Fred Doucette's Half-Iron and Ironman Focused Group! -CLOSED! (Page 16)

Rob - very well said - could not agree more! except the part about getting older. We aren't getting older, we are just aging up!

Excellent point! 

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Hey Neil - when I used the word "processed" it was really a gross over-generalization, sorry. Lots of foods that are good for you are "processed" in some way, heck I even have a couple of food processors myself that I use almost every day! 

To be more specific, a lot of the stuff you can buy at the grocery store today (or through the window of your car) is engineered to increase their desirability/transportability/shelf life through the addition of sweeteners, salts, artificial flavors, factory-created fats, colorings, and preservatives. While that may be all well and good, many  of these "processes" often also strip the basic ingredients of nutrients that  contribute to your health and well being such as soluble fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and "good" fats.

We read all sorts of stuff about avoiding trans fats, sodium, refined grains, and high fructose corn syrup. Trouble is, you kinda need a chemistry degree when you read food labels to know if any of that stuff is in that box of frozen peas with cream sauce (guess what? it most likely is). Add to that you have to carry around a scale and a calculator to make sure you get the right percentage of this and the correct grams of that.

There is a tiny little pamphlet by Michael Pollan that tries to simplify all that called Food Rules: an Eater's Manual that is broken down into 64 common sense rules in 3 parts:

1) What should I eat? (Food.)
2) What kind of food should I eat? (Mostly plants)
3) How should I eat? (Not too much.)

These are a few of the rules I think about when shopping/cooking/dining:

3) Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry.
6) Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.
7) Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
8) Avoid food products that make health claims.
9) Avoid food products with the wordoid "lite" or the terms "low-fat" or "nonfat" in their names.
10) Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not. ("imitation" anything)
11) Avoid foods you see advertised on television.
13) Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
14) Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature.
16) Buy your snacks at the farmers market.
19) if it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don't.
20) its not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
27) Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
28) If you have space, buy a freezer.
30) Eat well grown food from healthy soil (forget "organic")
31) Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature.
39) Eat all the junk food you want s long as you prepare it yourself.
43) Have a glass of wine with dinner.
52) buy smaller plates and glasses.
56) Limit snacks to to unprocessed plant foods.
58) Do all your eating at a table (and no, a desk is not a table)
62) Plant a vegetable garden if you have the space, a window box if you don't.
63) Cook.
64) Break all the rules once in a while.

The last is my favorite - When I am at a Braves game in the summer, I love a good foot-long chili dog all the way with a pretzel and lite beer!

Great tips - I'm going to print these ones out.

New purchase today - neoprene face mask.  After riding for 2+ hours in -15C yesterday and feeling like my nose was going to fall off, I made the $25 investment.  Hopefully the snow stays off the road so I can get some use out of it.  Also bought some extra toe covers for the shoes to go under the booties.  Otherwise, everything else was good with only wearing a couple of layers.

That's hardcore riding Neil - the wind chill must have been brutal.

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no. way. I. am. ever. riding. in. -15C. period.

That is nuts Neil! unless of course it is like this:

http://vimeo.com/17968756

Then maybe. but I would still probably rather be XC skiing!

That is easily like a Jens Factor of 5! - I am more of a 2 myself.

just wow!

What I try to eat is pretty simple for me...I don't go down most aisles in the grocery store....go fruits/veggies, then back where meat is, around the far end where dairy is, and usually I'm done. Cheese/yogurt are things I waver back and forth about eating or not.

Processed food to me is anything that comes in a box, things that are far away from way they grow in nature...if it was around in Colonial days or earlier probably not processed. If it has a label on it, it is processed to some degree.

It is what I do, but doesn't mean it is the right or best way to eat just works for me.

Riding in the snow is fun if you have the right equipment. Sure it may not be the best workout but for fun factor can be awesome. I've done cyclocross races in the snow. Couple years ago for Christmas I got studded snow tires for my cross bike. This was from last December in 2009.

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Great picture1
You are a much braver woman than me.  burrrr....

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OK - you are all nuts! I am considered a "tough guy" around here for getting out in -5C weather. Mostly we can count on at least +10C at some point in the day, so if it is cold in the morning most folks just juggle their workout to the afternoon. I always like just getting the day going and getting out in the morning, but even then it is almost always above 0C. Early March around here is glorious!

Fred, like you, I love riding outside, but this year I have race-specific goals, and cannot hit my specific workouts metrics outside, so I am on the trainer a lot, and finally getting used to it. Two days ago I started some of what my coach calls "overgear" sets, which that day consisted of an hour and-a-fifteen minutes of low cadance/high gear grindy stuff on the trainer, followed by a killer cycle squat set, and then 30 minutes of single leg/plyometric stuff. Yesterday was 3 hours easy outside followed by a 30 minute run off. I thought those back-to-back cycle days would hammer my quads, but instead it is actually hamstrings and glutes. Ouchy. Thank goodness today was in the pool.

