Baowolf mentor group is [ Closed ] (Page 14)

I did the Warrior Dash this weekend in Jackson, MS. It was a blast! I ran it with my wife and another couple form church, so it was not really a competitive time thing, but a chance to  get dirty and play in the mud. We had so much fun!!  I would recommend it everyone.

It was kinda nice running a race and not caring about your pace or time for once!!!

I had bronchitis a month before Ironman Branson 70.3 last year. My advice is take the extra day to heal, somethings will linger if you comeback to early and then you will never be 100%

Frank, great race for you!  Congrats on the 2nd place AG award, fun stuff and well earned .

Mike, so sorry you are still under the weather.  Stuff that settles in your chest like that needs time and rest to heal.  I'm betting if you let that happen you will be pleasantly surprised with how quickly you bounce back to full speed.

James, glad you had a fun race!  Sometimes that's what it needs to be about...that and supporting the team/your family. 

Samantha, Steve is a great guide on training.  If he says you have time, you have time.  And thanks for the list of names, very helpful!

Speaking of training plans, I laid out my 5 weeks to OLY plan this morning - 3 swim, 3 bike, 5 run.  If something gets sacrificed in favor of rest, it will be a run.  Feels better mentally to have a plan.  Not a lot of time to go from mostly run to tri training, but I want to train enough to enjoy the day and smell the roses along the way.  Race day is my birthday, and also the start of a week of vacation .

Mike_D - 2012-04-23 2:13 PM Just back from the doc -- ear infection, sinus infection, and upper respitory infection. wonderful! . 10 days of amoxocillian starting today. Was told LOTS of fluids, warm ones are better, rest, and time. May go for a walk instead of running tomorrow, just to move. Ugh

Ugh so sorry Mr Mike!.  Ok, you know what you have to do...rest & fluids.  It will be hard to rest when all youre thinking about is training.  But youve got to do what the Doc says.  You will be back on the road & pool in no time! 

OK, Why is it that it seems like training days are either BLACK or WHITE? -- GOOD & BAD?  I either never quite get into the groove or my breathing patterns never seem regulated, or I get a flat....know what I mean?  OR I feel like Ican run forever, or swim the distance and then some, or feel like we can swim like a fish. ....Weird. Well today I had the BEST swim yet!  I felt soooooo fantastic!  And maybe had a breakthrough- or realization at best. Todays swim was:

WU:4x75.  Main: 500swim, 500kick, 500 pull, 500swim.   CD: 100swim, 200 backstroke

WU was tough. First 500- felt fine, kick- was fine, pull- i was really feeling the arm strength and its pull through the water. Then the final 500 swim is where the realization came in----ARMS! ARMS!!  ARMS!!! Because I had just pulled 500 yds I realized that most of the time during my swims, I dont really "PULL"!  I just push my arms back, withouht any/much presure or force really. So i really felt the strength of PULLING as I swam that last 500 & the use/purpose of my arms &upper body strength!!  I hadnt done that before. or felt that before!  It felt incredible!! !  So I am quite stoked with todays swim workout!  

WHOOT! & Wildflower Sprint in 2 weeks!  

EV3110 - 2012-04-23 5:52 PM

Mike_D - 2012-04-23 2:13 PM Just back from the doc -- ear infection, sinus infection, and upper respitory infection. wonderful! . 10 days of amoxocillian starting today. Was told LOTS of fluids, warm ones are better, rest, and time. May go for a walk instead of running tomorrow, just to move. Ugh

Ugh so sorry Mr Mike!.  Ok, you know what you have to do...rest & fluids.  It will be hard to rest when all youre thinking about is training.  But youve got to do what the Doc says.  You will be back on the road & pool in no time! 

OK, Why is it that it seems like training days are either BLACK or WHITE? -- GOOD & BAD?  I either never quite get into the groove or my breathing patterns never seem regulated, or I get a flat....know what I mean?  OR I feel like Ican run forever, or swim the distance and then some, or feel like we can swim like a fish. ....Weird. Well today I had the BEST swim yet!  I felt soooooo fantastic!  And maybe had a breakthrough- or realization at best. Todays swim was:

WU:4x75.  Main: 500swim, 500kick, 500 pull, 500swim.   CD: 100swim, 200 backstroke

WU was tough. First 500- felt fine, kick- was fine, pull- i was really feeling the arm strength and its pull through the water. Then the final 500 swim is where the realization came in----ARMS! ARMS!!  ARMS!!! Because I had just pulled 500 yds I realized that most of the time during my swims, I dont really "PULL"!  I just push my arms back, withouht any/much presure or force really. So i really felt the strength of PULLING as I swam that last 500 & the use/purpose of my arms &upper body strength!!  I hadnt done that before. or felt that before!  It felt incredible!! !  So I am quite stoked with todays swim workout!  

WHOOT! & Wildflower Sprint in 2 weeks!  

