HILDEKQ'S Magnificently Motivational Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 19)

Hi everyone!  I've been out of the loop for a while ... missed reading about everyone's efforts.  Sounds like everyone has been busy!  Good job on the various tris......  Paris was great, had a blast.  Now it's back to reality .... time to get back to training.  Having the post-vacation blahs.  Maybe getting back into a routine with working out will help.  Didn't do much while I was gone except a lot of walking (and eating).  Gained 5 lbs!  But I guess that isn't too bad considering all the french pastries I ate.  We spent two days in Nice and while we were there, unexpectedly they were having a big Ironman triathlon!  People came from all over the world for this event.  It was fantastic!  Both my husband and I were sooo inspired by the caliber of athletes that were there.  Unbelievable.  Who knows .... maybe someday I'll do one -- haha!!  I do have a goal of doing a half ironman some day, but have never really wanted to do a marathon ... wish I didn't hate running so much.  Anyway, tomorrow it'll be back to the ole grindstone.

Welcome home, Peggy!!  Sounds like you had a fantastic trip in gay Paree!!  How cool you got to see an Ironman, just in case you had put triathlon to the back of your mind while you were on vacation, ha ha!!  And mmmmmm, I am just imagining the French pastries, if they are anything like the German ones, yummy!!  I could so totally get into the whole coffee and cake thing every afternoon, but then I'd probably weigh a ton too!  5 pounds is not too bad considering, I bet it's gone in a couple of weeks!

Welcome back, Peggy! Paris and Nice sound fantastic, and I'm sure totally worth the 5 pounds!!

Here is a swim question for the group (especially all you ACE swimmers).  How do you keep track of your workout?  Today's schedule calls for the following:

WU 300 + 4X75 choice (free or non free)
MS:
4X400 pull with 60" rest
2X100 kick with 20"rest
10X50 on 10" rest
CD: 200

I know what it means, but how do I remember it when I'm in the pool?   Am I just a dummy that I can't keep it in my old noggin'?  I've thought of putting it in a zip lock baggy and taking it in with me, but I've never seen anyone else do that.

Have a fun 4th of July everyone!


Edited by jcarmody 2010-07-02 1:51 PM

If I print mine out off the internet or hand write it I DO take it in a ziploc baggy and leave it on the pool deck at the end of my lane. I see several other swimmers here do the same thing. There is NO WAY I could remember it...I have a hard enough time remembering what lap I'm on! LOL! Otherwise I get the workout out of my book Swim workouts in a Binder that is a spiral bound book with plastic coated pages that I also leave at the end of my lane.

Happy swimming!

I also take a ziplock with my workout. Ironically the folks think I'm some ace swimming . . . until I actually start. It works well and is unobtrusive. I do label the workout by laps in magic marker so I can see at a glance where I'm at. I.e. if I'm doing 200 w/u, 400 pull etc I'll label the 200 (laps 1-4 and pull 5-12).

-k

This is what I use... the yellow plastic thing is a waterproof document protector I got from Academy in the boating/kayaking dept.  (Academy is a sporting goods store).   I cut a piece of plastic out of a cheapie plastic serving tray from WalMart that keeps it stiff so I can prop it up if I want.  This is a swimplan.com workout that I redid on the computer.  I have a big stack of them in different lengths, anywhere from 1600-3200 yards and I just pick out what sounds good for the day.  I'm thinking of maybe bringing along a grease pencil so I could write my times on it, that's what I sometimes have a hard time remembering!!  Especially if I don't come right home or to work to put them in my BT log!!

Hilde, I LOVE that waterproof clipboard thingie! My ziploc baggies and taped-up page protectors seem so trashy by comparison! It just goes to show, no matter how much you spend on this sport, there's always something else to buy!!

I cover my swimplan workout in packing tape to "laminate". Then I use a safety pin and attach it around my water bottle handle so it doesn't float away.  

How extremely professional....No wonder you swim like a dolphin on crack!!!!  I need to get me some of that..hehe...Mine would be easy..."Swim and don't drown!"...same workout everyday! he he

That's an awesome swimplan clipboard, Hilde! I used to scribble my plans in shorthand on the back of my hand before getting in the water (easy to wash off in the shower afterwards!), but I just got a Swim in a Binder book for triathletes (gotta love CA: finding tri stuff in stores has never been easier!), so I'll give that a shot-- it has laminated pages.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope you're enjoying some time with friends and family

I went for a long bike today - 34.25 miles on a moderately hilly route...my longest ride to date. Here are the trials and triumphs of my ride:

          TRUIMPHS

• My longest ride to date
• Maintained a descent (for me) average pace of 16.3 MPH despite riding on tired legs (Friday lower body weights and over 10 miles of running, Saturday a 15 mile bike/1 mile run brick)
• Getting over my fear of going fast downhill and hit a max speed of 36MPH
• Rode through a small 4th of July Parade and managed to NOT ride through any horse crap in doing so - LOL!
• Managed to down all of the water in my 2 water bottles, take my electrolyte tablets, and eat some of my stuffed dates for fuel without crashing or losing control of my bike!
  
