Eliwashere's spring fling mentor group!-Full (Page 15)

I'm here!!  I have been on business travel, but did a fairly good job of getting my training in.  It was easier this week as this is a light week in my plan before my next ramp up leading to my race.

Nice Job Randi.  I have been thinking about renting a wetsuit but have decided to buy one from Xterra, the BT discount makes it much more affordable.  My only concern is I am planning on losing more weight someday.  Right now I seem to have hit a plateau, but if I am consistent I am sure it will start coming off again.  Right now I am on the line between two sizes, not sure which way to go when buying.


The rain has already hit here today, but I am planning a swim session anyways so should be able to get my work out in.  Was hoping to do a short easy ride but not all that important.

it's funny about the swim warm up.  I have started to think I need the 1st 200 to get ready for a longer swim as well.  I generally set up a goal distance, and at the end of 200 I am telling my self there is no way I will ever make it.  Then sometime between that point and the end I actually start asking myself if I want to go further because everything seems so easy (relatively). 

I did a 1.5 K swim last week that when I started was only going to be 800 yds but I when I was at 800, I felt so good I decided to see what I was able to do.  In reality I think I could have gone further as well, but at 200 I was almost ready to stop to take a breath.  So now mentally I just need to prepare my self for this hurdle and know that I will get past it. 

I am not fast though, in fact very slow based on times I see in results and training logs.  Does give me some confidence I could finish longer races next year after completing a couple of sprints this season.

Hey,
I am here too. I have been working it with my wife to get in our 100 runs in 100 days (not sure where the idea came from).
Funny you should mention the swimming. At the sprint I did last weekend, I decided to do a 400 meter warmup for the race.
I find that my first 400 in the pool is usually plenty fast, but I do feel more winded.
I also read that your body does take time to get the aerobic engine working smooth.  
Did I already post this???

Anyway, I got in my first longinsh brick in what seems like forever today. 42 mile bike and 4.5 mile run.

My ride started very eh.  Wasn't motivated, didn't want to do more than ride...
However, I started doing my intervals, and all of a sudden, I was having a great ride. So nice to get out and feel good!!!

Starting to feel motivated about sinking my teeth into my 12 week triathlon plan. Starting in a couple of weeks. 

I'm here too, I just don't have much to say these days. Still with the knee pain. Cancelling my race next weekend.

I definitely want to complete the OLY I have planned for Labour Day weekend and then the Las Vegas marathon in December. We'll see how it goes...

I'm here too, just reading and trying to stay caught up even if I don't respond.  Jenna, sorry to hear you are still having knee pain and that you had to cancel your race next weekend.  Hope you are feeling better soon.

Me personally I am struggling to fit in my workouts and  seem to have no motivation to find a way.  I have a habit of putting myself last at times and have fallen back into that rut - no exercise, not eating right.  I need to pull out of it and get back to the gym and eating right just for the fact that I feel better when I do.  

I did buy the less expensive wetsuit and am glad to have it although it probably will be early fall before I can use it for a triathlon again.  I switched my registration for my triathlon in July from an individual to a relay where I will be doing the swim-bike.   My shins are not bothering me day to day but still when I try to run so this will just be better.  I will focus on improving my swim/bike times over last year and consider it a success if I can do that

Jenna, huge bummer on the knee.  Is it just something which needs more rest/rehab and you think they've got the issue understood?  Hopefully this clears up.  Knee pains can be tricky.
 
Randi, good deal on that site.  They don't have my running shoes, but it seems like some pretty nice prices on a lot of stuff.  I may go shopping there with my wife later!

I use bikenashbar all the time.  Great company as well as good prices.  Very nice people and great service on returns.

Good luck Eli.  Get that PR!

My motivation is alive and well!  I am fired up for my sprint (should have been an International Distance) this Saturday.  I did a funny type brick workout yesterday with what was supposed to be a bike-run-bike-run workout, I ran out of daylight for the final run so I just stroked it on the last bike.  The last hard workout until next Saturday it was good! 

I am out of the ITBS pain for now, I am sure it will flare up on Saturday when I try to push about 8 minute miles for the 3.1 miles, but we will see how I do! 

I have a couple of ows practices this week and will probably try to ride the two wheeler to work a couple of days this week, no runs planned but maybe one mile or two off of the bike one day.

