left.right.repeat group -closed - Full of a bunch of winners...YEAH! (Page 14)

Good Monday morning all !!

Great to read that your computer is back in operation Mav. I was worried that you didn't respond to my comment about the Sox being up a 1/2 game on the Yanks and now they've fallen back into a tie . My region of the country has a LOT of Sox fans (and Bruins fans and Pats fans and Celtic fans!) because of the great number of maritimers who have migrated from/to the New England states over the years. Of course, also lots of Jays fans but it's been a while since they've had much to cheer about. Could this be the year that the Jays return to the glory days of the late 80's when they won back-to-back World Series championships?

I have to admit to being lazy yesterday and not getting out for a long run as I had intended to do. No excuse really because the weather was pretty decent meaning it was above freezing. Plan is to swim at lunchtime today and run tomorrow.

Have any of you added custom "graphics" to your bikes? I am thinking that I will order a couple of decals to put on my new ride. I understand you can get them online ( http://bikenames.com/ and that some places that do vinyl automobile graphics will do them also. One will probably be the logo for the Team Diabetes program ( http://diabetes.ca/section_donations/TeamDiabetesIndex.asp and one will be my nickname "FreddyBeachPete" I think I am going to put the word "sTRIve" on it too so that I will benefit from y'alls support in my events.

By the way, I'm still looking for suggestions for a name for my bike.

Have a great day/week everyone.

Praise the Lord Bryan, two of your prodigal sons - Leston and Dan - have returned   At this point in the biblical story a fatted calf gets slaughtered but I think we could dispense with that ...

As I'm sure veryone else will say too Dan, I'm awfully jealous of you for having been in Hawaii. My only visit was for a refueling stop on a flight from Vancouver to Sydney. Someday I hope to get back so that I can see more than the terminal and the pissed off border security officer who clearly wished he didn't have to work the night shift.

Leston - great news on your swim progress. Goodness, don't be a stranger to this site just because you don't have good news to share. In fact, be here more when that is the case so that we can all chirp in with comments! I kind of like the creamsicle suggestion by the way. We'll see...

Thanks Bryan and Marianne! I may not swim as fast as you, Marianne (you ROCK girl!) but I do love it, and most days I feel like I could stay in the pool all day long. I was so tickled and proud when Bryan first gave me the nic. I pointed it out to hubby and he said, "yeah, that fits." LOL. But "Turtle" probably fits me better then "Flipper". Remember the song from the show? "They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning..." well, not so fast, but steady. *grin*

That multi-sport expo sounds really cool, Mav. I would love to go to something like that. And hurray for your 'puter! I'd have major withdrawal problems without my desktop. Eeek. And thank you for asking about my bike! I'm having so much fun riding. I feel like I did when I was 8 years old and I got my first "grown up" bike... I've re-discovered biking and it's awesome.

Welcome home, Dan! Omg, I'm jealous too! What a great trip! I'm happy for you and your family. Too cool! Looking forward to you getting internet service restored at home.

Leston! Good ta see ya, guy! Yeah, your swimming is definitely coming along! A year from now you'll look back on these days with wonder. I swear you will. Ok, I'll share my method of counting laps if you promise not to laugh. (And if you HAVE to laugh, please keep it quiet. *grin*) Actually, I lose count if I count to 40. I daydream, or sing to myself, or fuss at the guy making a huge wake in the lane next to me; so I developed the "counting laps for dummies" system. For 2000 yards I count to 10 four times. And not only do I do that, but I associated something with every number 1 through 10 and I repeat it several times during the lap; e.g. "1, I've just begun, "3, this one's for me", "5 let's sTRIve", "9 is fine", and "10, let's go again". That way I tend to remember what I've repeated and stay focused better. *waiting...* Just remember... you promised.

Bryan? landmark day for me today! I ran 2 miles with NO stopping or walking for the first time since my son was 6 years old (and he was 22 on Mar 21). Now if I can just get rid of the cramp in my arm from reaching over my shoulder and patting myself on the back. *grin*

sTRIve on Turtles!

All my little chickens are home and back active....cool...welcome back everyone...

Mav - we are with you tomorrow girl....keep us posted.

Leston - no excuses for not posting...we are a family and we all share the whining and the cheering...if it gets excessive I think your brothers and sisters here will let you know.  Enjoy your recovery week.

Dan - get busy dude...there's been a lot going on here and you have a lot of reading to catch up on.

Flipper - 2 miles...go girl go....you used to say you couldn't run to the mailbox or something like that....keep adding no more than 10% a week and remember it is okay to walk if you need to...just keep moving. 

