Baowolf's New Years Resolution Group-Closed (if are stuck with no group PM me) (Page 13)

Good morning everyone. Just a quick check in to let you all know I'm still alive and well. My work schedule will be normalizing after Tuesday but working 9/11 days isn't fun.....I'm sure our nurse Samantha has done such things in the past Sadly, I've been fighting a chest cold since Wednesday so I finally succumbed and have been sleeping in rather than getting short rest to workout. Not ideal but I feel like I'm finally on the other side of it.

Everyone is doing great work and I'm jealous of you all because I can't workout! On the positive side, diet has been strong and my wife has been really cranking up her workouts and feeling better about her body. Speaking of my wife, someone asked about lifting in their routine. I know Steve gave his answer but I'm a big advocate of it; as I've said before, it makes you feel stronger and that helps when you start to get tired in races...call it a placebo with some benefits if you'd like but that's how I feel.

Jay - long days are tough and being sick in addition to long days..blech! I'm a firm believer in getting as much sleep as you can when sick. And I've also been told when dealing wth colds that affect the lungs it best to lay low, but if it's more of a head cold it's ok to push through. Glad you are feeling better!

I've not been a weight lifting person but this year I've added some strength buildin to my plan and just yesterday on the bike I felt a bit stronger. It could've been in my head but I don't think so. Right now I just do squats lunges and core work. As soon as I can start strengthening my arms I'll add something in for them. I've heard so many positive benefits. But I will also say that there is a time for everything. When I was training for IM Steve recommended I just stick with S/B/R because we didn't want to push my body too hard. I think that was a good move and for anyone moving toward an IM distance race who comes from a sedentary background and only a couple years of training under their belt there's really only so much your body can take. But now that I'm post IM I think it's a good time to add strength in.

January totals below:

Swim: 2h 48m 26s - 6500 Yd
Bike: 16h 20m - 260.01 Mi
Run: 10h 39m - 53.41 M

Not as much as I would like - but a week entirely off due to pneumonia really does cost from a volume perspective.

Kumar: 92 miles! That's fantastic. I'd love to break 100 miles in a month eventually.
Pam: I love that you followed the cop car. It would have been even funnier if you had talked to him after he stopped!
RE: weight training - I've never made it a priority (which means if I run out of time or motivation, weight training is the first to drop off the schedule, then swim, then run) - but I am incorporating more and more yoga, body weight (lunges, squats, pushups, etc) and PT for my foot into the mix. Does it help? I have no idea - but my hips definitely feel a little better after yoga (which I try to do after running).

We have had a wonderful weekend for weather - yesterday it was up to 28 and my best friend and I went for a walk on one of the local lakes that I typically swim in in the summertime. It is about 4 miles around, beautiful sunny day. Very enjoyable. I also was lucky enough to get outside today for my long run. It's a little overcast - but just about 40 degrees. I took the hound with me and with all of the snow melt, sanding, and general schmoo on the road - that was one filthy dog when we got home!

My schedule has me down for a 1:45 run today, but I only was out for 1:30 (combination of not bringing anything with me to eat or drink, doh! and still recovering from pneumonia). The race I'm hoping for is a full marathon at the end of May - but this is the third weekend in a row that the long run hasn't been all it has supposed to be. I'm thinking that the marathon may not be the smartest choice at this point. So - do I push on ever hopeful that the motivation/gumption will kick in in time, or do I punt the marathon and focus on training for the HIM mid June?

Hope all are well!

Kumar, your "baby steps" are giant leaps compared to most people. Your goals and effort are what counts!

Carl, I have worn Kayano in the past and I really liked them a lot. I am in lighter weight shoes now, Brooks Launch, and Asics Nimbus. Thank you for your prayers for my race in Boston too : )

I love strength training. I lift at the gym about 4 times a week with my husband. We enjoy this together. It makes me feel healthier and more agile which I need to be as an elementary school teacher.


