Baowolf's Fun In the Sun Mentor Group (OPEN) (Page 11)

my name is Wojciech (voytek) Lange, if You ever looking for a good painter www.perfecthome.ie I'm the one in the shirt


Did short run in the morning 5.30am (after my long Sunday cycle) - 5min warm up, 15min jog, 5min cool down. feeling good now, what's left today is 40min swim, looking forward to it!

happy training

RR is up!
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

Just wanted to check in, I am in a library somewhere in WI. No internet in tents go figure. I am doing alright, back about 90 % shoulder meh gona be a while I think, but some walking, 22 mile bike today and 1 mile swim yesterday (bah lake alergies). So Samantha totally rocks for letting us stay at her house for IMCDA, cooking dinner the night before the race and just being the most awsome host ever. Like who lets you crash at their pad, understands what at an ironman is and then volunteers so she can give you your finishers medal at the end 14 ish hours later.

It was great meeting Mitch, he is tough as nails and will own CDA next year, just a bad day for him. Stuff happens, even with the best training, even for professionals. At least one of the professionals was hobbling along walking the marathon late in the day at CDA. Mitch and I talked on the phone and I think he has a few tricks for next time. One thing we discussed was carrying a little zipplock with an 8 hour tylenol and a pepto or something for the stomach in case you just need to take the edge off back pain or settle the tummy down a bit. I think if Mitch could have just taken the edge off of some of that pain he would have been able to finish the bike and slug through the run/walk for a completion. Somethings ya just forget to prepare for on race morning. I forgot ductape for my neck, nasty sore there still from the wetsuit.

I will check back over your posts as I can. 9 year old landed a 13 inch largemouth bass this morning.

Ok so either Garmin's newest waterproof GPS watch or TImex's newest GPS heart rate etc., watches are very good. I have logged maybe 6000 run miles on my Garmin and love it for races and training. It is most useful for the run where you can check your pace, do intervals etc. My garmin definately makes my top 10 in Tri items for sure. 2 Piece tri suit, running shoes, bike/bike shoes.... wetsuit, aero bottle, garmin, swim socks and cap are my top items in that order.

Welcome new people, sorry that my tent does not have internet. I will be more active on the web in about 3 weeks. I am currently 2500 miles into my 5500 mile summer tour. I am hoping to have my training get back on line as soon as the shoulder loosens up. You are in good hands with the rest of the gang here.

Keep at it I will try to catch up more later this week or early next week. Sorry for the absent leader thing at the moment.

Edited by Baowolf 2014-07-07 5:27 PM

So glad to hear from you Steve and that you are doing better! That is a nice size fish for your daughter!! Carrying a tylenol or pepto is a good idea. I have carried pain med before and thankfully did not use it. But I did take ibuprofen before running the marathon in Boston at my Doctor's advice.
Jim, that is great news you are back on your bike!! It is a hot 93 degrees and humid here today in Western Maryland. I may need electrolyte tabs tomorrow for my run.

Ironman Coeur D’ Alene RR!

It was an amazing day in many ways. The journey for me started 6 months ago with some big training and weight loss. However, 1 week before the race I was training hard and ended up putting my back and shoulder into spasm. I went to a massage therapist on Monday and that did not help at all. The 750 mile drive to Coeur D’ Alene was extremely painful and I ended up with a doctor prescribing muscle relaxants 2 days before the race. For 3 days I was in agonizing pain, being unable to sit in a chair, just lying flat on the floor alternating ice and heat or pacing in circles. My family was worried about me and my friends thought I would not be able to even start the race. Both physically and emotionally it was very intense. At 4am on Sunday morning I decided that even on muscle relaxants and my back all locked up I would try to stretch it out as much as I could and attempt the swim. I told my wife that I may only make it 10 yards into the swim and turn around and be done for the day, but that I was going to at least go out and try and see how things went after training so hard.

Around 6:30 in the morning I had all of my gear set up, had my wetsuit on, and was lined up to see how long my back would hold up. It was not a good day for an Ironman in that the winds were up around 15 mph at 5am and with the lake at 61F it had a main swell of waves from the wind coming straight in at the beach of maybe 1 to 2 feet and a cross wind causing some diagonal chop from the southwest. At around 6:50 I crossed the starting line and into the cold water. I just set out to see if I could at least finish the swim. It was much worse in the water than it looked from land and the other swimmers were affected by the waves with much disorientation and swimming into each other. I found that during the first thousand yards that I was able to maintain a good swimming position and though my shoulder was still pretty locked up, my back was mostly ok. It was tough going as the sideways chop often smacked me in the face at the top of a 2 foot swell and sometimes I didn’t get air, but water, but I made it through the first lap (1.2 miles) and entered the water for the 2nd lap. My shoulder was a bit weaker on the second lap, but I finished the swim feeling alright.

