Destination MoP is FULL (of motivation!) (Page 16)

For those of you who are planning HIM distance races, this article (post?) on pacing seemed like something to print out and save.  I very much agree with his approach based on my one experience.  Enjoy!

Goals Update:

May Goals

Continue running 3x per week. -  Mostly.  Only missed one and it was a race week.

Swim/cycle 2x per week. Try not to miss. - Nearly.  Missed one cycle and no swims all month.

Daily stretching/swissball exercises - Not daily, but was managing 3-4 times most weeks, which is a significant improvement.

Bike training one session per week on trainer - I think I got 2 in.  I kept finding that I was doing outside sessions, and didn't want to miss those so that I could cycle in my living room!

At least 30min per week on aero bars - Yes.  Definitely finding an improvement, although now I need to get more confident on them on a variety of terrain.

I'm pretty pleased with that overall.  My distances aren't as high as I'd like on the bike and swim, but I can work on that.  Obviously there's still room for improvement, but with only a month until the HIM I'm feeling okay.

June Goals

Continue running 3x/week and swimming and cycling 2x/week.

Daily stretching/swissball exercises.

Swim - one session per week with the wetronome.

Cycle - tbc (having session with tri club coach tomorrow)

Run - work on technique (apparently when I run fast my lateral core support vanishes, so this is partly about doing the right exercises/stretches and partly about working on my technique while actually running).

These may all be modified/added to after my first OLY which is on 12th June.  It's in the same place as the HIM and all of the routes are part of the HIM routes, so the plan is to use it as a training exercise, practising pacing, nutrition, tactics etc.  It'll give me 3 weeks to change anything I need to before the big event...!

My June goals are the same as my May goals mainly because they are frequency goals.  I feel like my confidence about distances, my strength and my comfort after completing a workout are improving.

swim-7 x/month (1 OWS)

bike-2 x/wk

run-3-4 x/wk

weight-below 195

Here's a vote for the tri-lifestyle, Chinese style :-)  Wonder if it could happen in the US.  I'm going to try it out in Lyon this summer.

I've been thinking and planning...

1.  As a former swimmer, I just don't know about swimming in something other than a swim suit.  I just think any two piece outfit wil ride up or cause drag and/or expose my back/belly.  I'm thinking that a one piece tri-suit will not be cost effective as I plan to lose weight.  I have a suit that has some support, that I will experiment with on the run.  If that's no good, I'm thinking about just wearing sports bra under suit.  I also need shorts or capris for biking and running.  I'm not sure if I'd prefer to put these on at transition or swim with them.  I will need to try this out too.

2.  I'm following Higdon's novice 10K plan (to some extent) for running.  This will encourage me to build my long runs.  I repeat some weeks.  Then I think I'll jump into the middle of his novice 15K plan.  Again this will help with the long runs and up my weekday runs a bit too.  Hopefully, this will eventually help with my speed at shorter distances.

3.  I'm joining our local tri-club mostly for the OWS potential.  They are not very active with group rides or runs, but the OWS is really what I'm interested in at this point anyway.  They swim in a lake near my house on F and Sun.  I'll join them when the temp is up a bit, probably in a few weeks.

4.  There is a tri-series that runs Tuesdays mid-june to mid-Aug.  They have a very mini-sprint (200yd, 3M, 1+M) that I think will realy help me with transitions and to try out apparel.  Also, mini-brick...  I will try to go 4 times and may move up to the regular mini-sprint (400yd, 5M, 5K) at some point.  The bike portion requires mtn or hybrid, which is good since that's all I have.

All this in preparation for a 9/11 women's only sprint.  I'm pretty sure I can do the distance now.  Hopefully by then I'll be a bit more slim and speedy. 

Cadence was today's word of the day...