January totals: run focused

Swim: 35m - 1100 Yd

Run: 26h 46m - 181.2 Mi

Strength: 3h 55m

Elliptical Training: 1h 00m

January's totals:

Swim: 6h 58m - 20000 Yd
Bike: 11h 26m 13s - 194.74 Mi
Run: 10h 17m 01s - 67.3 Mi
Weight loss 5 pounds

Pretty happy with the month, last year everything was 0 so it's a definite improvement. I've been busy painting cabinets all weekend now it's time to wind down watch some football and eat some bad food have a great week everyone, oh yeah the back is much better thanks everyone for the kind words.

Jennifer, lets take a look, Feb long runs 8 9 10 6, March 11 12 13 7, April 14, 15, 16, 8, May 17 18 12 8 race, would be a reasonable build. You could cheat up faster if your run totals were higher in the past few months before the pnomonia. So possibly Feb 8 9.5 11 6, March 12.5, 14, 15.5 7, April 17 18.5 20 12, May 20 12 8 race. So the mary is possible at this point, but it will not be a best effort. If you don't get as far in your training as you want you could do a jog walk plan for the marathon. So it really comes down to what do you want from the race. To complete it feeling ok, or to try hit a big PR. This mary just won't be a really strong marathon, so are you ok with a so/so marathon. Only you can answer that. But you can train to the point where you can complete it.

Linda solid run miles there! And 2 20 mile runs at 8:40s and 8:30s... looks very strong. We will definitely have to stalk you, you are so primed for an amazing race. Please remember to bring warm warm clothes for that 3-4 hour wait in the cold grass before the race. I suggest like a snowmobile suit, gloves etc. But ya during the race it will be just race shorts and shirt for you. Your pace will keep you warm even if it is in the 30s.

Edited by Baowolf 2014-02-02 3:39 PM

Quick wave to all but this won't be a long post. At the Tally mary this morn at 5:30 for race day reg and then moved to finish line until 10:30 or so. Lots of running around with friends and I didn't leave the race til 1:30 (Got to see two friends complete their FIRST HM and two more their FIRST marathons.) Cried so much for the women that pulled a Julie Moss and fell at least 3 times 100 ft from the finish. Paramedics tried to pull her from the course and she begged to finish. She stumbled across the finish but then they put her in the ambulance later; I guess they couldn't get her electrolytes right. Now cooking for son's Super Bowl party at the church and I will return home to an empty house for the game. Will probably fall asleep cuz so tired but then have to return for pickup for the party. Have fun tonight everyone!

Hello everyone

Felt great on Wk.2 of my training plan missed only 1 short run.Next week is pretty cold,I may miss a swim or two. Steves recovery plan for my legs are working great.

@Jennifer
I’ll be borrowing the notes below from Steve FFR. Goodluck to your training.


@Linda
That’s Impressive below, woot woot! Thanks for the advice again.


@Kumar
I admire your diligent preparation for Dallas Mary.

@Samantha
Congrats on the career opportunity!!!

@Jay
It gets better


Cheers Every one!!!


Carl

Hello!
I am back from an amazing weekend with friends, at this place called "La Forêt perdue" (The Lost Forest) where they have ~20 km of beautiful ice paths. You can basically skate for hours in the forest and never get bored. It's a nice workout too since the paths are not exactly flat
They even have animals you can feed, reindeers, llamas, poneys, etc! Over the weekend we spent around 4:30-5 hours skating.

We were 17 adults and 23 kids (from 4-14 years old) staying in the cabin. On Saturday we played the traditional "skate-tag" game, parents vs kids. They gave us a run for our money I tell you! I am still sore, inner thighs are killing me right now! Rest of the time we played board games and ate, rather healthily I am happy to report. So much fun!

I can't believe it's Feb already. Here are my Jan totals. Totally not impressive, since coming back from illness and dealing with extreme cold weather here in Quebec:
Swim : 0
Bike: 84 mi - 4h15 min
Run: 1 outing of 2 mi
Strenght: around 1h30 min
+ skating last weekend!!!

Mike D: I love that you put snow shoveling in your monthly totals It is certainly a great workout. This morning I had 3 inches of snow covered with ice all over my car - and I was running late for kid's school. After 20 minutes I was sweating like crazy! Does that count for an upper body strenght workout??

