Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed (Page 17)

2016-01-27 6:22 PM

in reply to: wannabefaster

Extreme Veteran

1190

Silicon Valley

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by wannabefaster

Originally posted by ligersandtions

Originally posted by wannabefaster Wednesday, 9:30 AM. Going to get this knee dealt with. My wife had a bunch of stuff planned for that morning so I am kind of in the dog house as far as scheduling but I just want to start healing. I'll make it up to her. Surgeon says I will walk out of the hospital after surgery. No weight bearing restrictions. He also says the bike will be ideal for ROM and strengthening my quad. No running until after my two week follow up, which honestly, the way I feel right now, I have no problem with. Anyways. I haven't been able to offer much in the way of training the last month but I'm hoping that will change in the near future. I guess I will have more time to sit in front of the computer and offer armchair advice ;-)

How did the surgery go?

I don't think it could have gone better.

Once the spinal wore off I was able to walk to the bathroom, no problem.

I can already tell that the rough surface in my knee that was causing so much pain is gone. I have some post-surgical pain but nowhere near how much it was before the OR. I would have rated my pain a 6-7 walking in the the hospital and I might call it a 2-3 now.

Now, for the really cool part, surgeon told me to get on the bike tomorrow at low resistance. Cooler still, he wrote me a PT prescription to a local therapist with an Alter-G treadmill and he wants me running next week! Yeehaw.

That is great news. I can tell you there is something about getting all the way back from a surgery that does wonders for the motivation. Even more than the process, once you get there you are even more psyched.

I hope that's very soon for you.

2016-01-27 6:52 PM

in reply to: wannabefaster

Elite

3779

Ontario

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by wannabefaster

Originally posted by slornow

Originally posted by marcag

Originally posted by Stuartap Question on how to ramp up my running. By way of background, I am a SLOW, very poor runner. Having had a hip replacement 27 months ago I can only train on a treadmill or soft surface. The pounding of the roads is saved for events. I have been running on a treadmill twice a week for the past few months. Typically 4 - 5 miles at a slow pace of 4.5-5.0 mph. Sometimes I do a walk/run at a ratio of 1/4 or more recently 1/5. A 'good' run will be five miles all running in the 5.0-5.5 mph range. Today I did 5.25 miles in an hour with an average incline of 3.5%, all running and no walking. So should I just continue to extend the distance and slowly increase speed on my 2 day per week schedule or should I add a third day. I did add a third day last week and it was hard on the legs but being hard is not a reason to stop. By hard I just mean the legs felt a bit beat up but no specific pain anywhere. I did notice it taking me longer to get the legs warmed up on my rides. So more distance & speed 2 times a week or more volume 3 times a week or some other option? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

My advice would be to grow mileage week over week by at most 10% (which is 1 mile for you) I would add a third day, even a fourth even if it means taking some of the 2 1hour days and moving them to the 3rd day So if you are doing 10miles now (5+5), do 11 next week, 4+4+3, then 12 the following week 4+4+4, then 13 the following 3+4+3+3. Build volume through frequency. Ideally and this is only if you would like to really get into running, slowly grown it until you get to a BarryP type plan where you are doing 1x, 2x,1x,2x,1x,3x, where x is your weekly mileage divided by 10. So when you make it to 30miles 3,6,3,6,3,9 in 6 runs When you get to a reasonable amount of weekly miles, you could turn the 2x sessions into some form of speed work but we're getting ahead of ourselves. That's what I would do.

Stuart-this is good advice...as usual. I am doing a variation of this over the Winter hoping to build to a few 30 mile weeks in February. I have been running 5-6 days a week most weeks and bumping up my long run every other week. I have varied it a bit by building currently to 3X 30 min; 2X 45-50 min and then a long run of 60-75 minutes when running 6X a week. For the 5X a week I will drop one of the 30 or 45 min runs depending on how my legs are feeling. All of it very easy. Beginning in early March I will incorporate some quicker intervals since my early season races are sprints. The added frequency/volume helps build up the body's tolerance to the rigors of running while limiting the chance, hopefully, of injury.

