Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 142)

I know this is coming a little late but don't worry about the fatigue you experienced earlier in the week.  Sometimes I experience the same type of thing, but all of the additional miles you have run will be more than adequate to get you through the race and easily leave room for a PR.  The funny thing about training at higher volume is that you body adapts to that level of training and can handle more and more.  Your body has been under an increased level of running stress for about 2 months or so and you have probably felt worse fatigue during this time.  Now with a taper going on and no high volume training you legs are probably just getting the opportunity to fully recover and that is what you're feeling.........Nothing to be truly concerned about.

I love the atmosphere at large races!  It seems to make my mind move toward really racing hard.  I don't podium at these races, ever, but that isn't important to me.  It's the racing that I love!  (Usually I am trying to fit into a certain finishing percentage for my AG and overall.)  The Expo's can provide a place to get some fairly cheap gear if you plan accordingly.  I have gottne some arm warmers and recovery socks at a really great price at Expo's.

TP

Hey!  At least my post count is going up.

Actually I got 2 "Server" issues that came up and I didn't know the post actually went through.

I didn't know Matt was running a HM this weekend and I forgot all about Allison's hilly hundred ride. Good luck to both Matt and Allison.

Ay!  1:44.  I had side stitches from the VERY beginning... VERY annoying and was not good for the mental side of things.  I am convinced it is from drinking too much water in the morning.  You may remember, I have gotten side stitches in EVERY tri run I've done... I need to figure this out!!  Despite this, I think I did close to as well as I could for this day, as immediately upon crossing the finish line I could feel the soreness in my calves.  And then when I went for a little jog, I couldn't, as my quads were not allowing it.  

During the race I thought of Dirk and Tracy and the magical mile 8, and I was just trying to get to mile 8.  Well there was nothing magical about it for me.  It probably didn't help that mile 8 came right after a gradual incline.  (I felt there were too many of those!  I've never heard anyone say this so it's probably just me, but there were too many bridges and ramps on this course!! )  My mile splits were all over the place, but I think my 5k splits were relatively consistent... I think the 5k splits were officially timed as they had mats at those places, so I'll have to check.  I was trying to pick up the pace, but I just felt like I couldn't go faster!  The last half mile was a real struggle.  Oh yeah, I think I've made my decision about half marathon vs marathon in the spring: HALF it is!!  (If a running race at all...)  Kudos to you guys who do marathons, it is just too long for me!!!

Upon quick reflection, I am okay with the race.  Although faster would have been nice (of course always.)  Reason I say that (I think I've said this before) is because a couple years ago I ran basically a 1:46 on 3.5 months of running on 20mpw... well, this time around was a lot more running both number of months and miles per week, and I basically only cut down 2 minutes.  Does that sound normal?  It just seems like I should have gone faster... but no worries, I'm not beating myself up over it.

Oh yeah, and I think one of my toenails is going to fall off.  Time will tell.

Samantha it looks like you had agreat race, challenging but still a great race.  How was the run into Canada? 

Allison: I just looked up the hilly hundred, WOW! Looks like that would be a great event.  How was the big MT Tabor?  he way the CIBA sight reads it must be a monster!  I've been stuck to the trainer the last month, which is probably why my bike time is almost non existant. 

As for me: Its been a crazy month.  The kids schedule has been hectic to say the least.   Isaacs football was in full affect 4 days a week, Olivia and Zach had soccer at least 2 days a week, each!  No rest for me.  On top of all that I was pushing to get in as many running miles as possible (and races).  As of today I have completed 4 races in October, 2 5k's, 1 10k and a Half Marathon.  Still have 1 more 5K scheduled for next week, but that one is just the end of the county tour race so probably not going to push it at all!  Football and Soccer is now over, so that means everything gets easy?  Nope: Basketball season starts next week, Isaac will be playing 3 days a week and the other 2 on Saturday morning.  I foresee my scheduling freeing up in roughly 13yrs .

The Half Marathon mentioned was the Columbus Half and if your interested (bored) here is a Race Report.  To save time though, finish time was 1:47:38 so I missed my 1:45 goal, not dissappointed though, I gave it everything I had!  Overall placement was in the top 12% and AG placement was in the top 22%. 

