Jenny (jsnowash)'s Spring Guinea Pig Group - CLOSED (Page 16)

Ran 7 miles on my treadmill last night, and wow, I was bored.  My pace was reasonable for a late evening run and I did have my DVD playing (Tears of the Sun was the feature film), but boredom was my main takeaway.  In terms of pacing and distance, I had the legs to go much farther (so it seems that my base building is going well).  I guess I have to plan my days better so I can get outside more.

My first race of the season is approaching in less than 2 months...I guess it's time to get serious, eh?

BTW, Tears of the Sun with Bruce Willis is a heavy film.  Sure, it has some action scenes and stuff, but it's not a great treadmill film...so if you're waffling about putting it on your 'treadmill/indoor bike Netflix' list, I would skip it.  Dodgeball or a James bond film has proven to be better treadmill fare for me.

Any suggestions on other good late night treadmill movies?  I'm all ears.

Jenny:

Check out the progression run results from my Sunday long run - assuming my Garmin was correct - new PR by over a minute for 13.1 miles. 1:42:17 vs. 1:43:46 and avg HR of 163 vs 175:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/comparison?activityId=180033063&activityId2=167908009

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/index-weekly.asp?memberid=67785&year=2012&month=5&day=21

I felt like I had some left in the tank...pretty stoked.  I knew I was running faster than targeted but was watching HR and trying to keep high Zone 2 or low Zone 3.

-Mitch

Larchmont:  FYI - I hear through the husband report that Men in Black III is coming out soon.  That should be entertaining treadmill stuff.  I watched Armegeddon with Bruce Willis the other day on the spinner and that was good.

I had a nice run this morning just over an hour.  I had a funny encounter with a cat.  I could see her up ahead all slunk low about to pounce on something in the weeds.  She obviously didn't hear me coming because when I was right up on her, she startled and jumped in the air like a cartoon cat and skidded off.  I laughed out loud, which is no easy feat when I am running.  I don't even say hello to people I pass for fear of wasting my precious air - a hand wave is all they get.

Have a great day.

LarchmontTri: I was reading the thread on "Weight of the Nation" and that could be an interesting watch while on the treadmill/trainer. I think I might give it a whirl tomorrow night myself! 

Took yesterday off to let my knee rest. Tonight 10 min run + 45 min swimming  

Hey GPs,

Sorry, Ive been off the reservation for a few days.  Had a close friend need some after-care following an eye surgery.

Rode mtb on Sat. for a couple hours with a beginner-good to be in the saddle, but no real 'training' getting done. 

Sunday went for great ride with some work buddies-53 miles of various terrain-not a blistering pace, but nice and steady and long.

Monday-SimpleFit in garage and babysitting friend.

Tues-Group ride with club.  Hills, hills and more hills.

Wed-Who knows?? Bike is in shop, weather too cold, windy to OWS.  Could run, but currently undecided.

Leave for my 3-day ride on Friday morning.  Should be able to get almost 180-200 miles in 3 days.

Hi GPs! 

Had a good swim last night. scratched the run because my knee wasn't 100%. I only had about 30 mins in the pool (i need to leave the house earlier!!) but I did 100yd wu, 2*200, 5*100 fast, 50yd cool-down, 3*100 fast for a total of 1350yds. 

Hope everyone has a good day today! 

Joey

Happy Thursday to all!

I did an Olympic distance bike/run brick last night on my indoor bike and treadmill.  Felt pretty good on the bike, though faded on the last mile-ish of the run.  It was quite humid last night so I sweated alot and with only 4ish hours of sleep the previous two nights, I wasn't expecting great times...but all in all, I did ok.  Bike leg was better than the run.

I also use these bricks to 'practice' T2.  I try to lay things out as I do on race day, so that's an added plus.  Obviously working out in my basement late in the evening is different than a race day transition, but it's a reasonably decent simulation nonetheless.  