Stuart, I would really pay attention to everything that Marc has been saying in response to your question. That guy is obviously really smart :-) I really like the point about growing your mileage through frequency rather than increasing the length of your long runs. This is probably going to be much easier on your body (once you slowly get used to running more often). Even adding a few 15-30 minute runs each week can help you increase your running time without destroying your body or your (daily/life) schedule. As for mileage goals; getting to 20-25 miles per week would be my minimum to feel like I could conquer the IM run. 25-35 might be better but I recognize the limitations created by your hip, and in your situation doing a little more on the bike and a little less on the run might be what you need to get to the start line healthy. Marc gave some percentage of times dedicated to each discipline. I have typically trained 50-55% of my time the bike, 30-35% on the run and 10-20% swim, which interestingly enough comes out to match almost exactly the percentage of time each discipline takes me during the actual race.

I'm not racing an IM, and never have with the 1/2 distance being my limit so far. But the bolded part made me wonder how many times I've broken 100 miles in a month. According to by BT logs I've only done it 8 times in the past 5 years - and that included 2 months at the end of 2015 when I was really dropping everything else. Playing with the idea of a fall marathon to see if I could get a BQ, but my run frequency and volume will need to increase/improve through Spring/Summer to really give it a a go, and something always seems to come up.

slornow

2016-01-27 7:20 PM

in reply to: wannabefaster

Master

3058

South Alabama

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Stuart-for what it is worth...if I were in your shoes I would use minutes as the metric rather than miles. The purpose is not necessarily to build mileage but to get your body used to the grind and physical abuse of running. Of course, as you build up your time you will also be building your mileage. But, using time will keep you from having some arbitrary weekly run mileage in mind.

On another note I actually bought some raquetballs today to see if I can't get back to doing your tennis ball drill. Racquetballs seem to tolerate living in my swim bag better than the fuzzy tennis balls. I will cuss you at some point tomorrow!!!!

Jason-glad the surgery went well..sounds like things are on the right track. Oh, and thanks for the credit card information you texted me while you were in recovery. Will send you a pic of my new bike.

2016-01-27 7:53 PM

in reply to: wannabefaster

Veteran

1677

Houston, Texas

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by wannabefaster

Originally posted by ligersandtions

How did the surgery go?

I don't think it could have gone better. Once the spinal wore off I was able to walk to the bathroom, no problem. I can already tell that the rough surface in my knee that was causing so much pain is gone. I have some post-surgical pain but nowhere near how much it was before the OR. I would have rated my pain a 6-7 walking in the the hospital and I might call it a 2-3 now. Now, for the really cool part, surgeon told me to get on the bike tomorrow at low resistance. Cooler still, he wrote me a PT prescription to a local therapist with an Alter-G treadmill and he wants me running next week! Yeehaw.

That is awesome!!! I can't believe you went from a 6-7 pain level pre-surgery to a 2-3 immediately post-surgery....you're gonna feel like a whole new person once the post-surgical pain has worn off (and I don't mean tomorrow when all the pain meds wear off, because you'll feel like a whole new person then too, but not the kind you want to be!). Best wishes for a speedy recovery and getting on that Alter-G!

2016-01-27 7:56 PM

in reply to: slornow

Veteran

1677

Houston, Texas

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by slornow

I'd vote for training by time as well, but I'm a pretty mediocre runner, so I don't know that I'd take my advice alone

But you are getting a lot of good advice from these other guys. Let us know how you progress.

2016-01-28 6:17 AM

in reply to: ligersandtions

Extreme Veteran

1190

Silicon Valley

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Nicole the one thing I am sure of is that this is good advice from the group. That's what's so great about the site in general and this group specifically. Thanks to everyone for the input.