I am also excited to start training with a plan this week. I used the BT custom plan creator (oly beginner). Genius! I'll do a 2-swim, 2-bike and 4-run, adding 1 swim later in open water when weather allows. Race season should be as follows :
-100-km bike event (not a race) in May
-sprint tri in June
-oly in July (my first!)
-possibly a HM in Sept or Oct (also a first!).

It's ambitious (for me) but I feel I have plenty of time to get ready for each event. The goal for all of these it to finish and have fun, except for the sprint where I want to beat last year's time.

OK, end of long post Thanks for reading!

Calvin, I would add 1 more bike to your plan even if it is a short one. It basically takes 3 workouts a week in any 1 sport to gain fitness/speed a little. 4x per week gets you modest gains and 5x a week gets you good gains. 2x per week basically maintains what you have or very slight fitness gains. The run looks good, swim is the shortest part of the race so that is probably ok, so 1 more bike would be good even if short.

I always add the snow shoveling when i can. its a tough gig, and can be quite the workout, so why not?

I finished the "Tour of Sufferlandria" yesterday. The final workout is series of 64 sprints and is insane. Over the 9 days, I rode 175 miles, had 'fun' and definitely felt stronger by the end. It was a good mental exercise as well, since you had to ride a prescribed bit every day and they were all tough. Getting on the bike a couple of days was the last thing I felt like doing, but I did it.

Woke up this AM at 3:45 with a cold, runny nose, etc. I'm feeling like garbage due to this head cold. Bagged my swim since I really can't breathe well. Plus another snow storm happening today, and another on Wednesay. Need to save my energy to shovel more snow....

Well, this is going to be emarrassing. If I knew posting totals was a rule, I'd probably have done more.

S: 0h0m, 0 mi
B: 1h50m, 23 mi
R: 4h16m, 22.82 mi

Please let me know if you want excuses. I'm thinking of them right now. But seriously, I'm kind of proud of myself because Januaries are always slow months for me--I just stay in and hibernate. This group is pushing me to do things I don't typically do. My last few workouts consisted of a 5.04 mi run at 10:20min/mi pace on Thursday, and a very fast (by my standards) 2.93 mi run at 7:53 pace yesterday (I had to hurry to squeeze in the run between errands and a superbowl party). I got my bike trainer back yesterday so hopefully I'll log some time on it. Though it's tough to gauge distances on it with my cyclocomputer. For those of you that have the Kinetic, how many turns of the knob to you apply to get as close to road resistance as possible?

Steve, can you recommend long runs for me, if my HM is in 6 weeks?

I see bike cops often in congested/pedestrian-filled towns and cities, for example in Washington DC, the bars in Arlington and Alexandria (Northern Virginia), and towns like Vienna. I'm worried they might know more about bicycle law that I do. I know for a fact that typical patrol car police know nothing of bike law (because my best friend is one). DC cops even use Clydesdale horses to patrol on special nights (saw em on Halloween!). Super friendly and they let you take photos of them, even when inebriated--we took advantage of that. How's that for PR?

Oh, and as promised I'm going to be giving up chocolate. We'll see how that goes. I started Feb. 1 and I've already successfully turned away some sweets at my parents' pantry (I usually raid it when I'm over) and an amazing looking Hershey's pie at a pasty last night. Sam, do I also have to give up white cocolate?

Good tip on the running shoes lifespan. In past seasons I didn't measure equipment use but I intend to use BT's log this year. I used Nimbus 14's all last season but they're a hair too small and the support doesn't suit my pronation as well, so I got Noosa Tri 8's this year.

If anyone is in the DC area, there's a local 'Battle of the Tri Clubs' swim meet hosted by DC Tri Club held March 23, 2014. If you're interested in participating you can with with my tri club (it's an open club and we don't have member fees or anything).

Mike, all this snow on the the east coast this year has been tough. Snow shoveling is a tough workout! I'm lucky that my husband does it all. I hope your cold goes away soon.

Phil, I am a member of the Frederick Tri Club. Just up 270.

