Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 19)

WHATO - If you do get the EFS Liquid Shot (I love them) be certain that you close the top properly prior to putting it into you tri jersey pocket.  I didn't get one closed...chocolate which is no longer available... at T1 and about 1/3 thru the bike leg it was running down the back of my short!!!  REALLY, it was the chocolate liquid shots...REALLY!!!  Still not certain that I convinced my wife.

Roger



Edited by bhc 2011-01-03 7:01 PM

Yeah, is everybody in Wisconsing breathing a big sigh of relief? I bet you all saw your lives about to flash in front of you, with the possibility of the Pack missing the playoffs mere hours after the Badgers lost the Rose. WHEW!!!!!!

I am very happy for Aaron Rogers. He is a class guy, and he was the first to be blindsided by Favre a few years ago when the big donkey decided he wasn't going to retire after all. He did the same thing to Rosenfels and Jackson in Minny, and, my god, it must kill Vikings fans six times over to have the Packers do well after the year they just had with Favre at the helm.

What goes around comes around, eh?

ROGER -

You heard about Poop Man at IMFL, didn't you? If not, ask me and I will maybe try to explain it here without upsetting too many people!

Yep...say the pics.  BUT mine was Liquid Shots...I swear!!!  My wife asked what happened and i told her.  She just rolled her eyes and said "Yea, sure"

ROGER again -

I believe you! Honest, I do!

ROGER once more -

I saw your post a couple apges back about training distances leading up to a half-iron, and I have a LOT to say about that! But, Lynn is about to bump me from the computer, so it will be aday or two before I get back to that for you; hopefully tomorrow, however.

She is still dithering upstairs, so I will keep going until she descends and chases me off!

Oops. Never mind -- she is on her way! Later!

I was thinking it too, glad someone else said it!  Maybe that should be our Group Mascot?  Or maybe just the Official Celebratory Drink?!

Rodger that sound like a classic story. ROFL - I feel your pain. 

Interesting information do you know or would your support tempting to use the OptygenHP?  My concerns are: 1) I am sceptical that it does what it suggests; 2) is it actually good for the body? I would only try it since I have such a sound base. Interested in your opinion.

Thanks Whato. 
 

No, Vineman 70.3 will be my first 1/2 IM. I've got a lot of work to do. My schedule is busy but some of the non-tri stuff is just going to be used for training and to have fun with friends. There are so many fun things to do! I'll be back up in Healdsburg for the Vineman full. My nephew is racing as his first IM. We'll have to try to meet up. How exciting for you! This will be your second IM, right? How do the courses match up? I have a super secret goal of doing an IM in 2012  
Johanne 

So...I haven't been on here partly because I went back to work today (UGH) and secondly because I got tickets to the Packer game at the last minute!  SO I WAS THERE!!!

I was literally on my way out the door to do a workout with a friend, when I essentially "got the call."  So about 45 minutes later, my husband and I were out the door!  I cannot tell you how amazing this day was, but I will try!

1. This was my first Packer game.  I grew up watching and loving the team and everything about the frozen tundra, but never got the opportunity to go.  
 
2. I grew up hating the Bears as much as I loved the Packers, so to be able to go to a Packers/Bears game, I was amazed!  

3. The Packers won!!!!  Against the Bears!!! And the result means the Packers go to the Playoffs!

4. If this couldn't get ANY better....Our seats were on the 15 yard line...in the first row!  

5. At the end, Donald Driver and Aaron Rodgers and Jennings ran around giving high fives to the crowd and DONALD DRIVER GAVE ME A HIGH FIVE!!!  

This was an amazing experience and I am still not down from the high.  I did manage to make it through work today and go to spin tonight, but I keep pinching myself to see if it was real.  To make it even more amazing, I won in the pool at work!  Sorry for all of the !!!, but I can't stop!  Okay, I will leave you now, but I just wanted to share my exciting story! 

THAT IS TOTALLY AMAZING !!!!!!!
 

Laura - I am soooo jealous!! I can only imagine how awesome it was to w atch the Pack beat the Bears at the Frozen Tundra! That is a story you will be telling for a looonnggg time!

Bob - I like the "Official Celebration Drink" for our group....may have to search one out after my first race!

No workout for me tonight since my daughter had swim lessons. If you will indulge me....I have to share this with everyone!
So my daugher is 4 years old and has always been skittish around water so we signed her up for swim lessons back in Nov where I was taking some "Tune-Up" classes. Well she did pretty well in that 8 wk class but still didn't like going completely underwater. Well, we signed her up again and with the first class tonight I was interested how my tutoring had helped her confidence. You see every "bath night" we work on putting her face in the water. Over the last couple of weeks she has done really well with this skill, but I wasn't sure if it would translate to her swim class. On the way to the pool tonight I asked her if she was going to blow bubbles and get her face under the water. Her response...."No Daddy...I can't see the bottom". Ok...no big deal...baby steps right.

Well...I'm not sure what got into her, but every single the time the instructor literally looked at her....she threw her face under water and came up with the biggest smile on her face! Seriously within a 30 minute swim lesson...she probably dunked herself at least 15 times. My wife and I couldn't stop laughing. At one point the instructor looked at us with that..."What the heck have you been doing to this kid and why does she keep plunging her face in the water?" This daddy is proud!!!