I will start doing more frequent runs of shorter duration and see how it goes.

BTW Randy - you're welcome!

juneapple

2016-01-28 6:22 AM

in reply to: ligersandtions

Expert

1384

Charlottesville, Virginia

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Haven't posted for a bit, but have been following.

Jason - amazing run given your situation and glad to hear the surgery went so well. Blows me away how quickly people are able to get back at it so quickly after surgery these days.

Appreciating the running discussion. I swear I'll never stop running again. The swim and the bike are coming back reasonably well given my constrained training time, but the run reminds me of where I was in my mid-40s when I had never run before. Part of it (maybe a big part) is the extra weight I guess. Anyway, hoping the melting continues around here and can do a decent outdoor run this weekend. The streets in town are still a disaster - no on street parking at all.

Lastly, I am going to take this opportunity while UVA is above .500 in the ACC thanks to the most improbably comeback I've seen in quite some time to say congrats to UNC - looks like clear sailing to the ACC title for your Tar Heels, Randy. Apparently we're not very strong when we don't have home cooking :-) At least we can both enjoy Duke struggling! Gonna be a wide-open NCAA tourney this year.

Stu

2016-01-28 2:55 PM

in reply to: 0

Extreme Veteran

1190

Silicon Valley

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

I wanted to share something I am using to track 'stuff' that has helped me both with my diet (down 5# in 4 weeks and half way to my goal) and to get a better understanding of my workouts at a macro level. It is called Diet Organizer http://www.dietorganizer.com/.

I originally downloaded it to use just a food log. It has a lot of foods preloaded plus you can load in anything custom that you want. It also has an exercise button where I just keep high level data on the exercise (cycling), the total time (90 minutes) and calories (800 kcal). It does not give you the detail of the workout but there is a journal tab that you can use if you want to keep the detail their. All the items for any given day are linked to that day so if you had notes for last Wed you just go to that day and all the info you entered is right there.

I'm just exploring all the customization options but having used it for a month I am finding it a very good tool. I did add two food entries for workout and recovery so I can track what I nutrition I used for those days. Along with the notes I am finding this helpful as I try to dial in my nutrition plan.

I did email them once and never got any response so I think you get to take or leave the software without much support. That said it is very intuitive and it is free. It's a download that resides local on your machine as well.

If you think you might like it go check it out. If you have any questions on it just ask. If I haven't tried to do it yet I will see if I can figure it out.

Edited by Stuartap 2016-01-28 2:57 PM

2016-01-28 3:52 PM

in reply to: Stuartap

Veteran

1677

Houston, Texas

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Have you used My Fitness Pal? It looks like a similar program. I've been using MFP for a few years now and basically have all the meals I eat programmed in there now. I get lazy with it on occasion, but have started using it more responsibly again recently (a few too many indulgences post-race!).

Does that program have a phone app version? That's the only place I use MFP (and the only place I'd reliably log my consumption and caloric burn).

2016-01-28 3:54 PM

in reply to: ligersandtions

Extreme Veteran

5722

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by ligersandtions

Does that program have a phone app version? That's the only place I use MFP (and the only place I'd reliably log my consumption and caloric burn).

I occasionally use MFP on my phone. What I like is it's linked to TP.
I use it for about a week at a time just to get back on figuring out what -500 calories feel like.

2016-01-28 4:20 PM

in reply to: Stuartap

Extreme Veteran

5722

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by Stuartap

I wanted to share something I am using to track 'stuff' that has helped me both with my diet (down 5# in 4 weeks and half way to my goal) and to get a better understanding of my workouts at a macro level. It is called Diet Organizer http://www.dietorganizer.com/.

I originally downloaded it to use just a food log. It has a lot of foods preloaded plus you can load in anything custom that you want. It also has an exercise button where I just keep high level data on the exercise (cycling), the total time (90 minutes) and calories (800 kcal). It does not give you the detail of the workout but there is a journal tab that you can use if you want to keep the detail their. All the items for any given day are linked to that day so if you had notes for last Wed you just go to that day and all the info you entered is right there.

