Eriq's Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 16)

hey all. sorry again for my absence. another 70hr work week, my car dying on me mid week and took a few days to get fixed, and then getting sick, probably from all the stress.

i missed 4 straight days and then i tried my run yesterday and felt apart about half way. this week i'm going to take it easy and just re-evaluate everything and might have to adjust my training. i didn't get selected in the kona lottery so that'll definitely take some pressure off training but i still want to get in a HIM distance race in sometime later this year.

JANA - grats on the 2nd place even on the bad foot!!! that's awesome. hoping recovery continues to go well and that youre back to 100% soon.

THOMAS - indoor tri is always a good way to get a feel for doing all 3 sports back to back to back. hopeful you learned a few things about pacing and getting a feel for what your body is capable of.

BRIAN - sounds like you're having fun with some hill sprints. even at the end of your run sessions, now that is tough but should be good for the legs.

DANELLE -  my suggestion for sighting in TT lake is using the side walls to gauge if you are going straight or not. seems like you had another solid race once you got out of the water, making up lots of time on the run. and i'm totally with you on the recovery piece being very different from doing a lot of running races compared to tris. 

Went for my long run today of 9.5 miles. I was able to make it through no problems with no water or gels. The weather was 35 degrees. The half marathon I am running in a month should be a lot warmer and it brings up my question of hydration/fueling. How many calories should I take in during a half marathon and how much water? The course has water every mile and only one gu/gel station at mile 6. Anyone with experience care to chime in? My training so far has been no water/no calories during the run, but I want to start training my body to accept gels prior to race day.

As always Thanks

i believe fueling is very individual.

but a half marathon for me would be around 1:40-1:45. for me this would be about 16-20oz of fluids and then 100 calories is more than enough. maybe 24-30oz if it was a bit warmer. i'm 5'7" and around 140ish lbs.

so you mentioned you did 9.5 miles no problems without water or calories. what was the intensity like? was it a race pace effort? if so, you'd probably do fine with 1 gel at the mile 6 marker, which is usually around 100 calories. then you will probably just need a bit of water, maybe a sip or two every other mile or so.

with fueling, there is a fine line between under and over doing it. under and you bonk. over and you'll be bloated and stomach contents sloshing around makes it difficult. a LITTLE bit of dehydration is not so bad and won't negatively effect performance.

since you've been training without, start with a little bit of nutrition. if you start to fade at the end, just add a bit more the next time around.

The run was about 30 seconds per mile slower than race pace. Thanks for the answer. The way I am leaning is taking a gu halfway through my next run and planning on hitting the gu station at mile 6 during the race.

I did rip 2 miles on the bike today outdoors. I thought it would be warm but 45 degrees with the windchill is not exactly pleasant, did not wear gloves. After mind numbing hours on the trainer this winter I felt great and I hope there are improvements when I can go for a longer ride.

Hey all,

Good to see continued effort and fighting the good fight with job, injuries and family.

D- Nice race.

Had an emotional week here in Boston.  I was at the finish line with my kids two years ago......and I knew someone 50 yards from the finish and explosion this year wild.

On we go - just got a cap for 5/12 open water swim.  Training hard - and feeling stronger.  Times and recoveries are getting better.

Focus is on 5/12...and starting to look for a June event.

I'm a powerbar before race guy and a gu during for anything over 1.5 hrs.

Have fun!!!

Everyone sounds like they are doing good.  I am back on the training program and doing pretty good except for a knee acting up.  I think mostly because of the bike and not the run.  Either way I will be in the pool and on the elliptical for about a week or two trying to soothe out the pain.  It was bad enough this morning to affect the way I walk. 

For my longer runs of over an hour I usually take one half of a gel shot prior to the run and then half during and I feel good.  I also run with Nathan Hydration pack which works great.  They do not bounce around nor does it rub on shoulders.  You hardly know the thing is there.  I have used the feul belts and thought they bounce around too much but the Nathan backpack works great.  Like you and others I am really feeling out what I need to do the Half coming up in regards to feul. 

Eriq, what is your typical feul intake for a Half IM.  I am around the same size as you.  What is your typical intake and the times you take in food during the longer workouts.  I am experimenting but keep bonking here and there and have to wait for the supplements to take affect before I start going hard again. 

