Baowolf's Mentor Group - Sorry Closed. (Page 13)

Ken I sm relly sorry to hear obout your leg.  When you test it tomorrow a long walk warmup and then use a shorter than normar stride at first (jogging as aposed to running).  At the first pain stop running and walk back.  Ice it tonight.  I wouldnt actually stretch a pulled muscle.  If it is cramped you can beat it up with a foam roller and strech it, but if it is pulled that will make it worse.  Hope it was just a stinger.  Afater alternate ice and heat.  And don't do any intensity bike run or swim before your race. 

 Look what I found...

Ken, you just had to go and make it interesting, huh?  Hope the quad was more twinge than pull.  Good luck in your marathon!

Pam, I can see your bike!!!  She's really pretty!  I really like the look of the Scott Speedsters.  Don't tell my Madone, but I think they are really nicer looking.  Good call on the pic posting haitus.  I was cussing my computer this morning when e-mail went haywire in a brand new way.  It's always something!

Samantha, that swim coach might be a good find.  When I did my pool school, it was all technique, and I did get faster....for short distances.  After that it was hard for me to translate it to endurance on my own.  So if he or she is willing to help you with that next step as well, would be great.

Anthony, way to hang in on the crunch challenge.  Progress is where it's at!

Mike, I hear you on the "everything hurts".  Mixing it up with the variety of strength training is probably not helping the soreness factor, but hopefully will pay longer term dividends.

Stu, happy routine rediscovery!  Nothing like being away from home for a while to make one long for that.  Love the bike pics...especially the pickup camper.  My family used to camp in one I'm pretty sure wasn't much bigger!  I like the sound of the laps per hour, but will have to defer joining that until I actually go to the pool.

Brian, nice swim!  The run is your friend.  And I'm good with Carol, Squirt, or hey you!

Kate, nice 4 miles and pool victory.  Have to find them where we can sometimes.  I'll admit to secretly enjoying it when people at the indoor track zoom around me for maybe 1 or 2 laps then they are done. 

Tom, wow, sandstorms are something most of us don't think about!  Hope the air clears so you can get outside some.

BTW, when I mentioned a while back about letting the bike shop change over to my trainer tire, I did not mean that anyone should rely on them to change out normal tires.  Just that the trainer tire was so much more difficult to put on that it was worth it to me.  Thankfully I do know how to change a tire, though you can time me with a calendar!

Steve, sounds like a smart way to rebuild.  This time of year the walk pieces can get pretty cold in your neck of the woods, so hope that layers are your friend.

And yeah, my attempt at faster intervals did not go very well...more like 8:40, and was broken up between last night (called it early because the gym track was WAY too hot to take) and this morning outside.  I'm stuck in long and slow mode, and really glad you picked up on that while I can still improve it.  Will try the 800's @ 8:00/mi pace next week. 

Trying the pic posting thing out.  I think I've had previous success with cutting and pasting from pics already on Facebook.  This one was provided by the local running club as encouragement to lose the six pack below and gain a real one!

Carol - Talk about big foot sightings. That six pack is funny.

Ok - wet suit question. Looking at entering the Jerseyman Sprint Tri in mid May. Water temps I am guessing will be low 60's and the pics of the event show everyone with wetsuits. Having no personal knowledge I was wondering about the price range and what to look for.

Joe, I would recommend wetsuit rentals.  I used them for my first triathlon and then returned the suit.  I believe it'll cost you between 45-60 bucks...however, you can take your rental fee and apply it to buying one of their new/used suits at the end of the season. (fyi, rental fee is only good until the end of that calander year if you buy from them)  I ended up doing this and got the same suit I rented as my own.  Their customer service was excellent....I really had a good experience with them.

Wetsuits run anywhere from $100 to $1000 ish.  A typical $150-250 for a full suit $100-175 for a sleveless.  Lots to pick from, if at all possible try it on before buying it. 

I would not rent a wetsuit unless I was sure I was going to buy one at the end of the season.  It pretty much pays for itself after 2-3 races, plus you can get used to swimming in it. 

If you are only ever going to do 1 triathlon... then yes you can rent one and be ahead financially. 

Some names are 2XU, Xtera, Orca, Zoot, Tyr, Blue70, um blanking.  But make really really really sure you buy a swimming wetsuit.  Surfing and diving wetsuits will kill your arms after 100 yards.   Some nice sales going on atm $250 wetuits for $150...