Hopefully I can stop lurking soon and join in with the group more in the coming weeks! 

1:44 is a stellar time in my book! 

The stitches seem kind of weird so early in the race.  It could have been the added water early combined with really great temps.  You probably didn't need to hydrate quite as much as it seem s you may have.  When we have cooler temps I don't really attempt to get a lot more water in.  I actually keep it pretty normal.  Before a HM I will treat it just as if it were any other day and consume normal quantities.

I agree with Tony on this particular race versus others.  What was the other course like, the weather or many other factors.  By your description this course could have been that much more difficult than the last one.  Maybe you carb loaded a little better the last time.  There are so many factors that can weigh on how well you perform.  Personally I would say course difficulty was a primary contributor as well as the stitches.

Something else to consider may be that you are getting close to a very high level of fitness that will cause you to have to change things up much more to become faster.  Consider how fast a person gets when they first begin to become involved in running.  Fitness gains can come at a vastly higher rate than after we have been at it for a long period of time.  I feel I am nearing the end of my quick gains and I will have to do different things than I have been doing already.

I really really do think it was the overloading on the water... I feel I did something similar at the 8 mile "race" I had earlier in the summer, and it caused me to suffer through the whole run.  That day was supposed to be very hot, and I was just downing water beforehand, and I think it hurt me... they both seemed to have a similar feeling to the stitches...

I didn't really think about the course profile until Tony mentioned it... I do feel this course had a few more inclines and/or longer ones than the previous one... although I don't know if I can say the course is "difficult" since I have heard the Detroit Marathon is good for BQing!  Although personally I was thinking today I would not want to do a first marathon on this course because it had too many inclines for my taste!

The food thing is also an interesting point; maybe I did load up better last time... I actually did not change my eating habits too much this time around, except for just making sure I never went too hungry... I guess I thought that this length of race was on the border line for needing to carbo-load, so I just opted to eat regularly.

The other thing is, maybe I didn't give as much time training for this race specifically...

Lots to think about for the next half marathon!  Which I would like to do, as I would like to improve upon this time!!

Here's the race report.  Mostly stuff we just talked about, but splits are included too.

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=465382

My RR is found here.

Nothing special for me today.  No PR.  I underestimated the course and didn't have enough in me today.  My official time was 20:43.  Well off my PR.  I am not too disappointed though.  The course was much harder than anticipated.

Samantha congratulations on your HM! 1:44 is a great time in my book!

Have a little bike dilemma I need some advice on.

Since the kids are back in school I have been riding mostly on the trainer. I have my road bike on the trainer but it bothers my knees. If I ride it too frequently I get sharp pains in the front of my knee when going up or down stairs accompanied by a grinding sound. I know it is the bike for several reasons, this has been experimented with over time and when I got my tri bike this pain disappeared. I have been fitted 3 times, at the shop I bought the bike and I shelled out big bucks for a fit from an "expert" bike fitter and had 2 follow ups there.

Ok, so I would just ride my tri bike but after being off the tri bike for a few weeks and having some MAT treatments my back has been feeling a lot better. I just went for a ride yesterday on the tri bike and it definitely bothered my back. I'm wondering if a good option might be to adjust my position on the tri bike to a less aggressive position for the fall/winter since I am not racing and if so, what do I adjust or should I take it to the shop? Remember that the tri shop I bought the bike on is an hour and half drive one way. Or should I seek out a more in depth fit consultation for the tri bike to help evaluate my back issue?

What do you think?

Oh my you have been busy! Nice job getting in all those races and keeping up with all the kids activities. We only have piano lessons and religion class but that is enough running around for me. I'm a little relieved my son does not like organized team sports!

Congratulations on your HM too!

Sure, let's adjust your tri bike to a less aggressive position for the time being.  The best way to go about it is to post a picture of you riding your tri bike on the trainer.  Just a boring side shot while you are in position pedaling. 