Starting off my week with those great thoughts from Steve and his wife! Thanks to you both! Congrats on the no chocolate. Now time for you to go from raindrop to stream with no caffeine/early to bed.

Now, to catch up with the group a bit....love all that is going on with you gals/guys!

Jay -- hope you feel better soon. Good to hear that your wife is catching fire with her workouts!

Jennifer -- glad you got a break in the weather! Yoga sounds good to me, but actually doing it is another matter.

Linda -- LOL, yes, I bet you do need some agility being an elementary school educator! Nice run miles.

Mike -- congrats on the weight loss, and so glad to hear your back is doing better!

Pam -- my hat is off to you on the race day volunteering, not to mention all that you do for your son! At least the superbowl was over fairly early.

Carl -- glad to hear that your recovery and training are going well!

Kumar -- I hope you have a great time at Cowtown! I've done the half there 4 years, and then the full last year. So yes, it's my favorite race. Large enough to feel the energy, but small enough to not feel too crowded.

Isabella -- I'm going to have to look up the Lost Forest. It sounds wonderful!

Mike D -- Great job killing it on the bike training! Jay must have given you his cold. Hope you kick it soon!

Phil -- ha, your groundhog cousin Puxultawny came out of hibernation long enough to tell us winter is here to stay. Might as well embrace it, but that is easy for me to say living in Texas!

Samantha -- great news on the job opportunity. Sounds like you made a very good move when you hired on with your current employer. Room for advancement....sweet! I'll have to look up Muscle Prodigy. I need to get back on the bike (trainer), so maybe that will do the trick!

Joe -- I have this vision of you getting caught breaking into your gym. "Really, officer, I just needed to get a workout in....."

Mitzi -- you need to tackle that friend of yours and drain her brain of all swim secrets!

Shared a lane with a guy today who cracked me up. He was wearing a garmin, a finger lap counter device, and some sort of band around his head with a music player. That's all well and good, but at the end of every....single....lap, he would pause for at least a couple of minutes to make adjustments to one of the devices. Maybe they were all new to him, but it was just kinda funny to watch.

Not a very good January!!!
I have missed my post on my favorite online community because of an incident at Disney world on January the 9th. Yep Disney world! Let me just put it out there, I burnt my hand with a bottle warmer. Yes! You read that right, a bottle Warmer! My beautiful princess was very hungry, Disney Worlds bottle warmer was boiling the water (which mine at home never does that) I reached to get the bottle and got bumped into and the boiling water poured all over my hand. My wife was pumping during that time, so all I could do was keep from crying as I was holding the bottle with my neck and my hand shaking rapidly! Long story short. I visited the first aid station, took pain meds and braved the trip out. Besides 2nd degree burns, one small scar I got back in the pool last week. So My totals where
Swim: 30m - 1000 Yd
Bike: 34m - 12 Mi
Run: 1h 53m 14s - 15.1 M

Good News is My little Girl is growing Like a weed!!! I have already logged 3 workouts in this month and kicking it hard!
Oh know my wife just got spit up all in her hair. Got to Go!

Jared

Phil, no excuses accepted.. in a good way. We can't change the past, and if we beat ourselves up about it we are more likely to become discouraged about being more productive today and tomorrow. So the monthly number thing is just a moment to look at where we have been and decide what to do today or tomorrow about it. No blame for anyone doing or not doing something. We all have lives, this is a hobby, there is no public flogging for not having enough fun during the party. Do what you want to do and pat yourself on the back if you walked 1 mile more than you did 1, 5 or 10 years ago in January. Then challenge yourself to make it 2 miles next month if you want to. But don't "should on yourself," it is a messy business... but we all do it.

I don't know if your logs are up to date, but I see a long run of 5 miles (not well supported by weekly runs). So long runs would be 6, 7, 8, 9, 6, race. You need to support that with 3-4 weekly runs of 2,3,3, 6, 3 3, 4 3 7, 3 4 4 3 8, 3 4 5 4 9, 3 4 off 3 6, 3, off 2, off 2 off race.. or some such. This won't get you ready for a HM in 6 weeks, but it will get you as close as you are going to get. Your HM will have to be at a slower pace, but you should be able to jog the entire thing without walking. If you want to you could walk/jog the race, but probably not necessary if you can get those runs in.

