MightyMojoMentorGroup -- (Full House!) (Page 178)

STEVE,

Remember when I posted recently about a friend who had severe problems with leg cramps and prolonged muscle soreness - well it turns out that her CK levels were through the roof (over 10,000, when the normal person would have levels 300 or under)  - CK = Creatine Kinase. It's known to be a marker of muscle damage, and is common after strenuous exercise (eg after running marathons, etc...)

Prompted me to get some routine blood work just to be make sure CK, sodium, potassium, electroyltes, etc were in order coming into my HIM.    Got a call this morning from the doc and all is good - my CK level was 123!  Gives me some confidence in pushing myself hard over the next 3 weeks and race day, knowing my muscles are strong and healthy.

Ken also had some routine testing done but results not back yet.     Thought you might be interested in the CK info.

ANNE -

Again, your Attention To Detail astounds me.  Just that you would learn of your friend's CK levels and hustle off and get blood work done is impressive about three times over.  (I go for my physicals, and then don't get around to following up on the routine blood work!!!)  Well, you were rewrded for your diligence by finding out all is well, so that's a very good thing!

FWIW, i would've been sur[rised with any other result, just based on how well your training has gone for all these months now.  But it's always good to receive reassurances, and I'm sure you're breathing a whole lot easier with those results in hand.

And also FWIW, i never heard of CK.  Well, I think I've seen "creatine kinase" before.....but had no earthly idea what is referred to.  Now I know, and while I have no thoughts that my values are anything other than acceptable, or better than, I will keep it in mind for future reference.  Merci!

My own personal hell is the knees and the damnable switching of cleats and pedals in mid-season.  but it's my own fault for persisiting in crappy gear to the point that a pedal might fall off or a clat refuse to engage, so......

Anyhow, back to the bike shop in a while.  Yesterday's mere 32km effort was not a thing of exquisite comfort,, and I can't imagine running aggressively off the bike ------ which i'm afraid to try at all just because it would likley throw off assessing the position of myfeetinthecleatsonthosepedals.  The season is thundering along, and my own training is flagging.  ARRGGHHHH!!!!!

Where is Ken at with The Canadian?  Half or Full?

ANNE again -

Oh.  Yeah.  The new pedals ar Look Keo 2 Max.  My old ones were also Look, but i have no idea of the model -- it's nowhere on the pedals themselves.  Those pedals, by the way, were from 2001, when i got my first Cervelo.  I had one set of cleats until '05 or '07, when I needed to have them replaced just before one of my Mooseman races due to breakage.  That switch was flawless, but it's those same cleats I used until two weeks ago.  They really are in deplorable shape, an accident waiting to happen.

For those of us who are incclined to stick with old equipment, there is a mixed message here: 

1. Switch equipment only at risk of hurting oneself when adjusting to new stuff --- so never do it.
2. Switch equipment regularly so that the body doesn't get accustomed to being in extreme positions due to the equipment becoming incrementally more and more extreme over time.

Talk about being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, or stuck on the horns of a dilemma! 

Congratulations, Johanne! Way to rock that Oly!

Oh man... I have been totally absent from all this great group has to offer!!!  I have got to get back into the swing of things!  I hope everyone is having a great season!  I have my next TRI in a couple of weeks the Park City AquaBike... haven't done nearly enough swimming, though I had a MTN bike race this past Saturday and felt like I was swimming in mud most of the day...  5 hrs to ride 35 miles... it was a lot of lugging of the bike up un-ride-able hills!

Alex

ALEX -

Hey !  You responded to my cosmic vibes!  I've been wondering if you are still "on" for Mossman.......although I maybe/probably am not.  the short of it is that I had real old cleats and pedals replaced about two weeks ago, and the switch has wreaked havoc on my knees.  I had worn the cleats so long that they were chipped and broken and -- worst of all -- "canted" to the outside.  And now that i am in new cleats, my feet don't sit as they used to, and this afefcets my knees in myriad ways.  i see a foot specialist next Monday, but given that my training hads really nosedived in the past couple weeks, i doubt i'll be ready to peform well at Mossman. 

