Asphalt Junkies Spring 2013 - Closed (Page 13)

Matt I decided to go with power. I thought it would be more consistent then HR. I also seem to have a tough time getting my HR up on the trainer so I wasn't sure how reliable it would be. Although after doing the Jorge workouts my HR is definitely up there at times so maybe I just wasn't pushing hard enough in the past on the trainer.

In any case I am using a Kurt Kenitic trainer and the Kurt Kenitic bike computer which also acts as a power meter. The catch is it doesn't work outdoors and only works with the KK trainer but it was cheap and it works great. It seems to be very consistent. So the plan is very easy to follow using power. I just did the 5 and 20 minute tests before I started and then plugged the numbers into that calculator they have on the home page for the plan and it gave me my numbers for the power zones. If you can do it with power I think that is the way to go.

I agree with Warren.  Don't allow time goals to upset a balance of having fun at any given race.  It is certainly good to be able to set time goals but have a back up plan if various conditions occur that are certain to cause an altered race.  There are various ways to make sure you can set goals such as no walking or walk only through aid stations, ride at a certain RPE level.

The point being that you allow yourself the out on bad weather days or if you had been sick recently, etc.

Running in the mud is certainly hard but how about a 50k in these conditions.  I did the relay for this race for the 50k under these epic conditions but it was incredibly fun.  (I have a race report for the race if anyone cares to read it.)Here are a couple of links to some video of the mire we found ourselves in during the December 2011 Huff 50k:

Mud puddles??

Mud

The running in snow discussion brought on it's own meaning for me yesterday.  I ran 7.75 miles in 4-6 inches of almost entirely untouched snow.  I didn't have any problems with sliding around much because the snow was deep enough to keep me from it.  The snow added a better running surface for my PF too. 

This run was my longest run I have completed in the past couple of months and I can tell I have lost some of my muscular endurance.  My legs began to get a little sore toward the end of the run but they weren't sore over night at all.  I doubt that adding mileage will be a deterrent as I move ahead.  My plan will be to have long runs by the end of January at 13-14 miles and only run 4 times a week to promote a little more healing and less irritation to my PF by allowing days in between my runs.

Also, thanks for all of the well wishes for my daughter.  She seems to be over the hump and it was a sinus infection that brought she and my wife down. 

Do you get a headache from the caffeine?  (or lack of.)  Not that caffeine is good in any form, but if that's the case, have you thought about alternative forms of caffeine?  Not that I'm saying cold turkey is a good way to go either, but... if you having trouble even with just one can maybe?? 

My throat feels horrible. I started to notice something happening Thursday afternoon/evening when I started having slight problems talking/voice started sounding different.  Then Friday like I mentioned earlier it was just bad and lost my voice at times. I would be saying a sentence, and then no sound would come out.  I'd try to repeat it, no sound. (At the time it was kind of funny!) My voice was basically in and out all day, and I had to talk a lot.  Yesterday (Saturday) I didn't have to talk really, so I didn't very much.  Today (Sunday) I am not feeling like it's necessarily getting any better.  I haven't taken any medicine for this yet (except some cough drops on Friday) but I might get some today.

I rarely get sick.  This is the second time in nearly a month I've gotten something!   Right around Thanksgiving I had an awful cough that lasted a few days... and then now this throat thing.

Samantha I'm sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. Feel better and take care of yourself.

Right now, I drink the equivalent of 3-5 cans a day. I get migraine headaches about 4-5 times a year (bad ones that occur with nasea and effect my vision). I also get mild tension headaches at least once a week. I absolutely think the caffeine in diet coke effects my headaches. When I stopped drinking diet coke cold turkey several months ago, I was fine for about 2 days and then got hit with a bad migraine for 12 hours and a tension headache that last for another 12. I finally got some relief when I drank a huge Diet Coke from 7-Eleven. I've seen doctors about my migraines before and have been told I do not have them frequently enough to take preventative meds. I've tried taking meds that contain caffiene once the migrains set in, but they don't seem to help much.

So, long story short...I would like to see how my body does without caffiene (I'm not a regular coffe drinker) and see if it would actually help my headaches to get it 100% out of my system.

Also, I drink Diet Coke instead of water. So I think I'm pretty dehydrated...which also can bring on headaches. So a big part of giving it up is to force myself to drink more water.

Lastly, I've heard that the artificial sweetner in Diet Coke effects food cravings & mood.

I LOVE Diet Coke...but I'm curious to see if giving it up might make me feel better long term. I think I will be ok doing 1 can a day for the next few weeks and then gradually cutting it out all together.

Well enough rambling on about that...got in a short bike ride today. Felt good to get back out there.

Wow....Merry Christmas to everyone.  I take a week to visit family and have 10 pages to read!  Good lordy....we've got some motivated and chatty Cathy's in the group.  I'm psyched to see everyone had a good holiday and is getting ramped up (if not already started) to work out and get healthy and strong in the New Year.  

I want to make a couple requests if possible.  Being that I am horrible with names, could everyone please put their name in their signature line?  For example strikyr has his name (Tony) in his signature line.  It will help me to get to know you and to remember you.  My fellow mentors are probably better at this than I am.  I will do the same after I'm done responding to a weeks worth of good stuff!

Dina:  I can't believe that you made your kids wait until you were done your workout to open their stockings!  Scrooge-McJunkie!!!  You also mentioned needing something to grab and go during the mornings when you get hungry.  I have a couple ideas, but can you keep whatever it is refrigerated?

