Asphalt Junkies Spring 2013 - Closed (Page 16)

Hopefully you didn't catch anything from them.  I know most of my sicknesses come from my youngest who loves to share!

Great to have you back Jeff!

And Happy New Year everyone.

Agreed.  I like to track my trainer mileage only because it give me a more tangible way to see how I compare year to year.  For me seeing the mileage triggers something a little different in my mind and I can apply the information to why I am a better cyclist than previous years.  But there is no need to track mileage on the trainer at all.

The only thing I would suggest if you buy a computer is that you purchase one with cadence data.  I don't think the Walmart versions will have this.  Understanding cadence can also begin to put you into a better position to have stronger bike performances.

X2  I was really happy to see you threw up a couple of posts this morning.

Agree on the value of having cadence data, good point Dirk.  I was trying to minimize cost!

Speaking of cadence, I read this article from Dean Phillips at Fitwerx about indoor bike training.  He suggests perhaps lowering your cadence on a trainer for reasons he explains at the end of the article.  Some good stuff in here I think - Dean is a great guy and very helpful, not to mention a crazy good TT cyclist.

For full disclosure, Fitwerx is where I got my P2.

Agree with all of this. All these years of trainer rides and I've never tracked my distance. The cadence information has been helpful these last couple of rides though. I notice how bad I drop off if I'm not concentrating or feel a little tired.

JeffY - 2012-12-31 8:04 PM Spin classes are rarely taught by serious cyclists. As such, they do a lot of stuff that is valid exercise, but not true cycling training. What I do at times like that is to ride the way I want (almost always focusing on sustained threshold output, or an interval above threshold). And that is the ONLY cycling I've done for 3 months now and I'm in great shape.
You can get value from spin class despite the instructor. .

Ahh, the plot thickens......

That is kind of the attitude I had yesterday but I wanted to try out the jump ups and stuff just to see what it was like.

So now can you and Tracy break down what is useful and what is not? I kind of liked being in a different setting and riding with other people for a change. I can easily sit in the back and do my own thing. I might consider one class a week. Things I questioned - the climbing interval where we kept moving to a harder gear to the point my RPM's were in the 50's and the interval of jump ups/hovering over the bike which was just annoying.

Happy New Year to all of my Junkie Friends! I've been with you all for a while now so I thought I would make a little tribute to let you know you are not wasting your breath. So here we go:

1. Adjusting my bike fit on my road bike so I can ride without getting tendonitis in my knees. This is huge.

2. Running more frequent shorter runs which enabled me to compete in my races this last summer even though I was not 100%. I was able to continue running, if even just a little, when I typically would have quit. Also huge.

3. Shaping a tougher mental attitude towards my workouts and races. When I want to slack off I think of how hard and consistently I KNOW you all are working.

4. A place to discuss all of my training which saves my husband from the boredom of my tri talk . So essentially you are saving our marriage LOL!

5. Advice on how to treat various minor injuries and remain in the game.

6. I'm sure there are lots more but I will wrap it up by thanking you for  the support you give with lifes struggles even if not tri related. From my dog passing, to concerns of the health of my sisters unexpected pregnancy, to the sadness of Newtown, this group has always been there. You all are good people and I appreciate the time you give.

Now for all of the weight loss challengers or anyone working on general nutritional improvement, I thought maybe it might be helpful to have some motivational quotes so here is one for today:

David Viscott
You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be.

Now ponder that as you start out the New Year

Happy New Year to all the Junkies and all your families. Hoping 2013 is going to be a great year for everyone.

Jonathan I don't have any weight to lose except the two pounds I am up from eating all those donuts last night. However like Dina I will support you guys in your efforts and I am definitely on board for eating healthier. While I managed to avoid the weight gain this holiday season I know I have fell off of the wagon the last two months and need to get back to eating healthier so I am going to start doing that this week.

On the strength training front I have gotten back to doing it and have gotten in 3 sessions so far starting last week and am going to try and stick with it. Man it is like starting over again but I didn't realize how much I missed doing it. I have been a little sore but I know that will pass as I start doing it with more frequency. Now I have to get myself moving soon so I can get my long run in this afternoon of 8.5 to 9 miles assuming my legs will cooperate with me today.

Dina great post and I echo all your sentiments here especially item #4! If it weren't for the Junkies I am pretty sure I'd be single right about now.

X2, Warren I totally agree. I think the best thing I got out of the swimming lessons I took was the fact that I had someone watching me while I was swimming. That alone was extremely helpful and worth the money I paid for the lessons. Learning to swim was nice too.

Dang!  Tony, I'm holding you to making those numbers for 2013! Really though, with IM training, do you think you may approach those numbers?

Samantha I think those numbers are a bit optimistic even with the IM training but certainly fair enough to try and shoot for. It'll be interesting to compare that with what I'll actually be able to do this year. Great job keeping up with the 100 runs in a 100 days. I got in an 8.5 mile run today and man between the bad eating last night and sore quads I'm surprised I got in that much.

