nevergivin's group (Closed) (Page 14)

You may want to try NUUN. It wont add any calories and get you extra electrolites, my guess is that fatigue has some to do with it also.
Start experimenting with the second hour of a 2+ hour workout, I will typically will take in a gel every 45 minutes. Take one at the one hour mark and every 45 minutes after, something like that along with a drink, after the first hour try to shoot for 300 cals every hour, that includes your drink so make sure you factor both accordingly.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1558

Anyone watching football today?  I'm going to be bad.  No exercise, lots of brats, chips and beer with some friends.

I'm home alone with both kids and it's raining.  They want a jammie day, who am I to argue?  I got my run out of the way already (treadmill while they watched a movie), I'll probably watch both games.  Or at least have them on in the background.  I may even order a pizza.  a beer to two is likely to be drank.

Jammie day is a great idea!  My kids love when we let them eat pancakes for dinner.  Goes hand in hand with jammie day.    

For sure football is on my schedule!

Training topic:
Mental training-

Mental skills (motivation, confidence, intensity, focus, emotion & pain tolerance) are trainable. When we work a physical drill such as a swim stroke, once the motor pattern is established, it becomes automatic. This is exactly the same for training mental skills. Regulating those anxious thoughts with specific mental drills can become automatic. We are familiar with looking up our daily physical workout. If we could take the mental fuzz and put it into a daily workout format which we are comfortable with - we would be inclined to train these mental skills along with our physical ones.
What are these mental skills??

Motivation: Not only what we expect to accomplish, but importantly, what we expect to sacrifice and gain. It is only when we appreciate the foundation of why we want to train can we take full responsibility for the work required to achieve our goals. Set manageable goals and strive to achieve them using all BT tools,inspiring,challenges,personal records,etc.

Confidence: How strongly we believe in our ability to achieve our goals. Preparation creates confidence, and adversity instills confidence and even the smallest of successes ingrains confidence. Self-talk is essential for monitoring confidence. Your body listens to your mind: if you tell yourself you will bonk, you will. If you tell yourself you can overcome fatigue, you will. Think about how confidence affects all other mental skills (motivation, intensity, focus, etc.).

Intensity: How our physiological activity is perceived. This is crucial: endurance sports are about saving energy. Physiological activity can be perceived as anxiety and tension which literally eats energy up. Positive perception of this activity is empowering and energizing to the body. Over-intensity manifests in the body as anxiety and fear which drains energy. You choose this perception.

Focus: The ability to stay focused on the process of performing your best despite internal and external distractions. Triathlon requires strict focus on race-relevant cues like breathing, pace and nutrition. Being distracted by irrelevant cues such as others, past races or future parts of the race takes you away from your present performance. Always try to stay in the moment while training, this will always help you on race day by keeping your thoughts focused on your race efforts!

Emotions: Your ability to control your emotions. Emotions are raw. All athletes feel the whole spectrum of emotions during a race. If you don't have the ability to change them so that they become helpful, they become an obstacle. If they control you then you succumb to the vicious downward spiral of negativity. If you control them then you can use them as a gauge, and tell them to energize, not drain, your body.

Pain tolerance: The ability to differentiate pain (performance vs. warning). How you interpret the pain will determine how it affects you. Increase your tolerance and use it to indicate positive performance progress.

 To improve race performance and sharpen your skills, pick several days to train under the worst training conditions, but be careful and safe. I like to train on hot days with several layers of clothing to train under hot conditions, or ride on windy days to overcome the effects of resistance, or pick a long run distance without bringing any water. All of these exercises I have used in the past to strengthen my confidence during extreme conditions, they have helped me during moments where I thought it was difficult to continue.

Great post.  I hadn't run more than 5 miles in twenty years and a friend talked me in to a 1/2 mary last year.  I said I couldn't, he said it is mental, just  build up gradually and tell yourself you are going to do it.  He was right. Mental toughness was a bigger issue than phyiscal toughness. 

The last 10 minutes is still tough but it is tough if I run for 30 minutes or an hour and a half. 

OKay Panther... your turn to comment.

I am currently using:
Protein powder
D3 - (and full spectrum light to keep SAD at bay)
OMega 3-6-9
Fibre

what do you recommend and why?

Thanks!

I agree great post!  I think that sometimes this is the harder part of training... break through you own personal battles with yourself!

To wear socks or to not wear socks, that is my question heheh?!?!?
What does everyone train in, or for the few that have completed races(what did you do)

Been working my Zoots into my runs, worked well sockless untell last night(blister & toe nail issue)  Also I haven't had a chance to use my new tri bike shoes, but there ment to be used sockless.

Your current plan looks pretty good with one or 2 exceptions.

Any individual supp plan will depend on a few factors, such as:  economic situation, goals, existing illnesses, etc.

Unless you are Bill Gates, you could easily spend your life savings on any number of snake oils and magic potions and supps out there.  So don't get sucked in and stay with the basics.  Add to them as your goals and health needs require.  So, as a very basic starting point here's what I recommend...

1. - Buy the highest quality Multi-Vitamin you can afford.  They run the full spectrum from cheapo, grocery store no-name brand, sugar-filled chewables all the way up to the 'Animal Pak' which is the pinnacle of multi-vitamins.  One thing to consider is for women to purchase one with higher iron content and men with lower or no iron as men have no way of expelling excess iron and women do, but that's a personal choice.

2. - Fish oil.  You are doing well to already be taking your 3-6-9.  Keep it up!  Next to your multi, fish oil is by FAR the most important supp you can take.  Why?  It helps nearly everything.  Seriously.  Go to Medline and type in any disease known to man and the words "fish oil" beside it.  See if you can actually find something that it doesn't help.

