Beth and Yanti's New Manatees - FULL! :-) (Page 19)

I had mentioned in a previous post about a very good book about nutrition and recovery.  I am a voracious reader so I tend to buy many books in order to read up on anything I enjoy...(when I was a kid I even read the articles in Playboy...of course I looked at the pictures too    )...anyway...the best book I have found on the subjects of nutrition/recovery is "Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes"  by Monique Ryan.  The one I have is the 2nd addition.  It is awesome.  She talks about different nutrition needs for each sport as a stand alone unit and coupled into the tri scenario as well.

Most of this book is not light reading (at least for my aged brain) but after going over it a time or two I find it to be right on target and very helpful.

Hope this helps.

Steve

yeah...right...on the playboy articles.   

 I have found that Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook is a pretty decent one too when it comes to nutrition. 

Hi gang!

Joel - hope you've recovered fully from your long run

Nathalie - how're you doing after those monster workouts?  Feeling a little less sore I hope

Amy - You're a Rock Star!  I don't know how you manage to fit in any training or posting with everything you've got on your plate!

Steve and Suzie - thanks for the tips on good resources for nutrition!

Hi to all the Manatees!  Hope things are going well!

Well, I have 10 miles on tap this coming Sunday - I'm going to do it outside unless it's dangerously windy and cold

Then it's taper week b4 the race!  I can't believe it's almost here!

The extended forecast is actually pretty decent - sunny and in the 30's

What's top of mind for everyone else?

A big THANK YOU and {{{MELON PRESS}}} (that's code for "hug" to Bethie Love and all of you for holding down the fort ... sorry I've been a bit MIA lately, I was a-snoozin' long (guess I needed it!) and a-presentin' at work.

Such exciting stuff--triathlons, marathons--this is what I live for! You guys are the best.

I'm actually in a build week, so pretty busy doing workouts too. I get to do a ride with one of the Spinning(R) Master Instructors this weekend--they're the people who certify Spinning Instructors. Mostly they're competitive cyclists, so I always pick up awesome tips and have a great ride with them!

Hey, New Manatees!

Reno and I did a freaking MARATHON last week--woo-hoo!  It's something I never imagined I would do, and I won't say I couldn't have done it without Reno, but I wouldn't have done it without him. 

I had never run much and not at all for 20 years when we started training 15 months ago for our first triathlon, and I'm 55 years old.  I walked my first 5K Thanksgiving Day 2007, and ran my first 5K New Year's Day 2008.  Does that tell you where I started from???  Anyway, I thought somebody else might benefit from what I learned during this journey.

There were 3 factors that went into my success:  a plan, a support network, and a training partner. 

Reno and I picked a plan from Jeff Galloway's book that was a 6-month to-finish plan.  I knew from the start that a run/walk strategy was the only way I could do it, and that's how we trained.  The training plan called for two runs during the week of 30-45 minutes, and one long run on the weekend, ramping up to a 26-miler.  We did not get that far, but we did a 20-miler about 6 weeks before the marathon.  Race day, our plan was to run/walk starting at 4:1 and adapt to conditions and how we felt.  Reno paced us brilliantly, and we not only finished strong, but we passed a ton of people in the last couple of miles that we'd never seen before.  As Reno pointed out, those were people who went out too fast and had to walk the finish.  The plan worked perfectly!!!

My support system consisted of everyone I knew!  I told my family, friends. patients, and staff all about the training and they cheered me on and held me accountable.  If I said I was doing 14 on the weekend, it would be too embarrassing to tell my staff I bagged it! Reno was a big help here, too, as he researched nutrition and other topics and told me what to do.  For the race, I asked everyone I know to think of me Sunday morning and then came up with the idea of assigning names to miles 6-26.  That was HUGE!!!  It turned the last 20 miles into 20 1-mile segments.  During each mile, I would think of the person and imagine him/her thinking of me, praying for me, loving me, feeling proud of me.  From a technical perspective, what it did was keep me in the right side of my brain, because it made me very emotional, while the logical left side of my brain was telling me to STOP.  During the race, I just knew it carried me through each mile.  And that I couldn't possibly quit during this person's mile, because they would feel that they'd let me down!

As for the training partner, Reno was the poo!  When we began the training program, I'd never run farther than 6 miles, and hadn't done that but a handful of times.  So every long run after that was new ground and I felt a lot of trepidation about it.  I work in my office most Saturdays and was playing tennis Sunday afternoons at first, so I could have found very good reasons for not doing the long run.  But Reno would call me and say, "When are we running this weekend?"  Sometimes I got so mad at him while we were running, and he'd just let me yell.  Knowing he would be there was the difference between running and not running on several occasions.

During the training program, we learned things that made race day a success:

1.  No amount of lube worked for me after 5 miles, especially on a hot day.  The anti-chafing secrets were:  a bra with a very tight, wide band around the bottom; compression shorts; and a performance shirt with sleeves.

2.  Never do a long run in shoes that aren't sufficiently broken in.  That varies by person, as Reno can do it 2 days after he gets them, but it's quite a few more miles for me.  Two toenails were the victims of this learning!

3.  Do an intermediate race if possible.  Race day is not equal to training.  We did a half-marathon two months before the marathon and totally bonked.  I crossed the finish line, but just through strength of will.  See #4 for why...