Here's another one for you all - here is a trap that many people fall into - be careful measuring every workout against the last.  Some days you just don't have it so give yourself a break - say it is ok.  I actually skipped a swim today....I just couldn't go.  So I will get over it.

Mav - nice brick over the weekend.  I did a long run on Saturday followed on Sunday by a great swim workout (three words I never thought I would attach together) with a run of about 3 miles after the swim.  I felt great.

Dan - I am doing the indoor this weekend as well.  By the way, be sure you are hydrated well - sometimes dehydration can induce cramping.

Go forth and sTRIve,

B

Greetings all. Hope today is great for everyone but especially for you mav.

Things are finally looking up weather-wise here in the GWN (Great White North). For my run yesterday I went topless  toque-less I mean for the first time since November. The temp was around 5c and a slight drizzle.

Cheers!

Marianne, you're the best! Right now I'm trying to figure out how anyone could be happy about turning 50, but it occurs to me that running/TRIing does that to us, LOL. So, I have to admit I'm 52. But I sure don't feel it. Thank you for the "CHEER" (and you too, Bryan!). You made my day. And it is so cool that our kids share a birthday! Just wow. Yep, there is something about this group... we all seem to be connected in some way. I feel like I was led here. Like the way I sat here smiling and reading about the way you count laps... too cool!

You were on my mind as soon as I got up and I wanted to let you know Marianne that I would thinking about you today. You are in my prayers.

Hope everyone has a good day!
sTRIving on

p.s. Bryan? good advice about not measuring every workout against the last. Guilty. And some days I just can't figure out WHAT is wrong it's so different from the last. I needed to read that. Thanks

I totally agree with our esteemed mentor Bryan that comparing every workout against the one before is a mistake. And we all do it ! Certainly in my case there are days when I feel like crap and then go out and have a great run. Other days when I feel great and am really looking forward to the run, it seems every step is a chore.

Just like we don't notice day-to-day change in our kids, we can't notice day-to-day change in our fitness. BUT, think back to where you were 1 month ago, 6 months ago, 1 year ago etc and the changes are remarkable. So, when you have what you think was a bad session, blow it off and remember, even a bad workout is better than not doing one at all, AND WAY BETTER THAN DOING HOUSEWORK !!!!!!!!

Speaking of workouts, last night was swim class night but only two of us showed up (probably because our coach had said she wasn't able to attend last night). We decided to each do a distance swim - I was aiming to do 750m again and Shawn was going to try for 1500m. I ended up pushing myself and did 1000m - yippee !!! He accomplished his goal of 1500m and for both of us this was further than we had ever swum.

Juanita - you mentioned doing 2 miles non-stop. Great work Tiger !! My experience has been that employing a run-walk method is really helpful to building distance. In fact, in all the clinics that I've taught or participated in it is the method we use. The ultimate target is 10:1 but even a ratio of 5:1 and over time gradually adding additional reps and gradually increasing the ratio by one minute of running is really effective. In the Learn To Run clinic they actually start at 1:1 and build from there. That's where my wife started about two years ago and she is now doing 10:1's and she's up to 16k  for her weekend long runs in the Half Marathon clinic. There are a couple of advantages to the run/walk method. Psychologically it breaks up a large task into smaller more realistic chunks so you will tend to be able to extend "time on task". Physiologically it tends to keep you training in the anerobic zone rather than the aerobic zone so you can build the endurance that is needed to go longer. Finally, for most of us, brisk walking pace is not an awful lot slower than slow running pace. I told my clinic participants that it wasn't to be a casual stroll but rather to,"Walk like an angry mother."

Have a great day everyone!

PM

FBP - your posts sounds an awful lot like a mentor in waiting....smile....actually I expect each of you to mentor a group next year....I know I know...you don't think you can....sorry but that's just so much crap....smile....you know more than you let on....all of you do....and anyway, just copy all of these pages into one gargantuan email and you will just about have the answers to whatever anyone could ask.

Lap counting....I forgot to add this last time....I have a very high tech lap counter....it is a combo water bottle/lap counter with a "forever" battery and easy to read output.....see what I do is take my water bottle and move it one tile for every lap.  That way I don't have to count.  I can swim and not think about how tired I am.  I also swim better swiiming an amount of time vs. distance.  The distance requirement seems to freak me out a little so I just say, OK let's swim 10 minutes uninterrupted for a warm up....then 4 x 150s and 4 x 100s and a 5 min continuous swim cool down or something like that.  100's and 150's I can handle....the 500 or more warmup would scare me....as you all know, I am a "devout coward".  The message in the message here is find whatever works.

