BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! (Page 17)

Steve,

Thanks for the advise on the stick and foam roller as well as detailing how you recovered from your calf problems.  I'm not exactly certain how I injured it but like you there were periods of speed work on the bike and the run just prior to the injury.  Personally, I have had problems with my calves (especially when I was heavier and 1st starting out).  One of the things that I foolishly dropped out of my training recently has been stretching/weight training (specifically doing calf raises).  A lot of times calf issues can crop up simply becuase of weakness in the mucsle.  So I have got to get back to some of the basics outside of just SBR.

Glad your were able to do the NYCT.  That was sweet of your daughter to gift you with that event!!

Congrat's on your race Sarah.  Sounds like you had a blast!!

BTW: Nothing like a little race anxiety to keep you awake at night. 

Congrats to SARAH and VERONICA!! It sounds like you both had great races.

CANON, my back always seems stiff getting off the bike and going into my run.  If I go back and look at my race reports, I often mention that I need to just take the time to stretch coming off the bike into my run ... just bending over to touch my toes would help I think.

LISA

Great to see everyone's progress.  I feel like I fell off the wagon for a couple of weeks but it was really a week.  As you may not know,  when it is Kentucky Derby Week, all kinds of events are available for distractions...actually I was volunteering at the track for three long days and then last week had a business meeting in Dallas.  Now back at it!

Bike still isn't ready after ordering a new quill stem and longer than stocked clip on areobars.  If i don't get it back soon, i fear I won't be able to do the centurey ride on June 4th and maybe a 50 the second day.  It isn't a race and is intended to just be butt in the saddle for an extended (read really long) period of time!

Swimming seems to be going well.  Swam 2800 yesterday and after a 45 min spin class, swam 3500 today.  Sure would like a nap right now!!! Shoulders are a bit sore but I think it is normal, yes?  3500 is the longest I have swam in one session.  Still averaged around 2:05/100.  A question I pondered while mindlessly doing laps this morning,  the pool is 24yds versus 25.  While I say i did 3500, i realize I actually only did 3360 but it seems silly to keep adjusting for the 4yd/100 shortfall.  I know it isn't exactly precise but....am I just kidding myself?

Sarah,

Glad you had such a great time at your race.  I always have a blast even if I don't do well.  And bands, too - I've never done one that had entertainment.  I can totally relate to one thing you mentioned - I always feel I don't push hard enough on the bike.

Denise

Veronica,

Thanks for the race report.  And congrats on your results and your 15" of fame in the news.  I'm looking forward to my women only tri later this summer partly because, from looking at previous results, there's a number of "older" women, so I'll have more age group competition - which may be good or bad - haha.

I noticed you raced this one 1st in 1993 - didn't realize you'd been racing that long - maybe I should go back and read bios.

Denise

Steve,

I did 2000 yds with the change in entry the swimming instructor suggested but there wasn't much change in time.  Next time I'll check stroke count.  I think I'm pretty much going to just live with my slow swim this season since I'm in the middle of races.  Maybe next winter I'll get serious with more lessons.

I've got a sprint this Sunday.  The water is going to be VERY cold - yuck.  I did this one last year and you mentioned that it was one you would like because it's got a short swim (1/4 mile) and a longer bike (20.5 miles) and run (3.5 miles).  The one thing I really don't like about the cold swim is that it means fewer people do it and the ones that do are pretty hard-core which puts me closer to the bottom - haha 

Denise

Steve,

Yep, got ya.  I'm staying away from running and strength training for at least the rest of this week.  Will see how it responds then.

Maybe I used the wrong phrase when I said "speed work".  Most of my run training is done in my Easy and Steady zones.  As I progressed in the plan and got closer to the race I did a lot of Tempo runs.  Tempo runs being defined as intervals where I run for x mintues in my Steady zone, increase the pace into my Mod-Hard zone for x minutes, and then recover back to my Steady zone for x minutes.  In my particular case I use the Run/Walk protocol so my Tempo Runs might look like this:

3 min. Steady, 3 min. Mod-Hard, 3.25 min. Steady, .75 Walk.  This is what I hoped to do in the last race (the run didn't quite work out that way for reasons that I have already mentioned).

I don't do "speed work" on the track per se.  Really the only time I head to the track is do a Run Test where I measure my paces at particular HR's.    In that test I'll do a continuous run for a specific distance at various HR's.  Like a continuous run for a total of 6 miles divided into 1.5 mile intervals where I'll measure the paces at HR's of 120, 130, 140, and 150.  Over time if my paces are faster at given HR's I know my fitness is getting better.

I think you mentioned earlier that your not a HR guy but that's how I use the tool.

Thanks for the comments on the back after the transition from ride to run.  I will take those into consideration.

Steve, I did your suggested 1500 workout.  (since my pool is 25 m long, I just converted to meters)  It was a good workout, thanks for the suggestion.  I'll probably do it more often.