Wow... I would die with a 500k set in the middle...  there wouldn't be much more that I could do but pull!  That is impressive!!  Congrats on getting a great swim workout in!  I love leaving the pool on those days!

Sorry, I've been MIA--hip flexor pull getting me down--the HM I was training for was Sat--I went and took pix which was good but still kind of tough.  Started back slowly to running this weekend, 1 mile, good; next day 2 miles with a few brief walks, OK, today 3 miles (5 min run, 1 min walks) Ok.  Achy still though.  PT for more treatment tomorrow and discussion of whether I should really be running on it. At least I can bike and swim, but my run is my weak sport.

Great to catch up with everyone and see tri season is underway in many places!

Beth, substituting walking and then coming back jog walk will maintain a lot of fitness.  I really recommend walking for folks with pulled muscles.  By walking I am talking up to 25 miles a week 8). 

Elena, you are probably going up and down with your fatigue load.  When you are fully rested you rock and when you are carying too much fatigue you feel completely dead.  At the HIM/IM level that is kind of unavoidable, at shorter distances you can take more rest time and balance your intensity with shorter lower efffort workouts.  Even in IM training, sometimes you just need to take a day or two off and get back ahead of that fatigue.  I remember at one point going from no swim to a lot of swim and ending up walking up stairs too feet to each step thinking ah yup I have been overdoing it, time for bed and no workout tomorrow.  Then when I am fully rested I will rock out a 7:30 pace on a 5 mile run and feel all on top of the world, and then after I build up some fatigue 8:15 is about all I can muster and then on heavy week I'm down to 9:30 minutes per mile and it is time for a rest day. 

I generally do not take a  day off unless I am too fatigued or I have a race.  What I will have is a day with only 1 or 2 workouts, but ya I can go a couple months without a day off.  Wed is often a day off kinda, because I don't run at noon and only swim or bike at night.  Monday is lite run and lite bike so it is alright.  Friday's may be only run or run and lite bike... or run and lite swim.  Um so no total rest days unless my fatigue level is high or I am sick. 

I had a nasty respitory infection and I got this prescription cough medicine and slept an entire night, I was in heaven after coughing up a lung for a week.  Get your rest, walk at most, don't get your heart rate up or breathing hard yet. 

Ok this is not to discourage anyone but I like to share this.

2007 off the couch ran 266 miles average pace in training 10:37,

2008 1187 miles, average pace 10:15 mpm.

2009 1358 miles 8:38 mpm.

Had some injuries in 2010 890 miles

same in 2011 1369 miles

2012 so far 487 miles average pace 8:38. 

The paces include some walking, slow steady stuff and faster runs all mushed together.  But you can see that I didn't start out fast on the run.  Today's run 7:56 average for 4 miles still recovering, but typical shorter runs go 8:00 to 8:30 mpm now with 5k pace around 6mpm.  So I am actually a slow runner who over 5 ish years trained myself to the FOP.  So if you don't get faster this week, month, year on the run, stay with it.  If you are fast to begin with you will get speed much quicker.  If you are slower it will come along slower and you will need more speed work once you get your base in place.  My first 5k was 22:30 ish my 2nd 5k several years later was 18:36.  This stuff takes a really long time to get fast at if you are not gifted genetically.

Conclusion, Triathlon is a lifestyle, not so many podium spots so you really need to enjoy the process of becoming fit and then just get better as time and motivation allow.  It is a great ride, but triathlon is not a weekend warrior kind of thing.  There is a zen to it.  So a day, week or month here or there will not kill your 10 year plan.  Unless you let it derail you from the lifestyle.

Steve - Okay I got it. I am gonna get that HIM plan started right away. After I look at it I will likely have a couple more questions to clarify some things, but thank you! BTW, I don't think I will ever really not be amazed at your rest days/I only walking for right now days. 25mi walking/week. Phew..

Larry - your vote of confidence is encouraging. I feel very motivated to go for it. I hope my body will join me on my bandwagon. Today was a tough run again. My muscles are fighting against me. It sounds like you and I will be great encouragement buddies since we are headed the same direction your just planning on getting there a few weeks before me.

James - so glad you played in the mud and can call it a race. Way to have fun!

Mike - Dude, that is brutal stuff you are dealing with. I definitely think you will jump back in and catch back up quicker than you think, especially if you give your body the time it needs to heal. All is not lost. Hang in there, take those meds, drink more water than a fish and REST!

Carol - you are becoming an old hat at this training stuff Can't wait to hear how you do this season and see all the progress you have made for the work you have put in. I wish I hadn't fell off my wagon over the winter I have so much to gain back, but I am gonna get there. I agree about having a plan. I feel a little lost right now. The only plan I have if for a 7.4 mile run race coming up, but I am realizing I don't like the way it has my runs spaced out. I actually wonder if that is part of why I am so sore. I didn't have this problem last year. so I am gonna check out that HIM plan and rethink my training.

