kenj - motivated triathletes in training - CLOSED (Page 18)

You too? I hope you are on the mend. My whole family has been hit with a gross cold/sinusy thing this week. Good job getting a run in. I have been a complete slug this week, will try for a run tomorrow but not making any promises.

I wish. Got my voice back, but can't stop coughing. Flying back home, though, so happy at the idea of sleeping in my own bed tomorrow!

x3 - raising hands here - sinus infection for me and possibly one of my kids.

???Whew.... made it through a very hectic week at work.  Only bad thing is that next week is even worse!  I havent been good about checking the group very much, bunch of active folks here!  Tomorrow is my last double digit run before my marathon- seems weird to say " only have to do 12 tomorrow".  There is a 5k run on the beach at noon but I know I cant just run it for fun and not race and I dont think its a good idea to vere off my training program so close to my race.  I am still looking for a HIM traiing program - got a book for christmas but havent had time to check out the programs.  If anyone is interested in a great cookbook  The Feed Zone  by Biju Thomas and Allen Lim is awesome.   I got it for my hubby for x mas ( he does most of the cooking).  The authors are cyclists and have some great ideas for healthy, yummy food that we endurance athletes need.   Hope everyone has a great new year- keep up all the training!

Paula

Friday  “Massive Group Post” – Love you guys!!!

KenJ – I’ve had my LT Tested before and the “Testing Process” is painful.  They stick your finger or ear for blood samples every several minutes… then they try to make you “fall of the back” of the treadmill belt!  Not pleasant at all!!!

Vivian – I like that “Girth-Widening Holiday Program”  Thing is, I don’t just do it during the holidays… I do it year round!  ;-)   All the best in class

Kathleen – I will make sure to let you know how it goes!  I’m looking forward to getting the data and having my coach “Apply it” to my training sessions.

Gator22 – I love those “Biggest Loser” competitions especially at work!   I think it’s unfair if someone is “bulking” before the race, but 100lbs is 100lbs… assuming they didn’t bulk more than 5-10lbs weeks before the race! 

RussRisher – Great way to “turn it on” with your run this morning!  Outstanding for sure!!  And yes, logging is an amazing thing!  Right now I am grateful to be “In the Groove” where I hope I’ll stay!  And like Kathleen said, “Logging is one of my Favorite Parts of my day!”   Keep it going!

RobinGray – Enjoy the final “Holiday Girth-Widening Days” for me too!  Today I attended a wedding where the reception menu consisted of “Martini’s and Dessert!”  Neither of which fit into the “Finish-Ironman-Coeur’d-Alene-Strong” diet plan.  I was proud of myself for ordering water and a “Chicken and Avacado  Salad” instead!!!

KenJ – I moved my long run up from Saturday to Wednesday night… so I ran a 7 miles on the Treadmill in Zone 2 (with the exception of the last two intervals – I run 9 min and walk 1).  Today’s workout was a 2400yd swim with a 100yd TT.  I pulled off a 1:40.68, which was impressive since I was aiming for a 1:45!  Now to string more than one of those together in a row and we’ll be in business!!!

SDSWriter – I have occasionally considered becoming a Technical Writer… but I am in Software Development and so far it has been “…very, very good to me…”  I do enjoy writing… free writing… stream of thought writing… capturing my experience in the moment!  ;-)

ABake – Hoping you and your family are also on the mend from the “gross cold/sinusy thing”!!!  It’s ok to be a slug when you are not feeling 100%.  Rest up, get better, then train hard!

MarlaS – Ugh, are you sick too???  Geez… do take care.  Warm Lemon Water and Honey comes to mind when you mentioned coughing! 

Roadtoad22 – I’m chuckling at your  “12 Miler” tomorrow…  you know you’ve done your training well when your 12 Miler doesn’t seem so bad during the “Taper” as it did during the “Build”!!!  As for a training program for a HIM, I like http://www.ironguides.net. It really does a great job at maximizing your “Return on time invested” so the workouts are “shorter and harder”.    I am going to check out the cook book you have recommended.  I love to eat!

Wesley12 – Post up when you’ve finished your 9 Miler!  Which 70.3 are you doing in 20 weeks?  I am excited for you!  Enjoy!

MikeyLee – Man, you are so “Hard Core” with your training!  Every time I read your post it’s like you’re doing a mini-triathlon of sorts! “…80 Mile ride with hills, etc”   Your 475 Mile Bike Tour sounds incredible!  I have yet to do a “Bike Tour” spanning several days!  Nice!!! 

In Vision Quest, we use power meters to do LT and VO2 tests.  I have to do mine Sunday morning.  With watts, you can establish a LT and then do exercises with intervals based on the percentage of the LT.    Specially, you can do long tempo rides of 65% or higher percentages for shorter intervals.   Most workouts touch on all zones, from warm up to intense intervals to cool down.  They do the same with heart rate, but the HR is slower to respond and a lot of things affect it. Still, it is much better than trying to train off perceived exertion. 

I expect mine to be down.  It should be.  Not only did I have two surgeries in the past two months, but everyone should be taking it somewhat easy at the end of the season for a bit to let the body heal and the mind to re-boot.

Our local university kinseology department will do the testing for people for about $100.  Requires breathing through a tube connected to a computer that measures CO2 and O2 levels as you ramp up... They can tell you precisely when the LT is reached and give it to you in watts and HR and determine your zones. You might check to see if they do it near you.

VO2 testing is the same thing.  We do a short course on the Computrainer for four minutes.  Also one minute. 

