TEAM RFP (Relentless Forward Progress)- CLOSED (Page 19)

Question for the team...

When you are in a deep, deep funk with training and nutrition, what do you do to get yourself out of it? I am REALLY struggling at the moment and need some support. I think it's a combination of the weather being cr*p, bp depression and me just not giving a sh*t at the moment. I still have 14.5 weeks till Shep, so plenty of training time, but I just can't shake the black cloud hovering overhead. I don't want to get my meds tweaked again or else I'll lose whatever edge I did have and I'm already sleeping way to much as it is because of their side effects.

So yeah, any ideas?

Simone,

I have been there before. Not only being in a funk about nutrition and training, but life in general (job, money, etc). I usually have to take a step back and realize how gratefull I am for what I have. I usually have to refocus and take my training/nutrion/job/health one day at a time. Do what I need for that day and not worry about tomorrow or next week or whatever. String a few "just for todays" in a row and I will usually pull me out of a funk pretty quickly.

Just my 2 cents,

Hope you pull out of the funk!

Todd

No apologies neccessary! It is awesome that you took that time off for your family and for yourself!

Sup, KC. How is the ankle? house?


To help with my confidence and endurance, I did a bike/run brick today 21.5 miles/10 k. Average 19.5 on the bike and 8:35 min miles. I put medium effort on the bike and medium/hard effort on the run. This really helped by confidence! Actually, it was my fastest recorded 10k I have never ran a 10k race, but have done a few in training. Swim tomorrow, rest on Saturday, then my first 10k race on Sunday

Looking forward!

Todd....is tired

Todd is right - day by day. Maybe try cutting your workouts down jut to get some good quality workouts in. Odds are you will most likely do the complete workout once you are actually out there.

Is it more just the fact of getting out there to do the workout or are you dragging during the workout also? If it is the latter you may be just burned out from doing too much. Maybe take 2-3 days off then schedule a workout you know you will nail and then start fresh. Might take a few of these to get going again but it will come around again. Throw in some of those Ironman Hawaii videos to get you going. That sometimes also does the trick for me also.

Nice work and good luck at the 10K this weekend. How did you like the Naperville Tri? You were right in my neck of the woods - I live in Aurora but have never done that race.

At the moment it is the motivation of getting out there and getting started. I haven't really done anything since my half marathon, I was sick for a bit after it, but that has now turned into a funk, as I say the weather hasn't helped either. I've also put on a lot of weight again which has made running difficult.

I'm thinking maybe just taking the mountain bike out while its wet and going off road, then maybe just doing walk/runs to cover my training times till I dial in my nutrition, lose some kilos and get the running back on track. Then its only my swims which I can do distance wise no problem, its just motivation to get to the pool in the cold weather. I know once I get a couple of weeks of training under my belt again I'll be okay but its just shaking this black cloud that is waying me down and causing me to doubt my ability to get myself back on track.

Thanks Todd, yeah I agree with all you've said, when the depression hits I tend to focus way too much on how far I have to go which overwhelms me rather than bringing it back to just day by day and one workout at a time. I guess we are all good at seeing where others need help, but it is hard to apply it to ourselves at times. Anyway thanks again for reminding me. I'm hoping this weekend to get a long mountain bike ride in and a long run/walk, hopefully that will trigger the flame within again.

By the way, congrats on your brick, that is awesome that you can do a 10K PR on a brick session! Good luck with your 10K this weekend also!

Thanks!

I did really well at Naperville! Finally, I had good swim. 14/133 AG, and 111/1500+

Race Report: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

Simone - I noticed you don't have any races lined up for a long time -why don't you register for a small 5K or something just to get back in the swing of things. I always find my motivation increases 10 fold after I have done or even attended a race. By surrounding yourself with fit and competitive people it might give you that kick in the butt you need. Plus it will remind you of why you are doing this training. Remember we do this because we ENJOY it not because we have to or are forced to. Find that one thing that reminds you that this is fun and use it when you have that black cloud over you.

Plus you are gonna need this "one thing" to get you through when you are at mile 18 of the run at your Ironman next year!! Might as well start working on it now.

Oddly enough I'm not worried about race day once I get there, I know it will be very tough, but I also know that once I start I wont stop until I cross that finish line or they carry me off the course almost dead from trying. For me the hardest part is trying to keep my training and nutrition on track and not have it derailled by my bp or my own stupidity (and I think it has been a bit of both this time). I have my club tris starting in September, they have one a month, and then I have a half marathon in Oct and another 15k local race two weeks before Shep 70.3. Problem with where I live is that they don't have a lot of races, usually its one or two once a year, you need to go to the city which is a two and a half hour drive (where I did my half) and it taxes the finances, especially when I'm trying to save up for a TT bike.

I think what you said about finding that one thing that reminds you that it is fun and why you want it is the key. I started reading 17 hours to glory last night and that helped get me back to grass roots and how I felt when I first decided I wanted to become an Ironman. It started to rekindle the passion and that is what I have been lacking the past few weeks. I managed a good ride today on the mtb, it was nice and sunny, not as long as I'd have hoped but I got out there and did it and at the moment I am thankful for small victories.

Lots of small victories = ONE BIG VICTORY

Glad to see you get out there on the MTB - like I said don't worry about distances right now - just get your groove back by getting out there!

Thanks for the support Tim, I really appreciate it. I managed a 30 min run today, nothing special, but I got it done and felt better afterwards. Like you say those little victories are what's going to add up to me finishing my races.