Have a great evening all....looking forward to my 1st workout of the new plan tommorrow!

Hey Steve - can you post the list of everyone on the Mojo Team? I can't find the list and quite honestly think others had joined after it was posted anyhow. I'm not good with remembering names and lots of folks have 'handle' names with no real names. Hey...anyone on FB? I'm on there lots too. 

And I read somewhere a page back about weight gain...I'm RIGHT there with ya pal! UGH! I'm scared to put on my bathing suit! LOL It's like 5 more lbs packed on my hinder and thighs since Saturday.

But... back to training and normalcy should help the lbs drop off at least by Spring

Edited by BbMoozer 2011-01-03 9:34 PM

Glad to see that I've fall'n in with such good crowd!!  I've been a Packers fan since I was a kid.  Still my favorite team!!!  If there were a bunch of Cowboy fans in the group, I would jump ship.  Jury is still out on Steve and his Pat's.  Since they will loose early in the playoffs, I guess I can handle it.

Edited by bhc 2011-01-03 9:36 PM

Great idea. This group has been so active, I'm having a hard time keeping people straight. I'm on Facebook. Search for Johanne Volante Roberts.

I know I've gained a few pounds over the holidays and I've decided not to get on the scale yet. I'll just get back into my workout routine and start eating healthy again for a few weeks then I'll see what that nasty scale says

Johanne, I'm not sure how the courses compare.  I think the swim may be about the same, from what I've read the Russian River current doesn't sound like it's too bad.  IMAZ bike course is not bad at all, although the wind that day sure didn't help.  I've heard about "Chalk Hill"  have you ridden it?  It's fairly hilly where I live.  I think Vineman's run is supposed to be harder than IMAZ and the heat may be a factor.  I would highly recommend IMAZ for a first it was a great experience.  The plan this year is to do Tour de Tucson the day before IMAZ, then volunteer and register for 2012.  It's been awhile since I did Tour de Tucson but if anyone is looking for a really great century (or less) ride in November it's a good one.
Melinda (sent you a friend request) 

oops looks like I can't do that 

Edited by grannygear 2011-01-03 10:27 PM

Hi gang .. I'm not even  going to try to keep up with all of you but will just post some random comments on some of what I've read in the last 24 pages of posts ( I do try to to read all the posts but always seem to be a day or two behind).  So in no particular order:

Concerning trainers - I have a trainer but want to get a new one and think I'll go talk to my LBS in the next week or two about it.  The one I have has a few levels of resistence but I have to manually change them.  And on level one my low gears are too easy but on level two they are two hard.  So I want to get one that has less difference in the resistance levels  and the ability to change the resistence while I'm on the bike.  I bought the trainer when I bought the bike and opted for this cheap one.  So if you are looking at trainers make sure you get one that has the remote resistance changing option.

Concerning long runs for HIM training - I did HIM in 2007 and 2008 and my training for both was minimal.  In 2007 I ran  13.1 miles twice in May then my longest run between that and the Sept HIM was 11 miles.  My HIM run was a sufferfest of cramps.  In 2008 my longest run was 12 miles before the HIM... the bike was super hilly and fried my quads so this run was also pretty pathetic and I did a lot of walking.  SO  I suggest a few 13 - 15 mile long runs would be good prep for the HIM along with lots of bike fitness to ensure you start the run in good shape.

Weight gain - last year I gained over 10 lbs in the 2 weeks surrounding christmas and took 3 months to get it off.  I've been careful this year and have not gained any.   I do want to drop 15 - 20 lbs before the end of May though so will be doing a weigh in each Monday... if others are interested we could do a weekly weighin post.

Steve.. I like the idea of the gel flask... I've always found that half a gel every 30 minutes works better for me as a whole one is a bit too much at one time.  A flask would be so much easier than trying to save a half gel or wasting it each time.

Steve again.. please don't post the poop runner pictures.. seeing them once was enough !!

About spin classes\instructor - I've heard so much about crazy jumps and things that I've been too scared to try a spin class.  Maybe I'll check out the ones at my gym to see what they are like though.

About clip-on aerobars for the road bike - by far this is the best investment I've made and has allowed to ride my bike comfortably for much longer that before I got them.  I love, love my aerobars and had no problem with handling my bike with them.  I did need to initially move them a tiny bit wider (like 1 cm total adjustment) as I had some shoulder discomfort when they were first set up but now can ride for hours and do probably 90% of my outdoor riding in aero position.  (I ride on country roads with wide paved shoulders and very little traffic, very few stops)

Thats enough rambling for now.

I ran outside on new years day.  The weather was lovely.  Today went to the gym... ran on the treadmill first, started feeling really tight in the inside quads so cut the run short.  Did a few minutes on the weight machines.   I need to go with a specific weight training plan instead of winging it like I did today.   Then hit the pool for a short swim.  
I need to call the orthotics place to make an appointment for my final fitting next week.  It's time to start training for my May half marathon.