Today I had a session with a personal trainer to learn the kettle bells.  Great stuff.  Quick strength exercises.  Meeting a few more times with him to learn form. A couple of 30 min. sessions of that a week will really be great for the core, the quads, the gluts, hamstrings and arms.  

I'm also reading up on diets.  I think I am going to to the Paleo thing - high protein, veggies, fruits and carbs timed around workouts.  I want to shave pounds before the races start.  Reading an interesting piece on timed fasting too.  The guy thinks periodic fasting does good things for the fat burning process.  Debunks the idea that fasting slows metabolism or cuts into short duration exercise.  Interesting stuff.  I was told he believes in eating during an 8 hour window rather than spreading meals over all waking hours.  I do well on high protein, low carb and I really sometimes eat because I've been told I'm "supposed to."  I like challenging that idea.  What can it hurt?  Life is an experiment.

Have a safe trip home!  I hope you keep feeling better.

Flying to San Diego on Monday, not looking forward to it with the cold I seem to have gotten this week.

Thanks for the book advice Paula!

Have a great run, and you are right, it is best to stay on plan this close to the race.

If you were to ask the coaches that helped design most of the plans here, they would tell you to ignore the swim part of the plan IF you are consistantly attending a masters swim with the same frequency.  So keep that up and you will be fine.

Have a great run tomorrow!

Sounds like a fun weekend on the bike!  Enjoy it!

Nice time in the pool!  Always great to exceed our own expectations and goals!

I am trying to figure out how to move my long run to the middle of the week once I get to IM training this summer.  It is tough to do the long bike on Saturday and long run on Sunday or vice versa. 

Nice that you are giving your children a healthy role model that they want to join in with you!  Nice running!

I think the compound exercises with the kettlebells are a solid workout. 

I too am leaning towards Paleo, I need to spend more time reading about the specifics, but with 7 or 8 hours of traveling Monday, I have time!

Happy New Years Eve All!

Does enyone own a treadmill or has some recommendations on a good one?  I have thought about purchasing one as it would be so much easier to get runs in if I had one in the basement (especially with the new year here and all the people who will be taking over the gym for the first couple of months of the year).  If you do own one, do you find that it was worth the purchase.

As I continue to think about doing IMFL in November I am going to need a training plan and probably a HIM to do sometime in August (or around there). I am more then bored with the HIM in Boulder (good race, I just don't want to do it again) so am in need of some ideas for another one. Also, I am no  longer being coached so need some type of plan to follow.  I have heard that the "Be Iron Fit" plans are good.  I am not really interested in the BT plans as they are written by the same group that I was coached by. I could probably write my own plan but I think it would be much better to have something written by people who do that type of thing

It is extremely windy here today. Not a good day to be training outdoors (at least for me)

Have a safe New Years Eve everyone!

We just purchased our second treadmill.  The first was a Nordic Track that we purchased from Sears.  It was one we bought for about $990.00 on a post Christmas special.  We had over 3000 miles on it when it died.  We just bought a Precor this past fall, not inexpensive but we did get a deal on it as the person that originally bought it couldn't use it when they delivered it because the room was too short.  So it was sent back the same day and sold as a demo.  Precor just came out with a lower price model that is being sold at Dick's and Sports Authority, but I haven't tried them.  We have Life Fitness treadmills at work. 

Personally I do not mind the treadmill, and use it frequently especially in the off season.  But I also use it for intervals and other speed work type workouts.  The new Precor is the only treadmill that I have used that I feel comfortable on without holding on some.  But it all depends on what your budget it.   But to answer your question, I think it is worth having our own treadmill.

As far as a training plan, I don't know if the customized plans here are different enough from the "canned" plans to give you what you are looking for, but it may be worth a look.  Be Iron Fit is discussed frequently in the IM forum and it sounds like most people are happy with the plan.  You may also want to look at Endurance Nation.  Their plans are a little more expensive, but I have used the off season plan and I liked it.

Happy New Years to you too!

Happy New Year all !!!!

I can share the ironGuides Plan with you.  I have both the HIM and Full Ironman.  I loved the program and saw great results with it in 2010.  We can talk about the training philosophy if you like.  The other, similar, training plan is through Endurance Nation.  I like what they do with maximizing your result relative to Time Invested. 

All the best in the New Year!

^^^^^. What they said!! and be safe tonight.

My group ride was a bust today because I had a flat when I went out to air up the tires this morning. While I successfully changed the tube (a first for me because I am very bad working on anything mechanical), it took so long I would have totally missed wheels down. So my wife and I went on a ride. She announced she wanted to do 80 miles today. The intended route had hills, flats, long gradual inclines, lunch at the 1/2 way point...perfect! At 27 miles, I felt funky so we took a short food, hydration, adjustment break and I felt much better (remember to hydrate a lot). When we took off on a slight hill, my wife could to get up to speed and was already clipped in. BOOM!! Bent the rear dérailleur, and banged her elbow, hand, and pride. Her derailleur was shifting randomly and throwing her chain. We limped the 15 miles home (she almost fell again when the chain came off on a hill...read rapid deceleration! We got in an exciting 42 miles in, but not the ride we wanted. Bike shop straightened the derailleur, the hand still hurts, and the pride still damaged. She is claiming we will do the 80 miles Monday (holiday day off). We will see as her cleats need to be adjusted for easier exit. That is my story and I am sticking to it!

I get motivated and energized by reading this forum and many of your training logs!  Safe training to you all!