Warren:  Thanks for looking out for that 910XT for me.  I'm going to try to be a little frugal early this year as I am getting LASIK done on my birthday (Jan. 3rd).  Also, I really like your schedule for the bike leg/aqua bike/HIM.  I think that could work out really well.  

Tony:  I have to applaud your persistence.  You were out there getting your swims done the day after Christmas!  Just awesome dude.  Also, good call on starting a strength training routine.  I have been doing 1-2 strength workouts a week and it's already helping me out.  I know it's tough to fit in the schedule, but you'll see some gains here.  I only do about a 30 minute workout, so you can get up 30 mins early one day a week.  

Dirk:  This is more towards everyone else, but it's good that you are seeing issues and addressing them early.  I know that I get excited and go all in and I used to have a tendency to just ignore all aches and pains and signs of fatigue until I was down for the count.  We all need to pay attention to how our bodies are reacting to the increased work load in the New Year.  It's great that you want to jump in and get your workouts done, but remember that it's only very early in the season.  You don't want to spend every fourth week of your year laid up because you didn't listen to what your body was telling you.

Matt:  Thanks for that Ant+ program.  Very cool!  I am not sure how/when I would use it, but seems to work perfectly.

Tracy:  I will always love your attitude.  "oh I got up this morning swam a couple miles, then ran hills for an hour...no big deal.  It was fun"  This is seriously motivating to me...so I thank you!  Your idea for volume on the bike is smart.  There will be days when you feel like pushing it harder...go ahead and do it.  Then on days when it sucks...just put the time in.

JoAnne:  Thank you for the update on your sister.  I have been thinking a lot about you gals and I will pray for a quick recovery after the surgery.  Is that scheduled yet?

Trina:  Sorry to hear about the car accident!  I hope you are all right.  I'm excited to hear you are in for the weight loss goals.  We will do this together.  I think with everything, your goals are very attainable!

Samantha:  What is the current state of your elbow?  I think you really need to take a few days off from swimming.  That elbow needs ice and rest.....like right now.  We then need to talk about your stroke.  But let's get that arm feeling better first.  When you squeeze your forearm, does that make it feel any better?  Both of my elbows are sore right now from doing push-ups....go figure!  Hope your throat feels better soon.  Remember, lots of water and long night's sleep!

Jen:  I think you need to do some basic lunges/squats/pushups/stretching while on your trip.  It's a good time to get some stretching in.  Remember to stretch and massage that IT band!

Jackie:  The couch to 5k plan is a VERY smart idea.  I actually did something similar this fall after a month off.  No sense in being stupid about running anymore, ya know?  I also have to admit, I am a bit addicted to a diet soda during lunch.  I'm partnering up with you in January to kick the habit.  Can you help me do that?

On the home front, I have only been able to get a couple runs in because of the crazy weather when I was visiting family.  I finally ran again today in a few inches of new slow.  It's awesome!  I have a pair of yaktrax that I use and they work great.  I'm going to be taking it easy the next day or so because I have started to feel myself run down from the crappy diet and all this traveling around New England.  I'll get my workouts in, but nothing really long or really hard for a couple days (most likely a week due to my surgery on Thursday).

I also am very excited to announce that we brought home our dog today.  She is very stressed out and had been on transport through the snow storm from Littlerock, Arkansas since Friday.  Her name is Luca and she's about year and a half old.  She needs to put a little meat on her bones and is a little frightened about everything right now, but she's a real sweetheart.  She also brings anything back to you.  It's awesome.  I can't believe anyone would have let her go!

Hey guys, I've been down with a wicked sickness the past few days.  I felt it coming on Thursday, but went ahead and did my swim workout (2500 meters).  Is there a chance that this workout could have weakened my immune system and made the sickness worse?  Just wondering if I should have taken it easy.

To my friends w/ headaches:  I've had them randomly all my life.  Excedrin Migraine is a medicine that sometimes helps (it has caffeine).  If I drink a ton of caffeine and then dont drink any for 24hrs plus, I usually get a pretty bad migraine... 

Mambos - I'm interested in trying that chin exercise you mentioned.  I know that I have bad posture and really need to start doing some exercises to help w/ it.  Any chance you want to post a vid of you doing it?

Also, jgerbodegrant just mention Little Rock and made me wonder where everyone lives... I'm in Longview, TX.  How about all of you?

I'm going to answer this question for everyone.   Most everyone does seem to have their location listed right under their profile pic.  With a quick browse, JoAnne doesn't (she's in Wisconsin) and neither does Dina (she's in Illinois.)  Generally speaking, I think we've got a lot of people from the midwest, a few on the east coast.  States represented seem to be: MI, IN, OH, IL, WI, NY, NH, TN, MD, OK, FL, GA, NV, CA... and TX 

Ah, never noticed that.  I updated mine and got my Herbie Hancock up as well.  

Okay, for those of you with training knowledge, please let me know what you think about this plan.  My goal would be just to finish, but this seems a little light.  Thoughts?

13-week plan

I worked with it a little more last night and moved the magnet. Now it is so close it touches the arm. At least the light is green but the red light for cadence is not turning on LOL . I'll mess with it some more tomorrow when I have more time. We were gone all day today. Thanks for asking, I think I'm really close.......