I'm just exploring all the customization options but having used it for a month I am finding it a very good tool. I did add two food entries for workout and recovery so I can track what I nutrition I used for those days. Along with the notes I am finding this helpful as I try to dial in my nutrition plan.

I did email them once and never got any response so I think you get to take or leave the software without much support. That said it is very intuitive and it is free. It's a download that resides local on your machine as well.

If you think you might like it go check it out. If you have any questions on it just ask. If I haven't tried to do it yet I will see if I can figure it out.

Cool.
I looked at the website. It seems very much like MyFitnessPal. My only problem is it's WindowsPC based.
I use MFP it is browser based or app(iphone, ipad or Android).

But I do believe both apps do what is necessary, show you calories in and calories out.

2016-01-28 5:14 PM

in reply to: #5158356

Elite

3779

Ontario

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Hmmm...I may have to look at MFP. I always mean to track calories, etc. but never get around to it since the ones I've looked at were always PC based.

2016-01-28 10:18 PM

in reply to: 0

Extreme Veteran

1190

Silicon Valley

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

I've not looked at MFP. Does it allow you to make notes etc as well or just track calories and exercise? I really like the journal feature which allows me to make all the notes I want. My daughter is a Type 1 diabetic so she uses this to track all her blood sugar numbers in the journal, Then she can print out or export a report on her carbs and blood sugar. It works well for her.

No idea if there is any mobile version. Remember I am an old guy so I don't have an app for everything. I use a computer. SInce my ob requires me to be on a PC every day it's not any big deal.

UPDATE: I just checked the website and they do have mobile versions for iphone & others, even blackberry! Not really surprised, everything has an app.

Edited by Stuartap 2016-01-28 10:22 PM

2016-01-29 5:52 AM

in reply to: Stuartap

Extreme Veteran

5722

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by Stuartap

I've not looked at MFP. Does it allow you to make notes etc as well or just track calories and exercise? I really like the journal feature which allows me to make all the notes I want. My daughter is a Type 1 diabetic so she uses this to track all her blood sugar numbers in the journal, Then she can print out or export a report on her carbs and blood sugar. It works well for her.

No idea if there is any mobile version. Remember I am an old guy so I don't have an app for everything. I use a computer. SInce my ob requires me to be on a PC every day it's not any big deal.

UPDATE: I just checked the website and they do have mobile versions for iphone & others, even blackberry! Not really surprised, everything has an app.

MFP does allow you to take notes, blog, etc but I have never used that portion of it.

There is a premium version that I suspect allows even more. I am diabetic. I could see a whole slew of improvements they could easily do to make life easier. For example specifying Glycemic index for foods, historical data on how insulin covered a given meal....would all be very convenient for a diabetic.

MFP does not do glucose readings logging (that I know of). I do that in TrainingPeaks. What I like is TP and MFP are linked. There is a big impact of the day before workout on morning glucose for example. I always go a monster workout the night before my glucose tests. I brings me down a few points.

If you think I'm anal about training data, you should see my history of Glucose data :-)

One thing that is coming is continuous glucose monitoring with a watch. There is technology called NIRS that sends a beam into the skin and can measure glucose. Rumors are that Apple can do it with the iWatch, but there are FDA limitations on it so they have not released it. But in a few years your daughter will be able to monitor through a watch and wirelessly control an insulin pump. We are very close.

2016-01-29 7:41 AM

in reply to: marcag

Extreme Veteran

1190

Silicon Valley

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by marcag

Marc I found out that one of the leading researchers in the field of Diabetes is a member of our community center. I sat down with him for about an hour a few weeks ago. There are some amazing things coming. My daughters chief complaint about her pup is the changing of the cannula every three days. There is a Swiss company (if my memory is correct) that has one they are testing that is every 10 days.