Last night's feature film...Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 1.  Quick comments on volume levels of DVDs...since I'm listening to the films on headphones while biking or running, it's quite interesting to see how loud some movies are.  For example, the DVD of the Mummy is *really* loud, while Harry Potter is fairly quiet.  I missed alot of the dialogue in HP,while I took my headphones off becuase the Mummy is just so loud.  I'm sure there is a good reason why some DVDs are louder than others, but that's not my area of expertise.  Just an observation....

In any case, I hope to get to the pool tonight for 2000-3000 with some intervals.  We'll see how that goes.

BTW, does anybody have any races coming up?  My first one isn't until mid-July.   

Hey, guys, you all put in some serious distances and paces.  Wow, I am impressed. 

I chucked along with an hour of biking followed by 20 minutes running.  It took me the first mile to get my legs running right.  It seemed like the transition from biking to running had my equilibrium a little off.  It wasn't bad, just felt funny.  Any of you experience that feeling? 

Once I got on balance, I was ready to keep going, but I ran out of time.  My phone went off with one of the kids saying, "oh, by the way, I signed up to bring snacks for the end of school party - today!"  Detoured the run to the grocery store. 

I am headed to the pool later this evening.  I haven't been there in 2 weeks.  Just seemed like life got in the way.  

LarchmontTri:  because you seem to be keen on movies to pass the time on the treadmill, please learn from my experience that reading captioned foreign films and running on the treadmill is a no-no.  Imagine big wreck.  Maybe it is just me, but reading and watching a movie and running was too many tasks for my klutzy self!

@Janette - I too have gotten that wobbly/funny feeling when transitioning from bike to run.  As I continue to do bricks though, I'm finding that it gradually goes away or the feeling is so small that it's not really a bother anymore.  And as you say, it does fade as you continue to run.

Foreign language films...I've ruled those out too.  They just give me a big headache as I strain to read the words.  They're just not worth it.  As for films in general, I've tried a range of types, documentaries, etc...but what seems to work best for me is a films that I've already seen or is somewhat light that serves to distract me a bit.  I still want to focus on pedaling and getting a good workout, but If I have to think too hard about the film, read words, or am just bored by the film, then having the DVD player right there isn't helping at all.  Armageddon, James Bond, Lethal Weapon-type films are right up my alley. I tried Room with a View a few weeks ago, but that's just too slow.

Hey g-pigs,

Until today, I was having a great week training-wise... I swam, ran, and played soccer on Friday (only 7 aside, including a half in net, so it wasn't a running-intensive game for me at all); ran on Saturday and Sunday, hiked with my dog on Sunday morning (it was a hot one, so we took lots of water breaks!), and took the same dog and our new foster (a pointer named "Greta") for a nice long walk on my Monday off. Tuesday I had a soccer practice, and then yesterday I swam and had a full-field game (much more running).

The bad news is that I did something during last night's game to screw up my right knee (either that or Joey's injury is catching!).  I was playing defence, and so was taking more "big" kicks than I usually would.  It hurt a bit after the game, and has been stiff all day today, so I'm taking an unplanned rest day today (and probably tomorrow) to see if I can get it all healed up for this weekend...

Mitch - to answer your questions: my first race will be mid-July, too.  Should be an interesting one, as I will have "home field advantage" - I'm only planning on doing the short course, but the Olympic distance bike goes right by my house!

In terms of treadmill movies, I always like watching sports (soccer or hockey are the ones that work best for me) - if it's a close game, you have a vested interest in staying put, and watching those highly-tuned athletes gives me motivation.. with the summer Olympics coming up, you will have hours and hours of random coverage to watch.

As an alternative "light" movie - have you seen "Run FatBoy Run" (it's a British movie, with the same lead actor as Shaun of the Dead - another funny option, if you like Zombie movies)?  If you enjoy that type of humour, it's a good choice..

~ Heather

@Heather: Sending you get well vibes!!! really hoping i'm not spreading my knee injury around!! 