I am very interested in the swim warmup as I have a lot of issues with early swim fatigue, the same thing you are all describing, very un-motivated/tired as I warm up, then I am able to kill a long workout swim if I press on through.  Does anyone know if you could simply do the warmup on foot or on the bike and  get a similar result?  I am not sure if the lake is open before my tri this weekend?  Is it more aerobic engine or swim arms related?

Hey All,
How was the weekend? Dave, it sounds like you had a great workout.
I managed a nice brick on Sat and was wiped out on Sunday. I did 4.5 miles but wasn't feeling it. Funny thing, my footpod had a different distance from the same route the day before. I figured out that since I was running "sloppy" I let my stride lengthen and was therefore taking less steps, so less "distance" according to the footpod.
Luckily, I had a good one today. 
Which I needed, as my wife and daughter prepared a banana split extravaganza for my birthday desert. I made a sunday with ALL the toppings.  I didn't bother to try to put it in the nutrition tracking:
Banana
Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream
Walnuts
Cashews
Pecans
Spicy Granola
Cherry Granola
Reeses Pieces
M&Ms
Chocolate covered pretzels
Whipped Cream
Strawberries
Blueberries
Hot Caramel
Hot Chocolate
Cherry on top 
Whew. I feel almost sick just looking at the list of ingredients.

Have a great week everyone! 

Now THAT'S a recovery meal Eli!

Good deal on the brick and a half Dave, you'll be ready come Saturday.  Glad to hear your IT pain is holding off.  We'll compare notes after our races Saturday.  I'm not looking forward to the swim as I haven't been in the water much, but I'm excited just to race.  I talked with someone this week who raced at this site a few years ago and said the bike has some pretty steep climbs, so that should be fun.

Eli, that sounds good awesome.  I could go for one of those right now.

I posted this in my blog but I am pretty frustrated as this back pain seems to have come from nowhere.  I don't know if it is a matter of stretching better, if I just am developing new muscles and this is DOMS caused by a couple of harder rides, weak core or maybe Bike fit (Seems like that would have happened earlier though).  Oh well, anyways ...

Think I am going to take today off.  For some reason I am much more sore than usual including some pretty painful lower back pain that I have no clue where it came from.  My legs are also really sore from yesterday's brick I am assuming.  The calfs feel really tight.  Normally I would HTFU but with the back I am nervous and want to take it easy.  My sprint is less than 4 weeks away seems stupid to push it now.   If I do anything it will be a walk with the dog and a bunch of stretching.  Today is double session so I will try to make up one of the workouts later.  Right now though I think resting will do me some good.

I ran 5K pain-free today!! I'm going to examine what time I have left this summer and see what kind of training I can fit into my schedule. I don't want to push myself too hard, but I don't want to see this summer be a total write-off either!

Awesome news Jenna.  Take it slow and easy ramping up - you know the drill.  Better to do something than have a recurrence and be back to zero.

No problem on a day off Charlie.  Sometimes that's what your body is telling you and we really need out down time.  I'm feeling a little Achilles tingle and decided to skip my run today as well.  If I feel great tomorrow I'll add it back, but otherwise I'll leave it behind.

Charlie - so sorry to hear about the back pain. Take it easy, stretch it out and don't beat yourself up about missing a couple of workouts a month away.

Jenna - great news about your knee! Hopefully the PT is working it's magic. Just be careful not to re-injure it!

Eli - I want your birthday sundae! Sounds great. I also like the 100 runs in 100 days. Does that mean if you miss a day, you have to do 2 another day? Wow!

Glad to hear everyone is doing okay. I've hit a down spot in my motivation for the first time in about a year - so this week is an "anything goes" week...I will just do whatever I feel like doing (if I wake up and want to run - I'll throw the shoes on and run)...and then start back up on a plan next week after a little down time. We have also started co-ed softball (it's a local league, pretty casual and runs for about 2 months - 3 games a week) for the season which is really throwing a wrench into my free time.

Have a great week all!

Jennifer, you've been training hard and consistently for a long time.  Great idea to take a week off, and really enjoy your softball this summer.  Cut back on your training a little if you need some more time.  You're having a great year, and all that fitness won't disappear.  This is a long term deal.

I also don't want to get chicked at the Mainiac! 

Jenna, Good luck with the knee.  Seems like you are making progress.  Good for you!

Jennifer - Softball sounds like fun.  I always like playing in non or semi competitive leagues.  Enjoy it.  You have already done a ton this year.