However, I am taking the better part of the next week off from anything, as we're leaving tomorrow for my daughter's wedding, Saturday, in MA.   I may try a run (and wouldn't it be nice to knock off a couple!!!!!), but no guarantees -- either in terms of time available, or condition of knees.  But maybe, just maybe, the rest will settle things down enough to get back in gear next Monday when we return (arriving back here Sunday night).

This si a huge bummer for me, but I am the architect iof my own disaster by sticking with the old stuff for too long.  On the otehr hand, i didn't know the degre to which everything was worn, or the effect it would maybe eventually have on me.  And "eventually" has arrived with tsunami-type impact!

Keep in touch as Mossman approaches, like, next week -- let's discuss this.  And I hope your training gopes well, once you get de-muddified!  (You silly goose!)

TRINA -

Ah-ha!  I now understand what you're considering for hydration --- and I saw one on a bike at my LBS today ---- and it looked pretty nifty.  Very compact, and the straw thing sticking up writhingly -- am attentive cobra, perhaps?  And if you get a between-bars bottle like the one I have, the two straws would resemble antennae.  FWIW, the bike in the LBS had NO bottle cages --- just the down tube hydration thing, and a platform between the bars for a bottle to sit horizontally (all the rage for those obsessed with aerodynamics).

Thinking about my own poor eating on half-irons, it has less to do with oragnizational shortcomings, and more to do with not wanting to try to stomach too much.  Maybe the other way to say that is that at a certain distance into the half-iron bike (probably miles 40-45 range), I've worked hard enough to set my tummy to being slightly agitated ("nauseous" is too strong).   But, yeah, probably I suffer some from not being better organized.

SO, with you in mind, I hope that setting your timer will work brilliantly.  It's a great strategy, anyhow!

The way I see it, knowledge is power, but a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous, so I like to do my research.     

Wasn't concerned, just curious.    Funny thing (well not so funny) is, that I wish I had known this last February when my health (muscles in particular) took a nose dive from the aggressive Computrainer sessions I was doing and then deciding I was going to beat my soft tissues into submission by running every day AFTER the CT sessions.     Was starting to get cramping and my muscles were sore for weeks.   Attributed it to the underactive thyroid, but looking at it now, I'd  bet my CK levels were off the map.   

A couple of years back my physio therapist had told me that any muscle soreness that lasts longer than 3 days is a sign of a problem with muscle tissue.   Too many times we think it is just the hard training we are doing and can work through it, but I think people need to be better at listening to what the body is telling them.   I'm getting pretty good at it. 

Although I am still cautious and maybe a tad nervous about messing things up in the final 3 weeks to the HIM.    I SO want to be able to come out of this season healthy.  

I'm also going to listen to your thoughts on using the same gear year in, year out until it falls apart.   I don't like to change things either and I changed my shoes this year and was REALLY nervous about it because I had to take the cleats from the old shoes and put them on the new ones and was SURE I would get the position wrong.   

I'm even nervous switching to the trainer bike in the winter and then back to the race bike in the spring.   It always feels a bit different, but it seems that the fit is OK between the two.   

Speaking of which, I really wanted to start up with YIN yoga again and was contemplating tonight, but nervous about shifting things and messing up my running and biking.    So I'm pushing THAT off until after my last tri.    Kind of pathetic. 

Hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend at the wedding.   Is it going to be emotional for you?   TEARS???  

STEVE, again

SORRY, I keep forgetting - KEN is determined to do the IM.    I'll be there for him at the end. 

ANNE -

I really have to make this as brief as possible, as we are way behind in preparing to leave between 9 and 10 tomorrow.  As for the wedding itself, probably not too emotional at all.  It is bigger than we are comfortable with, so part of the problem for both of us is coping with it; that'll take enough of a different kind of emotion, I think!  My FOB speech could be emotional, but i am deliberately aiming it to be vastly different than "standard FOB speeches.  I will NOT go on at length (or at all) about Jane growing up, and I will not be offering any sage advice to them.  I am hoping to be somewhat droll and amusing, and if I can pull it off I have some confidence it'll be a good one -- just off the beaten path some.  They have known each other since 9th grade, have been a couple since spring of 12th grade, carried the relationship through when she was at college near Syracuse and he was near Charlotte, NC, moved into NYC at teh same time (right after graduation, and have been living together for about two years now.  Plus, they are both incredibly grounded and highly capable, and there doesn't seem to be anything at this point to be emotional about.  That said, though, I am a naturally emotional person (thanks for the gene, mom), so we'll see how it actually all shakes down.

