Jsnowash (Jenny)'s Mentor Group - CLOSED! (Page 12)

Jenny...that's an aggressive plan but sounds doable...let us know how it goes.  I'm interested to see how the NYC Ironman plays out.  Next weekend is officially 20 weeks till REV3 so I plan to get my plans in order.  Last year I used a combo of BT beginner HIM and Triathlete Bike heavy HIM plan.  

As far as the snow around here...all man made..not great, morning definitely better than later day, but it gets me out there.  I've heard most of the resorts in the west are taking a huge beating.  i'm just crossing my fingers this isn't one of those years where were dry until March and then get dumped, just when I'm ready to get some serious biking in.  

Got a good early morning swim and plan to hit the trainer later.  

Good morning!

I just wanted to say a quick Hi. I'm at work, so no time to respond to every thing I read.

Talk to you all later.

-Heidi

Good morning everybody! I hope everyone is doing ok and getting all their workouts in. I took the day off yesterday.  I'm scheduled to go swimming this afternoon, but the sky is falling down here in Houston.  I'm not complaining because we really need the rain, but it was not a fun drive this morning.  I'm hoping the storm has passed by this evening so that I can get my swimming in (I swim in an outdooor pool).  Rain is ok, but no thunder and lightning, please.

Jenny, good to hear your strep mom is doing better.  Your schedule looks pretty packed, but then again, you are training for an ironman.  I have a question though.  I see you are doing lots of two-a-days and are not scheduling any time off.  As a runner, and an older one at that, I have always taken at least two days off a week when training.  I'm pretty new at this triathlon thing, so I was wondering if it's necessary to take a day off a week or if just doing a couple of easy days is enough.  I'm still trying to get a schedule going.

Wow...lots of people out there doing great things.

I got a 10 mile run in on Saturday.  Felt pretty good, but reinforced the fact I need new shoes.  My usual pair of shoes officially got retired last month (I've been using them since before I got pregnant - used them through pregnancy, and all through tri season last year) but I haven't had the funds to go get a new pair.  So I've been using a pair of Reebok Zigs I originally bought to do class in.  They are ok - work fine while I'm running, but my feet were hurting pretty bad for the rest of the day on saturday.  Ug...

Had my spin class Sunday am.  Thought I might suffer a bit more than what I did given the long run on Saturday, but everything seemed to work out ok.

So here is what I'm struggling with right now.  I really want to sign up for Lake Stevens 70.3.  I am undecided if I should do it given my limited amount of time I can dedicate to training.  It's in July - and as much as I want, I can't do two-a-days.  But I have this nagging little voice in the back of my head that says unless you can commit to two-a-days, you shouldn't sign up for a IM or HIM.

Wavering with self-doubt sucks...

As of right now, I can get a long workout in on some Fridays, Saturday, and Sunday (I work every other Friday).  I can get a short workout in on Tuesday and Thursday (at least one of those is teaching my non-tri based group fitness class).  I can't do early am workouts before work, and once the weather gets warmer, I may be able to go run again on Mondays after work (pushing 25 lbs of child in stroller).  My Oly PR is 2:45...

Do I have any business sinking the cash into this this year?  Or should I spend one more year just doing sprints and Olys?

I second that...only you can decide, but personally speaking you don't have to do that many two-a-day besides bricks.  Take a look at a couple of different plans and see where you can make adjustments.  You're going to find plans that having you swimming 3or 4x a week and some that are only 2x.  Take what you think you need and see if you can build a plan for yourself.  I'm a really good swimmer, so if I can only make it 2x a week then I'm fine with that. I found the leap from sprints to Oly to be much harder than Oly to HIM.  You've built a good base so now you're just adding on a bit.  I think if you can get the milage in that makes you feel comfortable with taking on a HIM then go for it.  

