Eliwashere's spring fling mentor group!-Full (Page 12)

Shins are a bit sore this morning -not terrible, but sore all the same.  Taking a rest day today and will make sure to stretch/ice as much as I can since I work today.

Randi,
Good plan. Take a rest day, do your stretches and ease into it with walking only.
As was mentioned above, you can always add some incline at first and see how you respond. 

I agree! Assuming my knee is something trivial (which I think it is) and that I get some time to train ever again, a HIM next year and IM in 2012 is exactly my game plan!

I would LOVE to do either IM Coz or BC. Sounds like some long term mentor group activity!!

Thanks!  Feeling much better today - thanks to some stretching alone - never got to put ice on it and never felt bad enough to take ibuprofen.  No workout on tap today unless I get lucky enough to get all my to do list done but it is a full list and hopefully will be able to get a workout in tomorrow - whether it is swim, bike or run or any combo of the three.  I am thinking I need 2 rest days between runs until I get back into it.  I should be able to give it a try again tomorrow provided I go all day today without any pain.


Edited by Fechter99 2010-05-19 7:31 AM

Hey All,
Happy Hump Day!
I finally feel like I am getting my groove back on after a 5 day rest.
The problem was, it wasn't a rest. We were busy on our long weekend, and barely lay down.
That being said, my body appreciated not getting banged up too bad, but I am sorry I didn't run in Central Park. At least my wife did.
FYI-Road ID is doing a giveaway of some nice gear if you want to check them out. I don't work with them, but I wear one, and really, who doesn't like a giveaway with no purchase necessary?
Be well all! 

Ok, my turn for the sore knee.

It is really not all that painful just a tad sore.  It is actually just above the knee a bit and seems worse on days that I run.  I am wondering if wearing a brace during my runs is a good idea, in addition to stretching and ice.

Pain is in the front, just above the knee cap, and closer to the inside of the knee/leg.  Any suggestions?  Not painful enough to warrant a Dr visit but I want to try and make sure it doesn't get worse.

I will be reducing intensity on my runs as well.

Okay, so I'm re-evaluating my hybrid training plans now that I have to overhaul the system and I have learned that mixing plans doesn't work! I am assuming that everything is going to be fine with the PT on Friday, so let's assume I can start a plan on Monday the 24th.

I have a sprint on June 20th that will be a lot of fun and I don't anticipate any problems completing. I would like to beat my time last year, and before I had this hiccup in my training I was on target to take at least 10 minutes off (mostly due to an improved swim). Now I would still like to do that, but  I will be happy just to finish smiling.

I have an OLY on September 5th. This is my first OLY and the "race-that-got-away" last year when I broke my ankle. I would consider it my A race for sure.

I want to run the Detroit half-marathon on October 17th. I don't care about my time, I just want to finish it and use it as a long-run in my training for the full marathon in Las Vegas on December 5th. I would consider that my "A-lite" or B race. It will be my first full marathon.

What kind of training plans do I use and when do I start to follow them? Obviously there is some significant overlap if I'm looking at 20-week plans. I need some help!

Sorry to hear about your knee, Charlie! I don't know if a brace would help, not knowing anything about what is causing your pain.

I would suggest resting it and trying again slowly after a day or two. If the pain persists, have it looked at before things get worse! At least, that's what I'm doing.

Jenna, I would say follow an Oly plan and focus on the Oly for Sep 5.  The sprint will fit into a plan probably pretty well.  That's 14 or so weeks from now, which is plenty for an Oly.

After the Oly, start a marathon plan with Dec 5 as the end date.  That's 12 more weeks, plenty for a marathon plan given you'll be starting at a pretty high fitness level.  Let the half fall as a well supported long run that week.

That's my 2 cents, and it's probably worth about that much!

Tough call Charlie.  Sorry to hear you've joined the knee pain brigade.  I really don't know how a brace works or if there is a good reason to wear one in your case.  My wife wears those patella tendon things and seems to have great results since using them, so there is a place for some types of braces for sure.

I'm a bit of a hypochondriac when it comes to knee pain.  If I have knee pain while training I contact my PT immediately, though I admit I'm cheating a little since my PT is my coach!  My thought is that anything which is allowed to fester could really become a major problem and cause a longer outage.  So far any knee pains I've had have been pretty straightforward issues and either a PT visit or ART visit has resolved it.

Jenna,
I would say follow an OLY plan, with the OLY as the main focus. The volume you will be doing for an OLY will probably be more than you would need for a straight half marathon, so this will help build the engine. You can always make some of your OLY runs 1 mile longer and maybe 2 miles for longer runs. This will help you get yout legs under you in time for the half marathon.
Then, between the half and the full, just keep extending the weekend long run. I never did more than 13 miles before my first marathon and had a great MOP day! 
I think you can make it all fit. Just be honest with yourself about the "just want to finish" attitude. If you want to meet a time, you have to train for that time. If you want to finish, you have a LOT more leeway. 

So, I know the old adage, "Nothing new on race day..." but

New running shoes came in the mail yesterday. Same brand/etc that I have been using for the last year - it's just time to replace the older ones (that got me through the half marathon)...my question to you all:

I am doing a sprint tomorrow (625y swim, 12.2 mile bike ride, 3.4 mile run) - should I use the new shoes or take the old ones out for consistencies sake? (Haven't started to feel the defining pain that I typically get when the shoes are done - but the shoes are close to being done)

What says you?