Onwards!

As for Sept. 1, I may be in NY that morning, but will easily make it back to hang out with you until Ken is finsished.  And there would even be the possibility of getting back to see you finish, too.  I'll have that figured out next week.  I hope.

On the 1st i will try to remember to bring along my old cleats to show you just how awful they are/were.  It is shocking to me how much of that seemingly hard plastic wor e down, and this is from a person who NEVER runs in them in races, and who at least 75% of the time keeps them attached to the pedals.  i'm not sure how all that wear happened, but it's irrefutably there -- and the major source of my current woes.  I have an appointment with a foot specialist next monday, and I wonder if orthotics are just around the corner.  I'm hoping not, but the way I see things lining up, it's likely.

So, yes, i have a newfound appreciation of how damaging damaged gear can be.  I have had that appreciation for a very long time about running shoes, and if anything I consistently err on the side of caution by replacing a pair possibly much sooner than is actually necessary.  But the coin never dropped concerning similar wear patterns in cleats, even though i can now see all the telltale signs that I blissfully ignored.

I agree with your physio about muscle soreness persisting for more than a day or two, with the possible exception of DOMS.  As for that situation, when soreness has lasted more than about 60 hours form the time of its onset, I have switched my thinking from DOMS to something else that perhaps/likely needs more reverential attention.  And while I was a bozo about this in my early years, i have become quite diligent about it since, i don't know --- the torn meniscus, the shoulder impingement, the PF, and other biggies that involve weeks and months of recovery, as oposed to just a few days.  As for what's ailing me now......we'll see how long it remains a problem.  (I am not including the torn labrum, as that was likely not overuse, and is probably genetic, and is more or less unpredicatble in the way it affects me.)

Postponing Yin?  Makes sense to me.  It may be kind of pathetic, but not for people who depend on their bodies for performance.  I have said before that within the range of movement limits of swimming an cycling and running I am usually great, but once I go outside the limits is when the little shop of horrors can come visting me.  In fact, i was very surprised that my big stint of heavy-duty Yoga last year was so well accepted by my SBR-based body..........but now that I have been away from it for a couple of months, i would be terified to start it up again in-season.

At Fronhofer I got reacquainted with one Steve Becker, a 46-year old who is a superb triathlete (remind me to tell you a larger story about him at some point).  he told me that the week before Fron he was doing yardwork that involved unrolling big bundles of sod, with his 11-year-old helping him.  In fact, the kid was working really hard, and emerged form the effort in fine form.  as for Steve, though, he could hardly walk --- a brilliant triathlete effectively brought to his knees by spending so much time on his knees.  That floored him, and not for the first time ---- over the years he has had many episodes at working physically hard at soemthing other than triathlon, and suffering dearly afterward because it has taken himout of his usual range of motions.  I can dig where he's coimng from, and it is indeed pathetic!

Ack!  This took too long!  Back to packing, then to bed.

GANG!

Off to MA shortly ---- something about my kid's wedding this weekend.  I'm not sure when I'll be here, at BT, but it may be infrequent; might not even be til Sunday evening when we get back.

If that's the case, have fine weekends one and all!  I'm not sure that anyone is racing (JEFFTX, maybe, with something or other?), but have so --- have a good day on the course!

Bye for now, see you soon!

XO

Steve,

Have a great wedding weekend!

Johanne

JOHANNE - Great job on your Oly AG win and PR! Quite an improvement in all facets. Looks like you're hitting your stride.

North Park Triathlon Race Report: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=455869

Any have any thoughts about this Aquathlon I've gotten myself into? Apparently they want me to run 5K, swim 400M, and run 2.9K. I need figure out how many miles that last part is.

Any ideas about transitioning from running to swimming and back to running? I plan to wear my trisuit, and running shoes with no socks & Yankz laces. How about pacing? This is a new one for me.