Did my first swim session with the wetronome.  It went really well.  I tried out a range of speeds from 48-56 strokes per minute (spm).  At 48 spm I was doing 50m in about 57sec (that's my usual sort of time).  By 54 spm I'd got that down to 51sec.  Then at 56 spm my stroke count went through the roof and my time went back up to 53sec.  So I guess 54 spm is the cadence for the moment.  I'll stick to that for the next month and then do another assessment swim.  It was strange swimming in time with the beep, especially trying to time my first stroke after the push off, but I was getting used to it by the end.  I was amazed how much faster I managed to get with one simple adjustment.  Hopefully this is going to really improve my swimming with a bit of time.

And then this evening we had a "bike pacing session" organised by the tri club.  It was basically a time trial, but our local authority are really picky about licencing for organised events, so it was very unofficial.  I'd arranged for one of the tri club coaches who has a lot of bike experience to give me some feedback and stuff to work on.  I got the cadence sensor that connects with my garmin and used it for the first time tonight, so at the end we went over all the data that I had collected (HR, pace, cadence etc).  I was really pleased with my time (32min 43sec for just over 10 miles), and my HR data was pretty high, so I'd been working hard.  My average cadence was about 85rpm, which is a little low (but it's the first time I've been able to check it, so I'm not surprised), so the first thing to work on is doing some time on the turbo trainer working on getting that higher.  He's suggested 100rpm as a goal.  He's also giving me some advice on bike fit and gearing (which I know nothing about).  It's all getting very technical, but hopefully it'll help me understand what I'm doing better.

I spent a lot of time at the end of last year working on my swimming, which is making really good progress, then this year's goal was to improve my running as it was by far my weakest area.  That's no longer the case, so I guess now is the time to work on the bike...

Got the girls off to France yesterday (my wife is teaching summer session in Lyon), so things around here have calmed down considerably, though it does look a bit like a tornado went through the house right now :-)

In terms of goals, May went about as well as any month has for me since I started training.  Light travel schedule, good weather, and back cooperated.  Hit all my goals.  June/July will be a bit more challenging as I have a bunch of travel / trips.  Back to the usual juggling act.  Main goals will be to keep up the stretching / exercises as I think they've really helped and trying to lose the 5 lbs that I put on in April.  Cravings have subsided and seem to be back on track with the nutrition, so if I just stick to the plan I should be okay.  Since I've got the house to myself, my plan is to keep the kitchen and fridge full of good stuff... and, of course, drink a bunch of G2 cocktails... lol.

Have a great day everyone... I've got my 2nd Sprint Tri on Sunday... anyone else racing this weekend?  If so, good luck... if not, hope the weather cooperates so you can get some good training in!

Stu

Here is something similar that I have bookmarked:

Four Keys to Ironman Execution

-Steve

Results for May goals:  Get those distances for the Oly down and comfortable.  Working on it   Log my nutrition. Nope..a few times.  Study on what my nutrition should be as a diabetic triathlete.  Still hitting the books.  Get my mph on the run under 11 mins.  Sweet! Most of the time; Today, you ask? YES!  Check my blood at least twice a day...right now I do about twice a week if that much. Not always but much better; my numbers have actually been pretty good since I have focused on my nutrition.

Get rest!  Make that a priority as I amp up my training. Eh..hit and miss. 

June Goals:

1. Focus on nutrition
• Eat every three hours
• Add more vegetables at every meal
• Log meals and blood sugars
2. Focus on tempo
• Running - get under 10 mins
3. Follow training plan
• Plan my week on Sundays

Funny how things change, when I started this adventure a year and a half ago,  swimming was my favorite sport, then the pool's temp was dropped and its not warm enough outside to make it pleasurable.  Then biking was my favorite and it is still a close second.  But because of the improvements in my running I really desire the run.  Used to be, I absolutely hated running; everything hurt and I couldn't breath right.  I am still no pro and when I start out my body tries to revolt but lately I am enjoying running a lot more. Who'da thunk?