Ironman just posted another new race right outside DC.  It's at 70.3 in my hometown but they chose the first week of August..ugh!  I rowed for 10 years and can vividly remember being soaked in sweat before even hitting the water at 6am in July and August.  It is interesting how our sport has grown and seeing how all the companies like ironman and REV3 are quickly "buying" up races.

Now my questions...what kind of plan do most of you use...plans based on time or distance??  My first two years was all about distance, but last year I switched it up to time and felt like I got better results. 

1/4mile repeats in the AM followed by strength training.  Sweet dreams!!

I'm curious why this is the case. I'm thinking of moving up from sprints to an Oly sometime this season. Why is that leap harder, in your mind, than Oly to HIM?

Not really sure. I think it depends on your training plan.  For sprints..IMO..you're really just training for those distances (I think the longest ride I did my first year with sprints was 15-17 miles and my longest run was 5 miles).  That will get you to the finish line.  Then moving to Olympic..8-9 miles runs and 30-35 miles bikes became more of the norm (these were the long bike and long run..not everyday!) So now, like I said,  you have a better base you're working off from. Now jumping to 50-60 mile rides (depending on your needs) doesn't seem like such a big leap..you're already used to being on your bike for 2-2.5 hours, now ride for 3. Again..this is also building over weeks (at least 12)

Everything is dependent on your plan and your needs.  I'd be interested in hearing if other's felt the same way.

Oh Boy! I don't think I can possibly respond to everything I wanted to, as I was reading through posts!

A few things stick out- thanks for the bonktown tip. I haven't heard of it, but will definitely check it out.

Jenny- glad your MiL is recovering.

Training plans- for me, they focus on a combo of time and distance. I'm seeing some pretty rapid improvement on my runs right now, so I'm focusing on running for longer distances. Because what took me 43 minutes last week, only took me 41 this week, so it doesnt make much sense to go by time.

Biking is on the trainer, so for that I'm going by time. Swimming was put on hold last week, because my wrist started acting up again. But, I need to build up my distance in the swim.

I'm home with my little guy today- only made it through half a day of work yesterday, then had to go get him. He has an ear infection and a nasty cold.

So, I'll hop on the bike today, and take some time to play with my new HRM! It's going to be tough for me to meet my goals this week, since I missed Sunday and Monday.

I signed up for a 4 mile run on March17. I did this run back in 2009, and if I keep going with my running, at the rate I have been, I should see some significant improvement. I'm also excited because I convinced 2 coworkers to run it with me!

I find this to be a very interesting question.  Mainly because I am planning on making the jump from sprint to oly this year.  In my mind, I was thinking along the lines of the jump from sprint to oly is only 17-18 more miles while the jump from oly to HIM is 35 more miles!. 

It is an interesting perspective you are putting forth that getting used to being on a bike for 2 hours is harder than just doing another hour if you are already used to 2.  I know for myself, I don't know what to expect while I attempt to make the jump to oly, but it is something I plan to push for.  I just try to keep the attitude that as long as I put in the time(or distance as it may be), I will get there. 

Right now, I top out at about 4-5 miles on a run before my joints ache to the point that I have to stop.  However, at this point last year, I could only ride the bike trainer because running just hurt too much.  So, from that perspective, going from couch to sprint was pretty tough for the first couple of months.  Now I am starting with a much better base. 

As for the original question about making the jump to HIM, I agree, even with the limited amount of time I have been doing this, that it is all about how you feel and your goals.  I know if it were me and I was on the fence like that, I would challenge myself. I would do this knowing that I would re-evaluate my progress in a month or 2s time and if I wasn't making the progress I feel I needed, then I would back off to an oly and make it my goal for next season.

Of course at this point, I am not on the fence and I know I am not ready to even consider a HIM.  I will be where you are this time next year however so please continue to share your thought process and experiences as I will definitely be listening. 

Another option would be to signup and do 1 leg of a HIM as a relay to get a feel for it.  That is something I am considering this year with some friends just to get a flavor for it.

Good luck.

I hope everyone is having a good day and getting all their training in.  The rain stopped in time for swimming and today should be good weather for an easy run.

