Asphalt Junkies Spring 2013 - Closed (Page 10)

Yes but I eat at 5:30 or 6:00 so by the time I leave the house at 7:45 I'm already starting to get hungry again! I usually eat either a fried egg, a peanut butter sandwich or a bowl of oatmeal with coffee and a side of fruit.

These sound perfect but YIKES - expensive!!

No kidding - that's strange. Why would you pay for advertising? Hope you find another race!

It's on the same channel as the music videos, so basically the gym's personal tv station.  The type of advertisement it is is one of those featuring a personal story of a girl overcoming challenges and finishing a triathlon (I'm assuming it was specifically SheRox)... or something like that.  And my gym is big on promoting triathlon, as well as personal stories, so I suppose they just are continuing to show it for the personal story of persevering through a lifestyle change, or something like that?

Dina, I'll often make smoothies the night before so I can have some energy during the day and eat quickly or at my desk.  The ingredients are up to you, but I've tried everything including tons of different vegetables.

If you're eating breakfast at 6 and are hungry again at 7:45, I wonder if you're simply not getting enough calories at 6, or not enough fat and protein?  Usually breakfast is the one meal it's ok to load up on carbs due to not having eaten for so long, but in general carbs can leave you wanting more food sooner.

I know where to turn when I am looking for bike WO/training plan. My biking had definitely not been maintained over the past couple of months and I just started biking in early 2012. Up till then I had done some easy mountain biking on trails and stuff, but no road cycling.  

Dina-

My eating habits are by no means perfect. But, I can relate to your dilemma as your mornings look a little similar to mine a few days a week. I have gotten quite tired of peanut butter on wheat waffles and granola bars myself. One thing I do is prep protein drinks on Sunday night and then again on Wednesday night. I invested in 6 shaker cups (small GNC ones). I mix the protein mix with coconut milk/banana/and fruit. Making 6 shakes at one time means you only wash the blender once and have shakes for the whole week. I use different fruit in the concoctions to keep it interesting and use vanilla extract or coconut extract to give some extra flavor.

Once a month or so I make breakfast burritos in advance as well - whole wheat tortilla, egg, and I cut up a Veggie Burger and throw a little cheese and salsa in there. If you have a microwave around this is super easy to make in advance.

I did my first strength training workout in over 6 months today. The last one was in early June. I stopped because I was just getting started in triathlon this past season and it just became too much so I wound up dropping it to focus on S/B/R. I would like to stick with it since I feel I am more acclimated to S/B/R and I think I can manage my energy and time enough to do it plus I really miss not doing. I probably won't have set days but as of now I am thinking 3 days a week probably (Tue, Thu and Sun) where I would be able to fit it in by doing 40-45 minute sessions. Sound reasonable?

Now the question for the weight lifters out there. I noticed a pretty significant drop off in what I was able to do, should that be expected after the 6 month layoff? I would expect some but I was a little surprised at how much resistance I had to back off to on all of the exercises. I have a Bowflex so it's resistence.

The other thing is if I am at it consistenly working out for 3 days a week how soon can expect to gain that back? I sort of expected the drop off not doubt and I am not expecting to get back to where I was because before I started triathlon training I was working out as much as 6 times a week. I am thinking I could make some gains fairly quickly but not sure because I haven't had a layoff like this since I started 4 years ago. Thoughts?

I'm trying to get in weights at least twice a week.  Or the other thing I tell myself is at the least do a few exercises each of upper body, lower body, and core when I am at the gym (which is often since I ride the stationary and run on the treadmill there).  It seems more manageable for me to think about forcing myself to do just a few exercises... and then I start a couple and I end up wanting to do more.  The point more being just at least getting in the habit of getting myself to doing weights.

Definitely I think it's expected that you won't be able to continue where you left off.  The other thing is, your muscles may also be more tired from the sbr you're doing nowadays, especially with the lower body and the strong bike workouts you're doing.

Samantha I agree, my focus is more on upper body so I have broken down my sessions to be chest/tri/abs, arms/back/abs and shoulders/back/abs. I am trying to do exercises which will give me the most bang for the buck since time and energy will be at a premium. I think it would help my overall fitness and for S/B/R so I am going to try and stick with it even if I have to back off to two days a week.

Jen thanks and that was what I was thinking as well. I think Dirk, Jeff and Karl would be the guys to weigh in on this. I tried to stick with it this past season but because I was training for the HIM I just didn't have the energy so I had to focus on S/B/R. For this season I think I'm better acclimated so I am hoping to stay with it. It's good to see that you were able to stick with it last season. I agree with you on the leg exercises I gave up on long ago but I know there are benefits to doing them. 

Matt I hear you 4X10's were tough enough. Now I am starting to wonder if Dirk is just trying to scare us and is just making this stuff up.

Oh my goodness!  There's no hope of me catching up with the chatter around here!

This morning, I did a straight 2200 yard swim (plus warm up and cool down).  I didn't push the pace.  I just swam nice and easy.  It felt good to do it and know that I could have kept going.  This afternoon, I did a hilly, hour run on my road.  It was fun!

I know you guys were all talking about goals for this season a few pages back.  I've already registered for HITS Napa Olympic in April.  I plan on making a couple of trips down there between now and then to ride the course.  A friend of mine is doing Vineman 70.3 so she is eager to get down there, too.  In June, I plan on doing the Pacific Crest Long Course Tri (half iron distance) in Oregon.  The elevation is going to kick my butt but I'm pretty good at dealing with it.

Those are the only two BIG races I'm planning for now.  In May, my husband, munchkin and I are going to go to the Road Runners Club of America convention in Albuquerque.  I'm really excited about it since I used to live in New Mexico!  They have a 10K that one of us will run.

As for my training for early 2013, I'm going to focus on sheer volume on the bike.  I'm not going to do much intense stuff.  Time-in-the-saddle.   My running is going to stay pretty steady, too.  Currently, my long run is at 10 miles.  I'd like to work it up to 15 miles.  I'll be hitting the swimming pretty hard.  I feel like I'm such a horrible swimmer that I need to do as much as possible so my confidence will be higher.  I know I can blast everyone on the bike so if I can get out of the water feeling calm, cool and collected, I should be golden for the rest of my race.

I guess this year will be all about the swim.

Oh, I'll also do my usual bike time trials in early March and late October.  The only record to beat now is my own time!  I'm anxious to see what I can do this year (weather dependent).

OK. Enough for me.  If you guys have any input for me, hit me with it.  I want to hear some good stuff.

Tracy we already know how good you are on the bike and the run. We also know that you are a good swimmer even if you don't believe that. If you are really focusing on your swimming then I think you're probably setting yourself up to do very well in your Oly and HIM. What are your goals for those races? Are you looking to PR those or do you think you have a chance to win your AG and podium those races? I think you could do that no doubt.

Thanks for the update about your sister. I was wondering how things were going.

Yes, just one egg and the toast is not substantial. Just 35 calories a slice or something. I'll try eating a little more before I go to the Y next time and see what happens.

And maybe I'll blow the dust off of my blender and try a smoothie......

Oh wow....I have been so busy this week that I haven't had any time to catch-up with all the posts. My goals for the upcoming season:

1. Lose 25lbs

2. Race an Oly in under 3:20

3. Run a HM in 2:45 or under

4. Race a HIM in 7:45 or under

5. Quit wrecking my car. I had another auto accident tonight. 

JoAnne thanks for the update on your sister. Sounds like she has a lot to consider and I hope things go well for her.

Trina sorry to hear about your car I hope it wasn't anything serious and that you are alright.