Newbz' Spring Fling Mentor Group is FULL! (Page 13)

Anybody have any cures for chlorine rash?  I though I was just having really dry skin on my back from the chlorine but when my wife was putting lotion on my back she said it was covered in little red bumps.  Lotion and rash made for a very painful experience.  Seems to be a lot of solutions with mixed reviews online.  Just wondering if anyone has any first hand experience.

Still running.  I'm really enjoying this run every day approach.  I think I'll start working the bike in here slowly.

Since a buddy of mine decided to do a local race instead of Door County (we were going to do it together) my schedule got cleared.  I think I'm going to do Rhode Island 70.3 and visit my dad in RI at the same time.  Destination race for me!

Seeing family, a vacation and a race, sounds like a win win win to me.  My brother lives in Key West and if he still lives there next Dec I want to go there for their Oly.

Sounds awesome Dan.  My training partner is doing RI 70.3 this year.

That sucks Brent...I would call your doctor.

Edited by jgerbodegrant 2011-01-05 10:51 AM

For those of you using trainers for the first time this winter...I will say that moving your fans as close as possible to you makes a huge difference.  Originally, I had 2 fans...one in front, about 4 feet away, and one in back, also about 4 feet away.

My last 2 trainer rides I put one fan right up in front of my handlebars, and the other right next to me on my left...to the point I could nudge it with my left elbow if I wanted to.

HUGE DIFFERENCE!  Not nearly as drenched in sweat, and able to complete my workout without feeling like I'm going to die.

Now to figure out a way to get a 3rd fan on my right side.

Try a bromine pool

My bike's in the attic.  It's 50 degrees up there on a good day.  If I had a fan on, I would probably turn into a popsicle!  Good suggestion there Hawaii!  haha 

Honestly, I never do kick drills during workouts.  I was a competitive swimmer for years, and even more than a decade removed from competition, I'm still a good swimmer by triathlon standards.  I'm average at best on the bike and horrible with the run so I don't bother kicking when I swim to try and save my legs.  I'm not sure I would even qualify my kick as a two beat so much as they are just flowing in sync behind me.  For a beginner or moderate swimmer I would certainly suggest a good bit of kickboard work/drills.  As others have stated, a good consistent kick is going to help you a lot with body positioning which will make your swim a lot more relaxed and efficient, saving energy for the other disciplines. 

I've been having a bit of shin pain.  (posted about it on the general board, and got some good feedback.  Thanks to those of you from here!)

Anyways, I tried a run today and it went well.  I had planned 6km (3.7mi) with a route that I passed close to my house multiple times and could cut it short if I had to.  I just did an easy, slow run.  No shin pain at all while running, and it didn't feel any worse afterwards.  I did ice it just in case, but even now, it's just slightly bothersome which is how it was yesterday.  I think I am going to get new shoes this weekend though.  At the very least, I can start rotating them in.  Even if it isn't a shoe issue yet, it isn't long until I need new ones regardless.

It was a bit chilly though.  I had checked the weather before and it seemed pretty warm at about -1c (30f).  I've been running in -15c (5f) lately, so it should have seemed balmy.  The wind was brutal though!  I had left my gloves at home, and just had the cuffs on my jacket.  It wasn't so bad when I ran with my back to the wind, but it was cold when I had to run into it.  Note to self: bring gloves.  Even if I end up carrying them, I'll appreciate it at the start.

One very cool thing for me was that the run felt practically effortless.  Now, admittedly, I wasn't pushing myself at all, but I was running the whole time.  I still remember when I started C25K back in May, it was HARD to run for a minute.  I remember thinking that three minutes of straight running was huge.  And back then, I went about as slow as you can go and still call it a run.  Today, I just let my legs find their happy pace and cruised along.

Anyways, just a bit of a victory for me, as a still fairly new runner. 

On a side note, this Canadian girl is starting to talk more and more in fahrenheit and miles.  Weird.

Good tip on the fans.  Unfortunately, a lot of my trainer rides are at times I need to listen for the kids, and having the fan so close would drown them out.  I'll use it when my husband's around though.