Question for the group:  When do you workout?  Morning - before work, Evening before dinner or Evening after dinner, or some time during the day?  Just curious.

Thanks,

Canon

Michael - I would not worry too much about the 4 yds/100 lost, unless I were training for something specific, i.e. IM, that requires a lengthy swim, or a time trial start where you seeded yourself based on time.  Also remember that most races are in meters, not yards, so there is an ~10% difference there as well.

When/if you self time to get an idea of race performance, make the adjustments then.  I wouldn't be too concerned during training.

Canon - I have found it best for me to work out during the day, typically at lunch.  It breaks up my day and is a great stress reliever for me.  On those days where I am doing multiple workouts, I usually do the first one early, around 5:00AM.  I have found that if I workout in the evening it takes my body too long to go back to rest mode and I end up wide awake late into the night.

Boy, it's fun to bike without a wind - I had forgotten what it's like.

Denise

Trina - Sorry for the delayed response re: CapTex.  The bike course can get a little crowded but it really depends on what time your wave starts as to how long you have to deal with crowds.  Typically I can get through 2.5-3 laps before I start to run into the early Sprint racers.  At that point it's really not too bad.  There are 1-2 corners where you have to be careful and the turnaround at the bottom of San Jacinto can get sketchy if there's a lot of traffic.  I've seen folks blaze down the hill only to realize that they're carrying WAY too much speed into the turn.  It can get interesting.

Overall, the crowd support is fantastic and the race management is very good.  While it is not a cheap race, it is one that I find myself drawn back to each year as it is fun and challenging.  Plus, there aren't many times that I can ride my bike through downtown Austin and not worry about cars.

Hope to see you "at the track".

Steve - I've ridden my bike on that racetrack in Montreal - last summer in fact. I don't know if I could do 40 laps on that thing. It would be mind-numbing, IMHO. I might consider a HIM, but I don't know that I would travel that far to do a HIM. It is a cool track, though, and getting to ride my bike on a formula one race track was pretty darn cool! Montreal is so nice when it comes to being bike friendly. Miles and miles of trails with spectacular views...I was on my bike practically every day during our vacation there. Good times. 

Well, my Thunder lost their first game against Dallas last night (we're calling it the I-35 playoffs). Dirk Nowitzky played lights-out and frankly I found myself wondering if maybe Cuban hadn't actually hired someone to invent a badass pro basketball playing robot, because the guy did. not. miss. a basket. He's crazy good - set a record last night. We will see how the next game goes, then the Thunder finally get to play at home. 

George - Thanks for the info. I've heard getting onto the bike course out of T1 is a bit tense as you're merging into people already on the track. I have no idea when my swim wave starts - they aren't posting that info until this weekend, I believe. Did I hear that they let women go before the men?!? THAT would be awesome if that's true. Also, I thought CapTex split their sprint and oly races into two different days? And you are right - it's not a cheap race, but instead of staying downtown at the $300 per night (with 5 night minimum stay) hotels, we are packing up our RV and staying at a very nice RV park that's very near. $30 a night is a lot more like it! Especially since we're traveling to Italy later this summer....need to save up for that. 

I'm with ya - riding my bike through downtown Austin without worrying about traffic is going to be very cool and a lot of fun at that! I'm excited!

During the week, I usually train in the evening after work ... on the weekends, I get up early to train, which I much prefer.  Last summer, when it was so hot, I did get my runs in around 5am during the week.  Just get a bit nervous out by myself at that time although I do take mace and have a personal alarm.

LISA

Steve/All

Question from the bleachers.......first I do appreciate reading all your posts.  I do have a few questions that I would appreciate your insights on.....

I have adopted one of the training plans from this site for preparation of my "A" race this year in Oct.  Currently I am signed up for a HIM but still toying with an IM so I am following an IM plan at this point.  What I have noticed in all the plans I have seen is that bike/run sessions are in time vice distance.  For example, a bike session might be 2 hours in length.  However, I am a back of the pack type guy so I am concerned that I should be achieving a given distance vice a given duration.  So is there any rules of thumb about the percent of distance your workouts should be covering at week 4/8/16, etc.?  Or should I stick to the durations identified and not concern myself with the distance issue?

The second issue is with my left calf.  A couple of weeks ago I was running an easy morning run and I felt a slight twitch which I didn't think much of since I was at the end of my run.  The next day I was planning my first brick with a 45m ride and a 15min run.  However, I only made it 2 blocks into the run before my calf starting bothering me so I walked home and took a couple weeks off ( I also celebrated some life events such as a 25th anniversary and a son graduating from college).  Yesterday I did my first slow run and at a half mile my calf started to get tight so I stopped and stretched.  I continued doing a run walk and as long as I had a short stride life was good.  However, today I can feel a slight tightness especially when I do a lunge.  Not sure if this a pull or just a case of not stretching out.  The condense version of the question is how long do you normally stretch after a run?

Any insights would be appreciated. Good news is that my first metric century is Saturday.

JK