konichiwa's mentor group - Are we having fun yet? - FULL (Page 16)

Hey everyone,

I apologize for my absence the past few weeks.  Summer research was killer and I hardly had time to get online.  I am having some problems getting a full recovery in during training and I was going to see if anyone had any suggestions on if recovery drinks.  Are they worth getting? Do they work? What brand of or type would you suggest?

No helmets...wtf?!?!?

This first week was a partial week, going forward it will be Sunday - Saturday

Charlie1      - 270
Keri             - 111
Charlie2      -   55 (did you do any on 8/5?)
Joey            -     0
Mentor Tim -    40

Woohoo!  congrats on the hardware.

Hey Andrew -

Recovery involves a whole bunch of different things...for example, taking an easier day after two harder days...take a cutback week every few weeks (I do 3 on, 1 cutback), sleep and nutrition.

With regards to post-workout recovery nutrition, its important that you replenish the calories quickly.  The general rule I have heard is you want to have a full meal within 1hr of any long or hard workout.  Recovery drinks/shakes offer two main benefits in my opinion; they give you a right mix of carbs to protein (~3:1 is generally the rule) and more importantly it buys you time.  For Laura and I we frequently meet at a park after work for our evening workouts.  By the time we finish the workout, stretch, drive home, shower, make dinner and then eat its often 60-90minutes post-workout.  We'll take a recovery drink immediately after working out and then have some light snack while prepping dinner.

We use Hammer Nutrition's Recoverite.  I know PowerBar and GU also have some recovery drinks out there.  I sometimes will eat a Kashi GoLean Crunchy! bar as its the calories as the Recoverite (180cal) and has the ~3:1 ratio.  We get the Kashi bars at Costco so they are ~$0.80/bar....the Recoverite is prob more like $1 (or slightly more) per serving but it has some L-glutamine and some other amino acids.  Supposively good stuff for recovery.  The bargain option is low fat chocolate milk....8oz has about the right about of calories as well as the ~3:1 ratio.

Bottom line, eating something (even if its not specifically marketing as "recovery" or it doesn't have the 3:1 ratio) is better than nothing after a workout if you can't get a full meal in quickly.  That and make sure you get enough rest...both in terms of daily sleep and in terms of your training pattern.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

-Tim

(1) Yes you can mount beyond the mount line...just not before.  I frequently go up 10-15ft as it frequently bunches up on the line.

(2) Never had this issue.  Can you adjust your cleats so its harder for them to unclip?

(3) I prefer to grab my bike by the stem for this very reason.

wow, i better get my act together.

Have you had issues where the shoes come unclipped with your feet on top?  I have SpeedPlays X-3s and then have a ton of float so I never had this issue.  Maybe there is a happy medium you can find...'cause you always want to be able to unclip quickly just in case.

Yes, rubberbands to keep the cranks and 3 and 9.  That way neither shoe bounces on the ground.  I did lose one shoe this way coming into T2.  Luckily a volunteer or someone watching saw it and gave it to me.

Will do more push-ups tonight.

I have Oakley's as well, and they do fog up any time it is (1) raining or (2) very humid out. They tend to fog up when I am stopped at a traffic light, etc. Given that Oakley's are good eyewear, I am betting that most sunglasses fog somewhat. Perhaps look into buying their de-fogging spray. I can't find a link for it, but I have heard that Oakley sells a specific one for their sunglasses.....

The key is to know what works for you. I have tried to practice keeping the shoes clipped in, but it takes me FOREVER to get into the shoes. I am barely coasting and feel like I am going to tip over. The problem is that my shoes are just not wide enough to slip my feet into comfortably while moving.

If you want to shave time off of your T1 but are not comfortable leaving your shoes clipped in and mounting at the line in bare feet, consider other ways to minimize time in T1. For me, it is putting my sunglasses on and my helmet on while I am wiping my feet (while standing) on my towel and then getting my feet as far in the shoes as I can while I buckle my helmet. Then, all you have to do is zip your shoes closed, grab your bike, and go.

Its worth that extra time (to me) in T1 area to put on my shoes versus trying too hard to get my feet in the shoes while riding.

1) Bagel w/ PB

2) The bagel is ~2.5 to 3hrs before my wave starts.  Then a gel ~15min prior.

3&4) Coffee with the bagel.  Sip on a sports drink (~100cal of HEED for me) and some water b/t breakfast and race start. 

5) Nothing

6) n/a

7) water

8) I'll use an aero bottle (~24oz) on the bike and then take a cup of water at most/all aid stations.  Typically one gulp/sip and then dump the rest on my head (unless its an early season race and cold)

A typical sprint is ~1hr for me depending on the specific distances.  When I do an oly (2:15ish), I'll drink ~200 cal of HEED in the aerobottle on the bike and take one gel (90cal) late on the bike.  Those are the only changes I make.

As far as the shoes, I pedal up to about 20mph, coast as I get one foot in, pedal it up to 20ish again, get second foot in.   I always make it a point to know the first 1/2mi of the bike course so I know where I want to put my feet in.  If the course starts uphill, I wait until I get to flat/downhill section.

1 and 2) If the race is at 7 am, I am usually up by 4 am and eating around 4:20-4:30 am.

3 and 4) I usually drink water, sipping on it from the time I eat breakfast to the time I get out of the car at the race site. I am not good about staying hydrated from there on out, though.

5, 6, 7, and 8) For a sprint: 1 gu 10-15 mins before my wave goes off; 1 bottle liquid nutrition (100 calories) on the bike; nothing on run or 1 gel if I feel I need it; For an OLY: 1 gu 10-15 mins before my wave goes off; 1 bottle liquid nutrition (200 calories) on bike; 1 gel about 1-2 miles into run; For a half IM: 1 gu 10-15 mins before my wave goes off; 1 bottle liquid nutrition (200 calories) on bike plus 1 gel every 40 minutes; 1 gel every 3 miles on run; For IM: 1 gu 10-15 mins before my wave goes off; sip of water in between swim loops; 3 bottles liquid nutrition (200 calories per bottle), plus 1 gel every 40 minutes on bike; 1 gel every 3 miles on the run, plus sips of water throughout run and flat soda after 13 miles (its heaven).

Oops, sorry, didn't see that it was only for sprint tris!!! My sprint answer is:

1 and 2) If the race is at 7 am, I am usually up by 4 am and eating around 4:20-4:30 am.

3 and 4) I usually drink water, sipping on it from the time I eat breakfast to the time I get out of the car at the race site. I am not good about staying hydrated from there on out, though.

5, 6, 7, and 8) 1 gu 10-15 mins before my wave goes off; 1 bottle liquid nutrition (100 calories) on the bike; nothing on run or 1 gel if I feel I need it.