The FDA is studying the control of a pump from a continuous monitor but they are hesitant to allow a machine to make the final decision. What he expects from them soon though is a device that sends the recommended dose to the pump but allows you to make the final ok or to change the dose.

There is also some embryonic cell research on an artificial pancreas that they will grow and implant in the liver since a T1's pancreas is not working. Lots of cool stuff.

Bottom line is it is nice that some of these platforms can be adapted for diabetics but it would be nice if someone went after that market and actually tailored a platform for diabetics.

OK, back to triathlons for a minute. I did my first run yesterday on my revised plan as suggested by the team here. I shortened up the time to just 30 minutes. I dropped the incline from an average over 3% to 1 %. I focused on a quicker stride. So what happened?

I managed to finish the run quite easily. My legs did not feel beat up. I ran just a bit faster than normal. I was fresh enough to do a quick 30 minute upper body weight circuit. It was good, which is not something I generally ever say after a run. I am going to focus on trying to get in 5-6 runs this week on the scheduled time lengths recommended and see how it goes.

OK, off to Sufferfest. Have a great day everyone.

2016-01-29 8:04 AM

in reply to: Stuartap

Elite

3779

Ontario

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Marc - downloaded MFP last night and linked it to TP, just to see what it does. I think I've got something wrong. MFP shows my bike workout from this morning as happening yesterday. I updated the time zone in MFP since it was on Pacific, but I don't have my Garmin at the moment (3rd return) so didn't enter a time of day in TP, and I assume this messed something up. I also don't see anything in TP for the one meal + snacks I entered last night in MFP, but I'm not sure where to look in TP. I just assumed it would show up under the daily workouts.

Last question. What did you enter as a lifestyle? It didn't give an option for sedentary + exercise, so I originally had it as just sedentary, but updated it to lightly active this morning, and am wondering if that is the most realistic setting. Based on my weight and height it's telling me to eat 1800 calories a day in order to drop 4lbs, but I don't think it was taking into account the need for extra calories due to workouts.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-s-mike-woods-makes-waves-on-elite-cycling-circuit-1.3200402

2016-01-29 8:13 AM

in reply to: GoFaster

Elite

3779

Ontario

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

New Canadian cyclist to cheer for this year. This is a news article from last year, but he just finished 5th overall at the Tour Down Under and did really well on the climbs - and he's only been riding for 3 years.

2016-01-29 8:26 AM

in reply to: GoFaster

Extreme Veteran

5722

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by GoFaster

Not sure why the TZ thing.

I use sedentary and I simply target a 500calorie deficit every day if I want to lose weight.

So it thinks I need 1500 for my basic body function. I burn say 1400 by exercise, I eat say 2400. That tells me I have 500 calories left. If I keep this, I lose weight.
If you do intensity workouts on the bike, I think it underestimates your burn. Actually I know it undeestimates. I use my PM to tell me how many calories I burned. I usually have to add 15min to get the right calorie burn

2016-01-29 8:27 AM

in reply to: Stuartap

Extreme Veteran

5722

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

On the watches that do NIRS. While they can be used for monitoring glucose, they are also being used in the sports area. They can measure lactate. So its actually a more accurate monitoring system than HR. This is what the BSX insight does. Not ready for prime time yet but it's getting there.
I am an electrical engineer by education. But I think I always wanted to be a doctor. My doctor wants to be an electrical engineer. I go in for my blood test results and he pulls out his latest schematics. I would hate the be the next patient waiting. We always overshoot my appointments.

For the treadmill incline, take a look at the stuff I posted in TT. Look at group 5. There is use for incline work at a decent pace now and then. We can discuss that if you guys are interested.

Scott71

2016-01-29 9:28 AM

in reply to: marcag

Oakville

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Good morning all,

VO2 bike workout Wednesday night - 8 x 3 @ approx. 112% with 2 min RI - and 9 KM run last night on the treadmill.