Pam - love the bike!

Brian - nice swim and I hope the run treated you better than you anticipated.

Ken - Definitely hoping you did not pull a muscle. Follow the rest and ice regime religiously. I'm also surprised by how well it works.

Loving all the fun pics being posted. Nothing is better than comic relief.

Carol - what you are doing for your 800's is so awesome. I can understand being in the slow, distance mode, then trying to push the legs to go faster. They seem to get very comfortable at a certain pace and don't like going faster. And I think I'm gonna do the swim coach thing. I figure there is no better time and the cost isn't out of my reach. Plus I will meet several other local athletes who are doing IMCDA this year. I think it will be well worth it.

I'm definitely excited about this slow build thing. When I did my HIM training I had to build pretty fast and it had hard times. I love having such low running miles starting off because I hope it will help me gain some speed as well as not burn out as I increase my distance. Today I did my short run and medium bike. A friend drove the entire IMCDA bike course with a video camera, then went home and set the whole thing to music and added mile markers to the video. It was great to watch. If I want it enough times the course will not be new to me.

What are some healthy snacks y'all eat throughout the day? Looking for some ideas particularly when I'm hungry before I go to bed. Tonight I did PB on a piece of awesome bread. I think as my training ramps up I will need to eat a bit more and my go to is often sugar/candy, but I want that to change. Since deciding to discipline myself to only having sugar two days a week I find myself unsure what to eat (that indicates a bigger problem than I realized ).

Have a great Friday!

Thanks Jay. I did see some sales that I thought were pretty good. $170 for a full suit and 130 for a sleeveless. 

Steve I am not sure how many cold water swims I will do but I am also considering Timberman 70.3. Lk Winnipesaukee water temps are a decent 70-77 but the suit might help with my first 1 mile swim.

Would you suggest a sleeveless, or full suite?

Sorry for the technical glitch this morning.

Thanks Jay. I did see some sales that I thought were pretty good. $170 for a full suit and 130 for a sleeveless. 

Steve I am not sure how many cold water swims I will do but I am also considering Timberman 70.3. Lk Winnipesaukee water temps are a decent 70-77 but the suit might help with my first 1 mile swim.

Would you suggest a sleeveless, or full suite?

Thanks Jay. I did see some sales that I thought were pretty good. $170 for a full suit and 130 for a sleeveless. 

Steve I am not sure how many cold water swims I will do but I am also considering Timberman 70.3. Lk Winnipesaukee water temps are a decent 70-77 but the suit might help with my first 1 mile swim.

Would you suggest a sleeveless, or full suite?

Joe, I got a full sleeve for myself and most of my tri friends suggest full too.  I know Steve disagreed with renting vs. buying but when I did it there were some reasons.  1. I didn't know if I'd take on triathlon as a "full time hobby" so I didn't want to spend a couple of hundred bucks without being sure I enjoyed it.  2.  My body type is a long way from what a stereotypical triathlete is.  I have broad shoulders and am pretty muscular so I needed to figure out which brand fit me best.  Wetsuit rentals did a great job with their questionnaire and that led me to the blueseventy fusion which fits me great.

If you are comfortable with buying right away as Steve suggested, look to see if there's a multisport expo near you.  I know there is a multisport expo in Boston (in March I believe) and I've been told by my friends that you can score a prior years wetsuit for a good price.  If I remember correctly, they try to move last years inventory (just like online shops) and also try to sell their model wetsuits.

Showoff!  Thanks Steve!  Isn't she pretty?

Something was in the air yesterday I think.  Ken pulled his quad and I went out for a 5 mile run last night and pulled my quad.  Was fine to mile 4 and was limping by the time I got home.

Wow, there is some great training going on!  Samantha, that is a heck of a schedule.  Stu, those pix were hilarious but I loved the camper one the best.  Carol, I hope that this crunch challenge and the plank challenge will give me a different kind of six pack abs.

Joe, as for the wetsuit, definitely listen to others but my former training partner who is a kick-butt swimmer recommended a sleeveless.  She said that her shoulders got tired in a full wetsuit.  I heeded her recommendation and got a sleeveless but I haven't gone into the water since I got it.  I used BT's site and happened to catch a sale and got my Seventeen brand for $80.  At that price tho, I don't think it will hold up long but I chanced it since I'm in FL and many of my tris will not be wetsuit legal.