Three weeks to my first Half Marathon and two weeks later will be my first half IM/first Tri.. 

for anything longer than olympic distance stuff, this is my fueling plan.

bike - every hour my fluids about 16oz of water and about the same of Gu electrolyte brew which is about 75ish calories. i usually break it up into 15 min intervals so i dont have to get out of aero too much. i dont do well with gels on the bike, i need something a little bit more solid so i go with the powerbars, 240 calories. i usually eat a half every 30 mins.

at first i thought this seemed like a lot but i felt super good coming off the bike and ready for the run.

for the run - i usually do about water with electrolyte tabs. i like the fizz. so about 8-16oz per hour depending on the heat and a gu gel every 40 mins or so.

Been meaning to get on here sooner, but that silly work thing has been getting in the way. Sounds like a common theme lately!

For half-marathon fueling, I drink about 16-20 of diluted sports drink (Heed in my drink of choice), and finish about an hour before the race. I have a gel about 5-10 min. before the start, and then another one about half-way through. I also drink when I feel the need, either water or sports drink if I'm feeling like I need extra fuel or electrolytes, depending on the weather. I've done at least 15 halves, and it's taken me about 12 of them to figure out a fueling game plan. I weigh around 120, so you may have to adjust for your weight. I go by the guideline of 200-400 calories per hour. 

Base building is paying off as I start to work on speed. Some highlights of this week:

10 mile ride 29 min

2 mile run - 14:30min

Brick today - 20 mile ride finishing with a 24 MPH mile to then run 2 miles in 16 min but the first mile was 7:30  yea!!!!

Swim - 400 in 6 min; 5x 50.......38 - 42 seconds, my coach wanted 30 seconds....don't think I can do that.......

feeling stronger particularly given brick today.

When are people's next races??

Hi all, 

Been fighting illness for the last couple of weeks so training has been tough.  I think I'm finally getting over it and plan to focus on bricks for the next couple of weeks before my first Du on May 12!

Nice work all...

Hey all.  Last week was, well, a weird week of training for me.  I had a business trip scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, so I made some adjustments to my training schedule to accommodate and it provided me with an interesting story that I'll share with you.  

I packed my running shoes and ran 5 miles on Wednesday night on one of the hotel's treadmills.  So far, so good.  Thursday was going to be a rest day and I was planning to get in a good workout when I got home on Friday.  After my meetings on Thursday, I went to the airport to catch my flight.  My flight was massively delayed, which meant making my connection in Chicago was going to be tough.  Apparently the plane had a bad sensor or something.  They flew in a new part from the airline's nearby hub city, but didn't send the screws to attach the part to the plane...HUH!?!  Eventually they sent a new plane down to pick us up and fly us to Chicago.  Needless to say, I missed my connection in Chicago and it was close to 12 midnight by the time we arrived in Chicago.  I was booked on a 6:45 from Chicago back to NY, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do.  Well, lo and behold, because of various weather issues, there were a few hundred folks stranded at O'Hare that night.  So, the airport authorities rolled-out hundreds of cots, handed out pillows and blankets and turn down the lights.  It wasn't the most comfortable sleep, but I did manage a couple hours of shut-eye before the 4am wake-up call when the cots had to put away.  Made my 6:45am flight back to NY, but needless to say, my Friday was shot...I was so tired.  The effects of nearly all-nighter reached into Saturday.  Took Saturday off too.  Moral to the story, if you're stuck in O'Hare overnight, goto Gate K1 where they set-up a cot 'farm'.  It's at least something.

Had a good 9.5 mile run yesterday (ie. Sunday).  Because of my unplanned rest days, I felt really good yesterday.  I could have gone farther, but didn't want to push myself too hard.  In any case, the outside of my right foot feels like its a bit bruised, but that's not too unusual for me.  Today, I plan to bike indoors tonight for 90-120 minutes.  And then swim on Tuesday.  

Looking forward to a good training week this week.  

