HILDEBEAST'S Magnificently Motivational Mentor Group - CLOSED!!!! (Page 18)

Tammy - great job on the race! No better feeling that a PB. And I am SO glad you beat that jerk John... I totally rooted against him the whole show!

Timely conversation on the clipless pedals for me. I received cycling shoes for Christmas and after an agonizing debate between Speedplay and Shimano SPD-SL, I finally bought the Shimano pedals yesterday. Despite some of the benefits of the Speedplays, they just seemed a little high maintenance for me – especially given how mucky some of the transition areas can get. From all the reading, however, this seems to be very much based on personal preference.

If anyone ever comes up with a tried and true method of avoiding foot cramps in the pool, please let me know… I get them something awful! They do seem to be linked to leg fatigue for me and now I try to coordinate my swim workouts for when my legs aren’t so tired. I will definitely be trying Wilson’s concoction too – I love Muscle Milk and increased protein intake is supposed to help muscle fatigue and recovery. 

Suzie, I used running shoes and those toe-cage thingys on my bike last year and it worked well.  It definitely made T2 easier since I already had my running shoes on for the run!

That is a GREAT PR, Tammy!  Super fast, congrats!  You are going to kick some butt next week at your half marathon!!

Wilson, I think "The Slut" suits her very well!!  I'm going to have nightmares tonight about the image of you on The Slut wearing those pantyhose!  So disturbing.

I want to make a quick product recommendation for something I got last week. If any of you are thinking of getting a foam roller, this is a good one to get:

http://www.nordictrack.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_-1_10301_12401_19556_182719

It'a stick roller inside a bumpy roller inside a smooth roller- everything you'll ever need. If you haven't thought about getting a roller, you should- it goes a long way toward rehabbing and preventing injuries. Hurts like he11, but does the job!

x2 on TammyTurtle's recommendation for foam rollers-- I have a different one, but the idea is definitely the same. And I've found that rolling out my legs nightly makes a HUGE difference in how I feel the next day and actually reduces the risk of some injuries (like peroneal tendonitis!) that are often caused by running with over-tight calves...

Alex

Michelle, 

excited to see how you like the clips. I call em lolli-pops! It really made a huge difference in my speed. 

Mhhh, on the foot cramps. I am not sure but I ended up taking arnica in the pill form for my side stiches when riding the bike and it helped a lot. I may work for your feet too. I am sure you are but make sure you are well hydrated too sometimes that makes a difference in body cramps and have a good vit k source. Happy Training!  

I've made a decission about my exercise class.  It's been on break since Christmas.  It's aerobics, kickboxing, a bit of zumba sometimes, squats, lunges, arms with hand weights, core work, stretching.  I used to go 2 times a week, but I've decided to change to just Monday's.  The cardio portion is not too strenuous for me anymore and I sometimes use it as an excuse to not do a tri workout.  Also, it makes 3 evenings where I arrive home grab some food and head back out.  I'll have more flexibility with my workouts and it means I've found a weekday for bike workouts.

Sounds like a good plan!  Especially since you'll still be taking one exercise class and you'll gain a weekday for training on the bike.  Mondays have been my non-SBR training days, as well.  I've been taking a strength training class.  I also kind of feel like it's a "rest" day since I'm not doing any intense cardio that day.

Hey guys! I just wanted to check in.  I know I've been MIA for a while - between not feeling well and being busier than expected at work lately, I've been slacking on my posting.  That goes for the inspires too.  I appreciate all I've been getting lately and I promise to try to respond more. 

I'll be back later! 

Sounds like a very varied workout in that class. Good decision on cutting it back so you can do more bike stuff though

Janet - Don't worry. Just get to us when you can.

Hi Friends -- Here's a pic of my new bike.  Her name is "Tessie"...  Not a very intimidating name, but named after the Dropkick Murphy's song and I just love the name!

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Good idea on the class, Andrea.  As fun as it is to crosstrain (and off season IS the time to do that), there's no doubt in my mind that a swim, bike, run workout will pay off come race day.  So I guess it all depends on how competitive you are!

Janet, thanks for checking in, I know I worry when anyone disappears for awhile!  So that goes for all y'all... if you're sick or taking a trip or whatever, please post something over here or in your blog... that saves me all the stress of thinking you're being a training weenie and getting on your case, ha ha!

Kristen, NICE BIKE, and I like the name!!  My first tri bike was "Sally", you know, like , "Ride Sally Ride"?  I was really pleased that the lady I sold it to kept the name!  My new bike is "The Dominatrix", but I really don't call her that, seemed cool at the time, not so great right now, although I wonder what kind of tri bike babies Wilson's "Slut" and my "Dominatrix" might make, wait, that's two WOMEN, right??  Nevermind, my bad...  Oh, I LOVE the red bar tape and bottle cages.. I would TOTALLY go for red tires!!  But I'm a color matching fanatic, and now I've got Tammy Tucker suckered into the color matching too!!  We're the orange and green chicks, ha ha!  YOU can be the red chick!  Anyone else wanna jump on the color wagon??

Love it! I'm with you... I never match.