I'd give the old shoes one final chance to say goodbye! Plus I wouldn't trust new shoes for a race, even if they are exactly the same as the old ones. They won't have the flexibility you've built into the old ones and could cause some discomfort for sure.

Do what I do..run the heck out of the shoes in their last race and then dump them since they smell so bad.
Or is that just my problem?

Seriously though, use the old ones for the race. 

You know the right answer Jennifer.  Give those old shoes a valiant last hurrah by crushing that 3.4!  I can't wait to see how your race goes.  I know you're pacing someone else, but compare this sprint to the Mainiac.  You'll see how far you've come.

I know you all are right...they are just so nice and new...don't you remember when you were young and you were sure new shoes would make you run faster?

I'll wear the old ones for this weekend and then on to the new ones. Thanks for the advice all!

Apparently I have the knee pain to blame on my orthopod who told me I didn't need PT after I broke my ankle! My arch is flattening, my toe is turning out, and my knee cap is misaligned - it's no surprise that I started having difficulty when I turned the training up for the first time after I healed. And my pelvis has a lot of "torque issues" on the right side to go along with it.

To be honest, I don't really understand 80% of what she told me today. She seemed to think everything made sense and would take 6-10 sessions to fix. She needs to do a lot of manual manipulation of the fascia.

The good news is that I felt awesome when I left and she said I could try to run this weekend, but not to push through any pain. She suggested limiting any running to 20 minutes and turning out some brick workouts if I was looking for cardio. She's a former triathlete herself! She said I should get VFF to wear as slippers around the house to help out with strengthening my arch again.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Jenna, great knee news!  I am looking forward to getting back to running next week!  That is cool that it seems like a pretty small issue.  Good luck and here's to a speedy comeback.

I finally was able to finish my race report (http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=209146)  It is a duathlon report on a triathlon form, so it is a little strange, but you can see my comments, times etc...  I had a great time, and appreciate all of the support.

In the meantime, I have been biking and running pretty well, changed my plan to adjust to my schedule of postponing my Olympic to September, I am on the lifestyle 8 week sprint program ending at my June sprint.  There are a lot of these 4X50 sprint swims (like all of them), what gives?  I feel like I am increasing a little in speed, but I still need to build my endurance base right?  Anyway, train the plan, race the plan right, nothing on BT has let me down so far, so I doubt this will either.  I love the lifestyle plans because they suggest yoga and bodyweight lifts for the strength vs. iron.  There are book suggestions, maybe more of a hippie plan than a lifestyle plan, and I am a little bit of a free spirited individual.  BT is awesome.
Dave.

Jenna - great news! Dave - I have been pretty satisfied with the plans on BT (with a BIG exception for the OLY speed plan - just dropped it).

Finished my first sprint of the season yesterday.  (Race report here )Really unhappy with the swim, mediocre run and happy with the bike. I seem to panic during the swim - and slow down a lot compared to my pace when not racing. Need some more time to digest this. It was also a pool start - which really threw me off.

Hope you all are doing well and enjoying a fabulous weekend. I'm going to drown my sorrows in a long run. Ciao!

Great race report! Great race. Not every one is a PR, as much as we want it to be.
Excellent way to drown your sorrows as well. 

Hey All,
It is my daughters birthday today, and you know what that means-cake, sweets, cookies, etc!
I must have eaten a pound of ice cream and who knows how many chips.
With any luck I will get in a decent run later today.
Next week, we start packing and move on Fri. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I get organized to get in my workouts.

Hope you all had great weekends! 

I just went through the birthday thing.  I love cake, and I must have eaten half the cake myself.  Oops.

Hope everybody is having a good weekend. 

Nice race Jennifer!!

Only 7 more weeks for my first Sprint.

Edited by chmoore2 2010-05-23 8:24 PM

Ice cream is my weakness -- my wife keeps buying it and I keep eating it!

Awesome news on the knee Jenna.  Keep us posted how the running goes, and make sure you follow the instructions.

Jennifer, that's a good race.  Your standards are certainly high now, so it's important to learn and keep plugging away.  This wasn't an important race for you, so don't let the results be more than a learning tool.  As Eli says, not every race is a PR.  If I festered on results, I'd have stopped running after that half!

Good luck with your move Eli.

And Dave, as far as swimming goes, I've found a lot of swim plans are like that.  Swimming is one sport you can hammer and not have it kill your body or hamper your recovery too much.  Though I admit I plan on some longer swims just because I have no problem hammering out 50s or 100s, but I struggle to go 1000 without stopping.  I think I just don't get the pace thing while swimming.

About swimming - I realized that I have been doing drills for the last month or so - no distance...which may have had an impact on my race Saturday. I have decided to throw in at least one distance swim a week just for my own confidence. OWS season is quickly approaching (thinking of getting into a lake tomorrow afternoon in the wetsuit) which will help with that. Do all of you have access to OWS - or is the bulk of your swimming done in a pool? It really is completely different (for me).

I hear you about the cake...I used to be a pastry chef - and you know you have to try your stuff to be sure that it tastes good for the customers! I hope the move is as stress free as a move can be.

I will be swimming open water soon,  but only on weekends.  I agree that it's totally different.  When you look down and see absolutely nothing, it can throw you off. 

And I just found out today that the pool I use for free (at my high school) is closing to alums after next week for the summer! Yikes.  But I also just found out someone I work with has a 22 yard pool at their house 15 minutes from work and is willing to let us swim in it at lunch.