As for the road bike, maybe we can adjust that too?  Post the same side shot.  There are adjustments that can be made to specifically take a load off the knees.  And another question: do you use the same shoes on both bikes?

Hi Junkies, sorry I have been away but work calls.  I am looking forward to going back and reading all ya'lls posts.  In the mean time I have a question..as usual.

My 1st tri is Saturday, just a sprint swim 600 yards, bike 14 miles and run 3.1miles.  My question is should i ride my road bike which is a very beginner bike or my tri bike.  After riding my tri bike, I feel like I'm not even moving on the road bike even in the drop position but I'm way more comfortable on the roadie.  The course has 4 turns and gradual hills (remember it is all relative, hills in Fl are probably down hill for ya'll). 

Now I did part of the swim this past Saturday, the air temp was 48 degrees, I was shaking like an alcoholic trying to quit drinking, I could not be still, just shivering and I had my wetsuit on.  Even the sand was cold.  Most people had on just their swim suits.  I felt so sorry for them.  i struggled but at least finished it this time.  I am not sure I can go the 600 yards, I was so exhausted after the partial swim.

So after the swim/panic/torture/ portion, will the tri bike or road bike be better?  I want to do the best I can, survive the swim and the bike is so short is it worth it to carry the tri bike.  My run time should be 8mm.

X2 Matt I don't know how you get any training done with that schedule but more power to you for being able to do all that stuff with the kids and still find time for training. Congrats on completing the 4 races especially the HM. I'll take a 1:47 any time!

Dirk congrats on your race. I know it was not what you were hoping for but that is pretty darn good considering you've been dealing with a foot issue, adjusting your running style and coming off a stretch where you've not been able to train as much as you normally would. Plus factoring the tougher course overall you had a pretty good race.

Karl I don't envy you with that air temp after coming out of the water like that. Hopefully you'll have a warmer day for your Tri. As for the bike I think you should go with what you are most comfortable riding. The goal should be to have fun and finish so whatever you think gives you the best chance to do that is what I would go with.

Yes, same shoes on both bikes. I only have one pair of tri shoes, no cycling shoes. The road bike shots were taken just a few minutes ago, tri bike photo is from this spring. I'd really prefer to ride the road bike on the trainer so if you could help me fix the knee issues I would be  VERY HAPPY!!

Samantha, congrats on your run.  1.44 is awesome.  Toenail coming off?  Was it raining or did you have wet socks?  My wife lost both of her big toenails during her 1st ultra and it was due to the rain she was told (of course after the fact)  She has since been advised to put a light coat of vaseline on her toenails for long runs and change socks.  She did change her socks but they were wet from the rain... oh we learn so much from experiences, now she carries ziplock bags.

Tony, congrats on your long run.  i can't even comprehend running 22 miles but wife was impressed!  She wanted me to ask you what your previous long runs were.  She was just interested in how you are training.  Some people do 18, 20, 22 and some do 3 20's and she was just wondering...but she did say she was real proud of you and you are READY!!!

Matt, again GREAT race too.

Dirk, congrats on the fast 5K.

Tracy sorry about your dog!!!

OK I posted a few weeks ago about the new shoes having a drop of 8% versus the 12% drop from heel to toe.  I LOVE them!!!  Now I'm only running at the most 4 - 5 miles at a time so it is not long distance.  I can tell when I heel land my IT band flares up and when I run "correctly" it goes away.  I can tell that while running.

I also got to times two help in IMFL, I'll be working security EARLY 4:30 - 6:30 a.m. and pizza 2 - 7 p.m.

Karl, this is just my opinion, I am confident you are physically capable of completing this triathlon and racing on your tri bike. You have trained and are prepared. Now, you have to believe that.

Something I have started to do before races is mentally prepare the week before the race. I go through the event in my head and imagine everything going smoothly, imagine feeling a state of calm and taking control of my day.

Gotta go, have kids and they are ready to do an experiment but just something to think about real quick.

Neither... I think it's just the way these particular shoes rub on the toes in this particular place... because on the same toe on the other foot I got a massive blister.  Just not used to as much running as yesterday I guess!