Here's my motivational quote for the day: "Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't." This mentality is seriously the only thing that got me out of bed for my swim this morning.

Seriously, whatever works, right?  Hope you don't have to have it tattooed on yourself, though! 

Tammy Turtle, DON'T make me drive to AZ and come kick your @$$ for making fun of my color matching... H3LL, I'll bring Tucker with me and we'll do in matching outfits!

OK – trying to get caught up here – forgive me if I missed something. 

Foot cramps – I get them when swimming too but not all the time.  Seems to happen if I swim after a bike workout or if I know I’m a little dehydrated.  I try to keep a water bottle near the pool so I can take a drink between sets. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not.  Of course it hasn’t been an issue lately since I haven’t been to the pool in months!  Hoping to get there this weekend.

Bike pedals/shoes – I haven’t converted to clipless pedals/bike shoes yet.  I have the toe cages and just wear my running shoes.  Don’t have the $ for the clipless right now and honestly I’m a little scared of them.  Although it’s just as painful to fall if you can’t get your feet out of the toe cages in time (don’t ask me how I know).

Matching – I don’t usually worry about it too much, especially if I’m inside.  Then again, I don’t have much bike-specific clothing and most of my running shorts are black so just about any shirt will do.  My bike is a pretty blue color with black bartape (don’t have a picture here at work) but most of the shirts I wear on rides are white.

Tammy – congrats on the 10k!  That’s a great time and YEAH for 2^nd place!

I need to get off my butt and sign up for my tri in May.  I already have it listed on my races but haven’t officially registered.  Price is going up after this weekend though so I need to get that done.  I did this race 3 years ago as my first tri and really liked it.  The only downside is the swim.  It’s a pool swim, which I don’t mind, but I had to wait over 2 hours just to get in the pool (you’re seeded by estimated swim time).  I was hoping to be able to move up a little in the line this time but with my lack of swim training lately, that might not be the case.  It doesn’t really matter to me, but we’ll have to find something for DH to do if he comes with me again.  He’s not real big on just sitting around waiting. Maybe we can get DD to come along and they can take a walk around campus.  The tri is held at Mizzou which is where she’ll be going to school in the fall. 

Better try to get some work done today – have a great day all!

Janet

I don't match much, though with my bike's colors it's kinda hard now anyway.  As for clipless pedals, I switched last year (cages just don't work for me cause my feet are so small....I can't ever get them tight enough to make it work).  I bought a cheap pair of mountain bike shoes, and a used pair of clipless pedals off ebay.  And promptly fell several times.  Those first pedals were really stiff and hard to clip in and out of, so I am still nervous when turning at higher speeds and coming to a stop.  I tend to clip out of at least one pedal long before I need to stop.  

I just bought new shoes and pedals, so I anticipate falling a bit again.  YAY!

 Nice bike K

Hilde: With dominatrix being lime green are you sure it's a girl?

Oh and I found some nice "baby bikes" - mostly bmx's since they seem to be the most popular bikes for the really young kids (went for the 12" and16") but lost the pics when I went back again so you'll have to use your imagination again.

Matching: Well my helmet is silver and my bike is sivler and gold + I usually wear white and blue socks and my newest top (which I wear for running and biking) is blue with white writing. Other than that it's just mainly black or white gear with some purple if I'm wearing cold weather gear - e.g. long tracksuit pants.

Love the quote arquillo

 Janet - I'm imagining personal experience is the reason you know about the cages. As for the tri signing and swimming - do you have to use the time you're on when you sign up or can you change seeding later on? Some extra swimming training probably wouldn't be harmful if you want to get faster though.

Oh and my swim lessons are going great. I'm still off with the breaststroke timing - I'm mainly doing it just so I can learn it and so I have a little bit of variety during workouts etc - and I'm starting to be more confident with tumble turns except I keep doing them too far from the wall to push off properly. Oh and I started working on diving - not that great yet - I keep hitting my boobs on the water,lol.

Just saw this the other day.  I dare any of you to try and watch it without tearing up.  Really neat!

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=K67LPGNX

LOVE the quotation, arquillo. And what a fabulous bike, K!

Though my clothes don't usually match, my bikes do-- each is a variant on the black/white/red combo. Mind you, my Tri Club gear is also those colours now that I think about it, so if I get a black helmet and wear my club outfit, I'd be so colour-coordinated it would be PAINFUL! (That said, chances are I'll do some version of black and red for the IM-- black shorts, and a red top because red means you go faster, right?? )

Had a right mess dumped in my lap at work late Monday afternoon... not for the first time, I was grateful the next day for my training schedule as a way to work off some of the frustration! Meant I didn't bite people's heads off when I finally got in to work after the swim, which is probably a good thing...

Alex

such a moving video, erin!  those brothers remind me of dick and rick hoyt, a father/son team who race together.  team hoyt raced in one of the tris i did last year and it's just so amazing to see the love and determination of that family.  thanks for sharing that!

Erin, that was an AWESOME video, and I agree with Kristen.  Man it's hard enough doing one yourself much less bringing another person along with you, THAT is strength!!  Makes me feel good about the future of our country (as opposed to the self centered kids I teach!)