I waved at my family and headed on to the bike. The bike ride at CDA has roughly 6000 feet of climbing and has two loops with a couple of 25 mile sections that are mostly uphill and straight into a 15 to 20 mph headwind. Anyway I got on my bike and headed out only to find that I could not put any weight on the handlebars with my right hand due to my shoulder getting worked from the swim and still in spasm even with the muscle relaxants in my system. My thought in the first 100 yards of the bike was crap, after surviving the swim my day might be over in the first miles of the bike. Well, there was nothing to do but move ahead as I could and see if the shoulder would loosen up and allow me to put some weight on my right hand as the race progressed. The first 10 miles were very awkward trying to ride the bike mostly 1 handed, but then slowly my shoulder did loosen up and I was able to put some weight on it. Over the course of the next 7 hours at times I could put some weight on my right hand at others not so much, but I just kept going as I could. The 2nd loop into the 20 mph headwind for 25 ish miles, mostly uphill was tough, but I just kept at it. It was a great relief when I finally got to the turnaround at mile 95 and headed mostly down hill and down wind. I knew I could finish the bike at that point. I finally got to the bike finish after a tough 112 miles and painfully put weight on my right hand as I hit the brakes to get off the bike.

Then it was on to the 26.2 mile run. I was optimistic about the run and headed off at a decent pace, trying to work out my legs after the long bike ride. The shoulder remained stiff, but the back was holding up ok, so the first 8 miles were pretty solid. At times I wondered what affect doing the muscle relaxants might have on my body during an Ironman, but things were holding together and I waved at my family at mile 13 ish and headed out for the 2nd half of the marathon. Things got a lot harder on that second lap. I was starting to feel muscle groups that had been strained with compensating for back and shoulder issues for 11 or 12 hours and fighting the relaxants in my system. By mile 17 I could feel the impact of each foot impact all the way from my shoulders, down my sides as my muscled slid over my ribs, and felt my hamstrings tightening up. At that point I knew that the run was going to take much longer than I had hoped. I started by walking the next half mile and then tried to jog again, nope no good yet. Muscle relaxants also have a dehydrating affect, so I had to start be careful of my fluid intake and started taking in more water. At mile 18 I was able to jog for a couple minutes before needing to walk again. I just kept going, walking until the pain eased, then jogging until it increased too much again. I walked up the hills this time, jogged down them. At mile 21 it started to rain. I was a bit concerned that with my decrease pace that I might have a drop in my core body temperature, but the rain only lasted for about 15 minutes. The miles were coming a bit slower, some jogging, some walking, just monitoring the muscle groups for how much they could take at any given time. The miles passed slowly, mile 22, 23, 24. I knew I would finish the race at this point, but wanted to finish sub 14:00:00 if I could. I passed mile 25 and tried to run the rest of the way, but couldn’t. I walked another 2 minutes and then dug deep to get to the finish line in the best run I could manage. It was a long straight run with the crowd now thick and cheering, I focused on just getting that last half mile done, high 5 ing kids along the way as I could, not too steady on the run at this point, trying to smile through the pain, a quarter mile to go, 100 yards, there it is, the finish line. As I ran down the final 100 feet of the finishing shoot and crossed the finish line after 140.6 very tough miles I heard the announcer say, “Stephen Bratton, you are an IRONMAN.” I quickly looked to the audience and saw my wife, she nodded with approval and relief. I was surprised that a friend, Samantha, who had volunteered at the race, had stayed late to put the finisher’s medal around my neck herself. And it was done, 13 hours 57 minutes, sub 14. Not how I had planned it, but a race well run with sweat and determination. Now, to heal up and prepare for Ironman Lake Tahoe, a much tougher course.. in September.

WOW!!!

I'm going to add my WOW to that. Wow is about all I can say. I don't know who I feel sorrier for - you or your wife because I know she wanted to pull you from that course. Wow. IMLT may be a piece of cake after enduring that physical pain.

Back at it....

Yesterday - Swam 750 yds, then drills.  Swimming was like crap.  Drill finally came around and did 2 laps that actually felt good.

Tonight - Bike ~24 miles - Rode with the Newington Bicycle Tuesday night crew. Tough bunch, good to push and keep up. I need to ride with groups more often..

