Team KiterChick - CLOSED (Page 2)

Sarah, thank you for welcoming to the group. I'll let you know about the body composition test as soon as I get it done. 

Yes, I do have a solid swim background, actually, one of the races I did this year was a 2.5k open water swim, in which I also felt very comfortable. 

The wind in my sprint was especially bad because I was riding a road bike, I have a tri bike now, so hopefully I'll be able to deal with it better. I am riding in a paved trail mostly (7 mile loop) and as you say, I am lucky to be able to do that on a consistent basis.

I looked at the Gator OLY, but I really want to focus on St. Anthony's for the first half of 2012, so I decided to pass. Maybe I'll do both on 2013. I have not really done any swimming in lakes around here, my OWS have been on the Gulf so far, so no gators for me

Frances, welcome, there's definitely still room! We currently have both a paramedic and a fellow Aussie in the group, so you'll certainly fit in. Some of us like to do tris as well...

From everything I've gathered, you guys have a huge interest in triathlons over there. Perhaps I should consider doing a destination race in the future. Too bad you have to get shoulder surgery and end your season short, but hopefully you'll come back from that stronger than before. I certainly admire your dedication to remaining involved in the community, despite being temporarily sidelined. It sounds like you have a lot of great goals to aim for in 2012.

Congrats on the 15 kg weight loss! It's difficult keeping your appetite in check while training. I've gained weight training for marathons in the past for this exact reason! The only time I've actually lost weight from exercise alone was this past season when I was burning at least 4000 calories/week for several weeks on end. Unfortunately, my best advice is that sometimes, you just have to be hungry sometimes. Keep a mental tally of calories in vs. calories out. I know it's not actually that simple, but I suggest it more as a method of not falling into the trap of thinking "I just ran 5K, of course I deserve that muffin". Alternately, your recovery time from surgery may be a good time to focus on those last 4 kg. I find exercise is better for maintaining weight loss, so if you can focus on the nutrition aspect while recovering, you should be able to maintain any loss once you get back into a regular exercise schedule.

NAME: Firemedic001918 / Shane

STORY: Hopefully there's still some room here.  I'm looking to get into doing some triathlons this year, with the end goal being to complete a full length ironman.  This will be a transition from me as I go from being undersized offensive lineman in a semi-pro football league to an oversized triathlete.  The training is completely different from what I'm used to, but I'm committed to completing my goals.  I'm a 32 year old (33 in 5 days) career firefighter/paramedic as well as working part time in a motorcycle parts department.  When I'm not working or training, I can be found skydiving, scuba diving or on my motorcycle.

FAMILY STATUS: Single

CURRENT TRAINING: I got into cycling in 2011 and logged nearly 800 miles in about 3 months on the bicycle.  I discovered cycling after agreeing to a sprint tri series for 2012 and having a knee injury that left running a challenge for me.  For the winter I'm spending time on the bicycle trainer (riding both my road bike and my tri bike) as well as following a slightly reduced strength program from what I was doing for football training.  As soon as the weather breaks it will become easier to link the swimming, cycling and running together.  Running has always been a challenge for me due to some knee injuries I've had from growing up racing motorcycles and the biggest obstacle is shattering my talus and breaking my fibula ten years ago requiring 4.5 hours of surgery.  Usually after running it can get pretty sore.  I think I've narrowed down a lot of the pain to a lack of range of motion and flexibility so I want to work specifically on my ankle flexibility this winter and next spring.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: I didn't do any triathlons in 2011, but I did complete two Tough Mudder events (Mount Snow & New Jersey) as well as completing two Goruck Challenges (www.goruckchallenge.com).  Those were 15-25 mile runs with a 35 pound ruck while completing various team building exercises.  It's a great way to see new cities if you enjoy a team concept and really being taken out of your comfort zone.

2012 RACES: I'm planning on doing the Rev3 Olympic Tri at Quassy in Connecticut in June (which ironically will be my first tri) as well as the full Lake Terramugus Sprint Tri Series in Marlborough, CT and the Rev3 HIM at Old Orchard Beach in Maine in August.  I'm also currently signed up to do three more of the Goruck Challenges in Philly, NYC and Munich (Germany).  