Melinda,
I haven't ridden the course yet but I'm planning on doing part of the bike and run route as part of my training. My niece did Vineman 70.3 last year and she compared it to some hills around San Jose so I have an idea of what to train for. The heat will be another factor for me. I'm going to work on 'heat' running when the weather warms up.

We might be doing IMAZ the same year! I'm going to volunteer this year while my niece is racing and hope to sign up for 2012. I want to see how this year goes first. That's part of my reasoning for doing 2 races in Tempe this year. I like to know what I'm getting into. This way, at least I'll know what the course will be like.
Johanne 

Cathy,

Don't be afraid to take a spinning class.  It can be a bit intimidating walking into the class for the first time but most of the people in class enjoy getting new people in the class.  Misery loves company. 

The workout is a great for burning calories and will make you sweat.  No one knows how hard or how easy you are working.  You are in control of the resistance on the bike.  If I get an instructor that wants to do crazy jumps, I just sit there and spin.  You don't have to do everything the instructor does.  I would recommend getting a bike in the back for the first time and watch others during class.  Arrive early and have the instructor help fit your bike up.  I have met a lot of friends in spinning class and when you become a regular, they hold you accountable to be there on certain days.  So even when you sometimes don't want to go, you know your friends will be there and will give you a hard time if you don't go.  It really is a great class if you can't get outside. 

Don't be intimidated.  This kind of training could really help out your winter training.  What do you have to lose?   I would like to challenge you to go to a spinning class this month to find out for yourself. 

Good Luck

Warning:  This post has nothing to do with Triathlons. 

Wow, lots of Packer fans.  They are the "Dark Side"

Go Bears!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so far removed from any sort of NFL action that I no longer care.... What hurts even more is the face that I can NEVER watch a good hockey game here.  It's impossible to get the NHL on TV here, most streaming sites don't stream to Taiwan, and I am far too lazy to search search search until I find one that does...  So, with ESPN here I can watch... pool... bowling... MLB ... and occasionally something else.

But hey, 2 daughters now.... who has time for TV anyway!

Off to the wife's hospital, home with Erinn (my 6 year old), Lizzie's hospital, home again, wife's hospital again... weeeeee!   Maybe I can get a run in tonight.  Last nights was an EPIC fail... check the logs for the brief summary!

Hope your wife and daughter are doing well.

ROGER -

I am working hard at a good, comprehensive answer to your question about HIM training, but what I will say for now is that pacing and nutrition are practically everything -- without a really good grasp of both, it can make for a longer day than desired. Fortunately for you, my most recent HIM, on August 28, had a few pitfalls and pratfalls, and those are fresh enough to make for a sound account.

While it was far from a disaster (5:18, but with a slightly short swim), I paid the fiddler for three things:
(1) Pacing the bike poorly. It was wicked good for 50 miles, then a slump for the last 6, still ending up with about 20.3mph average, but feeling the effects.
(2) Not eating well on the bike, and also on the run for that matter. Simply stated, I did not have a rock-solid nutrition plan.
(3) Cavalier training going in. The run distances were there, but not in good concert with bike distance. Maybe another way to say this is that I didn't do enough long bricks.

Those three ralate to questions tou have asked, but I'll also add a fourth -- not studying the run course carefully enough when I drove it the day before. I drove it excatly, but that wasn't the problem; what I missed were all of the ups and downs, so that when they came in the heat of Sunday, and after the ride I had, I was struggling from about mile 4 on. I finished the run in something like 1:56 (nudging 1:57.......), but I was sure I had better than that in me. Oops!

For me on that day, the big culprit was #2, followed closely by #3, and then #1. I say that because if #2 and #3 had been executed better, i could've better survived the bike pace I managed. But even had I dropped that pace by a mile or two an hour, I don't think that would've saved me from the nutrition and training shortcomings. At least not entirely. Yeah, my nutrition was really lousy.

For most people doing a first (or maybe second through eleventh or so, too!) half-iron, however, bike pacing is critical. Over the years I have seen lots of people tear the bike course apart.....and then walk about 90% of the run. In my case I can get by making pacing mistakes with an oly, and come to think of it I can get by with nutrition mistakes as well. But HIM is a much crueler mistress, mostly because the time out on the course is sooooo long. The difference between 2:30 for an oly for more and 5:20 or so for an HIM is not even hardly just slightly more than twice as long. I don't say that to deter you or anyone else, but just that for me, well, at some point the fatigue load starts exerting a proportionally greater effect.

I guess that is my way of saying that if the pacing and nutrition mistakes are too radical, the price to be paid can be quite unpleasant and last for a longer time. Double jeopardy!


Is that a good start to this discussion? I will add to it my nutritional "plan" for Half Vermont (the August HIM), plus my training leading up to, and to that I will include my training for half-irons that I have trained for better than Half Vermont. Stay tuned for that, and also let me know if I'm straying from what you want to know!







Edited by stevebradley 2011-01-04 8:29 AM

ROGER -

I just went back and changed some of the numbers from that HIM to better reflect reality!

Instead of a bike average of 21, it was really 20.3. Instead of a run time of 1:53, it was really 1:56 (and pushing 1:57! ). I guess the past few months have found me unconsciously gilding the lily!