kenj's group closed, training hard and having fun!! (Page 15)

OK I wasn’t going to post this but why not……

To HIM or not Him that is the question.

Here’s the deal the last tri of the year for me is Oct 3^rd and I need to sign up for it before the end of the week otherwise the price goes up. This is an Olympic length race but it just so happens to be going on simultaneously with a HIM. If you sign up for the Olympic you have till Aug 25 to upgrade to the HIM.

I was always going to do an olymipic this year and do a HIM next year. The easy and safe choice is to sign up for the olymipc and pay the extra fee for the HIM when Aug 25^th rolls around.

Question is do I throw caution to the wind (I’m not good at that) and commit myself to the HIM or play it safe and upgrade. The only downside is the money and more importantly that fail safe bail out of just doing an Olympic if I don’t feel like I can do a HIM. I might have regret the day of the race if I don’t do the HIM.

Oh and if it’s of any value I talked w/ my old mentor (bhannahs) and he thought I would do fine at the HIM distance.

Adam, that's a good question. Will this be your A race? I'm guessing it would.

How much would you be pushing yourself to do an OLY?

How much to do the HIM?

IMHO if you can easily/comfortably do the OLY then there's less of a challenge, less of a goal, and it will be a lesser achievement that will motivate you accordingly all summer long. The HIM, on the other hand, could be quite a different scenario.

When it's all over, and you have all winter to think about it, which will you be happier saying:

1) I went conservative and finished an OLY, met my goal, and I'm happy. I stayed within/closer to my limits and will expand my abilities at a comfortable rate. This was wise from both injury prevention and time management standpoints. My significant other doesn't hate me. I'm in a better position to escalate to a HIM with what I know now.

or

2) I challenged myself with a bucket-list kind of goal, didn't hold back, and went for it. I learned/finished/struggled/killed myself/grew from all that effort. I redefined my limits. It was hard as hell and I may have met my ultimate effort, but then again a full IM is now closer to being within my reach (or something I know better than ever is just not for me).

I'm not trying to suggest one is better than the other. Only you can determine which of those suits you, your abilities and freedoms best. Both are admirable. The decision alone will say a fair bit about you. I look forward to hearing your logic as you approach it.

Disclaimer: an OLY will take me another year (minimum) to train for. I wholly admire what you're considering.

Good post thanks...

I guess this would be an A race no matter what distance. I really feel like I'm in a good postion to really nail an olympic lenght race. But I also feel like the HIM has been my goal ever since I figured out what for HIM was short for.

Here's another thought if they didn't have the upgrade option no doubt I wouldn't have considered the HIM this year. But the door has been opened and now it's on my mind.

Great post guys..Well here is my two cents worth...Still a newbie second year in, I did an Olympic for my first event, I wanted to do a HIM for my first event this year but after a shoulder injury I regeared my thinking to do that in September now, I signed up for an Olympic instead to replace it.. I feel like this sport is what you put in is what you get in return. October is a ways off, but if you could get the training in I would do the HIM..however  if you see that you are not progressing at the HIM distance training then go for a PR in your Olympic race.. I really love the Olympic, I think though if you signed up for the HIM you would be very happy with yourself in the offseason..

I'm sorry I missed this post Robin, I would be fah-reaking out if I were you. I have heard Alaska is gorgeous and I've been to Wyoming and know it is gorgeous there. What is your biggest concern with moving? Would this be an indefinite move or something for X amount of years? I moved to Houston 15 years ago with the promise it would only be 3 years but circumstances changed and here I am. It kind of grows on you but I know Anchorage would be very different for me but not sure how much of a climate change it would be for you. Wishing you all the best and calm thoughts during this process.

Thanks Keri and Julie, It will be way easier when we have finally decided, the flip flopping back and forth right now is killing me and I can't tell anyone. The climate is actually similar: WY has the wind where AK has the clouds (right now I will take the clouds)! The hardest part of moving to AK will be just how far away it is from everything.  

Anyways back to tri talk! Got in a short run today and some abwork. Was supposed to have yoga class but it was cancelled. Tomorrow I hope to get in a swim. Friday will be a short run and the last workout before my HM on Sunday.

I think the discussion on the HIM has been good - don't know if I have anything to add as I have only done sprints. Good luck with your decision!

Recovery Week!

So do any of you plan recovery weeks? I’m not on a set plan yet I’m just base building to get in shape for my 20 week plan which starts in about a month. I usually do a 3 week build 1 week recovery.

Judging by the way I’ve been feeling and the fact that this is my 4^th week of building time & distance I think I’m due for a little recovery. I usually just drop the distance by 15-20% and try to add an extra rest day in. Then I pick up where I left off the week before.

So what do the rest of you do? I’m especially interested in people training for longer distances where the miles really do add up quick.