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD STUDENT: I'm completely dedicated to reaching my goals and I don't know how to quit or fall short.  Through my training for work, coming short on the goal is never an acceptable result.  When I decided I wanted to make the jump from just a paramedic to firefighter, I had let myself go and was weighing 240-245 pounds (and not a solid 240-245).  I started training and dropped a bunch of weight down to about 212-215 pounds and passed the agility test on my first attempt.  This summer when I started cycling a lot I was down to 205 or so.  I've let myself go the past couple of months with winter a decline in activity and I'm back to 215 but I'd expect myself to drop below 200 with my event calendar and training.  I currently train about 8-10 hours per week and that will increase when it's not just indoor and gym training.  My ultimate goal would be the Lake Placid Ironman in 2013.  I know that will take a lot of commitment, but I'm totally committed.

Thanks and hope there's room!

Shane

Ok, so we are supposed to ask questions right?

Well this week has been CRAZY. The week before christmas is always a bit mad, this year it is on steroids. But the thing is (for the first time in a long time) I am feeling bad about missing workouts! Crazy right.

So what do you guys do? Suck it up and go out for a run late at night, or just accept that this week is a bit of a write off, and come back better next week (oh blessed holidays).

Since I have a bike trainer missing my bike time "should" never be an issue. Now I should because like you mentioned the holidays can be nothing but running around like a chicken with its head cut off. So while I try to ge my full workouts in and will settle for part of a work out I also realize that some times its just no possible. So I just chalk it up to being very busy and go at it again the next day.

Hope this is what you were looking for.

Thanks Hubbie (still coming to terms with you being a gal with that name!),

Yes thank you for your help. Seriously, with all you are dealing with, and still finding time to train AND help others, you rock my world. Very inspirational.

Shane, you're definitely welcome into the group, and I see you've already jumped in to help answer others' questions, which is great. I'd like for this to feel like a team, and not like me telling you guys what to do, although I'm happy to do so when needed!

I had a friend who did the Tough Mudder at Mt. Snow. He said the freezing water was the worst. Personally, I'm not interested in any race that requires you to run through a field of live wires. I'll stick to torturing myself with exercise!

While it's not necessary, is there any way you could squeeze a sprint tri in before your Olympic? Ultimately, it's not really a big deal, but it would be nice for you to have done a shorter race that enabled you to get more accustomed to transition areas, and what it's going to feel like switching between the disciplines in general. I found that wasn't something that you could really train for. I'm sure you'll have a great time either way though!

Yes, I was on a road bike too when I had to deal with major wind issues in Austin. I had clipon aero bars and race wheels, which probably helped some, but I also got a tri bike for this season, so here's hoping we both beat the wind!

No need for you to pile on the races this early, so if you were shooting for St. Anthony's, it's a good idea for you to focus on that. Doing a lot of races can be fun, but it can really start to mess with consistent training.

OWS in the Gulf sounds equally terrifying to me - you're swapping gators for sharks! I'll take Walden Pond, where the only wildlife I've seen so far has been some small fish...

I'll put in my general two cents on the missing workout issue. From my personal experience, there will always be events that get in the way. Generally, it only results in a single missed workout here and there, which I haven't found to be at all detrimental (that being said, if you have to miss a workout, try to skip the easy short run/ride, and not the interval training/longer base building ones). Missing larger periods of time, or continuing to train, but at a reduced volume, will, however, add up over time. I'm dealing with this now, as I'd decided to enjoy the off season for the past two months, but here, we're talking two months, not one week.

If you'd like to geek out over this topic, here's a somewhat recent blog from Joe Friel, author of the Triathlete's Training Bible: http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2011/04/never-miss-a-workout.html.Note that the table is for changes after three weeks of inactivity.

Ultimately, I'd say that everyone should enjoy the holiday, and as others have said, try to fit in a workout if possible, but don't feel insanely guilty if you have to miss some. Just be ready to bounce back and put in a consistent effort once the holidays are over.

Thanks all for your advice, much appreciated (love the "geek out" comment too). So for a super newby like me, what should I be looking at for an indoor trainer thingy (I assume you mean the thing that you attach your bike to and ride on the spot). Do I need to go for the fluid ones (very expencive) or a magnetic one (much cheaper, but from what I have read much noisier).

Again thank you all

I have a kurt kinetic fluid trainer that I love.  It doesn't leak.  It's not loud and it's super easy to set up and use.  The resistance is pretty accurate to the road, but I still feel like I get a better workout out of actually riding the bike.  It's good to keep your legs in shape over the winter though.  Once it's nice and the roads are clear, I won't use it again until next winter.  I'd spend the money and get a quality piece of equipment.  And also know that you'll burn through a rear tire over the winter if you spin on it often.

I have the same trainer as Shane, and also really love it. Well, as much as you can "love" a trainer...