My back is still very sore.  Not sure what caused this but man it doesn't seem to be getting better at all yet.

The only thing I can think of is I sneezed, and pulled it somehow.  I was reminded that I have done that in the past and my allergies are really kicking in right now.  I also know when I sneezed last night it was agonizing.

I am going to try running easy tonight after a bunch of stretching to see how it feels while running.  Hopefully I can pick up some of my training this week.  Really don't want to miss too much especially after being so consistent the past couple of months.  Don't want to break the habit I am forming.

Edited by chmoore2 2010-06-15 11:02 AM

Hey All,
Wow, some injuries get better, and some get worse. We are like a little petri dish of triathlon struggles and successes!
Charlie, sorry to hear about your back. Don't let rest worry you. Proper rest and recovery is the key to gains and motivation staying high. Good Luck!

Jenna, glad to hear your knee is feeling better. BTW, did we already cover supplements? I have been taking Chondoitin/Glucosamine on the recommendation of a Dr. from like 7 years ago. I had knee problems my entire life, since I was about 12, and have been mostly pain free for the last 7. Not sure if I got smarter about pushing it, or if the stuff helps. Maybe a combination.
 
Jennifer, taking a break with unstructured training never hurts. Have fun with your fitness, that is part of the point I think.

I am jealous of you guys racing. I am thinking of doing either a mile ocean swim or finding a sprint to jump on.

Be well!!! 

So I did my run tonight.  Overall it went ok.  Back was pretty sore at first but seemed to get better as the run went on.  I didn't push it though with my pace above 10 min/miles.

I can feel it tightening right now though so I am going to use a heating pad to keep muscles loose.

I think tomorrow I will follow Jennifer's advise and get in the pool tomorrow and swim/float.  Other than that I think I am going to go real easy the rest of the week.  I have Father's day camp outing this weekend and I don't want my back impacting that at all.

Good deal on the run Charlie.  Way to not push it, and keep doing heat/stretch/massage as possible.

My coach tells me to go out and try to run a few minutes no matter what pain you have (barring real injury or something with which you obviously shouldn't be running) and see how it feels.  If nothing gets better, stop and walk home.  If it goes away, keep plugging away but keep listening to your body.  Good luck this weekend.

Hey All,
OK, I am looking for some advice here. I am having trouble dropping any more weight.
I had a couple of light weeks, but the last two I have been really steady. I weigh about 210 lbs. My bodyfat is somewhere between 17-20% (I need practice with the calipers).
However, I want to get down below 200 (maybe even 190-195) by my HIM in Oct.
I am pretty good about watching my calories and tracking food. I try to keep my intake below my needs by about 100-500 calories on a regular basis. This helped me lose about 15 pounds last year.

However, the last 3 or 4 months I have plateaued.  Anyone have any thoughts or advice on what to do? I am hoping that as my volume ramps back up, I will see some loss as well.

Thanks all! 

Back seems a bit better today but still pretty sore.  I am going to do my swim tonight and see how that feels.  I just read something about back pain being related to tight hamstrings and calves while running.  I did a Bike/Run brick on Sunday where I noticed while running my calves where very tight.  I also know that the next day when back really started to bark my calves and hamstrings were also very sore.  I wonder if I didn't stretch enough, or if going right to the run from the bike caused my calves to tighten up and cause my back to hurt.

Not sure but I really don't remember doing anything to it, but it did start to hurt after Sundays workout.  Have you guys heard of this before?

Eli,

I am kind of stuck where I am as well.  I use the livestrong website to track caloric intake and expenditures and try to maintain a deficit.  Not sure what is going on but I have seemed to hit a wall right now as well.  In fact I have gained a couple of pounds recently even with all the training.

I am fairly confident that if I stay consistent with tracking and training I will break through and start losing again.  I would like to be 190 by end of July, but that is looking less likely now.  As long as I am getting healthier I have started to stop worrying about weight as much.  Although I would like to do my races a bit lighter.

I use this site as well - it has been very useful for me to keep track of how much activity vs. intake...the one thing I will suggest is their caloric burn rate for most activities seems a touch on the high side, so for my normal weeks (when I'm not slacking off only playing softball) - I try to come in between 300-500 calories under their recommendation.