3. - B-Complex.  The spectrum of B vitamins are absolutely essential for the conversion of carbs to energy, especially B12 if you are affected by SAD, depression, low moods and it even helps with physical fatigue.

By sticking with those 3 as your core supps, you are off to a good start.  The addition of D3, protein powder, and fibre are smart additions.  You are already on the right track!

If you want to take it one level further, IMHO the very next step is the addition of BCAA's, if you are looking to cut some weight while building muscle and Glutamine for joint support.  There are further options as well, again depending on your goals, budget, etc.

On a side note, DW and I never fail to take a Digestive Enzyme cap before the main meals of the day.  This aids in helping the body to get more nutrients out of the foods we eat by helping to more efficiently break it down in our system.  We are firm believers in natural, whole foods....but that's a topic for another day. 


Hope any of this helps.

Dave

freaky, this is almost exactly what my mother in law has told me!  I guess she does know something...  I currently don't take any supplements, but think I'll give these a try for a while. 

thanks Dave, good info!

what I really need is a supplement that adds a few extra hours of sleep... 

Hey All!

Got a question for you.  The one local pool has been closed for two months due to a combination of winter break and a broken pump.  I'm getting nervous about my HIM in June, being an extremely newbie swimmer, but what the heck.

Is there anything I can do without a pool to "train" for swimming until it reopens?

Thanks!

Hey David...if you are literally short on hours (there really is no substitute for hours....but...) then the next best thing is to get to sleep faster and have a deeper, more restful sleep while you're at it.  Next time you are in a 'natural' store (sometimes even craft stores carry it) try to pick up a bag of lavender flowers/petals.  Take them home and grind them up super fine.  You can use a clean coffee grinder or blender.  I use a 'Magic Bullet' and it works perfectly.  Mix 1 part flowers with 2 parts baking soda.  Sprinkle this on your pillow underneath the pillow cover.  The scent is very calming and will assist you to get to sleep faster.

Oil of Oregano is also good for getting a deeper, more restful sleep.  A drop or 2 under the tongue just before bed should do the trick, but be careful.  The stuff is extremely strong and potent.  And like I always say....get enough magnesium.  A relaxed body will go a long way to a restful sleep.

P.S. - I like your mother-in-law already!    Wanna trade?



Edited by Panther 2010-01-26 2:05 PM

well, with a 50 degree lake swim in 2 months, I figured I better get a wetsuit soon.  I ordered the $99 special Xterra sleveless today.  I'm looking forward to my 20 second/100 improvement.

I'm also due for new running shoes soon, and my mtb shoes are delaminating from the sole (they are about 15 years old...).  Sort of an expensive week here! 

Dave, I actually don't have problems getting to sleep, it's going to bed that's the problem!  Especially when my wife is travelling, which she is for most of the next 2 weeks.  I stayed up waaay too late last night working on a training plan for this summer.  I made some changes to my current plan too, adding a few more short bikes in during the week.  I'm finding the 2 long(ish) rides/week a little too much for me right now, and want to get more mileage without having to go longer on the bike for a while. 

Exactly what I wanted to hear... I was reading an article on BCAA and it got me thinking that I should be adding it.  Definitely working on weight loss.  Glutamine is a good idea for my old bones )

I do a cleanse every 3 months and usually take additional probiotic and a Digestive Enzyme cap before the main meals.  When I remember .  

If I didn't like meat so much... I would be totally raw foodist! I would say I am up to 65% raw food, getting cleaner.

don't suppose you know a cure for PMS?

Thanks Dave!

One more time....wanna trade?  Serious...I have 1 mother-in-law up for grabs!

Honestly, as far as I have read, the remedies are limited.  Not to sound like a broken record, but I am a HUGE proponent for magnesium in relaxing the muscles in the body.  Try it.  Taken with calcium, you may find some relief.  I'd work with 400 - 800 grams per day along with vitamin C.

You will find that the magnesium coupled with your B-complex and vitamin C will at the very least, lessen the effects of PMS.  You cannot overload on magnesium or Vit C.  The worst that will happen is that you will expel the overload...(diarrhea) so once you hit that point, just scale back until you feel your body using what you give it.

And that's PMS...now back to your regular triathlon programming....


LMAO!


Sorry guys....hehehehehe...

For me its avoid blisters at all cost and I will wear socks regardless, my opinion is that time savings is minimal not wearing socks, I have gone sockless on the bike and run and have gotten blisters on both during sprint races. The Idea is to condition your feet to not wear socks if that is your goal, to me its just not a significant savings of time and it really comes down to personal preferance.

Stretch cord Workout

Strength workout

I would choose something like this and give yourself some moderate conditioning as opposed to doing nothing, you will still have to build swim endurance but this will help with that.

This comment has really been bugging me.  Only because I had the exact same reaction a few years back.

Try this... take a high quality multi one day and see if it gives you the sick feeling.  If it does, take it the next day with orange juice or eat an apple or orange immediately after taking it. 

You see, I have a sneaking suspicion that you may be slightly hypoglycemic.  The amino acids in the multi are proteins that will mess with your blood sugar unless you balance them with a carb.  Try it.  I may be way off here, but I think I may be right.  Let me know how it goes...

Thanks for the supplement posts.  Great timing as right now I take nothing.  I'm gonna add a multi, B12, and fish oil.

Ordered my Adamo road seat and bike computer this week.  Should be adding biking to the mix within the next couple of days.  Not sure where I'm going to mount the bike computer with aero bars.  Any suggestions?

What is a good brand of sock to purchase/wear?  I would assume something small & thin.  I think my asics are easier with elastic laces to get into that my zoots.

haha  thanks for the tips I'll try them out.

just think guys you will endear yourselves to your wives when you mention PMS and you can have them try supplements!