My wife and I did the C25K program too and were just talking about this the other day.  I remember looking forward in the plan thinking they were crazy that I would be able to run 5 min straight.  I often think back to the first days for inspiration when I'm having trouble getting through a run these days.  Puts things into perspective.

Good quality soap will help a lot. I like old spice pure sport body wash, but there are also some made just for swimming that do a great job as well.

Time Trial #2 done last night.  I was pretty happy with my results.  I weigh about 10 lbs more than I would like so my Watts/Kg is not as good as I want to see by race season.  I came in at 3.0 for the 20 minutes.  The guy that won was at 3.77, so there was no chance in me catching him.  My average was 272.  I tried to hold my average of my last time trial (262) and boost it up with about 2-3 minutes to go.  In retrospect, I could probably have gone harder starting around 4 minutes left.

In just over a month I am running my first marathon.  I have a question about nutrition.  I've been training with Gu, primarily because it's super easy to carry.  They will have Gu on the course.  I was thinking of taking a Gu after one hour and then every 45-60 minutes after that.  I am hoping to finish in the 4:15-4:30 timeframe (my open HM times are in the 1:58-ish) so I was thinking of starting out carrying three and picking up anything beyond that on the course.  Does that sound reasonable?

Pre-race breakfast of bagel with peanut butter, banana, water with Nuun.

Swam about 2200 or so in masters this morning.  I'm thinking it was more but I'm going to error on the low side.  Still have a trainer ride and weights to do, but after getting up at 0430 and working out right away all I want is a nap.

As far as long course nutrition goes it's a good idea to start on your plan before the first hour. Or in other words don't wait till you NEED it to start, but rather start a small steady intake before that. If your plan is to tkae every 45 min after the first hour start at 45 min in and cut off cal intake with 15-30 min to go. After that point at the end it wont do you any good and you are better off slowly taking it in from the start so that you dont dig yourself into a hole.

i use to have that problem..

I started to rinse off really well after swimming. rubbing skin with warm water. then i when i get home i shower.. i use thick lotions like coco butter or luberiderm .

not so bad anymore.

nice job on the TT. Getting up to 3.77 is a pretty solid number and if you are already at 3 at this point in the year you'll be doing well once the spring rolls around.

I'm doing something similar and so far it seems to be helping some.  Before I swim I take a shower with soap and shampoo.  Then swim and another shower with soap/shampoo.  Then I lotion up.  I have all kinds of lotions for sensitive skin for various different body parts.  I have started using Olay soap.  I have very sensitive skin so this swimming isn't helping at all.  I still plan on seeing a Dermatologist but this is getting my by until then. 

x2

It takes about 20 minutes for a gel to fully take effect in your body...so I would highly recommend taking your first gel well before 1 hour.  And agreed that there is no point in taking a gel wth less than 20 minutes left.

ETA:  Are you planning to race at a faster pace than you have been doing your LRs at?  You may also want to account for that because if you do go say 30-60 seconds faster than your LR pace...you'll be burning calories at a faster pace.  So what may have felt like sufficient nutrition during your long runs may not be adequate for your marathon.  Not to say you need to take a whole lot more in...but maybe 1 extra gel, or mabye sipping a little extra gatorade along the way.

Edited by tri808 2011-01-06 10:35 AM

Since we're talking about nutrition and gels, at what point do you all find you need them?  I haven't used them at all yet, but the longest I've run for at this point has been about 1.5 hours.  I feel like that is borderline for not refueling while running.  When I go longer, I'm sure I should start thinking about it.

Also, what are your favourite brands and flavours?  I know that will be a personal thing, but I'm still interested in hearing preferences.

If I don't eat breakfast or a meal before the workout...I will take something in for a 1.5 hour workout...right at about 45 minutes.  But if I did have a meal...or I'm not running/riding on an empty stomach...than 2 hours is more when I start to take something in (maybe one at the 1 hour point).

Chocolate is probably my favorite flavor.  Most brands tastes like chocolate icing.  I also really like the mandarin orange by GU.  Shot Bloks in strawberry and tropical fruit are also very good IMO.

Edited by tri808 2011-01-06 10:39 AM