Good luck to all of our racers this weekend.  I know that we have Ken with a marathon and Carol with a 15K.  Anyone else?  I've got a 15k tomorrow but if this quad thing isn't better, I won't risk it.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Pam - Thanks I have considered sleeveless because as you point out there will be added resistance to moving your arms. The bike looks great. Such a nice personal touch.

Jay - I like the idea of the expo. First one close to me NYC is 3/16. Thing is I saw XTerra had deals through BT for a vortex wetsuit for $170 which sounded great (<$200 being great), though my wife may not agree ;-).

Mike - I had toyed with the idea last year of racing Timberman but I am looking to fit the schedule to make this a fun test of my fitness this year. I am not signed up yet but am really excite about the idea.

Pam, ugh, so sorry to hear about your quad.  Hope you get to race tomorrow, but only if it doesn't compromize that leg.

Ken, how is yours feeling today?

Samantha, glad you are going to do the swim coach.  Building your technique should help you expend less energy on the swim, regardless of pace, and connecting up with some other potential training buddies is a nice benefit.  For snacks, I have really taken a liking to greek yogurt.  I buy it in the larger containers to save a few pennies.  Either the plain that I flavor up myself with splenda and a drop of vanilla, or sometimes I just get the honey/vanilla flavor.  1/2 cup is + a few walnuts and/or 1/2 banana and/or some lightly microwaved apples w/ cinnamon and/or some frozen mixed berries is pretty satisfying.  Yum!!!

I have an Xterra Vortex sleeveless wetsuit that I bought using the BT discount.  I used the sizing chart they provided and it fit on the first try.  They will exchange it for you within 30 days if the size isn't right though.  I have been quite happy with it swimming in the lake and in a few races.  And yes, it has survived the wetsuit strippers .  Right now looks like you can get the sleeveless for $128, or the full sleeve for $170  -- see banner ad at the top of the BT website.

Rest day today...walking the dog and doing my crunches will be about it.  Off after that to work packet pickup for a few hours.

Jay, yes those are all good ideas to rent, some of which I was not considering when looking at Jay's post.  I would lean towards a full as you can always use it.  A sleveles allows less drag on your arms, but if the water temp is 60 or lower you are going to lose some core temp over a mile or 2 in the sleeveless.  I think as Pam said the faster a swimmer you are, the better you can be with a sleeveless.  You have to be working hard enough with the swim to overcome the temperature disadvantage.  It is like running in 25F temps.  You can go out with just a shirt and shorts if you are running a 7:00 mpm, but if you are jogging at 11 mpm you are going to want more layers.   

Sorry about the leg injuries.  What were you guys doing when the pull happened?  And how is it the next day?

Ken: I'm glad the run went okay and your pull appears to be just some soreness

Pam: Thanks for the inspire message.  I had no idea how to look at others training logs until you did that today   Now I have to figure out how to do the friend thing lol.

Today was a tough day to train.  I'm tired because I didn't sleep much after my sons basketball team lost a tough game.  Its a tough age group (8-10) and my best player made an unfortunate decision which allowed our opponent to beat us by a basket.  More troubling to me was that my best player is usually unflappable and he was crying after it happened and I couldn't get him to calm down.  I emailed his dad who confirmed that he was upset and I also sent some nice things that I told him to show his son if he needed a boost.  The worst part is this kid is a GREAT kid who does everything for us....my heart just breaks when I see any of my little guys upset.  The poor kids put more pressure on themselves than I ever would; its about having fun, being positive, and teaching them basketball as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry, I needed to get that out!  Today, I accomplished some of the goals I set for myself a few days ago.  I did shoulders/legs/core strength training first, then I did the week 2 workout of the 0-1650 program (for the first time) right after.  I was a little disappointed in my pace when I plugged in my times but I'm not sure what I expected!  I'm not that fast to begin with and I tired two major body parts before going into the pool!  On the positive end, I was pleased that I never felt tired during the workout.  I drove home from the Y and then hopped on the bike for 35 minutes.  I need to get equipment to figure out my pace etc....for now I just go until I reach my time goal.

Now, I have a question on how to train on the trainer.  Right now, I just put my bike in the highest gear and just pedal.  Should I be doing intervals like changing gears every minute to work on faster turnover rate etc or should I just get in my time?  