This week in the pool I want you to focus on lengthening your vessel.  If you reach that lead hand way out there....further....further....a little more, it will enhance your rotation which increases your propulsion.  If you think about it a fish swims on its side not flat (I know except a flounder....but none of us want to flounder so there) so we are more efficient on our side as well.  If you really really really reach with that lead arm the rotation increases propulsion requiring less strokes for any distance.  Try this, swim a length normal counting your strokes.  Then swim another really exaggerating that reach and see if it is fewer strokes.  This really won't slow you down you just have to develop the rhythm.  You should feel as if you weight is in your armpit and you are rolling from side to side.  Try it and let me know.

sTRIve Turtle sTRIve

good luck this weekend Leston

Bryan

Wow mav that is great news on your first biopsy results and positive vibes continue to flow in your direction from the North in anticipation of your second round next week.

Dan - all the best for your Tri this weekend.

Cheers,

Peter

Marianne, Marianne, MARIANNE! GREAT news, girl! I think about you so often! And I’ll continue to  pray that the rest of the biopsies will have the same wonderful negative results. Your attitude is SO good, too. WTG, you! I don’t think I would have handled it as well as you.

OoOOoo! And I'm with you, Mav! Can we please, pul-EEze keep our group together for next year, Bryan?! That would be so awesome!

Peter thank you for the positive comments on my 2 mile run! Your advice is GREAT, and I think I may be up to the 10:1 target ratio, at least for short distance runs, so I'm going to try that next week. When I increase my distance, I may have to narrow up the ratio again. But I ran a virtual 5K on my treadmill today, participating in a race on my Sparkpeople GonnaBFit Virtual Races team, and I ran it non-stop/non-walk in 36.3 minutes! Bryan's coaching has worked! I took it slow, building up over time, and look how far I've come! Woohoo!

Speaking of Bryan's coaching: I went to the gym yesterday determined to do my swim EXACTLY the way you instructed, Bryan. I swam my 2000 yards without stopping, and constantly concentrating on "lengthening my vessel". For two weeks I had been trying to swim faster. Yesterday I didn't worry about speed, although I did swim hard, and my time was the same as when I tried really hard to swim fast! 52 minutes! I couldn't believe it! You were so right, Bryan! Ok, I'm definitely cultivating the "long vessel" technique, and my new swim song is "reach, reach, REACH." Oh, and I counted strokes on my first 25 yards in the pool, swimming the way I normally swim - 30 strokes. Concentrating on my reach for the second 25 yards, I counted 26 strokes, (and I have a feeling that my reach became a little longer later in the swim). This is the best advice I've been given for my swim to date. (I've never had coaching.) Thank you, Bryan!

Been thinking about you, Dan! I know you had a great Tri!

Hey Leston! Sounds like you've had a blast "test driving" bikes. Sweet! Can't wait to see what you get!

sTRIve on, fellow Turtles! You ROCK

Howdy all. It's a GORGEOUS day here with temps finally well about the freezing mark and bright, beautiful, warm sunshine. I'm just back from my LSD - 16k today. Just one month till Mrs FBP and I do the Half Marathon. Plan is to step up to 18k next weekend and the week after then taper off leading up to race day.

NTR (Non Tri Related) - I went to a great concert last night called "Beatles Baroque". As you might guess, it was entirely Beatles music arranged for and played by a Baroque orchestra from Montreal. They were fantastic and I swear you'd think that many of the songs had originally been written for harpsichord, strings and woodwinds instead of a rock band. 

Bit of a downer week in the FBP household. Mrs FBP was told on Thursday that the company that hired her  was letting her go. She was devastated but has bounced back some and is determined to move forward. Her folks arranged for her to fly out to visit them for a couple of weeks (they live on the other side of Canada in the province of BC) and so she left early this morning. She noted that if nothing else, she worked long enough to pay for my bike. Black humour but humour none the less.

That's it for now. Anxious to hear race results so will check back later,

sTRIving as always,

Peter 

I am going to tri (he-he) to hit as many of these as I can.

MAV - AWESOME GIRL!!!  One down, one to go is right.  Hang in there and keep us posted.  By the way - no whining - period.  Wine maybe whine NO!  Don't worry about the "when" that oly will be there.