Elena - I love your name BTW! I have good and bad workouts too. Not much in between. You are a great swimmer and I am gonna glean from you! Great job!

Beth - injuries are a bummer. Way to keep pushing. I hope the PT gave you good news!

Today I put in my 4mi. run. Still not sure why it is so hard. First 2mi at a 10+ pace, then I fell off. I kept running, but included some walks. Must have come out of the gate too fast and didn't slow down soon enough. HIM plan here I come! Tomorrow I am gonna see about a couple coached swim lessons and start getting my swim back on.

Night all!

Last post for tonight. What does all of this mean?

wu: 200swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200swim
main: 1 x 1500, RPE 4 (alternate 1 x 1000)
cd: 4 x 50, each slower than last

wu = Warm up; 200 yds swimming, then 200 w/kickboard, then 200 with a pull bouy; then 200 swim

main = Main set; 1x1500 means 1500 yds straight (or 1000). RPE means "Rate of Perceived Effort".  Its a 1 to 10 scale where 1 is just moving, and 10 is all out effort. So 4 would be moderately easy.

cd = Cool down; 4x50 means 4 50 yard swims. each one slower than the prior.

Ceril - so glad to be back in a group with you. yeah for the good news that people are noticing you look better. Do you ever use a measuring tape instead of the scale? I find it way more helpful because the weight isn't always coming off bunch inches are. I hope your workout tonight gets you mind the rest and stress release you need. Too much bad news for one day, indeed!

Mike - hang in there with the rest thing. Its gonna get better and then you will be so good to go for the long haul!

Signed up for a swimming class today. It is intended to help the okay swimmer learn technique and do drills. I am hoping to get the feedback I am looking for to know if I am doing the right thing and just need to be patient and "just keep swimming", or if my form is really off. Either way it will be good to learn. I bought a marathon stick today and can't wait to use it on my calves. I am gonna start the HIM training today (all but the swim, which I will start on Thursday) and I am stoked!

Larry, the calculation you are using tends to be not at all accurate for a lot of people. It is much better to run a TT and bike a TT to determine HR for workouts.  I described this earlier, 10 warmup, then 30 min all out hardest sustainable effort, clock heart rate for the last 20 minutes, that is your LTH.  Use that for your heart rate zones with the BT calculator.  My LTH for run is 175, bike 160.  Carols is like 220 or some such. 

 Samantha, you need to look at your workouts and see if they are higher than the first week of the HIM plan.  I have started on week 7 of a HIM plan because my workouts were at those distances.  If your workouts are not up to snuff for the first week of the HIM plan, but close, start with week 1.  If you only have 15 weeks on a 20 week plan, you can cut corners a bit.  If the plan has your long runs at 5, 6, ,7, 5, 8, 9, 6, 10, 11, 8  you can do like 5, 6.25, 7.5, 5.5, 8.75, 10, 7, 11.25, 12.75, 10 etc.  Basically add a little bit more to your long workout each week to close the gap on long bike swim and run for the week. Take a look and throw up a comparision so I can compare. 

I caught the srping cold thing, had to cut my run short at 2 miles and will drop the next two workouts and reassess.  Happens to all of us.  Just not gona push it with nothing in the tank.  I figure with another 10 to 15 years I might be able to qualify for Kona.......have to drop at least 90 min off my time.

Mike - thanks for writing out all the abbreviations for the swim training. It all makes sense!

Question: do those of you who have a paid BT membership has it been a worthwhile investment? I am really considering it, but want to be wise about where I spend my money. As well all know, this lifestyle change is not a cheap one. Thoughts?

Steve - I will get back to you one my training numbers vs. the HIM plan. One thing about the plan that is different than I expected is the workouts are only in min. or hours. It is not detailed, which brings me back to my question about getting a BT membership.

It is quiet in here. That's what happens when you all probably work and I am looking for work...haha. So I will write. Bought a massage stick today and boy does it hurt my calves. Icing them as I type. Decided to give them one more day to relax while I get my head ready for HIM training. Its gonna be crazy, but I am really looking forward to it. For all the discipline required to get my lazy butt up and moving I sure get excited to the point of tears in my eyes when I watch people race, read about racing or look over the HIM training plan. So sappy, but so true and...interesting.

Gear question: I have looked at heart rate monitors/GPS units people wear on their wrist, but I am not sure what I really need. I have my iphone to track my run distances and pace and I have a bike computer for cadence, speed and distance. What would y'all suggest? Getting one gadget that does it all, or going with a simple HR monitor?

Night!

If you are tight on cash you don't need a heartrate monitor.  I love my garmin for pacing and getting distance on my run.  The heartrate is better for when you are improving your pace doing speedwork and getting LT and heart rate zones.

The run was not working last night (1.5mi in about 16.5min). The previous days long bike might have something to do with it. The swim felt good after not swimming since last wednesday. Nothing too hard, lots of 50M frees.

Looking to bike tonight. Something a bit shorter and work in a swim after.