RE-OPENED Birkierunner's 2013 mentor group - RE-OPENED!!! (Page 14)

We are supposed to get a ton of snow this weekend.  Probably over a foot in my area and over two feet a bit north of me.  That will keep me from the gym so will be getting on my trainer today and tomorrow.  Signed up for the Tri Mania Summit and Expo at MIT on March 23rd.  Has anyone been to one of these expos?  I am wondering if what seminars would be worth my time.  Maybe I should attend the Triathlon 101.  My friends want to do another Tough Mudder in New Hampshire the first weekend in June.  I will probably do it but will not change my training routine as I have in the past.  Will just treat it as another tough workout.  My first tri is scheduled for the 23rd of June.

Thanks again all for the information.  I tried to sign in using my twitter account but received and error.  Anyone else receiving this error?  Scott, thanks for the very informative first two installments on swimming technique.  Anxiously awaiting your next installments.  All for now, Dave.

Yes I did see a little.  Cyclecross uses knobby tires on road bikes.  The course is muddy and hilly.  Sometimes you have to just carry your bike. Basically its like riding in peanut butter.  A "Tough Mudder" on a bike.

Let me tell you these Europeans take this thing seriously.  There were about ten thousand people here for the race from all over Europe.  They were all dressed up, ringing cow bells etc... Kinda of like the Tour de France.  Nobody in Louisville cares.

Here is a link to a short video... https://player.vimeo.com/video/59003307 .

haha.  not surprised really.  I think it would be fun to attend...lots of crashes I bet.

Hi Jim, I see you are open for some new members: I’d love to
part of your group? im a newbie to the web page and the sport, also i dont know anyone doing the sport and this will be a fab opportunity for me to engage with other enthusiasts.....

NAME: kirk     kaw_w        Northampton, UK

STORY:
I’m 38 years old looking for a challenge to get and stay fit, healthy and find
a new hobby. Although triathlons are probably not the best sport to aspire to
when time is a serious constraint, there is the advantage of having a variety
of things to do, all of which have meaning, I think (!) I find it very
difficult to do something without a purpose (….probably not a good personality
characteristic&hellip nevertheless, certainly Tri’s will keep me busy.

A few years ago I was made redundant (recession) I had just stated mountain
biking and the time off gave me excellent time to get out and enjoy, I lost
20kg’s that summer and rode every day, sometime twice, (it was for fun and helped
kill time) when I got back into work I found I only had time on weekends or evenings
for rides i.e. between 10 to 12 in the evening. Eventually I only rode weekends
and soon after not at all… I found signing up to events would give me reason to
get out and push myself to get fit. Sadly, like a lot of people I love my job too
much and subsequently spend a lot of time at work, working in London also means
a 4hr a day commute. Since recently stumbling across the world of triathlon, I have
found something better than time at work and ironically despite the long
training times, I’m at home more and able to spend time with the family more and
am enjoying it, the training regime is starting to force me to enforce time
management and spending time with the family is an important part of it. In short
the sport is changing my life and it seems for the better, so I’ve found a good
purpose for it and have to commit….

FAMILY STATUS: Married to Melissa who has
been and is very supportive of me taking on challenges which is pretty key to
time management at home… I try to involve everyone in the family etc, Melissa enjoys
her running so we can have chats about nutrition, running techniques etc… Once
a week I go running (great chat time) and swimming with Lee who is 14 and
enjoys the alone time with his dad. Kate is 6, extremely energetic and loves the
buzz of activity…. Oh and there’s Leo: 9 month old Labrador who loves chewing
shoes and loves brand new tyres (only when fitted to a bike), and is unknowingly
in training to be my running partner…..

CURRENT TRAINING:
Being a newbie, I’m still teaching my body to do work, I try gym at least once
a week or in the place of a run, bike or swim session, I’d like more gym time
but need to spend the time on the other areas…

Swimming:
I didn’t think this would be as hard as what I’m finding it, I try 2 – 3 times
a week and am envious when watching the swimmers in the fast lane swim crawl
non-stop for an hour… after 2 months of trying to do more than 2 laps crawl, I finally
surrendered and have signed up for coached lessons (total immersion) which has
got me excited…

Bike:
its winter so I’m on the turbo trainer (still haven’t figured out what I’m supposed
to be doing on it though) and ride out when the roads not frozen, I’m aiming to
up the miles and have done what feels like a lot of Z2, I’ve also noticed my legs
are starting to struggle since starting on the Z2… I have a funny feeling that
the MTB will help make my legs stronger and will start experimenting…

Running:
I’ve read Born to run, Run like the Kenyans and Eat & Run, these have given
me immense inspiration… I started running about 8 months ago, as soon as I build
up to a decent distance I get injured, I’m busy learning to strike on the
forefoot and started running from scratch again, I’m at 14K runs without
stopping (but is very slow) I’m thinking to get the distance and time on the
legs first, then worry about speed……

2012 RACES: never raced before (I did do
a bike leg of a sprint) 20 years ago....

2013 RACES: I’d like to sign up to the
Ironman Wales in September, but am starting to think I should do a sprint and a
longer tri for some experience…

WEIGHTLOSS: Currently 90kg’s and could do
with shedding the tube around my waist… hoping to shed about 10kg’s this year.  