That's rough that things cost so much more over there. One suggestion is to check out local shops around you that may have a floor model that they will sell to you for a discount. A friend of mine has the same trainer, and I think he got it for 25% off by doing this. Not sure if Craigslist is big over there too, or perhaps you have another similar site. Regardless, you could try to buy one someone is selling. They're pretty sturdy, so it should ideally be in good shape used.

I have a magnetic trainer, Mag Stand that I got used off of Craigs List for $80. If you can't afford a new one (and most of didn't on our first one) than Craigs List, E-Bay or other such sites can be useful resources for you.

As far as the noise, all I've ever had is my magnetic so I'm really not bothered by the noise simply because I've never experienced a fluid trainer. Best of luck to you. Remember we were all new at some time and most of us still have questions after several years.

Has anyone tried/or is on the 'Paleo Diet'?

I struggle with healthy eating in general and more so with finding the right balance that my body needs for endurance sports. Joe Friels has listed on his site 'The Paleo Diet for Athletes' which sounds like it would be very useful. I'm a bit concerned about cutting dairy out of my diet though, calcium being good for the bones and all. So i'm curious if any of you have tried it or have thoughts on it?

Cheers

So in the first week of October I got a bad upper resp. infection which of course was just before my first marathon. I got over that with a few days to spare, and wouldn't ya know a few days after the marathon I got sick again with the same thing.

Now I understand that winter brings URI's all the time but I've been fighting this sick/not sick thing since October. I mean I'm sick for a week or so, feel ok for three or four days then I'm sick again. Is this happening to anyone else or am I just a wimp?

Well, I'd hardly say you're a "wimp"! Could it perhaps be a negative side effect of your job? You must come in contact with a lot of different people. Perhaps this year there is just a bit more going around, and you're exposing yourself to a lot of it. A friend of mine is a family medicine doctor, and she's been getting sick a lot this year too, more than in previous years. Of course I'd recommend getting things checked out if it gets really difficult to deal with, if you haven't already done so.

I have not tried this diet myself. Honestly, I haven't really tried any of the structured diets. I'm a big proponent of the best diet being the one that works for you (that certainly can be the Paleo diet), and still leaves you with enough energy to train. For me, I just try to eat a lot of protein, high fiber foods (beans and whole grains) and fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, I'm not always the healthiest eater (three cookies yesterday), but I try to make those incidences the exception, rather than the rule.

The January 2012 issue of Triathlete magazine actually had an article entitled "Race Shape Ready?" that addressed the fact that while one diet may work for one person, a second athlete may have equal, or better success with another one. Basically cementing the "there's no one 'right' diet" idea. They focus on the fact that the specific diet itself isn't the most important factor, but the commitment.

I'll stop rambling, but the take home point is, if you think you'd be able to stick to a modified Paleo diet - go for it, but if it doesn't work for you, find another one that does and you should see results.

Hi everyone. Today I went for a ride (1 hour with three 10 min steady state intervals). 

I decided to focus on keeping my cadence up. Typically I am around 85-86 on average. In this session I made a conscious effort to stay at or above 90 and I was amazed at the results. I used a lower gear for each interval compared to what I usually use and the results were faster speed, and less perceived effort. The Heart rate was in the ballpark: 3 bpm higher on average for the whole ride when compared to the last time I did this exact same workout 4 days ago. The speed was a 0.8 mph faster! The conditions for the two sessions were very similar in terms of wind, temperature, time of day, etc.

So basically, it seems that I had been using my gears wrong up to this point. I may even try to see if a cadence around 95 improves the efficiency even more. I know that different people have different sweet-spots in terms of cadence, so I'll have to figure out which one is mine. What do you guys think? Is this the correct approach?

Good discussion topic, Sebastian! Cadence is very important, especially for triathletes, since we need to be able to keep our legs fresh enough for the subsequent run. I'm not surprised you saw an improvement jumping from 85 to 90. While 85 is perfectly acceptable for a cycling TT, for triathlons, that is probably going to blow out your legs, especially on the longer courses.

As for the optimal range, you're right that everyone tends to have their own sweet spot, but generally, averaging in the 90-100 range is a good goal to shoot for. You can also throw in some spinning intervals to work on your max cadence. Specifically, 20s spin/10s easy for 3-5 minutes where you spin as high as possible, while still remaining in control (no bouncing, as that will not help you). This is going to vary a lot from person to person. I can only hit 115-120, but other people can get much higher. As with any skill, more practice will likely lead to improvements.