Speaking of knees - mine is still not feeling great and it's veerry frustrating to deal with. I want to be training at 100% but each day is a "see how it feels". I think I'm going to let it rest for the weekend and just do some swims. Might do a short bike ride tomorrow just to get the knees moving. 

@Mitch: I was hoping to do my first race end of June early July but now it looks like I'm not going to race until July 21st given my lack of training. 

On a happier note... I'm going to a Chrissie Wellington book signing tonight!!!! I'm sooo excited and I really hope I can get a picture with her! Fingers crossed!!!! 

Indeed, I hope the stiff knee syndrome is not contagious!

I spent last evening in the pool for over an hour.  It felt good to get that time in, but I am really struggling with form.  I am so uncoordinated with breathing on my left side.  I pick my head up and that really screws up the drag.  I am embarrassed to admit I can't make a full 100m with only breathing on my left side.  More drills in the plans ....

I had a beautiful long bike ride this morning and covered a good 20 mile stretch of road that I hadn't been on in awhile.  Morning sunshine cheered my day, for sure.  I saw some pheasants and listened to lots of meadowlarks.   (Montana's state bird - very early morning riser and chirps like the dickens)

Hope you all have good plans for the holiday weekend.  I can't say that I will break out the nasty PBR, but I hope to enjoy a burger and beer.

jaycee6 - 2012-05-25 3:55 PM devastated! the chrissie wellington event was cancelled tonight because she lost her passport in the US  

That sucks! Hopefully she'll make a trip out your way at some point in the future (maybe with a stop in my neck of the woods while she's at it).

good to hear from you Jenny! Hope all of you in the US are having a good memorial day! 

Did a endurance swim yesterday, 200 wu, then 2x800 and warm down. 

I'm thinking of doing an ows race this weekend - not that I've been preparing for it or anything but the opportunity is there. There's a 1k option and a 2k option. I'd prefer to do the 1k but if I'm going all that way then I feel like I should do the 2k. 

Anyhow, hope everyone is having a great day! 

Jenny - glad you are back.  Sometimes I really wonder how you longer distance tri folks have any time for anything outside of life and training.

JayCee - how did the OWS go?

Well, I finally did it.  I struggled into the wet suit and took a dip in my local reservoir.  After initially putting the wet suit on backwards (I defaulted to zipper in front naturally!), I splashed around for 45 minutes just swimming back and forth along the shoreline.  Wow, was it different than being in the pool.  I spent the first several minutes trying not to hyperventilate in the very cold water.  I don't think I ever got breathing completely relaxed, but I was pleased that the stroke felt pretty comfortable.  I found that I needed to close my eyes when my face was in the water just to keep my imagination out of picturing the large fish.  My husband and son were spotters on the shore with fishing poles and I did just about quit when I saw them pull a fish out of the water!  All in all, it was a big step for me and it wasn't so bad.

I did an hour on the bike yesterday and that felt like an old friend after the swimming.

Happy Memorial Day to all of you! 

@Jenny - welcome back.

@Janette - congrats on the ows.  sounds like it went well, and btw, good idea to have your family on the shore for safety.

My long weekend went fairly well from a training standpoint.  On Saturday, I ran 10k (6.3 miles).  It went ok.  The weather was hot and humid.  For the past few weeks it has been relatively cool and wet here in NY...and then on Saturday the weather became very summer-like...80+ degrees and 80% humidity.  It was great weather for sitting by the beach or the pool with a Corona (or two), but the immediate change to hot and humid was tough.  I'm sure my mid-July race will be in similar conditions, but I would have preferred to ease in to summer weather rather than an immediate change, but oh well.  Mother Nature will do what she wants...

Took a 33 mile ride on Sunday morning.  Again it was great weather and the ride was alot of fun.  My course has a bunch of hills on it, so it was a very good workout.