Hi Kirk

Welcome to the group.  Don't worry about talking a lot...that's what these groups are for.  Sounds like you have the family/time management thing figured out.  I would check out some of the training plans on this site if you aren't sure where to start.  Don't hesitate to ask specific questions on anything tri related.  My girlfriend is from Manchester.  We were over there this summer and spent time there, Wales, and Scotland.  Look forward to going back.  Thanks for joining our group!!

Mike, you're in!!  Give your background whenever works for you, no hurry.  Safe travels

Here's a good article on training and travel as well as a recent thread here on BT

Welcome aboard Stephen.  Where do you live?

Running is often the "go to" workout when travelling.  I have a 2 week work-related trip in July where I'll drive to the location of the first meeting (Indiana) and then on to the second week in Washington, DC and I'll load up my bike and Computrainer to have with me at the hotel.  I'll try to track down a pool as well.

Our resident swim expert Scott can comment on swim bands...actually he has mentioned them in some previous posts if you have time to peruse the thread history.

great tready workout for me this morning, one of the best of this dreary winter season.  ready to crank it up and get going on the big training runs and rides (and i guess a few swims here and there.....)

Nice job Dave.  I'm focusing on skiing (with some supplemental short runs on the tready at lunch) for the next 13 days as the Birkie Countdown has begun!

Hi Jim,  As a newbie to Tri I decided to go big after my first Sprint distance race and train for IM Tremblant this summer.  My previous endurance experience is limited to a few half marathons and one full.  I'm really excited and nervous! As I progress into my IM training a few questions have emerged.

I have been used to tempo runs and sprints during my marathon training in order to train for a certain pace during the race.  MY understanding is that the tempos and speed work is how you increase your cardio endurance to run a desired pace during the race.  The endurance runs are there to train your muscles and body to take the beating and are run well below race pace.

My question is then, I'm noticing that my entire IM training program is limited to endurance pace for all disciplines.  No speed work.  I assume that's to avoid burn out or injury which makes sense.  But if i'm doing all my runs at a slow pace will my body be prepared to kick up the speed during the race?  In reading on BT, they say your endurance runs or bikes etc should be done at a pace where you almost feel like you cheated when you're done.

My next question is when to increase calories during training.  I have read that you don't want to be in calorie deficit while training because you won't be prepared physically to hit the next workout. But if you want to lean out for your race I'm a little conflicted on how to manage the two objectives.

I've also been told to start to train your body to take in about 4 carbs per hour per kg.  For me that's 300 calories an hour. Should I be aiming to only eat this amount of calories during long workouts and keep the calorie burn for shorter workouts?

Looking forward to the groups feedback!

Craig

They aren't intended to be done one after the other, unless they specify that it is a brick workout.  Two key takeaways:

1)  You need to have time to fit the workouts in.  If you try and fit in back to back workouts, that's a large chunk of time that most of us simply don't have, especially during the week.  Plans recognize that.
2)  You need to worry about the quality of the workouts.  By not allowing yourself time in between them, you are sabotaging yourself to a certain degree.  Again, unless it is intended to be a brick workout, try to ensure you have a break/rest in between.

Neil nailed it right!

Craig, I'm short on time so I'm answering the easy portions of your list of questions first - nutrition

I'll start off by saying I'm not a nutritionist.  There are plenty of good sources of info out there.  But here goes - two parts to your question are weight loss during training and then workout/race fueling.  First of all, its ok to be in slight calorie deficit for periods during a training program.  I emphasize slight because you don't want drastic, quick weight loss.  That situation is where you run into glycogen depletion and you don't consume enough nutrients post-workout to replenish and get ready for the next workout.  But you need to find ways where you can trim a calorie here and there (ice cream at night or that 10 a.m. cookie in my case) so that in the big picture you have a slight calorie deficit and can lose weight in a healthy manner.  I would advocate a longer term approach versus a crash approach.  You used the term "lean out" and I'm not sure what you mean by that...I think of strict diets by bodybuilders prepping for a competition when I hear the term "lean out".  I wouldn't recommend that for a triathlete, but maybe you were just using that in a loose manner to describe losing some weight.  You can use workouts for your "calorie burn" especially shorter workouts as you say.  But you will have to replenish glycogen stores within that short time window after a workout (an hour or so) to be ready for the next day's workout so you don't get the full "calorie burn" you might hope for.  If you don't replenish consistently you will get into trouble in no time.