Happy Monday everyone!

jeff - looks like your hardwork during the off season has paid off. keep up the great work.

jana - hopefully the weather turns around so you can get on your bike. then hope your toe is 100% soon so you can be ready for your first race of the season.

allison - thanks for chiming in. hopefully you are feeling better. how's that swim coming along?

brian - i hate airports. glad to hear you're getting some sort of consistency in.

tomorrow i'll be doing a run test. it's usually 2 mi warmup with some strides then 1 mi on a track. the local hs has closed out the track to the public but i have a flat 1/2 mile that i'll knock out a quick out and back. i'm hoping to clock a 6:00-6:10 but we'll see.

then later on in the week on sat i have a bike test. i'm interested to see what kind of power gains i've made during the off season.

i also picked up a gopro the other week and finally got a chance to use it last night. here are some vids that my wife captured at the pool yesterday. anyone care to critique it? =P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2UNlUF7_1Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U83tSNrw-cc

We hit the first 70 degree temp yesterday and most of the snow on the bike trail is gone. I went out and did a mock time trial around the 11 mile loop. Last time I did it was Nov. and I gave it 100%.

I knocked off 4 minutes from Nov and my legs felt good. Those painful hours on the trainer this winter paid off!

Keep training hard and it will pay off!

Hey all.  

Had a pretty good training week last week.  I think it was my biggest of the year so far, though I only did one long run.  I was hoping to do two, but plan to get in some extra run time this week.

FINALLY got outside to bike this weekend.  It was great weather here in NY on Saturday (and Sunday), so I got in a 2.5 hr bike ride on Saturday morning.  When I left my house on Saturday morning, it was only 44 degrees so my fingers and toes were freezing.  As the day got warmer, my fingers got warmer, so that was good.  But even though it was mid-50s when I finished at 8:30am-ish, my toes were still very cold.  Weird.  In any case, it felt great to get outside.  Saw a deer and wild turkey on my ride.  

As for the ride itself, it was good.  I focused on hills and really pushing myself when I could.  I've been pushing myself really hard on my indoor rides, and that seemed to really prepare me to be outside.  I was surprised that my legs felt so strong on the climbs.  I hope to do a similar long ride this upcoming weekend (but with warmer toes and fingers!).

Raining here in NY today, so probably will visit the pool tonight.  

Hope everyone is well.

Thomas - 4 mins! nice!!! that's some solid gains over the winter. Keep up the good work!

Brian - 44 degress?! that's what you consider great weather? i'm glad i live in southern california. haha. good to hear all the indoor trainer work has translated to gains outdoors. that's always re-affirming.

Jana - woo hoo on the toe!

Thomas (part 2) - racing tires... i race on Conti 4000S with Bontrager latex tubes. they're pretty fast but also get good flat protection. i figure if they are good enough for jordan rapp, they're good enough for me!

hope all is well in all of your respective worlds'. as for me, last week was a mix of recovery and testing.

i improved my 1 mile PR by 30sec by clocking a 5:59. It was on a 1/2 mile out and back so could have probably ran just a few seconds faster if i didnt have to slow down to turn around and speed back up. i also had some left in the tank and could have pushed a tad more in the last 1/4 mile. extrmely happy with the run and felt like a lot of the tough runs this off season has paid off. i was hoping to clock a sub 6:10 so i am very very pleased with the progress.

i did a bike test as well on saturday. it wasnt the ideal lead up as i didnt get much sleep the night before and was on my feet a lot of the day. but i was still able to get through a 2x8min test. i think i might have picked up maybe about 10 watts. was kinda hoping for more but i have missed a lot of bike workouts over the past 2 months or so with everything going on so not too bummed. i'm interested to get some feedback from my coach about the test and see what he puts my bike threshold at.

i have about 2 more weeks left on my coaching contract. i really enjoyed having a coach this past year but with my wife going through breast cancer stuff last year, we have stuff we'd like to get paid down so will be self coaching for the foreseeable future. i think i've learned a lot since i've had a coach and will look to employ a TON of those learnings. i've actually been coaching my wife as she gets back into shape post-chemo and prepares for her first oly tri (she's done a sprint before! even made a photo that was in triathlete magazine!). she's made some great gains so hopefully i can coach myself as well and continue to improve.

as for the rest of my season, i have a couple of races penciled in but nothing that ive registered for. i'm really kind of going against my own advice and winging it this season, well at least as far as races going. i'll definitely try to get something in in may or june. probably a sept/oct 70.3 as well. but i also think i need a mid season break soon. maybe a week or two of nothing planned and just get in whatever i feel like getting in. i need a mental break from tri to recapture the fire and get that competitive edge back.

alright, long post... havent done that in a while. take care everyone!

the next 3 weeks for me is going to be really busy so I likely will not post.