The other thing - shake it up. If you've been doing the same sort of routine (exercise-wise) for the last few months - change it. Try doing something radically different. (Maybe a new sport thrown into the mix, maybe two-a-days for those only doing one sport a day, maybe two-a-days of a single sport, maybe a higher burst of intensity for one sport per week?) Everything that I have read indicates that your body will adapt and adjust to the challenges that you throw it...to keep it changing - the workout should change (a bit).

Just my two cents...not terribly informed - but it seems to work for me.

So far - I'm enjoying my week of just doing what I feel like. Yesterday was the first day I didn't do anything (other than take the dog for a walk and get a filling (boo) ) and I'm thinking a swim might be in order later today. I'll kick it back into gear on Saturday.

Charlie - I have recently started stretching for about 30 minutes each evening. Nothing too strenuous - just a nice gentle stretch for my legs, back, shoulders and arms. I figure it can't hurt! If you've got the time - it's worth a shot.

Charlie - there is no doubt hamstring tightness can cause a host of issues.  I'll plug Leigh's site again as a great resource for resolving pain and overuse issues: Great site

As far as weight loss, Jennifer is totally right.  The body adapts to whatever you're doing and wants to maintain stasis.  I love the Eli is focusing on fat loss, not weight loss necessarily.  They often track, but fat loss is really the goal.  A lot of thin athletes are "skinny fat".  Changing things up is always important.

As far as calculating calories in and calories out, it's extremely difficult to be accurate on either side.  I had a link but can't find it now on how impossible it is to measure the actual calories of what you're eating.  It was showing how even measuring the food has errors of 50% sometimes, depending on some pretty simple things.  I'm not a big calorie counter guy, but it's interesting to note your eating or to try to be hyper accurate with calories for a short time just for your own data, but the data can be very inaccurate no matter how hard you try.

The truth of the matter is that if you're staying at a constant weight with current diet and exercise, you have to either eat less calories or use more.  The difficult thing here is to know how much your body is using.  Even for triathletes in training, the base rate of your existence is most of your calories out.  and here's where it gets tricky.  as you lose at (and weight hopefully), your body fights to stop the process.  It will lower your base metabolism to do this.  The faster you lose the weight the more pronounced this effect is.  And in fact, starvation diets are the worst  because there is some evidence that shows your body somehow learns to adjust to that cycle and gets really efficient at storing fat for the next starvation cycle.

Another big often overlooked factor is when you eat what you eat.  Blood sugar and hormones are the keys here.  Eating things which are high in sugar, even "good" (and this include grains, fruits, etc) at the wrong times can really make it hard to lose fat.  Ideally you would only eat these types of foods when your body is really ready to feed the glycogen stores and not use the sugar to raise blood sugar levels and get into fat storage mode.  These times are after intense exercise and when you first get up (you've been fasting for many hours).

Maybe try this for a month - eat your normal "lose weight diet" for 2 or 3 days, then spend a day eating a bit more.  Then do 3 or 4 more days on your "lose weight diet", and then another day of more eating.  Or instead of a full day, do a cheat meal where you eat whatever you want, no guilt.  It's like a recovery day!

I could go on for hours and hours, but I'll stop here.

Back is really starting to come along.  I feel a lot better today, I will go out and do my run but take it slow again.  Last night's swim seemed almost therapeutic.

Warren thanks for the post

I am seeing my weight Dr this weekend and will be asking about my caloric intake/output, based on my Resting Metabolic Rate I should still be losing, but that was tested some time ago and have begun to wonder if it is lower that I think. 

Your other point on timing is something I need to be careful with.  I need to watch is my late night snacks, I count the calories for them but they tend to be less healthy and full of sugar.  I am wondering if I am sabotaging fat burning opportunities at night by eating this stuff before bed.

Any suggestions for late night snacks (9:00)? 

Charlie,
Glad to hear your back is feeling better. I know that when my legs get tight, my whole body gets thrown out of wack.

Thanks for the weightloss feedback. You know, I am a big proponent of switching things up, and I didn't even think about it. Also, although I am not a fan of the some of the nutrition timing things I have read, I do think that you are correct about the need to watch the amount of carbs when carbs aren't necessarily needed.  

Funny you all mentioned livestrong. I was using the daily plate before livestrong bought them, but I switched to using BT. Since most of my workouts are aerobic, I use 100 calories every 10 minutes, or 100 per mile if running, as my guideline for calculating my calorie usage. It isn't exact, but should be putting me in the ballpark.

Still up in the air about events this weekend. How about the rest of you?