Dan - My indoor start time was 7:20 central so I finished up really early this morning.  I hope yours went well.  I felt really good during mine considering that I was at the Final Four games pretty late last night.  It was here in San Antonio and I was THERE!  My first Final Four...it was very cool.  However, it did make for a "tough three" this morning.  I swam 475, biked 14 and ran 2.31 miles.  I am sure our bike calibration was different but those were my results.  My swim was wild.  I was in a narrow lane with a younger man who swam at almost the exact same speed so we were bashing into each other, kicking and hitting and forcing water into the other's mouth as we tried to breathe...it was like a 475 yard open water start....smile.  None of this was intentional it is just how it happened - glad I could breathe bilaterally when it was really rough.

Flipper - keep lengthening that vessel.  It forces rotation and that is really your propulsion.  Excellent 5k time....good job!  Also 10-1 is a great ratio but try this too - go 3:1 for three miles and record your time, next run go 4:1 and record your time, then 5:1 and record, 6:1 and so on....you get it.  What we are trying to determine is at what ratio your heart rate doesn't get so high that you go anaerobic and begin to use too much glycogen which can lead to "the wall".  Also, I think you will find that your total time really doesn't get impacted much by the walk breaks, actually most of us run faster between walks because we stay more rested.  Also, more short walks give you more chances to drink water.  You can also try using 30 seconds to walk the walk part of the ratio.  If you think about it that will put a walk about every aid station and maybe one halfway in between aid stations.  Keep up the great work.  Here's a treadmill fun drill for you - every one minute you run push the speed up 1/10 of a mile per hour.  Note your speed before you slow down for the walk break, then the next time, start your run at one or two tenths below that speed, building a tenth per minute.  This will push your heart rate and your speed and will get very difficult very quickly...that's cool.  Just slow it down then and enjoy the workout.  What we are trying to do is create new things for our body to endure.  We don't want it to get "used" to what we are doing every day....mix it up.

Mav - retail exertion does NOT count as a workout.  By the way, no one said anything about disbanding sTRIve - all I said is that all of the new newbies deserve all of your knowledge.  This sport is all about giving back and you all know more than most 3 year veterans...I can say that because I am not a 3 year veteran...smile.

Leston - it's tough to beat the carbon tricked out rides....that said, my road bike is a Bianchi which is steel, with a carbon fork and seat post.  It is a fine ride.  My tri bike is carbon, a Quintana Roo Seduza, and she is a sweet, sweet ride.  I love both of my bikes.  I really liked the steel feel over aluminum on the road bike, but that is a personal deal.  My advice on a bike is - decide how much you are going to spend - go to your LBS or online or wherever you plan to buy and determine the costs of the extras like pedals, bottle cages, saddle bags, etc....deduct that amount from your budget (don't forget the cost of shoes and clips if you need them) and then you know what your bike can cost.  Now the hard part - don't ride anything that costs more.  Or your budget will move.  It's pretty simple really, we adapt.  By the way, a 13 pound bike has to feel great - I would have ridden it just for fun too but here's a thought - how about saving 5 pounds of body fat vs 5 pounds on the bike weight....we have a lot more control over body weight and it is a lot cheaper to lose (not easier but cheaper).  By the way, Leston I know you don't have a lot of spare fat to lose so this really applies to the rest of us.  Also, we all hate you because of that....not really but kinda.....smile. Also, your swim was awesome....keep going....next swim - you go 212.5.

sTRIve

Hey Dan - how was the finish line?

B

FBP - sorry to hear about Mrs. FBP's job....we will send good vibes her way too...there are plenty to go around with all the endorphins being created by this group.  And I LOVE her sense of humor.  Congrats on the nice weather....it has been beautiful here but I didn't want to rub it in.....

sTRIve

B

Mav - no hiding here....the indoor works like this....you swim 10 minutes with 9 of your closest friends in a lap pool....then you hike upstairs to the cycle studio and ride a spin bike that has been "calibrated" and has a bike computer on it - you ride for 30 minutes and then you book it out to a treadmill and run your guts out for 20 minutes.  Then the really smart people take over and they figure out points based on how far everyone in your division M/W and under 40/over 40....that's all there is to it.  My distances covered were on the earlier post but they were 475 in the pool wrestling with my lane mate, 14 miles on the bike and 2.31 miles on the run....I really rode hard figuring I wanted to see how I could run after I really pushed it on the bike...plus my spin teachers were there "giving me the business".....smile.

sTRIve,

B

Oh, trust me girl....

Turtle am I

And proud of it.....it is a lot better than a potato....smile

By the way - I don't know if you saw it or not but ABC nightly news on Friday did a short follow-up on the leatherback turtle story.  It is still amazing....the little turtle who could.

B