 

-Dennis

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Hi all

Isabella, I read your RR. Sounds like you had a good day, consistent and the key is fun. Yes, the run can hurt sometimes. Pain is part of it unfortunately

Good to hear from Steve.

Wondering how Jay is doing.

Always good to see my buddy Jim back in action. We will be riding together soon!.

Linda - Watch that heat! Perfect opportunity to work out your nutrition intake. Salt and electrolytes will be your friend!

Ptroll - I use the Garmin 910 XT. Its great for analytics. Counts your swim strokes etc... easy to use as I'm not much of a Tech guy. I have always used Garmin and have never had an issue. The customer service is great as well.... and I'm not following any particular plan for my upcoming Olympic. Coming off my Ironman training I'm just using this time to recover fully. Going to try to do a 4 run, 2-3 bike and 2 swims a week. and within that I will do easy, fast, and long for all....

Dennis - Yes, life gets in the way. there's lots to do with a family and its all part of the training. Fitting it all in without taking away from the family time...
Yesterday was my birthday and i told my wife that there needs to be no more birthday gifts for me as dealing with my Ironman training is gift enough...

Been swimming a bunch in the ocean. Really helps the fitness level. I'm still feeling the Ironman a bit on my runs. did 6 miles after a mile ocean swim Sunday and felt it at the end and could barely keep a normal pace....

Just gonna take it easy. keep the body moving and hopefully I'll have a good race in Sept...

Lunch-time jog - as I could not get my @$$ out of bed this am.  2.5 miles..  hot out there.. 

Mitch - Happy Birthday! - Mine was on the 7th - yup - worked out then too!

I am sure you will do awesome in September!

 

Edited by Dennis B 2014-07-09 12:54 PM






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Hey everyone!

Steve: Kudos buddy. That is some serious determination and just straight getting it done

Mitch: I'm here....training is going but not as well as I want it to be.

On the GPS watch. Isabella gave you an awesome link with DC Rainmaker...that guy is the best. I have a Garmin 205 forerunner that I use when I run and I have a Magellan switch for my biking/swimming. The Magellan was a XMAS gift from my wife last year....it has issues properly tracking running...hence I use my Garmin. However, the good side of my set up is that I don't have to worry about overall battery life. I don't know a lot about the 910XT but I believe there isn't a product available yet that can accuarately measure OWS. I've heard 910 can do some cool things with pool data but I dunno....I'm fine with a waterproof stopwatch for swimming. Long winded way of saying I'd lean toward the Garmin 310XT. I have no clue about the Timex Steve mentioned....see what DC Rainmaker has to say about it.

The last 2 days have been more servings of humble pie. I'm trying to do my training in the middle of the day when its hottest....because in my mind it makes it harder which should make race day easier. I did a 25 mile bike yesterday...averaged 15MPH...was fairly happy considering my hands were cramping one over the other at mile 8. Then, I followed up with a 10 mile run today which turned into a death march after mile 7. I got some good run/walk practice. I could see Steve sitting on my left shoulder saying "Jay, why exactly are you doing a long run after doing a long bike the previous day" I had no answer for mini Steve The words of "you don't have the support miles to be doing that mileage also creeped in" I've also determined that the IM Bonk Breakers suck....I almost had a reversal of fortune shortly after injesting them. Vacation up in NH is about a week and a half away...and my bike will be coming up....so lots of beautiful bike/runs are in my future.

Jay, LOL re: "mini Steve". Cracks me up!

OK, so both Mitch and Steve's race report have proven two things to me. 1. *&^% these guys are tough! and 2. I have absolutely zero desire to do a full IM. I learn so much from reading about what each of you went through and how you handled it, and hope to apply some of those things to other aspects of my life.

Steve, UG, oh my, just reading that RR. I am very happy for you to conquer and hear that "You are an Ironman". And to have your friend give you your medal is very cool. Your wife must have been so relieved to have you finish this IM journey. Again congratulations!

And to Mitch, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

I am with you Carol. I will never go and do a full IM. And yes those two are very TOUGH!

Steve,

Thank you posting the race report. I cannot imagine what it must be push through all the pain for all those hours. Certainly a superhuman effort.

Mitch, I hope you're recovering ok and getting ready to make a go at it again, next year.

I need to catch up on the forums from this week, but motivated to see everyone's training is going well.

I was able to get in 1600 yds swim and a 4+ mile run yesterday and a 2000 yds swim this morning. I have some long (for me) bike rides planned over the weekend.

Wonderful to read your IM reports. I had learned to stop doubting you Steve, but your success is just a reminder about the value of your advice.