I am a real newb at the trainer - so a quick question for all you cold-weather trainer junkies: do you do anything to pass the time? I have found that for the most part my workouts are so specific and kinda tough that I cannot pay attention to  the TV much (if I do my targets get all out of whack) so does that get better, or do I just get more used to simply watching all the numbers go by on my head unit?

I have two questions for you guys.

I have read about LT tests and heard about them but I still am not 100% on them.  I know you are supposed to run for a specific amount of time(30 mins) at a hard effort and hit the lap button of your hr monitor 10 minutes in to the run (this is what my plan calls for tomorrow). So, is the goal to see how high your HR goes while still being able to hold a fast pace?  Also, how do I know how fast I can go without having to walk?  I have a history of running at one pace but that is starting to change.

How do you define a time trial effort?  Is it a certain % slower then a "race pace"?   Or  is it what you can hold steady for a period of time?   I know what time trials are but having this used in a training plan is confusing me.  Since I don't train with power (another thing I know nothing about but am interested in) I assume hr , speed, cadence would play a role in this. Is that correct?
THANKS!

I love the trainer. You'll get used to it eventually just give it some time. I listen to my ipod, and watch the numbers on the power meter. During long rides I watch TV or movies.

Why I love the trainer:
1. It is always there waiting for you. Wake up at 3, no problem get on the trainer
2. You can wear bike shorts that are too see through to wear in public on the trainer
3. Bathroom is always close to the trainer
4. Easy access to food and water
5. Long rides can be started on the trainer while you wait for the sun to come up. This works out well when it is over 100 here.
6. If you do a hard interval and need to throw up the bathroom is close by (don't ask how I know this : )
7. Your family knows where you are at all times
8. It is safer than riding outside

And the number one reason why I love the trainer:
Without it I probably couldn't train for an IM and work full time.


Edited by Catwoman 2011-01-03 7:37 PM

Too funny! Yeah, I've been close with my last couple of FT tests done on the rollers in the garage.  Those last 2-3 minutes seem like they last a month.  Felt like I would actually melt into the floor after getting off the bike.  Love the availability, convenience and consistency of trainers/rollers but they have a dark side as well. 

Randy

Edited by slornow 2011-01-03 7:50 PM

Wow.  So tuff!

Rusty, if you have someflexibility over what you're doing while in saddle, the belkow integrates the two, to an extent. I ran across  this recently, it's a good way to add 'unstructured structure' if you don't want/need to do a strictly defined workout. I did 'big ring on commercials' recently for the 2nd half of Broncos v Texans, and there are an awful lot of commercials in the last 5 minutes of an NFL game!

High Cadence Spinning > 110 RPM's

Power and Strength: Out of the saddle - hard gear  Big chain ring/ 11. Slow down your cadence

Speed and Efficiency: Out of the saddle- fast legs  Big chain ring/ 23 ( or small/ 15)

Power and Strength: Seated Hill climb- big chain ring/ 11 or 13 (slow Cadence 60/70)

Isolated Leg Drills (small ring 15)

Progressive Spin Ups (increase speed gradually until you are in an all out sprint. Don't bounce)

 

Every time there is one of the following (depending on what you are watching) choose one of the above to do.  Here are some examples:

Commercial- out of the saddle 

Instant Reply- fast spinning

Free Throw-Progressive Spin up

Field Goal Attempt-Out of the Saddle Fast leg


Full Disclosure, this came from a blog post by Kathy Alfino, who is a coach and  multi- Kona finisher   

Edited by StMaas 2011-01-03 9:23 PM

 

I thought that's what your transition busket is for!

Good stuff, guess you're an honourary canuck.  I'm following Jorge's winter program at the moment so I've got three structured workouts that I do on the trainer, and then an optional one on the weekend.  As long as I can, I'd like to do that optional ride outside, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to do them.

Fred - do you feel safe doing the early morning rides?  If it's not light out I try to stay off the roads.  I feel I'm pretty alert, but I don't know that I can trust drivers at that hour of the day.

Rusty - that one was just a 4, not quite worth a 5.  That video was uber cool.  As for trainer rides, I have a Tacx I-Magic, similar to a Computrainer, but I still have a tough time going past an hour.  I find that mentally it is tougher, but this is always made much harder by the fact that my butt just can't get comfortable in the saddle on the trainer.  I can ride outside for long distances without too much trouble, but I just can't stay seated for a long time in the basement.

Kathy - THAT is hardcore.  I'd like to try cyclocross at some point, but I'd rather give it a go mid-Autumn rather than in 2 feet of snow.

I enjoy training often more than racing. With racing I enjoy the challenge of executing well.  At times, I struggle with being satisfied with my race results. It has been something that I have been working on last few seasons.