Athena/ Clydesdale Official Mentor Group (Page 15)

so true... and I got though undergrad and masters almost exclusively on cramming...

got a nice run in tonight: 3.25km 25:31 (includes walk to cool-down). This is shaping up to be a pretty solid week for me, hoping to hit the pool tomorrow.

Ride - 8.89 miles - 43m 39s - 12.2 mph

Anybody here not believe that hydration has a huge effect on performance?  Less than a mile into this morning's ride my nalgene water bottle jumped out of it's cage while crossing the first set of railroad tracks on my loop.  I figured I'd pick it up on my second lap as I usually don't drink during the first lap (20 minutes) anyway.  Bummer!  I've dropped nalgene bottles from 70' towers at the prison (not on purpose) and they survived.  This one had shattered right at the top of the tube.  No water for me for the second lap.  I had planned on doing 3 laps today, but I had nothing left in the tank by the end of the second one.  I was even coasting the little downhills I had.  Although I did manage to charge the final hill on both laps and stay in 3rd(?) gear instead of granny gear.

Fortunately the new Camelbak I ordered should arrive today.  I am not yet comfortable enough to drink from a bottle without stopping pedaling.  It's a hi-viz green with 1" reflective strips as well.

Time to shower and get ready for my bike fitting at 1030.

warning - lots of whining ahead. 

3 kids, 1.5 jobs (husband owns a business, I do the bookwork/office stuff), and managing our household...I'm so tired of coming last.  I got to the gym ONCE this week.  ONE FRIGGIN' TIME.  Because everyone else needed something.  I know it's my choice in life to be everything to everyone.  And I know that it's ME who needs to speak up and make my needs be heard.  But sometimes it's just overwhelming. It's so much easier to interalize my feelings rather than asking other people to make do without me.

I need to organize my week better is the bottom line.  If *I* don't prioritize my training, nobody else will either. 

I'm racing tomorrow.  My goal is to stop the negative talk and have a great race (it's SO easy for me to look around and convince myself I don't belong out there.  That I'm NOT an athlete.  and a million other ongoing thoughts.  So while I may not have trained physically for this as hard as I would have liked, I'm going to use it as an oportunity to really work on the mental aspect. 

My first Oly distance.  I have to finish in under 4 - that's the cut off.  I'm pretty sure I can finish in under 3.5 hours.  I am really going to work HARD at finishing in under 3. 

Lauralynne,

I hear you loud and clear and have been right in your shoes many times.   I was never athletic and never thought I would ever be completing triathlons, but I have, albeit at the back of the pack each and every time, but I have done it several times now and am very proud of my accomplishments! You should be too.   Don't compare yourself to others out there,  you deserve better than that.  Compare yourself to the ones that are not out there at all!  Be proud of all that you have accomplished by just putting yourself into the race!

I have 2 kids (15 and 12), a husband and 3 part time jobs plus the household.  I used to put myself last all the time too and made myself miserable doing it.  I finally made the decision to move myself up the list and started scheduling my workouts on my calendar like appointments.  I had always made sure everyone else kept their appointments so it was just as important for me to keep mine.  I schedule their appointments around my workouts and if they want to do something besides,  it has to work around my schedule as much as can be done.

Now that the boys are older,  they come to the pool with me and do my swim workout along with me or find a way to entertain themselves.   

When I have to bike,  I either leave them at home, take them out with me or just resort to using my trainer

I have battled a really bad case of shin splints that has taken over a year to heal so running has not happened but when I go out and walk,  they come with me or stay home.  I don't even have a race on the calendar this year and so looking forward to racing again next year.

I don't know how old your kids are but if they are young,  it makes it harder for you but there might be options available to you.  Babysitter, family/friend to swap kid watching with so you can work out,  they can run errands, babysitting at your gym if they have it???

Either way,  just go out and enjoy your race tomorrow!   Use it as a learning tool to what you want to improve, change or just did absolutely perfectly!

Lauralynne,

To me (a beginner) you ARE an athlete.  Your're going to race an Olympic Triathlon soon.  I can only dream of getting to that point.  I can't even run a 5k let alone a 10K!  Just finished the 5th week of couch to 10k and JUST bought my bike.  So I have a loooong way to go just to get where you are.  The day I finish my first sprint, you know I'll strutting around like I'm a bad A$$.  But for now, I can just dream and train. 

I understand the frustration with putting yourself last.  Been there.  That's why I my username is tri4me, as in a "triathlon for ME."  I'm a good wife, I work full time, and have a household to run.  For too long I've done everything for everyone.  Now it's MY turn.  It may seem selfish at first, but trust me, you will feel better and happier.  Good luck on your race and remember, you ARE an athlete

LaLa

PS.  To the rest of the group. Can I join the mentor group too?  I need all the support I can get!

Lauralynne, I love the suggestion from Fecter.  Schedule YOUR time, and let everyone else schedule around it.  You are right, you have to prioritize yourself to be at least equal to everyone else.  I wish you luck.  This is just about the only thing my wife and I ever fight about.  She's always whining about not having time for herself, and yet spends 15-20 unpaid hours per week at the bank.  YOU are just as important as everyone else.

tri4me, welcome to the group.  Of course you can come play with us.

