Team KiterChick - CLOSED (Page 11)

Thanks again everyone!  

I went to the gym right after work, got in 30 min on the spin bike, and 600yd swim.

The swim was by far my best to date.  I still have A LOT of work today, but I feel very confident with how things went this evening!

Nice!- my father and father-in-law are big golfers and they always talk about how each round they have those one or two perfect shots that keeps them coming back.  Maybe its just me, but I think the samething applies to us, every now and then you have that one workout or race where everything falls into place and it feels terrific.  It definitely helps get through those days where nothing seems to be going right.  Have a great 8k. 

Sebastian, I was wondering what happened to you, since I was surprised not to have heard about your race right away. Sorry it got cut short, but glad you made it out relatively unscathed. Just think, now you'll have some cools scars to brag about in the future. Welcome to the club! My first crash was on bumpy, wet train tracks. Front wheel slipped into a groove and down I went. Got some nasty road rash, especially on one of my knees, but otherwise got up and finished riding home.

Not too much to report today so far. I think I'm going to do my Spinervals DVD that establishes your lactate threshold tonight. I figure I should do it now, while I'm relatively out of shape, then I can repeat it in 1-2 months when I'm hopefully in better shape to determine whether any adjustments in my HR zones are required. Will hopefully be doing my usual 10K neighborhood loop for a run tomorrow morning as well...

I may lay off my nutrition tracking for the next few days as I have lunch plans out for a couple of them, then additional dinner plans out as well. I'm going to try to make relatively healthy selections for all, but without the calorie information online, it's difficult to accurately track in that department. I can't wait until this summer when I get back to 15+ hours of exercise a week. Then I have to make a point of adding extra calories to my diet. Not a bad problem to have!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Managed to finally get back in the pool this morning now that I'm done with traveling and I had a day off.  I ended up doing a 600 yard swim.  I basically did intervals starting with 100 yards, then some 50's and finally 25's to total up to the 600.  Basically I realized that I have a lot of work to do with my swimming.  I know that there's no replacement for great technique, but does swimming in a wetsuit help you be that much faster?  I understand that it makes it so you focus less on being buoyant and more into forward motion as well as being more hydrodynamic.  But will it make it feel like less of an effort to swim like that?  I've only swam in a wetsuit for scuba diving which is a whole different animal than one for tri's.  

Hope everyone has a good day training today or a good recovery day.  I'm still going to get on the bike for a Spinervals DVD followed by a 5k run.  

Shane

Yes, yes and yes!!! Seriously though, being a weak swimmer myself, I am much more comfortable in a wetsuit. I'm a bit of a sinker on my own, but with the wetsuit, my back half stays afloat with very minimal kicking. I generally do sprints without the wetsuit, and it's very tiring because I have to kick a lot more. Of course my times are still fairly slow regardless, but I'm sure if I were to do the same swim +/- a wetsuit, the wetsuit swim would be faster, and I would feel better rested.

Good afternoon everyone, I just need to take a moment to vent over today’s workout.

I worked last night and let me tell you it was a heck of a shift. I haven’t had to work that that many critical patients in a long time. Needless to say after 12 hours I was drained. I got my son off to school then took  a hour and a half nap.

Headed out to the gym actually feeling great. Got through my warm up and did 40 minutes on the spin bike doing intervals. I got off feeling tired but still ok. Made my way down stairs to the free weights and suddenly I felt all the energy get sapped out of me. I mean I literally dragged myself into the weight area. Once there I just couldn’t bring myself to lift. I just sat there starring off into space with no energy. I wanted to lift but my body just wouldn’t have it. I just got so frustrated that I can do so well on the bike but totally bomb it in the weight room. I ended up leaving feeling defeated and frustrated.

Like I said, I just needed to vent.

What race belt do you use!?

So, at orienteering on the weekend I won a gift voucher to spend at Runner's World. Beauty! I recently brought a race belt to carry my race number, but i also got it because it had gel slots on it. However, the first time I tried to use it in a race with gels in the slots, the gels fell out on my bike leg! grrrrrr.

This is the one i have:

So i'm thinking i might get a fuel belt instead (with my gift voucher, yay!), like this:

The fuel belt I dont think will work on the bike, so it will have to be put on as i head out for the run (and maybe have a gel bag on the post of the bike?).

What do you all use? Does anyone use the fuel belt? If so, how do you mix a gel for use in the bottle?

Short workout- 30 minute ride/ 20 minute run.  Its a recovery week, so not much going on from a workout perspective.  The challenge with recovery weeks for me, is not overdoing things and actually enjoy some days off. 

I found my old mag trainer and broke that out for the ride.  It feels a lot different than the rollers, but I think I may keep using it for a bit.

4.3 Mile Run yesterday, felt pretty good.

Getting a cold right now though, so going to take tonight off and just come home and relax.

*Bragging*  I really really really like the way my training log looks so far....lol.

Have a great day everyone!!!

Unfortunately since I have only participated in sprint, I haven't needed a belt for triathlons.  I have used belt for road races but only for carrying my number.  I normally place my gels in a pocket in my running shorts.  And for fluids I normally just grab them as I go by.  Not coordinated enough to drink from a bottle while trying to run.  