Website says this is the Regional USAT Aquathlon Championship - whatever that means. Field is limited to 100 aquathletes. But . . . they're running a 5K simultaneously, so one challenge is going to be running my own race and not getting caught up in that frenzy.

DAVE,

Nice race!   You mention your bike continues to be the weak link but I really don't think so, if I figured out the pace right per km - 33.6 avg speed.    You run is super fast too, but when I compared your results to the same age group in a couple of TOUGH, recent races here in Ontario (same length),  with your results you would have placed 5/31 and 4/16 on the bike but on the run you would have placed 14/31 and 8/16 which makes it look like your bike is actually stronger.  

Anyway you look at it, you are VERY competitive for your age group.  

JEFF,

CONGRATULATIONS on that LONG bike race!   Pretty nice speed for that distance.    I laughed so hard when I read about the hydration guy and trying to manage the convenience store.  

Congrats on the wedding! Just think...in a couple of years we may be calling you "Papa." LOL!

Yes, the Speedfills are pretty cool, but I do like to have bottle cages on my bike for shorter rides. I typically keep one bottle on reserve to dump over my head if I get too hot. But temps are slowly coming down in these parts, so hopefully I won't have to worry about that much longer. Really, the only times I would use a Speedfill ($100) is for a HIM or IM, or for an unsupported long bike ride with no access to water. Even then it still only holds as much as two bottles. What makes it work is that during a long race you can easily dump bottles of water through the large refill hole during the water hand-ups....unlike trying to unscrew a bottle lid and pour bottled water into it which requires two hands and is sort of impossible when you're riding a bike...unless you can ride without your hands on the handlebars. I can't. I'm kind of going back and forth....but ultimately I'm thinking that the "between the bars" setup ($30) will win due to finances. I just purchased a new Garming 910xt (loving it, btw), and registered for Redman ($265) so my Tri budget has been wiped out.

I'm going to have to start babysitting or something to raise money. I'm a tri junkie!

Nutrition: I really do think I have an iron clad stomach. I can eat anything and not get nauseated. I do get cramps in my belly every once in a while, but that's due to swallowing to much air, if you know what I mean... So eating every 20 minutes (about a quarter a Cliff Mojo Bar) is apparently working for me.

Oh and speaking of equipment wearing-out.....I had one of my cleats break mid 50 mile ride! I could clip-in, but could not clip out. So....I just rode the second half of the ride with my shoe clipped in, but all the velcro straps undone so I could slip my foot out easily when it was time to come to a stop. My riding buddies were laughing at me. I told them to watch it - equipment does wear out and they could be next. 

There's nothing like coming to a stop and realizing you can't clip out the foot that you typically unclip first! Scary stuff... 

ANNE - Thanks for your comments. I think I have certain benchmark goals in my head for speed in each discipline and i'm farthest from the cycling one:

<1:30 / 100 yards / meters for swim  - - - - -  (Did 1:32 / 100 yards at North Park)

>20 MPH for bike (32.2 KM/H) - - - - -  (did ~18.5 MPH on hilly course)

<7:30 / mile for run (4:40 / KM) - - - - - (did 7:40 / mile on tough hilly trail)

Plus I looked at the placements in each discipline although those include transitions.

33/411 in swim (top 8%)

87/411 in bike (21.2%)

57/411 in run (13.9%)

I just haven't developed a love for the bike yet (though i've had my moments). To be honest, I'm a little nervous about riding alone on the roads around me, and I haven't found any great routes where I'm comfortable and can get any meaningful miles in. Plus the hilly terrain makes it hard to get in lots of miles.

It's getting a little better, but this is still far from a cycling friendly town. (Particularly when compared to what THOMAS has near him!) There were two cycling deaths here this month and you would think there would be an outcry that something needs to be done to protect cyclists. Instead, the city put up signs directing bikes to avoid that section of road. No step up in enforcement at all. In the aftermath, I heard listeners call in to a classic rock radio show giving their opinions about having to share the road. The majority of the comments were that the cyclists should watch out because they are the "lowest on the food chain."

Pennsylvania passed a law this year requiring that motorists give cyclists a 4 foot berth before passing. The state hasn't done anything to advertise or promote it. Motorists I talk to are either in complete ignorance of the law or are annoyed at the possibility of a delay while waiting for an oportune moment to pass.