And then today (Memorial Day), early am wake-up call and another bike ride.  Today was 40 miles.  Same basic course as Sunday, but obviously a bit farther.  My legs were a bit tired from Sunday's ride, but they loosened-up as my ride progressed.  Towards the end of today's ride, every hill felt like a Cat 1 climb...I just put my head down and kept pedaling, but my legs were tired.  Overall, it was a good ride.  

Hope everyone is doing well.

Hey GPs,

Nice to be back.  Our CROC ride was awsome, although I think they should call it a bike 'cruise' in the future-cuz we did ALOT of eating.  Every rest stop had some serious chow.  Not just the healthy stuff, but the deelishous stuff, too.  We got 80 miles in on Sat.  Lot's of rollers ('uppers and downers' to the locals) some good scenery, mostly good roads.  Sunday was a 13 mile climb up "Cabbage Hill", back down then out to a local "Dude Ranch"; about 50 miles.  Again, lots of uppers/downers.  The last 12 miles was some of the worst I've ever felt on a bike.  Tired, sore but mostly struggling with some...gastro issues from all the rich food.  If you've ever seen the movie "Dumb and Dumber"...bathroom scene.....yeah.  You get the idea.    Monday was best weather and best scenery, but a blown tire ended the day early.  Great time was had by all-lots of good riding in every condition possible.  Legs feel like crap today, but will do a short run to try and jump start my training.

@Jeff - sounds like you had a great time.  Food and biking...a great combination.  

Quick question for everyone...how do you alter your training plans for heat and humidity?  I typically try to do my workout regardless of how the weather is (thunder and lightning exceptions of course...), but not always sure that's the best method. What do you do?

Larchmont:  We don't have any humidity to speak of here in Montana, but when I used to live in a humid climate, I ran with two head bands - one around my head for sweat and the second a wet bandana frozen and loose (untied and tucked into the sides of my neckline around my neck.)  For some reason, if I kept the back of my neck cool for awhile, I felt cooler all the way around.  And of course water - I am a big fan of coconut water.  I buy it in a powder formula that I can mix into cold water before I head out.  It is relatively tasteless and it is a good electrolyte booster.

I did a nice hour ride on the bike early this morning.  I wanted to get in more time, but I couldn't seem to get my posterior out of bed as early as I planned.  I am in the throes of kids' baseball season so anytime after work is a no-go for training - unless you consider spitting sunflower seeds and screaming like a rogue baseball mom a form of training!!

"LIKE"

Hi Gang.  I'm still alive.  Glad to see you all are also!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I took a good long break, to heal up after my Bike Crash and for the vacation.  It was tough to miss running Bayshore but it was the right thing to do.  I was in no shape to run it and the Bike wounds woulda made for a painful day had I tried to run.

The vacation was great and we got the place ready for the season.  There was such superb weather in Michigan.  Wish I could transport some of it to Florida for the next 5 months.  The rainy season has started and the H&H is here to stay.

The Road Rash is about healed up, with the exception of my right hand which is taking it's sweet time.  Lots of pink, new skin all over.  I've only run 3 short runs, just to do something.  No swims or bikes whatsoever.  (I'm probably going to be a bit skittish on the bike for a while and I'm sure to take the corners slowly.  But this will pass.)

I'll contact Jenny privately about getting my training re-started/re-booted.

Bill

Took yesterday off...well, that's mostly because I was so darn tired - my eyes were involuntarily shutting by 8pm.  I had planned to do some run intervals last night, but that didn't happen.

So I got up this morning and did them.  I did my usual interval session on my treadmill (5 min wu; 5x2.5min near sprint intervals w/2.5min walk in between; 5x1min full sprint with 1min walk in between), but kicked-up the speed on my treadmill for both my 'near sprint' and 'full sprint' intervals.  I was surprised that I was able to do it with relative ease; usually, I'm totally winded by the end, but not today.  I could have pushed the speed even higher, but I'll save that for next time.  I guess my fitness level is better than I thought.

First race in 45 days...so, will try for a second training session this evening.  Hopefully, I'll have a chance to get to the pool tonight.

Happy Wednesday to all.