Hi Sarah,

I would have loved to finish, but the gash on my eyebrow was bleeding way too much, and they would not let me stand up Ohh well, next time

Thanks, I am healing fast! I think this Saturday I am back training. I will try to do another 12 mile run. I believe that the reason he had his arm extended that way was because he was signaling something to one of the cars that were stopped waiting to cross, but I'll never know for sure...

I use a number belt for my races and get my nutrition on the bike. However, I do use the exact same belt you show in your picture (all in black though) for my long runs. I don't mix in my gels, I just put Gatorade in the bottles and a gel in the small pouch with the zipper.

Congrats! And keep it up!

I have a belt (actually several) that I use for long runs.  Do not buy one before you try it on,  Fit is very individual and that is how I ended up with several that don't fit right and move  when I run.  I ended up with a Ultimate Direction belt.  It had a bottle for gel, but that idea creeped me out for some reason.  The belt has a little zip pocket that I can put two gels in.

First off, I'm happy to report that I seem to be getting back into a more consistent workout schedule. I got in time on the trainer last night, then a run this morning. The LT test didn't work out last night, since I hit "Stop" instead of "Lap" on my Garmin. Whoops! Brought my suit on the off chance I can pop into the pool tonight, but am meeting a friend for dinner, so that is pretty unlikely...

Hubbie - I'm impressed you even got the spin workout in after a shift like that, so you shouldn't feel bad. You're always going to have the occasional day where you just aren't feeling it, a lot of times it's not even clear why. Still, I understand the feeling, and hope your next one feels a lot stronger.

Frances - Like Ken and Sebastian, I just use my race belt for my number. Personally, I just shove any nutrition I need in my pockets, although will likely look into a bento box for my bike this season. If you like the idea of having your gels accessible from your belt, I know some people safety pin them on, then you can just rip off the bottom half when you're ready for it. As for the Fuel Belts, I used to use one for running, but I'm very pear shaped, so I found they rode up my waist, so I switched to a handheld one for training runs. I just rely on course hydration for races.

Will - Rollers look scary to me, so I'm all for the trainer from the safety aspect. Enjoy your recovery week!

Tyler - Brag away! You've been putting in a very consistent effort lately, so you should be proud. Hope your cold clears up quickly.

Sebastian - I hope you didn't think I was implying that you should have gotten up and finished the race. With the need for all of those stitches, it definitely sounded like you were pretty banged up! Sounds like you're on the mend though, which is great. Good luck getting in that long run this weekend. Way to dive back in!

Chris - I used my trainer last year without a riser and didn't have any issues, but clearly some people are going to be more sensitive than others to changes in position. Also, don't feel you need to go out and buy a fancy riser. I use an old chemistry text book, and it works great! I've also heard pieces of wood are a good substitute as well.

I have got to say that I feel so much more energized when I work out in the morning. If only my 6AM brain would remember that and stop hitting snooze... Have a great afternoon everyone!

Yesterday after going for a swim, I still managed to get in 13 miles on the trainer and then out for a 3.3 mile run immediately after.  I felt pretty bad on the run to start, but loosened up a bit.  The elevation in the loop near my house makes for a challenging run in general, nevermind after getting off the bike from a spinvervals DVD.  I averaged a little less than 11 minute miles (started in the 9's) and covered about 560 feet of elevation gain.  I felt much better when I did my brick Saturday, but not horribly disappointed.  I've been getting a lot of time in on the trainer lately.  The bike will definitely be my strongest event without a doubt.  I'm finally starting to get a solid feel for where my baseline's are and when I'm improving.  I've gone back and compared a lot of the trainer sessions I've done with similar ones (comparing different sessions done with the same DVD) and I've seen a very solid evolution.  Hopefully that progress will translate to being an even stronger cyclist on the road.  I've only been able to get out a handful of times due to work, daylight and the weather. 

My plan once the weather breaks will be to do one long ride and one long run a week, as well as a shorter brick workout once a week (except race weeks)...along with some shorter rides/runs/swims.  It'll be an interesting year.  I won't set any course records this year in my first year doing tri's, but I will finish all of the events I enter!

Shane

Hi Sarah, no not at all don't worry. I guess my comment was more a reflection of what I was thinking at the time than what you commented. Right after the crash, my first thought was to get up and keep going, but then blood started pouring down and they told me to stay in the ground. About diving back in, you are right indeed, run on Sat, I will see if I can get my bike checked (it looks fine, but I want to make absolutely sure) and go for a ride Sunday. Then next week I'll dive back in the pool, I already talked to the person in charge of my master's swimming group and she said that they have no problem with me swimming with the scabs

Cheers all for the replies. I think i'll get a fuel belt  for training runs where you don't have someone on the course to hand you water! I hadnt noticed the little zipper for gels....that makes far more sense than transferring them to a bottle

I think i might try a bento box out as well. If i'm going to use a gel on a sprint, its most likely going to be during the cycle leg so that it has time to kick in for the run.