Will try 6 x 4 @111% next week and am trying to eventually build to 3 x 8 @ 110%, but that sound really painful right now.

Nicole - I saw your post in TT earlier this week on outdoor aero testing. Great stuff! Once the weather warms up in Ontario I will definitely give this a try and may have a few questions for you on if you don't mind. Just curious, were you only looking at power vs speed in comparing the various rides or did you include any other metrics like HR?

2016-01-29 10:26 AM

in reply to: Scott71

Veteran

1677

Houston, Texas

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Originally posted by Scott71

Marc is the resident expert on aero testing -- most of your questions should probably be directed to him! All I did was the was ride and capture data....he did all of the hard work (analyzing)

The protocol was something like this:

1. Get weather data before starting the first interval (temperature, humidity, dew point, pressure)

2. Ride three miles at XXX watts (projected HIM power for me), ignoring basically everything else -- power screen does not have speed, does have HR, but I didn't really pay much attention to it....typically fell right in the range I was expecting, but was not targeting anything

3. Back pedal to make sure the power meter was reading fine, coast a little, u-turn

4. Ride three miles back to the car at XXX watts (same as on the outbound leg)

5. Make any modification to equipment (seat height, helmet, clothing, etc.)

6. Repeat steps 1-5 however many times are appropriate (typically I did 6-8 sets of out-and-back)

7. Send all data to Marc and make guesses as to which configuration would be fastest -- my guesses were often completely wrong!

wannabefaster

2016-01-29 10:56 AM

in reply to: ligersandtions

Master

3205

ann arbor, michigan

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Rode 60 easy minutes on the bike trainer last night and felt great. It went really well and my legs feel fine this morning.

So far the knee hurts most in the morning when I get out of bed. I think it stiffens up over night. As the day wears on and I do more, the knee feels better.

I took one Norco in the evening after the surgery and since then I have just been using 800 mg of motrin every eight hours, around the clock, per the recommendation of my surgeon.

Everything continues to go well. I am doubtful that I will hit my time goal in my Spring marathon but I am much more hopeful that I will actually toe the start line at the race.

2016-01-29 11:19 AM

in reply to: wannabefaster

Extreme Veteran

1190

Silicon Valley

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

That's great Jason. Just do what you can and this will be a distant memory very soon

Today is Day 2 of my revised running plan. I did 90 minutes of Sufferfest (Local Hero) and then jumped on the treadmill for 20 minutes. This is the first time in three years I have run on back-to-back days. While it took a few minutes to get the legs loosened up, the run went fine. I think the tight legs had more to do with the ride right before then the run yesterday. I felt good enough to do a few minutes of core work afterwards.

The real test for me will be stringing several days of running together. Hopefully I can continue to get the time in and still feel good or at least OK afterwards.

Long group ride tomorrow.

Murph333

2016-01-29 11:49 AM

in reply to: wannabefaster

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

That is still some exciting news Jason.

- As for me I have been super busy with work and flying back and forth between two cities so I haven't been able to do much of anything with consistency.

That all ends this Tuesday when I fly home for good and will be based out of my home office. I am going to start the Trainer Road, Triathlon Base and Build program when I get home and start watching my diet. Gotten so fat in the off season. I am shocked how excited I am to start riding my trainer and just training again. I guess that's what a good mental break does gets you excited about training.

-Steven

Jason N

2016-01-29 12:30 PM

in reply to: ligersandtions

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed

Got back on the TT rig yesterday for some intervals. Threw the race wheels on basically because I was too lazy to swap cassettes before the ride. It was nice being able to absolutely rip it with the tailwind. Did some sections averaging 32 mph on the flats. Crazy to think some of the pros can come close to that average for the better part of an hour...without a tailwind, with a few corners, and with a few small hills. Then again...they probably put out 30-50 more watts than I was holding for those 3 minutes I was going that fast.