  
  TRIALS
• Smoking hot - 92 degrees, sunny and humid
• Major headwind on the way home with major hills = majorly burning quads and hams
• Had to creep along for about a mile on the way out IN a 4th of July Parade, and a mile on the way back in the aftermath of the Parade (people wandering aimlessly, horse crap everywhere, etc.)
• Hit a HUGE pothole that nearly knocked me over!
• Had to pee soooooo bad for the last 3 miles - LOL!

OK, I have to ask a lame question...what is HTFU?  I thought it was hurry the f*** up but then the context I read it in on some threads - that doesn't make sense. Hate to be so lame as to have to ask this but, it's driving me NUTS!

I read it in a thread and they said harden the f@*% up. 

Morning folks, big thanks to Hilde for the clip board idea.  Pretty neat.  I also like the low-tech idea of baggies.  Anything to get me out of trying to memorize the workout.   I knew I could count on my group to give me some help on this one!

Hiya Hilde's group!  I've been lurking in your thread and watching everyone do so great - congrats to all of you!

This video may help explain the HTFU phenomenon around here (not being sure what it meant drove me nuts when I started too!).  It is decidedly NSFW or for having children around because he doesn't abbreviate HTFU when he says it: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

Love the video Shawn!!!   Yep, that's EXACTLY what HTFU means!

And everyone, I want to give a HUGE shout out to Shawn that WON his division at his tri on July 4th!!  He has been working hard and it is paying off... so proud of you Shawn!! 

LOL! Thanks for the video! I get it now!

Had a great swim workout this AM and will consider a run tonight depending on how my legs feel

I've always wondered how to keep my swim instructions dry!  Now I know.  I've written them on my hand before or kept them in a little notebook in my bag at the end of the lane but then I have to get out to check it constantly.  I can't seem to hold much in my short-term memory at one time! - The only way I keep track of my laps is my husband bought me an Ironman watch that you tap and it keeps track of laps.  I love it!  I've been in this group for how long? and didn't know about these forum pages!  How lame can I be!!!  Do you folks have some sort of shortcut that you put on your computer to get here quickly or do you always just have to go through the forum thingy at the top? 

Welcome Peggy!
If you toggle the email notification (at the bottom of the screen) you can get an email notice when there is an update here and then you can just click the link in your email!

Thanks for that tip. I didn't know that either!

I've got a question about long bike rides.  How do you do it????!!!  I'm so stiff after 15 miles that I have to stop and stretch a bit.  I don't know how I'll ever get an oly done if I can't do more than 15 without stopping for a minute stretch break.  Marsha, you did 30+ miles recently.  Did you have to stop and stretch?  Do I just have a weak core?  I ride a road bike so it's not nearly as comfortable as my fat-tire bike.  I could probably ride it forever but of course it's awfully slow. 

Peggy - what part of you are you having to stop and stretch...where are you feeling tight/painful? I can probably help you out with a "diagnosis" by having you answer some basic questions for me...nothing like a PT diagnosis over the computer! LOL! As for me...nope, I didn't stop at all during the 34.25 miles...The only "complaint" I had was my thighs feeling sooo tired at the end due to all the hills.

I took my kids to a local pond today and imagine my surprise when I found that every Wednesday night they have a public OWS practice - buoy's set out to make a loop (just like at a tri) and people there timing you for as many loops as you wanna do! Guess where I'll be every Wednesday (that hubby isn't working) at 5pm !?? AWESOME! Too bad I couldn't do it tonight - had the kids there and no one to watch them and besides, I had on my "cute" (not sport swimming) swim suit and no cap or goggles.

This weekend I have a 35 mile fundraiser bike ride (for cancer research) on Saturday - I'm REALLY hoping the heat dies down some before that!

Marsha, it's my back ... my lower back and some in the mid back.  It feels painful.  I stop and bend and touch my toes a few times and straighten up and sort of bend backwards a bit.  My shoulders ache a bit too. 

Yep - sounds like you need more upper back and core strengthening. When fatigue/stiffness/soreness sets in with holding prolonged positions it is a sign of muscle weakness in that area. I'd start working on some trunk extensions "supermans" where you start "draped over" a big exercise ball with your feet against the wall, and then extend from the hips - squeezing your buttocks and low back and then hold when you're fully extended in the "superman" pose - work up to 30+ second holds. These muscles need to be able to hold you there, not just get you there.

This is the basic motion but you need to go WAY slower than this video shows:
http://www.findyourmove.net/content/view/346/36/