - I went for a long bike ride and I've got about 1800 calories left to burn.  Hmm, think I'll have a beer.

Good luck!

If it makes you feel any better - 14 is close to my current average.  Although I clicked off about 8 sub 4 minute miles on my long run today.

Good luck on Sunday!

I went for my long ride today and was able to get in 32 (I've been trying for 40 for 3 straight weeks and things keep popping up...).  God - what a great ride.  The weather was in the low 80's and the wind wasn't too strong.

As I was riding I was thinking about my dilema about whether or not to do a HIM solo in September.  My rationale is that I want to challenge myself because setting big goals for myself usually helps me stay focused.  But it occurred to me that there are many other things I could be working on - like shifting and riding more efficiently on the bike or speeding up in the pool.  While these things may seem small - they are still things that I need to be able to do...  Damn.. I'm not sure what would motivate me more...  Perhaps a nice Saison would give me some wisdom...

two hockey games tomorrow should thouroughly cook me for Sunday's run.  Maybe I'll have another double to mentally prepare for this weekend's activities.  I have been doing homework for 12 hours today for my graduates progam, boooo.   My mind needs a break.

Hope everyone's training goes well this weekend.  I'm looking forward to my first race of the new season.

Things are pretty quiet here.  I ahd another pretty good week of training; mostly running.  Still have a day to get another bike in and a swim tomorrow.  Legs are pretty tired.  Pace work on the track this morning.  Got in a total of 9 miles (5.5 on the track) rest warm up and cool down. 

Eugene Half Marthon on Sunday.  Should be a light week, but still want to get some bike trainer miles in and maybe a swim and definitely a massage on Friday.  Should be a pretty big crowd at the race since it is in Eugene, OR Track City USA.  We are going to run between the 10 min pace group and 9:30 min pace group adn then see what we have at the end.  Should be a good time.

After this week it is strictly Triathlon Training.  Going to hit the bike hard and the swim about twice a week and cut back on the running some; probably do some bricks.

Welcome back!  Glad the festival went well.

Your instincts seem well placed.  It's sounds like your body is telling you to back off a bit.  Sometimes it gets easy to get stuck on a training plan and trying hit those arbitrary distances when your body is not quite ready for it.  Pushing through it can lead to injury if you're not careful.

Feel free to dial back the distances or take an extra rest day if necessary, especially if you're just starting to build up the fitness base.  I remember when I first started biking and swimming and how slowly things seemed to progress at first.  I decided to worry less about the training plan I was trying to follow and just try and be consistent and do a little something each day.  I think that sort of approach can help just starting out.  Keep at it at the distances will eventually come!

Best of luck to you as you get ready for the race on Sunday!  Enjoy the joys of the taper...

She did make a great post and I'll repost it here:

This is my transition set up (as far as the ground goes). I'm quite minimalistic now after many tris, I found I would bring all sorts of stuff and NEVER use it. This works for me for Oly distance and below. I add items as mentioned below for longer races and just layer them on top of the pictured set up. 

Bike set up:

Bike racked by the seat, helmet lying upside down on aerobars with sunglasses inside

Ground equipment is on the same side as bike handlebars and includes:

towel--folded, running cap, bike shoes, running shoes (sockless), gu, race number on belt

For longer races I use a different pair of runners and socks, so I just put socks inside each shoe. Also, I add a running water belt, few more gus, maybe a long sleeve jersey folded (in case it is cold). But otherwise I don't change much. 

I never practiced a whole lot specifically with transitioning before starting tris. Generally my swim-bike transition is about 2min (depending on how far the run is from water to transition) and my bike-run is about 1min-ish. It is good to just practice physically getting equipment on and off quickly rather than a full transition which can be difficult logistically in a training situation unless you can set up your gear somewhere safe and go for a ride, come back and transition to running. You can do mock transitions where you put your wetsuit on and cap and goggles and strip down to put on bike gear and then same deal for bike-run. 

Transition is a bit of a learning experience (well tri in general is a learning experience to be honest ). It is hard to directly simulate race day emotions and how that can affect your ability to say, get shoes on. Temperatures come in to play, exertion comes into play (ie. running uphill barefoot out of 10C water).... If you read a few of my race reports from the past, I've had some instances where I struggled to get socks and shoes on after the bike because I was so cold! Haha. If you plan on changing garments in between the legs that can add too. The tri with the 10C water was like a 6min swim-bike transition because we had to run up that darn hill, strip down, towel off (I had an extra towel), put on long pants and long sleeves, socks, bike shoes, toque, gloves and glasses and then get my bike out of transition. So that tri was a learning experience for me and I had done around 20 tris before that! Don't worry about it though. Just be calm and don't panic, try to get through as efficiently as you can and move on to the next leg. 

I would suggest you practice, if you have the logistical capacity,  how it feels to go from swim directly to bike and from bike directly into a run. I would jump off the bike and just run around in my bike shoes for 5min in the parking lot so I could keep and eye on my bike because I can't bike to run from my house. For swim to bike I would swim and then hop on a spin bike at the gym for 10-15min while wet to get the feel.

(transition.jpg)