Fueling recommendations for racing vary a bit and everyone has their own strategy.  You need to find out what foods you can successfully eat and process during training and racing... a very individual thing.  Recommendations for calories per hour vary a bit as well...anywhere from 250 to 600 cals/hour.  But, most of what you see recommended is anywhere from 250-300 cal/hr max is what your body can adequately process without backing up.  That amount would be for the bike and perhaps a little less on the run.   If someone can take in a lot more calories than that successfully they have only proven that their stomach can tolerate excess calories but they won't necessarily benefit from all those calories.   I would use your longer workouts to practice your race fueling plan.  I typed this out quick so hope it makes sense.  Will tackle the first half of your post later.

Hi Jim

Your group is interesting to me for many reasons.  One is the number if guys in thier 50's.  I am 56, was never a high school athelete but got into running for fitness in my 20's.  Married a marathoner and dedicated fitness gal and the two of us kept pretty fit untill the kids came along.  she is far more disciplined than i, and like the old story goes, the mortgage got paid, kids grew up great, and i maintained some fitness but also put on the pounds.  throughout those years i kept active and have a good resting heart rate (53); and can run 3-4 miles, bike 15-20 miles and was always a good swimmer, able to cover 1500 meters.  so here i am, looking at trying for a triathalon in June.  I am in the great white north here in Canada, so a lot of training inside.  Is there room for me in the group.

peter

Peter you are very welcome to join us!  What part of Canada?

I would add a quick note to Jim's post.  One of the key things to consider isn't just how many calories - but also what kind of calories.  Ideally they should be easily digestable, and everyone's internal systems are different, and will tolerate things better or worse than someone else.  Jim's point about practising your nutrition on your long workouts is crucial.  Just because your body is happy taking in specific gels/fluids over a 2-3 hour period, doesn't mean it's going to feel the same way after 5+ hours. 

In IM, you sometimes read about people taking in more solid foods in training because it works better for them, and also the fact they simply can't imagine racing 10+ hours on just liquids and gels.  Personally I'm very sick of gels during a 1/2 Iron because they get too sweet and sugary after a few hours - I can't imagine racing a full IM with that as my only nutrition source.

jim,

Born and raised on the craggy island of Cape Breton, on Canada's east coast, a bit of a mythological place.  Now living in Halifax (or on the mainland as my countrymen say) the capital of nova Scotia.  I spent a few years in Ottawa, traveling back and forth on the weekends, which was not good health wise.

thanks for having me in.  i am following the 20 week olymipic training schedule, into week 4, and trying hard to keep up the hours.  I am a senior Lawyer in an 88 lawyer firm, and teach a course at the law school so time is precious.  the good thing is the kids have grown (and into really nice folks), and my eldest daughter is training for an ironman, so they inspire.  i will post my workouts and hope i get to June in better shape.

p

reminds me of a lyric from a song by the band Schooner Fare.... "Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier...the pride of Barrett's Privateers"     aaaarrrrrr those sailin' songs....

we'll help you get to June in shape!

Hi Jim,. Here is my story

 NAME: m4mike / Mike STORY: 44 year old newbie to triathlons. Did my first tri last summer (sprint) and just loved it. Always been fairly active and been playing tennis for last 5 years. Nothing against tennis but this tri stuff is fun. So, I put the rackets away and ready to swim/bike/run.

FAMILY STATUS: Married, supportive wife of new addiction and live style , two girls 7/3 CURRENT

TRAINING: schedule 3 workouts of each sports per week. Normally fall short by 1 or 2. I am following the training bible format but modified to slightly higher intensity instead of long hours (endurance nation philosophy) to better fit my schedule. Workouts right now are in a pool/ on a treadmill / on a trainer. (yes, I live in Georgia and could get out but mostly workout at 5 am so I stay indoors)(And yes, I do not like the cold, wimp. I grow up in PA but there is a reason I am in Georgia) Currently average about 6 hours per week. Probable can get up to 9-10 hours max. 2012

RACES: 1 sprint tri and a trail 1/2 marathon.

2013 RACES: signed up for local series 2 sprints/ 2 Olympics. Signing up for 2 bigger races as my A races. Both Olympic, July and Oct, 13 weeks apart. The will give me approximately 1 race per month starting in April.

WEIGHTLOSS: Since starting to train for the tri last summer I have lost about 25 lbs. I am 5’ 6” and currently about 148 lbs. I have started eating a lot healthier. (Which is the main reason my wife supports this) Goal is to be about 140 by first race in April. Bought a Vitamix about a month ago (wife has wanted one for years but I kept saying $500 for a blender) Love the thing and sure helps me eat a lot more vegetables. If anyone else is juice/mixing would love to hear some of your best recipes.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I will quite my wife ‘When he takes up a new hobby, he just becomes obsessed with it. It is all he thinks about.” I want to learn and I have tons of questions. I probably cannot help many with their questions but will share what I can.