The ultimate insult is the fine for violation is $25.

I'm really impressed and envious of an 18.5mph pace on a hilly course. 

On Wednesday I road into a headwind along Okanagan Lake to Summerland and it took me :55 to ride 20.1km (13.6mph) on about as flat a course as I can find locally.  On the return trip with a good tailwind it took :37 for the same 20K (20.15mph).  At some point in the ride - on a flat course not a downhill - I hit 55kph (34mph).  I think that was from drafting off a big truck as it sped by really close to me (almost pulled my shirt up over my head). 

I know what you mean about drivers not sharing the road with cyclists.  On the news this evening was a report of a 17yr old girl killed today when hit head on by a 68yr old driver.  So far this year I think that is three I know of in the Okanagan valley alone.

A 4' safety space is not unreasonable.  When I'm driving I always give enough room that it the cyclist I am passing were to suddenly fall I would still miss him/her.  Even that is not enough.  I passed a fellow yesterday (riding without a helmet) and just before I passed him he swerved out several feet before he corrected himself.  It isn't that much of an inconvenience to wait for adequate space to pass a cyclist.  I can't imagine why there is so much animosity from many drivers.

On another note, I can't believe how many cyclists I see riding without helmets.  At times up to 50% of the riders I see in any given bit of time.  One day I saw a father and young child ride by wearing helmets and the mother beside them without a helmet.  I wanted to ask her if her husband had life insurance on her.

Johanne - I can't find Bunsmaster anymore.  They must've closed down fairly recently.  Downtown on main street near the transition area there is Bellevue Cafe that has some pretty good baked goods.  On the day of the race there is also Smith and Co on Winnipeg St that will be open very early for the athletes.

The weather is quite warm right now but the forecast for race day is 26degC (79F) - so far.  The water at the lake was 72degF this morning somewhat cooler in the deeper water.  So still expecting it to be wetsuit legal.

I see where you are coming from, having those benchmarks.  The numbers game can really mess up our mind I think.    We do get a good idea of which is the disciplines is strongest from our training and the racing, but for races the results can vary dramatically because of who shows up, how large the field is, how the weather is, etc. etc.    Eg.  my run sucks but I do perform really well under cold weather conditions and in races where this has happened, I end up beating really strong competitors because the cold messes them up.   

That's not a good situation with the local attitudes on biking.   That would scare me.   We love cycling so much we wouldn't move to an area that didn't support cyclists and have a good network of trails and streets for cycling.   Although we too have had some cycling deaths, we are pretty fortunate here in Waterloo area.

Good luck on reaching that bike benchmark!! 

Did a run today and ran for 1hr 15min.    I'm trying to do strictly running for 1 1/4 hr or less but for longer distances am sticking to a run/walk protocol.    Doing 20km still has an affect on me.    Although I have gotten to the point where I can actually do some training the day after which is progress I guess. 

I chose to do trail running and HILL work today and practice with my gels - 6 loops of 1.5km with 46 meter elevation gain with lots of short hills and ups and downs, plus one LONG, steep climb. Lots of routes and rocks.  Joined the ranks of the bloodied and bruised with 7 minutes left with a flying leap and dive (tripped on a root) 3/4 way down the final descent of big hill. 

Body took it rather well with minimum blood and although it was the right knee that HURT and I was afraid to look - there was no blood there - just a bit when I got home.  

Picked myself up and finished the final 7 minutes of the run - no pain.

This is a tough course and I don't know why I do it because it is SLOW going. But I seem to like it and was pleasantly surprised to run the whole distance w/o walk breaks.

My gels worked well.   I am able to run and eat them with no problem and no digestion issues.   I dumped the GU Brew products because they kept bothering my stomach (fructose and maltodextrin) and switched to the plant based Vega products.  

Tomorrow I have a brick workout with 2 1/2 hr bike and 55 min run, and then another run on Sunday.   3 days in a row is going to be a stretch I think. 

GEORGE,

I HATE those headwinds!    We did a ride last weekend and I swear I was barely hitting 15km/hr into the wind for about 35km and then had the tail wind for 13km.    My average speed for that 13km was close to 34km/hr.