Thanks, Stu!  I found that I was good on my last ride up until the last loop (mile 14), at which point I am not sure how much was my putting weight on my arms because I was tired & how much was road vibration (I was starting to really feel it then - but maybe that's because I was leaning too much)!  I also, thanks to Melanie, have been playing around with my seat adjustments, though I'm still looking for the perfect seat...

May goals - weekly outcomes are on my training log, but the synopsis is:

- lose 1lb/week	-4.2 overall for 4 weeks - some weeks were up a little, but I'm happy with how it averaged out
- do at least 1 long bike outside each week	yes & found a new place to do them!
- find appropriate clothing/suit for June 25 tri & practice with them/it	decided on tri shorts with a sports bra & fitted exercise top tucked in & then will throw a shirt on over it after the swim
- get at least 5 workouts in/week, including 2-3 runs	yes - it varied each week, but I always got 5 in, mostly runs
- be able to complete a 5k at a 12:30 pace	5k on 5/30 at 12:11 pace (on a treadmill, but I'm taking it!)
- do core workouts 3x/week (even if short)	still need to work on this - I did it the 1st week & then was lucky to get in 1 good one per week
- figure out a rhythm for my new/current training plan & adjust my planned workouts calendar thru June 25	pretty much figured out, but I am definitely staying flexible, especially since I now have patellar tendonitis in my left knee & need to make sure I don't make it worse before my 1st tri 6/25

Hello and apologies to all.

When I signed on to do this mentor session with Stu, I didn't realize that my MiL would have so many complications with her cancer treatments. This has taken a huge emotional and time toll on our family. Luckily, she appears to be on the road to recovery now.

Yesterday was the half marathon that I have been working to organize since October! The race was a success, and I'm looking forward to doing it next year. But, it has been extremely time consuming, especially in the past month.

I am back now-but I think more in the role of group member- not so much as co-mentor.

Again, sorry for the silence and absence.

Heidi, I'm glad to see you back.  I welcome you in whatever capacity you can handle.  Congrats on organizing the half and I hope your MIL continues to have better days.

I was planning to do my firs 5mile run yesterday, but was sidelined with allergies or a cold.  Now today my husband is at a car show all day, so I have no one to watch our son.  I may hit the treadmill today, as I'm feeling much better.  At least my eyes aren't watering constantly, I'm not sneezing like crazy or walking around with a tissue for my runny nose.  I'm not sure I can endure the TM for long enough to get in 5 miles, but I'll probably try.

Heidi... glad to hear your MIL is doing better and welcome back.  This group is more about mutual support anyhoo.  Seems to me you can use all the support you can get right now :-)  Congrats also on a successful race, I can't imagine the amount of work that has to go into organizing and running a race, especially the first year.  Well done!

Speaking of successful races, I won my age group today!  First age group podium finish for me :-)  It was a smaller race than the usual VTS races and didn't seem to attract a particularly strong field, but I don't care... haha!  Like Rach (I think), I had a spoke bust in the middle of my bike leg which was rather disconcerting and the run was super nasty, but I guess I wasn't the only one struggling with it. 

Salem Sprint Tri Race Report

More later, just wanted to say hi to Heidi and celebrate the race result with you all.  Thanks for all the well wishes... they must have helped hold my back wheel together!

Stu

Heidi...no worries here but glad to see you pop in and give us an update!  Miss yo face!

STUUUUUU!!! Seriously, good job!  Congrats on the podeum finish!  Woot woot! 

Heidi - It's great to see you back.  Congrats on the HM organisation, and I hope your MiL continues to improve.  You're dealing with such a lot, and getting through it so well.  Zen hugs (they're the kind you can do from a distance) coming your way...