Still chocolate free, yes I included white chocolate in my personal challenge. So far no soda, caffeine or chocolate and to bed 15 minutes early each night. It is odd, I am actually starting to wake up before my alarm clock goes off. Someone recently said that if you have to use an alarm clock at all, you are not getting enough sleep. It is an interesting thought, but I don't think I can swing 10 hours of sleep ever night just so I don't have to use an alarm clock. But I will try 15 minutes and see how that goes.

Edited by Baowolf 2014-02-03 10:54 PM

Thanks for the guidance Steve. Exactly what I was looking for. At my current fitness, I'm confident I can complete the HM around a 10:00 pace, but I think if I follow your schedule I just might inch closer to my 9:00 pace goal. I guess we'll see in 6 weeks!

I got bad news; there was a lapse in judgement after a kick-heavy swim session last night. I grabbed a big jar of organic chocolate animal crackers and threw 2 in my mouth, as I've been doing all January! I thought about my no chocolate commitment during my 3rd or 4th chew. It's sad; I lasted 2 days and 21 hours. It's a new day today. I'll get a jar of the regular animal crackers next time I'm at BJ's. And sell the chocolate ones on ebay.

I finally took Carol's advice and went to the city pool and went for 1 mi swim. I don't care who criticizes me there .Small victories like what Steve meant before.

Phil glad your doing ok in your training. Goodluck to your race. I am currently envious of those who prepared well for their races. If you don't mind I'll be borrowing Steve's advice below Thanks

Yes, no white chocolate.

Steve - here is my run plan to be ready for the HM on May 25. I will be supporting my long runs with 1 short and 2 med. I will also be biking 4x/week.
5 6 7 4 7 8 9 5 9 10 11 6 11 12 13 Race
Does it look good? I will figure out my HIM plan over the next couple weeks. I can't start swimming until I'm fully released from modified duty, so I'll be continuing with core work and leg strengthening.

Still no chocolate for me. Still want it nearly every day.

So, its been a real crappy week, and getting worse. Felt great Sunday finishing the winter "tour" race. Monday AM woke up at 2:45 AM with a nasty cold, runny nose, stuffed up, unable to breath and felt achy all over. This finally abated last night, but I had to bag my monday swim & tuesday run becuase of it. Today is another snow storm which will dump up to a foot of snow on us, and the pool was closed this AM beacuse of it, so no swim today. On the drive in to work today I got a flat tire and had to change it in the snow at 5;30 AM. This tire was 2 weeks old, and replaced the flat I had on Jan 14th. (Low profile tires stink!!) Looks like I'll be at work until late tonight before I can slosh home in the post snow mess, so nothing happening tonight workout wise. Maybe tomorrow AM I can get back at it with a run or bike, but I've had enough of this week.

On the posiive side, I'm thinking about maybe getting a road bike to add to the tri bike I have. Just for something different to ride, and to possibly start joining in group rides, etc. Any recommendations for a good 'bang for the buck' roadie in the $1500 range?

MD

Good short run on Monday, did as Steve recommended and mixed walk/run. Finished strong!

Great short bike last night. I do add to the time specified in my plan as bike is my forte, and I want to make the most of the 2x bike / week.

Tonight is a swim but will have to skip it, attending a conference and waiting for my pool club membership to be finalized.

Can't wait to get in the water but a bit afraid... last time was in August... !!!

Happy training!

Isabella

Mike, I can't believe you had to change a tire in that snow mess this morning, ugg. Here in Western MD we have a bad ice strom. No one has school and the roads, trees, and power are affected. That is a BAD morning for you but at least you are safe. Tomorrow is a new day, hopefully you can make a little time for you.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck Mike. There's still some good deals on closeout '13 new bikes out there, such as this Orbea Orca. My local Felt dealer had a '13 Z5 for $1300 and an F75 for the same price. Otherwise check out this BT classified post; depending on your size, has some good deals, particularly the Cannondale Supersix, or Scott CR1 comp.