To me, the jump from sprint to oly seems a lot harder than from oly to HIM.  I guess it has to do with where your strengths lie.  Going from a max swim of 800m to 1500m is almost doubling the distance and to me that is the limiting factor.  I'm mainly a runner, so a 10K or a HM don't bother me.  The bike, I know that I will probably be slow because I don't ride enough, but I know I could do it.  So, long story short, I think it depends on the person and their strengths.  Sprint to oly, double the swim distance, oly to HIM double the bike and run distance.  Pick your poison!

The Olympic Marathon Trials for both men and women are on Saturday downtown.  We have to go there anyway to pick up our packets for Sunday at the Expo, so I'm trying to time it so that we can at least see the finish of the women.  It's a 3 loop course so it will be very spectator friendly.  It would be so cool to see all the elite marathoners up close and personal.

You've all made good points about the jump from sprint to oly and oly to HIM. Since swimming is my weakest, I am a bit intimidated about the idea of a 1500m swim. From there to 1.2 miles really isn't that far. But 750 to 1500 seems like a lot. For me, when I think about the HIM, I'm intimidated about the bike leg -- 56 miles is a lot of miles on the bike for me, especially at my current slow spin.

You also have the added complication of nutrition during a HIM. As it is, I can run a half marathon on water and a couple fig newtons. I'm thinking I could do an oly using a similar plan -- maybe a couple more newtons. lol So that makes the jump seem easier, just considering race nutrition plan.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Well, I had some bad news this afternoon. I have strep. I was shocked. I figured that I had a sinus infection, and then when she was checking everything out, she said, "Oh. You have pus on your tonsils." I said, "What? You're kidding." "That means one of two things: strep or mono." So she swabbed for both, and fortunately, I guess, it came up strep. I elected to get the shot of penicillin instead of taking pills for 7-10 days.

I just feel wiped out. I still ran almost 3 miles this afternoon, because I am still miffed at missing my runs earlier this month. As long as I can, I'm going to keep running 2-3 miles a day. I want to try to spin a little each day, too. (24 minutes is all I could manage this morning, even with my audio book). Swimming is out for probably another week or more.

Got back in the pool today after not having been there since...uh...September.  It felt pretty good.  I didn't really have a plan (I realized today I'm an expert at training without a plan..."Ill just do what seems applicable given my time and energy level") but I figure I still got in about 2000 yards.

I probably should have gone running, but I wanted to try out the new waterproof mp3 player.  I'll admit, it wasn't the greatest, but I did find that when I was ready to quit, and good song would come on and I would want to swim to it.  Even though the sound quality wasn't fantastic, I realized I needed to keep my expectations low and just get out of it what I can.  Oh, and I realized I need to get some sort of lap counter as it's really hard to keep track when i'm listening to music.

On a different note...I signed up today for the Nike+ "virtual" half marathon.  It's being held this weekend, and all you do is sign up, pay to register, go out and run your HM sometime Saturday and Sunday, sync your run with the Nike+ challenge site, and in 6-8 weeks, you'll receive a really cool finishers bracelet in the mail.  It was kind of an impulse thing (I'm a sucker for any type of jewlery) as once I had paid my registration fee, I remembered I was still without new running shoes.  Guess I have more motivation to go get them on Friday.

And running a HM in new running shoes sounds like a recipe for disaster.  Some day I'll learn....

Love bonktown! They are actually based here in the Salt Lake Valley. 

Got in another strength workout (a.k.a. boot camp class). I was supposed to go to master's swim this morning, but managed to fall asleep instead. I guess I needed the nap more. Tomorrow I plan on an easy spin on my trainer, and boot camp class again tomorrow night. 

Hope everyone has a fatastic morning! 

lunchtime jog = yum.

3.6 miles in 33 minutes.  Hair will look like crap for the rest of the day, but the body feels pretty good.

don't know why i don't do this more often.