Best of luck to Ken, Carol and Pam on your races this weekend :=)

I will be cheering for you in spirit. 

Go go go!!!

Ken that is great news.  It may have just been a stinger then phew. 

Jay you can get really complicated on the trainer.  If you put your speedometer sensor on your back tire you will get your speed and distance data on your bike computer (not if it is on the front tire).  This gives good feedback.  This week when my computer was being buggy I was very um ... displeased until I could again see how fast I was going on the trainer.  Your trainer rides are just like your road rides.  You have your 10 minute warmup then you have, tempo work, short intervals (30 sec fast 30 sec slow x 5 recover 5:00 then repeat3x), long intervals (4:00 fast, 1:00 slow x 5), high RPM work, high power/low RPM work or pyramid (base speed, .5 mph faster. .5 mph faster ..... .5 mph slower ... etc. cool down) etc. So ya shifting for more or less tension. 

A reminder that when you are cycling you want about 5 inches between your knees (measure it with a ruler you will naturally start out around 10 inches), back round, pushing down (slightly) with hips rotated forward (top of hips back bottom of but forward) as you ride. If your shoes had headlights they should be pointing forward at all points of your stroke.  Strap a laserlight on the outside of your shoe to play this game just make sure the cat is not in the room.  If you toe your pedal you will get nasty sore spot at the top of your calf, bythe back of your knee, towards the outside.  Wash your bike shorts regularly as friction will build quickly as sweat and road dust get into the fabrick.. this is bad and can be painful and cause sores which are painful.  If you get these sores, diaper rash/baby cream works, don't ask how I know these things... please. 

So you know how to tie your shoelaces, right?  Well if you have ever had a shoelace come undone and then stepped on it with your other foot at full speed... it can be uncomfortable when your rib cage hits the ground (don't ask how I know, ok it got caught on a sage bush and untied itself not my fault).  Here is a trick, when doing the initial cross under before the bow, cross under once over and under again, pull tight.  Then when making the bow you go around the 1st loop once, and then again before making your 2nd loop. You can still double knot it if you really want, but this knot is much more secure than going around once at each of the pressure points in the knot.  This has become more important now that they have developed shoelaces that no longer snug in properly like the old ones used to.    

Don't worry about the kids too much.  Be supportive teach them well and let them play. If your kid falls down and you are all oh my you must be hurt, the kid cries, but if you just come over and give them a hand up often they don't.  So supportive, help them get though it and then back to life as usual.  You don't want the kid or his friends to dwell on the trama.  Teaching a drill to fix the problem will help increase self-esteem through having a plan for how to improve next game.  You can give the drill a cool name and then have the kids compete to see who does it best and film them if you really want to, to show how great they are at it (before and after vid of the drill) may need parents permission to film.  Then you can be all, see this is where you started and where we had problems and now look at how well you guys are doing with that.  Gametime!    

Ouche, swimming freestyle after doing shoulder workouts.  I will talk you through rotator cuff stretches and strength ballancing for you if that ends you up with impingment due to overworking your shoulders without enough rest..... I am sensing a theem of me learning things the hard way and not wanting others to enjoy the process of mastering injury recovery all on their own 8). 

 And on Friday before lunch do not go to the area where fellow staff members sometimes bring food and tempt yourself into eating fudge and chips with salsa before your lunch..... (days without chocholate 14 er 15 minutes, sigh, eyes downcast). 

Some good ones in here... what are yours?

Rules to run (or swim or bike) by...

Steve, thanks for the tips on the bike and the kids!  The truth is it bothered me because of who it was...my own kid, he can toughen up but someone else...my heart breaks for them lol.  Back to the bike topic for a minute...if I'm feeling soreness on the outside of my foot, is that because I'm not keeping my foot straight??  I do notice that once in awhile the foot that is sore is hitting my bike frame.....perhaps I need to do the drill you mentioned.

Samantha: You asked for some healthy alternatives for snacks.  I'm not sure how much you like to cook or bake but here are a few recipes I've gathered that may help you.  Complete disclosure, I have eaten all of these bars and they're all very good IMO!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-recipes-pumpkin-protein-bars.html

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/video-jamie-eason-carrot-cake-protein-bars.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/video-jamie-eason-lemon-protein-bars.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/video-jamie-eason-chocolate-protein-bars.htm

http://cnhc.typepad.com/cnhc/2010/08/easy-homemade-raw-protein-bars.html