kenj's group - closed with a great bunch of triathletes in training!!! (Page 11)

So any big workouts planned this weekend?

Sounds like a weekend of good strong workouts Iceman!  Thanks for the info on the t-mill, good stuff.  Best wishes to your mom!

selonimes - 2010-01-24 1:21 PM Recovery- I had a question about recovery. Does it hurt progress to let your body adjust to program by taking an extra day off? For instance my workouts on Friday and Saturday were not great for my jogging element, but they were good in other ways. I want to make sure that my body is keeping up with the program and my last two jog attempts were pretty bad lol. Bike and weight training was fine but I think the pounding of the jog is just catching up. On the same note of recovery what are some things you do in order to recover. Now I saw Scott was doing a 2 hour recovery ride, which I will get too soon but what do you do when your body just need that extra recovery time? Any nutrients or supplements recommended? And besides something like massage what other methods do you use?

For me, when it comes to recovery days I take very few.   I will plan my workouts so that the legs get a rest day (or sometimes 2) a week.  For instance, I would not run or bike on Fridays, but an easy evening swim on the way home from work would be scheduled.  There are also different effort levels, like what you refer too in Scott's log.  A recovery run may be only 65% of the effort of a race pace run.  In my last marathon plan, I would be scheduled to run at least 5 and some weeks 6 days, but less than 10 - 15 % of it was at a hard effort.  But to answer your question, if you feel the need physically (or mentally) to take an extra day, take the day!

As far as nutricien, a balanced diet will generally be all you need.  Maybe a multi vitamin, but I take nothing else.  Where you live, you may be experiencing some dehydration.  Heat and humidity are tough elements to adjust too.

Stick with it, you will reach your goals!!!

Good post!!!

Good points Scott,

There has been a lot of articles lately on vitamin D and how many endurance athletes are deficient in this. 

One thing that Iceman mentions and I think a lot of people (myself included) under estimate is the value of sleep.  We all have jobs, families, other draws on our times, and many of us added fitness at the expense of our sleep.  But we all need to get more than we usually do.  Besides helping the healing process of our workouts, it has also been suggested (and maybe proven) that lack of sleep is a contributing factor in weight struggles. 

Sometimes we have to adjust as life throws us curves!!!

Enjoy the book!!  Give us some of your thoughts on it!

It has always felt to me like the best workouts were the ones that were the toughest to get in or the ones I want to blow off!  I always think about that when the thought of skipping crosses my mind!

Absolutely Geoff!  Good to see you stopping by!  Still can't get to your logs to inspire though!

 In late 2005 I figured I had enough of my weight!  I was playing in a competitive adult hockey league and although my skills were still pretty good, I was slow and not so competitive any more.  I am also a long time Steelers fan, so at the beginning of 2006 I ordered nutrisystem.  I told my wife I would start the Monday after the Steelers lost in the playoffs!  Of course that was the year they won the Super Bowl for the 5th time (for those of you keeping track).  So I didn't get started until February of that year.  My starting weight was 285 to 290.  Other than a sanity night for my wife every other Saturday, when we would go out, I stuck with the program religiously.  As part of the program I also started walking on the treadmill.  When spring arrived I was able to get outside, I started adding a little running to my daily walks and before long I was running 3 to 4 miles several days a week.  By August I was close to 200 and was struggling a bit with some achilles issues, so I bought a road bike so I could ride some and cut back a bit on the running.  I ran my first 5K in early September that year. 

After that I was hooked on racing!  Started searching the internet for other running/biking activities and races and somehow stumbled upon Beginner Triathlete.  Posted in the NY forum, hooked up with some folks for a ride and have been training and racing with them ever since. 

Anyhow, back to the weight loss.  I reached my goal of 185 in October of 2006, which coincidentally was the same time Nutri System was having a contest to submit your weight loss story along with before and after pictures.  The winner got an all expense paid trip to the Super Bowl in Miami, plus a chance to meet Dan Marino, and an autographed football and jersey.  I was fortunate enough to win that!!! Other than the rain it was an awesome time!!!

I know now that if I had to do it over again I could do it without Nutri System.  That said, I did learn a lot about myself during the process.  I learned what an appropriate portion size is.  I learned that smaller meals more often is better than one or 2 large meals I had been eating.  I learned I can run/bike/swim and not only that I like to run/bike/swim!  That said, I don't think I would change a thing as to how I got here from the couch as I have enjoyed the journey!!!

As a side note, I was taking pills for cholestoral, blood pressure, triglycerides, and acid reflux at the time I started the weight loss!  The doctor took me off them all at my first physical after the weight loss!!!

Finally, weight will probably always be something I have to watch closely.  I have put some back on during the winters, but I have been able to take it back off once the training hours ramp up and I start paying attention to what I eat. 

No matter how you lose the weight, losing it is just the start of the process.  It is a lifestyle change that has to be maintained.  Quite frankly, I at times forget this.  If it wasn't for the training I could easily slip back into bad habits!  But my wife and my race schedule keep me straight!  I am fortunate to have a strong support from my wife and the rest of my family!  I think this is important also!!

Thanks Scott!! 

As far as bonking, while I was on Nutri System I never really had training sessions that went over an hour at a time so it was never a big issue.  One of the things that is preached heavily with Nutri System is the water consumption.  They provide a monthly diary and it has a place to mark off the water as you drink over the course of the day.  Their goal was 64 ounces, but I always made it that plus what ever I drank while working out.

Training for marathons and Ironman races, to confess a bit, burned enough calories that I really didn't have to watch what I ate as much.  Which is why taper and recovery can be a bear if I am not carefull!  But one thing that I have really gotten better at is portion size and cutting out junk.  I very rarely eat fast food, or chips or what most would consider junk food.  I have only 2 dietary weakness, buffalo wings and a good wine (not together)!

One thing that I read the other day, and I have practiced in my training but probably bears repeating here!  Sports drinks, like Gatorade, are sometimes necessary but we need to be carefull when.  I generally use Gatorade Endurance because a lot of the longer events that I do serve it on the course.  But, it has a fairly high calorie count per serving (I beleive it is in the 80 -90 range, but I don't have it here to check).  So until the training takes over an hour to 90 minutes, I use only water.  Up to that point electrolyte replacement is really not a necessity and neither are the calories.  If you prefer the sports drinks to water, there are suger free versions like G2. 

I copied this from my log today!  Thought I would share with you guys!

What a day!!!  Started off by getting up early and driving down to San Diego for the group run the San Diego Tri Club put on as part of the expo.  Along with about 80 or 90 other folks, Michellie Jones (chatted briefly with her as she ran by), Josh Cox (world 50k record holder and also on the Bachlerette a few years ago), Kara Goucher (3rd place woman at NYC Marathon) and her husband Adam, and Dean Karnazes the ultra marathon man!  Ran chatting with Dean for a mile or better! 

The expo was smaller than I expected, lots of nutrition people, tri shops, and a lot of bikes!  Didn't see any great deals so my check book was safe!!!

Attended 3 clinics, well 1 clinic and 2 discussions.  The Gouchers talked about their carreers and how they got to where they are and where they are heading.  Chris Carmichael talked about his cycling career, coaching Lance Armstrong, his newest book.  His stories about being on the tour both when he was there and with Lance was interesting.  Then Kristen Armstrong (gold medalist in the time trial in Bejing) discussed becoming a better time trialer.  She spoke of aero dynamics, the mental aspect (staying focused was the key point there), cadence.  It was pretty good and she was a good speaker!

All in all a great day!!