Dennis - welcome aboard. Five years ago I did two of the Terramuggus sprints. They are very hard - big hills on the bike and run. It's a small local affair attended by some very accomplished triathletes there to hang out and practice transitions etc. You deserve a lot of credit for doing them. I also respect how you just get out there with the cycle group. I'm still a loner.

Trainings have been half hearted. Always prided myself on once I got moving I plowed on, always said like a moose - don't know why I think a moose has endurance...The joy just wasn't there, dragging, thought maybe I was just too old.
Then had a bowl of cereal yesterday and again today before the run. Longest run I've ever done and it felt almost easy! 5.5 miles only two short walks on parts of biggest hills. Swimming with a friend tomorrow morning - the ex-college swimmer who agreed to help me.
So still very low carb except for pre/post snacks.
Carrying less weight really makes a difference.

Phil, I've been studying the Smooth Swimmer book and last time I was in the water I actually think I got some things right - remind you that I'm the one who swam a 3:20/100 in last sprint - it was almost like I was going backward. I really want to do drills, but the only thing more embarrassing than trying to swim is the thought of trying to do some of the drills and looking even more ridiculous. Even got a snorkel for the holidays to be able to focus on arms and seeing them throughout stroke but am too embarrassed to use it.

Glad to catch up on everyones posts,
Mitzi

Wow, super-active group these days! Sounds like great races, race reports, and training going on everywhere!

Joe, sounds like a good race. I'm probably going to stay local, and look for something in August in Virginia.

Mitch, awesome that you're up for the CDA challenge again. I'd be the same way. Crazy story about that OWS attack. Stay safe. Isabella mentioned DCRainmaker, and I read one of his posts where he was stabbed in the foot by a stingray in Florida! I've only competed in lakes and rivers, so the threats are a bit low. Although, the Potomac/Chesapeake has had its runin with bull sharks, and some ray fish are local to the area too.

Dennis, incredible improvements on your sprints! Keep it up. Shave 15 mins off each sprint and you'll be under an hour in no time! ;-) I don't know what type of terrain your bike/runs are in, but I'd recommend working on your run speed. You can shave some time off those. Your transistions look great.

Wojciech, welcome! Tris are a great way to whip yourself into shape. As far as sport watches, I've gone from a MotoActv, to a TomTom, and now I use a Garmin Fenix 2. I haven't used Suunto or Polar, but I find Garmin's widespread use and its software to be plusses, and I'm 'connected' with other members of this group on the Garmin Connect website. Swimming stats were important to me (which is why I initially tried TomTom MultiSport), so that narrowed my search quite a bit. OWS is tough to track, and Garmin keeps pushing updates to improve, but I haven't been out in the open to test em. But indoor lap pools work great with the Garmin, so long as your stroke technique is adequate (not as good tracking drills and kicks).

Isabella, great race! During my tris I just stick gel packets in my pockets before the race. My tri suit has pockets built in and yours might too. But I had a similar experience: I dropped a reusable Hammer gel bottle mid-course during my bike in my last tri. I should've just left it on the ground. My transistions can be slow too, but for sprints I bike sockless, and leave T1 with my shoes attached to my bike, and put my shoes on, safely, while biking. I do the same at T2, leave em on the bike.

Steve, also kudos on the race. My back has been bothering me the last week or so, and the thought of you doing an IM with a back issue makes me feel I can do something active. I'm trying to stay away from NSAIDs though, I don't want to become hooked on em. I tweaked my back more during my soccer game yesterday. And I feel the uncomfortability creeping down to my glutes. I might have to talk to some PT friends of mine.

Mitzi, I'm glad you're improving on the swim! I'm sure your swimmer friend will help you too. Cereal is one of my faves. And not the healthy stuff. I got Capn Crunch right now in my kitchen. Diet/nutrition is a weak area for me. I love ice cream, and have a sweet tooth, and drink socially (though not as much anymore), and today I got a blackened chicken caesar burrito from California Tortilla, and that will be my last blackened chicken caesar burrito after looking at the nutrition facts.

I need to check in more often or else I get overwhelmed a bit!

Thanks again everyone. Not all IMs are like CDA was this year, Samantha's went picture perfect for her was not nearly as dramatic. We did find out that the itty bitty cold that I was talking about happens to be whooping cough, so we are all on antibiotics now. I am at about 90% with the back and shoulder now, a little more strength in the shoulder. I have been doing bike 22 miles, walk 3-5 miles and swim 1800 yards slow, typically one a day.