I don't believe it. Five minutes into my treadmill run this morning and I tear my calf muscle. Just when I was starting to get my mojo back too and now I feel like cr*p again. Maybe this is the Tri God's way of telling me I need to work more on my bike and swim. Anyway I wont be running for a couple of weeks at least, so that will give me a chance to get some decent rides in, that is if this rain and gale force winds ever stop. Jeez I really HATE winter!!!

Simone,

I am sorry to hear that Did you have a doctor look at it? I stuggled for 6 months with a calf injury. I was stubborn and thought I could let it heal my self. Reinjured it at least a dozen times in that time andfinally went to the doctor to get it checked out. I had to nurse it back to health for about 6 weeks.

I hope the best!

Todd

I rocked my 10k! 48:23!! I was very happy. This was my first 10 k race. It definitely built my confidence for my first Olympic in 2 weeks What was interesting..I felt stronger during the last three miles than the first three.

I think I ran a good race. Mostly low zone 4 with finishing in high 4. Probably will run the Olympic high zone 3 to start and finish high 4 to end. Any thoughts?

Thanks Todd

I am getting my doctor to take a look next week when I see him. It's pretty sore to walk on today, but hopefully will be okay to ride on tomorrow.

Congrats on the 10K, that is an awesome time! I often find I am faster in the second half of the run. I always start a bit reserved cause I'm worried about blowing up too early, but then once I find my stride I find it easier to pour on the pace towards the end. Good luck with the Olympic, sounds like you will smoke it!

Good Morning Team.

Todd - the house is coming along and the ankle is feeling fairly decent - thanks for asking. Nice job on the 10 km - great time - you kicked a$$.

Simone - one day, one step at a time - tend to the injury and you will be back in no time.

OK Team

Bib # 2416 I leave tomorrow at 6 am. You can follow me on

http://www.myathletelive.com/

Wish me luck

KC

Good Luck KC!!! I will be tracking you!

Whom else is racing this weekend?


Todd

Fast legs and strong heart KC! You can do this!

Nice work Todd! Nothing better than negative splits. Did you feel like you had some left in the tank or did you just feel stronger on the last three?

As far as racing and HR zone - personally I don't use heart rate on sprint and Olympic races. I tend to use it for training but then just go by RPE and just gut it out for the race. You should have a pretty good idea from training how hard you can push. Even for my last 70.3 I skippe dthe heart rate and just went of feel and I think it helped me. Previously on 70.3 I was so focused on my heart rate and how it wasn't in high zone 2 that it consumed me. For a full Ironman I think you need it for racing since it is critical to stay in the high aerobic zone or risk burning and crashing over such a long day. But Like I said that is just my own opinion.

How is the leg feeling? Did you get into the doc?

So I got a 16 miler in last weekend. I intentionally ran in the heat to get acclimated since that is always my weakness for the Chicago Marathon. I usually run on the shaded path or early in the AM and there is always a good chance that the weather could be somewhat warm in early October...anyways it was 82 with a real feel of about 86 (felt like 110 in the sun haha) and I was hurting the last mile. My plan called for a 9:58/mile pace and I did it in 9:46 so i might have gone a little harder.

Had a great run yesterday morning as I replaced my 8 mile hill workout with a Zone 2 "whatever it is pace" - I ended up holding a 9:22 pace and stayed in Z2 95% of the time. My goal pace for the marathon is 9:00 so I was pretty happy.

The other thing I am realizing is that I am pushing my plan too hard. I have decided to trust in it and stick with the paces it tells me. the goal is sub 4:00 and I need to keep that in check in my head. If I get to mile 20 and feel good then I can try to pick up the pace but I have to stick with the plan! Which for me is harder than it sounds haha.

On a final note - I am feeling pretty beat up with all this running and have realized again why I do triathlon. Just hoping to keep it all together for another 6 weeks and get to the start line healthy. I think I pulled an abdominal muscle during the nasty swim at Racine because I have had some pain ever since. I also was diagnosed with symptoms of Crohn's disease during my IM training and I had a mini flare up immediately after my 16 mile run which has me concerned that it could be either the running or possibly the Hammer Gels. This weekend is just water to see what happens.

Tim, sounds like your training is going well. I agree, you should stick to your plan. I know it is easier for us all to say and harder for anyone of us to follow. You got this so no need to push till like you say mile 20.

Okay, you all probably saw that they just announced the new Ironman location. It is in Chattanooga, TN which is about a 4 hour drive for me. Question that I have been asking myself is will I sign up? I want to do this race especially the first one but I am feeling burnt out and was hoping to take a year off, (which I know I will regret). If I do want to go ahead and sign up I am going to have to rely on the hubby to sign me up as I will be flying when registration open up and from the social media it sounds like it will sell out fast.

On another note.......I am a member of another mentor group and that group has been slowly dying. There are two members of the group that would really like to be part of an active group. Would you mind if I bring them over? One is a new triathlete and the other one has been doing some Oly and a HIM. Wanted to make sure it was okay before I see if they want to join us.

Tim,

Sounds like training is going well!

Are you pushing to hard in terms of heart rate? distance? or Pace? If you are keeping in the correct HR zones, but your paces are faster...I would say there is nothing wrong with that. But, if you are pushing the distance and pace and your HR is high, then you may want to consider backing down. Or, if you are experiencing fatigue and can not recover sufficiently prior to the next run, then may be hold back...just my 2cp.


The Chicago Marathon can have tricky weather! My GF has ran it 3 or 4 times. She ran it one year and it was 85 at the finish! Last year, it was perfect for runners ~ mid to high 50s at start.

I dont know much about Crohns disease Sorry to hear that.

Todd