Stu!  Wow, that's awesome.  I enjoyed reading your race log.  Sorry to hear you also had a spoke issue.  My husband has also broken one in the last week or so.  Seems like it's more frequent than I realised, but it doesn't seem to have slowed you down too much

I'm having an awful week, training-wise (and it's only monday!).  I had a load of really busy days last week, but was also starting to feel very tired, so tried to take it fairly easy.  On Saturday I woke up with a sore throat, which has now developed into a full blown cold.  I had a miserable day at work today, and just really wanted to come home and go to bed (that'll be happening in about 10 minutes, hopefully).  So no training for me until I get this under control.  I've got the OLY on sunday, and although it wouldn't be the end of the world if I can't do it, I'd really like to have the experience for the routes and the pacing before the HIM in just under 4 weeks...

But onto this weekend's positives.  Yesterday I had a really interesting day:

1) I went to see my first open water triathlon.  I've only done tri's with pool swims so far, but yesterday I got to see an open water (sprint) tri, which has given me a few little mental notes for next week.  I actually didn't just go to spectate.  I was there as a "water handler" for the paratriathlon.  This is the event for people with a wide variety of physical disabilities.  There were 5 people in wheelchairs, two visually impaired and one guy with one arm.  They all went off in the final wave.  The role that I had (with a partner) was to carry the wheelchair users out of the lake to their wheelchairs.  It only took us about 5 minutes in total to get everyone out (fortunately they were fairly spread out, but we had 2 pairs of handlers), but was surprisingly good fun as we were trying to get everyone out as fast as possible (obviously it counts towards their times).  After that I just got out of my wetsuit (surprisingly hard when you haven't been fully immersed, so it's just sticking about the legs) and watched the rest of the race.  It was a good one because it's an ITU world championship qualifier, so there were some really fast people there.  I particularly enjoyed watching the guys coming in really fast at the end of the bike, although not everyone got it right...

2) In the afternoon Kevin and I went round to see a couple of people from the tri club who had offered to help with some bike stuff.  It landed up being a much longer session than we had planned, but Ian did a complete bike fit for both of us, and I also borrowed a bike seat which I think may fix all of the problems I've been having with comfort on the bike.  It's this one, which is quite unusual, but effectively removes the section of the seat which causes me pain.  Ian also gave me a training plan to do on the trainer to improve my cadence.  I'm just hoping I can get out on the bike again before sunday, as everything's in a slightly different position than it was.  However, I went out for about 7 miles to try it out yesterday and everything felt quite comfortable, so hopefully it'll be okay either way.

I'm expecting my training log this week to have many days of nothing.  Now, it's off to bed zzzzzzzzzzz.....

Stu- YOU ARE THE MAN!!

May Goal review:My goals were to get through the month, support my mil and the rest of the family, organize a successful race, and get my injured finger healed.  I'm proud to say, I met them all!

June Goals:   Get back on the bike.

                     Train like heck for the August 7th tri.

More specifically: run 3x's per week

   Bike 2x's per week.

                           Get my butt in the pool/lake 2x's per week.

-Heidi

More accurately, I am the old, still a little bit pudgy, man :-)  It was, however, nice to reflect during the ride home... recalling a 5K where Karen and I were the last two people running with the ambulance following us, and other similar moments where one finds a new direction in life.  I'm super proud of how all of you are working toward your goals and taking on new challenges.  Remember that there will be bumps along the way, but you can get back up and get back on track.  And if you forget, volunteer for the parathletes like Rach did over the weekend.  They are so inspiring!  

Steve - enjoyed reading the IM post.  The whole building the vehicle vs. execution is a very helpful analogy for longer races.  Didn't realize you were aiming to be an Ironman one day :-)

Cynthia - Glad you seem to be finding your rhythm again.  I liked your comment about how your favorite sport has changed over time.  I really love that about tri training.  There's the training for each individual discipline (my personal favorite seems to rotate a bit with the seasons), and also how you put it all together (including transitions).  Lots to keep our minds and bodies engaged!

Some exciting races coming up for folks this month... can't wait to read the race reports!  First Tris, first OWS, Wash DC, etc.  Go MoPers!

Stu

P.S.  I think I saw that NBC will be showing the 70.3 championships this weekend.  Check your local listings for time.