4.  Nutrition and hydration become important at some point in the training!   For me, that was at the two-hour mark.  I'd done sprint triathlons that took 1 3/4 hours and had no problems.  I "couldn't" drink while running.  Let me tell you, I learned how after that half-marathon.  I didn't drink anything or take in any calories, and my legs were so cramped up I couldn't walk by the time we finished.  I panicked because I thought I could never do the marathon if I felt that bad after a half.  But because we figured out the nutrition part, I felt MUCH better at the end of the marathon!  We had Shot Bloks every hour, and Power Bars after the first two hours. 

5.  NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!!!!!  I already knew this, but broke the rule.  On race day, I learned that Powerade gives me the runs, and dumping water down my back made me chafe and get blisters. 

6.  Random things will hurt during training and racing, but they'll probably go away.  This is NOT about injuries, which should not be ignored, but about my body getting used to working that hard.  Reno taught me the difference.

I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the New Manatees.  Beth and Yanti each had a mile of my race, and I know many of you were thinking of me during the race.  Triathletes are the bomb!!!

Susan

Susan,

Great job on completing your first marathon! Your post is really inspiring and proofs that with proper training, planning and execution - something that seems impossible at one point becomes a reality. This is inspiring to read and really amazing to see.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and lessons, they really highlight some of those things that we all know, but also tend to forget/ignore on race day. 

Thanks again and hope that your recovery goes as planned.

BTW: Have you guys started planning your next big race?

Thanks for your kind words, Ronen.  It helped me to put it to paper.  Believe it or not, I had NO soreness 3 days after the marathon.  I have felt a little tired, and had one day of feeling like I was coming down with a cold.  So I've slept more than usual and feel great today.  I even feel like running, which seems very odd to me!

You're right on target with "When's your next race?" because that's such a motivator.  Reno answered for me:  Turtle Crawl in May will be our first Olympic; I'm excited! 

I have some exciting news! I have a professional FIST bike fit scheduled for next Saturday at a tri shop in Indianapolis. Yeah!! We're going to look at EVERYTHING! Oh my!! He wants me to bring my bike, both pairs of my bike shoes, what I wear when I bike, and he is going to have at it! I'm also starting to think about aerobars and a forward stem for my roadie. I would love any advice/feedback about your thoughts on this. Another thing I am beginning to think about is a power meter. Of course, I am not a wealthy triathlete so $$ is always an issue. I don't see a Powertap or SRM in my future any time soon. So, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the power meter also. (iBike would be in my budget). 

 Thanks everyone and a Happy Saturday to you!!

Susan, what an amazing rundown of your training and race, and I am so honored to have been one of your milers. (I did the same thing for my last marathon--put the names of BTers in Sharpie on my arm so I wouldn't forget--great minds think alike! )

I'm a big fan of Jeff Galloway's--have taken two seminars with him--and have used his program to train for all my marathons. I am so glad it worked out well for you and got you to the finish line passing people .

You did a great job of encapsulating the things you learned in the training and race, and I'm sure you will put them to good use for your NEXT marathon ...

Super good luck training for the Oly! We're all excited for you, too!

Susan - what a wonderful recap of the race! (not that your's wasn't Steve ) - I feel so honored to have been in one of your miles, I hope it was a magical one

Sam - great news on the bike fit!  I don't really have any advice or feedback other than, I have no doubt that you will find it to be very beneficial!  I can't wait for you to post about how it went.

In other news Manatee Peggy is quite under the weather, I"m sure she would appreciate well wishes from the Manatees

Thanks Beth...I was just thinking about her today.

Sam...I am jealous about your super bike fit.  The one I had done could have been accomplished by my grand-daughter.  You would think after spending over a grand in a very small shop they would bend over backwards to make you happy.  Luckily I have "Mila" (BT'er extroidinare sp?)  She has a "bike guy" that is going to fix me up at the end of Feb.

Steve

hi Beth and Yanti and all the others who do and do not know me.

I was in Yanti's group for two previous sessions and I can say you have a great mentor and with the dynamic duo together when you and Beth this group is unstoppable.  My Triathlon training has not been going as planned but the reason I am posting here is that I have signed up for the Ride to Conquer Cancer that takes place June 20th and 21 from Vancouver BC Canada to Seattle WA.  I know times are tough financially for everyone, but I have agreed to raise a minimum of 2500 with a goal of 5000.  I am not asking for donations but all would be greatly appreciated but I am more about getting the word out for this event.  I will post he link you can read my story of why I am doing it.  So please check it out and help me get the word out.

Support Shawn Creamer in the Ride to Conquer Cancer

Thanks again and train hard.

Shawn

BETH AND HALF MARY'S WOW WAY TO GO THAT IS AWESOME!!!!

Hi Shawn!

thank you for sharing your story and best wishes!

Hi Manatees!

All I have to say is that 10 miles is longer than 9

but I got 'r done!

Great work on the 10 miles Beth!!!  AWESOME.

Thanks for the recap Susan.  It is always inspirational to read others first hand accounts.

I hope the bike fit will be help you tons.  I am jealous.  I have tried to find someone around here that is FIST certified with no luck.

Joel, I am glad to you are making strides on performance.  Way to go. 

Bethie Love ROCKS!!!!! You will rock that half-mary, too! You've really put it into running and are reaping the dividends. It's inspiring.

Joel, it's wonderful to hear how you're making progress with the tips everyone has posted!

Every time I post something, it's a reminder to myself to do it, too. And when other people chip in with good advice, it always brings something new to mind, too.

Thank you, Joel! Thank you, Manatees!