WOW, just finished reading the post. 

Dirk, how is your sports asthma?

Tony, great riding on the trainer!  You mentioned lifting weights, well a quick workout that only takes a few minutes and gives you a cardio workout too.  This is just for example only.  If you are doing flat bench presses, do what you can do for 15 reps, rest 15 seconds then using the same weight do it again, you may only get 12 reps this time, rest 15 seconds, then do it again maybe getting 10 reps.  You are supposed to do 7 sets with the last set getting only 2 or 3 reps.  Total time is maybe 5 minutes.  then do the same thing with incline or dips, another 5 minutes and maybe do another one doing barbell curls for another 5 minutes.  Now you have had a good w/o in 15 minutes and you'll be sore!  I've got a lot more w/o's that I use w/o going real heavy if anyone is interested.

As far as not lifting 6 months, you will lose a lot of strength but it will come back faster than you originally gained it.  Be patient.  Do not over do it and get injured.

Jo, any more news from Margie?

Jonathan, BEAUTIFUL dog!

Samantha, great work on the 100 challenge, how's your elbow feeling?  cold better?

Dina, I'll try to post a recipe for protein cookies I love, remind me!

BTW, I'm from N. FL (Tallahassee)

As far as weight loss, I'm trying to gain.  I have dieted to get to less than 8% bodyfat, the only way I could lose weight fast was to cut carbs, only eating veggies w/o a lot of carbs such as greens, celery, strawberries and lots of protein.  No bread, pasta, high carb fruit, corn, rice, high carb drinks etc.  If ya'll want more info, let me know.

I just finished the challenge of running from Thanksgiving to New Years.  I didn't miss a day of runnng, my rest days were only a mile run but I ran.  I am here to report that my legs feel better than ever.  I would like to continue running every day for a long time. 

Just trying to catch up.

Karl

Great work on the running streak Karl, I have thought about trying to start a running streak but something always gets in the way.

Today that something was last night, I think I may have had a little too much fun and was feeling it this morning.  Combine that with my calf muscle that was/is still sore from my snow run on Sunday and I had the perfect excuse to cancel my run!  I did manage to get on the trainer later in the afternoon but that was only for 30m and I was exhausted!   I think getting the blood moving though helped with my receover.  Hopefully my calf works itself out in the next couple of days, I have a aquathlon scheduled for Sunday!

michgirlsk - 2013-01-01 1:29 PM HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE!!! We are all a year older, as per USAT age!   Having a late summer birthday, I used to not like it, because I just do not like the idea of getting old, so why I would I want to say I'm a year older than I really am?  But, my USAT age allows me to get used to the idea of being a year older, so then when my birthday actually comes around, it's no big deal to be said age! 

Yeah, I have one more year in the current AG before aging up 9 months early.  I really don't like the way they age athletes up.  I feel it should be on your birthday or at least the beginning of your birth month.  Regardless it is a fair way of aging up. Everyone get older at a similar time.  I did have a competitor tel me at a race last season that he was glad he ages up in 2013.  He said he didn't want to compete against me anymore.  In the past few races I narrowly edged him out of podiums in all 3 of them.

It's great to see you doing so well with this challenge.

My asthma seems to be under control but I have gotten pretty good about taking my inhaler prior to cycling.  This is where it effect me the most.  The doc suggested I use it 15-20 minutes prior to getting on the bike and I had gotten away from using it until recently.  I feel I can keep things under control if I don't do crazy hard intervals all of the time.  I used to do a lot of interval work (over the summer) at 95-105% MLSS for almost all of my rides.

I like the running challenge you took on.  Someday, when I'm healthy, I may take a shot at running every day for 30 days or so. 

My wife also has SIA (Sports Induced Asthma).  She needs to get another prescription before starting her hardcore training.  She signed up for her first HIM last night and is now officially in freak-out mode.  I love her so much.

So I had been thinking that I would have to take some time off from running and swimming following my surgery this Thursday, but I didn't realize until today that my swimming will have to be cut off for three to five weeks.  This really stinks.  I'm not supposed to get any sweat in my eyes either.  This is tough being that I am a sweat factory.

Happy new year everybody! Feels great to catch up after a mini-break. And seeing and hearing about all the dogs that are making their way into everyone's lives is awesome - I love dogs, grew up with an alsation and a german shepard and really miss them now. No way I can afford to have a dog yet in new york city! May be some day...

Regarding my training, I seem to be on track, sticking with the couch to 10k program for the run and trainer road for the bike. I start swim lessons this Saturday and I feel I am almost in the same boat as Eric and Karl. One thing I have realized from the limited running I've done coming back is I really want to try and run faster but whenever I do that, I end up with some pain under my calves (soleus muscle??) and something resembling shin splints. Any remedies/tips for that or should I just take it easy and slowly build the mileage up.

Jen, btw, how did your race go today? And Samantha hope the elbow is better and your voice is fully back to normal?