Busy week.  I will have to go back and catch up on everyone's posts.  My son has had a fever on and off since Monday, so I have been home with him.  He went to daycare today, so I get to work.  It also means, I will make it to spin class today.  Dug around in my yard yesterday.  Sore buns and hammies today.

Leaving tomorrow for a 7 hour drive to my parents house.  We will be coming back on Tuesday, so I won't be posting much (probably) until I get back.  BUT I should have plenty of time to run and my dad has a stationery bike - So I will be able to use that. 

My coach has me do a recovery week every 4 weeks usually. It is more obvious if you look at September/October of last year and late February/March of this year. I still train every day but not as long.

As far as rest days I haven't had my coach build them into my training, however, I have taken more than my share this month. With a bunch of kids I figured there would be days I could not train and that day would turn into a rest day. However, I'm not sure I like that anymore. What happens is I miss a day and then I stress about making up the workout(s). It would be nice mentally to know you had a day off coming and you really could enjoy that day off.

I think I am going to ask him to build in a day off every other week. If you don't have lots of travel and other things getting in your way of training I think a recovery day is great especially the day after your long ride or run to give your body that recovery.

I am going to expound on that saying that I do believe as we get older we need more recovery time. Those in their 20s and even early 30s muscle repair and fatigue recovery happens faster. My recovery tights are one of my best friends and I know for me it is important to have my long run and long bike days apart - I could never do long run on Friday long bike Sunday. I do my long run Wednesday and long bike Saturday or Sunday depending on schedule.

This is me too. Weight training is my first love and I like being back in the gym. I don't think it will hurt so I will keep doing it.

A lot of folks find the swim frustrating, I know my husband did. I didn't have a swim background at all but it came pretty easy for me. The issue with the bike is frustration with not getting better and I really am in pain the whole time. I have had several different saddles 3 professional fits, a new crank changes to my cletes etc. and just when I think it is better I realize it's not. However, I am in a much better mood today and I also believe my dedication to the bike is in question. I find the bike very daunting. I put a lot of consistent work in the bike last summer/fall and I feel like I"m starting all over again. We will see. Of course having 5 kids makes it hard to get out for a bike ride. I can check the girls in the Y and go for a run in the neighborhood, can't do that on the bike.

I know my coach in person, he is local but I do not see him on a regular basis (Houston is a HUGE city) and we don't live near each other. Most of our interaction is done via e-mail but also via inspire here on BT (he is a member and has been a MG mentor in the past). He is a great guy, very even tempered and I appreciate him very much. His strenght is also the swim (swam in college) but he is also a beast on the bike and the run isn't too shabby (he's just pain fast). He writes my plan 4 weeks in advance and before setting it all up he will ask if there are days I cannot train or things he has to keep in mind. He will also make time and pace changes along the line so those 4 weeks are not set in stone.  We have a couple of meetings a year and talk about my goals and what I am wanting to focus/improve on. We set goals for each of my races and I train with those races in mind. I find the accountablility very helpful.

I don't usually plan recovery weeks, they seem to just happen. It is the same with rest days - something usually comes up at least once every two weeks if not a lot more. It seems they come in groups too. I will do great for 3 weeks and then miss 4 or 5 days in a row. I try not to sweat it and am luckily eager to get back to training - I know a lot of my friends have trouble getting back started again if they miss a few days.

Ken you asked earlier how my legs were feeling during the taper. They feel great! However, I have only run 1 time in the last week and it was on a treadmill. I have another run tomorrow and hopefully outside.

I have a question for the group about starting to run.

I'm sure we've all encountered the recommended practice of starting slowly. Walk and run, short distances, etc. in order for the body to adapt and acclimate.

My question is, what does "adapt and acclimate" really mean in this case?

My issues when I started running in the past were all joint related. Do joints adapt and acclimate?  I'm having a hard time believing that. Yes, the muscles around them would get stronger but I could do that in a gym. A physio designed some orthotics for me and they seem to be working fine, so that could potentially account for/remedy issues I've had in the past.

The reason I ask is that I don't want to run my way into injury, but I'm running out of time to prepare for my first race of the season. I play a fair bit of hockey and have been riding all winter so I'm not really concerned about leg strength.

Tom,

You don't have a lot of details in your logs. What distances have you been running and what is the distance of the race and when is it exactly?

I do believe for myself that my joints do need to get in "shape". When I start out they need time to adapt. I have to think that hocky is great for your muscle conditioning but not for joints. 

I know people who go out and run 8 miles after doing nothing the entire winter, I can't. I need to be consistent and need to build a base. I'd love to get a tranier this winter and hit the treadmill at the gym on a regualr basis so I can get up to speed even faster next year.

Good luck!