Next question, I noticed you all mentioning spinervals so i google'd it and was a little bit overwhelmed with the choices on the website. Which DVD's do you recommend??

Spinervals is a great series.  I'd suggest getting a variety of different videos that focus on different things.  I know they have a pack that focuses on a half ironman.  But it also depends on where you're strong or weak as a cyclist?  I tend to be a weak climber, but a strong sprinter so I tend to work on the climbing videos a bit.  I'll mix it up a bit though.  I like to just grab one and throw it in.  I record the workout with my Garmin so that I can compare.  In the weaks that I've been using my trainer (I have about 300-400 miles on my trainer in the past month or so), I've been able to see my numbers improve when compared to previous efforts of the same DVD.  My average speed is up, my heart rate is down a bit and I've been covering more distance.  It's a good positive reward system since I can see progress even when I feel horrible on the bike.

And it looks like I bought myself a night off from training tonight unless I get in the pool, and tomorrow I work a 24 hour shift so I won't get anything in then either.  I woke up with a huge cramp/knot in the back of my right calf.  I've been hitting the training pretty good (predominantly the bike since it's so easy to set up and I hate running in the cold) so I think it might need a day or two to recover.  I don't want to end up with an overtraining injury that keeps me out for a while.  Maybe I'll go to the gym tonight and do some strenghth training as well.  See how I feel when I get out of work!

Have a good training day today!

Shane

After jumping on the trainer for an hour this morning, I'm happy to report that I've fit in a workout the last three days in a row. My legs were burning on the second half though, likely because all I had available for breakfast was leftover pork tenderloin. I'm pretty sure you won't find "hunk of meat" listed anywhere as an optimal preworkout meal!

In other news, I got my "new" front wheel for my tri bike in the mail last night. I compromised this year, and bought used 808s (I bought the rear wheel from someone else a month ago). I already have a 343 (303F/404R) set from last year, so I really didn't need to be dropping more cash for another brand new set. I can't wait to get them on this spring and see how things feel with the complete setup.

Shane - Nice that you're seeing a progression in your Spinervals workouts. While I did a few in December, I've really only started getting serious about them this month, so I'm hoping to see gains as well over the next couple of months. Good luck getting in some gym time tonight, but if not, it sounds like a rest day would be good for you.

Sebastian - Glad you didn't think I was implying you were a wuss! I hadn't even thought that you may not be able to get back into the pool with the stitches/scabs. Nice that you've been given the okay. I'm sure spending too much time out of the water is a killer for you. Meanwhile, I'd love to have a real excuse to keep me out!

Frances - First, I wanted to comment on you mentioning using a gel during the sprint. I'll start by saying that if it makes you feel better, then it's certainly not going to hurt, so you can disregard my further comments, but honestly, you probably don't need one. They're designed to replenish your carbohydrate stores so you don't bonk. Unless you skipped breakfast, your prerace meal should have provided you with enough to get you through the time it takes to complete a sprint. If it gives you a mental boost, or if you're doing a longer race, then add them into the mix, just thought I'd add my two cents on this topic. Coming from a running background, I've found that the industry has hammered it into people's heads that they need to constantly ingest these things, when that's really not the case...

Now that I've said my piece there, I'll address your Spinervals question. I have 13, 24, 27, 29, 36-38 and 40, although I have yet to even do 13, 24 and 40 (two of these are 2-3 hrs, which I will probably start incorporating in the next week or two, and the third is a hill workout). Looking them over, I'd suggest you get either the 36-38 or 39-41 three pack. First, it's less expensive to buy the packs, second, you'll get some variety and third, these are the newer ones in the series, so they'll likely seem more up to date. I only had one last season, and it gets kind of maddening doing the same one over and over. The 36-38 pack videos vary from 50-60 minutes in length and cover technique (cadence drills and single leg pedaling) and interval workouts. The 39-41 pack is even more varied (hill workouts, aerobic base building and intervals), but are 50, 85 and 120 minutes. If you're not looking to spend more than an hour on the trainer, I wouldn't recommend these. I should also recommend you check out Sufferfest videos, as a lot of people speak highly of those. I haven't done them myself though, so I can't provide any personal feedback. Hope this helps!

Enjoy your day everyone. I have to work on Monday, so I'm taking off tomorrow instead, so this is my Friday. Looking forward to a three day weekend!

Reading everyone's comments about the Spinervals DVD's I think I will have to invest in them myself.  Living in NC I am able to get out most of the time.  But with dark coming earlier and long cycling workouts planned, I think doing a DVD will help me when I can not get outside during the day and need to workout at night. 

I am getting ready to go on vacation.  We are going on a cruise.  I am super excited.  We went two years ago and I am so ready for some "out of contact" time.  No cell phone, no email, no computer.  awwwww.  I think my boss may go crazy.  

I will be able to run on the ship, but I am not sure about cycling and even if I can, I do not think I will be spinning hours on the bike.  I will get some swimming in.  I am sure it will not be laps but for me any swimming is progress.  

I will post my workouts when I return.