I will be sure to let you know how my races go.

Hope everyone is doing well.  Saw someone did a 5:59.......nice!!!

So one week and 22 minutes before my first tri of the season.  Think I'm ready but nerves are starting to pop....only because of expectations.....

Just did a 20 mile ride and a 2.5 mile run.  The Brick was great, all sweaty, huffing and puffing out of transition for a 7:20 and 7:38 to do the first two miles in 15min!!!

Had a great swim yesterday.  My coach told me to do 50's on 30 seconds and I laughed....that was when I was 15......doing close to that but not sub 30s.....yet.

So Allie and I are off to the New England Season opener next weekend on Mothers Day.  Goal is to beat last year...ok, my expectations are higher than that but this week is about taper and hydration......

Have a great weekend!!!

Eriq-thanks for sharing the videos! Very cool to see the underwater view. Still don't know enough about technique to critique it though! Nice time on the mile! And best wishes to your wife and her recovery!

Jeff and Allie-have a great week of tapering! Sounds like you're ready to bust out of the gate by those brick run times!

I've had some racing ups and downs over the past few weeks. I did my first OWS (with wetsuit) sprint 3 weeks ago. Had a great time, except the swim. I felt like I couldn't breathe and had to side stroke/breast stroke a good chunk of the 750m swim. Made it out in 22 minutes, but felt like I was better in the bike, and better in the run. I think I ended up 6/16 for my age group. 

The next weekend I did a local run, Pat's Run (charity event for Pat Tillman Foundation). It's a huge deal here, about 25,000 run/walk the 4.2 mile course and finish on the 42 yard line in ASU's Sun Devil Stadium (where Pat played, wearing #42, before wearing the same number for the Arizona Cardinals). I ran with my 16 year old son, and managed to not only beat him again (he's a track sprinter, not distance!) but I PR'd and took a minute off my time from last year! All that without actually training for it! I think the intervals on bike and swim have helped. 

This past Thursday I did a "splash and dash" in Tempe Town Lake-1500 swim and 3.1 mile run. It was a horrible, horrible experience! I did one last fall, but only swam 750m. I decided to not use the wetsuit, but the water was fine. I just couldn't breathe, and panicked after about 200m. I really thought drowning was a possibility, especially given the fact that the lake marina manager tragically drown  there 2 weeks ago and that fact kept coming into my head! Thank goodness there was an "angel in a kayak" (my nickname for her) who stuck with me, and encouraged me to finish. It took me 48 minutes. Now I've "bonked" in marathons before, and had some painful runs, but in my 12 years of competing I've never had an experience like that. I was the very last person out of the water! My lungs hurt so bad, and I could barely make it out of the water to transition. I gave up on the run, and jogged the last 2 miles with an older lady who was doing 10:30 miles, chatting along the way. I think I finished a second before her to be NEXT to last in the whole stinkin' race.

I felt horrible still on Friday, and not much better today for my brick workout. But everything I read on the internet about getting over the panic of OWS said the solution is to get back in the water and practice. So I drove 1.5 hours to an OWS clinic tonight, and with my wetsuit on, felt a little better. I had several chances to rest by standing on rocks/shoreline, and we only swam about 800m, but it got me to think maybe I could actually do this silly tri thing someday. (I was ready to quit everything yesterday and stick with running).

I hope to get a few friends to go practice at another lake next weekend, and then one more splash and dash before my olympic tri 5/19. When hubby gets a job, the first thing I'm investing in is a tri swim coach!!

Have a great week, everyone! May it be filled with pleasant weather and accommodating schedules.

-Danelle

Hi all, 

It feels really good to have my first race under my belt, albeit a Du.  The course was extremely hilly and it was pouring rain which made the bike portion a little scary and definitely forced everyone to slow down.  

I noticed Jeff hasn't posted yet, but HE TOOK FIRST PLACE IN THE CLYDESDALE DIVISION!!!!  So proud of him for doing that just one year after his first tri! (He even beat one of the kids from the Harvard team!)

We are now registered for the Escape the Cape Sprint Tri on June 8.  Just ordered my wet suit.

I had been primarily focused on the run and bike since getting over the illness, but I will now get focused on the swim as well.  The feedback Eriq provided after Jeff posted the video has made a huge difference in my pace and comfort.

Happy Training all!

Allie