Walk - 4.0 miles - 1h 9m 12s - 3.5 mph

First of all, I'm not home.  I'm at a friend's house in VA doing some re-modeling to help them prepare to sell next spring.  It was down-pouring this morning so I didn't walk.  At 3 pm this afternoon I decided that I HAD to get my walk in for the day.  What was I thinking!?

Strange roads, no music, heavier traffic than home, and in the heat of the day.  But I got'r done!  I was checking  my mapmyride app and had calculated I needed to hit 1.85 miles to reach the turn-around point.  But there was this road sign ahead that made a natural turn-around and it just happened to be a 2.0 miles.  So I wound up doing 4 miles instead of my usual 3.7.  Not as steep, but it was uphill all the way back according to the house.

Quick question I'm getting my RPM's up on the bike to around 90 like I'm suppose to, but I'm loosing distance. I know I'm just starting but I was wondering will the distance come back?

They say spin to win, but I still have to get there.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Have a great Saturday!!

I'm not sure what you mean by "losing distance"?  You mean you're spinning faster, ie your cadence is higher, but you're not traveling as fast?  Or as far in the same amount of time?  Sounds like maybe you are in too easy of a gear and you're not getting your max out of every cycle?  I'm not sure though, that's just my guess.

I got a BIG problem guys, well besides my bike still being in the shop (which may be the cause of my following problem).  I'm just going to admit it, but I'm starting to like running.  I know, I just kind of cringed typing that.  Since the bike has been MIA, I've been running a lot.  I've beefed up my mileage and frequency and it's kind of programmed in my head now to run.  I've always hated running, as most clyde lifers (I'll always be clyde due to my height and build) but now I'm somewhat enjoying it.  Yeah I still want to die sometimes on certain hills, but just the act of running is becoming easier and more enjoyable.  So everyone that hates running, maybe just give it some time and it will stick.  I never thought it would, but it's starting to. 

PS I reserve the right to revoke this post tomorrow night after having a terrible run.

I only have a sec - but checking in. 

Finished my Oly tri on Saturday. 

A lot of mishaps - race delayed by 1.5 HOURS because of fog so my nutrition and ibuprofin both wore out early...I should have planned better.  Because of the fog, they switched the order of the start making my wave the very last.  So my run was during the hottest time of the day.   And me with no sunscreen. I haven't trained in the heat.  And by heat I mean 85 or so degrees but for Seattle, that's INFERNO temps.  I got burned to a crisp.  Sunday the burn pain was worse than the muscle aches.  Today it's not much better.

But I finished the swim 3rd in my age group, the bike killed me (my longest ride to date was 14 miles - this was 28)  and I came in almost last, the run finished me off and I crawled across the line in dead last.  But I finished.  And I am determined to train EVEN MORE!!  I need to make my training (and ME) a priority. 

I'm down to my lowest weight in a long time - and hoping to keep dropping!

(I'll write a race report soon - it will contain a lot of OW, OW, OW!!)

FANTASTIC!!  We're all very proud of you!  As you should be as well.  Pilots say any landing you can walk away from is a good one.  I think any race you finish is a GREAT one!  Congratulations.

Great job, glad you survived AND finished in spite of all the challenges.  And it is so true that races that don't go as planned teach us way more than a perfectly executed one.  Take care of that burn!

Bike - 4.5 miles - 19m 19s - 13.9 mph

First time on a bike in nearly a week.  All of the adjustments made to this point seem to be acceptable.  No fingers fell asleep.  Was able to clear my little hill in 4th gear!  Nice pace, but it left me empty at the end of only one lap.  Will try for 9 miles on Thursday.

well, today I'm finally forgiving myself for the race on Saturday.  I did my best.  And that's all I've got.  I finished.  And I'm learning lessons with each race - there just happened to be a lot of lessons in this one

I made a new - reasonable - training plan.  I've got another Oly in September - but as a relay.  I'll swim.  I am also contemplating a half marathon in September.  I'm going to give myself 2 weeks to use my new training plan and make sure it's reasonable before I sign up for that race.  I'm definately doing a half marathon in November - I committed to run it with a group of friends. 

Meanwhile I'm working on eating healthy, making training a priority, and learning to put myself (and my health) first. 

finishing and learning from it is definitely a success in my books!

Have I mentioned that earnings season sucks... ~28 hours in office between yesterday and today, so training, been working much harder in continueing to eat healthy than I have in the past. Tomorrow will probably be bad and then it will get back to sanity and hopefully I can get back on track...

Plan?

I could use a recommendation. Right now I'm working on the "Take the dogs for a run whenever I can" plan.

Personally, I'm not really on a defined plan.  I started just getting out the door and running/biking/swimming and finding my "base".  Then I started increasing about 10% per week based on how the previous week went.  A lot of programs or plans might not be too little or too much for you right off the bat, but if you're a structured person who thrives on checking off workouts and such then a plan would be perfect for you.  The only downside I found with following a direct plan is the guilt you feel once you miss a workout and have to reschedule then possibly push everything around.  I know I should be out doing something physical 5-6 times a week.  I think once I get into more distance, which I'd love to next year, I'll probably follow some mileage guidelines so I'm properly prepared for the longer time out there.