If you are going to race in the heat it makes sense to run in the heat once a week, usually on your lower intensity and shorter runs for about 2-3 weeks before the race. You will run slower in the heat and you will need more water. I do my long run in the mornings before the heat kicks in. I do my long run the day after a long bike, that is ok, but do not do them on the same day. Many people like to have more recovery between their long bike and long run, I do it to practice running far on tired legs.

The fishing is going well with 5 large mouth bass in the 14 to 17 inch range and fish dinner tonight. My older kids are learning new slalom skills and my younger kids are still trying to build courage and confidence in skiing. For some background I was waterskiing at age 5, barefoot waterskiing at age 10 and skiing in amature shows from age 12 to 20 (slalom, trick skis, barefoot, backwards barefoot, jump, kite, hydrophoils, anything you drag behind a boat).

Welcome everyone I haven't personally responded to. Good work on the races, some nice work going on there. Feel free to drop specific training questions, there is a lot to keep track of. In general doing a sport 2x per week allows you to do the activity ok, 3x maintains your fitness in that event with very slow improvement, 4x allows for growth in distance and some speed, 5x per week allows for really good improvement, and if you are going for a PR Marathon (1 sport specific race) then 6 x a week is ideal. I train 7 days a week, but many take 1 day off a week. You train a short and a long together on the same day or a medium and a medium, not a long and a long. I usually do 2 workouts per day. You can generally go up 1 mile per week in your long run, 300 yards per week in your long swim and 5-10 miles per week in your long bike. Your long run should not be more than half of your total weekly miles or you open yourself up to injury. For speed, I like to get the run up to 20 -30 miles per week for 6 weeks then start adding in a temp run, and then start with 800 yard repeats starting with 1 and adding 1 per week. I usually do 1 speed workout a week and maybe one hill reapeat workout per week or alternate them one week and then the next. You can do intervals on the bike before the run and probably can't get faster than 17 to 18 mph for longer rides without doing interval and hill work on the bike.

My internet access is still limited to visiting a library in a town at the moment, but should be better from the 27th on.

So the only place for me to swim is in the lake and I have allergies to the water that stuff me up for a day or 2 afterwords. This week I went for a 5 mile walk jog and was putting off the swim and my wife said, "your run wasn't long or hard and you have had enough time to recovery from it so you might as well just get it done." It was very funny to me, she is so wise and does not tolerate any whining, after all the IM was more than a week ago right?

Sorry this is so long but wanted to hit on a lot of stuff.

Well, I posted this morn and Poof, it lives so more.

Steve, your wife is amazing!!! There are so many threads on here regarding unsupported spouses. Wow, those people wouldn't know what to do if they had a spouse like your wife.

Steve, wanted you to know that reading your RR was awe inspiring for my hubby. Now he has NO sympathy for some of the people that are quitting TdF after multiple crashes. (Cavendish is the exception.) He commented the other day that one rider (no names here) wouldn't have dared quit if he had read your RR.

Had a trail race today. Hubby and son had a bet on how many times I would fall and both were wrong because there were no falls. Yay. Easier than the last one in the series because we were on a jeep track road for half a mile or so before entering the single track. This one had more roots but less dips and switchbacks. Was a little surprised tho because it was only 4.1 miles and I swear, I gave out of gas near the end. I had gone lighter on the b'fast this morn so I wouldn't be overstuffed but..... Fun tho. Tonight we are going to try to meet up with some Hash, Hound, Harriers for a 3 mile mostly road trail.

Thanks Pam. Each person has their own reasons for staying in a race or dropping out of a race. I try to not judge others for making their decisions. I just share my journey and try to get folks to the point where even if the weather is crappy you can still be prepared and finish the day. For me I try to train well and keep moving forward. There is a point where I would stop a race, but in CDA and IMLT, though I knew that could happen, I just moved forward as long as I could and it was enough to get me to the finish line. I certainly do not recommend doing something that would cause injury. In both cases my issue was soft muscle, not joint, bone or internal organ, dehydration or anything serious that I was waying the pros and cons of. I don't want folks to compete to the death as this is just a race. But as I said, just sharing my journey that when I dig deep, sometimes I can push through to the end when a real health problem other than some momentary pain is on the line.

I am back to jogging 5 miles contnuous and though I did bike 40 miles yesterday, I took a 3 hour nap afterword. So working towards getting solid again. After skiing the slalom course yesterday and crashing, a couple times at 50 mph, I feel it more than when I was in my teens. Sore bum today, but still got in a 5.5 mile run. Will try to check back in a couple days. Take care everyone.