David Gillen's Group - FULL (Page 17)

Great job, Tim.  1 minute off your 1.5 mile PR is incredible.  Plus a day off work!!! Man, I wish my work had something like that!  Although, I have been known to call in sick once in a blue moon so I could fit in a long training day!

I keep mentioning recovery and recovering well after your toughest workouts, but what do I really mean by this.  Well, it starts with a recovery shake/meal.  Try to get in some good high glycemic carbs and some protein within 15-30 minutes following your tough workouts.  Also be sure to stretch well as your muscles are nice and warm now. 

Another one of my favorite recovery techniques is too lie on the couch or floor with my feet elevated for 10-15 minutes to let all the "bad" blood flow back into the heart to get "refreshed"!  During this time, I'll take my stick and massage my quads.  By massaging away from the knee and towards the pelvis, I again an helping move the blood back to my heart!

Occasionally after an especially tough workout, I'll take some ibuprofen and ice my legs to reduce the inflammation.   Most importantly, REST.  Take a nap if you have time.  You're body wants and needs rest.  Try to stay off your feet as much as possible.  I know this isn't always feasible, but try to plan around it.  Save your grocery or mall shopping or any other busy errands for another time, not right after your tough weekend training session.

One last comment:  One of the biggest difference between pros and age groupers (AG) is that they have so much more time to rest and recovery.   They don't have full time jobs.  If they run or ride long in the AM, they can go home and take a 2 hr nap!  We don't have that luxury! 

If any of you have some good recovery tips, please share! 

Good to have you back, Matt.  We were beginning to wonder.  No worries, however.  Work and training obviously come before BT!

Good luck with you HIM this weekend.  If you have time, enter a race report and/or post here so we all can know how it went.

phoenixrising404 - 2007-06-20 4:49 PM Hey Matt, Glad to hear you are okay! I think 7th in your age group is fantastic!! And I can't imagine training 4 hours a day! No wonder you practically pass out. Please be very careful not to harm yourself--eat well, get a massage now and then, and try hard to get some sleep! I just had my sister work on me--she's a massage therapist--and she right away said, "I think you are anemic"! Duh! Makes perfect sense! I feel all light headed and weak, have been craving spinach and raisins (not my usual food choices) and even ate a steak the other day (not a big meat eater). I've been growing muscle, literally, so what do I expect? It needs more iron to transport all that oxygen I make go through my system with all this tri stuff! I'll be taking bunches of liquid iron starting today and will let you all know if it does the trick! Maybe we all should be getting our iron levels tested? We are laying down more capillary beds with increased cardiovascular training, and growing muscle. Anyone ever read anything about increased iron levels necessary in athletes? Or do most athletes just naturally eat bloody steaks? I'm not into bloody anything--my meat has to be practically charcoal before I want it. Lesson learned!!

I did a little searching on this for you and found this decent article about Athletes and Iron Deficiency.  It cautions to "Never use iron supplements unless under the supervision of your doctor, as too much iron can cause irreversible damage and a higher risk of cancer and heart disease."

I know you are a doctor, but I just was a little concerned when you mentioned "bunches of liquid iron".

Matt, yes you should definitely try to take in more calories on the bike, especially at your age and metabolism level!  You should also probably think in terms of calories/hr.   For someone your age, you might be able to handle 500 cal/hr on the bike, but I wouldn't make the jump to that level right away if you've only been doing about 200/hr. 

I'd try to up your caloric intake to 300-400 per hr on the bike.   If you prefer pain water to Gatorade, this would be 3-4 gels/hr.  If you drink can drink a bottle (20oz) of Gatorade, this could substitute for a gel as it would provide about 125 calories as well as some sodium.

Speaking of sodium, you'll to find away to take it as well.  Most gels, save the new PowerBar gels, don't have much sodium.  You should probably shoot for 600-800 mg / hr on the bike.  Gatorade has a little sodium, Gatorade Endurance has more is better for long course athletes.  You could also try salt pills or some other sports drink that has more sodium.  

The best advice I can give you is to experiment with different gels/drinks and nutritional plans in training, not during a race.  Come race day (for your A race) you should already have a good nutritional plan dialed in and know that it works.   Nutrition and hydration is VERY IMPORTANT for long course!  Treat it seriously!

Hydration is even more important that nutrition.  A very rough ball park figure is 24-32oz/hr on the bike, but you really should do your own sweat rate test to determine how much you sweat and thus how much you should be drinking!

I feel for you, Kevin.  I've pretty much accepted that fact that I have an addiction to exercise and when I don't get something in for a few days I get cranky; just ask my wife!  So, I know what you're going thru.  

Tim had a good idea about try just to get in a 20-30 minute run whenever you can.  Even if it's slow and not optimal, at least it'll be something and you'll feel a lot better afterwards.  

Plus, you're still going to try to do the Muncie Endurathon in 3 weeks, right!?  That should get you motivated.  Don't worry if you're a little under-trained for it due to your situation at work.  Just think of it as a motivator or spark to get you back on track!

Good luck, and keep us informed. 

phoenixrising404 - 2007-06-22 7:28 AM  David--what do you think of Endurolytes? Do those have enough salt in them? Been pondering that salt deal and wondering if for those longer all day rides, if something like beef sticks would work? Or is that ridiculous? I mean, chips are sort of not the easiest things to eat on the bike. But you could easily chew on a stick of jerky for quite awhile. And since it's IMMOO--I'll feel like I fit right in with the cows chewing cud

I've tried Endurolytes and for me personally I don't think they have enough sodium at only 100mg per pill (right?)  Unlike the sweat rate test, you can't really measure your sodium loss easily.  But, if you you're caked in dried, crusty salt after a long hot workout, like me, then the sodium content in your sweat is probably high, and you'll need plenty of sodium to replace it.  I personally shoot for about 1000 mg/hr, but I'd recommend most people start with 600-800 mg/hr if they're going long!

I'm not sure about beef sticks.  They might have too much protein which is harder to digest under stress. I'd try Lava Salts pills as they have 255 mg/pill.   Also, you typically get some sodium from your sports drink, but regular Gatorade doesn't have enough either.  However, Gatorade Endurance has 200 mg/ 8oz and that is great!  Also, PowerBar's sports drink has more sodium that most.  Cytomax doesn't have much though. 

Above all, experiment with different products in training and find what works best.  Then stick with it on race day!  This experimentation takes time, so don't wait until 2 weeks before your A race to start it!  Start now on your long rides/runs!

I'm still experimenting and I've been going long for 2 years now! 

This sounds different from most races here in the States, but I'll give my educated guesses/advice! I'm assuming registration is similar to what we tend to call packet pickup here. This is where you pay your entry fee (if you haven't already), pick up your T-shirt and other goodies, along with your race bib number, bike number, and maybe a helmet sticker. I'm assuming they will not let you into the transition area during registration.

See below. They probably won't let you into transition until 1500.

This probably means that the transition area will open at 1500 and you can bring your bikes/gear in at the time and setup your own area. It will probably close then at 1545.

Not quite sure, but don't worry about it. You'll see everyone getting it done. Probably before entering transition.

If you've already paid and have a confirmed spot in the race, then I see little benefit to getting there much before 1500. However, I would try to be there then so I could be one of the first into the transition area so could rack your bike in the most favorable spot (assuming it's first come/first serve and not assigned)

Just try to not have anything too much fat, fiber, or protein. Shoot for normal size lunch with a fair amount of carbs. You should be done eating your lunch at about 1300. Keep sipping on your Gatorade Endurance up to race start time, though!